An Investigation of Career Field Dynamics - Research Paper Example

Running Header: CAREER RESEARCH REPORT Career Research Report BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 An Investigation of Career Field Dynamics 5 Researching Potential Employers in Key Career Fields 12 Exploring Typical Career Paths for Identified Fields 15 Reflection and Integration of Specific Field Investigations 17 Conclusion 21 References 22 Executive Summary This research project aims to explore three different career fields to determine their responsibilities, opportunities and even threats that might make them, from a personal perspective, not viable. The study examines multiple secondary research sources to uncover the dynamics of each identified field and how this would inter-relate to my own inherent characteristics, supplemented with academic learning gleaned throughout my university career. The report structure consists of an examination of what constitutes three positions: the role of Client Services Manager, Marketing Director and Marketing Consultant, including pay, growth probabilities, and skills requirements. Supplementing these findings is an exploration of specific companies that likely maintain such positions, emphasising their history, size, culture and structure. The report then outlines what constitutes career path for the three identified fields with a discussion of the skills related to career path that could lead to the three most desired fields. A subsequent section consists of a self-reflection based on findings with a discussion of strengths or weaknesses pertaining to the criteria to be successful in the three investigated roles. The findings of the report identified Sony Corporation, Accor Hospitality, and Curtin University as potential companies. The student found that Sony would not be a quality fit personally due to its rigid and bureaucratic structure, with more leaning toward the other organisations that have more inclusive and decentralised structures. Weaknesses needing development were defined as higher-than-average self-efficacy and a dislike for quantitative metrics analyses. Strengths included charismatic personality and broad knowledge of multiple domains of study that can contribute to effectively fulfilling the identified requirements of all three career positions. The study concludes with a relevant discussion related to findings and concludes that all three studied fields, based on all research, still seem viable and interesting. Introduction One of the fundamental objectives of obtaining an academic degree is to prepare a student for entering the workforce and establishing a career that can sustain quality of life and provide general utility for years to come. As the student becomes equipped with knowledge, talents and experiential learning provided by competent instructors, they glean the capabilities and skills that are considered employable in today’s fast-paced and complex organizational environments. However, before the student is able to land a rewarding and financially-lucrative career position, he or she must first understand the dynamics of different career positions within their personal domain. Such dynamics include the specific nature of the work, the salaries provided in the position, the culture that drives organizational norms and direction, and the training required to be successful in a chosen role; including many other relevant factors. As such, this report provides a comprehensive investigation of three different employment fields within the student’s domain of knowledge and expertise in order to evaluate whether identified career positions will be viable, enjoyable and lucrative as a long-term career option. Through this examination, the research aims to determine what career positions would be feasible and relevant, both financially and socio-psychologically, as a student of business management; or which positions might not be capable of providing the necessary utility demanded at a personal level. This research project investigates the role of Client Services Manager, Marketing Director and Marketing Consultant in order to investigate their viability for long-term career opportunities. An Investigation of Career Field Dynamics The first position investigated is Client Services Management, a career position that requires the professional to determine the most effective strategies to retain important customers and clients, whilst maximising opportunities for increasing revenues for the company. Client Services entails that the professional build strong and lasting relationships with desired target consumers (and existing customers). This position requires the employee to be a direct liaison and contact representative for all customers that are lucrative to the organization and provide first-class quality B2B client experiences. The Client Services manager must guarantee that the needs of clients are always considered, serves as an accounts leader, and works inter-dependently with the client and the internal organizational sales team (Honeycutt, Ford & Simintiras, 2003). The main obligations of this career position include many different talents, including production and assessment of various quantitative metrics, the capability of being able to analyse and decipher important economic and performance data to maximise the customer experience. This individual, as a management figure, must be able to train support employees, conduct