Chapter 17: Career Management

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Chapter 17: Career Management

17career management

Chapter Scan

This chapter emphasizes the increasing responsibility that employees are taking for their own career management. It describes the four stages of career advancement and the typical characteristics for each stage. In addition, it provides an overview of Holland's six types of personalities and occupational choice, and describes the role of psychological contracts and mentors on career development, career paths, and career anchors.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1.Define career and career management.

2.Explain occupational and organizational choice decisions.

3.Describe the four stages of the career model.

4.Explain the psychological contract.

5.Describe how mentors help organizational newcomers.

6.Describe ways to manage conflicts between work and home.

7.Explain how career anchors help form a career identity.

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Chapter 17: Career Management

key terms

Chapter 17 introduces the following key terms:

career

career management

realistic job preview (RJP)

establishment

advancement

maintenance

withdrawal

psychological contract

career path

career ladder

mentor

dual-career partnership

flexible work schedule

eldercare

career plateau

bridge employment

career anchors

THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED

I.THINKING AHEAD: Brinker’s Mentoring Philosophy Attracts the Brightest and Best

Talent

II.CAREERS AS JOINT RESPONSIBILITIES

A career is the pattern of work-related experiences that span the course of a person’s life. Career management is a lifelong process of learning about self, jobs, and organizations; setting personal career goals; developing strategies for achieving the goals, and revising the goals based on work and life experiences. With the onset of widespread reductions in force, employers are beginning to invest in programs that enable employees to be more self-sufficient. The responsibility for managing careers is shifting away from the organization and toward the individual.

III.THE NEW CAREER

As the environment demands leaner organizations, shifts occur in the design of careers. Employees can no longer depend on the promise of lifetime employment in one organization, and they must continually develop their job skills to meet the changing needs of organizations.

A.Becoming Your Own Career Coach

To stay employable in this new career environment, it helps to view yourself as being in business for yourself. Keeping skills current and packaging them properly will increase your value to other employers. Success will depend on the ability to be flexible, team oriented, comfortable with change, and tolerant of ambiguity. It is important to be committed to lifelong learning in order to survive this paradigm shift.

B.Emotional Intelligence and Career Success

Emotional intelligence (EQ), introduced in Chapter 13, and emotional competencies may be twice as important as raw intelligence or technical know-how for success in today’s work environment. Emotional intelligence can be developed and tends to improve throughout life.

C.Occupational Choice

Holland's theory of occupational choice separates six types of personalities by interests and values. The six types are realistic, artistic, investigative, enterprising, social, and conventional. Holland's assumption is that people choose careers that match their personalities.

D.Organizational Choice and Entry

Four types of conflict can occur as individuals and organizations choose each other. The first conflict is between the organization’s effort to attract candidates and the individual’s choice of an organization. The second conflict is between the individual’s attempt to attract several organizations and the organizations' need to select the best candidate. The third conflict occurs within the organization between its desire to recruit a large pool of qualified applicants and its need to select and retain the best candidate. The fourth conflict occurs within the individual between the desire for several job offers and the need to make a good choice. These conflicts substantially complicate the organizational choice and entry process.

E.Realistic Job Previews

The realistic job preview (RJP) is an attempt to expedite the socialization process by giving the potential employee an honest appraisal of the position for which he or she is applying. In a realistic job preview, both positive and negative information is given to potential employees about the job they are applying for, thereby giving them a realistic picture of the job. RJPs benefit both the employer and the potential employee. The cost of recruiting, training, and developing one employee averages $40,000.

IV.THE CAREER STAGE MODEL

Most individuals pass through stages of careers in a logical progression. The establishment stageis the entry stage in which individuals learn the job and the discipline, and begin to fit into the organization. The advancement stage is typically the high achievement phase in which people focus on their competence. In the maintenance stage, individuals attempt to maintain productivity while evaluating progress toward career goals. The withdrawal stage involves the process of retirement or possible career change. These stages correlate with other maturity and life changes.

V.THE ESTABLISHMENT STAGE

The establishment stage involves beginning a career as a newcomer to an organization. Newcomers depend on others for information on what is expected in the job and in the organization.

A.Psychological Contracts

During the establishment stage, a psychological contract, or implicit agreement, between an individual and an organization is developed that specifies what each is expected to give and receive in the relationship.

B.The Stress of Socialization

The most likely stressor during the anticipatory socialization stage is ambiguity about the job and the organization. During the encounter stage, the demands of the job and the shock of reality create the majority of stress. Stress often arises from the need to control job demands during the change and adjustment stage.

