Learning Cloud International

(v1)

ASSESSMENT 2
Name: Georgeta Tufis
Score: 100%
Passmark: 100%
Attempted: Thursday, May 18, 2017
Attempt Number: 2
Time Taken: 77:57:37
Locked: No
Marking Required: No

1: Correct Answer these questions based on your own opinion and the set task.

1. What is a successful career, and what main five factors contribute to a successful
career?
Career Success What is means to succeed?

May Career Success be measurable? If yes, what are its predictors and indicators ?
When should be the best time to assess it and measure it? At some point in the process or have we to
wait the end of working life to be able to duly venture on an analysis?

What paradigm would be the most appropriate to judge someone`s career success? What objective
and/or subjective, tangible and/ or intangible criteria should we take into consideration?

How should someone ideally be positioned when assessing career success the number of roles?
The projects succeeded? The sum of responsibilities? The income(s)? The influence and power
accumulated? The continuity in the same role? The progression in roles? The variety of roles or the
vertical promotion? The success within the same organisation or the successes in work life altogether?
What happens when career becomes careers?

Who has a career? Who has career success? Who does not have a career? Who does not have
career success? What experiences are included or not in the conceptualisation of career success?
When is or become a career successful and how?

What happens when there may be an intrinsic Career Success perception against the objective and
external one?
Is success a specific thing to attain, a specific state of mind, more of a thing than other?

Let`s try to make a short investigatory and exploring tour around one of the main challenges career
success arise.

Basically, Career Success, henceforth abbreviated (CS) is conceptualised as an outcome in terms of

the objective and subjective elements of achievement through an individual`s career experiences.

CS may be related to promotion/ advancement in organisational hierarchy (upward mobility), rise in

the salary, increase in power and influence, broad job responsibility, recognition, less control, personal
satisfaction, meaningful work, constant and unfailing enthusiasm and passion, identity coherence/
congruence, inter-personal success, security, status, autonomy, freedom, life style, challenge, rewards
(external/internal), expertise, reputation, employability, fulfilling and rewarding experiences etc.

As we can see, CS can be constructed into objective/extrinsic and subjective/intrinsic components.

Historically, the career concept developed from a succession of related jobs, arranged in a hierarchy
of prestige, through which people may move in an ordered sequence (more or less predictable,
Wilensky. 1961) to Career as the combination of roles played by an individual during the course of a
lifetime (Super.1980) to Career as the evolving sequence of an individual`s work experiences over
time (Arthur, Hall and Lawrence, 1989; Arthur, Khapova, &Wilderom. 2005). As a consequence of this

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 paradigm shift, the criteria of measurement become less tangible, more fluid and more difficult to
encompass under a unique formula.

Postmodern authors argue that CS is more a social construction rather than an objective reality.

Or just a contextual state of facts artificially created by various organisations. In other words, what
company X assign to CR at company Y may be a nonsense, irrelevant or just inexistent as concept.
Is the construction of meaning for career dependable historically and culturally? How can we compare
CS from someone coming from an elitist, seniority based model, bureaucratic, hierarchical paradigm
with CS developed in a context where success is related or dependable more to attitude, unstructured
roles?

How can we meaningfully operate with and assess two different self-concepts?

May CS be integrated into a universal and inclusive model nowadays?

Gattiker and Larwood (1986) compiled a measure of CS consisting of five factors: job success, inter-
personal success, financial success, hierarchical success and life success.

Parker and Chusmir (1991), extended CS to factors from outside the career, such as status/wealth,
contribution to community/ society, personal fulfilment, security

As such, at the level Inter-Personal- Achievement CS is related to:

Performance (success in terms of attaining verifiable results and meeting specific set goals);
Advancement (success in terms of progressing and growing, both in terms of level and experience);
Factual contribution (success in terms of contributing something tangible to the collective, for instance
to an organisation, as an individual).

An important role nowadays in assessing the CS is played by the main actor the Self as a source
of validation.

At the level Intra-Personal -Achievement, the perception of the Self is the main referent and CS is
related to:

Self-development (success in terms of reaching one`s full potential through self-management of

challenges and learning experiences) and
Creativity (success in terms of creating something innovative, new, with impact)

At the level Intra-Personal Affect, CS refers to:

Security (success in terms of meet one`s financial and employment needs)

Satisfaction (success in terms of achieving personal satisfaction and happiness, both in family and
work)

At the level Inter-Personal- Affect, CS refers to:

Recognition (success in terms of being adequately rewarded and appreciated for one`s efforts and
talents)
Cooperation (success in terms of working together with others)
Perceived contribution (success in terms of serving community/society through work, in an ethical
way)

This model on CS tends to encompass many different facets and dimensions for measuring CS and in
order to be functional and with a wider applicability, I shall try to correlate it to different psychological
typologies, following the model analysed in the famous book Leadership in organisations, Current
Issues and Key Trends edited by John Storey. It is interesting to assess how this models become
meaningful to different psychological profiles and, for the sake of analysis we can extend the analysis
(in a future research, of course!) to the Myers-Briggs Psychological Types or to Holland`s RIASEC
model of personality or other relevant theories.

