Analysis of Factors Motivating the Managers’ Career

Abstract

The present article analyzes what factors determine managers’ strive for career, making an assumption that a possibility for career has to be provided for the most initiative and qualified employees, a possibility which at the same time would be a motivating factor itself. Only motivated employees who have possibilities to realize their goals and expectations in organization can successfully strive for results in organization performance. Analysis of managers’ career expectations is relevant when considering today’s condition in Lithuania, for many qualified employees, possessing both knowledge and working experience but seeing no perspective in their current job or position, leave their workplaces and search for jobs abroad. Such analyses are useful in order to hold qualified professionals in the Lithuanian market, irrespective of the fact if they work in managing position or not, for if an organization lacks professional managers capable to recruit a united team, it will lack good employees and activities of such an organization will be doomed to failure. This article analyzes environmental factors determine managers’ motivation to seek for a career in Lithuanian organizations. Continuous changes taking place necessitate a new approach to the role of managers in an organization, and an assessment of their professional and career related expectations. In order to achieve successes in organization activity, involvement of employees and managers in their career planning must be evaluated anew, by integrating their personal and organizational interests. Growing requirements for managers suggest paying greater attention to implementation of their career possibilities in organization. For only motivated employees, having possibilities to implement their goals and expectation within the organization can develop activity of that organization effectively. Analysis of business enterprises has revealed that more than 30 % of surveyed managers are not satisfied with their current position. The most common reasons, next to hard work and small salaries, are the following: the job does not tally with their speciality, there is lack for professional improvement, and a job lacks creativity. When inducing managers to pursue career, a very important role is played by possibilities to improve one’s qualification. Irrespective of age, one of the obstacles to career is insufficient education: 42.79 % of participatits, mainly being managers of medium and lower chains, referred to this reason. Another reason of unwillingness for career is the fact that a person is satisfied with the current job or salary: 45.95 % of participatits, most of them having greater experience in the enterprise. 53.8% of the participants have the possibility to seek career, and it is more desirable for persons giving smaller working experience. All the age groups value the career possibilities and the reasons thereof in a quite similar way, the intentions to change jobs, however, differ greatly (χ2=38.078, p=0.003: such intentions are more common to persons with small working experience. Reasons of those intentions vary as well: managers of small enterprises most often named insufficient salary and wearisome working conditions, while one of the most relevant reasons in large enterprises is inadequate ranking of employees.