Chapter 17
Nelson & Quick
Career Management
Why Understand Careers
If we know what to look forward to, we can be
proactive in planning
As managers, we need to understand the
experiences of our employees and colleagues
Career management is good business--It makes
financial sense
Career/Career Management
Career - the pattern of work-related experiences that
span the course of a persons life
Career Management - 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
Career: Paradigm Shift
New Career Paradigm Old Career Paradigm
Discrete Exchange Mutual Loyalty Contract
Occupational Excellence One-Employer Focus
Organizational Empowerment Top-Down Firm
Project Allegiance Corporate Allegiance
The New Career
An organization gains
Discrete Exchange productivity while a person
gains work experience
Skills are continually honed that
Occupational Excellence can be marketed across
organizations
Power flows down to business
Organizational Empowerment units and in turn to the
employees
Both individuals and
Project Allegiance organizations are committed
to successful project completion
Personalities
and Choices
Artistic architect
imaginative voice coach
emotional interior designer
impulsive
Personalities
and Choices
Conventional word processor
efficient accountant
practical data entry operator
obedient
Conflicts During Organizational Entry
The individuals attempt Organizational efforts to
to attract the organization attract individuals
2 1
4 3
The individuals choice Organizational selection
of an organization of individuals
Figure in L.W. Porter, E.E. Lawler III, and J. R. Hackman, Behavior in Organizations, New York:
McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1975. Page 134. Reproduced with permission of the McGraw-Hill Companies.
Realistic Job Preview (RJP)
Realistic Job Preview - both positive and negative
information given to potential employees about the
job they are applying for, thereby giving them a
realistic picture of the job
RJPs help promote the image of the
organization as operating consistently
and honestly
The Career Stage Model
Withdrawal
Career
Maintenance
stage
Advancement
Establishment
Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood
(17-40) (40-60) (60+)
Life stage (age)
Career Stages
Withdrawal individual
contemplates retirement or possible
career changes
Maintenance individual tries to
maintain productivity while evaluating
progress toward career goals
Advancement people focus
on increasing their competence
Establishment the person
learns the job and begins to fit
into the organization and occupation
Establishment: tasks of the
newcomer
Negotiate an effective psychological contract - an
implicit agreement between an individual and an
organization that specifies what each is expected to
give and receive in the relationship
Manage the stress of socialization
Make the transition from organizational outsider to
organizational insider
Establishment: Newcomer-Insider Psychological
Contracts for Social Support
Function of Examples of
Type of Supportive Newcomer Insider
Support Attachments Concern Response
Protection Direct What are the Supervisor
from stressors assistance risks? cues newcomer
Provision of What must Mentor gives
Informational
information l know? advice
How am I Supervisor
Evaluative Feedback
doing? offers feedback
Evidence of Who do I Newcomer is
Modeling
standards follow? apprenticed
Empathy, Others (new)
Emotional Do I matter?
esteem, love empathize
Advancement: Strive for
Achievement
Career Path - a sequence of job experiences that
an employee moves along during his or her
career
Career Ladder - a structured series of job
positions through which an individual
progresses in an organization
Advancement: Mentoring
Mentor - an individual who provides guidance,
coaching, counseling, and friendship to a protg
Career functions provided by a mentor
Sponsorship
Facilitating exposure
and visibility
Coaching
Protection
Advancement: Mentoring
Psychosocial functions Characteristics of good
provided by a mentor mentoring relationships
Regular contact
Role modeling
Consistency with
Acceptance and
corporate culture
confirmation
Training in managing
Counseling
the relationship
Friendship Accountability
Prestige for mentor
Advancement: Phases of
Mentoring
Initiation - relationship begins
Cultivation - relationship gains meaning
Separation - protg asserts independence
Redefinition - relationship has new identity
Advancement: Why Mentors are
important
Mentored individuals earn higher salaries
Mentored individuals have higher promotion rates
Mentored individuals are better decision makers
Advancement: Dual-Career
Partnerships
Dual-Career Partnership - a relationship in which
both people have important career roles
Pressures of such partnerships
Time pressure
Jealousy
Precedence (which career)
Advancement: Work-Home
Conflicts
Work-home conflicts more likely affect women
Organizations attempts to help
Flexible Work Schedule - a work schedule that
allows employees discretion in order to
accommodate personal concerns
Eldercare - assistance in caring for elderly
parents and/or other elderly relatives
Maintenance: Time of Crisis
or Contentment
Midlife crisis
Slowed or stalled career growth
Burnout
Contentment
Sense of achievement
No need to strive for continued upward mobility
Maintenance: Issues of
This Stage
Career Plateau - a point in an individuals career
in which the probability of moving further up the
hierarchy is low
Firms respond with
Lateral moves
Project teams
Affirmation
Maintenance:Sharing the
Knowledge through Mentoring
Successful formal mentoring programs require:
1. Voluntary participation
2. Support from top executives
3. Training for the mentors
4. Graceful exit opportunities
Withdrawal: Planning for
Change
Plan financially
Plan psychologically
Bridge Employment employment that takes place
after a person retires from a full-time position but
before the persons permanent withdrawal from the
workforce
Withdrawal: Retirement
Issues
Spouse
Dual
Careers
Health Income
A network of self-perceived
Career Anchors talents, motives, and values
that guide an individuals
career decisions
Managerial Autonomy &
Competence Technical/Functional Independence
Competence
Creativity Security/Stability
Managing Your Career: Key
Questions
1. Am I adding real value?
2. Am I plugged into whats
happening around me?
3. Am I trying new ideas,
new techniques, new
technologies?
