Questions 160

Professors Comments

Good start to your theoretical foundations. You have a lot of work to do to get this theoretical foundations paper in a place where a doctoral committee can work with it.

Please see the comments below.

Theoretical Foundations

It was earlier asserted the theoretical framework is the foundation upon which knowledge is created, and built in the entire process of compiling a research project (Burns, 2000). After carrying out a background study, it was seen there is no formal knowledge relating to how aging professionals transition to the corporate world in North America. Most studies primarily focuses on the impact, and state of aging professionals in various industries without paying special attention to how the group transitions to the corporate world. How do organizations position the transition of aging professionals on the corporate level? This is the primary question which needs to be addressed by the dissertation project. It can be seen there exists a gap when it comes to career development, and progression for aging professionals in corporate society. This gap is best examined by researching theories, which will be used in laying down the theoretical foundation.

Two theories will used as reference sources in this project. Theory One: John Holland’s career typology theory states a career path is mainly influenced by occupational tasks, personality traits, and characteristics (Lytle, Foley & Cotter, 2015). In reference to this theory, one can argue there are factors which drive an aging professional’s career, and a hypothesis can be developed. “Personality traits and occupational tasks and characteristics influence transition to the corporate world for aging professionals,” in this case, transitioning to the corporate world can be taken as the dependent variable while personality traits, occupational tasks and characteristics may be taken as independent variables. In this light, the researcher is able to examine whether there are such factors that influence transitioning to the corporate world in North America.

Theory Two references Ginzberg’s theory that a career is developed and advanced on the premise a career decision is actually carried out over time, and is normally a holistic process (Lytle et al., 2015). From the theory, a second hypothesis can be formulated, “Time and experience influence transitioning to the corporate world for aging professionals.” In such a case, time and experience is used as independent variables while transitioning to the corporate world is used as the dependent variable. Both theories provide the premise the written process is based on.

The above theoretical frameworks provide an illustration of how the research is modeled on established theories, which show that career development in the corporate world is influenced by factors, such as time, personality traits, experience, and occupational tasks. From these analogies, transition to the corporate level is not an automatic process, as it is dependent on various factors. On the other hand, it is imperative to note the research process aims at determining whether there are additional factors that influence transitioning to the corporate level for mature professionals. Doing so allows direct contribution to the theories, and the industry.

Further, theoretical foundation needs to connect to the research questions to align other processes, such as data collection methods and analysis with the primary aim of the research. First, the research aims at answering a general research question, “What factors influence transitioning to the corporate world for aging professionals? In answering the general questions, the following research question is used in guiding the research process, such as data collection methods;

1. Do personality traits and occupational tasks influence transition to the corporate world for aging professionals?

2. Do time and experience influence transition to the corporate world for the aging professionals?

3. What additional observable factors influence transition to the corporate world?

Research questions stem from theoretical foundations, so researchers are able to meet the requirements, and attain the overall aim. It can be argued theoretical foundations are central to the entire research process, because it provides the exact need to answering research questions, and testing the hypothesis.

For this study, it is imperative to point out qualitative approaches are applied. The process of answering the research questions and in-depth interviews will be conducted while involving targeted respondents. The third research question uses direct observation made while assessing how various organizations ensure that aging professionals transition within the corporate level. The research also aims at determining whether various organizations are actually employing uniform measures.

Conclusion

Essentially, theoretical foundation connects with other sections, such as research problem , methodology, research questions, and hypothesis (Burns, 2000). The foundation acts as a guide to the researcher, which allows one to align the processes with the overall aim of the research study. On the other hand, it allows researchers to collect data that addresses the research questions, and tests the formulated hypothesis.

References

Lytle, M., Foley, P. F., & Cotter, E. W. (2015). Career and Retirement Theories: Relevance for Older Workers Across Cultures. Journal of Career Development 42(3), 185-198.

Burns, R. B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. New York, NY: SAGE Publications Ltd.

�This section needs to be greatly expanded in detail.

�Good start with the research questions.

�10% of this paper was supposed to be about the Problem statement. This is the only mention of it in the conclusion, but the actual problem statement is missing.