Journal of Career Development, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2001

The Role of Mentoring Support and Self-Management Strategies on Reported Career Outcomes Susan E. Murphy Claremont McKenna College Ellen A. Ensher Loyola Marymount University

This study examined the contribution of self-management strategies to job outcomes for employees involved in mentoring relationships. Participants (n = 158) reported their use of three types of self-management strategies, the level of support functions provided by their mentors, and their job satisfaction and perceived career success. Results showed that individuals who used selfset career goals reported greater job satisfaction and perceived career success; those who engaged in positive cognitions also had higher job satisfaction; and those who used behavioral self-management strategies reported greater perceived career success. Mentoring and self-management strategies each contributed uniquely to satisfaction and perceived career satisfaction. After controlling for amount of instrumental support provided by the mentors, positive cognitions remained predictive of perceived career success, and participation in self-set career goals were related to higher levels of job satisfaction. Moderator analysis showed that the self-management strategies appeared to be useful in the absence of certain types of mentor support. KEY WORDS: mentoring; self-management; careers; mentor support functions.

Recently, employees have seen a rapid shift in the locus of responsibility for career success. In both popular and empirical literature, employees are encouraged to take charge of their careers and developPortions of this study were based on the second author’s dissertation. We thank the Kravis Leadership Institute for partial funding of this work. Address correspondence to Susan E. Murphy, 850 Columbia Ave., Claremont, CA 91711; e-mail [email protected]. 229 0894-8453/01/0600-0229$19.50/0  2001 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

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mental needs to meet the challenges of today’s continually changing work environment (Bridges, 1995; Hakim, 1994; Mittner, 1998). Lower job security in turn, leaves employees with the onus for their own career development (Bridges, 1997). As noted by Sullivan (1999), employees exchange their work efforts for continuous learning and marketability, rather than for job security. Furthermore, Martin, Staines, and Pate (1998) argue that part of the “new deal” being offered by employers includes less job security and requires that employees “adjust to their perceptions of jobs insecurity and feelings of powerlessness by engaging in transaction form of relationships, through seeking to acquire more skills to make themselves more employable” (p. 21). In fact past research suggested that in general, the extent to which employees or involved in their job or career development is related to how well they perform in their job (Noe & Schmitt, 1986). Other responses to these new career challenges have been captured in the formation of new models of career development. According to Arthur and Rousseau (1996), many employees experience what they term the “boundaryless” career. While the boundaryless career has many different features and forms, the defining dimension of this career “is independence from, rather than dependence on, traditional organizational career arrangements” (p. 6). Some examples of how this independence is manifested include easy movement to separate employers as is found with stereotypical Silicon Valley employees; easy movement that occurs when the employee draws validation and marketability from outside a present employer as might academics or carpenters; or a career that relies on external networks such as real estate agents (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Another manifestation of this independence comes when traditional organizational career boundaries, such as those involved in reporting relationships or advancement principles, are broken. In a boundaryless career then, employees attempt to advance their careers through whatever means necessary as they find traditional organizational principles do not apply. In the current study, we examined two methods by which employees can take increased responsibilities for their career outcomes. These methods include utilizing self-management strategies and involving oneself in a mentoring relationship. Self Management and Job Outcomes Career development requires the use of many self-regulatory processes in order to engage in specific, useful career enhancing behav-

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iors. Manz and Sims (1989) highlight the importance of both the monitoring and management of a person’s own behaviors for effective work place behavior. Specifically, these self-managing skills include selfproblem assessment, self-goal setting, self-rehearsal, self-observation and evaluation, and self-reinforcement and/or punishment (Manz & Sims, 1984). Collectively these skills are called self-management and refer to an individual taking responsibility for the managerial aspects of his or her job (Manz & Sims, 1980). Direct application of self-management in organizational functioning has been examined in the context of self-management strategies for reducing absenteeism (Frayne & Latham, 1987; Latham & Frayne, 1989); as a method for socializing newcomers to organizations (Saks & Ashforth, 1996); as an effective leader behavior strategy (Manz & Sims, 1989); and as a method that contributes to team effectiveness (Cohen, Chang, & Ledford, 1997; Uhl-Bien & Graen, 1998). Furthermore, self management has been suggested as a strategy for obtaining career objectives (Wexley & Latham, 1991). The potential application of self-management to organizational behavior was offered by Luthans and Davis (1979) a number of years ago as an important tool for management effectiveness. Self-management has its roots in many theories of behavioral change (Hellervik, Hazucha, & Schneider, 1992) These include organizational behavior modification (e.g., Komaki, 1986; Luthans & Kreitner, 1985); social learning theory (Bandura, 1977); and self-regulation theory (e.g., Kanfer & Kanfer 1991). Moreover specific self-management techniques such as the use of self-set goals have been found to be effective methods for behavior change within the larger context of goal-setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990). The use of self-set goals also requires a number of other related concepts of personal agency. According to Bandura (1997), the individual must engage in self-monitoring, in which they attend to their own behavior. They also must self evaluate by judging the discrepancy between their current behavior and their accepted behavioral standards. Finally they engage in self reactions in which they respond to their self-evaluations both affectively and by changing self-efficacy standards (Bandura, 1997). Therefore, in addition to the use of self-set goals, individuals engaged in self-management must actively observe their own behavior. A final important component of self-management is the use of positive cognitions. This class of cognitive strategies includes self-talk, mental imagery, and a focus on positive beliefs and assumptions to engage in constructive thought patterns. These strate-

