Learning Materials For Accounting, Management , Finance And Economics.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Career Planning Process

Career planning is the process of predetermining career goals and the paths to those goals. It matches individual's career needs with the career opportunities provided by the organization.The steps involved in the process of career planning are as follows:

1. Employee self assessment of career needs
Career planning begins with employee self assessment of career needs. It is preparing a self inventory, consisting of :

a. Interests and aptitudes
They provide occupational orientation to an employee. They can be for following types of works:

* Physical/outdoor
* Written
* Oral/visual
* Quantitative/analytical
* Interpersonal
* Creative
* Clerical
* Managerial

b. Skills
They are needed for effective performance of jobs. They can be:

* Technical
* Human
* Conceptual

2. Environmental assessment
Environmental forces can be political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. They provide opportunities and threats for career planning.

* Environmental scanning is done to detect emerging trends in a long term perspective. It should be comprehensive to identify all the crucial developments that may affect employee's career opportunities.

* Future changes in labor market are important for career planning. High potential jobs are identified for career goals.

3. Selection of career goals
Career goals are desired future positions an employee strives to reach as a part of career. They are based on the analysis of employee's strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. They serve as a road map to career planning

4. Selection of career paths
It is the sequential patterns of jobs during a career. An employee's career path is influenced by:

a. Stage in career cycle
Career cycle refers to stages through which a career evolves. The stages are:
i. Growth stage: 
ii. Exploration stage
iii. Establish stage
iv. Maintenance stage
v. Decline stage

b. Career anchors
They are the basic drives that urge an employee to take up a certain type of career. They are concerns the employee will not give up if a choice has to be made. Factors that serve as career anchors are:
i. Technical competence
ii. Managerial competence
iii. Security
iv. Autonomy
v. Creativity


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Meaning, Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mentoring

Concept And Meaning Of Mentoring

Mentoring is a process whereby more experienced managers actively guide less experienced managers. The mentor provides guidance through direction, advice, criticism, and suggestions. This wisdom and guidance helps the less experienced manager to obtain necessary skills and socialization for job performance and career progress. The learner learns and develops potential as he goes along with mentoring to solve managerial problems. The mentor grooms him to assume higher responsibilities in future. The mentor is like a "guru". If mentoring is done by the immediate supervisor, it is known as coaching. Reverse mentoring happens where senior managers are mentored by younger managers about technology matters, especially information technology advances.

Advantages Of Mentoring

1. The learner has opportunities to interact with experienced managers to improve performance. He gains confidence and self-awareness.

2. There is rapid feedback of action on performance improvement to the learner.

3. Learner is self-motivated to learn with confidence.

4. It is not limited to performance-related problems. It focuses on future growth.

Disadvantages Of Mentoring

1. Heavy reliance is placed on the wisdom and abilities of the mentor. This may limit the scope for development.

2. Current management styles and practices are focused.

3. The senior managers may be unwilling for mentoring.

Concept And Process Of Career Counselling

Concept Of Career Counselling

Career counselling is a process whereby an employee is guided by a manager in performance-related behavior. The employee is unable to perform the job satisfactorily. His work behavior is inconsistent with the work environment and organizational culture. It is manifested in fighting, stealing, unexcused lateness and absence. 
Career counselling involves guiding of employee by a manager to overcome performance problems. The problem is desire-created based on unwillingness.

Process Of Career Counselling

Career counselling involves the following steps:

1. Identification of the performance problem

The reason for poor performance should be identified. Specific job behavior should be objectively documented in terms of date, time, and what happened. The manager should have good listening skills to uncover the reason for performance problem. The manager should focus on job performance problems only, not the employee as a person. He should treat the employee objectively, fairly and equitably. 

2. Make sure the employee owns up the problem

The employee should own the identified problem. He should take responsibility for the behavior-related problems. There is no chance of correction until the employee accepts the problem. Employee tends to be defensive while owning up the problems. The manager should keep calm.

3. Offer assistance to help the employee

The manager should offer assistance to solve the problem. He should work with employee to find ways to correct the problem. The assistance can be manager-based or organization-based.

4. Develop action plan

An action plan should be developed to correct the performance problem. Expectations from employee are clearly specified. Resource commitment by organization to assist the employee are also specified.

5. Control progress

The employee's progress in correcting the performance problem is monitored. Feedback is given to the employee. Good behavior is reinforced.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Purposes Of Career planning

The overall purpose of career planning is predetermine the desired career paths of an employee to achieve career goals. It provides continuity, order and meaning to the life of an employee. It integrates the needs of individual and the organization. The specific objectives of career planning are as follows:

1. Meet internal staffing requirements

Career planning better prepares promotable employees for internal job openings. Better mix of talents becomes available to implement HRM strategies and policies. Internal pool of talent is created.

2. Reduce employee turnover

Career planning helps retain best and qualified employees. The concern for career increases organizational commitment. This results in reduced employee turnover in the organization. Loyalty to organization is enhanced.

