Assessing Career Options: An Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities - Coursework Example

?RUNNING HEADER: Assessing Career Option Assessing Career Options: An Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE DATE HERE An Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL An Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 4 1.1 Purpose, Scope and Limitation…………………………………………….. 4 1.2 Sources and Methods………………………………………………………. 5 1.3 Report Organization……………………………………………………….. 5 2. Career Descriptors and Analysis……………………………………………………. 5 2.1 Salary Expectations………………………………………………………… 6 2.2 Job Role Descriptions per Career Option…………………………………... 6 2.3 Evaluation of Descriptions Provided……………………………………….. 8 2.4 Analysis of Differences Offered……………………………………………. 9 3. Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….. 10 References An Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities 1. Introduction This report evaluates two different career path choices, the IT Helpdesk Manager and Information Systems Manager, two careers with radically different responsibilities and leadership fundamentals. The IT Helpdesk Manager coordinates effective service support for internal and, sometimes, external end users to provide assistance in a variety of computer software and networking concerns. The Information Systems Manager is a more strategic-oriented position requiring effective risk management, project management, and multi-management skills and competencies to direct the activities of many different divisional junior managers. Depending on the level of intensity that the individual is hoping to pursue in career path, both career opportunities should be considered as viable solutions related to the goal of practical computer systems management. 1. 1 Purpose, Scope and Limitations The purpose of this research project was to uncover the diverse dimensions of IT management, both theoretical and practice, to assist in supporting decision-making for the individual regarding which career maintains the best characteristics for proper job fit. The scope of the project is to identify salary potential, specific job role characteristics, and evaluate the level of responsibility required with both job roles to serve as a template for consideration to the individual for effective decision-making in selecting a long-term career opportunity. Limitations to the study include a research time constraint in terms of procuring primary data that could also assist in determining real-world, practical application of IT management principles through a case study approach. The study, also, does not have the potential to list all known characteristics and only focuses on the most reliable characteristics expected in these two job roles. 1.2 Sources and Methods The project researchers consulted with the following secondary research sources: Salary analysis firms compiling statistical data per region in the U.S. Published journals describing IT management responsibilities and classifications Real-time job descriptions in multiple industries from respected organizations Website publications from respected organizations on project leadership and trends 1.3 Report Organization The “Evaluation of Two Proposed Career Opportunities” research project is organized in the following structure: Salary Expectations Job Role Descriptions per Career Option Evaluation of Descriptions Provided Analysis of Differences Offered Recommendations The project is designed to offer a rounded evaluation of both career positions to facilitate effective reasoning to justify selecting a potential opportunity. 2. Career Descriptors and Analysis The following describes the two different career paths. 2. 1 Salary Expectations Payscale.com (2012) provides a salary expectation of between $40,000 and $90,000 for the role of Help Desk Manager, depending on region related to cost of living and urban development. The role of Information Technology Manager maintains an expected salary of $44,000 to $124,000 also related to urban demographics. The scope of responsibilities dictate the moderate salary differences between career paths. Payscale.com compiles information based on national trends in payroll in both urban and non-urban regions along with macro-economic factors in certain national locations. 2.2 Job Role Descriptions per Career Option The role of Helpdesk Manager maintains a much more limited scope of responsibility than that of the IT manager. This role facilitates effective discussion between operational actors in the business and service support personnel on key software programs such as Oracle, Microsoft Office, email systems, and other support software. This role usually maintains a limited responsibility that is isolated to the information technology department and does not extend into other operational regions. Typically, an Associate’s Degree is mandated along with Microsoft MCSE Certifications and several years experience managing some dimension of information technology (NCMCS, 2012). This Helpdesk Manager performs all of the generic responsibilities of traditional line management, including scheduling, human resources-based leadership principles, the facilitation of group working and team development, and reporting. Depending on the scope of the organization, management dictates support for five to fifteen service support professionals. The role of Information Technology Manager is much more in-depth, requiring a strategic-oriented candidate with multiple academic domains of knowledge in risk management, project management, and diversity. This role must effectively balance financial outcomes associated with risk with budgetary restrictions to ensure compliance with economic mandates directed at the executive level. This management professional must: “balance the operational and economic costs of protective measures and achieve gains in mission capability by protecting the IT systems and data that support their organizations’ missions” (Stoneburner, Goguen & Feringa, 2002, p.4). The Information Technology Manager must be interactive with not only the IT support and service teams, but also facilitate reporting and leadership with multiple division leaders to assess the internal and external risks to IT architecture and support, which will require interpersonal relationship development and emotional intelligence related to inter-office decorum. This role also demands project leadership experience. These responsibilities include following a project launch through all phases of the project life cycle, work inter-dependently with operational division leadership to design process mapping and end user responsibility templates, and facilitate various end user or service support personnel training for meeting identified quality standards (Ng, 2001). It is a multi-dimensional approach to facilitating proper utilization and implementation of information support technologies and managing each level of design and evaluation. The role also mandates that the individual be able to effectively lead and cope within a top-down, decentralized hierarchy of control. In most businesses with complicated IT architectures, executive leadership dictates organizational policy that is disseminated downward through the systems-view, functional hierarchy (Desbois, 2007). The individual must therefore maintain psycho-social characteristics that are viable in this type of structure, including emotional intelligence and socially-based learning preferences for effective teamworking and management reporting in formal business meeting environments. 