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gies have often been used in sports psychology (see for example Kendall, Hrycaiko, Martin, & Kendall, 1990) and have more recently been investigated in the context of self-leadership (Manz & Neck, 1991; Neck & Manz, 1992). Self-leadership is a distinct concept from selfmanagement in that it focuses on setting and understanding the rationale behind one’s own standards, not merely meeting standards. Self-leadership has been argued to be a higher form of self-management because it includes this component of thought self leadership (Manz & Sims, 1980). The use of positive cognitions in self-leadership has been referred to as thought self-leadership and is defined as influencing oneself by controlling one’s thoughts (Manz & Neck, 1991; Neck & Manz, 1992). Neck and Manz (1996) found that individuals who were trained in the use of positive cognitions “experienced increased mental performance, positive affect, job satisfaction, and decreased negative affect relative to those who did not receive the training” (p. 445). Therefore, positive thought appears to be another important method for increasing work performance and career progression.

Mentoring Relationships and Career Outcomes In addition to self-management strategies, a valuable tool to enhance career growth is the presence of a mentoring relationship. A mentor is often defined as a person a few levels ahead either in a career or the organization that lends support to a younger, less experienced person. Employees in mentoring relationships receive more in the way of promotions, salary increases, and have higher levels of career satisfaction (Chao, Walz, & Gardner, 1992; Kram, 1985; Turban & Dougherty, 1994; Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991) than their counterparts not in mentoring relationships. In addition, mentoring relationships are an important method of management development and succession planning (Kram & Hall, 1996, Zey, 1984). Not all mentoring relationships, however, are equally effective. Mentoring relationships can differ in the degree and manner in which the mentor provides support to the prote´ge´. The type of support provided can take many different forms, but has often been classified into three types (Noe, 1988; Scandura, 1992). The first, often referred to as career or vocational support, describes the type of support that a mentor provides to directly enhance the prote´ge´’s career. A second type of support, psychosocial, refers to the type of support is more

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along the lines of friendship and helping counsel the prote´ge´ in how to deal with difficult situations. The last type of support, role modeling, refers to the extent to which the mentor serves as a role model and that the prote´ge´ will try to emulate the behavior of his or her mentor. Research suggests that different forms of mentoring relationships (formal vs. informal) differ in the degree to which they support functions are provided. For example, Chao, Walz, and Gardner (1992) found that prote´ge´s had higher levels of job satisfaction when their mentors provided high levels of career-related (vocational) functions and this was more likely to occur in informal relationships than in formal, assigned relationships. Together self-management strategies and the presence of a mentor could have very powerful effects on an individual’s career. Moreover, specific types of mentoring support in conjunction with self-management strategies may result in better outcomes than either strategy alone. For example, those who have a mentor and engage in self-management strategies, either as a result of the mentor’s encouragement, or under their own initiative, should report better job outcomes than those who do not have a mentor nor engage in self-management strategies. The present study examines how mentoring functions interact with three types of self-management strategies to lead to positive job outcomes. Therefore, the following hypotheses are suggested: Hypothesis 1: The use of self-management strategies will be related to job outcomes such as job satisfaction, and perceived career success. Hypothesis 2: Mentoring will augment the effects of self-management strategies. Prote´ge´s who engage in self-management strategies and have mentors who provide a high level of mentoring support would have more positive job outcomes than those who only engage in self-management strategies. The second manner in which mentoring may interact with self-management strategies is that those employees with positive mentoring relationships may engage in fewer self-management behaviors because mentoring helps them manage their careers, and therefore, selfmanagement strategies become unnecessary. Alternatively, those employees with mentors who provide little in the way of mentoring support, may find that self-management strategies are critical and take the place of a poor mentor. This second idea is similar to what was

