Human Resource Development
IRHR3510 - University of Newcastle

Assessment 1
ESSAY
“Career development:
Whose responsibility is it?”

Introduction:
Career development refers to the “lifelong process of managing learning, work, leisure and transitions” (Parker, 2015). Employee career development is not only vital for the individual’s career but it is also an essential part of business survival strategies (Gololo, 2013).
In order to effectively address the question “Career development: Whose responsibility is it?”, this essay will consider the effects of changing business environment on the nature of career development. Research examples, such as Hall’s and Inkson’s articles, are useful in explaining the highly turbulent and complex business environment whilst also differentiating the role each person plays in a modern organisation. The idea of a protean career is essential in understanding whose responsibility one’s career development belongs to. The combination of the changing business environment, as well as the protean career approach to career development, will establish an essential foundation for this essay.
The empirical information gathered from a joint research paper conducted by the University of Phoenix in conjunction with EdAssist – “The Story Behind Career Development: Who is responsible?” helps to investigate the current trends within the workplace and how they are evolving. This study investigates managers’ and employees’ perceptions of whose responsibility it is to take control of the individual’s career development.
By studying a variety of other well renowned, peer-reviewed academic sources the responsibility of one’s career development is shown to be primarily the individuals. However, it is important to acknowledge the powerful influence the organisation’s assistance can have on, not only the individual’s career development, but also the success of the organisation itself and, in the long run, it’s future survival.
Changing business environment:
It is clear to everyone that the world is changing more rapidly than in previous generations. The business world in particular is evolving rapidly. As a result of this, organisations, employers and employees especially, are finding it difficult to distinguish the responsibilities and requirements of their role within this continually advancing environment. In “Protean Careers of the 21st Century”, Hall states that the “organisational career is dead, while the protean career is alive and flourishing” (Hall, 1996, p.8). Therefore, to understand whose responsibility career development is, we need ask how the business environment has evolved and what a protean career is.
Long gone are the days of lifetime employment. It used to be the case that individuals were employed in an organisation, started from the bottom, worked hard, remained loyal, and eventually climbed the corporate ladder and therefore were rewarded with job security. This is no longer true in today’s business environment. According to Hall, the modern day career is evolving and is no longer being measured by chronological age but via continuous learning and identity changes (Hall, 1996). As outlined in the diagram below, the modern career can be identified as a compilation of short learning stages. Hall illustrates due to this dynamic environment, career age will be more valuable than chronological age (Hall, 1996). This means that it is the quality of the knowledge learnt is more valuable than the quantity of experience spent within a specific field.

(Hall, 1996, p.9)

Having said this, it can be seen that the concept of lifetime employment has been replaced by the concept of lifetime employability (Hall, 1996). Lifetime employability is a modern approach to career development. Today’s current approach to career development stems from a concept known as Protean Careers – “a career driven by the individual, rather than the organisation” (Hall, 1996). The term ‘Protean’ has been derived from the tale of Greek god Proteus, the god that could change shape at will. The same characteristics can be used to describe the contemporary business environment we now find ourselves in (Inkson, 2006).
This modern view of the business environment can influence career development. It will demand that the individual reinvent themselves constantly, in response to the organisation and overall business environment changes (Inkson, 2006). The protean career contrasts the historical ‘vertical success’ approach by introducing the concept of ‘psychological success’. Days of ‘vertical success’ via career goals of climbing the corporate ladder have been replaced with ‘psychological success’ approaches in which include goals relating to the individual’s life in general; family and personal achievements (Inkson, 2006).
Similarly, Hall reiterates the importance of recognising that the working environment is changing, and so too are the demands in the labour market. The demands will ultimately shift to those with the “learn-how” rather than those with the “know-how”. At the same time the importance job employability with supersede that of job security (Hall, 1996).
Research suggests that a highly multifaceted and extremely turbulent business environment results in many contradictory career signals (Hall, 1996). As a result of this ambiguous environment, individuals are becoming uncertain in regards to their career development. This means that career development is a more complex issue that widely assumed. Therefore it is increasingly important for employers and employees become aware of this turbulent environment when addressing the issue of career development and whose responsibility it is.