relevant marketing activities (i.e. advertising), understand the dynamics of search engine optimisation for effective marketing visibility, and consider new and innovative strategies to will provide maximum value as it pertains to a client’s business-to-business relationship with the firm. Effective client order fulfilment and general client satisfaction are primary responsibilities in this role. The individual must have skills to effectively work within a team dynamic, focusing on receivables strategies, work as a liaison with supply chain staff, and serve as a change controller to maximise client relationships (Monster, 2014). A Bachelor’s degree in business is a requirement of this position. In addition, most positions require either five years of relevant experience in either human resources or two years experience in general accounts management (Monster). To be effective, many companies demand knowledge of Android mobile operating systems, Java Script, and various video technologies (Opera Software, 2014). Softer skills required in this role are excellent organizational talents and communications aptitudes. From an educational perspective, skills related to value chain analysis, marketing, team functioning, quantitative data analysis, general management and human resources will be critical. As a Client Services Manager, communication skills are critical. Transparency and clarity will be required to satisfy the interpersonal dynamics of client relationships, meaning that the career professional avoid a phenomenon known as message ambiguity. This is the tendency of an individual to provide vague or ambiguous communications in reference to messages that are intended to be communicated (Gallagher, 2013). Hence, this role will require that the professional be trained with strong presentational skills and with interpersonal skills to assist in articulating conversations and providing concise and succinct communications to build trust and confidence in the B2B relationship. Depending on the particular industry in need of client services management, the salary ranges, typically, between $42,305 and $102,541 (commensurate with experience), with a median salary of $61,209 (Pay Scale, 2014). It is projected that this sector will sustain a 13 percent growth rate between 2012 and 2022, in an environment where customer relationship quality is a key competitive success dynamic in highly saturated competitive environments. Typical employers in need of this management role vary disparately, including health services, financial management, risk management consulting firms, online business models, advertising firms, and even the manufacturing sector. Hence, this represents a plethora of potential opportunities to gain lucrative employment without requiring the job seeker to limit themselves to only a single industry. The second position investigated is Marketing Director. This role requires the career professional to coordinate various promotional events, build a public relations image for the organization, and conceptualize advertising content and distribution (Arnold & Tomlinson, 2008). The most foundational responsibility is to consider various promotional strategies relevant to the business’ strategic objectives and maintain general management of support employees that will be involved in marketing activities and new projects launched to improve marketing-based competitive advantage. This position also requires the ability to analyse financial data and statistical metrics, with an emphasis on return-on-investment related to various expenditures dedicated to the marketing function. The Marketing Director will need to understand issues of budget, resource allocation and the internal operational capabilities that can carry out various marketing strategies (Arnold & Tomlinson). The professional will need academic lessons on financial management and accounting, operations (including procurement and customer service), mathematics, and budgeting; as well as the critical theories of marketing best practices. This position is also commensurate on experience, ranging between $79,212 and $235,487 (Pay Scale, 2014). It is the multiple competencies associated with this role’s obligations, which range from management of people through budgetary controls that justifies such a high salary. It is a complex role requiring substantial, diverse capabilities in areas of human resources, marketing knowledge, financial planning/management and even sales. This position requires significant experience to justify a higher salary. For instance, Twitter in Australia demands eight or more years of experience in digital marketing or relevant work experience within a media agency. Accor in Australia only requires two years experience in a comparable role, but will likely not provide a superior salary range as a result. It seems dependent on the industry whether the individual requires an undergraduate degree or higher. Skills required in this role are comparable to the Client Services Manager, including strong communications skills, proficiency in computer software, capability to work inter-dependently with teams and manage their operations, and having a general understanding of product, business development, finance and brand theories. In some companies, the individual in this professional role will be required to coordinate meetings, work with partners and clients at various marketing summits, present information to existing