Article Summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article Summaries - Essay Example 1-2). GDP estimation in the US begins with a best level estimate that is usually produced once every five years. It is typically calculated on an annual and quarterly basis. The annual estimates uses data collected from surveys done by the National Census Bureau’s covering about 150,000 reporting units. On the other hand, the quarterly estimates come from the monthly surveys done by the Census Bureau covering about 35,500 reporting units (Landefeld et al. 4-5). The estimates done every five years also incorporate new definitions and ideas that update the accounts to keep with up-to-date with changes in the economy. A method called â€Å"commodity-flow† is, for example, used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to develop best level estimates for final sales based on product category (Landefeld et al. 7). The bureau also uses price-times quantity method to provide estimates for products with inconsistent data (Landefeld et al. 9). Estimates for investment, exports, imports, and government components also have their unique methods of determination. The final expenditures for the federal government, for example, are determined using budget data (Landefeld et al. 11-19). There are, however, several challenges associated with GDP measurement and determination of national accounts. There is no enough data for measuring sector services. There are also components that are difficult to value. There is, therefore, need to develop comprehensive estimation methods that can value all products by virtue of their nature (Landefeld et al. 22) The article is informative and provides detailed information concerning GDP and the methods used in its estimation. I particularly appreciate the author’s contribution in detailing the history behind the development of the framework that estimates GDP. It is, however, unfortunate that in spite of the developments

Pedophilia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Pedophilia - Research Paper Example Pedophile is sexually attracted not towards opposite sex people but towards young children. Pedophiles abuse children in order to satisfy their sexual desires. This is why they pose a threat to the society. Pedophilia is considered as a mental disorder according to the International Classification of Diseases (WHO, 2007). Treatment of this disease is not known today. In this essay we will argue why a crimes like pedophilia are still persistent in our society. Absence of Appropriate Punishment Appropriate punishment can hinder any crime. It is in human nature to give in to emotional desires and only threat of punishment can stop criminals from committing any kind of crime. It is very hard for human beings to control his or her impulses therefore law and order and its enforcement is important in order to maintain the balance of the society. This balance will be only be maintained if appropriate punishment will be given to the criminals in accordance with the crimes they commit. Treatme nt of pedophiles in the justice system is not appropriate and that is why pedophilia is still persistent in our society today. Perpetuators of sexual abuse on children are not punished severely by the criminal system due to many reasons. Mostly children are not able to explain what has happened to them and that is why pedophiles are not identified. ... When sexually abused children feel that this is too part of life and therefore are not likely to report such incidents. This is a big hindrance in the punishment of pedophiles. They take advantage of this and continue their crimes. Also in the justice system there are certain loop holes and pedophiles exploit them to avoid punishments for their crimes. Children can usually not recount what has happened to them and are mostly not able to testify in courts. This is why pedophiles go free and are not convicted in court. It is also hard to prove sexual abuse on children because abuse is different from that on adults. Sexual intercourse usually doesn’t happen with children and pedophiles use different ways to satisfy and pleasure themselves. This is why it is hard to prove sexual abuse on children due to lack of DNA evidence. When sexual intercourse happen DNA tests can easily prove that but this is usually not the case with children. This is another problem in the legal system whi ch is exploited by pedophiles. Also laws made for the sex offenders are based on emotions and do not focus strategically on the eradication of the crime itself (Lynch, M. 2006). This is another reason why punishment received by pedophiles is not enough. The nature of the crime committed by pedophiles is different from other crimes. First of all it is important to understand that pedophilia is a mental disorder. It is not a crime like murder or theft where criminal is committing the crime at his or her own discretion. In the case of pedophilia criminal should be treated as a patient. He is doing the crime because he is mentally sick. This difference should be taken into account before sentencing a pedophile. The sentence of a pedophile should be

Confucianism vs. Daoism Essay Example for Free

Confucianism vs. Daoism Essay Confucianism and Daoism, although are intermingled among people who practice them, have very different views on what is necessary to become an exemplary person. Confucianism is based on the thought that education, history, structure, rules and regulation will lead to achievement and becoming fully human. Daoists, although they believe in order, hate structure, do not believe in education, and feel wandering, or going with the flow, being with nature, is most important in life. While education is most important to Confucianism, it is least important to Daoism. Confucius’s believe that through education one is able to move up in society. Education is the energy or power that enables a person to climb the social ladder, so to speak. Daoism believe very different. For them, the most important thing is connecting with nature. To be like free flowing water and to find your level, or connecting with nature, allows one to become a virtuous person. Daoism and Confucianism have very different views on education within their religion. The importance of history is another example of the differences among Confucianism and Daoism. While history is an important part of Confucianism and what helps them to achieve higher status, Daoists do not believe the past is important, they believe in spontaneity, and the importance to go with the flow and live in harmony with nature. For Confucius’s, rituals, etiquette and maintaining status quo, bring tranquility. There are five roles with relationships, ruler/subject, parent/child, husband/wife, elder brother/younger brother, and friend/friend, which Confucians believe, along with the five virtues: human-heartedness, justice, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness, produce social order and full human beings. For Daoists the history is not important or relevant, it is the wandering, having no way, or going with the flow, that will help find the way itself. Each of these religions has their own thought as to what will make one fully human and how to achieve the highest value in life. For Daoists, they believe the problem is that we let life slip away and think the solution is to live life to the fullest and flourish like nature. They believe that this is only possible if we live life in harmony with the natural rhythms of the Dao, which is the natural way, imitating nature. Confucius’s have a different mindset, because they believe that through hard work and education they are able to move up in society helping them to flourish and become more human and achieve their highest value in society. Both Confucianism and Daoism want to become fully human and achieve their highest level but they have very different views on how to achieve this goal. To live in harmony for Daoists is to flourish with the nature of things. They believe that humans are made to flourish like trees, but this is only possible if we live in harmony with nature. This is accomplished through the Dao. According to Daoists, when we give into formal education, social conventions, and rituals we die a little each day by acting intentionally and not with the heart. This leads to thinking too much and not going with the flow or with nature. In Confucianism this is quite opposite because by acting intentionally and following social order, through education, social conventions and rituals, they believe this