Is Leadership Motivation Affected by Career Orientation? A Case Study of Malaysian Youth in Public Universities

Neda Tiraieyari,Wahiza Wahat,Jamilah Othman,Jeffrey De Silva,Jamaliah Abdul Hamid,Zoharah Omar

doi:10.5539/ass.v10n2p1

Abstract

This paper aim to determine the relationship between career orientations and leadership motivation among Malaysian youth. Data were collected from 711 undergraduate students from five Malaysian public universities. Results showed that some career anchors correlated significantly with motivation to lead (MTL) with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.1 to 0.4. Results of Regression analysis revealed that the General Management career anchor is the biggest predictor of MTL followed by Pure Challenge. The findings suggest that not all the career anchors contribute significantly in explaining the variation of MTL. Based on R2 value, the career orientations explain about 27.9% of the variance in the MTL. The findings from this study could help policy makers in developing youth career program.

Highlights

Career orientation or career anchor refers to an individual's self-perceived needs, values, and talents that give shape to his or her career decisions (Schein, 1971, 1975; DeLong, 1982; Ginzberg & Baroudi, 1992; Igbaria et al, 1991)
Results showed that General Management career anchor is the biggest predictor of motivation to lead (MTL) among undergraduate students, followed by Pure Challenge career anchor
The findings showed that certain career orientation correlated with the MTL

Summary

Introduction

Career orientation or career anchor refers to an individual's self-perceived needs, values, and talents that give shape to his or her career decisions (Schein, 1971, 1975; DeLong, 1982; Ginzberg & Baroudi, 1992; Igbaria et al, 1991). The career anchor or career orientation is significant because it influences career choices, affects decisions to move from one job to another, shapes what one is looking for in life, determines an individual’s view of the future, influences the selection of particular occupations and work settings, and affects the employee’s reactions to his or her work experiences (Schein, 1975). Taking up leadership is an individual’s choice, its form and practice is located as a social phenomenon (Whitehead, 2009). The question arises if career orientations are exclusively choices of individuals, can it be related to a form of practice that is predominantly social and people-related in nature, such as leadership?

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