Assignment for Midterm Examination, Summer Semester -2020 [202]

Course Title: Career Planning and Development; Course Code: HRM – 605
MBA Program
Submission Date: 19th November, 2020

Assigned to:

Course Teacher : Mohammad Tamzid

Designation : Assistant Professor
Office Location : 4th floor, Teachers’ lounge, Main Campus.

Assignment Submitted by:

Name: Maria Matin

ID: 202005005
Masters of Business Administration
 1. “A career is defined as the pattern of work related experiences that span the
course of a person’s life”. In the light of the statement define the concept of
career and the importance of understanding career management from both
perspectives.

Ans: A career is best described as "the pattern of work-related experiences that span the
course of one's life. This definition includes both objective events, such as jobs, and subjective
views of work, such as the person's attitudes, values, and expectations.

Everything you need to know about the stages of career development. Career development refers
to those personal improvements which one undertakes to achieve a personal career plan.
“Career Development is an on-going process that occurs over the life span and includes home,
school and community experience”. – Pietrofesa and Splete.
Career development can be analysed based on the career stages. There are five career
development stages through which most of us have gone through or will go through. These
stages include- exploration, establishment, and mid-career, late career and decline.

Stages of Career Development in HRM:

Stages in Career Development – 5 Main Stages: Exploration, Establishment, Mid-Career, Late
Career and Decline
Career development refers to those personal improvements which one undertakes to achieve a
personal career plan. Before we discuss about career development, it will be quite in the fitness
of things to first understand about the following terms which will be used while discussing about
career development.

Many organization spend good amount of money on education and training of the employees and
get the required talents and potential from within the organization only and there is no necessity
to search such personnel outside the organization. The following are the career development
actions.
1. Performance of the job- In career development progress an individual employee must prove
that his performance on the job is upto the standard established.
2. Employee exposure- The employees interrupting in their career groups should expose it by
their skills, knowledge qualification, achievement outstanding performance etc. to the staff
members to take the decision about the career development elsewhere.
3. Resignation by the employee- The employees may resign the present job in the organization,
when they get better career opportunities elsewhere.
4. Change the Job- Employees those who have better career prospects in some other job in the
some organizations, such employees may change the job.
5. Career guidance and counselling- It provides full information, proper advice and
encouragement to move from one career to other better career in the same organization or in
some other organization where better career opportunities are available.

Career Development – Need for Employees’ Career Development in an Organization

The need for effective employees’ career development are for following reasons:
i. Making Available Needed Talent:
Career development is a natural extension of strategic and employee training. Identifying staff
requirements over the intermediate and long-term is necessary when a firm sets long-term goals
and objectives. Career development will help organizations in putting the right people in the
right job.
ii. Attracting and Retaining Talents:
There is always a scarcity for talented people and there is competition to secure their services.
Talented people always prefer to work in organizations which care for their future concern and
exhibit greater loyalty and commitment to organizations where there is career advancement. As
career development is an important aspect of work life as well as personal life, people prefer to
join firms which offer challenges, responsibility and opportunities for advancement.
iii. Reduced Employee Frustration:
Along with educational level and knowledge, the aspirational level of occupations is also
increasing. When these levels are not met due to economic stagnation frustration sets in. When
organizations downsize to cut costs, employee career paths, career tracks and career ladders tend
to collapse resulting in aggravation of frustration. Career counseling comes a long way in
reducing frustration.
iv. Enhancing Cultural Diversity:
Fast changing scenarios in globalization reflects a varied combination of workforce representing
different types of races, nationalities, religious faiths, ages and values in the workplaces.
Effective career development programmes provide access to all levels of employees.
v. Improving Organizational Goodwill:
It is quite natural that if employees think their organizations care about their long-term well-
being through career development they are likely to respond in kind by projecting positive
images about their organizations. Career development does help organization in impressing
image and goodwill.

2.For a student environmental exploration is likely being occupationally focused. Describe

the four facets of environmental exploration in the support of that statement.

Ans: Awareness plays a central role in numerous theories of career decision making, career
development, and career management. The study of both self-awareness and environment
awareness is rooted in the concept of career exploration. Career exploration has been defined as
the collection and analysis of information on a variety of career-related issues. Career
exploration is oriented toward providing information about oneself, such as values, interests and
talents, as well as providing information about different aspects of one’s environment, such as
occupations, jobs, organizations, and families. Career exploration is oriented toward helping
individuals develop a greater awareness of themselves and their environment so they can
establish realistic career goals and be prepared for career changes and disruptions whenever they
occur. The need to be prepared for and adapt to rapidly changing work conditions is especially
critical in managing a “boundaryless” career.