and potential clients, and crystallize new innovations in advertising and promotion to give the business better visibility and competitive edge. The specific growth rates for this position could not be identified through research, however it should be recognised that companies in all industries and all competitive sectors have a need for individuals that can direct, control and create marketing strategies. Australian GDP growth has slowed in 2014, however the country is dominated by services-based industries which have a major advantage for providing lucrative work opportunities. In a services environment, the quality of customer relationships is an underpinning success factor for a company, therefore these companies will require a competent marketing director to facilitate these relationships. The services sector is ideal for providing a position where promotion and customer service are needed to retain customers in a currently low-growth economy. From a personality perspective, the Marketing Director must have excellent communications skills since the majority of the position requires direct interaction with internal staff members and external customers. This position will require analysis of quantitative data, brand management best practices, public relations, human resources, operations, knowledge of the inter-dependencies within the entire value chain, and customer service best practices. The majority of these conceptions are gleaned through academic learning (theories and models) which is underpinned by empirical research studies. The third position investigated is that of Marketing Consultant. A marketing consultant uses their foundational knowledge, experience and general expertise in marketing to help clients reach their own marketing goals productively and with maximum return on investment. Clients seek the advice and competency of an experienced marketing professional that can help them develop effective promotions, determine the most cost effective distribution system for their products, build a positive public relations image, develop a recognised brand identity, and align strategic goals with marketing in a way that connects with desired target consumers. In an environment where it is becoming easier for competition to replicate the existing products and services of other competing firms, the only real asset a company has is its brand (Nandan, 2005). A Marketing Consultant can be independent or hired by companies that provide consulting services. This professional conducts external market analyses of consumers and competitors and then provides this data to clients for review and strategy development. The Marketing Consultant identifies risks to customer marketing strategies and provides recommendations, based on client values and research findings, which will be of the most significant benefit for maximising a client’s return-on-investment in the marketing function. This position also ranges widely depending on the industry and whether hired as a firm’s consultant or as an independent business owner. The median range for this position in Australia is $67,000 (Simply Hired, 2014). However, the per-hour rate for consultancy is a median of $50, which could equate to $96,000 if employed full-time either independently or within an organization. This is a very lucrative position that is in high demand where customers are seeking new and innovative strategies and recommendations to improve their competitive positioning within dynamic and saturated competitive markets. The most fundamental talents required of the Marketing Consultant will be interpersonal and communication skills, since the majority of the position requires consultation with clients and internal staff members in order to provide the most viable and lucrative recommendations to clients. The consultant may even have to work with external partners, such as ad agencies, which means team coordination and the ability to work with diverse and dynamic business partners and clients. This industry is expected to have a growth rate of 2.3 percent by 2015 and provides the industry with $8 billion in annual revenues (IBS World, 2014). There are currently over 11,500 businesses offering these services and employs over 37,000 people in Australia (IBS World). However, even with such tremendous consulting opportunities at established firms, there are many opportunities to go independent which would be liberating at the personal level and potentially more financially lucrative as all consulting profits would be maintained by the professional and not distributed back to the organisation. This role requires that the consultant understand all dynamics of a business’ operational model, including value chain and various support services, to provide guidance and advice to these different inter-dependent divisions; when working for an organization. Being qualified with at least an undergraduate degree in marketing is a general consensus for gaining viable employment in this position. The individual must have knowledge of project management, general ability to meet important deadlines, building internal and external relationships, sustain strong presentational skills, and be able to build effective marketing campaigns of multiple varieties that are aligned with a firm or client’s strategic objectives. As face-to-face meetings will be a primary part of this role, the Marketing Consultant must be equipped with best practice theories on