Unit 11

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

The employee having been trained, educated, and appraised, it would seem that the
development function is at an end; the employee is properly qualified and effectively
performing the assigned job. Modern personnel managers must look beyond the present
assignment, since neither organizational requirements nor individual attitudes and
abilities are ever constant. Concern for long-term career development must always
accompany any comprehensive employee development program.

The need to plan for employee careers issues from both economic and social forces.
First, if the organization is to survive and prosper in an ever-changing environment, its
human resources must be in a constant state of development. A planned program of
internal resource development typically pays great dividends than relying upon chance or
frantic outside recruitment when needs suddenly appear. In addition, too many employees
“retire on the job” when there is no managerial concern for proper career progressions.
Further, work is losing its premier position as the sole value to be sought in life by all
personnel. Modern employees are beginning to insist that work demands be effectively
integrated with the human need for personal growth, expectations of one’s family, and
the ethical requirements of society. The work ethic is not dead; rather, it lives in
consonance wit a more complex set of values.” It is ironic that what is most precious to
the individual insofar as work is concerned, that is, the career, is given the least attention
by the organization”

Nature Of Careers

A career can be defined as a sequence of separate but related work activities that
provide continuity, order and meaning in a person’s life. Careers are both individually
perceive, and societally constrained; not only do people make career out of their
particular experience, but career opportunities provided in society also influence and
“make” people. The concept of a career in Japan is significantly different than the
approach taken in the United States. A series of work-related experiences does not have
to constitute a profession, in the sense of law or medicine, to be regarded as a career.
There are, for example, career plumbers, soldiers, electricians, homemakers, factory
workers, prostitutes, and criminals. Even in careers with low-opportunity ceilings, on can
progress trough such forms as receiving higher pay on the same job, more security,
cleaner working conditions, greater freedom form supervision, or more respect for length
of service. In the more commonly cited case, a career consists of a series of properly
sequenced role experiences leading to increasing levels of responsibility, status, power,
and rewards. Some careers are characterized by early exit (professional football player)
while others have late entry (judges). Some people pursue a “career” of multiple careers,
changing from one to another as attitudes and opportunities change.” Thus, whether
mobile or stable, the career represents an organized pat taken by an individual across time
and space.”
 There are multiple forces that lead to the development and shaping of a career.
Fundamental inputs consist of physical and mental characteristics, parents, schooling,
ethnic groupings, sex, peers, organizational experiences, and age. From these, the
individual will develop a notion of a career that is closely related to his or her need for
self-esteem. A direction will be selected and goals or levels of aspiration will emerge. For
example, one young man decided upon a collegiate academic career and established the
following timetable: (1) Ph. D. degree by age 26, (2) assistant professor by 27, (3) first
book published by 30, (4) professor and department head by 35, (5) dean of college by
40, and (6) president of a university by 45.

This internal career notion must be tested by external realities. Specific decisions
will have to be made as to organizations in which the career will unfold. Particular
strategies and tactics will be selected in the light of situational factors. Outcomes, both
failures and successes will lead to modification of the internal career notion. The
aspiration level may have to be lowered if the success timetable is not met. This in turn
will have impact on one’s self-esteem. Unforeseen opportunities will arise, often out of
presumed failure. Though the basic direction may not be altered, specific forms may
change; for instance, the young man became president of a specialized graduate-level
institute. Though it would appear that this is all the business of the individual and the
organization is marginally concerned, the more that success can be programmed, the
more valuable is the individual to the organization.

Career Anchors

In longitudinal research conducted by Schein, it was discovered that certain

attitudinal syndromes that served to guide many people throughout their careers were
formed early in life. These syndromes were composed of a combination of needs, values,
and talents, and serve to “anchor” the person to one or a few related types of careers. Five
such anchors were identified (1) managerial competence, (2) technical-functional
competence, (3) security, (4) creativity, and (5) automomy-independence.

The fundamental characteristics of those persons anchored by an overriding interest

in management included a capacity to bear considerable responsibility, ability to
influence and control other, ands skills in solving problems with incomplete information.
Those identifying with this anchor agree with such statements as “ the process of
influencing, leading, and controlling people at all levels is important to me.” It is
suggested that those who wish to be effective managers should possess analytical,
interpersonal, inter-group, and emotional competencies.

On the other hand, those with the technical competence anchor leave no doubt that
they are primarily interested in the functional work performed. They agree with such
statements as “ I would leave my company rather than be promoted out of my area of
expertise.” They look upon administrative duties as an irritant. The third group of persons
seems primarily driven by a search for security. They are more attached to a particular
organization and geographical areas than they are to their work. This type of person will
accept with little question the organizational prescriptions for his or her career, and agree
with such statements as “ I am willing to sacrifice some of my autonomy to stabilize my
total life situation.”

