FRANKFURT – (dpa) – Social background is more important than qualifications when it comes to climbing the career ladder, according to a new, unpublished study by the Technical University in Darmstadt, southern Germany.
Sociology professor Michael Hartmann studied the career progression of 6,500 academics who had graduated from university with a doctorate and found that favourable family circumstances had given future captains of industry an almost unassailable lead.According to the study, which is due for publication this summer, the chances for would-be careerists from middle class families are steadily declining.For the project the TU Darmstadt examined the curriculum vitae of all the students who left the university in 1955, 1965, 1975 and 1985 with a doctorate in law, economic sciences and engineering. It turned out that hard facts such as the swiftness of study or quality of the qualification were not as important as “soft factors” like biography.“The really key success factor was social background,” said Hartmann.The larger the company the more the principle came into play, the researchers found. Typical of such family careers is that of Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piech. His father was a lawyer and before World War II managing director of VW. His mother, the daughter of car designer Ferdinand Porsche, also worked for the firm for many years.Hartmann rejects suggestions of nepotism, or that family members or aquaintances are regularly “preferred” over other candidates.“The important thing is the way people present and conduct themselves, a kind of natural confidence,” said Hartmann. These are qualities of family breeding and cannot be obtained later on, insists the sociologist.“Of course you can acquire good taste or manners but they don’t become instrinsic. As soon as something untoward happens you come unstuck,” said Hartmann.Rolf Pfeiffer, in charge of Human Resources at the Arthur D. Little personnel consulting firm, said he was in two minds about Hartmann’s findings.Pfeiffer said that while he did believe in the theory of “natural confidence” he was certain such skills could be acquired in later life. He also reckons on being able to gauge a candidate’s social background during an interview in 80 per cent of cases.A recruiting manager is unlikely to be influenced by a candidate’s good connections either, said Pfeiffer. “If that was the case a company would run into a big credibility problem.”Previous studies have shown that more than four-fifths of all top managers come from a strata of society that contains the top three per cent. The best of these are in line for the most powerful jobs. Their number includes the sons of entrepreneurs running large companies, board chairmen, secretaries of state or court presidents.In the groves of academe the opposite seems to apply, at least in Germany. “PhD holders from standard backgrounds are more likely to become professors,” said Hartmann. This may be because those higher up the social ladder are attracted by big business. It’s worth noting that there are hardly any doctorate holders in German politics.Hartmann’s research showed that in additional to a lack of the right family background another “exclusion factor” plays a role in career progression – a person’s gender. Only 4.2 per cent of PhD holders in the four sets of alumni were women and in most cases the corridors to management power were barred to them.