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found in a recent analysis of “substitutes for career-oriented mentoring” presented by Dreher and Dougherty (1997, 1999). Their data suggest that organizational factors, such as policies and structure, can help reduce the need for mentors in organizations. In the leadership literature, self-management has been offered as a substitute for leadership (Manz & Sims, 1980). In this same manner, the extent to which prote´ge´s engage in career self-management strategies may substitute for effective mentoring relationships. Hypothesis 3: Mentoring experiences will moderate the relationship between the use of self-management strategies and job outcomes. Specifically those prote´ge´s who report low support functions from their mentors, will report better job outcomes when they engage in self-management strategies. Those in high support relationships will report even more positive outcomes than those in low support relationships.

Method Participants and Procedures A total of 158 participants in mentoring relationships from a westcoast media organization (n = 133) and school district (n = 25) in a major metropolitan area participated in this study. Gender composition of the sample was 46% male and 54% female. A large percentage (45%) of participants indicated that their age was in the range of 31 to 40, while 33% indicated 41 to 50. Data were collected from prote´ge´s through written questionnaires sent to their offices through U.S. mail. Two weeks following the initial mailing, a second letter was sent to prote´ge´s, followed two weeks later by a postcard to remind prote´ge´s to complete their surveys. The response rate was 51%. Measures Mentor support. Participants were asked to categorize their most influential mentor into one of three categories (Darling, 1986), and instructed to respond to all questionnaire items bearing in mind their most influential mentor. Scandura and Katerberg’s (Scandura, 1992)

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18-item Mentor Functions Questionnaire (MFQ) was used to measure three types of mentor support, vocational, psychosocial, and role modeling. Vocational/instrumental support was measured with eight items and included items such as, “My mentor has taken a personal interest in my career.” The Cronbach’s alpha for this subscale was .91. Role modeling, was measured with seven items including such items as, “I try to model my behavior after my mentor” and had a Cronbach’s alpha = .81. Psychosocial support included 3 items such as, “I have shared personal problems with my mentor” with a Cronbach’s alpha = .83. Respondents indicated level of agreement on a 5-point scale with strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Each of the three scales had sound reliability with Cronbach’s alphas corresponding to those found in previous research (Scandura, 1992). Perceived career success. This was measured using Greenhaus, Parasuraman, and Wormley (1990) five-item scale. These items were scaled from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) and were summed to form a composite with a Cronbach’s alpha = .83. Job satisfaction. This was measured by four items from the job dissatisfaction scale from the Job Content Questionnaire (Karasek & Theorell, 1985) and summed to form a composite with a Cronbach’s alpha = .77. These items were reverse coded so that higher scores represented higher levels of job satisfaction and were standardized to alleviate scaling inconsistencies. Self-management strategies. Participants indicated the extent to which they engaged in three types of self-management strategies on a five-point Likert scale. These ratings included the use of positive cognitions, self-set goals, and behavioral self-observation strategies. These scales were developed based on Manz and Sims (1986) components of self-management and similar scales used by Uhl-Bien and Graen (1998). The first scale measuring positive cognitions, with a Cronbach’s alpha = .71, contained the three items “I usually make an effort to think positively”; “When I have negative or self-defeating thoughts, I try to change them to positive thoughts”; and “Visualizing success in the future helps me to meet my goals.” The scale items for self-set career goals included “I have a definite plan for my future”; and “I reward myself for accomplishing goals” and resulted in a Cronbach’s alpha of .68. The final scale, the use of behavioral observation included the following two items: “I observe how effective my behavior

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is at work,” and “I reflect on how my behavior affects various situations and other people around me.” The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was equal to .80.