Those adhering to the fourth anchor demonstrate an overriding interest in creating

or developing something new. They agree with such statements as “ I have been
motivated throughout my career by the number of products that I have been directly
involved in creating.” Many of these persons are entrepreneurs who have established
separate businesses, less for the sake of making money than for creating a product or
service that could be identified as theirs. The final group demonstrates an overriding
interest in freedom and independence, agreeing with such statements as “ a career that
permits a maximum of freedom to choose my own work hours, tasks, and so fort, is
important to me.” Among these are private consultants, college professors, and free-lance
writers. In terms of median incomes of each group, those with anchor (1), managerial
competence, received the most, and those with anchor (5), autonomy-independence, were
paid the least.

In planning for career development, personnel managers require knowledge of the

basic drivers and needs of employees. There has been considerable research concerning
the varying amounts of managerial, technical, and security orientations among
professional personnel in business organizations. Some professionals disclaim any
interest in managerial responsibilities. Their dominant posture is one of dedication and
service to the pursuit of professional knowledge, using the present is one of dedication
and service to the pursuit of professional knowledge, using the present organization as a
means to that end. This attitude is labeled “cosmopolitan” in as much as they are quite
mobile and willing to move to any organization that will enhance the practice of their
profession.

If, on the other hand, the organization is accorded primary loyalty, with professional
skills being exclusively adapted toward its ends, the attitude is termed “local.” Obviously,
any professional who is employed by an organization has elements of both “localism”
and “cosmopolitanism.” Attitudes can be positioned in one of four quadrants: (1)
relatively indifferent, (2) heavily oriented toward the profession (technical competence),
(3) heavily oriented toward the organization (managerial and security competencies), and
(4) oriented significantly toward both the profession and the organization.

In a study conducted by Miller and Wager, these four different orientations were
discovered among 390 engineers and scientist in two units of a major American
aerospace company. The researchers utilized a questionnaire technique and labeled 31
percent “cosmopolitans,” since they exhibited high professional orientation accompanied
by a low bureaucratic attitude. Members of this group were largely physical scientists
with Ph. D degrees working in the basic science research laboratory. They exhibited such
attitudes as “I would most like to publish a paper in the leading journal of my profession,
even though the topic might be of minor interest to the company,” and “In the long run, I
would rater be respected among specialists in my field outside the company.” Thus, the
cosmopolitans view the universe as the field of their profession, wherever they find
themselves. They often ask questions and make critical comments that traditional
managers feel to be bordering on disloyalty to the organization. Yet, The skills and
scientific viewpoint of the cosmopolitan are the fountainhead of the ideas that contribute
to organizational progress and growth.

Twenty-seven percent of the 390 engineers and scientists were characterized as

“locals,” since they possessed a relatively low orientation to professional values wit a
high concern for and loyalty to the organization. The greater bulk of these were engineers
without the Ph. D. If the professionals remain with a single organization for considerable
time, the attitude tends to become more local in character. They tend to agree with such
statements as “being able to pursue a career in management is very important to me,”
And “having a job which permits me to take on progressively more administrative
responsibility is important to me.” Engineers, more often than scientists, are likely to
move toward this set of values. The significant reference group is management is rather
than outside professionals in the field. “Local” are usually more cooperative and willing
to take direction from management. Follow-up research discovered that cosmopolitans
had stronger feelings of alienation and more role conflict than did locals.

The remaining personnel in the Miller and Wager study were divided into the two
hybrid types: 15 percent were “indifferents,” with low orientation to both sets of values,
and 27 percent were “local-cosmopolitans,” who exhibited high orientations to both the
profession and the organization. The “indifferents” were mostly engineers with long
service with the organization. This suggests that an entering engineer might have begun
with high orientation to either the profession or the organization or both, but was slowly
transformed into an “indifferent” as he or she experienced lack of progress in both areas.
The previously cited research project indicated that the indefferents were the most
alienated of all groups. The “local-cosmopolitan” was more likely to be an engineer who
had worked for the company for a shorter period of time. It is apparent that the
management of highly educated and skilled personnel poses a considerable challenge to
personnel management.

An Integrated Life

The work life of a person does not stand in isolation. Too often, manager make
seemingly routine career decisions for subordinates wit little or no concern about the
impact upon personal lives. The first depicts the usual stages of life in moving from
infancy, conscience in childhood, a search for identity in adolescence, intimacy wit others
in young adulthood, concern for guiding the next generation in adulthood and ego
integrity in old age. The adolescent stage marks the beginning of the search for identity
with the prospective work career playing a major role. Such a stage encompasses a good
deal of extremes in both commitment and repudiation in the search for new values.
Identity develops when the person knows where he or she fits in the environment and
there is a coinciding among one’s capacities, values, and opportunities.

There is also a related family development cycle that the employing organization
cannot ignore. Unmarried employees are more inclined to accept career decisions calling
for frequent transfer and movement among organizational units. If a person is married ant
the spouse is unemployed, this willingness to relocate may well continue, though some
nonworking spouses are no longer docile. With the steady increase in greater female
employment, we are seeing a new variety of career conflicts developing. Major
accounting firms require auditors to sin oaths annually that no marriage partners work of
clients. A major national retailer expressed some concern when it discovered that an
important compensation specialist in its personnel department was marred to a personnel
specialist in a competing firm. Should a competitor try to persuade executives to switch
organizations, it would be helpful to know their exact salaries.