C.Easing the Transition from Outsider to Insider

1.Individual Actions

Seeking support from coworkers and networking with other newcomers can help reduce stress.

2.Organizational Actions

Organizations should provide early opportunities for newcomer success, provide encouragement and feedback, and explicitly tie rewards to performance.

VI.THE ADVANCEMENT STAGE

A.Career Paths and Career Ladders

The traditional analogy for the advancement stage is one of climbing the corporate ladder. The career path is a sequence of job experiences that an employee moves along during his or her career. A career ladder is a structured series of job positions through which an individual progresses in an organization. With the restructuring of many large, well- known companies, the career ladder may no longer be as salient as it once was. This can be an additional socialization stressor for those expecting a fast track career.

B.Finding A Mentor

A mentor is an individual who provides guidance, coaching, counseling, and friendship to a protégé. Some organizations have mentor programs that pass employees upward as they reach certain stages of development. Other organizations form multicultural mentor groups, so that diversity will be firmly ingrained in their interactions. Most mentor relationships progress through a series of stages that include initiation, cultivation, separation, and redefinition.

C.Dual-Career Partnerships

Another new element in the work—life combination is the increase of dual-career partnerships. A dual-career partnership is a relationship in which both people have important career roles. Dual-career relationships have stresses of competition, organizational loyalty, and location selection to contend with throughout their organizational affiliations.

D.Work—Home Conflicts

Work—home conflicts increase when the adults in a relationship both work. The U.S. culture has mixed role expectations for women. Other countries, such as Japan, have a more pronounced set of expectations for working women. Organizations are increasingly considering providing benefits for the working couple to encourage them to remain with the organization.

One of the solutions for work—home conflicts may be flexible work schedules. Flexible work schedules allow employees discretion in setting their working hours in order to accommodate personal concerns. Another consideration related to the work—home conflict is the increase in needs for eldercare. The sandwich generation is responsible for caring for both children and elderly parents. An increasing number of organizations are providing employees with eldercare to assist them in caring for elderly parents and/or other elderly relatives.

VII.THE MAINTENANCE STAGE

The wide range of options that exists during this stage has helped individuals through potential midlife transitions and burnout. One of the options being considered in corporations is the concept of sabbaticals: a time for rejuvenation and revival.

A.Sustaining Performance

Most individuals in the maintenance stage reach a career plateau, a point in one’s career at which the probability of moving further up the hierarchy is low. Keeping work stimulating and continued appreciation of contributions are keys to maintaining employees’ productivity during this stage.

B.Becoming A Mentor

Mentoring gives individuals in this stage an opportunity to contribute to the development of newer and younger employees by sharing their wisdom, knowledge, and experience with those employees. Mentoring programs can be either formal or informal.

VIII.THE WITHDRAWAL STAGE

During the withdrawal stage, workers begin to plan seriously for and initiate their transition to retirement. Actions may include scaling back on hours, switching to part-time work, or even changing careers. Workers in this stage still have much to contribute because of their extensive experience, strong work ethic, and loyalty.

A.Planning for Change

Many large organizations offer their employees support in planning the transition to retirement. Reduced hours, temporary work, and opportunities to relocate are some of the options that may be available. Retirement requires careful financial planning, as well as a plan for psychologically withdrawing from a life of work to a life of hobbies, travel, volunteering, or other non-career activities.

B.Retirement

Retirement can be stressful due to income uncertainty, declining physical capacity, and other concerns and anxieties. Knowing what to expect helps reduce the stress of retirement, and those nearing retirement are increasingly engaging in bridge employment, employment that takes place after a person retires from a full-time position but before the person’s permanent withdrawal from the workforce.

XI.CAREER ANCHORS

Career anchors are the self-perceived talents, motives, and values that guide an individual's career decisions. Schein identified five career anchors: (1) technical/functional competence, (2) managerial competence, (3) autonomy and independence, (4) creativity, and (5) security/stability.

X.MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: MANAGING YOUR CAREER

XI.LOOKING BACK: Seeking New Challenges

CHAPTER SUMMARY

• Career management is a joint responsibility of individuals and organizations.
• Good matches between individuals and organizations can be promoted with a realistic job preview (RJP).
• The four stages in an individual's career are establishment, advancement, maintenance, and withdrawal. Each stage has unique challenges.
• Psychological contracts are implicit agreements between individuals and organizations.
• Mentoring is crucial to both the career success of young workers and the needs of older workers.
• Childcare, eldercare, and flexible work schedules can help employees manage work-home conflicts.
• Career anchors help an individual form a career identity and formulate an effective career plan.

