Chapter 11 Careers and Career Management McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Introduction  Career development is important for companies to create and sustain a continuous learning environment  The biggest challenge companies face is finding a balance between advancing current employees’ careers while simultaneously attracting and acquiring employees with new skills 11-2 Introduction (cont.)  The concept of careers is influenced by the growing use of teams to produce products and provide services  Project careers – a series of projects that may not be in the same company 11-3 Why is Career Management Important?  It is the process through which employees: become aware of their own interests, values, strengths, and weaknesses obtain information about job opportunities within the company identify career goals establish action plans to achieve career goals 11-4 Why is Career Management Important? (cont.)  From the company’s perspective, the failure to motivate employees to plan their careers can result in: a shortage of employees to fill open positions lower employee commitment inappropriate use of monies allocated for training and development programs 11-5 Why is Career Management Important? (cont.)  From the employees’ perspective, lack of career management can result in: frustration due to lack of personal growth and challenge at work feelings of not being valued in the company an inability to find suitable employment, in case of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, or downsizing 11-6 Why is Career Management Important? (cont.)  Career motivation refers to employees’: energy to invest in their careers awareness of the direction they want their careers to take ability to maintain energy and direction despite barriers they may encounter 11-7 Figure 11.1 - The Value of Career Motivation 11-8 What is a Career?  It is the individual sequence of attitudes and behavior associated with workrelated experiences and activities over the span of the person’s life  The concept of careers can be described: as an advancement as a profession a lifelong sequence of jobs a lifelong sequence of role-related experiences 11-9 What is a Career? (cont.)  Protean career - based on self-direction with the goal of psychological success in one’s work  Psychological success - the feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes from achieving life goals that are not limited to achievements at work  Psychological contract - the expectations employers and employees have about each other 11-10 Table 11.1 - Comparison of Traditional Career and Protean Career 11-11 Table 11.2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees 11-12 Table 11.2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees (cont.) 11-13 Table 11.2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees (cont.) 11-14 A Model of Career Development  Career development - process by which employees progress through a series of stages Each stage is characterized by a different set of developmental tasks, activities, and relationships  Career development models: Life-cycle models Organization-based models Directional pattern model 11-15 Table 11.3 - A Model of Career Development 11-16 A Model of Career Development (cont.)  Recycling - changing one’s major work activity after having been established in a specific field  Career management system - helps employees, managers, and the company identify career development needs 11-17 Career Management Systems  Self-assessment Use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies Involves psychological tests  Reality check Information employees receive about how the company evaluates their skills and knowledge and where they fit into the company plans 11-18 Career Management Systems (cont.)  Goal setting Employees develop short- and long-term career objectives usually related to desired positions, level of skill application, work setting, or skill acquisition  Action planning Employees determine how they will achieve their short- and long-term career goals May involve training courses and seminars, informational interviews, employee volunteerism programs, etc 11-19 Table 11.5 - Design Factors of Effective Career Management Systems 11-20 Table 11.6 - Elements of Career Management Web Sites 11-21 Figure 11.4 – Shared Responsibility: Roles in Career Management 11-22 Table 11.7 - Managers’ Roles in Career Management 11-23 Table 11.8 - Characteristics Of Successful Career Discussions 11-24 Evaluating Career Management Systems  Career management systems need to be evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the needs of employees and the business  Evaluation can be based on: reactions of the customers who use the career management system objective information related to the retention rates of key employees or managers of the career management system 11-25 ... and employees have about each other 11- 10 Table 11. 1 - Comparison of Traditional Career and Protean Career 11- 11 Table 11. 2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees 11- 12... positions lower employee commitment inappropriate use of monies allocated for training and development programs 11- 5 Why is Career Management Important? (cont.)  From the employees’ perspective,... 11- 12 Table 11. 2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees (cont.) 11- 13 Table 11. 2 - Suggested Characteristics of Different Generations of Employees (cont.) 11- 14 A Model