When the employee has a family, career moves involving relocation are particularly
disruptive. The problems are greater when there are children in school, and even more
severe when there are teenagers involved. In any move to a different community, there
are social losses for the family in the disruption of selling a home, leaving friends,
purchasing a new house, and reestablishing the family unit in a new community. This
involves a myriad of problems in locating doctors, dentists, appliance repair personnel,
and the like. The disruption of schooling of children was so severe in one case that tutors
were provided at the expense of the company. These worries undoubtedly have some
effect upon the short-term performance of the transferred employee. The pains of
uprooting a settled family have led some employees to jeopardize their careers by
refusing the development transfer. In several organizations, refusal of such a transfer is
the “kiss of death,” and almost tantamount to dismissal. Again, proper career
development on the part of the organization should allow a greater decision role to be
played by the employee concerned. Changing values make the old “take it or leave it”
policy increasingly out-of-step with modern society.

The organization’s responsibility begins with the “exploratory” stage as the

employee enters the organization. Realizing that a young adult is still uncertain as to
permanent direction, one should make provision for some organizational
experimentation. The entering employee will encounter “reality shock” in as much as
neither prior education nor elaborate induction programs can fully prepare one for the
actual job in practice. Research indicates that the more challenging the job in the first
year of service, the more effective and successful the employee will be 5 to 10 years
later. Alternatives for initial training include a “sink or swim” approach, full-time training
with no job responsibility, and work while training. The sooner the trainee is given a
definite job assignment, the more rapidly development will occur.

After some reality testing of one’s career notion, some specific direction is usually
chosen. Super indicates that this establishment stage usually begins about age 25 and
continues for many years. Successful career development requires organizational
feedback of progress information to the employee. The first performance appraisal, the
first completed project, and the first promotion are all extremely important occasions for
the young adult on the job. One moves form apprentice to “independent” contributor,
with a definite field of expertise. One relies less upon the superior and more upon peer
interaction in developing ideas and solving problems. These are the highly productive
years in many careers.
 The maintenance stage is a holding action where the employee attempts to retain
what he or she has established. In competitive situations, this will require continued
learning and updating in order to maintain the continued role in the organization. To
many, this period also brings shock, contributing to a mid-career crisis. Some will make
the attempt to entirely different careers to once again experience the challenge of growth;
for example, various successful business executives often attempt to move into collegiate
teaching as a new career. One study of the creative careers of great painters composers,
poets, writer, and sculptors revealed sudden surge in the death rate between the ages of
35 and 39. The greater the genius, the higher was the death rate. Reasons given included
an increasing awareness of physical aging, a realization that life was half over, and
understanding that this was about as far as one can go (Is that all there is?)

The final stage of “decline” is also a shock to many employees. Discussion of the
retirement event will be covered in a later chapter in this text in as much as it is an
important part of the sixth personnel function, separation.

The Career Development Program

A properly designed career development program involves three main ingredients

(1) assisting employees in assessing their own internal career needs, (2) developing and
publicizing available career opportunities in the organizations, and (3) aligning employee
needs and abilities wit career opportunities.

Career need assessment A person’s career is highly personal and extremely

important element of life. The basic stance of the organization should be to permit each
person to make her or his own decision in this regard. The role of the personnel manager
is to assist in this decision-making process by providing as much information as possible
about the employee to the employee.

Just as there is considerable confusion among many college students as to proper

choice of major, organizational employees are often uncertain as to the type of work that
would suit them best. There are a number of evaluation instruments available that will
assist the person in determining his or her primary interests and basic aptitudes to
perform different types of work. As indicated in an earlier chapter, the Strong Vocational
Interest Black is validated on known interests of successful persons in specific
occupations. There are life-planning work books that facilitate career decision making.
Candidates are urged to consider the relative importance of such things as prestige,
independence, money, and security. They are also asked to think about whether they are
basically loners or socially oriented, whether they prefer to lead or follow. Some large
firms provide formal assessment center workshops where small groups of employees are
subjected to psychological testing, simulation exercises, and depth interviewing. With the
aid of expert observers, employees are helped to make decisions concerning proper career
goals and specific development needs appropriate to those goals. The objective in these
assessment program is not that of selecting future promotes, but rather to help individual
to do their own planning.
 Career opportunities Realizing that employees have definite career needs, there
naturally follows the obligation of charting specific career paths through the organization.
Low-ceiling jobs, where there are limited opportunities for significant progression,
should b identified and made known to possible applicants. Employees heavily affected
by the “security career anchor” may find these jobs to be highly acceptable.

Though sometimes neglected in career workshops, the employee needs to know

what types of jobs are now and will be available in the immediate future, as well as in the
medium and long range. Information should be provided concerning actual duties of
these jobs, as well as what is required in the way of training, and the selection criteria for
those who have completed training. And finally, it is important to know what jobs lead to
other jobs.

Job analysis provides the fundamental information required to chart the lines or
promotion within an organization, a careful analysis of the duties of the lower job must
be made to determine the adequacy of preparation for higher jobs. Too often lines of
advancement are restricted to a single department and are more or less obvious to anyone
who studies an organization chart. Analysis of job duties generally leads to the discovery
of multiple lines of advancement of several jobs in different areas.

With a common entry point of personnel assistant, one avenue emphasizes

advancement trough a series of management positions in various-sized plants, while the
other route is through multiple specialized functions within the personnel area. Not only
are internal sequences identified, but ways of direct entry form the outside are noted as
well. Choices are then made known; for example, one can become a mechanic by rising
through the ranks from helper or laborer, or by completing a community college
technology program.

One of the more interesting questions concerning lines of promotion is the

identification of the route to the top job, the presidency of an organization. in a survey of
the president of 239 of 500 largest industrial firms during the period from 1945 to 1964,
it was found that the main routes lay in general management, production, marketing, and
finance. The proportion of presidencies contributed by these fields remained fairly stable
over the 20 year period, the average being 21.6 percent for general management, 21.5
percent for production, 17.6 percent for marketing, and 15.9 percent for finance.

The environment situation facing the firm will exert a considerable influence upon
the choices of chief executive officer. During the early 1950s, production received most
attention. later in that decade, marketing took over. With capital in plentiful supply
during the 1960s, financial experts who could make acquisitions necessary for rapid
growth and diversification were in the saddle. And now the serious inflationary problems
of the present period mark the rise of the controller. In recent years, former controllers
have risen to the top in such companies as General Motors Corporation, Singer, Pfizer
Incorporated, and Fruehauf Corporation. The significant increases in personnel within
controller offices also provide evidence of this most recent trend. As the controller of J.C.
Penney Company stated, “Sheer economic pressure has dictated that we have to get more
out of things already in place – that is, people, bricks, and mortar.

Need-opportunity alignment When employees have accurately assessed their

career needs and have become aware of organizational career opportunities, the
remaining problem is one of alignment. All of the developmental techniques discussed in
chapter 9 can be incorporated into a planned career development program. Greater
emphasis should be given to the more individualized development techniques such as
special assignments, planned position rotation, and supervisory coaching. In performance
appraisal and Management by Objectives programs, discussed in Chapter 10, special
attention should be allocated to career progress and counseling. It will be recalled that
modern MBO programs incorporate personal development objectives in addition to the
more basic work objectives.

The specific transfer and promotion decisions made by management for each
employee is the final payoff of a career development program. Appraisal, counseling,
training, and education go for naught if the employee does not progress along his or her
individually perceived career path. Both productivity and morale are facilitated if these
personnel decisions are based on objective assessment of present and potential capability.
That such is not always the case is substantiated in a study by Powell of 240 managers in
forty firms. As developed from carefully introduced questionnaires, it was concluded that
there were many factors leading to advancement in rank. Managerial capability was first
to be stipulated but lost its importance as a screening device for higher positions as it was
deemed to be a common denominator held by the entire pool of candidates. Beyond this,
such factors as the following were reported: spouse and family, religion, ethnic group,
educational level, seniority, luck, influence of important customers, informal relation
with the firm, and refusal of a prior promotion offer. On the basis of 240 case studies of
actual promotions, Powel characterized the successful promotee as being a capable
leader, male, white, Anglo-Saxon, healthy and energetic, Protestant or Catholic, an
effective decision maker, a collage graduate, ambitious, loyal, a member of a reputable
social club, aided socially by is wife, a Republican, member of the Chamber of
Commerce, tall, clean-cut, conservatively dressed, a social drinker, participant in
charitable and professional community organizations, and lucky.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the other compliance

agencies are taking closer looks at the advancement opportunities for females and
minorities. In one celebrated case, AT&T was committed to increasing the number of
females in second-level management jobs by 33 percent and in upper-level jobs by 50
percent. General Motors planned to promote one female for every three males on most
organizational levels. In these instances, the personnel managers must be prepared to deal
with dissatisfaction and complains of “reverse discrimination” from qualified candidates
from the majority group.
TWO MODERN CAREER PROBLEMS

Two major problems in career management have arisen as a result of major changes
in our work force. The first is the problem of “plateaued” personnel who have
temporarily or permanently stopped in their career progression. The second is an
increasing incidence of dual-career family.

Plateaued personnel It appears that the decade of the 1980s will be a time of
scarce promotions for persons born during the baby boom of 1945-1964. From 1980 to
1990, the number of persons in the 35 to 40-year range will increase from 25.4 million to
36.1 million, an increase of 42 percent. During this same period, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics predicts an increase in available managerial jobs of only 21 percent. This
slowness of promotion could result in more stress, “burnout,” and psychological
withdrawal by members of this prime “middle manager” candidate group.

