Career Development: A Lifelong Journey of Growth & Success - Essay Sample

Introduction

Why career development? After all, what are the benefits of investing in one's career? The whole process of career management is exceptionally paramount to an Individual as well as the entire organisation. It is not a one-day thing as it begins from childhood thus becoming part of an individual's life. For example, a five old boy saw a doctor save his mother's life and proclaimed, "I want to be a doctor when I grow up". However, the contradiction between who should manage an employee's career is the main aim of this report, and a further assessment on the effect of such control, and positive attitude can ultimately result in mutual benefit for both the worker and the firm.

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Who should manage the career path? Should it be employers or employees? By the end of the day, directors know what they want from their workers, and employees know what they need in their career for Maximum satisfaction. First, this report will discuss the reasons why employers should manage employees' career path and the overall effects on the organisation. Secondly, career management is more of a personal issue (boundaryless career) and thus should be managed by an individual (Rodrigues et al.,2015). The impacts of personalising a professional plan will be stressed later in the report.

The Impacts of Personalising Professional Management Plan

Management of professions plan has effects on both the employer and the employee when undertaken by the organisation. It is because, if employers ignore this exercise, it poses a high risk to the firm. For example, when an accountant in an organisation does not experience career plan management from their employer, there is a high risk of losing such a person as they are less committed with the urge to quit the job which may prove difficult to restore. It is thus crucial for organisations to manage employees' career paths as they are the beneficiaries. This effort has several advantages to both the employer and the employee which include; workplace satisfaction, since individuals get contented with their jobs thus maximum delivery, maintenance of employees thus minimising worker’s turnover which is expensive to employers as extra expenses are incurred, increased yields which lead to growth and development of such companies. These results can be achieved if employers engage in the entire career management of their employees through selective recruitment to attain the most qualified, engage them in upskill and development, allow job flexibility thus guaranteeing them of work security. On the other hand, when the employer takes the responsibility of maintaining the career path, it increases their demand in the market as well as their credibility due to experiences. Thus, firms should strategise managing career paths for their employees since it has more benefits to them as compared to individuals.

Secondly, the career path is considered personal, not organisational. It has to deal with an individual’s attributes, emotions, social life, desires, skills, as well as experiences. It is an intensive process as individuals should be honest to themselves when looking forward to goals achievement. Individuals should concentrate on developing their talents as well which is crucial in career development (Baily et al.,2018). When an individual takes this task, it leads to confidence in job hunting as they display a high degree of job satisfaction and psychologically complete (Walton, 2017). For example, an accountant who has pursued a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) would be okay answering an interview question of how much they expect to be rewarded. These employees are expected to be more satisfied in their careers and work as compared to those employees who depend on organisations for career control (Smith and Sheridan, 2006). It makes them more productive in their delivery as well as balancing their entire life. Managing one’s career has more to do with an individual’s discipline, thus calls for accountability to be successful. It will increase the marketability of such individuals' hence high salary.

Conclusion

The career path is a process that yields results depending on who is the controller. When an organisation takes control, there are guaranteed maximisation of resources, minimised employee turnover, quality in work delivery, enhanced employer-employee relation, growth and development of an organisation as well as the improved reputation of a business. Individuals gain through securing a job in the unforeseeable future, getting promoted to higher cadres of management, and increases in pay. Therefore, there exist numerous advantages when organisations control the career path as opposed to individuals. In that case, it leads to self-development both physical and emotional, career satisfaction, confidence in delivery as well as the overall well-being of life.

References

Bailey, C., Mankin, D. Kelliher, C. and Garavan, T. (2018). Chapter 10: Strategic human resourcemanagement and talent management. Strategic Human Resource Management (2nd Edition).Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 205-223.

Heathfield, S.M., 2019. You Owe Yourself a Career Path Plan-Here's How to Chart Your Course. Balance Careers. Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/career-pathing-1918080 [Accessed August 18, 2020].

Rodrigues, R., Guest, D., Oliveira, T and Alfes, K. (2015). Who benefits from the independent career?Employees, organizations or both?. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 23-34. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.09.005

Smith, T., and Sheridan, A. (2006). Organisational careers versus boundaryless careers: Insights from the accounting profession. Journal of management & organisation, 12, 223-234. Doi:10.5172/jmo.2006.12.3.223

Walton, B., 2017. Importance of Career Development in Organizational Success. Fors Marsh Group. Available at: https://www.forsmarshgroup.com/knowledge/news-blog/posts/previous-years/january/importance-of-career-development-in-organizational-success/ [Accessed August 18, 2020].