The purpose of this study is to explore the possible influence of women’s entrepreneurial orientations (EO) on their decision to opt out from organizational careers to self-employment. It examines how women account for these transitions, reasons for opting for self-employment and experiences of self-employment. This research employs the qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews as the main data collection tool. The study revealed that the entrepreneurial orientations of the women under study are commonly associated with the generally successful entrepreneurial behaviour of risk-taking, creative, proactive, competitive, aggressive and confidence. This suggests that enterprises and their women owners may benefit from efforts to
increase their levels of entrepreneurial orientation in order to survive the dynamic, fast-paced and complex business environment characterized by shorter life cycles, globalization, and continuous improvements in technology. Hence for the women under study with higher entrepreneurial orientation levels, their transitions from their organizational career to self-employment or small business ownership are seen as attractive career moves.
The objective of this study is to identify the perceptions of Generation Y employees regarding
work-life balance practices. As increasing numbers of Generation Y enter the workforce,
questions regarding how they perceive work, family and self-related issues, challenges and
coping strategies in balancing personal and professional commitments became issues of interests
for employers. This study uses interviews to collect data from six informants in Generation
Y and the data were analyzed through content analysis. The results indicate that Generation
Y employees do indeed have issues and challenges with balancing work and family.
However, unlike the older generation of employees, Generation Y employees perceive managing
work-life balance only through segmentation or separation strategies. This particular
finding indicates that if organizations want to attract and retain these employees they should
adapt a strategy specifically designed to target this employee group.