Various activities can be undertaken to deal with the plateaued person. For one
mentors can help in alternating expectations, pointing out that the rapid progression
opportunities of the past are simply no longer available during the coming decade. A
mentor is an older and respected manager or professional who counsels proteges, exhibits
genuine concern, listens for feelings as well as facts, and stimulates people though ideas
and information. The mentor can act as a sponsor when he or she mentions and says good
things to others about proteges, gets them assigned to committees and task forces, and
applies pressure to place persons on promotion list.

A second possibility is the establishment of additional career ladders. One can

advance from junior scientist, as well as from professional to manager. Attention must be
given to status symbols and “perks” for this second ladder in comparison to their more
usual managerial ladder. Advancement in career learning can be enhanced through
judiciously planned transfers to parallel but different jobs. Special task forces can be
formed for which the plateaued person can be given leadership responsibility. And in
time, the plateaued person can undertake a new task, that of acting as mentor to younger
personnel entering the organization. Not everyone rises to become president and the
plateau can be encountered on various organizational levels.

Finally it should be noted that the plateaued person must also share the
responsibility for dealing with this situation. As suggested by Manfred Kets de Vries, this
coping process can take four main forms; defensive, depressed, underachievement, and
constructive. The dimensions of the process are (1) orientation to what is going on and
(2) degree of activity. The defensive person has a distorted view of reality and actively
fights the situation through resistance to change, unwillingness to help develop younger
personnel, and blaming or scapegoating others. Depressed persons feel that they have not
met their original career aspirations and they begin to dwell in the past since the present
is painful. Their psychological withdrawal from work often leads to inactivity and
constant pessimism. Both the underachievement and constructive modes have a better
view of reality. The underachievers are passive and re easily satisfied. They are
reasonably happy with the plateaued situation, keep a low profile, and reduce their level
of organization participation. The style recommended for dealing with the mid-career
transition is that of realistically recognizing the situation and constructively dealing with
it. one may accept moving from the state of “mentee” to that of mentor. One could decide
to change to a different career. Or one can accept the disappointment of not achieving
original aspirations, and move to different or lesser aspirations with a minimum of
bitterness.

Dual-career families The percentage of females in professional occupations has

moved form 25 percent in 1970 to 36 percent in 1979; for managerial occupations the
increase during this same period was from 10 percent to 18 percent. Though our society
in the past has been geared to one career per family, it is clear that the number of dual
career families will increase. And these two-career families are already posing difficult
problems for various organizations. In one survey of 617 firms, the number reporting one
or more employees refusing to transfer and relocate for personal or family reasons stood
at 42 percent, an increase of over 10 percent in one year. And hiring two members o f the
same family can cause certain difficulties for firms with strict nepotism policies.

Dual-career couples can be one of three types; (1) couples following the same
career and working for the same firm, such as two chemists working for DuPont, (2)
couples following different careers working for the same firm, such as a professor of
economics and a research technician in the physical sciences, or (3) couples working for
different firms regardless of similarity of career choice, such as a compensation specialist
in Firm A’s personnel department and a personnel recruiter in Firm B’s personnel
department. Each of these types poses certain problems for the firm. For same career –
same firm couples, alterations in the recruitment process must be made so that each can
be interviewed together as well as separately. Transfer is affected, and some firms will
not transfer one without the other. Others will provide special allowances for separate
living. And more importantly, if dual transfers cannot be effected, the refusal of one to
transfer should not automatically be taken as disloyalty and lack of ambition. Certainly,
the nepotism policy will have to be reviewed; various firms will not allow couples to
work in the same section, let alone have one member of the couple as the supervisor of
the other.

When pursuing different careers in the same firm, the nepotism problems are
decreased. Transfer problems still remain, as well as certain other problems in the
scheduling of time, such as vacations, child care, and so on, it is strongly recommended
that the dual-career couple be involved in working out time-scheduling problems.
Prescriptions following rigid company policies often tend to drive the career couple to
other, more flexible organizations.

On some occasions, the firm is interested in only one member of the dual-career
couple. In this case, firms increasingly are helping spouses of the preferred employees to
locate new jobs. A survey of activities undertaken by 603 companies indicated that 84
percent made special attempts to find jobs in other companies; from half to two-thirds
will help in counseling and preparing resumes. Relatively few will pay employment
agency fees or reimburse for extra job-finding trips.
 As in the case of the plateaued person, the dual-career family itself has major
obligations in career management. Couples must view job offers on a package basis,
rather than pursuing one career objective to the exclusion of the other. If one person has
generalized skills, such as high school or collegiate teaching, the couple may choose to
locate where the more specialized person would have the greatest opportunity. On
occasions, jobs are available in two cities close enough for the couple to locate the home
halfway in between. On still other occasions, the opportunities are so far apart that the
couple will have to either give up one or both, or settle for a commuter marriage. Child
cares poses definite problems, and in the majority of instances, the female is expected to
assume a greater burden than the male. As will be noted in the following chapter, this
may well have a deleterious effect upon the wife’s salary and career progression.

Low-ceiling careers There are many jobs where there is little room for
advancement on career terms. Never the less, personnel will still seek some form of
career progression. One of the most common measures of such progression is seniority,
which can be defined as the length of recognized service in an organization. Low-ceiling
careers often lead to the formation of labor unions to provide some sense of control over
one’s organizational life. The seniority provisions are always a very important part of any
labor contract that specifies rights of employees, unions, and managements.

There are at least four major tasks in the design and establishment of a seniority
system. The first is specifying when seniority is to begin, how it may be affected by a
number of different types of service interruptions, and under what conditions it
terminates. In effect, this is the problem of establishing the ground rules that govern the
accumulation of seniority. The second duty is determining what groups are to be given
special treatment in the seniority system. Often both labor union and company want to
favor their respective key personnel in the union and the firm. The third task is
determining the range or area over which seniority can be accumulated, that is whether
over the entire plant or over some organizational element thereof. The final problem is
determining what aspects of the employment situation will be affected by seniority.
Should it be applied to promotion, layoff, and other related problems? In all such tasks, it
is important that rules be carefully and specifically spelled out. If clear rules exist for
every eventually, the reliability of the measurement of seniority can approach a
coefficient of 1. The validity of its use for making various personnel decisions is quite
another matter.

Accumulation of Seniority

In many companies, seniority does not begin immediately upon hiring. There is
usually a probationary period of 1 to 6 months. After this period it is usual for the
recognized service to start as of the time of original employment. Even here, problems
arise. Frequently, when several people are hired on the same day, it becomes important to
keep exact time of hiring during the day. When there are several hires at the same time,
some predetermined rule for distinguishing among personnel must be established, such as
alphabetical by last name, lowest employee identification number, and so on. Seniority’s
greatest asset is its ability to distinguish among all personnel on an objective basis.
Details, therefore, are highly important in defining the exact length of service.

One of the more difficult problems in the accumulation of seniority is that of

specifying the effect of interruptions is service. If, for example, the employee leaves a job
to enter military service, many firms will allow the continued accumulation of seniority
and twill thus create a type of “ synthetic seniority.” Another, more serious types of
interruption is that of leaving the collective bargaining unit through promotion to a
supervisory job. It is important that the company protect the seniority of persons so
promoted, for otherwise there is a great loss of incentive to accept the higher job. When
such protection is provided, the newly appointed supervisor usually continues to
accumulate seniority. A smaller number of companies provided that when one reenters
the bargaining unit after serving as supervisor, one’s seniority stands where one left it at
the time of promotion.

There are number of conditions under which seniority is usually terminated. Among
them are:
1. Being discharged for proper cause.
2. Voluntary resignation
3. Overstaying leave of absence
4. Absences in excess of a stipulated period, such as 4 working days, without
notifying the company
5. Failure to report to work after layoff when properly notified
6. A layoff in excess of a stipulated period, such as a year or 18 months

The last two reasons are the source of much controversy surrounding reason 5, the
manner of notification of the recalled employee should be spelled out in the policy of in
the labor contract.

The controversy concerning the sixth reason is that many people feel that no
employee should lose seniority for reasons beyond his or her control. Seniority is a highly
valuable commodity, and the trend is in the direction of an increase in its value.
Involuntary layoffs are outside the employee’s control. From the company’s viewpoint,
there must be a time limitation, in order that it may maintain some control over the
situation. In two-thirds of 1,845 union-management contracts covering almost 8 million
employees, a stipulated period of layoff is designated for loss of seniority, one-half
specify periods of less than 2 years, while the rest stipulate periods ranging from 2 to 5
years.

Special Groups

The second task in establishing a seniority system is that of deciding what groups
are to be given special treatment in the form of exemptions from the rules. The labor
union generally requires that its stipulation is to keep the representative personnel intact,
particularly in times of layoff and cutbacks when they are most needed. Unless
accompanied by requirement of ability to do assigned work, this superseniority can result
in the layoff of highly qualified. The essential question is whether or not the
superseniority is paramount or whether it is operative only when the union official can
actually perform the job in question.

If the union requires that its organization be protected through the granting of
superseniority, it is not unreasonable that the company should be able to trade those
exceptions for some special treatment for certain key employees. For example, such
special groups as the following may be exempted form the seniority provisions: (1) tool
and die makers, (2) graduates of technical and professional schools, (3) personnel
classified by management as indispensable for maintaining the flow of production, and
(4) apprentices or those receiving special training and schooling. Sometimes it is
specified that the number of management- protected personnel cannot exceed the number
of union personnel who are granted superseniority.