makes up more human. Confucians’ believe that through social structure and obedience we can live in harmony with each other. For Confucians’ the goal is social order. They believe that the problem is chaos and worried about society falling apart without social order. These two religions, although they both want harmony, have a very different way to achieve this. One of the major aspects of Confucians is to incline yourself to listen rather than speak, to follow the rule and behave in the proper manor. This is not true for Daoists who believe in following nature, not to think but to just go with it. Confucians feel that our actions should have a purpose and that in order to sustain social order we must act according to our status, traditions, and follow Li, which means â€Å"to arrange in order†. Also important to Confucius’s is etiquette, customs, manners, ceremony, courtesy, civility and propriety. Li and ren are two important concepts in Confucius’s thought because they both lead to self-cultivation and social harmony. Ren, which is human-heartedness, is inward and subjective, li, ritual, etiquette, and propriety, is outward and objective. While li and ren are important to Confucius, the Dao is important to Daoists. The Dao, or the way, is the way of untamed nature and real human life. Through the Dao there is an authentic natural order that results. Although these two religions are quite different in their fundamental thinking it is important to note that they do work to complement each other in their societies. People in china feel Daoists adopted Confucius as one of their own. Each of these two religions coexists. The text explains this well when it says, â€Å"Confucianism’s communitarianism and Daoism’s individualism, Confucianism’s formalism and Daoism’s flow, the hard yang of Confucianism and the soft yin of Daoism†. It is said that they are Confucian’s at work, Daoists on the weekend and Buddhists at death. This goes to say that these religions can be intertwined throughout this society and people do not need to adopt and follow just one religion. In conclusion it is important to note that, although these two religions have very different ideologies, they do work to create peace and serenity. They both do not believe in a God but in a higher power and promote becoming fully human to achieve that higher power. I find it interesting how different the concepts in these religions are but yet how people can acclimate themselves to being both Confucians and Daoists at the same time. For how different each of these religions are I can understand how following order and knowing your place is society is important as well is connecting with nature to find your true self. Works Cited: Chan, Alan K.L.Daoism. April 2013. http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com. Confucianism. China during time of Confucius. 2007. http://www.highbeam.com Confucianism. Encyclopedia Britannica online. http://www.britannica.com Confucianism: values and order. Faces: People, Places, and Cultures. May 2010. www.highbeam.com. Daoism (Chinese philosophy and religion). Encyclopedia Britannica. www.britannica.com. Miller, James. 2013 August. Daoist Studies. Daoism and Daoist Studies. http://www.daoiststudies.org/

Psychology Concerns

Psychology Concerns Psychology concerns itself with the understanding of human behavior. In order to do this effectively, psychologists use a diverse range of perspectives, even when researching a single theme.   This assignment intends to discuss the claim that ‘there is a lot to be gained by studying a topic in psychology from more than one perspective. In order to discuss this claim, it will be necessary to provide definition of the terms ‘conflict, ‘coexist and ‘complement. These terms will then be applied to the themes of language and meaning and sex and gender in order to provide discussion of the claim made. It will become apparent that due to the complexity and multidimensional nature of these perspectives, the claim is truthful. Different psychologists have taken different perspectives on single psychological issues, they have produced differing theories and carried out research from their chosen perspective in order to achieve the evidence required to support these claims. These differing perspectives may conflict, (where the contrasting claims of different perspectives are mutually exclusive and cannot be resolved). They may be complimentary (where contrasting claims are mutually compatible and can be accommodated within a common explanatory framework) or they may coexist (when particular perspectives, even in the same topic area, have no real point of contact: they neither conflict nor complement one another)(Cooper Roth 2007.) There are three perspectives involved in the research into language and meaning. These are evolutionary, social constructionist and cognitive. Evolutionary perspective investigates the influence of evolution on behavior; it looks at language as a characteristic that is obtained at species level and that evolution creates the meaning The evolutionary perspective concerns itself with the influence that evolution is believed to have had upon behavior. This perspective looks at language as a characteristic gained at species level, proposing that the meaning of language was created via evolution. The process of evolution has created linguistic ability and therefore the capacity for meaning to be applied to language. Scientific investigations into the study of animals have highlighted that language in humans are different in comparison to that of non-humans. Pinker and Bloom (1990) suggest that language has numerous reproductive advantages; it was also proposed that the social significance of language has had great impact on human evolution. Evolutionary psychologists recognize language as being uniquely human and dependent upon subtle and meaningful interactions with others, this exemplifies the evolutionary perspectives coexistence with the social constructionist perspective. Leading on, the social constructionist perspective looks at language as the way in which people, through social interactions with others, construct their world. This perspective has been evidenced via hermeneutic studies. It is also proposed that language and meaning plays as role in the pursuit of goals and purposes of everyday life (Cooper and Kaye 2007). This concept regarding the pursuit of goals is not unlike the idea proposed in evolutionary psychology; that there are evolutionary factors at play when advantageous adaptive characteristics are passed through generations. These perspectives together, demonstrate that in creation of meaning for individuals external factors are influential, thus demonstrating coexistence. Cognitive psychologists take a contrasting approach to language; their perspective is that of a information processing system within the person. A computational model is used to hypothesise the contribution of both bottom-up and top-down processing of information, which underlies the creation of meaning. Evidence in support of this is obtained though scientific experiments. The cognitive approach purports that meaning precedes language. Therefore communication is considered to be the transmission of meanings between individual speakers, in contrast the perspective adopted by social constructionists claim that meaning is created between people within the goals and purpose of the conversation, this is often disputed by the persons concerned (Cooper Kaye 2007). This demonstrates conflict within the cognitive and social constructionist perspectives. Conflicts can arise within a single perspective as illustrated by Pinker (2000) and Sperber (2000) (both cited by Cooper Kaye 2007), they offered differing explanations regarding views on language within the evolutionary perspective. Pinker proposed that cognitive abilities are built upon the foundation provided by language, however Sperber proposed that language was a by-product of information processing and these cognitive abilities came first (Cooper Kaye 2007).   