Chapter 9 Managing Careers

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Chapter 9Managing Careers

Fundamentals of Human Resource ManagementEighth Edition

DeCenzo and Robbins


Introduction

• Traditionally, career development referred to programs offered by organizations to help employees advance within the organization.

• Today, each individual must take responsibility for his or her career.


Introduction

• Organizations now focus on matching the career needs of employees with the requirements of the organization.

• While many organizations still invest in their employees, they don’t offer career security and they can’t meet the needs of everyone in a diverse workforce.


What is a Career?

• Definition – Pattern of work-related experiences that

span the course of a person’s life. – Reflects any work, paid or unpaid. – Broad definition helpful in today’s work

environment where employees and organizations have diverse needs.


What is a Career?

Individual versus Organizational Perspective – Organizational career planning –

Developing career ladders, tracking careers, providing opportunities for development.

– Individual career development – Helping employees identify their goals and steps to achieve them.


What is a Career?

• Career Development versus Employee Development – Career development looks at the long-term

career effectiveness and success of organizational personnel.

– Employee training and development focuses on performance in the immediate or intermediate time frames. ?


What is a Career?

Value for the Organization 1. Ensures needed talent will be available. 2. Improves the organization's ability to

attract and retain talented employees. 3. Ensures that minorities and women get

opportunities for growth and development.

4. Reduces employee frustration. 5. Enhances cultural diversity. 6. Promotes organizational goodwill.


What is a Career?

Value for the Individual • Individuals’ external career

success is measured by criteria such as:– progression up the hierarchy, type of

occupation, long-term commitment, and income.

• Internal career success is measured by the meaningfulness of one’s work and achievement of personal life goals.


What is a Career?Mentoring and Coaching • Effective coaches give guidance through

direction, advice, criticism, and suggestion in an attempt to aid the employee’s growth.

• Mentors are typically senior-level employees who:– support younger employees by vouching for them– answering for them in the “highest circles”– introducing them to others– advising and guiding them through the corporate

system


What is a Career?

Mentoring and Coaching • Disadvantages include:

– tendencies to perpetuate current styles and practices– reliance on the coach’s ability to be a good teacher

• Considerations for organizations:– coaching between employees who do not have a

reporting relationship– ways to effectively implement cross-gender

mentoring


Traditional Career Stages



Exploration • Includes school and early work

experiences, such as internships.

• Involves:– trying out different fields– discovering likes and dislikes– forming attitudes toward work

and social relationship patterns



Establishment • Includes:

– search for work– getting first job– getting evidence of “success” or “failure”

• Takes time and energy to find a “niche” and to “make your mark”.



Mid-Career • Challenged to remain

productive at work. • Employee may:

– continue to grow– plateau (stay competent but not

ambitious)– deteriorate



Late career – Successful “elder states persons” can

enjoy being respected for their judgment. Good resource for teaching others.

– Those who have declined may experience job insecurity.

– Plateauing is expected; life off the job increases in importance.



Decline (Late Stage) • May be most difficult for those

who were most successful at earlier stages.

• Today’s longer life spans and legal protections for older workers open the possibility for continued work contributions, either paid or volunteer.


Career Choices and Preferences

• Good career choice outcomes provide positive self-concept and opportunity to do work we think is important.



Holland Vocational Preferences • Three major components

– People have varying occupational preferences

– If you think your work is important, you will be a more productive employee

– You will have more in common with people who have similar interest patterns



Holland Vocational Preferences

• Model identifies six vocational themes – Realistic– Investigative– Artistic– Social– Enterprising– Conventional



• Holland Vocational Preferences – Preferences can be matched to work

environments; for example, social-enterprising-conventional preference structure matches career ladder in large bureaucracy.



The Schein Anchors • Personal value clusters determine what

is important to individuals. – technical-functional competence– managerial competence– security-stability– creativity– autonomy-independence

• Success of person-job match determines individual’s fit with the job.



Jung and the Myers-Briggs Typologies • Four personality dimensions:

– Extraversion-Introversion– Sensing-Intuitive– Thinking-Feeling– Judging-Perceiving



Jung and the Myers-Briggs Typologies• Assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (MBTI) and identify 16 different personality types.

• Job characteristics can be matched to individual preferences.


Enhancing Your Career

The individual holds primary responsibility for his/her career. Suggestions on how to do that are:

Chapter 9 Managing Careers

Documents

individual career development

career needs of employees

career ladders

career security

internal career success

longterm career effectiveness

employees growth

younger employees