Free Essay: What Is Mentoring? How Is It Used in Business Today?

Mentoring is generally an association between two individuals of different levels of experience; it is done to develop talent particularly in the workplace. In many institutions it has progressed into a formal process. It has programs that are structured components. Usually, mentoring involves significant business objectives, precise targets and success metrics that are measurable (Okurame, 522). The relationship between the two parties that is mentor and mentee relationship is based on more than just similarity and attraction. Developmental goals of mentees play a major role in it. A literature review on mentoring shows it has been limited to the past quarter century. Mentoring is an innovation in the performance of the business. Mentoring affiliations can have specified timelines; for example, when used to deal with a definite expertise breach. Additionally, it has grown into more of an equal relationship, than a hierarchal partnership where all parties involved learn and benefit from one another (Berducci, 329). The partnership provides mentees with much more clarity on career goals, choices and life decisions, access to new resources, insight to the firms organization and culture, opportunity to develop new networks of contacts.

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Mentors gain the opportunity to add to their leadership abilities and expanding their perspectives. This is done through seeing the business world via diverse eyes whereas being challenged on supposed wisdom. Moreover, institutions gain more from having a mentoring program. It adds to the development of trickled down talent; that is skills that can be passed from one individual to the next. The outcome of a mentoring relationship is a higher retention of staff, employees with a wide comprehension of the business, better productivity through networking. Communication in the organization also increases. As a final point, organizations that support mentoring exhibit their dedication to the expansion and improvement of their workforce.

Mentorship is a relationship that develops gradually through five main stages. Stage one is the spotlight on intensification and the examining of developmental goals by the mentee whereby the mentoring process commences. The focus is mainly in their personal strengths, aims of the firm, the possibilities available in the company, career aspirations also if they do they concur with the institutions goals. The process can be included officially to the yearly growth plan. The selection of a mentor is based on specific development goals for the partnership, thus, with a specific goal in mind the mentee chooses their mentor. Considerations as to why you choose mentorship over other types of development play an integral role: whether you are looking for clarification on individual targets, career advice, opportunity to get more sources of network and experience. The relationship is based on trust. That is to say that the mentor should be honest. Moreover, he or she should be entrusted with the growth of others, a person who values mentoring, committed to share their personal experiences. Additionally, they should have sufficient time and should be devoted to the union. The mentor should have enough knowledge and be respectable within the firm. Partnerships with gender diversity prove to benefit both sides hence providing an insight. Both male and female workers have diverse views on career growth, networking in addition to balancing work and family.

Stage two- creating connection; in this step both parties know each other by sharing their career history, other interests apart from work, family information, likes and dislikes, the view of the future, where you want to develop for present and future roles, aspirations and values. Stage three: setting the direction, what are your goals for the union, how do they relate to those of your mentor, are there any limitations? Also confiding in one another is essential. Stage four progressions: is the mentorship program beneficial? Has the mentee achieved his or her targets? Is the relationship bringing out the desired results? The last step: progressing, after a year or two, mentoring can be terminated. It is assumed that the mentee has attained his or her goals hence there is no need for mentoring. Once the decision to end the affiliation is made one should consider answering whether the results were as expected and what was not conveyed and the reasons as to why it was not.

There are new ways of mentoring. For one; team mentoring- it occurs when the whole crowd gets mentorship from a senior person in management. It can also be used to assist the grouping achieve essential handiness. Secondly; turn around mentoring whereby a junior employee mentors a more senior employee. Usually, this is done to attain specified skills. Unavoidably, due to exposure between them the subordinate worker gains from the partnership, the ability to approach senior employees with both questions and advice helps to ascertain this fact, the mode of communication are usually through email, phone or instant messaging. Thirdly; Long range mentoring relates to persons with similar skills at different places but have experiences that are similar to those of the mentee, both parties choose the mode of communication depending on what suits them best.

Mentorship in the work place is relatively a new idea for most institutions, although the process outside of work is not. In a firm, mentorship is defined as relationship where an individual puts in his skills, time, and knowledge to help increase those of another individual. In places of work, the programs are usually intercessions on performance of other persons. It is purposefully done to add to the knowledge and skill base of inexperienced employees. The firms that have mentoring programs get more benefits than the initial cost of starting it up.