It is these very conflicts that invite debates within psychology and provide the justification for additional research. Moving on the writer will now evaluate coexistence or conflict between the various studies conducted with regards to sex and gender. The perspectives used, to explore sex and gender, are psychoanalytic, social constructionist, biological and evolutionary perspectives. Again, these perspectives use different research methods and therefore produce differing theories, providing diverse accounts of sex and gender which enhances the complexity of evaluating whether they are complementary, in coexistence or conflict with each other (Hollway et al 2007). The introduction highlighted that perspectives are multidimensional; the dimensions of these perspectives that interrelate and are available for comparison are in no way limited to the theories created by each one. Focus is now placed upon the methodologies within the four perspectives mentioned and the corresponding nature vs. nurture debate to evaluate these perspectives relationships with each other. The perspective that explores the role nature plays in human experience and behavior is the biological and evolutionary. Scientific approaches examining genes and biological structures provide the evidence within this perspective. The Biological perspective proposes that there is an association with genetic and physiological aspects of sex with self-evident implications for gender. PET scanning techniques and the study of material data produced from this provides strength to the claims (Swaab Fliers (1985), Allen Gorski (1990), LeVay (1991), Cooke et al (1998), all cited by Hollway et al (2007), however when used in connection with behavioural and cognitive studies they may only be understood within the light of context and environmental influences (Cooper Roth 2007). Evolutionary psychologists take the view that reproductive stratagies have evolved differently between men and women, this can account for the difference in behavior and sexual attitude. Through experiments (Clark Hatfield (1989) and studies using questionnaires (Buss et al (1992), these claims have been evidenced, however the evidence does not discount other explanations for these behaviors (cited by Hollway et al 2007). The study carried out by Clark Hatfields is consistent with the evolutionary perspective, suggesting that behavior is passed through generations as genetically programmed, however the findings also support sexual behavior being influenced by cultural patterns and social pressure, therefore consistent with the social constructionist perspective (Hollway et al 2007). Both perspectives emphasise the influence of nature in human behavior demonstrating they are complimentary to one another, however they can also be considered to coexist as they both use a scientific method using systematic observation of phenomena under experimentation. The hermeneutic method is adopted by both the social constructionist and psychoanalytical approach directed by subjective data collection and analysis and the focus is on interpretation which is provided by a persons beliefs and experiences. The Psychoanalytic perspective recognizes the significance of biological dissimilarity along with the cultural and social meanings of these dissimilarities, and the social constuctionist perspectives explores the significance of culture and context in the construction of ideas about gender (Hollway et al 2007). The argument raised by the social constructionist is that gender is a product of culture rather than something which can be explained through biological sex status, thus conflicting with the general hypothesis raised by biological and evolutionary methodology and in contrast exhibits the   effect of nature on gender development. Historical and social context provide the framework for experience, behavior and knowledge regarding sex and gender in the social constructionist perspective, additionally discourse analysis has afforded support for gender-appropriate behaviours between girls and boys, in relation to school activities and subjects and toys (Haywood Mac an Ghaill (1996), cited by Hollway et al 2007). The psychodynamic perspective attempts to comprehend how girls and boys obtain a sexed and gendered sense of self, as they grow up, within the family context. This perspective acknowledges the significance of biological and societal accounts; an exemplar is exploring how a baby, sexed by its biology and gendered by society, acquires psychological gender that becomes fundamental to its later development as a person (Hollway et al 2007). Comparable with the social constructionist perspective, social discourses are assessed, accordingly the two perspectives are complementary as they both acquire understanding of experiences being gendered through the hermeneutic approach. It is however emphasized by Cooper Roth (2007) that psychoanalysis, unlike most other perspectives, is unable to validate its claims. Psychoanalysis is unique in recognizing the role of biological and social factors, consequently that nature and nurture are both equally significant within sex and gender, this could therefore lead to a complementary relationship or even so far as coexisting with all three other perspectives. Together these four perspectives, to differing extents, place significance upon biological and social factors which signifies them complementing one another. Due to the distinctiveness of the claims within each perspective however, an argument could be raised that the perspectives coexist as the differences are significant. In seeking an understanding of a topic such as those outlined in this assignment, various perspectives can be complementary as they all endeavor to elucidate phenomena. In conclusion there is a lot to be gained by studying a topic in psychology from more than one perspective as the propositions considered within psychology are multidimensional for example the theory; the methods and data used; the levels of analysis, and themes such as nature or nurture. Understanding topics such as language and meaning, or sex and gender, is enhanced by the wealth of information that the variety of perspectives offer. By studying a topic in psychology from more than one perspective and evaluating whether perspectives coexist, conflict or complement each other reinforces the dynamism and vibrancy of psychology.

Slavery: A Building Block in the Foundation of Americas History Essay

Slavery was present preceding the European discovery of the Americas. It was limited to the conquered people of the indigenous nations and it was not widespread. This situation changed with the arrival of Europeans, as they possessed modern weapons with which they were able to overtake the most formidable segments of native tribes. Sickness introduced to the indigenous tribes by the Europeans reduced the enslaved population to the point that new workers were needed. A slave trade was brought into existence by this need. Slaves were still gathered from indigenous tribes, but they were supplemented with African slaves brought by ship. These events helped to forge the Americas into the prosperous cultures they eventually became. Slavery influenced culture during the revolutionary period with the beginnings of racism, this culture change initiated lawmaking concerning race, which started with the first emancipation around 1780. How these two topics were molded until the 1850's, and have remained present in the modern era of our lives will be proven in the following essay. The word racism is a term used to describe the believed differences between people of different colors, because of traits, morals, or intellectual prowess. These perceived differences cause a racist person to treat a person of color in ways that would be unaccepted by most people in their own race. [1] This practice, racism, was initiated in the 17th century to promote or justify the use of slaves in what was to become the United States. Racism is justified by many means including the bible, science, and hypothetical theories. A widespread religious following in the Americas became the basis for acceptance of racism using the bible for justification. It ran into... ...hudacoff, Fredrik Logevall, Beth Bailey, and Debra Michals. A People & A Nation: A history of The United States and A More Perfect Union. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2010. [3]. Goldenberg, Amy Production Editor. RACE Are We So Different?. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association , 2010. http://www.understandingrace.org/history/gov/expan_slavery.html. (accessed March 20, 2012). [4]. Valbrun, Marjorie. "Rewriting the Script Won’t Change the Facts in the Trayvon Martin Case." Slate.com. April 2, 2012. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/04/02/trayvon_martin_zimmerman_s_black_friend_and_hispanic_defenses_won_t_work_.html. [5]. Olafson, Steve. "Tulsa Shootings Evoke City's past Racial Violence." Reuters News Service. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-usa-crime-tulsa-idUSBRE83A02J20120411.

