Career Management and Planning - Essay Example

CAREER MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING What is meant by effective career management and planning and whose responsibility is it? Illustrate your answer by referring to relevant literature, theory and experience Introduction Career management consists of attempts to impact the way an individual’s career develops, through individual self-management and by organizational initiatives. A career is defined as “the sequence of employment-related positions, roles, activities and experiences encountered by a person” (Arnold, 2005: 1, 16). The rapid development of today’s working environment compels both companies and individuals to undertake employees’ career management and planning which benefit not only the individual, but the long-term health of the organization. The individual’s career development initiatives are fuelled by his or her career anchors: skills, knowledge, abilities, attitudes, values and life situation (Baruch, 2004: 79). Career development is the outcome of a joint effort between the individual employee and the organization (Zheng & Kleiner, 2001: 38). The purpose of this paper is to examine effective career management and planning, and identify whose responsibility it is, the individual or the organization. Theories of career management: psychological contracts, boundaryless careers, and protean careers will be studied. . Discussion In earlier times, the provision of organizational job security in exchange for employee’s loyalty and hard work, was the norm (Baruch, 2004: 11). This has now changed with the restructuring of organizations based on human resource theories of empowerment, self-development and others (Herriot & Stickland, 1996: 465). With increasing “individual consciousness”, new modes of work and more part-time employment options resulting in different employment relationships, multiple commitments to multiple constituencies have now replaced the concept of single organizational commitment and loyalty (Baruch, 2004: 80). If individuals need to take greater control of their personal and career development, a clear view of the ways in which this can be achieved, is required (Ball, 1997: 79). Contemporary organizational strategies support people taking responsibility for their own development, to benefit both the individual as well as the organization. (Stickland, 1996: 584). A research study conducted by Orpen (1994: 37), found that both individual’s and organization’s career planning strategies have positive outcomes, enhancing the career growth of individuals, and producing beneficial results for organizations. Career Self Management by Individuals To develop the strategy and skills of career self management, taking responsibility and self-awareness are the crucial first steps towards progressing in the right direction. Acquiring organizational survival skills is through self-marketing, organizational politics, proactivity, interpersonal skills, networking, action learning, leadership and stress management (Stickland, 1996: 588-592). Other proactive strategies for taking charge of one’s career are sharpening communication skills, discovering and adapting to changes, being flexible, embracing new technologies, continuing to learn and developing new capacities (Zheng & Kleiner, 2001: 34-35). The experience of the majority of new employees is that they had high expectations from the organization in relation to assistance in career management; and these expectations remained unmet. This has created the necessity for self-management of one’s career, which is in alignment with the orientation towards self-reliance and the self-based career security sought by young people today (Sturges, 2000: 353). In the information technology age the concept of employability has changed, with employers no longer able to offer employees a stable workplace and a long term commitment. However, through modes such as psychological contracting, a fair deal from both sides is maintained (Baruch, 2004: 147). Psychological contracting, according to Baruch (2004: 10), is “the unspoken promise present in the small print of the employment contract, of what the organization gives, and what employees give in return”. Psychological contracting between the individual and organization is the set of mutually agreed expectations and reciprocal loyalty which holds the entire organizational enterprise together. “It is the invisible glue which binds the individual to the organization over time” (Herriot, 1992: 6). The psychological contract is also characterized by shared responsibility of career management, and it positively impacts employees’ well-being, job satisfaction, job involvement and self efficacy (Cuyper et al, 2005: 64).. A model of individual career development is protean careers, and an innovative career concept is boundaryless careers (Baruch, 2004: 93). Protean careers is a new innovative form of career self-management, which is essentially a contract with oneself where the individual rather than the organization takes responsibility for planning their career path (Baruch, 2004: 71). Protean careers are focused more on psychological success, and the theory is based on the fact that individuals change themselves according to their need, through re-invention, continuous change and self-assessment. This is well adapted to the flexible, ever-changing career options in contemporary workplaces (Kakabadse et al, 2004: 49). The boundaryless career is a new theory of career management. It does not characterize any single career form, but a range of possible forms that defies traditional employment concepts of single workplace settings. Independent agents negotiating short term contracts with different organizations have the liberty of working in several types of workplaces, and can work flexibly to suit all conditions ranging from highly fluid to relatively stable jobs. In this form of career self-management, only the individual is responsible for his career planning. The employee benefits from opportunities to develop diverse capabilities through learning in different situations, and in various capacities (Arthur & Rousseau, 2001: 3). Organizational Initiatives for Supporting Employees’ Career Management Some important initiatives that organizations need to take to help employees plan their careers include: develop an awareness programme, involve trade unions, provide an appropriate organizational culture, provide professional career guidance, develop managers’ skills and advertise internal vacancies (Stickland, 1996: 591-594). Further, organizations should track and monitor employees’ career paths and develop career ladders; and ensure that capable managerial and technical talent meet the organization’s needs (Zheng & Kleiner, 2001: 38, 35). Other assistance through providing career information systems, human resource planning and forecasting, skills assessment and training, and career development workshops for supervisors, are also vital (Zheng & Kleiner, 2001: 36-37). Conclusion This paper has highlighted effective career management and planning and identified that both the individual and the organization need to be responsible for career planning, Theories of career management such as psychological contracts, boundaryless careers, and protean careers were taken into consideration. It was found that self-development of career by an individual can be successfully implemented only with the supportive environment provided by organizations (Herriot & Stickland, 1996: 468). Essentially, responsibility must be shared between both the individual and the organization, for securing employee commitment for the organization and profitable career development for the individual (Sturges, 2000: 367). References Arnold, J. 2005. Managing careers into the 21st century. London: Sage Publications. Arthur, M.B. & Rousseau, D.M. 2001. The boundaryless career. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ball, B. 1997. Career management competences: the individual perspective. Career Development International, 2 (2): 74-79. Baruch, Y. 2004. Managing careers: theory and practice. Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapters 3 and 5. Cuyper, N.D., Isaksson, K. & De Witte, H. 2005. Employment contracts and well-being among European workers. England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Herriot, P. 1992. The career management challenge. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Herriot, P. & Stickland, R. 1996. Career management: the issue of the millennium. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5 (4): 465-470. Kakabadse, A., Bank, J. & Vinnicombe, S. 2004. Working in organizations. England: Gower Publishing Ltd. Orpen, C. 1994. The effects of organizational and individual career management on career success. International Journal of Manpower, 15 (1): 27-37. Stickland, R. 1996. Career self-management: can we live without it? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5 (4): 583-596. Sturges, J. 2000. Who’s in charge? Graduates’ attitudes to and experiences of career management and their relationship with organizational commitment. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 9 (3): 351-370. Zheng, A.Y. & Kleiner, B.H. 2001. Developments concerning career development and transition. Management Research News, 24 (3/4): 33-39. Read More