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A Preliminary Psychometric Assessment of the Short-Form Measure of Career
Orientations in a Malaysian Sample

Ali Yusob bin Md Zain

Faculty of Business, Economics and Policy Studies
Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Jalan Tungku Link, Gadung BE1410
Brunei Darussalam
aliyusob@gmail.com; +673-2463001

ABSTRACT balance people have high needs for

This paper reports a factor analytic study which was
conducted to determine the dimensionality of the
short-form measure of career orientations developed
by Ria and Baroudi [4]. The “Short-Form Measure of
Career Orientations” by Ria and Baroudi consists of
seven dimensions or career anchors: security,
autonomy, managerial competence, technical
competence, creativity and entrepreneurship, sense of
service, and life style integration. In this study, 196
university students in Malaysia responded to the short-
form measure of career orientations. A factor analysis
using varimax rotation produced seven factors which
are quite similar to the original factors as proposed by
Ria and Baroudi. The seven factors account for about
57% of the explained variance. The findings provide
reasonable indications that the short-form measure of
career orientations has acceptable psychometric
properties that can be used to identify career
orientations of university students in Malaysia.
INTRODUCTION
An important aspect in an organization’s human
resource management (HRM) is human resource
planning. HR planning helps the organization to
determine the right mix of people with the necessary
skills and attitudes. One aspect of research in HR
planning is “internal careers” which focuses on the
individual’s self-concept and career values [4]. Career
anchor [5] or career orientation [2], which refer to
self-perceived needs, values, and talents, shape an
individual’s career decisions [4]. Career orientation is
considered as a significant factor in an individual’s
career decisions because it influences career choice,
affects decisions to move from one job to another,
shapes what one is looking for in life, determines an
individual’s views of the future, influences the
selection of specific occupations and work settings,
and affects the individual’s reactions to his/her work
experiences [6]. Information about an individual’s
career orientations may be useful for the organization
to formulate career development programs that suit
individual needs. People vary in terms of
their internal career orientations, for
example in terms of motives, getting
ahead persons have a high need for
achievement while getting secure,
getting high, getting free and getting
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security, challenge, autonomy, and
work-life balance, respectively. These
orientations exist among employees in
organizations [1]. To uncover this information, a
reliable and valid measure of career orientation is
necessary. This paper reports preliminary results of a
psychometric assessment of the short-form measure of
career orientation developed by Ria and Baroudi [4].
The scale was tested in a Malaysian sample.
Career Orientations
Career orientations can be defined as attitudes
expressed by superordinate intentions of an individual
that will influence career-related decisions [Gerbera].
Schein [7], who pioneered work into individual career
orientations, has identified eight career anchors that
guide the career decisions of individuals:
• Security. This anchor deals with both geographical
security (e.g., individuals who link themselves to a
particular geographic area — putting down roots in the
community, investing in a house and stable life-style),
and organizational/job security.
• Autonomy. Autonomy-oriented individuals seek
work situations in which they will be maximally free
of organizational constraints and restrictions
to pursue their professional competence.
• Managerial competence. Managerially oriented
employees, who wish to supervise, influence, and lead
others, seek promotions to general manager positions
as a vehicle to achieve feelings of success.
• Technical competence. Employees with strong
technical orientations focus primarily on the intrinsic,
technical content of the work, and the functional area
represented by the work.
• Creativity and entrepreneurship. These individuals
need to create something on their own by developing a
new product or service, by building a new business
enterprise through financial manipulation, or by
starting and building a business of their own.
• Sense of service. Employees who have a service
orientation are dedicated to serve other people and to
make the world a better place in which to live and
work.
• Pure challenge. This anchor assesses the preference
for overcoming impossible obstacles, solving
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unsolvable problems, and winning against extremely
capable opponents.
• Life-style integration. Individuals with a high-score METHODOLOGY
desire to develop a life-style that integrates family and Sample
career concems, with concerns for self-development. The participants of this study are university students
who are studying for various degree programs at the
Ria and Baroudi [4] conducted a psychometric study undergraduate level. The sample characteristics is
on the original Schein’s career anchor measure and shown in Table 2.
proposed a short-form measure of career orientations.
The short-form measure of career orientations consists TABLE 2
of twenty five items as shown in Table 1. Sample characteristics (N=220)

TABLE 1 Variable N %
Items in the short-form measure of career orientations Gender
Male 58 26.4
The process of supervising, influencing, leading, and Female 162 73.6
controlling people at all levels Age Group
The chance to do things in own way and not to be 17 – 20 years 43 19.5
constrained by the rules of an organization 21 – 24 years 162 73.6
An employer who will provide security through 25 – 28 years 4 1.8
guaranteed work, benefits, a good retirement 29 – 32 years 6 2.7
program 33 yrs and above 5 2.3
Working on problems that are almost insoluble Year of Study
Remaining in specialized area as opposed to being 1 42 19.1
promoted out of area of expertise 2 48 21.8
To be in charge of a whole organization 3 79 35.9
A career that is free from organization restrictions 4 51 23.2
An organization that will give long-run stability
Using skills to make the world a better place to live Measures
and work in The questionnaire used in this study consisted of the
Developing a career that permits to continue to career orientation items shown in Table 1 , which used
pursue own life-style a five-point Likert scale (1= very important, 5 = not
Building a new business enterprise important at all) and the demographic variables shown
Remaining in area of expertise throughout career in Table 2.
To rise to a high position in general management
Remaining in one geographical area rather than RESULTS
moving because of a promotion Reliability analysis
Being able to use skills and talents in the service of Reliability analysis was performed to assess the
an important cause internal consistency of the items used in the career
The only real challenge is to be able to confront and orientations measure. The Cronbach’s alpha score of
solve tough problems 0.82 shows that the scale demonstrates an acceptable
Always on the lookout for ideas that would provide level of internal consistency.
opportunities for starting own enterprise
It is important to remain in one’s present Exploratory Factor Analysis
geographical location than to receive a promotion or Exploratory factor analysis, using varimax rotation
new job assignment in another location was conducted to examine the factor structure of the
A career is worthwhile only if it enables one to lead Ria and Baroudi short-form measure of career
life in one’s own way orientations. The seven-factor solution explains about
Will accept a management position only if it is in 57% of the total variance. Items with low factor
own area of expertise loadings were excluded from further analyses.
Do not want to be constrained by either an
organization or the business world
Prefer a career in which can be committed and
devoted to an important cause
Feel successful only if constantly challenged by a
tough problem or a competitive situation
Choosing and maintaining a certain life-style is more
important than is career success
Always wanted to start and build up own business

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TABLE 3 REFERENCES
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[3] Gerbera, M., Wittekind, A., Grote, G., &
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[4] Ria, M., & Baroudi, J. A Short-Form
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Measure of Career Orientations: A Psychometric
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[6] Schein, E.H. How career anchors hold
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12 .62
13 .75
6 .60

1. Service
2. Entrepreneurship
3. Geographical Stability
4. Challenge
5. Freedom
6. Technical Competence
7. Managerial Competence

CONCLUSIONS
This paper reports a preliminary psychometric
assessment of the short-form measure of career
orientations. The findings indicate that the measure of
career orientations by Ria and Baroudi has acceptable
psychometric properties for use in a Malaysian
context. Further validation studies, for example by
using confirmatory factor analysis, need to be
conducted in order to ascertain its proposed
dimensions.

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