Environmental conservation Essay -- essays research papers fc

An Environmental Conservationist, which is also known as a conservation scientist, is an excellent job for anyone who loves nature and wants to preserve all of earth’s natural wonders. As a conservationist you need to, â€Å"Find your own ways to make less trash, and help others to learn how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.† (EPA). The job is a hands-on job which means â€Å"spending a major portion of the workday outdoors without regard to weather.† (Easton 35) Though this doesn’t seem like a scientific job to most people it is because it involves calculating the outcome of certain things on the environment. The purpose of this career is to protect the environment and the people and wildlife that live in it. The profession of environmental conservationist can be narrowed to certain fields. Some people specialize in land water or soil conservation. There are others who live for â€Å"addressing ‘environmental racism’, or the tendency to condone poorer environmental conditions (hazardous waste dumps, illegal/abandoned dumps) in areas populated mainly by people of color.† (Morkes 187) It is required that you at least have a bachelors degree to hold this job. Many people have Masters as well. Generally, your pay depends on which degree you hold. Those who held doctorates has an average pay of 52,162 dollars. Those who held their Berry 2 doctorate in research for this field had a higher salary which has a median of 61,451 dollars. â€Å"In 2000, the median pay was $47,140† (Easton 90) This is a career which is neither gender nor location specific. People with this career tend to travel to where the problem areas are, which is why it isn‘t location specific. The problem areas depend on which field someone specializes in. Both men and women hold this job. There isn’t a part of the job which requires either a male or a female to perform its task. This job involves a lot of â€Å"treating, teaching, listening, counseling, problem solving/creativity, designing, inventing, drawing/writing, and developing ideas or programs.† (Easton 35) It obviously requires a lot of hands on work as well as mental work, which is demonstrated in the â€Å"problem solving/creativity, designing, inventing† Easton 35) In addition to the required hands-on work, this is not a job for someone who cann... ...bout the environment and about preserving our natural recourses. I feel especially strong about Environmental Racism because I feel it is something I have been subjected to all of my life. This is a job for me because I enjoy using things that the earth provides, like water and snow and I want to protect it because "there is a need to ensure that the cleanliness and environmental safety †¦ are not compromised." (Manila Bulletin) Works Cited 1. Easton, Thomas. Careers in Science. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 2004 2. â€Å"Environmental Conservationists†. Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guide. 2003 3. â€Å"Women and Work† Fact Monster.  © 2000–2004 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 15 Dec. 2004 http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0906934.html. 4. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Solid Waste and Emergency response (5305W). Washington: September 2002. 5. DoT promotes environmental conservation in surfing tilt. Jaser A. Marasigan.Dec 15, 2004. http://www.mb.com.ph/TOUR2004121724655.html

Personality Biases of Accounting Students: Some Implications for Learning Style Preferences

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/1362-0436. htm CDI 13,4 Factors in? uencing career choice of management students in India Tanuja Agarwala Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to explore the in? uence of a range of factors on the career choice of management students in India. The importance of different individuals in the family and at work in making career choices among these students is also to be explored.In addition, the study seeks to address the relationship of the cultural values of individualism-collectivism and the protean/conventional career orientations of MBA students from India, with factors as well as people in? uencing the choice of a career. Design/methodology/approach – Participants consisted of 93 students from India entering management, who were starting their ? rst year of the two-year full time MBA program. Self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data on factors and types of relationships in? encing career choice, individualism/collectivism, and protean/conventional career orientation. Findings – â€Å"Skills, competencies, and abilities† was the most important factor and â€Å"father† was the most signi? cant individual in? uencing the career choice of Indian management students. The predominant cultural value was collectivism, although the students demonstrated individualist tendencies in some contexts. A protean orientation guided the career orientation of these students. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected only from one management institute in India.Originality/value – Empirical research on factors and types of relationships in? uencing career choice, and their correlates, has not been conducted among Indian students. The paper addresses this issue and the study has implications for career counseling. Keywords Careers, Career g uidance, National cultures, Students, India Paper type Research paper 362 Career Development International Vol. 13 No. 4, 2008 pp. 362-376 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1362-0436 DOI 10. 1108/13620430810880844Introduction Globalization has brought about a radical transformation in what organizations need to do to maintain their competitiveness. As managerial skills become crucial for organizations to achieve success in a competitive and turbulent business environment, there has been a sharp rise in the demand for managerial professionals worldwide. Sturges et al. (2003) proposed that the MBA degree imparts certain key competencies to students. These competencies may be of key signi? cance in the career success of students as â€Å"management† has gained in importance over other forms of professions.Industry demand for new managerial resources in India far exceeds supply. According to one estimate, the total number of entry-level managers needed by corporate India every y ear stands at 2,735[1]. But the best business schools in India produce about 1,740 managers in any given year. This demand-supply gap, amounting to almost 36 percent, has resulted in competition for scarce managerial talent, high levels of attrition, and an increase in the compensation levels of managerial professionals.For a large number of students in India, a managerial career has become the most preferred career choice. The emergence of management as a formal education is fairly recent, yet the MBA degree has emerged as one of the most sought after higher educational quali? cations. There was a 55 percent increase in the number of institutes imparting management education in India between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006. More than 100,000 students are studying towards an MBA degree in approximately 1,200 institutions offering MBA degrees in India.Business factors coupled with several sociocultural changes have led to changing career preferences among young people in India. An individual ’s choice of career is likely to be in? uenced by several factors, including personal and cultural values, family background, career expectations, etc. Studies have been conducted in different cultural contexts to determine the range of ? factors that in? uenced students in making career choices (Ozbilgin et al. , 2005; Kyriacou et al. , 2002; Ozkale et al. , 2004). However, a literature review suggests that no empirical study has been onducted among management students in India in order to understand their subjective view about why they choose to pursue a career in management. The main purpose of the present