Changes in employers' image of ideal dentists and managers in the Swedish public dental sector

Abstract

Earlier studies have shown that employers are keen to have employees whose attitudinal and behavioral traits are consistent with the employers' ideology. One way of ascertaining the image of ideal individuals is to analyze the required qualifications in job advertisements. The aim of this study was to explore possible changes in the employers' view of the ideal manager and dentist in the Swedish Public Dental Health Service (PDHS). The study investigated the kinds and frequencies of manifestly required qualifications concerning vacancies in the PDHS from January 1990 to December 1998. All job advertisements intended for dentists and managers on different hierarchical levels in general dentistry were included (n = 1152); 5705 qualification demands were analyzed by content analysis permitting quantitative descriptions of the textual material as well as an analysis of the underlying characteristics over time. The study indicates that, for dentists, dental professional qualifications or qualifications in accordance with the official objective of dental care were insufficient. While requests for qualifications relating to the economic organizational goals of the PDHS increased during the latter part of the period under study, requests relating to the dental profession decreased. For managers, too, the demands for dental professional qualifications had decreased at the end of the studied period compared to the demands for managerial qualifications and non-professional qualifications, which had increased. In conclusion, the job advertisement portrays the ideal dentist and manager primarily as an economic organizational asset.

• Content Analysis
• Employers Ideology
• Organizational Objectives
• Qualification Demands