conflict resolution, marketing strategy, how to conduct marketing research (both qualitative and quantitative) and interpersonal relationship development. Clients of a Marketing Consultant will have disparate cultural characteristics and needs, which means having knowledge about cultural dimensions of different client segments and demographics. This will require educational competencies in areas of cultural awareness and cross-cultural communications. The professional will have to recognise how to respect the cultural heritage of disparate domestic and global clients and reconcile their own cultural values to avoid ethnocentrism. Not all solutions requested by culturally-diverse customer segments will be compatible with domestic cultural values, therefore personality-based and emotionally-based skills will be removing personal bias in order to provide solutions that work for different socio-psychological profiles of customers seeking consultancy advice that is highly intimate at the relationship level. With word-of-mouth being critically important in this field, all of these factors must be considered at the interpersonal level to gain a quality reputation for the employer or the independent business. Researching Potential Employers in Key Fields The first company investigated is Sony Corporation, a very diversified entertainment and consumer electronics company. The business produces gaming technologies, smartphones, televisions, computers and cameras. Sony was founded in Japan in 1946, as a small electronics shop with presence in a Japanese department store. This business has grown from a company with only a small amount of capital, employing only eight support workers, to a multi-national conglomerate with billions of Yen in sales revenues. It was growth in consumer demand for transistor radios in the 1960s that propelled Sony into international markets and, by the early 1980s, the company had financial capital that allowed it to purchase CBS Records which transformed its presence in media and diversified the business. In the 1980s, Sony developed the innovative “Walkman”, a device that revolutionized music recreation throughout the world, providing portability for consumers for the first time and build a reputation for the firm as a pioneering company with a strong brand preference. Today, the firm has many offices in Australia that give consumers sales experiences and after-service support for a variety of consumer electronics products and a corporate office sustaining internal staff members focusing on the demographics of the Australian sales markets. The company, as a whole, employs over 140,000 people and boasts total revenues of 7.7 trillion Yen (Sony, 2014). Sony is a very centralized organization where decision-making is made top-down with many different reporting mechanisms, common with multi-national firms. Wu (2006) iterates that this is common with Japanese businesses. Managers at Sony are highly risk-averse and decision-making for change is painstakingly-slow. It is common at Japanese hierarchical companies to demand production of feasibility studies, detailed quantitative reports, and metrics before making even small-scale decisions (Hofstede, 2013). It would be expected that there would be minimal consultation in a culture that applauds high power distance and an emphasis on control systems and compliance to various regulations and policies. The firm operates under a bureaucratic structure with many levels of management. Employees who contribute to Sony success are rewarded with promotional opportunities. They will be expected to receive annual salary reviews, discounts on products, superannuation plans and education assistance programs (Sony, 2014). It would appear that Sony is a performance-oriented business with incentive schemes for meeting performance objectives, common in hierarchical organizations. The second company investigated is Curtin University, in Bentley, Perth, Australia, founded in 1986. By the mid 2000’s, Curtin had expanded to Singapore and Sarawak. The organization currently educates 40,000 students and is considered to be the largest university in West Australia. The campus sits on 116 hectares of land and provides a plethora of educational services including degrees in management, accounting, marketing, information systems, pharmacology, psychology, media, art, education and even engineering (Curtin University, 2014). The university maintains a culture of diversity, embracing disparate differences of all student and staff demographics in a culture of inclusion. It appears that Curtin University operates under a functional structure with limited layers of management. Vice Chancellor Deborah Terry is the key reporting executive who advises vice-chancellors in R&D, Auditing, Finance, Marketing, Corporate Relations, Strategy and Sustainable Development (Curtin University, 2014). The organization’s mission is “changing minds, lives and the world through leadership, innovation and excellence in teaching and research” (Curtin University, 2014, p.1). The university deems its culture as relaxed and comfortable, a family-friendly environment with emphasis on high ethical integrity. The university does not indicate promotional opportunities, but a substantial benefits and incentives package that rewards high performance. The third organization investigated is Accor, located in Melbourne, Australia. Accor is a French-headquartered hospitality business which