study was to identify important factors that in? uenced the choice of career of students pursuing an MBA degree in India, and the role that various people and relationships played in their career choice. The study also attempted to explore the dominant cultural values of the students along Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism dimension, as well as the strength of their protean career orientation.An attempt was also made to examine whether there was a relationship between individualism versus collectivism as a cultural value and protean versus conventional career orientation of management students in India with the types of factors, people and relationships that are likely to play an important role in their career choice. Gender differences among the Indian MBA students were also explored. Career choice of management students 363 Theoretical background â€Å"Choice† means â€Å"selecting or separating from two or more things that which is preferred† (Webster’s Dictionary, 1998). Career choice† involves choosing one occupation over another. Hence, in order for â€Å"career choice† to take place, two conditions are necessary: (1) availability of alternative career options; and ? (2) an individual/personal preference between these career options (Ozbilgin et al. , 2005). The numbers of career options/alternativ es available to an individual at any given point in time are in? uenced by external factors (labor market, state of the economy, etc. ), as well as individual factors (education, family background, attitudes, etc. . Career choice, therefore, is not unbridled. Rather, career choices are often constrained by sociocultural factors (Swanson and Gore, 2000), individual factors, personal and cultural values, signi? cant relationships, and structural factors such as barriers faced by women in certain careers such as management. Most career choice research has focused on predicting career choice behaviors based on personality or demographic ? variables (Ozbilgin et al. , 2005). Studies attempting to identify career choice in? encing factors have focused largely on individuals’ aptitudes, interests, opportunities, etc. CDI 13,4 364 Factors in? uencing career choice Few studies have examined the factors that in? uence career choice. Previous studies have identi? ed a number of varied f actors that in? uence students’ career choice (Ginzberg, 1951; Super, 1957; O’Connor and Kinnane, 1961; Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Felton et al. , 1994). The most widely used classi? cation in career choice studies is the three-dimensional framework by Carpenter and Foster (1977) and Beyon et al. (1998).The three factors are: (1) intrinsic (interest in the job, personally satisfying work); (2) extrinsic (availability of jobs, well paying occupations); and (3) interpersonal (in? uence of parents and signi? cant others). Some research evidence exists to show that sociocultural, economic, and political changes affect the career choices of young people. Bai (1998) found that the market economy changed the values of university students who put self-interest before societal interests, and rated money and power as the primary motivators in ? nding a job. The relative in? ence of various factors on the career choice of students has been found to ? vary across cultures (Ozbilgin et al. , 2005). Most research on career choice has been conducted on occupational groups such as accountants and healthcare professionals (Carpenter and Strawser, 1970; Paolillo and Estes, 1982; Gul et al. , 1989; Bundy and Norris, 1992; Auyeung and Sands, 1997; Morrison, 2004). Barring a few studies ? (Simmering and Wilcox, 1995; Moy and Lee, 2002; Sturges et al. , 2003; Ozbilgin et al. , 2005; Pines and Baruch, 2007), the career â€Å"choice† of MBA students and the factors in? encing this choice have rarely been addressed. The subject matter is worth exploring since the MBA degree has raised management to professional status, offering management graduates a gate to a fast-track managerial career. There is no data about the factors that in? uence career choice of students in India. The in? uence of relationships on career choice Relationships constitute an important dimension of human functioning, yet the interest in understanding how relationships and careers are intertwi ned has increased only in recent years (Blustein et al. , 2004; Schultheiss, 2003; Phillips et al. 2001; Schultheiss et al. , 2001). Most research efforts in the area have focused on how relationships and networks are conducive to career mobility and advancement. The role of relationships in making career choices has been overlooked. There exists a need to direct research efforts to exploring the types of relationships that matter, and why they are signi? cant in making career choices. The present study speci? cally aims to explore the relative importance and in? uence of different relationships (mother, father, relatives, colleagues, etc. ) in making career choices among Indian MBA students.Individualism-collectivism, and factors and relationships in? uencing career choice Culture is an important determinant of how people think and behave, while â€Å"values† are â€Å"broad tendencies to prefer certain state of affairs over others† (Hofstede, 1980). Cultural values a re likely to have an impact on the factors and relationships that in? uence career related choices of students. Studies have focused on the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism (I/C) as an important determinant that in? uences career â€Å"choice† of students from countries that vary along the I/C dimension.These studies have examined cultural variations in factors in? uencing career choice ? (Auyeung and Sands, 1997; Ozbilgin et al. , 2005). The I/C dimension, ? rst measured empirically by Hofstede (1980), describes how individuals relate to others and to society, and represents the extent to which they are emotionally and cognitively attached to a particular network of individuals. According to Hofstede’s empirical index for the dimension, Western countries (the USA, the UK, Australia) cluster toward the individualist end while Asian nations (such as Japan, Taiwan and India) cluster toward the collectivist end. Individualism† refers to the tendency of people to consider their own interests only, to view themselves as â€Å"independent† of organizations, and to place a higher value on self-reliance and individual action. â€Å"Collectivism† refers to the inclination of people to view themselves as â€Å"interdependent† and as part of a larger group, and to protect the interests of group members. Therefore, preferences for social in? uences in making career choices may also differ in individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. Research examining the differential role of peers, colleagues, mentors, managers, etc. in career decision-making is limited. Related research suggests that there is a positive relationship between collectivism and family relatedness, and individualism and peer relatedness ? n, (Benet-Martinez and Karakitapoglu-Aygu 2003; Kwan et al. , 1997). Some studies have treated I/C as an individual difference variable (Ramamoorthy and Carroll, 1998; Ramamoorthy and Flood, 2002), suggesting th at even within a country considerable variability may exist in cultural values at the individual level. These differences may have an effect on individual’s attitudes and behavior.It may be inferred, therefore, that variability in I/C is likely to exist in the sample of Indian management students, and this variability may have an effect on what factors and relationships are likely to in? uence these students in their choice of career. Career orientation and career success â€Å"Career success orientation† may be described as â€Å"the way people de? ne their success at work and that individual perceptions of career success re? ect individual values, attitudes and motivation with respect to both work and life in a broader sense† (Derr, 1986).This orientation provides a guide to action, and hence is similar