Social Capital Theory of Career Success - Annotated Bibliography Example

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL Name of Student Name of Institution Name of Professor Date of Submission Reflective Journal Seibert, SE, Kraimer, ML, Liden, RC, 2001, A social capital theory of career success, Academy of Management Journal, Vol 44, No 2, pp. 219-237. As a professional, I have always admired the modern way of doing business where employees are ‘pampered’ and treated like goose which lays the golden eggs. I find the humanistic approach to employee treatment over interesting especially when I reflect back on the history of human labor and how they were treated during those earlier centuries. From the cruelty of slavery and the days of minimum wages and the strikes that marred the industrial revolution to the modern globalized corporate environment, the human capital has undergone revolutionary changes that has seen their importance at workplace gaining prominence with each passing day. However, this article is more of an expose, an eye opener that I believe extends beyond helping employees; it also helps companies in navigating the ever turbulent and tricky waters of the labor market. It offers unparalleled insight into how employees have moved from being treated as slaves and assets whose value was the sum total of their duties and functions. They are now important strategic partners of businesses whose productivity are enhanced positively rather than negatively through fear. Mentorship is a powerful tool while networking is even more powerful. To me, networking is the most powerful tool any manager and the organization by extension can even possess. And by looking at the social capital theory in an objective manner backed up with credible, authentic and adequate sources most of which are peer-reviewed, I believe the authors have done justice to the topic. They have laid bare the facts and secrets that most successful businesses use to attain the much heralded performances: high turnovers, skyrocketing share prices and eye catching profit margins: networking and mentorship. Indeed, the authors only fall short of pronouncing that networking and mentorship are the secret tools that most successful people in life use. Laying much emphasis on the social capital, to me, is a modern day business strategy that aims at making the human capital comfortable so that they can in turn make the company even more comfortable. This article highlights the importance of treating the modern day employees as strategy partners of the business; rather than duty-bound assets. De Janasz, Dowd, K. & Schneider, B, 2006, Chapter 16: Networking and Mentoring, in Interpersonal skills in organisations (2nd ed.), McGraw-Hill, Sydney. It is the dream of most, if not all, students to find a well-paying job at the end of the course. However, to some this has always remained just that: a dream. Finding a good job especially in the fast-paced world marked by stiff competition in the job for the scarce job opportunities has become a fruitless and frustrating endeavor. Like all aspiring professionals, I aspire to find the job of my dreams where I can use my skills to help in the progress of my employer. The countless messages of hope and encouragement from friends, teachers and family alike are an indication of just how much importance is given to finding a job. However, more often than not these messages are devoid of the important thing: how to successful search for that job. And rarely does the job seeker ask how. Perhaps it is out of being too optimistic, overzealous or just a grave oversight by everyone. Therefore, information on how to successfully go for job hunting is always a welcome reprieve from the countless yet futile resumes and emails that job seekers, me included, are likely to send to their prospective employers going a great length to explain their skills and capabilities. Interestingly, even for the employers the road to finding the appropriate talent is not an easy one. Despite the sometimes wide pool of talents to choose from, there are no guarantees of finding the right employee. And resorting to a game of chance is even more expensive and worse than lacking the needed talent. This article is almost heaven sent. To me, it is the proverbial missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that will unlock my treasure trove. This article is very insightful when it comes offering in depth analysis of how individuals and business alike can network. Contrary to the common practice and conventional wisdom of sending numerous applications and resumes to potential employers, this article rightly holds that networking is the key to finding that dream job. I find this approach to be very practical and pragmatic because, finding the right job calls for interacting with the right people who can offer or help in getting the right job opportunity. This also applies for organization; networking with the right individuals and entities is more effectively in finding the right and desired talent than posting job advertisements. And mentoring is a form of interacting with right kind of people or environment. The desired qualities in the talent being sought after can easily be acquired by individuals through interactions. Mentoring and networking is something especially at organizational level is something I believed in but this article opened my eyes to a new frontier: using the two at personal level. Uzzi, B. & Dunlap, S., 2005, “How to build your Network” Harvard Business Review, Reprint RO512B Bill Gates has been hailed as the symbol of success and the accolades are not misplaced. Personally, I view him as an embodiment of suavity and business acumen. His success is fully deserved. However, the success he has achieved always dwarfs