2.3 Evaluation of Descriptions Provided The role of Helpdesk Manager is best classified as one with heavy emphasis on knowledge management, where knowledge is effectively exchanged between an internal division. The manager must maintain various databases of technical support and provide best practice guidelines on training and service support changes to facilitate effective compliance to organizational mandates. Knowledge management builds knowledge capital as well as human capital development within a division (Borghoff & Pareschi, 1997). Thus, the knowledge professional in the role of Helpdesk Manager must be people-centered and focused on inter-divisional learning. The role of Information Technology manager requires a strategic manager able to effectively plan, design, implement and evaluate alternatives and strategies that impact the entire organizational culture. This professional will: “set directions, create commitment, mobilize institutional, political, psychological and other resources, facilitate action and adapt the IS unit to fit a changing environment such that it adds value and achieved shared objectives” (Karahanna & Watson, 2006, p.173). This is a dynamic role requiring multiple disciplines of leadership philosophy, management practicality, and also psycho-social attributes to effectively build teams and facilitate productive work outputs inter-divisionally and externally. 2.4 Analysis of Differences Offered As clearly outlined by the research, the role of Helpdesk Manager would be closer akin to an entry-level management position that would familiarize the career seeker with the skills needed to attain a more strategic-based position later in career. It does not generally extend into the broader organizational environment or with external customers (unless support is offered in this structure). Hence, the limited scope of responsibilities support a lower salary. The role of Information Technology Manager, however, is vigorous and demands considerable self-discipline and self-motivation to achieve multiple organizational goals and positive outcomes. This manager must be focused on professionalism, conflict management, experiential learning through tactile systems orientation, be able to provide training effectively, and work with executive-level budgets to ensure adherence to finance in areas of procurement and project leadership. An individual who is not well-versed in effective time management or does not maintain psycho-social characteristics for effective relationship development would likely not function well in this particular career option. 3. Recommendations The tangible restrictions in terms of academic knowledge associated with Information Technology Management would require a candidate to maintain a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in technical training and certification through an accredited school of technology. However, the long-term gains of landing higher executive-level positions stemming from success in this role could lead to significant salary increases to help sustain lifestyle needs. The typical career ladder in this role is to evolve into junior executive positions that sustain salaries between $100,000 and $250,000 annually. For the long-term-minded candidate, this would be an ideal role to attain high visibility and clout within an organization as a policy-maker rather than policy-coordinator. However, the role of Helpdesk Manager gives practical skills required without much academic commitment in terms of degree attainment in order to be considered. It provides grounded and practical experience in management and leadership that also sustains a worthwhile and competitive salary. Based on the options, it is recommended that the individual pursue the role of Helpdesk Manager as a primary career path. Until the candidate maintains experience working in dynamic, rigid and cross-divisional management, he or she will likely find significant stressors and concerns trying to manage multiple dimensions of business that will likely require off-hours commitment during project scenarios that could complicate lifestyle (these common with Information Technology Management roles). The role of Helpdesk requires only a full-time commitment to the organization during periods where the service support is active and thus provides more flexibility for personal recreation and family development, with an ample salary to sustain these objectives. The candidate should strongly consider Helpdesk Management rather than IT Management as a practical first step toward attaining a long-term career path. The considerable demands placed on the IT Manager will impact emotional well-being, motivation, and self-determination due to the complex variables of managing multiple and oftentimes cross-cultural work groups. Unless the individual maintains a strong sense of self-discipline and self-drive and can manage effectively in dynamic organizational systems with complicated political structures, they will not achieve success and satisfaction in such a complex management role. After careful evaluation of both alternatives, it has been determined that the best course of action is to develop an effective resume that seeks Helpdesk Management competencies and put this as his or her primary short-run career goal. Though the individual is free to select their own options, either accepting or refuting this research-based recommendation, it would be practical for the candidate to understand all of the fundamental practices of a multi-divisional business before attempting practical application of these concepts. The Helpdesk Manager would be a perfect fit for the individual related to current experience, education and level of psycho-social programming. References Borghoff, Uwe M. & Pareschi, Remo. (1997). “Information Technology for Knowledge Management”, Journal of Universal Computer Science, 3(8), pp.835-841. Desbois, Michel. (2007). “Information Technology Strategic Plan”, U.S. Department of Agriculture, p.7. Retrieved August 13, 2012 from http://www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/pdfs/it_strategic_plan.pdf Karahanna, E. and Watson, R.T. (2006). “Information Systems Leadership”, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 53(2), pp.171-176 NCMCS. (2012). “Job Description: Help Desk Manager”, Moore County Schools. Retrieved August 13, 2012 from http://www.ncmcs.org/19061012613291337/lib/19061012613291337 /JobDescriptions/IT/Job%20Description%20-%20Help%20Desk%20Manager.pdf Ng, Edmond. (2001). “Information Technology Project Management”, p.4. Retrieved August 14, 2012 from http://www.edvencomm.net/itpm.pdf Payscale.com. (2012). “National Salary Data”. Retrieved August 13, 2012 from http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Help_Desk_Manager%2c_IT/Salary Stoneburner, G., Goguen, A. & Feringa, A. (2002). “Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems”, U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved August 13, 2012 from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-30/sp800-30.pdf Read More