Deck 12: Career Development and Management

Question 1

What can be gained by defining the term career broadly as the pattern of work-related experiences that span the course of one's life? That is, compare this definition with other commonly held notions of the term career.

Answer 1

By defining career as a pattern of work-related experiences that span the course of a person's life, it becomes clear that career relates to the professional work experience of a person's work life. It includes the different sectors in which the person may have worked for, the different profiles that the person might have got at different points of time. For example, sales, programming, designing, etc. are the different profiles that a person can work on. It is the progress that is achieved in life. Learning is a very important aspect that decides the progress.
On the other hand, the commonly held notion of the term career describes the growth trajectory that a person's work-related experience would be subjected to, the achievements, rewards etc. This common notion limits the definition within a narrow perspective and don't give any idea that a career is developed over a time through experiences.

Question 2

How does Levinson's approach to adult development relate to Greenhaus and colleagues' five-stage model of career development? That is, compare and contrast the similarities and differences between these two models.

Answer 2

Levinson's approach to adult development is divided into four periods: the early adult transition (ages 17-22), entry life structure for early adulthood (ages 22-28), age thirty transition (ages 28-33), and the culminating life structure for early adulthood (ages 33-40). This approach relies on age ranges.
These stages are distinctively unique and describe the growth depending upon the various different requirements at every stage.
Greenhaus and his colleagues' five stage model of career development consist of gaining self-awareness, developing career goals and plans, implementing those plans.
Both these models focus on the various aspects of career development: While Levinson focuses on career development as per the age group, Greenhaus focuses on the various stages based on levels of development.
The major difference in both of these models is that Levinson's model has more of societal focus with regards to responsibility; Greenhaus focuses more from the organizational point of view.

Question 3

Using your knowledge of the stages of life and career development, explain how the career issues of a twenty-seven-year-old differ from those of a forty-five-year-old. What are the organizational implications of the issues you identified?

Answer 3

A twenty-seven-year old person would be expected to have a work experience of around five years, whereas a forty-five-year-old person would be expected to have a work-experience of two decades.
A twenty-seven-year-old person would be expected to be energetic, goal-oriented. The twenty-seven-year-old would have just started his career whereas the forty-five-year old would be expected to finance his children's education, fulfill the demands of the family, manage a particular business unit in a professional manner, etc. The forty-five-year old would be expected to have completed a large portion of his work life.
The twenty-seven-year-old person would be expected to learn more from the organization, whereas forty-five-year-old person would be expected to direct the middle and lower management.

Question 4

Protean careers and the career concepts model offer ideas intended to reconcile the idea of career development with the changes going on in the environment and in organizations. In your view, how do these ideas contribute to our understanding of career development? How well do they fit with your views of career development? Based on these ideas, identify and describe two actions you could take to increase the chances you will have the kinds of work experiences and lifestyle that you would like.

Question 5

Describe ways in which career management can be viewed as a problemsolving and decision-making process.

Question 6

Explain how both organizations and individuals can benefit from a well designed career management system.

Question 7

Discuss the value of self-assessment tools and activities to effective career development.

Question 8

As a career development tool, mentoring has been linked to both potential benefits and problems for organizations and individuals. Given these potential benefits and problems, describe how you feel about the prospect of becoming involved in a mentoring relationship as part of your own career development. What would your concerns be, and what would you like to see an organization do to ensure that the mentoring experience is a positive one?

Question 9

Recent research suggests that career plateaus are more complex than previously thought. Briefly explain why an individual's perception of being plateaued is important and how organizations may want to develop multiple ways for dealing with plateaued employees.

Question 10

The flattening of many organizational structures is forcing many individuals and organizations to change their perceptions of what career advancement is all about. What are some alternatives to upward movement as a career option? How do you feel about the prospect of these alternatives as opposed to the traditional upward progress within your own career?