But coming back to our typology now, I shall expose succinctly the four profiles and see how they
relate to CS factors.

The Climbers describe CS in terms of external criteria (hierachical progression, promotion, rewards,
level of pay). Reaching the most senior level of management, goal-oriented, personal recognition are
the main criteria for the climbers when assesing their CS. This profile may excel in large companies,
public institutions or international organisations where the hierarchical structure is well- established.

The Experts CS is described in terms of achieving a high level of competency at their job and being
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 recognised for their expertise. The Expert`s conception of CS is theresfore grounded in intrenal
accomplishment and intangible personal recognition criteria. The content of the job they do is more
important than their position in the hierarchy or their status within the organsiation. They tend to value
positively autonomy at work and more responsibility.

The Influencers CS is defined as the possibility of accomplishing things which has a tangible and
positive effect on the organisation they work for, regardless of the hierarchical position they occupy.
The main word for Success here is the Impact they can have on their organisation in their role.

The Self - Realizers CS is described as an extremely internal concept, based on the idea of
achievement at a very personal level. The sense of fulfilling, the meaning of the job, finding the job
interesting and rewarding in itself are the main criteria for a successful career for a Self-Realizer.

The challenge for the companies in their Career planning and development policies may lay now in
how to integrate their vision on organisational success with the variety of the modern and post-modern
employees psychology typologies and their definition of CS. As a matter of fact, the the Career
Success of a Company/ Institution highly depends on the Career Success of their Associates.

In terms of CS, the challenge may be the new meanings the career should add or integrate, such as
the actual protean careers - a career that is driven by the person, not the organization, and that will be
reinvented by the person from time to time, as the person and the environment change.

Excellent work you have answered this well

2: Correct 2. Write a report on your findings from the set task. Present this as if it were a leaflet
to present to a client interested in working in the field you have researched. Aim to
write around 1000 words.
Human Resources

The practice of human resource management (HRM) is concerned with all aspects of how people are
employed and managed in organizations. Nowadays it covers a vast array of activities and specialities
that are operational depending of the size, needs and cultural organisation of the companies.

HR planning, recruitment and selection, and talent management, performance management, learning
and development, e-learning, performance appraisal, and rewarding (e.g., managing pay and benefit
systems), employee well-being and health and safety, employee engagement, career management,
psychometric testing, provision of employment contracts, policies on fair treatment, equal
opportunities, employee discipline, grievance, dismissal, redundancy, negotiation, ethic and corporate
responsibility and change management industrial relations, that is, the balancing of organizational
practices with regulations arising from collective bargaining and governmental laws, managing
multicultural diversity are some of the main specialities.

The weight of the HR department within organisations and their specialities depend on a lot of factors,
namely size of the company, vision of the management, development plans, outsourcing choices etc.
There are companies where the HR is concentrated in the hands of one individual or a very small
team focusing on the basic activities, and organisations, medium-large companies or multinational
corporation where each HR function is entrusted to specialized professionals. Accordingly, the HR
professional may act as an administrator, functional expert, consultant, cousellor, strategic partner,
leader.

Ideally, the role of the HR department should be strategical and integrated at the core of the business
management but may also be reduced to administrative and executive functions even in large
companies. The HR professional play a complex role within companies as his work has to manage the
interests of the company and the employee interests.

In order to deliver remarkable work outcomes, the HR professional has to possess and develop
constantly a wide range of specialised skills and competencies.

His academic background and professional experience may be very diverse. Ideally, depending of his
specialisation, it would be a real asset to come from a very related specialisation, such as Psychology,
Social Psychology, Sociology, Management, Social Sciences along with a specialisation in Human
Resources (Master Degree, Relevant HR training). Nowadays in many countries such as Canada,
Australia, UK and many others HR profession has become regulated and several associations and
professional organisations created regulations in order to restrict the access to the profession or to
facilitate the access on the labour to its certified members.

