As a result of structural changes in the global economy, many organisations are faced with changing workforce demographics. The global workforce is changing not only in terms of age and race, but also in terms of gender (International Labour Office, 2009). This change is referred to as the feminization of labour, and it poses many challenges to organisations as women are entering careers that have previously been predominated by men such as medicine, pharmacy, accounting, engineering and mining (Blau & Kahn, 2000). The retention of women in atypical careers has become a growing concern, as these women are often faced with challenges in the workplace, such as sexual discrimination, hostility and resentment from their co-workers, and physical violence in the workplace (Cognard-Black, 2004). These obstacles encountered by women in atypical positions result in their experiencing difficulty fitting into their groups at work and their organisations as a whole, which increases their turnover intentions (Young & Hurlic, 2007). For effective retention of women in atypical positions in an effort to secure a truly diverse workforce, organisations must be aware of the factors that affect their career decision making. Young and Hurlic (2007) have proposed a model of gender enactment and fit in relation to career decisions of women in atypical positions. They suggest that gender enactment of employees in atypical positions, in relation to the gender-based micro-culture of their work groups ultimately affects their person-group fit, person-organisation fit and career decision making. The main objective, therefore, of this research has been to explore the constructs outlined in the model of Young and Hurlic (2007) within the South African context and to establish their influence on the career decision making of a sample of South African employees in atypical positions. The research has been explorative in nature, and a qualitative design was used to achieve the research objectives. Participants were invited to participate in the research on a voluntary basis, and they were selected by means of a purposive sampling method. Criteria that were decided upon for the selection of participants were that participants needed to be female, permanently employed and occupying atypical occupations within the same organisation. Based on these criteria, a total population of ten employees was included in the research study (N=10). Qualitative data was collected by means of unstructured and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that awareness, group acceptance, person-group fit, perceived stress, and person-organisation fit were the key determinants of the career decisions of participants. Awareness was found to be related to group acceptance, whereas group acceptance was identified as being related to person-group fit. Person-group and person-organisation fit were found to result in participants considering lateral career moves, choosing to stay in their current positions, or seeking promotions. Conversely, perceived stress was found to have a negative impact in the career decision making of participants, as all participants who reported perceived stress planned to leave their respective organisation. / MA, Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

As a result of structural changes in the global economy, many organisations are faced with changing workforce demographics. The global workforce is changing not only in terms of age and race, but also in terms of gender (International Labour Office, 2009). This change is referred to as the feminization of labour, and it poses many challenges to organisations as women are entering careers that have previously been predominated by men such as medicine, pharmacy, accounting, engineering and mining (Blau & Kahn, 2000). The retention of women in atypical careers has become a growing concern, as these women are often faced with challenges in the workplace, such as sexual discrimination, hostility and resentment from their co-workers, and physical violence in the workplace (Cognard-Black, 2004). These obstacles encountered by women in atypical positions result in their experiencing difficulty fitting into their groups at work and their organisations as a whole, which increases their turnover intentions (Young & Hurlic, 2007). For effective retention of women in atypical positions in an effort to secure a truly diverse workforce, organisations must be aware of the factors that affect their career decision making. Young and Hurlic (2007) have proposed a model of gender enactment and fit in relation to career decisions of women in atypical positions. They suggest that gender enactment of employees in atypical positions, in relation to the gender-based micro-culture of their work groups ultimately affects their person-group fit, person-organisation fit and career decision making. The main objective, therefore, of this research has been to explore the constructs outlined in the model of Young and Hurlic (2007) within the South African context and to establish their influence on the career decision making of a sample of South African employees in atypical positions. The research has been explorative in nature, and a qualitative design was used to achieve the research objectives. Participants were invited to participate in the research on a voluntary basis, and they were selected by means of a purposive sampling method. Criteria that were decided upon for the selection of participants were that participants needed to be female, permanently employed and occupying atypical occupations within the same organisation. Based on these criteria, a total population of ten employees was included in the research study (N=10). Qualitative data was collected by means of unstructured and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that awareness, group acceptance, person-group fit, perceived stress, and person-organisation fit were the key determinants of the career decisions of participants. Awareness was found to be related to group acceptance, whereas group acceptance was identified as being related to person-group fit. Person-group and person-organisation fit were found to result in participants considering lateral career moves, choosing to stay in their current positions, or seeking promotions. Conversely, perceived stress was found to have a negative impact in the career decision making of participants, as all participants who reported perceived stress planned to leave their respective organisation. / MA, Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Kina har genom olika   statliga initiativ startat ett kvalitetsrace med ambitionen är att ta   kinesisk produktkvalitet till helt nya nivåer till år 2025. Lyckas man kommer   svenska bolag som handlar/ konkurrerar med kinesiska bolag, eller bedriver   verksamhet inom Kina, sannolikt att påverkas. Frågan är hur? Syftet med denna   studie har varit att känna svenska bolag på pulsen; hur upplever de den   kinesiska kvalitetsutvecklingen och hur tror de att deras bolag kommer att   påverkas? Ett underliggande syfte har varit att undersöka hur de kulturella   aspekterna inverkar på den kinesiska kvalitetsutveckling. För att svara på   detta genomfördes en kvantitativ enkät riktad till svenska kvalitetschefer   samt en kvalitativ fallstudie riktad till svenska bolag med närvaro i Kina. Resultatet visar att   nivån på kinesisk produktkvalitet förväntas stiga inom många branscher samt   att konkurrens och handelsutbytet kommer att påverkas genom att kinesiska   marknadsandelar ökar på den globala marknaden. Inom vissa områden är kinesisk   produktkvalitet redan idag likvärdig med västerländsk men den är inte stabil   utan kräver kontroller från mottagarledet, tillika kunden. En trolig   bidragande orsak till den ojämna kvaliteten finner vi i den kinesiska   makrokulturen där man av tradition sätter stolthet i att utför   arbetsuppgifter enligt order och inte ifrågasätter överordnade. Detta får en   negativ effekt på kvalitetskulturen, vilket i sin tur riskerar att försvåra   kvalitetsutvecklingen och är en utmaning för Kina att hantera. Utmaningen   till trots så visar denna studie att det är möjligt att den kinesiska statens   initiativ kan lyckas, åtminstone till stora delar och såväl svenska företag   som den globala marknaden bör hålla ett vakande öga på utvecklingen. / China has through various government initiatives started a quality   race with the ambition to take Chinese product quality to higher levels until   2025. If they succeed, Swedish companies that trade/ compete with Chinese   companies, or conduct business within China, are likely to be affected. The   question is how? The purpose of this study has been to check the pulse of   Swedish companies; how do they perceive the Chinese quality development and   how do they think their company will be affected? An underlying purpose has   been to investigate how cultural aspects affect the Chinese quality   development. To answer this, a quantitative survey was conducted aimed at   Swedish quality managers and a qualitative case study aimed at Swedish   companies with a presence in China. The result shows that the level of   Chinese product quality is expected to rise in many industries, and that   competition and trade exchange will be affected by increasing Chinese market   shares in the global market. In some areas, Chinese product quality is   already equivalent to Western, but it is not stable but requires controls   from the recipient, namely the customer. A likely contributing factor to the   uneven quality is found in the Chinese macro culture where traditionally one   prides itself on performing tasks according to orders and not questioning   superiors. This has a negative effect on the quality culture, which in turn   risks making quality development more difficult and is a challenge for China   to handle. Despite this challenge, this study shows that it is possible that the   Chinese state's initiative may succeed, at least in large part, and both   Swedish companies and the global market should keep a watchful eye on   developments. / <p>2019-06-27</p>