Public Administration Directed Research
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/17200
Browse
Browsing Public Administration Directed Research by Author "Alexander, Samantha"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Female City Managers in Texas: A Content Analysis of Resumes to Identify Successful Career Path Trends(2015-12) Alexander, Samantha; Shields, Patricia M.; Farmer, Jayce; Reyes, StephanieThis research study describes the career paths most often taken by currently serving (October 2015) female city managers in Texas. City management career paths can be classified into four categories: Long Servers, Ladder Climbers, Lateral Movers, and Single-City Careerists (Watson & Hassett, 2004a). This study identifies 64 female city managers in Texas, 41 of whom submitted their resumes to be included in this study. A content analysis was performed on their resumes in order to classify their career paths. The “traditional” career path to becoming city manager is ladder climbing; one works her way up in one city and then moves to another city for a more prestigious position, and continues this pattern until becoming city manager. This study’s results indicate that most female city managers in Texas are not Ladder Climbers. Rather, they are classified as Single-City Careerists; they serve in small to medium-sized cities and work their way up in one municipal organization until they obtain the city manager position.Item The Role of Women Legislative Staff in the Texas Legislature(2016-05) Tillis, Chasity; Rangarajan, Nandhini; DeSoto, William; Alexander, SamanthaPurpose: There is a considerable amount of research on women legislative staff (Tabakman, 2009). However, most of this research was done at the federal level, focusing on congressional staff. This research project fills the gap of research completed, and examines women legislative staff in the Texas Legislature. Texas is one of largest states in the United States, and its unique approach to the recession in regard to the economy and policy has made it one of the most attractive states to live in (Johnson & McNichol, 2012). Texas has achieved a lot of success on the policy front through the tireless work of its legislative staff. The purpose of this research project is to describe the role of women legislative staff in the Texas Legislature. Method: A web-based survey was used to collect data on the different types of roles held by female legislative staff in Texas. This survey was distributed to 218 female legislative staff members in the Texas Legislature. Findings: There are four roles of legislative staff: (1) Political Strategist, (2) Researcher, (3) Public Relations, and (4) Administrative. Although each of the roles distinctly differs from one another, the respondents found that that many different roles were extremely important. Although the 58 respondent surveys had varying results, there were many reoccurring concepts. (1) The political strategist role is key, (2) Social media services are not a prevalent role for women legislative staff (3) All respondent staff engaged in administrative work (4) Most women legislative staff members are white, and (5) Most of the respondents had earned at least a bachelor’s degree.