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• Article | Kauffman Foundation Research Report | Forthcoming

  How the Disciple became the Guru: Is it time for the U.S. to learn workforce development from former disciple India?

  Vivek Wadhwa, Una Kim de Vitton and Gary Gereffi

  They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In the '90s, India's Information Technology (IT) industry learned to compensate for the country's weak infrastructure and developed competencies that helped it become a top global player. Now several industries, including IT, have learned to overcome another major deficiency: India's education system. They have adapted and perfected western practices in workforce training and development, and now take workers with poor education and weak technical skills and turn them into highly productive technical specialists and managers able to compete on the world stage.
  
  This paper is based on detailed interviews with the CEOs, HR executives, R&D managers, and employees of 24 leading companies in rapidly growing sectors in India. We present an overview of their best practices in recruiting, training, managerial development, and employee retention. We conclude that out of necessity - because of educational weaknesses; skills shortages; competition for top talent; turnover; and rising salaries - leading businesses in India have developed highly advanced, innovative practices and that these are allowing industries in India to become globally competitive and grow rapidly.
  
  Workforce development has become a strategic priority for many corporations in India and a central occupation of their executives. The human-resource function of such companies has correspondingly increased in importance, shifting from support to a key strategic role. The results are evident in their ability to cultivate and retain workers and in the remarkable growth rates they are achieving.
  
  The lesson that the U.S. and other countries facing increased global competition can learn is that workforce training and development may be essential to maintaining a competitive edge.

  Keywords: Information Technology; Infrastructure; Human Resources; Education; Training; Competition; Information Technology Industry; United States; India;

  Citation:

  Wadhwa, Vivek, Una Kim de Vitton, and Gary Gereffi. "How the Disciple became the Guru: Is it time for the U.S. to learn workforce development from former disciple India?" Kauffman Foundation Research Report (forthcoming).

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• Other Unpublished Work | 2008

  Punctuated Identities and the Careers of Professional Women

  Una Kim de Vitton

  This paper proposes a punctuated equilibrium model of identity change to explain how professional women’s career goals and attitudes can change rapidly and dramatically during mid-career years.  Data collected from interviews of 43 women alumni of an elite business school explain how highly career-oriented women face considerable role strains due to demanding careers and gendered definitions of success in professional and family spheres.  Threshold events can upset the precarious equilibrium women’s professional identities maintain in the face of these strains, leading women to make consequential career decisions under conditions of identity disequilibrium.  Such career decisions are often short-term coping strategies taken with little foresight or planning.  However, modifications to professional roles taken as temporary measures to reduce identity conflict frequently take on permanency as these roles become entrenched and identities are reconstructed around new role configurations.  Modified identities drive shifts in priorities and goals and changes to career commitment and ambitions.  Women’s disinvestment from professional careers can be seen as the response to role strain and identity conflict rather than the result of strategic decision-making.  Differences in career commitment and attitudes between professional women who have remained on and who have left professional career tracks can be understood as the result of, rather than the driver of, such career decisions.

  Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Gender Characteristics; Identity; Work-Life Balance; Decision Choices and Conditions;

  Citation:

  Kim de Vitton, Una. "Punctuated Identities and the Careers of Professional Women." 2008.

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• Conference Presentation | 2008 - 2008

  Punctuated Identities and the Career Transitions of Professional Women

  Una Kim de Vitton

  Citation:

  Kim de Vitton, Una. "Punctuated Identities and the Career Transitions of Professional Women." Paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA, 2008. (Nominated for Arnon E. Reichers Best Student Paper Award presented by Academy of Management.)

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