operates over 3,600 hotels throughout the world. The company boasts, currently, 5.5 billion Euros of revenue stemming from different budget-conscious business models and luxury-oriented resorts. The business was launched in 1967 by two French entrepreneurs living in the U.S. who witnessed success with hotel chains catering to budget-minded consumers. Between 1974 and 2009, the company opened hundreds of different hotels and was achieving financial success. However, the 2008-2010 recession created considerable debt and the business was forced to divest 48 of its properties to offset losses. However, the company quickly recovered and now has 15 apartment properties in Australia and New Zealand, acquired the renowned Mirvac Hotels that expanded Australian presence to include 48 mid-priced hotels, and plans a luxury resort in Australia in 2015. Today, the company employs 170,000 workers in over 100 different career fields (Accor, 2014). The specific organizational structure of Accor could not be identified through research, however the business emphasizes its focus on embracing diversity, empowering employees, and willingness to revamp HR practices to better satisfy and retain employees. This insinuates a decentralised model with some emphasis on shared decision-making. The hotel chain has a self-motivated promotional plan where advancement is directed by one’s own personal motivation with opportunities for international mobility (Accor, 2014). Accor views its employees as cohesive contributors to organizational success and uses career path coaching to advance top performers (Prasad, 2014). Exploring Typical Career Paths for Identified Fields Client Services Management can be either entry-level or at the higher echelon of management authority, depending on the specific job role obligations and industry in which this position is required by a firm. However, the typical entry-level position is that of Client Services Associate, which either requires an undergraduate degree or participation, post-hire, in a six month training program to familiarize the individual with the dynamics of client services. Strong motivational skills and strong communications talents are the most significant requirements for this rather low-paying position. A general customer service representative position also underpins the foundational entry-level step toward becoming a Client Services Manager. Following this, it would be typical to become either a Sales Manager at a smaller firm or take on the role of divisional manager within a firm to gain relevant management and organization experience. This role assists and collaborates with the Client Services Manager, works together on this team to produce presentational charts, gathers data for metrics reports built by the Client Services Manager, and assists on projects. Whilst a Bachelor’s is preferred for these mid-level positions, it is not always a requirement so long as relevant experience has been gleaned in customer service or in the role of Client Services Associate. In the role of Marketing Director, most organizations demand several years of experience before considering a candidate for this role. Typically, the entry-level position is that of Brand Assistant, who works under direction of the higher-level authority, the Brand Manager. This candidate typically mandates holding an MBA and must have strong interpersonal skills, entrepreneurial behaviours, strong analysis skills, and other basic communications skills required of most entry-level positions. After a year or more of experience, the individual can become a Brand Manager, who now has more responsibility with metrics coordination, budgeting, campaign developments, and leadership/management of teams. After becoming a brand manager, one moves to the role of Marketing Manager, who assists the Director with marketing, projects, campaign developments, leadership, client relationship management, and finance. It is through this position that one gains familiarity with external customers and how to manage complex and diverse teams, whilst also recognizing what constitutes effective marketing best practices. After two or more years (typically) in this role, one moves to the role of Marketing Director where salaries of $70,000 (and much more) are quite common as a justification for gaining multiple career layer experiences in many domains of management, finance, marketing and operations. Comparable positions in this industry might be a Public Relations Manager or Brand Coordinator for companies that have active promotional campaigns and social objectives relevant to external stakeholders. The third investigated career path is for the Marketing Consultant. This could encompass any number of entry-level positions, including Brand Assistant, Customer Service Representative, or Assistant Brand Manager. Any lower-level position that gives an individual experience in the marketing function, team-working, promotional campaign development, and general customer service are critical. Typically, these positions require a 2 or 4-year degree or commensurate experience in a domain related to marketing or service delivery. Movement upward toward the Marketing Consultant will require any number of mid-level management roles, such as in procurement, sales, customer service, or any aspect of the value chain critical to supporting a marketing strategy. Outside of foundational analytical skills and interpersonal skills is the opportunity