Career Development - Review Notes

Human Resource Management Revision Article Series
Everybody understands that there are hierachies in organizations and normally one has to start at lower levels and move up the hierarchy with demonstrated success at lower levels. But as organizations flattened, the levels in the hierarchy are coming down. But still value contributed by an employee is expected to go up with time and experience.



Hence individuals do career planning. They anticipate things that they would like to do in future. Organization need to career development activities so that employee's value contribution keeps increasing with years.

The business environment is highly turbulent and complex and lifetime employment concept does not hold anymore as more companies are laying off people more frequently and also more companies are getting closed. Therefore individuals have to focus on employability apart from the current job related career. Employees have plan their career and look out for their own best career interests at various points of time. Hence employees must develop new and better skills of self assessment and do career planning.

What Should Organizations Do?

Organizations have to take up career development activities to decrease employee turnover, to avoid shortage manpower at various levels and improve the satisfaction and motivation of employees.

Career Development - Definition

Career development in the present context is development of a set of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors associated with work-related activities and experiences over the span of a person's life.


Career development has two important activities. One by the employees that is career planning. One by the organization which is termed as career management by Bernardin.

Career Development Systems

Activities and Tools

Self-assessment tools
- Career-planning workshops
- Career workbooks
Individual counselling
Information services
Organizational assessment programs
Developmental programs

Career Programs for Special Categories of Employees

Fast-track employees

Organizations often identify stars or individuals with high career potential to take up senior positions early in their careers and provide them with intensive development opportunities.

Outplacement programs

Entrenched employees
Entrenched employee remain in the jobs but do not have adequate commitment to the job. Given an opportunity without loss they are willing to leave the job and look for a different opportunity.

Programs for women, minorities, and employees with diabilities
Diversity initiatives are calling for special efforts to develop various underrepresented groups.

Programs for retiring employees

It is important that employees are aided in their transition to retirement.

Repatriates
When expatriates return to home country, they become repatriates. They have career issues after long stints in foreign countries. Career development issues can be significant for them and HR people have to take care of them.




Objectives of the chapter

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

Describe the new changes taking place in the workplace and what implications these have for individuals and organizations.


Define organizational career development and the reasons for understanding career development.


Understand the importance of integrating career development programs with other organizational systems (e.g., training, selection, recruitment).


Identify the steps in designing career development systems.


Describe the components of career development systems.


Understand how to design career programs for various target groups of employees such as fast-track employees, entrenched employees, supervisors, executives, women, minorities, employed spouses and parents, repatriates, and others.

Source:
Bernardin, Human Resource Management,McGraw Hill

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073381438/student_view0/chapter9/

Kindly Bookmark and Share it: