Chapter 10Chapter 10

Managing Careers

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Questions This Chapter Will Help Managers AnswerQuestions This Chapter Will Help Managers Answer

What strategies might be used to help employees “self-manage” their careers?

What can supervisors do to improve their management of dual-career couples?

Why are the characteristics and environment of an employee’s first job so important?

What strategies are available for dealing with “plateaued” workers? What steps can managers take to do a better job of responding to the

special needs of workers in their early, middle, and late career stages?

CareerCareer

The objective career

A career is a sequence of positions occupied by a person during the course of a lifetime

CareerCareer (contd.)(contd.)

The subjective career

A career consists of a sense of where one is going in one’s work life

Reasons Why Companies Should Not Ignore Career Reasons Why Companies Should Not Ignore Career IssuesIssues

Rising concerns for quality of work life and for personal life planning Pressures to expand workforce diversity throughout all levels of an

organization Rising educational levels and occupational aspirations, coupled with Slow economic growth and reduced opportunities for advancement

Characteristics of Boundaryless CareersCharacteristics of Boundaryless Careers

Portable knowledge, skills, and abilities across multiple firmsPersonal identification with meaningful workOn-the-job action learningDevelopment of multiple networks of associates and peer-learning relationships, andResponsibility for managing one’s own career

Psychological SuccessPsychological Success

… the feeling of pride and personal accomplishment that comes from achieving one’s most important goals in life, be they achievement, family happiness, inner peace, or something else.

Career Management GuidelinesCareer Management Guidelines

1. Selecting a field of employment and an employer

2. Knowing where you are

3. Planning your exit

Successful Management of Dual-Career CouplesSuccessful Management of Dual-Career Couples

Flexible work schedules

Company-supported child care

Customized career paths

Reasons Why Employer-Supported Child Care Will Reasons Why Employer-Supported Child Care Will Continue to GrowContinue to Grow

Dual-career couples now comprise a preponderance of the workforce

There has been a significant rise in the number of single parents, over half of whom use child-care facilities

More and more, career-oriented women are arranging their lives to include motherhood and professional goals

Organizational EntryOrganizational EntrySocializationSocialization

…refers to the mutual adaptation of the new employee and the new employer to one another

Organizational EntryOrganizational EntryMentoringMentoring

A mentor is a teacher, an advisor, a sponsor, and a confidant

Issues For Men and Women 35-55 Years of AgeIssues For Men and Women 35-55 Years of Age

An awareness of advancing age and an awareness of deathAn awareness of bodily changes related to agingKnowing how many career goals have been or will be

attainedA search for new life goalsA marked change in family relationships

Issues Issues (contd.)(contd.)

A change in work relationship (“coach” vs. “rookie”)A growing sense of obsolescence at workA feeling of decreased mobility and increased concern for

job security

Career PathsCareer Paths

Represent logical and possible sequences of positions that could be held, based on an analysis of what people actually do in an organization

Figure 10-2Figure 10-2 Development of a Career System Composed Development of a Career System Composed of Individual Career Pathsof Individual Career Paths

Step 1 Analyze jobs to determine similarities and differences among them

Analyze jobs to determine similarities and differences among them

Step 2 Group jobs with similar behavioral requirements into job families

Group jobs with similar behavioral requirements into job families

Step 3 Identify career paths within and among job families

Identify career paths within and among job families

Step 4 Integrate the overall network of career paths into a single career system

Integrate the overall network of career paths into a single career system

Figure 10-3Figure 10-3 Internal Moves in OrganizationsInternal Moves in Organizations

Transfers,Relocations

Demotions

Layoffs,Retirements,Resignations

Promotions

DemotionsDemotions

… usually involve a cut in pay, status, privilege, or opportunity

… usually involve a cut in pay, status, privilege, or opportunity

Layoff CostsLayoff Costs

Direct Costs Severance pay, pay in lieu of

notice Accrued vacation and sick pay Supplemental employment

benefits Outplacement Pension and benefit payoffs Administrative processing costs

Indirect Costs Recruiting and employment cost

of new hires Training and retraining Increase in unemployment tax

rate Potential charges of unfair

discrimination Low morale among remaining

employees Heightened insecurity and

reduced productivity

Benefits of Job SharingBenefits of Job Sharing

Retention of experienced workers who would otherwise leave their jobs

Benefits continue Overtime is reduced Workers retain a career orientation and potential for upward mobility It eliminates the need for training a temporary employee

Drawbacks of Job SharingDrawbacks of Job Sharing

There is a lack of job continuity Supervision is inconsistent Accountability is not centered in one person Non-salary expenses do not decrease, because many benefits are a

function of the employee, not the amount of pay When workers are represented by a union, seniority is bypassed, and

senior workers may resist sharing jobs

ResignationsResignations

Impulsive quitters resign “on the spot” (as a result of sharp negative emotions) without any advance planning.

Comparison quitters rationally evaluate alternative jobs and are relatively free of strong negative emotions toward their former employers.

Preplanned quitters plan in advance to quit at a specific time in the future (e.g., upon reaching age 60).

Conditional quitters hold the view: “I will quit as soon as I get another job offer that meets certain conditions.”

Key Terms Discussed in the ChapterKey Terms Discussed in the Chapter

Career Career success Career self-management Career planning Organizational entry Socialization Mentor Reverse mentoring Plateaued worker

Career paths Promotions Demotions Blended life course Self-assessment Impulsive quitter Comparison quitter Preplanned quitter Conditional quitter