Not only the profession but also its related specialisations are regulated in many countries, such as
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 Competence Assessment, Recruitment, Training, Personality Inventory (depending of the theory) etc.
As it is always true that HR is not a specific discipline on its own but a mixed of many fields such as
psychology, sociology, social psychology, management, their practitioners tried to shape it and create
a specific specialisation.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of ambiguity and contradictions on the labour markets nowadays as we
can find a huge number of so called HR professionals, counsellors, couches, mentors coming from
nowhere or chartered professionals under the illusion that are the voice of the competence in the field
just because there are the happy possessors of a sheet of paper delivered by organisations, one more
accredited than others (!).

Apart from all these inherent discrepancies, HR is a profession like many others (marketing,
management, social sciences) where specialised studies combined with practice and professional
exposure, and with a lifelong learning approach may ensure qualified professionals.

There are many specialities in HR and I shall enumerate some of them:

Job Analysis sits at the heart of all human resource practices, making it a critically important
management activity in every organization. However, with increasing competition, shorter product life-
cycles, rapid technological innovations, and the changing nature of organizational structures, its
underlying assumptions are becoming increasingly questionable in today's dynamic work environment.
It mainly consists of gathering and analysing data about jobs Job Description and Job Specification
(skills, competencies, knowledge according to responsibilities and tasks).

Recruitment and Selection - The recruitment and selection process begins with either the creation of a
new position or an existing vacant position arising. It may be a complex, long and formal process or
just a basic one, depending of the complexity of the job, of the company, of the rarity of competences
etc. preparing role profi les and person specifi cations; deciding
terms and conditions of employment, planning recruitment campaigns; Attracting candidates
reviewing and evaluating alternative sources of applicants, inside and outside the company:
advertising, e-recruiting, agencies and consultants; Selecting candidates sifting applications,
interviewing, testing, assessing candidates, assessment centres, offering employment, obtaining
references; preparing contracts of employment are the main stages of the process.

Labor Relations - Labor relations specialists are the bridge between the corporations where they work
and the labor unions that company employees participate in. Labor relations specialists must be
experts in local, state and federal labor issues, so that they can devise contracts that adhere to the
laws and politics of labor. A labor relations specialist also is a representative for the company in any
legal action and sometimes public relations. The labor relations specialist must always keep a close
eye on regulations, ensuring that his or her business is compliant at all times. Negotiating skills, the
ability to read, write and interpret legal documents, and good communication abilities are a must.

Training and Development Training and development specialists are in charge of all facets of
employees training, education within the corporation, and career development. They organize
orientation sessions for new employees (induction), training sessions for all employees, personal
development courses and any other in-person training that employees require to build their careers.

Compensation and Benefits the specialists are in charge of selecting and implementing the
compensation and benefits programs for their corporations. Such managers use their grasp of
corporate policy, insurance, and different benefits programs to pick the perfect programs for their
companys employees. They review and modify compensation and benefits programs, making sure
such programs enable their business to attract and retain top talent.

International Human Resources Associate

An international human resources associate plays a generalist role within a companys human
resources department, but with global responsibility. Such an associate may post jobs for staff, assist
in recruiting efforts by screening candidates, review benefits and compensation packages and engage
in other standard human resources activities. The difference between a human resources associate
based at company headquarters and one who is international is that the latter must have a solid grasp
of employment markets around the worldthe cultural aspects, benefits and compensation, and how
to best go about screening candidates. Usually he is a multilingual and live or have lived in the
countries the associate is focusing on.

Ergonomists - Ergonomists are concerned with the comfort and health of an organisation's employees
and the efficiency of its work.
They work in various areas including equipment design, consultancy and report and manual
production to aid the safe running of business operations. Ergonomists implement strategies in three
main areas: physical (working postures, materials handling, repetitive movements, work related
musculoskeletal disorders), cognitive (mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-
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 computer interaction, human reliability, work stress) and organisational (communication, human
resource management, community ergonomics, cooperative work, new work paradigms, teamwork,
timetables).

A health and safety adviser develops, maintains and protects health and safety standards within public
and private organisations in accordance with current health and safety legislation.
Salaries Salaries in HR obviously vary depending on the country, city, position, experience,
certifications, specialisations, company etc.

In Ireland, for instance, according to site

http://www.payscale.com/research/IE/Job=Human_Resources_(HR)_Generalist/SalaryThe average
pay for a Human Resources (HR) Generalist is 34,830 per year.

Trends in HR like in many other fields, HR professional have to keep up with the changes in society
and on the labour markets. It is a truism that the world of work is rapidly changing. For the HR people
it means understanding the implications of globalization, work-force diversity, changing skill
requirements, corporate downsizing, continuous improvement initiatives, re-engineering, the
contingent work force, decentralized work sites and employee involvement for which all and more
have the financial implication to organization.