REVIEW QUESTIONS: suggested answers

1. What is career management?

Career management is a lifelong process learning about self, jobs, and organizations, setting personal career goals, developing strategies for achieving the goals, and revising the goals based on work and life experiences.

1. What is the new career, and how does it differ from older notions about careers?

Discrete exchange, occupational excellence, organizational empowerment, and project allegiance characterize the new career. It differs from the old career paradigm in its lack of mutual loyalty and corporate allegiance, and in its emphasis on the employee taking charge of his or her career rather than relying on the organization to manage careers, as well as in other ways.

1. What are the sources of potential conflict during organizational entry? How can they be avoided?

Conflicts arise during organizational entry because both individuals and organizations attempt to present themselves in the best possible light and may not provide complete or accurate information. Conflicts also arise because when organizations present themselves only favorably in order to attract a large number of candidates, mismatches between candidates and the organization occur. Similarly, when individuals present themselves too favorably, they may receive offers for positions that do not really fit their skills and aspirations. These conflicts can be avoided through the use of realistic job previews, in which both the positive and negative aspects of the job are discussed.

1. What is a realistic job preview, and why is it important?

Realistic job previews give positive, neutral, and negative information about the company and the job. This leads to better employment matches, lower turnover, and higher job satisfaction.

1. What are psychological contracts?

Psychological contracts are implicit agreements between individuals and organizations that specify what each is expected to give and receive in a working relationship.

1. What stressors are associated with socialization?

Ambiguity creates stress during anticipatory socialization while the newcomer tries to gather information about the job and the organization, and realities of role, task, and interpersonal relationship demands associated with the new job create stress in the encounter phase.

1. What are the career functions provided by a mentor?

Mentors provide guidance and counseling to protégés. They provide career functions of sponsorship, exposure and visibility, coaching, and protection. They also provide psychosocial functions of role modeling, acceptance and confirmation, and friendship.

1. What are some of the most likely causes of home—work conflicts?

Common causes of home—work conflicts include stress on the job, childcare responsibilities, scheduling conflicts, and lack of time.

1. What are the two key issues to deal with during the maintenance career stage?

Two key issues facing workers in this stage involve sustaining performance and becoming a mentor.

10. What is the key to career survival?

Envisioning oneself as the sole proprietor of one’s career, in competition with everyone else involved in a similar career, is critical in learning to survive. It requires a person to continually add value to the organization, continually assess his or her awareness of and connections with the working environment, and work at adopting new ideas, techniques, and technologies.

DISCUSSION AND COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS: suggested answers

1. What are the realities of the new career? How can developing your emotional intelligence help you turn these realities into opportunities to improve your career?

The concept of the new career centers on the fact that individuals will hold jobs with multiple organizations throughout their careers and, therefore, must be able to adapt to a constantly changing environment. Developing emotional intelligence can help them master the interpersonal skills necessary to adapt and succeed.

2. What do you think will be the most stressful career stage? What type of stressors led you to make this choice?

We all have a tendency to think that the stage we currently face is the most difficult and stressful. However, students trying to enter the job market may have added reasons for concern during times when the job market is relatively tight.

3. Does the career stage model have exceptions? In other words, can it be applied to all careers? If not, what are the exceptions?

Careers that have delayed entry, such as those requiring advanced education, will compress and delay the impact of the stages. Individuals who leave and re-enter the workforce will have different pressures than those who have been steadily progressing through the stages.

4. Do men and women have different expectations of a dual-career partnership? How do these expectations differ?

Students will vary with their answers. Research validates that the expectations are vastly different. An additional experiential exercise at the end of this chapter deals with the difference in values between males and females in dual-career partnerships.

5. Given the downsizing and restructuring in many organizations, how can organizations help employees with career management if there are fewer opportunities for promotion?

Career management seminars are especially important in dealing with the concept of individual responsibility for career paths. Organizations can aid members in maintaining their self-esteem during separation from the organization through the use of outplacement services. The company may need to help employees redefine career success.

6. How has each of the four challenges (globalization, diversity, technology, and ethics) affected career management in recent years?

The increase in international assignments for managers is likely to continue for several years. As a result, most individuals will work in highly diverse environments. Technology has enriched many jobs, and has also made possible such career innovations as telecommuting. Many companies struggle with career decisions that have ethical implications, such as layoffs, forced retirements, changes in organizational structure, etc.

7. Contact the human resources manager of a local business. Ask if he or she would take a few minutes to discuss some issues about résumés with you. Structure your discussion around the following questions:

a. How often do you encounter “padded” résumés? What is the most common “padding” and how do you react to it?

b. Do you verify the information on résumés? How do you do this? How long does it take for you to be sure that an applicant has been honest about his/her qualifications?