Environment Facets Relevant for Exploration

Many facets of an individual’s environment need to be explored and understood to develop a

comprehensive sense of environment awareness. The specific aspects of the environment that
need to be explored depend on individuals’ particular life situations, the career development
tasks they need to address, and their salient life roles. Combinations of these factors determine
the extent of exploration engaged in and the types of resources that will be helpful in building
individuals’ environment awareness. In addition, it has been noted that self-insight is critical in
directing this exploratory behavior. Unless individuals have sufficient self-insight and ask
themselves the right questions, they will not be effective in utilizing various environmental
resources to gain the requisite environment awareness.

The literature on career development and career management has identified four facets of an
individual’s environment as being particularly important for environmental exploration and
building environment awareness: occupations, organizations, jobs, and families. These facets are
closely interlinked, and learning about one dimension often leads to insights about other
dimensions. However, not all facets of one’s environment need to be explored to the same
degree; the relevance of a facet depends on the type of career decision that the individual has to
make. For example, an individual contemplating a midcareer change will need to explore various
organizations as well as alternative occupational fields. The following section describes different
aspects of an individual’s environment and their relevance for enhancing environment
awareness.

Occupational Exploration

Scholars have defined an occupation as a group of similar jobs found in several organizations.
These jobs share a certain set of unique requirements and rewards that serve to distinguish them
from other jobs in other occupations. To explore an occupational environment, it is important to
understand the nature of tasks and activities that are characteristic of a particular occupation as
well as the ability and training requirements necessary to perform those tasks. In addition to task
differences, occupations differ in the types of rewards and job security they offer and in the
physical and social settings they provide.

Two features of occupational exploration that merit special examination are the occupation’s
time demands and work-related stresses and strains. Understanding the nature of these
occupational demands and stresses has important implications for individuals’ lifestyle
preferences. An impressive amount of research shows how extensive time commitment to work
can interfere with individuals’ abilities to meet the demands and obligations of their other life
roles. Similarly, research has shown that extensive work-related stress can produce conflicts
between individuals’ work and family roles and impair their well-being.

Understanding various facets of an occupational environment also has implications for

individuals’ self-exploration. That is, individuals need to be aware of their abilities, interests, and
values in order to explore different aspects of an occupation and make appropriate occupational
choices. Most psychologically oriented theories of occupational choice share a common
assumption that people prefer and choose occupations that are compatible with their self-
concepts. In other words, it is believed that individuals, consciously or unconsciously, choose
occupations that match their skills, abilities, needs, values, and talents. The same view holds for
individuals seeking to explore various facets of their jobs. The following section describes
environmental exploration as it relates to a job context.

Job Exploration

Over the course of various employment experiences, individuals “gravitate” toward jobs that are
compatible with their interests, values, and abilities. This concept of person-job fit also guides
individuals’ search for information regarding various facets of their job environments. Seeking
information about occupations entails learning about the various tasks and activities that
constitute that occupational field. Hence, in their pursuit to learn more about various
occupational fields, individuals also end up learning a great deal about particular features of
specific jobs. For example, in understanding the ability and training requirements for different
occupations, an individual gets a general idea about what the requirements are for a particular job
within an occupation. However, occupational exploration cannot and should not preclude job
exploration.

Jobs within the same occupation may vary substantially from one organization to the other in
time demands, financial rewards, job security, and physical and social settings. Jobs may also
vary between two units within the same organization, particularly in terms of mobility prospects
and autonomy in decision making. Hence, a thorough job exploration entails learning about all
these features of the job environment as well as understanding how they fit in with one’s lifestyle
preferences.

Jobs are embedded not only in occupations but also in organizations. In reality, exploration of
jobs and organizations cannot be independent of one another. A thorough search for information
about a particular job reveals important features of the organizational environment just as a
search for information about an organization inevitably provides information about specific jobs
in the organization. The next section discusses how exploration of an organization can affect
one’s environment awareness.

Organization Exploration

Individuals undertaking exploration of an organization as a potential employer are also,

consciously or unconsciously, driven by a desire to achieve a fit with their goals and values. The
two prominent models of organizational choice, expectancy theory and unprogrammed decision
making, emphasize that individuals choose jobs in organizations that will help them satisfy their
important values.

An individual exploring an organization typically seeks information about the organization’s job
opportunities, culture, strategy, administrative practices, and financial performance as well as
different pay and benefits practices. In exploring various facets of an organization, an individual
often develops expectations about the organization’s capacity to provide valued outcomes. The
accuracy of these expectations can have a profound influence on that person’s job experiences,
job satisfaction, and, ultimately, the decision to continue with or leave his or her employer.