to an attitude (McGuire, 1985), which has a cognitive component (a set of beliefs about the career), an evaluative component (a sense of what would be a  "good career† or a â€Å"bad career† for oneself), and a behavioral component (an action tendency or a predisposition to behave in certain ways). There are two types of career orientations: (1) protean (new career orientation); and (2) conventional (traditional organizational orientation). Hall ? rst described the protean career in 1976.According to Hall (2004), a â€Å"protean† career is one that is managed proactively by individuals (self-directed) according to their own personal values (values driven), rather than by organizational rewards. Core protean values are freedom and growth (Hall, 1976, 2002), and the main criteria of success are subjective (intrinsic/psychological success) and not objective (extrinsic/material). A protean career orientation re? ects the extent to which an individual adopts such a perspective to their career (Briscoe and Hall, 2006). Career choice of management students 365 CDI 13,4 66 A conventional career orientation de? ned career success in terms of measurable objective factors such as salary, recognition, or number of promotions (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988). The core value of conventional career orientation is â€Å"advancement†. Even though career success has been researched extensively since the 1950s, the study of subjective and objective career success did not start until 1988 (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988), and until 2002, none of these studies involved collecting the participants’ own (subjective) view of their measures of career success.The current study aims to explore Indian management students’ subjective view of career success and also attempts to understand the relationship of their career success orientation with the factors and relationships in? uencing career choice. Method Sample characteristics and data collection The sample[2] consisted of 93 management students at the University of Delhi, India, who were starting their ? rst year of a two-year full time MBA degree progr am. Questionnaire responses were obtained from 99 students, of which 93 were Indian citizens. The other six students were foreign students from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Canada.For the purpose of the present paper, only the responses of the Indian citizens were analyzed. Hence, the total sample size was 93, of whom 50. 5 percent (n ? 47) were male, and 49. 5 percent (n ? 46) were female. Their age ranged from 20 to 27 years, with an average age of 22 years and two months. The majority of the students (31. 2 percent) were 21 years of age and Hindu (88. 2 percent) by religion. All the students were unmarried. The majority of students (n ? 65; 69. 9 percent) belonged to families in which the father was serving as an employee in either a technical or a professional capacity.Only 18 students (19. 4 percent) had a business background, with their father being self-employed or an entrepreneur. Of a total of 93 students, 42 students (45. 2 percent) had non-working mothers and 43 had working mothe rs, of which 37. 6 percent (n ? 35) were in the employment of others, 6. 5 percent (n ? 6) were self-employed, and 2. 2 percent (n ? 2) were working part-time. A total of 43 students came from families where both parents were working, either in the employment of others or owning their own business. Each student was asked to complete a questionnaire within the ? rst 20 days of joining the full-time, wo-year MBA degree program. The data for the present article was collected in July 2006. Measures ? Factors in? uencing career choice. The 14-item scale developed by Ozbilgin et al. (2004) was used to obtain data on the degree to which various factors in? uenced the career choice of the students sampled. Each item on the scale corresponded to a career choice factor. The reliability of the scale, as evidenced by Cronbach’s a, was 0. 66. Relationships in? uencing career choice. The in? uence of certain individuals (relationships) such as father, mother, friends, colleagues, etc. on s tudents’ career choice was assessed through a nine-item questionnaire (a ? 0:65). Individualism-collectivism. Cultural values on Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism dimension were measured using a 16-item questionnaire developed by Triandis and Gelfand (1998). Cronbach’s a for eight individualism items was 0. 59, and for eight collectivism items it was 0. 62. Career orientation. A 13-item scale developed by Baruch (2006) was used to measure career orientation, with nine items measuring a protean view of a career and four items measuring a traditional view of a career. Cronbach’s a for protean items was 0. 5, and for traditional items a was 0. 81. Responses on all the questionnaires were obtained on a seven-point Likert scale where 1 ? strongly disagree/not at all important, and 7 ? strongly agree/very important. Results Factors in? uencing career choice The means and standard deviations of the 14 factors that in? uenced the career choice of MBA students in India are presented in Table I, for the total sample and by gender. As is evident from Table I, MBA students from India rated their â€Å"skills, competencies, and abilities† as the most important career choice in? uencing factor, followed by â€Å"education and training† and â€Å"? ancial rewards in this career†. Separate analyses by gender showed that male and female Indian MBA students differed in the factors they rated as the most important in in? uencing their career choice (see Table I). Male students rated â€Å"? nancial rewards in this career† as the most important factor in their career choice decision followed by â€Å"Quality of life associated with this career† and â€Å"skills, competencies, and abilities†. For female students, â€Å"skills, competencies, and abilities† and â€Å"education and training† were the most important factors. T-tests revealed two factors – â€Å"Quality of life associated wi th this career† (t ? :98; p , 0:05) and â€Å"Financial rewards in this career† (t ? 2:37; p , 0:05) – that were signi? cantly more important determinants of career choice for male as compared to female MBA students in India. No other career choice factors revealed signi? cant gender differences. For both male and female Indian management students, as well as for the total sample, â€Å"lack of access to other career options† was the lowest rated factor in their Total sample (n ? 93) Mean SD 6. 04 5. 90 5. 82 5. 77 5. 70 5. 58 5. 46 5. 39 5. 13 4. 59 4. 31 3. 71 2. 94 2. 48 1. 07 6. 04 1. 31 1. 30 1. 40 1. 53 1. 52 1. 57 1. 52 1. 47 1. 93 1. 89 1. 66 1. 60Career choice of management students 367 No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Factors in? uencing career choice My skills and abilities My education and training Financial rewards in this career I have a free choice in making my career decisions Quality of life associated Promotion opportunities Training and education My love of this career Success stories of friends, family My knowledge of the labor market My ? nancial/economic condition Ease of access to this career Chance, luck or circumstances Lack of access to other career options Males (n ? 47) Mean SD 5. 96 5. 77 6. 13 5. 72 5. 98 5. 83 5. 17 5. 30 5. 04 4. 36 4. 23 3. 66 3. 09 2. 1. 02 1. 29 0. 82 1. 26 0. 99 1. 15 1. 48 1. 60 1. 44 1. 54 1. 95 1. 82 1. 47 1. 55 Females (n ? 46) Mean SD 6. 13 6. 04 5. 50 5. 83 5. 41 5. 33 5. 76 5. 48 5. 22 4. 83 4. 39 3. 76 2. 78 2. 35 1. 13 1. 43 1. 62 1. 34 1. 68 1. 81 1. 52 1. 55 1. 60 1. 37 1. 94 1. 96 1. 84 1. 