to develop team management and leadership skills with training provided by human resource experts in the firm or through direct experiences. Comparable career path opportunities could include the Marketing Director, Brand Manager, Advertising Manager, or other marketing-related management positions. Ideally, to be a competent independent Marketing Consultant, an executive-level position in management or brand leadership would supplement the ability to construct and recommend promotional campaigns for diverse clients in a variety of different industries. Such an executive-level position would give experience in finance, budgeting, multinational relationship management, how to conduct competitor and market-oriented research studies, create reports for senior governance, develop strategic plans, and align expenditures with resources in a way that reduces costs and ensures that projects in marketing and promotion are aligned with real-world financial restraints. Reflection and Integration of Specific Field Investigations Having investigated Sony as a potential company by which to explore Client Services or the role of Marketing Director, it is doubtful that I would fit in with such an autocratic culture that is highly risk-averse. Entrepreneurial literature often asserts that the most successful professionals are those willing to take risks and capitalize on recognized opportunities when they present themselves (Kamalanahan, Sunder & Manshor, 2006). At Sony, the Japanese, centralized hierarchy, it would be highly frustrating to someone like myself who has high levels of self-efficacy and significant intrinsic motivation to succeed in professional life. Having to create feasibility reports and present metrics to senior-level management, constantly, to initiate much-needed change would be detrimental to the innovative spirit needed to create new processes and promotional campaigns that could serve the business well. Changing market conditions often evolve quickly and a company needs to be able to respond to these changes just as rapidly. Having even small-scale decisions scrutinized by a dominating management team would stifle my creativity and, subsequently, de-motivate performance and commitment toward the organization. I do believe, however, that I would be a quality fit for Curtin University, a culture of inclusion and one that embraces diversity and high ethical integrity. In an organization where one values my opinion, when justified, and is willing to allow shared decision-making, I believe that I could thrive as a creative force as a Marketing Director or Consultant. In fact, the university is currently advertising a job as a Marketing Consultant with a salary between $80,000 and $86,000 per year, who is a central resource offering marketing-related and brand-related advices to many different departments throughout the university model. In an environment with much competition having different marketing strategies designed to attract and retain students seeking their degrees, this university needs marketing content and communications that are relevant and emotionally-related to the needs and lifestyles of students in Australia and abroad. In an environment where the university values creativity and opinion, I believe that I would be motivated to come up with significantly-creative marketing recommendations and consult individuals in a positive team-focused environment. However, in the role of Marketing Director and Marketing Consultant, there are some fundamental skills that need developing. The first is conducting market research, both qualitative and quantitative, to support certain marketing campaign ideas. I have little experience in research methodologies, which often are part of a higher-level curriculum, that would be absolutely fundamental to providing clients with market-centric recommendations and creating promotional content that is relevant to the existing socio-psychological attributes of desirable target market segments. I would need to explore empirical studies about how other researchers have approached different market research methodologies and pay special attention to coursework that touches on methodological underpinnings. Without this critical skill, I would not function effectively as a Marketing Director or Marketing Consultant. Whilst I have many interpersonal skills, I am somewhat resistant to working in teams, which is fundamental for all three positions. Again, having high self-efficacy, I tend to reject the opinions of others and tackle solutions using my own unique ideas. This resistance would forbid some level of effectiveness related to team-working and collaboration that is a critical dimension of a managerial position within the creative marketing field. Team functioning in a creative environment would be uncomfortable for me as I believe that I am a highly innovative person capable of producing artistic campaign outcomes independently. However, in a management role as a creative director, I would have to take the opinions and suggestions of support employees if I want to retain their loyalty, trust and commitment toward achieving productivity goals. I believe this resistance to group working could be overcome through experiential learning, putting myself into group situations and trying to use flexible mindsets to accustom myself to taking the advices and values of others into consideration. Quantitative analyses of financial and other statistical