The aim of the present study was to compare the values and achievement motivation of managerial and non-managerial female employees within the banking industry in South Africa.This research investigation was primarily aimed at determining whether there is a difference between these two groups in terms of their values and their achievement motivation and, if there is such a difference, whether this is a key to an understanding of upward mobility in women. One hundred and twenty-one female subjects were selected from four different financial institutions in the banking industry to participate in the project. The Values Questionnaire and the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire were administered to the subjects under controlled conditions. The values include sense of belonging, security, self-respect, warm relationships with others, fun and enjoyment in life, being well respected, sense of accomplishment, self-fulfilment and excitement. The achievement motivation factors include goal directedness which comprises persistence, awareness of time and action orientation, and personal excellence comprising aspiration level and personal causation. After the data was statistically analysed using intercorrelation, a number of significant relationships were found between the values for the total sample, the managerial and the non-managerial subject group, and between the achievement motivation factors for each of these three groups. When the t-test was applied, no significant differences were found between the managerial and the non-managerial groups in terms of their values, but when considering their achievement motivation, a significant difference emerged in terms of aspiration level. Correlations revealed a number of significant relationships between the values and the achievement motivation factors for both the managerial and the non-managerial subjects. Finally, using analysis of variance (ANOVA), significant relationships were found between a number of the biographical variables and the values both of the managerial and the non-managerial groups, and between the biographical variables and the achievement motivation both of the managerial and the non-managerial groups. Various tentative explanations for these findings have been provided.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1995.