65 Table I. Means and SDs: factors in? uencing career choice of Indian MBA students CDI 13,4 career choice. â€Å"Chance, luck or circumstances†, â€Å"ease of access to this career†, â€Å"? nancial and economic condition†, and â€Å"knowledge of labor and/or career market† were also not perceived as having an important in? uence on their career choice . Role of relationships in in? encing career choice Table II presents the means and standard deviations with respect to the in? uence of individuals and relationships on career choice of Indian MBA students for the total sample and by gender. It is evident from the results that â€Å"father† exerted the greatest in? uence on the career choice of students in India, for both male and female students. For female students, the second most important in? uence was that of the â€Å"mother†. However, for male students, â€Å"friends†, that is, the peer group, played a more important role than the â€Å"mother†, and was second only to the â€Å"father† in their career choice decision. Managers† and â€Å"relatives† were the least important in in? uencing the career choice of all Indian management students. t-Tests revealed no signi? cant differences between male and female students in the in? uence of relationship types (father, mother, work c olleague, etc. ) on career choice. Cultural values and career success orientation Table III presents the descriptive results for individualism/collectivism (I/C) and for protean/conventional career orientation. The mean scores on Hofstede’s I/C dimension suggest that Indian MBA students were moderately high on both individualism (mean ? 0:52) and collectivism (mean ? 42:82), with a slightly higher score on 368 No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Individuals/relationship types Father Mother Friend/s Fellow students Teacher/mentor Work colleagues Signi? cant other/partner Another relative Manager Total sample (n ? 93) Mean SD 4. 76 4. 23 4. 13 4. 03 3. 60 2. 94 2. 68 2. 63 2. 63 1. 94 1. 90 1. 89 1. 83 2. 03 1. 90 2. 22 1. 83 1. 94 Males (n ? 47) Mean SD 4. 57 4. 19 4. 32 4. 00 3. 83 3. 20 2. 61 2. 37 2. 63 2. 03 1. 87 1. 83 1. 68 1. 98 1. 85 2. 22 1. 72 1. 98 Females (n ? 46) Mean SD 4. 96 4. 26 3. 93 4. 07 3. 37 2. 68 2. 75 2. 9 2. 63 1. 85 1. 94 1. 95 1. 98 2. 08 1. 94 2. 24 1. 92 1. 92 T able II. Means and SDs: relationships in? uencing career choice of Indian MBA students Table III. Means and SDs: cultural values and career orientation of Indian MBA students Indian MBA students Total (n ? 93) Males (n ? 47) Females (n ? 46) Cultural values Individualism Collectivism Mean SD Mean SD 40. 52 40. 98 40. 04 5. 77 5. 69 5. 87 42. 82 42. 63 43. 00 5. 77 5. 37 6. 20 Career orientation Protean Conventional Mean SD Mean SD 48. 85 49. 38 48. 30 6. 33 5. 78 6. 87 19. 80 20. 26 19. 33 4. 86 3. 85 5. 72 collectivism.A paired t-test was conducted to determine whether there was a signi? cant difference on these two cultural values among the Indian MBA students. The paired t-test revealed that the mean score of collectivism was signi? cantly higher than the mean score of individualism (paired samples t ? 22:82; p , 0:01). The mean scores of male and female students on the I/C dimension (Table III) suggest that both male and female MBA students in India had stronger collectivistic v alues (mean scores for males ? 42:63; for females ? 43:00) compared to individualistic values (mean scores for males ? 40:98; for females ? 0:04). Mean scores for the two types of career success orientation, protean and conventional, suggest that Indian management students were moderately high on both (protean mean ? 48:85, nine items; conventional mean ? 19:80, four items). Thus, freedom and growth, as well as position and salary, were important criteria of career success for these students. A paired t-test conducted between the two subscales (protean subscale and conventional subscale) revealed the protean career orientation to be signi? cantly higher among the Indian MBA students (paired samples t ? 43:56; p , 0:01).T-tests for group differences revealed no gender differences with respect to cultural values as well as career success orientation, among Indian MBA students. Relationship of factors in? uencing career choice and relationship types with individualism/collectivism Apar t from an attempt to explore the relative strength of I/C cultural values among Indian MBA students, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between individualistic and collectivistic value orientations at the individual level and the in? uence of various factors and relationships in making career choices among Indian management students.Pearson correlations were calculated in order to understand which career choice factors will be more in? uential for students with a more collectivistic or individualistic orientation. Individualism was found to be signi? cantly positively correlated with the â€Å"quality of life† (r ? 0:36; p , 0:01), â€Å"promotion opportunities† (r ? 0:22; p , 0:05), and â€Å"? nancial rewards† (r ? 0:35; p , 0:001) available in a management career. High collectivism was signi? cantly positively correlated with â€Å"love of a career in management† (r ? 0:26; p , 0:05), and â€Å"belief that one had a free choice in mak ing the career decision† (r ? :33; p , 0:001). Pearson correlations were also calculated between cultural values and types of relationships that in? uenced career choice of Indian MBA students to see whether students who differed in their levels of collectivism/ individualism also differed in the extent to which they were in? uenced by different types of relationships (father, mother, friends, etc. ) when making career choice. The results showed no signi? cant correlation between individualistic values and in? uence of relationship types on the career choice of Indian MBA students. However, a high level of collectivism was found to be signi? antly positively correlated with the in? uence of â€Å"father† on their career choice (r ? 0:24; p , 0:05). No other relationship type was found to have a signi? cant correlation with collectivism. The ? ndings of the present study are supported by studies conducted in other collectivistic societies such as Turkey. Career choice of management students 369 CDI 13,4 370 Relationship of factors in? uencing career choice and relationship types with career orientation Pearson correlations calculated between career orientation and factors in? uencing career choice and relationship types suggested that protean career orientation was signi? antly positively correlated with â€Å"skills, competencies, and abilities† (r ? 0:30; p , 0:005), â€Å"knowledge of labour/career market† (r ? 0:25; p , 0:05), â€Å"training and education opportunities† (r ? 0:36; p , 0:01), â€Å"quality of life† (r ? 0:23; p , 0:05), â€Å"love of this career† (r ? 0:27; p , 0:01), and â€Å"free choice† (r ? 0:23; p , 0:05). Conventional career orientation was found to be signi? cantly positively correlated with â€Å"quality of life† (r ? 0:50; p , 0:01), â€Å"promotion opportunities† (r ? 0:30; p , 0:005), â€Å"? nancial rewards† (r ? 0:55; p , 0:01), â€Å"training and educ ation opportunities† (r ? :22; p , 0:05), â€Å"ease of access to this career† (r ? 0:21; p , 0:05), and â€Å"success stories† (r ? 0:33; p , 0:001). With respect to relationship types, high protean career orientation was signi? cantly negatively correlated with the in? uence of â€Å"relatives† (r ? 20:27; p , 0:05) and positively correlated with the in? uence of â€Å"manager† (r ? 0:28; p , 0:05). Conventional orientation, on the other hand, was signi? cantly positively correlated with the in? uence of â€Å"mother† (r ? 0:26; p , 0:05), â€Å"father† (r ? 0:23; p , 0:05), and â€Å"manager† (r ? 