Political Conflict or Professional Advancement

ABSTRACT:

The departure of the city manager constitutes a major leadership change in city government. Two reasons for managerial turnover have been advanced: political factors which push managers out and personal career factors which pull managers to new positions. Both reasons have been portrayed as the predominant reason for turnover. This study evaluates those explanations with managers’ responses to a survey to predict their job mobility. The findings suggest that both explanations hold some truth. Neither dominates, however. Political factors may account for about half of the managerial turnovers and about half the managers appear to have left primarily for professional advancement.