Results The comparability of the sample from the two organizations was tested with a discriminant analysis on the variables of mentor support (vocational, psychosocial, and role modeling) and satisfaction. There was no indication of a meaningful difference between the two samples on these variables (χ2 = 1.79, 4df, n = 142, p = .77), therefore, data were pooled from the two organizations. Table 1 contains the intercorrelations between self-management strategies, mentor functions, and outcome variables for the combined samples. All self-management strategies were significantly correlated with one another. Self-management and rated mentoring were also related, but the correlations were relatively low in magnitude. Mentoring functions were related to subjective measures of work place career satisfaction. Instrumental support functions were related to job satisfaction (r = .23, p < .01) and perceived career success (r = .32, p < .01). Relationship of Self-Management Strategies to Employee Outcomes Hypothesis 1 stated that self-management strategies would be related to employee outcomes including perceived career success, and job satisfaction. Correlations in Table 1 show that employees who self set goals reported higher levels of job satisfaction and perceived career success (r (n = 158) = .18, p < .05 and r = .24, p < .01 respectively) than those less likely to self set goals. In addition, positive cognitions were related to ratings of job satisfaction (r = .21, p < .01), but not related to perceived career success. Behavioral self-management strategies, however, were only related to perceived career success (r = .24, p < .01). For hypothesis one, stepwise regression equations examined the relative contribution of positive cognitions, behavioral self-management strategies, and goal setting on measures of perceived career success and job satisfaction. Only positive cognitions were related to job satisfaction as shown in the bivariate correlations (r = .21, p < .01). However as predicted, both goal behaviors and behavioral self-manage-

Self-Management Strategies 1. Self Set Career Goals 2. Behavioral Strategies 3. Positive Cognitions Job Outcomes 4. Job Satisfaction 5. Perceived Career Success Mentoring Support Functions 6. Instrumental 7. Psychosocial 8. Role Modeling

1

2

3

4

5

— .31*** .41***

— .24**

—

.18* .24**

.12 .22**

.21** .09

— .52***

—

.18* .22** .18*

.21** .02 .26**

.02 .04 .02

.23** .11 .06

.32*** −.03 .13

6

7

8

— .28*** .58***

— .25**

—

Susan E. Murphy and Ellen A. Ensher

Table 1 Intercorrelations Among Variables

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001; n’s range from 140 to 158.

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ment strategies uniquely contributed to perceived career success (R2 = .08 for the total model with F (2, 155) = 6.97, p < .001). The use of selfset career goals predicted a significant amount of variance in perceived career success (R2 change = .06, F(1, 156) = 9.85, p < .01), followed by behavioral self management (R2 change = .02, F(1, 155) = 3.91, p = .05). Hypothesis two stated that both mentoring functions and self-management strategies would contribute to satisfaction and perceived career satisfaction. In order to test this hypothesis both hierarchical and stepwise regression was used in separate equations for the two outcome variables only for instrumental mentoring because psychosocial and role modeling were not related to outcomes. We entered instrumental mentoring functions into the regression equation, and then allowed the three self-management strategies to enter stepwise. After the significant effect for instrumental support on job satisfaction (as shown in the bivariate correlation r = .24, p < .05), the amount of positive cognitions contributed significantly to job satisfaction (R2 change = .05, with F (1, 155) = 7.98, p < .01). For perceived career success, after instrumental support was entered, the extent to which employees participated in self-set career goals predicted a significant amount of variance in perceived career success (R2 change = .04, with F (1, 155) = 6.38, p < .05). Moderating Effects of Mentoring on the Relationship of Self Management to Positive Work Outcomes Analysis strategy. To test hypothesis three a series of moderated regressions were used to identify the moderating effects of mentoring functions on the relationship between prote´ ge´ ’s self-management strategies and employee outcomes. Rather than combining all of the mentoring functions to examine overall perceptions of mentor effectiveness, we analyzed the relationship of self-management strategies to outcomes for each mentor function separately. We used this strategy because we hypothesized that different self-management strategies would each play a unique role in contributing to the relationship between self-management strategies and workplace outcomes. Finally within each set of analyses for mentoring functions, we conducted a median split on each of the mentor functions to examine the pattern of contribution within high and low mentor functioning with respect to self-management strategies on job satisfaction and perceived career success.