and diminishes the troubles he endured and input that produced the success. This is perhaps, like most people, I tend to concentrate on the results and rarely on the troubles that produced the results. This article serves as a timely reminder to me and elk. It reminds the masters of assumptions that success like the one achieved by Bill Gates and the Microsoft Empire is built on a solid foundation of effective networking. An educative and informative article must stop at pointing out what ought or should be done to attain a desired state. Leaving the rest to the imagination of the reader would make such an article more subjective than objective. This article is well thought and is very objective when it comes to highlighting the importance of building network and how to build them. While acknowledging that human beings have a tendency to stick to familiar grounds and the importance of such cocoons, this article also highlights the dangers inherent in such approach to networking. The arguments are rather realistic and on point. Mapping out and managing network with a global outreach has and will define success both at individual and organizational level. Gaining new connections, friends, customers and opportunities are the true symbols of personal and organizational growth and development. Doing business, especially in the globalized corporate world, calls for stretching boundaries beyond the known. To me, networking is like a treasure hunt. It is like moving from the comfort zone and challenging and confronting the unknown in order to achieve success. Rather than a destination, networking to me is journeying that is unending with endless challenges and opportunities that must be taken in stride. Orpen, C., 1994, “The effects of organizational and individual career management on career success” International Journal of Manpower Vol. 14 (1), pp. 27-37. If I was asked during my formative years to define what a successful career is, I would have gone for more money. It seems right and practical otherwise how can you explain the constant picketing and disagreements in organizations the world because of low wages. Even the railway workers who pioneered the now powerful labor movement laid down their tools because of low wages among other issues. There is a tendency, which after reading this article would probably change, of people equating success with money. Perhaps because is the universally accepted mode of trade. It literary makes the world go around in a broad sense. However, this article begs to differ slightly. It takes a rather approach which lets the reader carry out a self-assessment test on how they view money. In the end, I concluded that while money is important when it comes to living a good life, it is not then only thing. It defines and distinguishes between having, having enough and being satisfied. Going through the article, the thin line between the three concepts bolds and it becomes very clear. While tackling the all-important issue of career satisfaction, the author points the need for career development both at personal and organizational level. Very few people would admit their weaknesses. They prefer to concentrate on the positives: their strengths. It offers a personal challenge; it calls for the audience to criticize themselves by taking a self-assessment and inward view of themselves. It is only by doing so that I believe I can develop my professional and personal life. And I believe organizations who take up this challenge can scale greater heights of success by finding a common ground between the sometimes conflicting individual and organizational career goals. Bright, J.E.H & Pryor, R.G.L., 2005, “The chaos theory of career planning: A user’s guide”The Career Development Quarterly vol. 53 (June), pp. 291 – 305. While quite a number of people live to achieve their career dreams, a great many have ended up in ‘wrong careers’. Many people have their careers forced upon them sometimes by circumstances beyond their control. Others, the few who can attest that their dreams are validate enjoying serving the role they always envisioned while growing. Going through this article which has based its conclusions on peer-reviewed scholarly articles, aptly captures the dilemma I have also gone through: choosing and planning my career. Choosing the ‘right’ career is also always a hard choice. There are competing interests from the family members, friends and other external factors such as the economy. That is, as the article points out, it is chaotic. How can someone balance such conflicting interests and end up finding the right career? I guess this is why so many people are not satisfied with their careers despite their lucrative salaries. In recognition of career planning which would lead to job satisfaction, this article aptly points out that an individual should critically analyze both the internal and external factors affecting their choices. And like in all conflicts, the article soundly and appropriately opines that striking a balance between the two is the key. Bibliography Seibert, SE, Kraimer, ML, Liden, RC, 2001, “A social capital theory of career success”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol 44, No 2, pp. 219-237. De Janasz, Dowd, K. & Schneider, B., 2006, Chapter 16: Networking and Mentoring, in Interpersonal skills in organisations (2nd ed.), McGraw-Hill, Sydney. Uzzi, B. & Dunlap, S, 2005, “How to build your Network” Harvard Business Review, Reprint RO512B Orpen, C., 1994, “The effects of organisational and individual career management on career success” International Journal of Manpower Vol. 14 (1), pp. 27-37. Bright, J.E.H & Pryor, R.G.L., 2005, “The chaos theory of career planning: A user’s guide” The Career Development Quarterly vol. 53 (June), pp. 291 – 305. Read More