Sometimes it is hilarious, to say the least, in fact it is quite worrying and sad to see to what high
degree HR practitioners nowadays are still proudly using archaic, ineffective and irrelevant HR tools,
inappropriate methods, practices or narrowed visions.
How many companies may answer this question like below:?

Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company
$600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his
experience? Thomas John Watson Sr., IBM

fantastic discussion and evaluation well done

3: Correct 3. What internal factors (skills, interests, emotions) and what external factors
(distance, availability, parents) can affect a persons choice of career?
Former New York Yankee baseball Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra has been quoted as saying, You
got to be careful if you dont know where youre going, because you might get there (1998, p. 102). G

Career choice - implies an individual decision, a rational outcome, following a process of meaningful
and focused deliberation, analysis of alternatives and options.

The association between career and choice place the individual in the region of liberty, of self-
determination in regards to his tastes and pursuits, to his capacity of planning and acting in life
according to his character.

Career choice gives the individual a great importance and great responsibility also; it implies that the
career is not assigned, that everything may be possible, that the individual can choose and pursue his
inclinations, interests, passions; it implies also the possibility of the expression of the self under all his
facets.

What degree of freedom has in fact one individual in his career choice?
May one simply choose to become of painter, a singer, a philosophe, an astronaut in the obvious
absence of natural gift?

What is a career?

The concept is very complex and for the purposes of this assignment, I shall concentrate only on the
main expected related. A career may be thought of as a long-term project for an individual life towards
which efforts, financial resources, work, time, psychological investment and other similar resources are
invested. As a projection for the future, the work towards a career will be integrated in the actual
identity and will become part of personal identity.

One's thoughts, hopes, aspirations, energy, and sense of worth may be wrapped up in and dominated
by his career.
A career usually imposes certain conditions or even preconditions upon its pursuit. For example, it
may require a certain specific location, a certain kind of climate, a certain mix of uses of body and
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 mind, or certain kinds of education and training. It may require certain physical structure, certain talent,
a specific set mind.

A large part of the practical answer to the Socratic question of "what kind of life one should live" may
be given in one's choice of a career.

It is imaginable that a person might meander through life without a career and have a richer, more
diverse, and more exciting existence than a person with a career. A career that goes wrong or
becomes disappointing may cause regret, deaden energies, and bring a lot of disappointment.

If the environment is hostile for the pursuit of a career, or someone trained constantly for this and
discover that eventually does not really fit or just do not find realistic opportunities to pursue it may be
seriously affected and disoriented.

There are many factors that may affect a person`s career choice. An important factor may be related
to our first exposure to the professional world. Supposing in the family the career is a constant
concern and the professional life plays a major role, the care for shaping the future career will be more
relevant that in a context where profession is not valued.

What do you want to be when you grow-up? It is hard to imagine someone that has not been exposed
almost once in his early life to this question. From their childhood, children start to fantasize about
their future profession and the way they try to shape their answers reflects significantly their
environment.

The culture has a major impact on career decisions. Our culture often shapes our values and
expectations as they relate to many parts of our lives, including jobs and careers. In some cultures,
some professions are well- valued and people may be fully influenced in their career choices by the
social perceptions on that particular career.

Gender also plays a major part in the career choice and unfortunately even nowadays, despite so
many interventions on educational, social and political levels, there are still so-many career related
stereotypes. There are many theories on how the roles are socially taught and how gender issue
shapes the career choices.

Holland's Career Typology is a widely used to connect personality types and career fields.

Interests are another important decisional factor in career choice. This theory establishes a
classification system that matches personality characteristics and personal preferences to job
characteristics. The preference for a profession or another seems to work like a continum of the
personality or identity, a part of our self.

How we think about ourselves in specific roles, their requirements of them, and the external forces
that affect them, may influence how we look at careers in general and how we make choices for
ourselves.

Another factors that may affect the people choices about career may be the emotional maturity, the
actual skills, competencies or talents, the influence of other people, the imitation, the tradition, the
runs-in-the family, the exposure from early life to certain skills, or on the contrary the lack of exposure
and the impossibility to imagine the diversity of profession where one may use his knowledge or skills.

Changes in economy, in politics, on the job market, the external opportunities or trends may also
affect career choice. Someone`s personality must be self motivated type, as to investigate career
possibilities from early on in their lives.

Career choices may be also the result of a combined factors and also individuals may change at some
point in their life the career directions thanks to unexpected opportunities or influences.

Sometimes it may happen that someone just has the revelation of what best fits to him as a
consequences of his trials and life experiences.

Wrong carrer choice may be a strong motivator as well for a change towards a better one.

Under this perspective, carrer choice became the path towards careers choices and career identities.

Thank you very much!

Georgeta

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 all correct well done

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