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Instrumental mentoring and job satisfaction and perceived career success. With respect to job satisfaction, those employees who reported high instrumental relationships were more likely to be satisfied with their job if they engaged in positive cognitions (R2 = .06, F(1, 79) = 5.12, p < .05), but there was no relationship between self-management strategies for prote´ ge´ s reporting low instrumental relationships. Perceptions of career success were related to self-management strategy of self set goals when instrumental support was low (R2 = .07, F(1, 75) = 5.90, p < .05), but there was no relationship of self-set goals to career success in high instrumental mentoring relationships (r = .07, ns). In other words, the strategy of setting goals helped an employee in his or her career in the absence of mentor instrumental functions in the mentoring relationship. Psychosocial mentoring and job satisfaction and perceived career success. Employee ratings of mentor psychosocial support were split at the median to allow analysis of those receiving relatively more and relatively less psychosocial support from their mentors. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that employees whose mentors provided high levels of psychosocial support reported higher levels of career satisfaction when they used self set goals (R2 = .11, F(1, 66) = 8.25, p < .01). When mentors provided little in the way of psychosocial support, the more employees engaged in positive cognitions; the higher was their job satisfaction (R2 = .08, F(1, 88) = 8.12, p < .01). In the face of low psychosocial support, none of the self-management strategies contributed to perceived career success. Role modeling and job satisfaction and perceived career success. A median split on role modeling scores was used to divide groups into relative higher or lower role modeling functions. Hierarchical regression results showed that those prote´ ge´ s who reported that their mentors provided more role modeling, were more likely to have a positive relationship between the amount of behavioral strategies they used on the job and their perceived career satisfaction than those who reported little role modeling behavior (R2 = .14, F(1, 64) = 10,78, p < .01). In addition those who were in mentoring relationships characterized by more role modeling, resulted in a stronger relationship between selfset career goals and higher job satisfaction (R2 = .09, F(1, 64) = 6.50, p < .05). Prote´ ge´ s in relationships in which mentors provided less in the way of role modeling perceived themselves as successful in their careers only when they used self-set goals (R2 = .08, F(1, 90) = 7.36,

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p < .01). No self-management strategy was related to ratings of job satisfaction if mentors provided no role modeling.

Discussion This study investigated the relationship of self-management strategies and mentor functions with job satisfaction and perceived career success for a group of employees in spontaneously developed mentoring relationships. As suggested by hypothesis one, self-management strategies were related to each job outcome, but in slightly different ways. Employees who were more likely to use self-set career goals in their careers reported higher levels of job satisfaction and perceived career success than those less likely to use self-set career goals. The use of positive cognitions was related to ratings of job satisfaction, conversely the use of behavioral self-management strategies was related to perceived career success. The three strategies analyzed simultaneously showed that only the use of positive cognitions was uniquely related to job satisfaction. However, both the use of self-set career goals and behavioral self-management strategies were significant contributors to perceived career success. The results of the study also revealed that mentoring support and self-management strategies contributed separately and uniquely to satisfaction and perceived career satisfaction. With respect to the contribution of mentoring functions, though, only instrumental/vocational support was positively related to job satisfaction and perceived career success. Individuals who reported high levels of psychosocial and role modeling support, however, did not report higher levels of job satisfaction, nor perceived career success. Examining both instrumental mentor support and self-management strategies simultaneously showed an independent effect for self-management strategies above and beyond what mentor support contributed. After controlling for the amount of instrumental support provided by the mentors, prote´ ge´ s’ use of positive cognitions predicted perceived career success, and participation in self-set career goals predicted higher levels of job satisfaction. These results indicate that while mentoring may be a powerful tool in job outcomes, self-management strategies also are useful for promoting positive job outcomes. Of special interest were the moderating effects of the nature of the mentoring relationships on the use of self-management strategies. A number of interesting relationships were discovered. As mentioned

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previously, instrumental support was related to both types of job outcomes, but when we examined different levels of instrumental mentoring support we found that employees who reported high instrumental relationships were more likely to be satisfied with their job if they engaged in positive cognitions. In the absence of high quality instrumental mentoring, employees who used self-set career goals had higher levels of perceived career success. None of the self-management strategies, however, contributed to job satisfaction. Therefore, self-set career goals helped raise an employee’s perceived career success in the absence of mentor vocational functions in the mentoring relationship. Employees whose mentors provided high levels of psychosocial support reported higher levels of career satisfaction when they used selfset goals and higher levels of job satisfaction when they used positive cognitions. When psychosocial support was low, the more employees engaged in positive cognitions, the higher their job satisfaction but no self-management strategies contributed to perceived career success. For prote´ ge´ s who received relatively more role modeling, using behavioral observational strategies resulted in more perceived career satisfaction, but not for those receiving less role modeling. There was also a strong relationship between self-set career goals and high job satisfaction. Prote´ ge´ s in relationships in which mentors provided less in the way of role modeling perceived themselves as successful in their careers only when they used self-set career goals. No self-management strategy was related to ratings of job satisfaction if mentors provided no role modeling. Implications The current study contributed to the literature on self-management, mentoring, and careers in two ways. First, we showed an independent effect of self-management on different types of career affective outcomes. In the past, self-management strategies have been shown to be related to group outcomes such as work team effectiveness (UhlBien & Graen, 1998) or to specific individual outcomes such as increased attendance (Frayne & Latham, 1987). Second, it appears that mentoring and self-management strategies used together may provide important benefits for employees. Employees who were mentored effectively and also used self-management strategies reported high levels of job satisfaction and perceived career success. The most important contribution of this research is in its integra-

