Lecture 2: Career Concepts

4.0 Introduction

A career is a sequence of positions or jobs held by a person during the course of his working life.
According to Flippo, “a career is a sequence of separate but related work activities that provide
continuity, order and meaning to a person’s life.”
It is not a series of work related experiences but a sequence of attitudes and behavior associated
with work related activates over the span of a person’s life.
A person’s career is shaped by many factors e.g. heredity, parents, culture, age level, job
experience, e.t.c.
Normally, employees want to advance and grow in their careers.
Most individuals develop quite early in life and idea or a mental image of what a career they
would like to pursue.
An individual with a managerial potential joins a firm not for a job but for a career.
But organizations have their own requirements and constraints which limits their capacity to meet
the employee expectations.

Specific objectives

At the end of the lecture you should be able:

Discuss the concept of career management.

Explain the various concepts that are related to career management.

20
Lecture Outline
Career management
Career Planning
Career Development
Career Paths
Career Self-Management
Career maturity and Career self-efficacy
Career Counseling
End of lecture activities
Self –tests Question
Summary
Suggestions for further reading

Career management
Career management can be described as an ongoing process whereby the individual:
1) Obtains self-knowledge (interests, values, abilities, personality, career patterns, career
anchors)
2) Obtains a knowledge of employment opportunities (jobs, work roles, skills demand, skills
acquisition opportunities, venture creation possibilities, work places)
3) Develops career goals,
4) Develops a strategy,
5) Implements the strategy and experiments with various employment possibilities, and
6) Obtains feedback on the effectiveness of the strategy and the relevance of the goals.
The career management process involves making realistic choices which includes greater
attention to one’s own skills and the demand for those skills in the labour market.
Emphasis on training the new entrant to the world of work on career management should be
made. Such training should include;
i) Self-knowledge,

21
 ii) Occupational knowledge,
iii) Technical skills and
iv) General employability skills.

The employer plays a career planning training role and provides facilities such as career
workshops, career workbooks, career centers, counseling, and other arrangements to assist
employees in making better career decisions.

Career planning
Career planning is the systematic process by which one selects career goals and the paths to these
goals.
From the organization’s viewpoint it means helping the employees to plan their career in terms of
their capacities within the context of organization’s needs.

It involves designing an organizational system of career movement and growth opportunities for
employees from the empl oyment stage to the retirement stage.
Individuals who fit positions are identified and prepared to take up these positions. This requires
discovery, development, planned employment and re-employment of talents.
Career planning can therefore be described as the process by which individuals;
i) Obtain knowledge about themselves (their values, personality, preferences, interests, etc
ii) Obtain information about the working environment, and then
iii) Make an effort to achieve a proper match by determining short and long term career goals
further on their own or with organizational assistance.
Career planning is important because the consequences of career success or failure are linked
closely to each individual’s self-concept, identity, and satisfaction with career and life.
The responsibility for career planning rests primarily with the individual.
Self-knowledge is a prerequisite for successful career planning.
This involves knowledge of one’s interest, skills, values, strengths, and weaknesses.
People who know themselves well can make more rational decisions.

22
The characteristics of career planning
1) Career planning is a process of developing human resources rather than an event.
2) It is not an end in itself but a means of managing people to obtain optimum results.
3) Career planning is a continuous process due to an ever changing environment.
4) It is an individual’s responsibility. While the organization’s responsibility is to provide
guidance and counseling to its employees.
5) The basic aim of career planning is the integration of individual and organizational needs.

Some Important terms used in connection with career planning:

i) Career goals: The future positions one strives to reach as part of a career.
ii) Career path: The sequential pattern of jobs that form a career.
iii)Career progression: Making progress in one’s career through promotions.
iv) Career counseling: Guiding and advising people on their possible career paths and what
they must do to achieve promotions.
v) Mentoring: The process wherein an executive or senior employee serves as a teacher,
advisor, guide, friend, philosopher, and confidante to the new entrant.
vi) Career anchor: The basic drives that give the urge to take up a certain type of
career. These drives are as follows;
a) Technical competence- providing for professional satisfaction, continuous learning
and updating one’s expertise in a technical or functional area.
b) Managerial competence- career providing opportunities for higher responsibility,
decision making, control and influence.
c) Security- ensuring security of career through compliance with the organization’s
prescriptions.
d) Autonomy- career providing freedom of action and independence.
e) Creativity- entrepreneurial and innovative opportunities.