data would be the most significant drawback of all three positions. While mathematics is not necessarily my superior strength, it is the emotional aspect of such analyses of figures and numerical data that promotes the most dislike of the three aforementioned positions. Clearly, in these roles, one needs to have the motivation to produce and synthesize such reports, however I find this mundane and fully unrewarding. In the positions, especially the Marketing Consultant, I would have to find innovative strategies to make these analyses more satisfying, such as using colourful charts. Perhaps I would just have to strengthen my managerial delegation skills so as to limit the volume of analyses that I would personally have to conduct. However, at a company such as Sony or Accor, these measurements are critical to establishing performance processes or change practices, which means I must find some type of intrinsic motivation to grapple with these mundane activities. My charismatic personality, I believe, would be a tremendous benefit at any of the aforementioned organizations, in a job environment where such interactions are absolutely mandated and critical to success outcomes. I am very outgoing socially and have a strong grasp of many socio-psychological theories which I believe would contribute to effective relationship development. At Curtin University, it would likely build a great deal of trust and general fondness which would facilitate much better consultations and an inclusive and rewarding social environment needed for collaboration with diverse professionals in multiple domains of study throughout the campus. However, critical self-reflection must recognize a weakness that needs developing that would be relevant as Marketing Director, Consultant and Client Services Manager. All of these positions, to some degree, require proficiency in certain online technologies, such as search engine optimization. I know very little about this and need to strengthen my competencies along this line. Being unable to utilize digital technologies to promote a new type of contemporary marketing distribution medium would be a detriment, especially as a Marketing Director and Consultant. I need to explore more IT-related courses or conduct independent study on these concepts, using the Internet as a resource, to ensure that I am capable of being a competent end user in these technologies. Conclusion As shown by the research study findings, all three roles have complex responsibilities related to managing client needs and the domain of marketing. Whilst these researched career fields offer substantial salaries, they require adoption of multiple academic-related, socially-related and experience-related competencies in order to be successful. In some aspects, I am frustrated with the career path required to land positions in these high-paying job roles, as I genuinely believe that I am very well-versed in certain theories and best practices related to business and marketing. I think some of my own independent learning that has occurred outside of the university classroom has even strengthened my know-how and understanding of value chain, marketing, management and leadership. However, being able to illustrate these competencies to prospective employers, without the years of experience so often mandated for these roles, would be difficult. I intend to strengthen my interviewing skills, additionally, so that I can better express my existing competencies that might give me opportunities to skip a level or two in the career path from prospective employers who trust and believe in my strong knowledge in these fields. I clearly would not fit in well in a highly bureaucratic structure, and would benefit from an inclusive and decentralised hierarchy. As a Marketing Consultant and Marketing Director, where my own creative talents are critical to achieving success, these environments would prompt the most significant motivations and likely allow me to achieve the maximum success levels. In conclusion, I believe that all three career fields are still promising and intend, in the near future, to conduct further examination of these job roles to determine the viability of pursuing such opportunities. References Accor. (2014). Recruitment and Careers. Retrieved December 19, 2014 from http://www.accor.com/en/recruitment-and-careers.html Accor. (2014). Why choose Accor?. Retrieved December 22, 2014 from http://www.accor.com/en/recruitment-and-careers/why-choose-accor.html Arnold, T. & Tomlinson, G. (2008). 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Retrieved December 23, 2014 from http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Marketing_Director/Salary Prasad, P. (2014). Accor hospitality and hotels: a compelling pledge for employees, Journal of Business Management & Social Sciences Research, 3(2), pp.27-30. Simply Hired. (2014). Average Australia Marketing Consultant Strategies. Retrieved December 19, 2014 from http://www.simplyhired.com/salaries-k-australia-marketing-consultant- jobs.html Sony. (2014). Consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014 from http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/13q4_sony.pdf Sony. (2014). The benefits of a career with Sony. Retrieved December 20, 2014 from http://www.sony.com.au/article/299551/section/sonybenefits Wu, M.Y. (2006). Comparing participative leadership in three cultures, China Media Research, 2(3), pp.19-30. Read More