0:26; p , 0:05).Discussion The study aimed to identify the factors and relationship types that in? uenced career choice of MBA students in India. The relationship of individualism/collectivism and protean/conventional career orientation with factors and types of relationships that in? uenced the career choice of these students was a lso explored. Indian MBA students considered their own â€Å"skills, competencies, and abilities† and â€Å"education and training† (intrinsic career choice factors) as playing the most signi? cant role in their choice of a management career. With respect to relationships, â€Å"father† exerted the greatest in? ence on their career choice. The results replicate the ? ndings of the study by Pines and Baruch (2007), and Pines et al. (2002) across ? ve countries (i. e. Israel, the UK, Turkey, Cyprus, and Hungary). Students opting for a managerial career may be similar in certain respects, irrespective of nationality. The important in? uence of â€Å"father† in career decision of Indian students may be understood in the context of a largely patriarchal society. The fact that the majority of the students had a professional background, their father being an executive/ professional, may also have in? uenced their career choice.Numerous studies have shown similar ities between parents’ occupations and their children’s career aspirations (Barling, 1990; Trice and Knapp, 1992). Findings on I/C suggest that even though Indian MBA students had a mix of both cultural values, they showed a de? nite preference for collectivism, thus supporting Hofstede’s (1980) ? ndings. Several other studies suggest that the Indian culture is collectivist (Sinha and Verma, 1987; Verma, 1999; Verma and Triandis, 1998). Evidence also suggests that Indian students exhibit a mix of both individualistic and collectivistic behaviors when I/C is seen as an individual level variable.Hence, I/C are not a bipolar dimension (Triandis, 1994). In a dynamic society characterized by economic liberalization and a Western pattern of education, students may be exposed ? n to both I&C value preferences, emphasizing both (Karakitapoglu-Aygu and Sayim, 2007; Ramamoorthy et al. , 2005). It is likely that Indians value both I&C, which coexist and jointly in? uence t he way they de? ne themselves, relate to others, and decide priorities in conforming to social norms (Sinha et al. , 2001). The relative salience of the situation will determine which of the two – collectivism or individualism – will be evoked (Tripathi, 1988).It is likely that Indian students who demonstrated high collectivistic orientation may make individualistic choices in situations that related to the individual’s career (Sinha and Tripathi, 1994). Similarly, students who showed higher individualism may make collectivist choices in a non-career context. The ? ndings about the relationship of factors and people in? uencing the career choice of Indian MBA students to cultural values may be explained within this context. In individualistic cultures, individuals are looking for individual advantage, career progression, autonomy and individual ? ancial security (Price, 1997); they believe they are responsible for their own future and are concerned with material possessions and social status (Di Cesare and Golnaz, 2003; Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005). A higher level of individualism among Indian students was found to be signi? cantly correlated with extrinsic factors (money, status, etc. ), suggesting that these students placed a greater value on material bene? ts, such as money, social prestige, and career advancement. Those students who had a collectivistic orientation emphasized â€Å"free choice† and â€Å"love of career† as important in? uences on their career choice.Collectivists tend to subordinate personal goals to group goals, and emphasize values of harmony, cooperation, and low levels of competition. Hence, high levels of collectivism may be associated with a desire to demonstrate that one had chosen the career out of free will, and not out of competition or pressure to conform, thus emphasizing harmony. Indian management students who were high on individualistic values were not in? uenced by their family or signi? c ant social networks in their choice of career. However, students who were high on collectivism were in? uenced by their father in ? their career choice decision.Similar ? ndings were reported by Karakitapoglu-Aygun and Sayim (2007) in a study of Turkish MBA students. Since the I/C dimension emphasizes separateness versus embeddedness in social relationships, it is expected that a collectivistic person may value support from others, especially from family members, in his/her career decision-making process, thus suggesting a positive relationship between collectivism and family relatedness (Kwan et al. , 1997). On the other hand, an individualistic person might not value the involvement of others, especially family members, in an important decision such as career choice.Indian management students demonstrated both protean and conventional career orientation, but were predominantly protean. According to Reitman and Schneer (2003), MBA graduates enjoy both self-managed and promised (con ventional) career trajectories. Except for one career choice factor – i. e. â€Å"quality of life† (extrinsic) – all other factors (â€Å"love of the career†; â€Å"skills and competencies†) that were positively correlated with protean career orientation in the present study were individual-centric.Studies have shown a protean career orientation to be positively related to subjective career success (in terms of career satisfaction) while the ? ndings with regard to objective career success (in terms of salary and promotion rate) have been inconsistent (Briscoe, 2004). Since the protean career orientation re? ects self-directedness, people/relationships may not in? uence career choice of protean individuals. The in? uence of manager on a protean individual’s career choice in the present study may suggest the protean individual’s desire for growth, and the perception of manager as a symbol of success.Career choice of management students 371 CDI 13,4 372 Individuals with higher conventional orientation, unlike those with protean orientation are not likely to be self-directed or in charge of their career. Therefore, factors like ease of access and success stories of others may play an in? uential role in their choice of career, as among Indian students. These individuals are also likely to be in? uenced by others, such as father and mother, in their career choice. These ? ndings may be viewed in conjunction with the predominantly collectivistic orientation of Indian students.Gender differences In terms of the â€Å"intrinsic† and â€Å"extrinsic† classi? cation of career choice factors, it appears that intrinsic factors (such as skills and competencies) were more important for female students in their choice of management career, while extrinsic factors were more important for male students. The results may be explained with reference to the traditional view of â€Å"managerial career† as being a â€Å"male† profession. Women face barriers to career success not faced by males (Simpson, 2000) and are assessed under stricter criteria than men (Morrison et al. , 1987).To progress women must prove that they have the competence to succeed. Hence, the inputs of education and training are more objective merits that help women to enhance their credibility and credentials (Melamed, 1996). The study revealed no gender differences on any other variable. Hall (2004) proposed that a person’s career orientation was unrelated to gender. Regarding the study of sex differences, Baumeister (1988) proposes that this is no longer necessary, while Eagly (1987) and Lefkowitz (1994) advocate the investigation of sex differences in organizational behavior.If obtained consistently across studies, even null ? ndings are important (Lefkowitz, 1994) since these would help establish that women and men are similar in many respects. Implications The ? ndings of the study may have an implic ation for vocational guidance and counseling among Indian students aspiring for a career in management. By gaining an insight into how students make their career choices, an effort can be made to guide students towards more realistic career choices. However, the ? ndings of the study have limited generalizability. Notes 1. See www. india-today. om/btoday/07051998/cover5. html/12/28/2007 2. 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Corresponding author Tanuja Agarwala can be contacted at: [email  protected] com 376 To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email  protected] com Or visit our web site for further details: www. emeraldinsight. com/reprints