The Relevance of Cosmopolitan/Local Orientations to Professional Values and Behavior

Abstract

Two key concepts used by social scientists are cosmopolitanism and localism. Cosmopolitanism, however, has come to be confused with professionalism This confusion can be eliminated by returning the concepts to their original usage to designate outer and inner reference groups. This more restricted definition of cosmopolitanism-localism was used to test the proposition that an orientation combining both cosmopolitan and local characteristics, called here "cosmo-local," is optimal for professionals. The cosmo-local was found more likely than other types to hold professional values and to obtain the autonomy necessary to professionals. The relationship between orientation and one form of professional behavior, expertise-seeking behavior, was found to be conditioned by such variables as career stage, work environment, and primary occupational role. While in a few contexts the cosmopolitan orientation was the most likely to lead to expertise-seeking behavior, the cosmo-local orientation was found to be most sensitive to changes favorable to professional behavior and therefore the most conducive to professionalism.

Cosmopolitans or Locals: Who Will Lead the Next Generation of Community Colleges?

“…Several researchers tested and expanded Gouldner's (1957 and1958) cosmopolitan-local construct (Abrahamson, 1965;Berger & Grimes, 1973;Brumbaugh & Flango, 1973;Friedlander, 1971;Goldberg et al, 1965;Goldberg, 1976;Grimes & Berger, 1970;Rotundi, 1977;Tuma & Grimes, 1981). Several of these research studies were reviewed to explain their contributions to the latent social roles construct.…”

“…A sample (N = 179) of non managerial personnel, engineers and scientists, at an electronics company was used (p. 258). The data were analyzed by examining inter correlations among the variables, divided the scales at their respective median values to obtain high-low distinctions, completed an analysis of variance among the mean scores, and located differences using Scheffe's test (1997) also developed and tested a second four-item scale that emphasized the local dimensions and used research previously completed by Goldberg (1976) and Grimes and Berger (1970). Wright and Larwood (1997) addressed concerns that previous researchers (Cornwall & Grimes, 1987;Tuma & Grimes, 1981) had identified with Gouldner's (1957Gouldner's ( , 1958 cosmopolitan-local latent social roles construct.…”

“…Wright and Larwood's (1997) study addressed the dimensionality of the construct as either uni-dimensionality (Raelin, 1989) or as many as six independent orientations (Grimes & Berger, 1970;Tuma & Grimes, 1981). Wright and Larwood (1997) also addressed measurability concerns with the development of two new scales using Raelin's (1989) eight item inventory for the cosmopolitan dimension, and a four item scale to measure the local dimension using research by Goldberg (1976) and Grimes and Berger (1970).…”

“…Latent social roles are developed based on the individual's background, education and experience. The two most widely recognized latent social roles are those of cosmopolitan and local (Abrahamson, 1965;Berger & Grimes, 1973;Brumbaugh & Flango, 1973;Friedlander, 1971;Goldberg, 1976;Goldberg, Baker, & Rubenstein, 1965;Gouldner, 1957Gouldner, , 1958Grimes & Berger, 1970;Merton, 1957;Rotundi, 1977;Tuma & Grimes, 1981).…”

“…These included faculty (Berger & Grimes, 1973;Flango & Brumbaugh, 1974;Goldberg, 1976;Gouldner, 1957Gouldner, , 1958Tuma & Grimes, 1981); scientists (Abrahamson, 1965;Friedlander, 1971); engineers (Goldberg et al, 1965;Rotundi, 1977); police chiefs (Pursley, 1974); military personnel (Stahl, Manley & McNicols, 1978) and business professionals and managers (Larwood, Wright, Desrochers & Dahir, 1998;Wright & Larwood, 1997). Gouldner's (1957Gouldner's ( , 1958 theory has not been applied to college administrators; perhaps because the assumption has been that they are managers who were committed to the institution and were, therefore, oriented to the organization, or were locals in latent social role orientation.…”