Stages of Career Development - Assignment Example

Job Analysis ………………………….. College ……………………………… Job A well documented job focuses on describing the job that is currently being performed or to be performed in future and it contains important sections such as job name, summary description of the job, listing of job duties and responsibilities and an explanation of how the job is related to the firm (Byars and Rue, 2004, p. 93). Basic information about job, summary objectives of job, qualifications, special demands and duties and responsibilities are major components of job description. I worked as marketing manager in a company and the job description of my job is outline below: Job Profile Job title : Marketing Manager Pay : As defined by the company, negotiable based on certain criteria Reporting relationship: CEO- Chief Executive Officer, Senior managers Objectives of the Job I was responsible to plan, execute, coordinate, direct and control marketing related activities. I was also responsible for communicating with senior and lower level managers for ensuring managing of all the marketing activities. Qualifications Education : Bachelor’s degree was necessary. Higher qualifications were preferred Experience: Experience not less than 3 years as marketing manager Special Demands Marketing research was an important part of marketing manager’s duty and therefore I have to contact customers and to conduct research such as field study, case study, market test etc. Job duties and responsibilities To accomplish marketing objectives by recruiting, selecting and coaching marketing employees. To achieve marketing objectives by aligning relevant marketing information with planning and budgeting processes To control marketing activities carried out through marketing executives, and To meet financial objectives by forecasting future requirements Job Specification: Qualification : Degree in marketing/ Business and higher education Experience : Minimum of 3 years experience in marketing Skills : Leadership, communication, managing etc Responsibilities: Commitment, devotedness, creativity, sincerity etc 2- Compensation and benefit packages According to the perspectives of Human Resource Management, compensation goes beyond the actual pay for work done and it includes all the financial and non-financial benefits an employee receives for being employed in an organization. It varies according to work, burden, risks associated with, level of job, rank, position etc. compensation and benefits package, as Werner, Schuler and Jackson (2012, p. 335) argued, influence productivity and performance of employees in numerous ways. Compensations packages that are designed according to employee performance are often found to influence employees’ attention on finding ways to reduce costs and increases earnings. Monetary compensation includes direct pay such as salary, wages, bonuses and indirect pay such as payments to cover benefits and services. Non-monetary compensation includes different forms of psychological and social rewards such as recognition, respect from others, enjoyment from doing the job, opportunities for self-development, facilities available in and around the workplace etc (Werner, Schuler and Jackson, 2012, p. 337). A most appropriate compensations and benefits package for Marketing Manager is outlined below: Monetary: Basic Pay : Best in the industry, based on effectiveness, qualification, experience and talents of employees Bonuses : Three annual bonuses, mainly based on performance Commission : A specific percentage based on adding new corporate customers or Based on completing certain numbers of additional non-business Customers Over-time : Hourly over-time pay based on salary Allowances : Housing and child education allowances Other Benefits : Paid vacation, health insurance, retirement pension Non-monetary: Reward : Reward and recognition among different levels of management based on performance or completing a specific target set by the company Opportunities : Training and development programs, certificate programs etc Team-work : Team work and organizational learning practices motivated by the HR managers will certainly improve performance Leadership : Those managers who are highly competent should get leadership opportunities. 3- Four classic stages of career development Career development is a continuous process by which an individual progresses through several stages, each of which is characterized by a relatively unique set of issues, themes and tasks (Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk, 2009, p. 34). A marketing managers, for instance, will be able to undergo several different stages of personal and professional development from the beginning of his job until his retirement. There are basically four stages in career development, namely exploration, establishment, maintenance and disengagement (Plunkett, Attner and Allen, 2007, p. 637). Some literatures including Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk, 2009, p. 35) outlined four stages of career development as Organizational Choice, Early Career, Mid Career and Late Career. When it comes to a marketing manager, he initially develops occupational self-image, assesses alternative occupations, develops initial occupational choice and pursues necessary education such as degree in marketing management and he finally become a marketing manager. It is the exploration stage and it occurs from 15 to 25 ages. Secondly, once he becomes a marketing manager, he begins to learn more about how he should work and what are major duties and responsibilities he is assigned with. This is the establishment stage and it occurs between 25 to 40 ages. During this stage, marketing manager not only learns, but also put in his maximum efforts to increase his competence to increase his earnings. During the maintenance or mid-career stage, the marketing manager undergoes improving technical skills and developing broader view about skills and jobs. His major duties will be training, sponsoring and policy making and he acts as a mentor. It prolongs till his 60th age. When he attains 60 and more, he gets disengaged and he reaches his retirement stage. Plunkett, Attner and Allen (2007, p. 638) argued that during Mid and Late career stages, he often develops broader views of work and shifts from power role to consultation and guidance roles. From maintenance stage onwards, some individuals such as those in certain management levels may succeed in gaining greater growth of broader professional views and this results in ‘growth’ and not in ‘decline’. 4. Career Management a. Managing declining of employee performance During maintenance and disengagement stages of career development, individuals are concerned with updating skills. They have experience of quite a longer period and they are highly knowledgeable with in-depth understandings about the job. Some of the issues and concerns during this stage are distinctive requirements and midlife transition, dynamics of mid-career change, dangers of obsolescence and possibilities of plateauing etc (Greenhaus et al, 2009, p. 36). Similarly, during the disengagement stage of career development, some employees concentrate on retiring and are therefore entirely interested in non-work activities such as sports, entertainment, hobbies, travelling and volunteer works. Almost three out of four older employees are found to reduce their work hours gradually (Noe, p. 372). In order to avoid declining and keep employees from plateauing and disengagement, it is necessary to implement certain strategic career development programs. In order to avoid declining of employee performance in both these stages, the HR management needs to design and develop a strategic program that can motivate and inspire the entire workforce to involve actively in works. Training and development programs can be one of the most important components in the career development program. Team-work, collaboration, organizational learning, learning from older workforce, knowledge sharing etc can be promoted so that older workforce will get higher involvement to help younger employees. Reward and recognition for higher achievement can also stimulate positive work environment. Most importantly, certain training classes such as Transaction analysis and individual counseling on positive attitude can also make tremendous changes in behaviour. b. Two reasons for stagnation and disengagement 1- Employees in maintenance and disengagement stages anticipate retiring and prefer non-work activities such as sports and entertainment. This results in less-interest in their work and this is how they stagnate form their work. 2- Disengagement is psychological withdrawal from change. Employees may lose initiative and thus they lack drive and commitment. This is another reason why they stagnate. c. Strategies to avoid stagnation and disengagement 1. Leadership roles: Employees during maintenance and disengagement stages should voluntarily take leadership roles so that they feel responsibility of accomplishing certain targets. Being leaders, they cannot stagnate from duties and jobs. 2- Recycling: Employees can prefer changing their work after they get established in it. It then re-explores his values, skills, interests and potential employment opportunities. References Byars, L. L and Rue, L.W, 2004, Human Resource Management, Seventh edition, McGraw Hill Companies Greenhaus, J.H., Callanan, G.A and Godshalk, V.M, 2009, Career Management, SAGE Noe, R.A, 2008, Employee Training & Development, Fourth edition, Tata McGraw-Hill Education Plunkett, W.R, Attner, R and Allen, G, 2007, Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations, Ninth edition, Cengage Learning Werner, S., Schuler, R.S and Jackson, S.E, 2012, Human Resource Management, Cengage Learning Read More