Seniority Unit

Our third problem in setting up a seniority system is that of specifying the area or
unit over which it operates. Seniority can be computed on the basis of company, plant
division, department, or occupation. Any one of all of these areas can be used for
different objectives. For example, the influence of seniority on promotion may be
confined to occupational seniority, whereas in the matter of vacation choice it may be
company-wide. When decisions have to do with matter involving employee competence
to do work, management generally prefers the narrower area.

When the seniority unit is restricted, the problem of “bumping” during layoff is
reduced. A longer-service worker can displace personnel of sorter service in only a
restricted unit. When the area is company-wide, the layoff of on person might well
generate a dozen or more “bumps.” The disruptive effects of “bumping” can be reduced
by stipulating that the displaced employee can “bump” only the least senior employee in
an unit, or that the number of “bumps” per displacement cannot exceed a certain number.

It is important specifically to indicate the particular units in which seniority can be

accumulated. It is also important for the company to maintain exact and accurate
seniority lists of all personnel. To management, company-wide seniority of most
objectives seems rather ludicrous. However, though occupational seniority does ensure a
certain minimum of job competence, such units may be too narrow. When a job is
eliminated by cages in work processes, the seniority of all assigned personnel is wiped
out. If occupational seniority is utilized, it is quite important to utilize also other seniority
units, such as the department or division. Department seniority provides some flexibility,
because it is unlikely that an entire department will be eliminated. It also ensure that the
employee will have some general knowledge of the jobs to which he or she might fall
heir is case of layoff.
Employment Decisions Affected by Seniority

The last and perhaps most important problem in designing a seniority system is to
specify the employment privileges that seniority can affect and the weight of that effect.
Certain employment factors are often affected by seniority. Among them are (1)
promotion, (2) layoff, (3) transfer, (4) choice of shifts, (5) choice of vacation periods, (6)
separation of severance pay, and (7) choice of machine, jobs, runs, and so on. For some
factors, management is often entirely willing that seniority shall be completely
controlling. The choice of vacation periods, machinery, and shift assignments is an
example of this type. Decisions concerning transfer, layoff and promotion are more
complex, and management often wishes to use the merit base in place of or in addition to
seniority.

A transfer is a change in job were the new job is substantially equal to the old terms
of pay, status, and responsibilities. There are various types of transfer such as (1) those
designed to enhance training and development, (2) those making possible adjustment to
varying volumes of work within the firm, and (3) those designed to remedy a problem of
poor placement.

It is important tat company policy be formulated to govern the administration of all

types of employee transfers. Rather that decide each case solely on the characteristics of
that case, effective management need to establish some uniformity of treatment, the
policy should cover such subjects as (1) the acceptable reasons for a transfer, (2) the
organization area over which a transfer can be made, (3) the effect of seniority on such
changes as shift transfers, (4) the posting of available job openings, (5) the classification
of transfers as permanent or temporary, and (6) the effect, if nay, of the transfer upon the
pay of the employee. In general, the policy governing transfers should consider first the
interests of the organization as a whole. This policy does not, however, prevent the
granting of requests for redial personnel transfers. Ordinarily company policies are
flexible enough to permit some individual treatment of particular employee problems.

Layoff is a very difficult problem not only for the employee but for the company
and the labor union as well. Since layoff involves the loss of income, the employee and
the union are prone to restrict the company’s freedom of decisions. The company again is
desirous of emphasizing the factor of ability and merit in layoff. It wishes to be sure that
employees who “bump” other employees can adequately fulfill the job requirements. On
the other hand, because of the seriousness of the event to the employee, the employee
tries to regulate layoff decisions through seniority systems. It is generally found that
seniority is a stronger factor in layoff than it is in promotion. In a previously cited
analysis of union-management contracts, seniority was the sole factor controlling layoff
decisions in 25 percent of the contracts, a primary factor in one-half (seniority controlled
if employee could meet minimum performance requirements), and a secondary factor in
the remainder (seniority controlled only if the displaced employee was relatively equal to
the person to be “bumped”).
 With respect to promotion, management fells that it as the strongest case in
advocating merit as the sole or most important basis for the decision. Unions and
employees still contend that seniority should be given significant influence. Many
compromises have been worked out between the extremes of pure seniority and pure
merit, one of which can be phrased, “When ability is substantially equal, seniority will
govern.” This is weighted in favor of ability, since ability is rarely if ever equal
obviously, there will be many disputes over the word “substantially,” and labor
arbitrators in deciding upon union appeals to overturn management decision will define
this term in practice.

A second type of compromise is written more in favor of seniority. This would be

an agreement that the senior person meeting minimum requirements would be given
preference. Suppose, for example, persons A, B, C, were being considered for a jog
opening. A has 10 years of serve, B has 5, and C, 3. If A can meet the minimum
requirements for the job, it is assigned to him or her even tough B and C may be of
substantially higher ability. Our problem here is how to tell whether A can do the job.
The labor union generally insists that A be given a trial on the job. If after a few weeks he
or she prove inadequate, the company may then turn to B. if is evident that the
administration of this compromise agreement can consume a substantial amount of time.
in a few instances, the union has accepted the results of various written and performance
tests as a shortcut in a procedure of this type. Minimum scores are established, and the
person with the greatest seniority among those who have passing score is the one who
gets the job.