Differences between Career planning and manpower planning

 Career planning is an integral part of manpower planning which in turn is an important
part of corporate planning.
 Manpower planning cannot be effective without proper career planning.
 Manpower planning provides valuable information to facilitate career planning.
However, there are important differences between career planning and manpower
planning.
 First, manpower planning provides an inventory of skills and potentials available within
an organization.

23
  On the other hand, career planning determines who (on the basis of performance and
potential) could be groomed for higher level assignments, where when and how (i.e. after
what kind of training).
 Secondly, manpower planning provides information on the human resources available
within the organization for expansion, growth and technological innovations.
 But career planning only tells us who could succeed in case of retirement, death,
resignation, etc of existing personnel.

Succession planning
A succession of persons to fill key positions over time is essential for the survival and success of
an organization.
The purpose of succession planning is to identify and develop people to replace current
incumbents in key positions in cases of resignations, retirement, promotions, growth, expansion
and creation of new positions.
Succession by people from within provides opportunities to employees for progress in their
careers.

Differences between Career planning and a Succession planning

i) Career planning and succession planning are similar but not synonymous.
ii) Career planning covers all levels of employees whereas succession planning is generally
required for higher level executives.
iii) A succession plan involves identification of vacancies that are likely to occur in the
higher levels and locating the probable successors while career planning motivates
employees and facilitates continuity of the organization.
iv) Career planning may consist of chart showing the career paths of different categories of
employees showing how they can advance up in the organization. But a succession plan
consists of a runner up chart or succession chart.

Objectives of career planning

Career planning seeks to achieve the following aims;
i. To attract and retain the right type of persons in the organization
ii. To map out careers of employees suitable to their ability, and their willingness to be
trained and developed for higher positions.
iii. To ensure better use of human resources through more satisfied and productive employees.

24
 iv. To have a more stable workforce by reducing labor turnover and absenteeism.
v. To increasingly utilize the managerial talent available at all levels within the organization.
vi. To improve employee morale and motivation by matching skills to job requirements and
by providing opportunities for promotion.
vii. To ensure that promising persons get experiences that will equip them to reach
responsibility for which they are able.
viii. To provide guidance and encouragement employees need to fulfill their potentials.
ix. To achieve higher productivity and organizational development.

Career Development
Career development can be defined as ‘an ongoing process by which individual’s progress
through a series of stages, each of which is characterized by relatively unique set of issues,
themes or tasks.
•
A career consists of different stages and the individuals are confronted with the different
issues during each of these stages.
• Effective career management requires knowledge of the distinctive physical and
psychological needs of the individual.
Career development involves the following activities:
i) Career need assessment: Career needs of employees can be judged by evaluating their
aptitudes, abilities, and potential. The organization should assist employees in assessing
their career needs and in identifying their career goals.
ii) Career opportunities: career opportunities that can be met should be identified through
job analysis. Job description, job specification and job redesign reveal lines of
advancement for employees.
iii) Need-opportunity alignment: In the next stage of career development, employee needs
are aligned with available career opportunities. The organization can design appropriate
development programmes to help employees integrate their development needs with
organizational opportunities.

Some of these programmes are as follows.

a) Individualized techniques
b) Performance appraisal
c) Management by objectives
d) Career counseling
iv) Monitoring career moves: it is necessary to maintain a record of career movements of
employees and to monitor their progress towards the predetermined career goals. This
will enable the personnel department to identify discrepancies and to adopt corrective
measures at the right time.
25
 How to make career development programme effective;
i) Creating awareness about individual strengths and weaknesses.
ii) Developing appreciation of organizational constraints.
iii) Making employees believe that their superiors care for their development.
iv) Developing appropriate career plans.
v) Providing support systems to give a fair and equal opportunity for all to move within
and among different job families.

