Cultural Differences in Managerial Aspirations of ICT Professionals

Abstract The ICT industry has brought about tremendous changes in all sectors of life. The rate at which both hardware and software have been adopted has led to a constant need of qualified personnel in general and senior executives, in particular. Drawing on the most recent studies managerial positions are not considered as one of the top career goals for young ICT professionals. In Finland, becoming manager or senior executive was ranked only the sixth important career goal for young ICT professionals (Universum 2010). As such, this paper seeks to explore to what extent national cultures differ in their approach towards managerial aspirations through the lens of a number of Finnish and Austrian stakeholders. In this research paper a qualitative approach is used to assess differences in managerial aspirations of UAS students taking a Master`s degree in computer sciences. By drawing on the extensive framework of the GLOBE study (House et al,1999, 2004) potential Finnish and Austrian executives were interviewed in line with the lingua-cultural dimensions and standards identified in the literature. Initial findings suggest that Austrians tend to display a more masculine (Hofstede, 1991, 1998, Schroll-Machl, 2003)orientation towards their professional self-perceptions, seeing themselves more frequently in C-level positions assuming much responsibilty and receiving high incomes while their Finnish counterparts appear to strive for health-related quality of life where leisure time activities take a predominant place.