Seniority and the Law

In the Griggs v Duke Power Company case, the U. S. Supreme Court established
the principle that procedures and practices, neutral on their face, cannot be maintained if
they operate to freeze the states quo of prior discriminatory practices. This meant that the
organization must be responsible for the present effects of past discrimination.

In following this principle, many district and circuit courts have over turned
seniority systems as perpetuating past discriminatory practices. The Crown Zellerbach
Corporation and the United Paperworkers and Papermakers Union, for example, were
ordered to replace a job seniority system wit a plant-wide system for making promotion
decisions. The existing system was effectively utilized as an instrument in maintaining a
pattern of discrimination against blacks with respect to promotion and training
opportunities. Though there is nothing in a seniority system that is inherently prejudicial
to blacks, its continued use in conjunction with past discriminatory practices in hiring led
to the order to abolish the system.

In 1977, however, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions that rejected the
approach taken by the lower courts. This was based on a section in Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act that provided special protection for the legality of seniority systems existing at
the time the law took effect. Such a provision was included to obtain the backing
significant labor union leaders in getting the law passed in 1964. However, only bona fide
existing systems were protected by this provision. Such systems were ones that were
neither established nor maintained with a intent to discriminate. Intent is very difficult to
prove in court, and it would appear that substantial protection exists for systems establish
prior to 1964

In response to this decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

issued an interpretative memorandum. The Commission will infer intent to discriminate if
(1) unions and organizational units were segregated prior to 1964, or (2) the employer
and union are made aware that hey are presently locking minorities or female into
discriminatory positions when an alternative system is available. It remains to be seen
whether the courts will accept this position of the Commission. These Supreme Court
decisions also shifted the burden to individual employees to prove that they had
personally suffered from past discrimination. Class actions are no longer possible. The
employee must prove that either he or she personally applied for a position and was
turned down, or that the “chilling effect” of old segregated policies discouraged
application. And in a Supreme Court decision in 1982 involving two plants of the
American Tobacco Company, the court ruled 5 to 4 that seniority systems established
since 1965 are legal even if they unintentionally hurt black and female workers. As in the
Teamster ruling, employees must now prove that the employer intended to discriminate
against them through the seniority system. The date of establishment of the system no
longer matters.

SUMMARY

Individual employee careers must be of concern to organizations and managers in

order that human resources may be developed to meet constantly changing environmental
conditions. A career is a sequence of separate but related work activates that produces
continuity, order, and meaning to a person’s life. It is shaped by a myriad of factors
including heredity, culture, parents, schooling, age, level, family cycle, and actual
experiences in one or more, organizations.

An effective career development program provides substantial employee assistance

in self-diagnosis of interests, aptitudes, and capabilities. It also provides complete
information concerning career opportunities within the organization. the third major
ingredient is that of aligning individual careers with career opportunities trough a
continuing program of training, education, transfer, and advancement. Major current
problems in career management would include dealing with the plateaued employee and
recruiting and utilizing dual-career couples.

The low-ceiling career provides an unusual challenge in alignment of human needs

and organizational requirements. Perhaps the major factor in the management of low-
ceiling careers is that of seniority. Precision of measurement of seniority calls for a
multitude of detailed rules governing techniques of accumulation, special treatment of
protected groups, and units (occupation, department, company) in which it can be
accredited to the person. Under the Civil Rights Act, the government is highly involved
when such objective systems work to discriminate against protected groups of employees.
In making the many necessary personnel decisions in an organization, seniority can be
mixed with ability in various ways; for example, when ability is equal, seniority governs.
In any event, career development requires proper recognition of employee increases in
experience, seniority, skills, and abilities.

BRIEF CASE : Present your analysis using the case analysis format, and answer the
questions following the case.

At the insistence of the labor union, talks have opened concerning the proper role
of seniority in making promotion decisions. Management prefer the clause, “when ability
is substantially equal, seniority will govern the decision.” The union prefer, “ the senior
employee able to meet the minimum requirements for the job will be preferred in
promotion decisions.” In searching the impact of these two clauses, the personnel unit
secured the ff. Information for one department opening:

Ability index Seniority (years)

George 95 2
John 85 8
Lucas 78 15
Harry 71 20
Julius 68 30
Jim 62 5
Ed 60 26

The union objects to the ability index as a way of determining capability. Rather than
testing, it prefers job tryout.

Questions
1. under the management-preferred clause, who would be selected for promotion? Is
there a “substantial” difference? How can we tell?
2. If we set score of 70 as the minimum acceptable level, who would get the job under
the union-preferred clause?
3. If we accept the union’s demand for job tryout along wit its clause, what would be the
process of making the promotion?