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tive approach to self-management and mentoring, which heretofore has not been addressed. These results suggest that in some respects self-management, in particular self-goal setting, can assuage the deleterious effects of ineffective vocational mentoring on employees’ career perceptions. The positive effects of mentoring (Dreher & Cox, 1996) and more recently, the negative aspects of mentoring (Scandura, 1998) have been well documented, however, in today’s fast-paced and mobile work environment not every employee can secure a high-quality mentor. Therefore, if employees can learn how to positively manage their own careers by using self-management strategies, they will likely have greater career satisfaction and success. The good news for organizational practitioners is that employees have been successfully trained to use self-management in a wide variety of settings. Providing self-management training to would-be prote´ ge´ s and mentors would be an excellent way for organizations to increase their human potential. An unanswered question in this research remains. What role do mentors play in helping employees develop self-management strategies? Mentors may have directly encouraged self-management strategies. In the leadership literature, Manz and Sim’s (1987) argue that what leaders do to encourage self-leadership is important for the effectiveness of self-managing teams. Therefore, an additional unexplored mentor function may be the extent to which mentors actually encourage self-management strategies. More effective mentors may encourage their prote´ ge´ s to engage in these types of strategies, which in turn, results in better prote´ ge´ outcomes. These strategies may become even more important in the context of the new employee contract and work to steer an employee’s career in the absence of typical training and development opportunities. An alternative explanation for the relationship between self-management and mentor functions lies in the prote´ ge´ ’s own behavior. It may be that individuals who already engaged in self-management strategies had better workplace performance, and in turn more positive relationships with their mentors. In one study, Fagenson (1992) found that need for power and need for achievement was higher among prote´ ge´ s than non prote´ ge´ s. Individuals who are better able to attract a mentor may have a different constellations of skills that both contribute to performance and are more likely to lead to self-management. Markham and Markham (1995) in examining the related concept of self-leadership, ask whether self-management is an enduring

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personality trait or a learnable skill. Therefore, future research should examine attempt to answer these questions.

Study Limitations and Conclusions One limitation of the current research is that it relied exclusively on employee self-report, and therefore may be subject to single source and mono-method bias, as well as social desirability. Although previous research has used self-ratings of self-management strategies (e.g., Uhl-Bien & Graen, 1998), future research should take into account sources other than self-ratings of self-management strategies. For example, mentors may be in the position to provide ratings as to how well their prote´ ge´ s use these strategies. Future research should include additional aspects of self-management. This study investigated only three, whereas research by Manz and Sims (1987, 1989) and UhlBien and Graen (1998) included additional strategies. In addition, other more objective outcome variables, such as salary, promotions that have been used in previous research should be considered in future studies rather than relying on attitudinal variables of job satisfaction and perceived career success. Other potential weaknesses of the present study come from characteristics of the sample. Participants represented those who chose to respond to a survey about work experiences. While the response rate was good (51%), it may have been that those individuals not involved in any type of mentoring relationships chose not to participate in the study. The self-management experiences of those individuals with no mentoring relationships may be quite different than those involved in mentoring relationship. Even with these self-selection biases, however, the sample itself represented a diverse mix of individuals. More than half of the participants indicated that they were non-Caucasian and also non-professional employees. Therefore, the findings of the present study may generalize to a larger population than does past mentoring research. In conclusion, this study provides additional information about the importance of informal mentoring relationships as well as the importance of self-management strategies in affecting employee attitudinal outcomes. The moderator relationship of mentoring functions and selfmanagement strategies suggest that self-management strategies may serve to counteract the effects of a weak mentor. Self-management will continue to be an important strategy for many different work be-

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haviors in today’s competitive work environment and needs to be examined closely by future researchers.

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