Exploration Related to the Family Environment

Regardless of the extensiveness of individuals’ exploration of their work environments, effective

environment exploration involves paying attention to one’s family environment as well. The
literature on both identity formation and career development has emphasized the important role
that family relationships play in facilitating career exploration and development. In addition,
organizational scholars widely accept the view that individuals’ work and nonwork lives are
closely and inextricably intertwined. They also recognize that individuals’ career decisions are
strongly influenced by their family roles, demands, and obligations. Hence, to develop an
accurate awareness of one’s total environment, it is important to consider and understand the
members of one’s family: their emotional and financial needs, their career aspirations, and their
desired lifestyles.

3. Despite the logical role of career exploration, it should not be assumed that
exploration is always effective. Now recommend some set of guideline for
overcoming obstacle to career exploration.

Ans:
Tools and Techniques That Promote Effective Career Environment Exploration

There are a variety of resources available that facilitate the gathering of information about
various facets of one’s work environment. Some of the commonly recommended sources of
information include industry profiles and summaries, such as those available in standard
industrial classification (SIC) guides, organizations’ annual reports, the Department of Labor’s
Occupational Outlook Handbook, and Occupational Information Network (O*Net). Additional
resources are available through career information centers housed in state public libraries.
Individuals are also increasingly turning to the World Wide Web in their pursuit of information
regarding various aspects of the work environment.

In addition to the above resources, one’s family, friends, and former coworkers employed in
different organizations can be sources of information regarding specific occupations,
organizations, and jobs. Last but not least, individuals’ mentors play vital roles in providing not
only career-relevant information but also feedback, guidance, and support—which can all serve
to enhance individuals’ levels of environment awareness.

Extensive exploration does not always produce an enhanced awareness of one’s environment.
The obstacles to gaining an accurate insight into the various facets of one’s environment are very
similar to the ones encountered in the process of self-exploration and self-assessment. For
example, anxiety, fear, and defensiveness over the exploratory activity can prevent a person from
obtaining the right type of information and accurately and constructively processing it. Similarly,
interventions that are useful for overcoming the barriers to self-exploration can also help
overcome obstacles to successful environment exploration.

In sum, environment awareness in conjunction with self-exploration plays an important role in

helping individuals make appropriate career choices and manage their careers. Self-assessments
help individuals understand the nature of their preferred work environments, and effective
environment assessments help individuals understand the types of jobs, organizations, and
occupations that are compatible with their interests, talents, and lifestyle preferences. Both types
of awareness are important for individuals’ career development and progress.

What makes a career change daunting is that it requires and update or retraining on your
skill set (well, most often) and that often takes a long time and effort. Here are 5 steps
you can tailor to your needs on the way to overcoming the challenges of a career change:

Identify your Fears

Identify and list your fears of a career change. Why do you fear this transition and what
aspects of this transition seem the toughest to you? Sometimes eliminating the negatives
before getting on the positives is the best way to proceed on the new path. To identify
your fears and then attain the freedom from fear releases the tensions and enables the
positives to take the place of the uncertainties which reside deep within. List everything
possible that seems like a hurdle or any unknown fears that you have.

Embrace and be Inspired by this New Change

It is now time to move on to the positives and let the positives only inspire you to an
excited beginning. It would be a new change and it would not come easily and happily to
you if you do not accept the change with your heart and mind. The second step is mental
preparedness and feeling excited about this new step in your life. Take time and write out
at least a few pages in a document on what is motivating you towards this career change,
for example: more money, more satisfaction at work, a new challenge or any other need.
The point is during the career change process you will need a lot of inspiration and
motivation to drive the change and do your best to have it flow from you first.

 Identify your Goals

As for every achievement in life, you cannot get there unless you have a goal in mind and
also not only in mind but in concrete plans. Clarify your goals first. When changing a
career you must identify your short-term goals and long-term goals towards achieving
either new skill set or preparing for a new job. Spend time in planning and making your
goals SMART.

 Financial Planning

Now with your goals in mind chart out your estimate on financial commitment towards
this career change. Money matters and financial pressures and tensions are the worst of
tensions that can drive you off from any commitment, take care of them at the very
beginning and this can be achieved by careful planning and practical analysis of what all
is covered during your new career change move. You may also discuss this important
step with your spouse, family or coach to get a good handle of what the near future might
have in store for you as go for higher studies, certifications or retraining.

 Seek Mentors and Guidance

Now with your personal fears, goals and planning taken care of, it is time to move on to
the 5th but again a very important step towards the career change. Ask others. Ask and
you shall get, there would be many questions as you walk this new transition.