Employees will often take the view that it is their employer’s duty to provide them with career development opportunities. In reality, they may wait for a long time.

Employees will often take the view that it is their employer’s duty to provide them with career development opportunities. In reality, they may wait for a long time.

 

            In reality, the organization is responsible for providing career development opportunities. However, the employee must also take the initiative to plan his or her career. I agree with the statement, because I believe that an employee can not expect the organization to manage his or her career. The organization’s responsibility is to make sure that career development opportunities are available for every employee. The employee on the other hand is the one responsible for managing his or her own career. This means that the organization can only do so much and relying solely on the organization is not a smart decision on the employee’s part. Career development is a two way street, with the organization responsible for career management and the employee for career planning.

 

            In order to substantiate my argument am in-dept analysis and discussion of career development is essential. Let us first discuss what career development means. Career development, according to Sims (2002) is an organized, planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career plotting effort between employees and the organization. This definition stresses out that the process of career development is ‘mutual’. The employee and the organizations needs to coordinate. Again, I would like to argue that an employee cannot expect the organization to be responsible for the whole career development process. Another definition of career development is provided by Gilley and Eggland (1998) stating that it focuses on providing the analysis necessary to identify the individual interests, values, competencies, activities and assignments needed to develop skills for future. They also added that career development includes both individual and organizational activities. Individual activities include career planning, career awareness, and utilizing career resource centers. Organizational activities include job posting systems, mentoring systems, career resource center development and maintenance, using managers as career counselors, providing career development workshops and seminars, human resource planning, performance appraisal, and career pathing programs. Again, the definition stresses the importance of collaboration between the employee and the organization. The employee should take an active role in career development. The role of the organization is making sure that opportunities and paths are laid down for the employee. The employee is the one that plans, through the information that he or she gets from the organization, for his or her career and how to achieve the career goals. Within the career development system, the employee is responsible for career planning and the organization is responsible for career management (Gilley and Eggland 1998). Now let us analyze the roles of the organization and employee in career development.

 

Role of the Organization

            The organization must commit itself to career development. It must make sure that career development is focused on the needs related to personal activities and interests, that the process is flexible, that the evaluation procedures are properly developed and that the top management supports that process. The organization is responsible for initiating and ensuring that career development takes place. The organization’s responsibilities are to develop and communicate career options within the organization to the employee. The organization is responsible in advising the employee about the possible career paths that he or she can take. Another responsibility of the organization is supplying information about its mission, policies, and plans and provide support for employee self-assessment, training and development. According to Sims (2002), significant career growth can take place when individual scheme unite with organizational opportunity. The organization needs to identify the needs and problems of the employees. The individual career needs of the employees must be aligned with the organizational needs. That way, both needs will be satisfied.

 

Role of the Employee

            The employee is generally responsible for career planning. Career planning according to Sims (2002) is a process of setting up employee career objectives and developing activities that will achieve them. Career planning, he added is the process by which an individual formulates career goals and develops a plan for reaching those goals. There are three basic outcomes of performance planning:

1. Broad Life Planning – involves identifying interests, abilities, experiences, aptitudes, and values that improve self-awareness, self-concept, and career orientations (Gilley et al 1999).

2. Developmental Planning – focuses on realistic evaluation of future career options and opportunities, and the creation of activities that will prepare employees for future jobs and career decisions (Gilley et al 1999).

3. Performance Planning – centers on the identification of specific job demand goals, priorities, and reward expectations of current assignments (Gilley et al 1999).

 

 

           

Conclusion

Employees will often take the view that it is their employer’s duty to provide them with career development opportunities. In reality, they may wait for a long time.

 

I could not agree more. I agree that if an employee view career development as the responsibility of organization (employer) and does not actively coordinates with the management regarding his or her career, effective career development will not take place. As much as the organization is responsible for career development, the employee must not just sit and wait for career development to happen. The employee also has responsibilities. As what I have said earlier, it is a two way street. The organization initiates and facilitates career development and ensures that the employee is properly informed and make sure that it provides support for the employee. On the other hand, according to Gilley et al (1999) it is ultimately the responsibility of employees to develop their own career planning strategy. Employees control decisions such as whether to remain in the organization, accept specific organizational assignments, perform at acceptable levels, or engage in personal growth and developmental activities through learning acquisition and transfer plans. Employees need to construct plans that will enable them to accomplish their career goals, analyze their career potential, and determine whether they possess the skills, competencies, and knowledge necessary to be considered serious candidates for other positions within the organization. Employees must work in concert with managers and supervisors to identify career options and alternatives.

 

 

References

 

Gilley, J W and Eggland, S A 1998, Principles of Human Resource Development, Perseus Publishing, Reading, MA.

 

Gilley, J W, Boughton, N W and Maycunich, A 1999, The Performance Challenge: Developing Management Systems to Make Employees Your Organization’s Greatest Asset, Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA.

 

Sims, R 2002, Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.

 

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