Dianne Bown-Wilson
BA CMI DipM MRes
Organisation Studies,
Cranfield School of Management
Qualifications
BA (psychology), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
CMI DipM (Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing)
MRes, Cranfield School of Management
Background
After a career spent largely in marketing and general management roles – employed and consultancy- I now work with employers, older workers and policy makers on a rangeof age management issues and research into later life working. Greller and Stroh (2004) said ‘we do a better job of managing industrial scrap than we do of managing the careers of older workers’. My aim is to help address this situation.
Research Topic
Motivation for career progression in older UK managers
Research Issue
What motivates older managers when objective rewards such as pay and promotion no longer may be available? What changes, if any, take place in managers’ motivation over time? How, if at all, does this differ by gender?
Sector
Private sector
Research Methods
Semi-structured interviews with individual older managers; template analysis using NVivo software.
Theoretical Perspective
Constructivist phenomenological approach using London’s career motivation framework.
Why I Chose Cranfield
Cranfield has a superb, world class reputation as a university and business school. However, it is their focus on research into action and the drive to see practical outcomes from academic advancement that really sets it apart. Since I have been here, it has entirely lived up to my expectations; I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Published Papers
Bown-Wilson, D. (2010), The role of age in career progression: motivation and barriers to fulfilment in older employees, Parry. E. and Tyson, S. (eds) Managing an Age Diverse Workforce, Palgrave Macmillan.
Bown-Wilson, D. and Parry, E. (2009), Career Plateauing in Older Workers, Baugh, S.G. and Sullivan, S.E. (eds) Maintaining focus, energy and options over the career. Information Age Publishing, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina.
Parry, E. and Bown-Wilson, D. (2010), Change at Any Age, Employers Forum on Age Research Report.
Bown-Wilson, D. (2010), What’s left to do: motivation for career progression in older women managers, Gender Work and Organization Conference, Keele.
Bown-Wilson, D. (2009), Older managers’ motivation for career progression: individual drivers and gender-related differences, Graduate Conference on Social Sciences and Management, Bradford – 3rd prize winner: best paper.
Bown-Wilson, D. (2008), Career progression in older UK managers: A comparison of male and female conceptions. European Doctoral Programmes Association in Management and Business Administration Conference (EDAMBA).
Bown-Wilson, D. (2008) Career plateauing in older managers: A systematic literature review. MRes dissertation.