Page 202 - DCOM102_DMGT101_PRINCIPLES_AND_PRACTICES_OF_MANAGEMENT

Principles and Practices of Management

Notes 2. Establishment Stage: After a new entrant chooses his career from different given
alternatives (where such options are available), he needs to be provided with regular
feedback on his performance. Such performance feedback enables the new employee to
understand the effectiveness of his performance and at the same time he can also initiate
required corrective action to overcome his functional deficiencies. Performance appraisal
and its feedback have also motivational values as the new employee enjoys a sense of
accomplishment when he gets feedback on his assignment from management and
specifically when he understands that his promotional decision has been taken based on
his performance. A successful career development process at establishment stage, therefore,
is important to retain employees in the organisation and at the same time to develop a
sense of loyalty and commitment to the organisation.
3. Maintenance Stage: This is a mid-career stage for employees who strive hard to retain
their established name and fame. Therefore, at this stage employees need to put their
continuous efforts for self-development. For an organisation, career development process
at this stage, therefore, calls for renewing and updating the skills of employees particularly
in the context of the changing environment to help employees to overcome their mid-
career crisis. In many organisations, absence of career development programmes makes
employees in this stage of their career to opt for a job switch. Therefore, this stage is
crucial and unless the organisation adopts suitable career development programmes, it
may face high employee turnover.
4. Stage of Decline: Employees at this stage, being prepared for retirement, get scared from
the possible threat of reduced role or responsibilities in the organisation. Such complexity
is behaviourally associated with old age of the employees which, unless set right through
a suitable career development programme, may even render such employees inefficient
or misfits for the organisation. Career development process at this stage, therefore, should
aim at helping the employees to get mentally prepared for retirement rituals, particularly
to prepare them to accept a reduced role and responsibilities, so that they can accommodate
with their family and the society in the later part of their life.

11.12 Career Anchors

Career anchor is a syndrome of talents, motives and values which gives stability and direction
to a person’s career. Such talents, motives and values give shape to certain attributes, which an
individual derives from his early experiences and which help him to conceptualize his own
perceived career. This perceived career anchor, therefore, often goes against organisational
career plans and thus, employees develop a sense of dissonance or incongruity about their
career plans. Many organisations, therefore, try to identify perceived career anchors for their
employees to develop matching career development programmes. Many empirical studies
have so far been carried out to identify the perceived career-anchor of different type of employees.
Edgar H. Schein, summing up the findings of an empirical study on management graduates,
identified five such career anchors for employees.
Managerial Competence

This competence is a fundamental characteristic for those who prefer to rise to the top. Such
employees were found to have the following three areas of competence:
1. Interpersonal Competence: They have the ability and desire to handle a variety of
interpersonal and group situations. They can give leadership, resolve group conflicts and
also feel at ease while tackling unfavourable situations to their advantage.

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