Journal Article – Dissertation

Women in Organizations: A Phenomenological Study of Female Executives Mentoring Junior Women in Organizations

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the mentoring experiences between female executives and junior women. The research question was: What is the nature of the mentoring relationship between senior women and junior women in organizations? The related questions were: (1) How do mentoring relationships evolve between female executives and junior women? (2) What characterizes the mentoring relationship between senior women and junior women? (3) What are prominent mentoring strategies employed by executive women to foster professional growth of junior women? (4) What mentoring strategies are perceived to be most effective at promoting junior women? (5) Why are particular mentoring strategies perceived to be most effective?
A phenomenological research design was employed to examine the experience of mentoring relationships from the perspective of ten senior executive women and thirteen junior women in the organization. Methods of data collection included in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.

Research findings include the following: (1) All participants indicated that their mentoring experiences were positive and characterized by trust, based on the dimensions of honesty, respect, and confidentially. (2) All participants believed that guidance and encouragement were effective mentoring strategies employed by senior executive women with junior women in their organization. Employment of those mentoring strategies was perceived to result in better career development, greater levels of career maturity and more advancement opportunities for junior women. (3) The mentoring relationship between executive and junior women evolved into either a business relationship or friendship. (4) Senior women also assumed informal mentor roles with junior women in their organization that contributed to learning, career development and advancement opportunities. (5) Senior women recognized that they personally experienced benefits in the form of new skills and perspectives from mentoring junior women in their organization.

Baby Boomers Versus Generation X: A Study of the Unique Mentor Roles and Functions Perceived by Two Generations of Women

The purpose of this study was to test the theory of mentoring functions by comparing women in business from the Generation X and Baby Boomer generations to determine the mentor roles and functions each perceived to have most impacted their career advancement. A sample of 250 women in business, 125 each from the two generations, was used for this quantitative study. The Mentoring Functions Questionnaire (MFQ-9) developed by Castro and Scandura (2004) was implemented to determine any similarities or differences between the two generations of women. This study focused on the roles and functions developed by and expanded upon in seminal research by Kram (1983; 1985) and Burke (1984) who identified the three functions provided by a mentor which include career, psychosocial, and role modeling.

Principles of Cultural Competency and the Implications for Western Evaluators Using the Program Evaluation Standards in Chinese Cultural Context

The importance of cultural competence permeates all phases of evaluation since culture shapes how evaluators conceptualize questions, collect, analyze, and interpret data, and report evaluation results. This paper aims at enriching the understanding of Chinese culture from the perspective of Confucianism for the Western evaluators so that they may work efficiently in the Chinese cultural context. To avoid a general discussion, the author focuses on three subsets of the Program Evaluation Standards (3rd Edition), i.e., U4 Explicit Values, P2 Formal Agreements, and P3 Human Rights and Respect, in order to make an in-depth analysis of the cultural competence that the Western evaluators are expected to have to work in the Chinese cultural context. To this end, this paper compares the differences in Chinese and Western values, legal tradition related to entering into and implementing evaluation agreements, and the way in which people show respect. Finally, this paper provides some suggestions for the Western evaluators on how they may enhance their cultural readiness and achieve success in finishing their evaluation projects in China.