3. Assist work force diversity

Career planning helps employees with diverse backgrounds to integrated into the organization through self-growth. They can plan their career by considerations to alternative career paths.

4. Motivate employees

Career planning motivates employees to fulfill their esteem and self-development needs. This improves performance.

5. Develop employee potential

Career planning encourages managerial employees to develop their future potential to assume more responsible positions. It is needed for personal growth of employees.

6. Reduce hoarding of employees

Managers like to hoard key subordinates. Career planning brings awareness about employee qualifications. This reduce hoarding of employees.

7. Assist international placement

Career planning assists global organizations to prepare employees for international placement. They can work in diverse cultures.

Needs Or Importance Of Career Planning

Career planning is needed for the following reasons:

1. Provides career goals and paths

Career planning is needed to provide career goals and career paths to an employee. It provides a clear future directions in terms of career. 

2. Develop competencies

Career planning motivates and encourages an employee to develop competencies for higher level jobs. The competencies can be conceptual, interpersonal and technical.

3. Creativity

Career planning is needed to increase employee creativity. It is needed for innovation in organization. It can be lead to entrepreneurship within the organization.

4. Employee retention

Career planning is needed for retention of qualified employees in the long-term. This is needed to decrease costs of recruitment, selection and training.

5. Motivation

Career planning motivates employees for higher performance. Upward movement in organization is based on the quality and quantity of performance.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Concept And Meaning Of Career planing

Career planning is a process by which one selects career goals and the path to those goals. It involves a clear selection of career goals and career paths.

Career goals
Career goals are the desired future positions an employee strives to reach as a part of career.

Career path
Career path is the sequential patter of jobs during a career. It can cover a period of 30 years or more till retirement of the employee. It takes a long term perspective of the job. 

Career planning is a continuous process. HRM should facilitate it by providing career education, information and counselling to employees for career planning purpose.

1. Career education

Career education increased employee awareness about career planning through a variety of educational techniques, such as:
- Workshops and seminars about career planning
- Memoranda and position papers about career planning
- Speeches about career planning

2. Career information

Career information provides information to employees about career planning. Such information can be available through Human Resource Information System. HR specialists can advise about career goals and alternative career paths.

3. Career counselling

Career counselling is done by professional counselors. They listen to employees and provide job-related information. They help employees to uncover their career interests. Employee self-assessment and environmental assessment is  made during for career counseling.


Concept And Meaning Of Career

Employees join organizations for a career not for jobs. All employees aspire for a career. A career is a pattern of job-related experiences gained during one's working life. Career is a sequence of jobs held during the course of an employee's working life.

Career can be of two types as follows:

1. Internal Career

Internal career is subjective. It is an individual's self-concept of where he/she is going in his/her work life. It consists of changes in values, beliefs, attitudes, and ambitions that occur as the employee grows older. Each person's career is unique.

2. External Career

External career is objective. It is sequence of positions occupied during the working life of an individual. It leads to increasing level of responsibilities, status, power and reward.

Career needs to be carefully planned. It is the self responsibility of the employee. Managers and organizations should facilitate career planning.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Methods Of Prevention And Settlement Of Labor Disputes

Labor disputes should be redressed or prevented as soon as possible. Prevention of dispute means, avoiding it from the very beginning of its occurrence, where as, settlement of dispute means, managing the existing dispute through the use of different management tools and techniques. Following are the main methods of settling disputes:

1. Collective Bargaining

It is concerned with a process of negotiation, settlement and administration of disagreement between management and workers. In collective bargaining, workers are represented by their representatives for the determination of mutually trusted terms and conditions at work. Under this method of dispute settlement, employees and management sit together to discuss about the agendas and problems of employees. Then, an agreement is reached being based upon consensus of both the involving parties to settle the existing disputes or to avoid future occurring labor disputes in the organization.

2. Grievance Handling

Employee grievance is the perception of unfair treatment at work. In every organization employees have complaint against their employers. Hence, a complaint affecting one or more employees at a time does constitute a grievance. Grievances are symptoms of conflict in an organization; hence, they need to be managed promptly and efficiently. Therefore, a proper step should be taken towards the systematic settlement of grievances in the organization.

3. Conciliation

Conciliation means settlement of dispute by persuation of third parties. In simple terms, conciliation means reconciliation of differences between individuals. It refers to a process by which the disputing parties are brought together before a third party with a view to settle the disputes through persuation. They discuss about the issues and problems and reach upon at an agreement. During discussions, the third party can only provide suggestions but cannot influence either party for the implementation if its suggestions.

4. Mediation

It is similar to conciliation under which a third party is appointed for recommendations and suggestions. Under this process, the party plays more significant role as compared to conciliation. Here, the third party works as an arbitrator by giving a solution on a dispute while in conciliation the conciliator only facilitates the talk between disputing parties. 

5. Adjudication

It is an ultimate legal remedy of any dispute. Under this method, the disputes are settled in reference to adjudication by the government. Hence, this is regarded as a process of mandatory settlement of any dispute through adjudication with or without the consent of disputing parties.