Significantly, performance intervention should be considered and it should establish how the program fits in the workplace. It is an answer introduced to improve human performance in firms through increasing productivity. They are mainly used by specialists in human performance in the complete explanation of enhancing performance. It addresses the needs of the firm as one, particularly with a view of the firms fundamental and functions (Pershing, 13). Production interventions subsequently, similar to mentoring plans, which profitably influence institutions positively are valued more to the firm as a whole.

A commonly used method developed by (Sanders, 35) divides performance interventions into six groups. They are: Improvement of information, reasons, tangible resources, formation, progression, increasing information and adding to health. The process is meant to look for a way to solve the existing knowledge gap. It focuses on improving the basic know-how and techniques necessary for work performance. In mentoring for instance, the mentee gains skills and knowledge needed to perform the task from a mentor. The information gotten by the mentees adds to the possibility of their accomplishment. It is essential to differentiate between official and unofficial mentoring programs.

Formal programs are well thought-out in the procedures. Informal mentoring programs on the other hand follow no set guidelines they develop on their own (Murray, 459). Evidently, they have shown to be beneficial and positive to the organizations. In formal programs all the processes are hooked together, that is the goals of the firm together with achievable results together with conducting and evaluating the ongoing maintenance. Both parties enable the mentors attain personal and job satisfaction, they achieve more influence in the firm, due to the respect gotten from the growth of future leaders. The mentor gains professional help from the mentees on projects and can also increase on their knowledge by learning new skills from the mentees. Additionally, it helps motivate the mentor by giving new insights on the organization. Mentorship helps the mentor attain support through putting up a network of mentees that gives back to the mentor. It occurs when the mentee acts an informant giving vital knowledge that can assist the mentor when required.

This consequently helps to cement the trainers hold reputation and respect in the organization (Murray, 458). Studies show the mentees attain considerable benefits from formal programs. Research shows that mentees receive substantial benefits from a formal mentoring process. These profits are separate, however unified roles, they include career development inclusive of better work performance leading to salary increases, promotion and improvement of self esteem and competence of the workers. Psychologically the attainments are as result of relationship between the two parties, they include individual growth, friendship, emotional help and friendship (Sandberg, 16). It shows mentoring to have more positive impacts on career development through more promotions through more promotion, increased earnings and contentment in the workplace.

Mentoring programs can however go wrong leading to negative experiences, it mostly evident in organizations that lack formal mentorship plans thus putting more emphasis on informal processes the informal method is regularly not tied to business objectives, thus there is no way to track or train the mentoring relationships (Gianaro, 7). Conflicts between the two parties lead to negative concerns, the mentor or supervisor admonishes the mentee instead of reviewing the performance issues. They can also occur when the mentor reveals unhelpful behaviors or instance exploiting, sabotaging, and in addition bullying the mentee. When these situations happen it is advisable not to rely on a single mentor though it is a high-risk endeavor mentee or his supervisor (Morrison, 349). Still with the likelihood of unconstructive circumstances that can crop up, the advantages of mentoring take point implying that the plan is a great tool business development and career wise. The business profits through enhanced efficiency for parties, amplified preservation and an enhanced picture of the organization.

In conclusion considerations of indigenous uses of mentorship, knowing why it works by reviewing the social learning theory businesses can use this concept to enhance productivity and performance intervention. Unsuccessful matching of mentees and mentors is one of the major negative issues of mentoring in an organization. This study explores and discusses some of the steps to follow, for example style gender and individuality when pairing both sides: mentors and mentees. Furthermore, before taking up mentoring it is important to ensure both parties understand the main agenda for this program so as to achieve the desired goals and minimize on the negative outcomes that may arise.

Works Cited

Berducci, D. (2004). Vygotsky through Wittgenstein. Theory & Psychology, 14(3), 329-353.

Gianaro, C. (2005). Mentoring relationships: All too human. University of Georgia Research Magazine,

Morrison, G., Ross, S., & Kenp, J. (2007). Learning theory and instructional theory. In R. Johnston, S.Dumas, & A. Morris (Eds.), Designing effective instruction (pp. 340-359). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Murray, M. (2006). Innovations in performance improvement with mentoring. In J. Pershing,Handbookof Human Performance Technology (pp. 455-477). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Okurame, A. & Balogun, S. K. (2005). Role of informal mentoring in the career success of first-line bank managers. Career Development International, 512-521.

Pershing, J. (2006). Human performance technology fundamentals. In Handbook of Human Performance Technology (pp. 5-34). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Sanders, E. & Thiagarajan, S. (2005). Introduction. In Sanders, E. & Thiagarajan,...