Career Paths
• Employees move from one job to another. These moves very often indicate a sequential
pattern of jobs, which can be referred to as a career path.
• ‘Career paths are objective descriptions of sequential work experiences, as opposed to
subjective, personal feelings about career progress, personal development or satisfaction’.
• Career paths exist on an informal basis in almost all organizations.
• However, career paths are much useful when formally defined and documented.
• Career path Career pathing is most useful when used as part of the overall career-
planning process.
• The perception of promotion as the only purposeful career route is now outdated.
• Career paths should:
i) Represents real progression possibilities, whether lateral or upward.
ii) Be tentative and responsive to changes in job content, work priorities,
organizational patterns, and management needs.
iii) Be flexible, taking into consideration the compensating qualities a particular
employee, managers, subordinates, or others who influence the way that work is
performed;
iv) Specify the skills, knowledge, and other attributes required to perform effectively
at each position along the paths and specify how the can be acquired.

Career self-management
• Career self-management is the ability to keep pace with the speed at which change occurs
within the organization and the industry and to prepare for the future through continuous
learning and career planning efforts.

26
 • Career self-management emphasizes the need of individuals to keep learning because
jobs that are held today may evolve into something different tomorrow, or may simply
disappear entirely.
• Career self-management also involves identifying and obtaining new skills and
competencies programmes and experiences for employees.

Career maturity and Career self-efficacy

This is a concept that is linked to career resilience. Individuals who make career decisions that
reflect decisiveness, involvement, independence, task orientation and willingness to compromise
between needs and reality have usually achieved a high degree of career maturity.

Career Counseling

Career planning may require advising and guiding employees in their possible career paths and
the direction in which they ought to be heading. Such advising and guiding is called career
counseling. The need for such counseling arises when employees have to plan their own careers
and develop themselves for career progression in the organization.
The main objectives of career counseling are as follows:
• To provide guidelines that helps an individual to understand himself more clearly and
develop his own thinking and outlook.
• To help individuals achieve and enjoy greater personal satisfaction, and pleasure.
• To enable individuals to study the immediate and personal world in which they live.
• To help individuals understand the forces and dynamics operating in a system.

One major consequence of the boundary less careers and multi-directional career paths is the
emergence of the so-called test-and –learn career planning and development models. The
traditional career management models emphasized the plan-and-implement aspects related to
career management.

27
 4.9 Activities

A local secondary school has invited you to give a career talk to their
students. They have tasked you to ensure that in your talk you have
covered various aspects of career management. Briefly outline key issues
your talk will encamps to fulfill this request.

Self – Test Questions

Explain and discuss the steps you will follow in planning and managing your career.

Discuss the skills, attitudes, attributes and behavior that helped you to achieve success in

your career

Why do some people seem to find the perfect career, while others struggle through a series of

unsuccessful jobs?
Distinguish between traditional and contemporary definitions of career.

Differentiate between job satisfaction and career satisfaction.

Why is self-knowledge critical in career planning?

Summary

Career Management is an ongoing planning and development process.

Self-knowledge is the basis for career planning

28
4.12 Suggestion for further reading

Ackah, C and Heaton, N (2003) The reality of “new” careers for men and women. Journal of
European Industrial Training, 28(2/3/4), 141-158

Allen TD (2006) Mentoring. In JH Greenhaus and GA Callahan (eds) Encyclopedia Of Career

Development, 486-493, New Delhi: sage publication

Appelbaum, SH and Finestone, D (1994) Revisiting career plateauing: some old problems:
Avant- garde solutions. Journal Of Managerial Psychology, 9 (5), 13-21

Ballout, HI (2009) career commitment and career success: moderating role of Self-efficacy.
Career Development International, 14 (7), 655-670

29
30