The current trend within the work environment:
The question of who is responsible of an individual’s career development presents a constant struggle for the organisation and their employees alike. Many say that everyone has an ongoing responsibility to actively engage in his or her own career development (Gololo, 2013). Meanwhile, others remain convinced the employers are to remain responsible for career development and employment opportunities (Cueni-Cohen, 2014). Although this issue is has been emerging for some time, it has been recently pushed to the forefront due to the increasing focus of protean career style approaches.
In a joint research study conducted by the University of Phoenix in conjunction with EdAssist, the perceptions of managers and employees within relevant organisations were investigated to determine whose responsibility it is to take charge of career development (Ramachandran & Zappa, 2013). The ambiguous nature of this question was evident in the responses gathered from this study. There were clear discrepancies between the two groups; managers and employees.
Majority of the employees believed it was the role of the employer or manager to educate career development, meanwhile an even higher majority of managers believed that the employees were to take responsibility for their own career development. These results demonstrate why organisations and their employees fail when it comes to effective career management (Quast, 2014). This study also highlights the ambiguity that exists in regards to career development responsibility, by illustrating that when it comes to taking responsibility for poor career development, managers and employees tend to point blame at each other (Ramachandran & Zappa, 2013). When in fact, the responsibility is of a shared concern, of primarily the individual but also the organisation.

Individual Responsibility:
As mentioned earlier, the individual bears an ongoing responsibility to actively engage in his or her own career development (Gololo, 2013). Research suggests that the individual should not carelessly trust the organisation with his or her own career (Hall, 1996). Therefore it seems that it is up to the individuals themselves to take the responsibility of their own career development in order to be successful. With this being said, to remain successfully and psychologically fulfilled throughout their career, the individual must organise their career development activities to best reflect their personal career goals.
Naturally, only the individual can best understand his or her own aspirations, inspirations and values. It is the responsibility of the individual to be clear of their needs and goals in order to have a realistic chance to maximise their potential and achieve their goals.
In order to successfully take control of his or her own career development and ultimately propel their career advancement, the individual must understand the conceptual model associated with the Career Anchor Theory. This theory outlines a number of dominant categories, or anchors, that most accurately describe their own individual values and motives (Ramakrishna & Potosky, 2001/2002). To effectively determine the roles and ultimately the careers that will be most satisfying, each individual must identify their most dominant career anchor (Smith, 2012). According to Ramakrishna and Potosky’s paper, individuals are obligated to make choices related to all aspects of their lives, in this case especially self-development and career goals. Career anchors can be used to demonstrate a stabilizing force, or certain personal values that the individual is willing to stick by,
As explored above, in today’s business environment, career development is not purely about gaining the required knowledge and skills needs to climb the company pyramid, it is more importantly about realising the power of flexibility and re-invention of these skills over the long run (Siverson, 2014). This will enable the individual to remain ‘employable’ rather than just ‘employed’ regardless of the industry or organisation you are currently employed in. Smith outlines that everyone’s motivations, goals and ambitions vary and that this level of flexibility is only achieved via developing a strong sense of who you are and what you want from your work (Smith, 2012).
However, research has shown that the majority of employees do not take the responsibility of their own development (Cueni-Cohen, 2014). It is vital for the organisation and management to work together with the employee in order for them to determine their individual goals, not only the individual’s career development, but also the organisation’s overall development and goal setting.

Organisational responsibility:
The goal is for employees to match their goals to that of the organisation (Cueni-Cohen, 2014). For this relationship between managers and employees to remain strong and effective, managers must also clearly state what they need from their employees. With this sharing of information about the organisation’s direction and translate that direction into something that appeals to the individual’s expectations, then a focused framework can be provided in which employees can best support the organisation in achieving their goals and developing their own career.
Organisational support can be shown via advancing each employee’s development and career opportunities through creative initiatives, talent-review processors and learning programs. By the organisation providing such opportunities for their workforce, employees are further encouraged to take charge of their own career development (Gololo, 2013).
From an organisational perspective, according to Ramakrishna and Potosky, career anchors are extremely useful in assisting with employee development, placement and even initial selection. By evaluating an individual’s career anchors and matching career opportunities to the employee’s appropriate career anchor, the organisation may also be able to improve retention and reduce employee turnover (Ramakrishna & Potosky, 2001/2002).
Similarly, the labour market shift to those with the “learn-how” rather than those with the “know-how” could result in organisational profitability in a variety of forms (Hall, 1996). As seen in many industry leading organisations, such as Apple, it is undoubtedly encouraged to “bring your whole self to work” otherwise the individual and the organisation will suffer (Eyl, 2014). This new protean career approach is not concerned with the employment contract between the individual and the organisation; it is concerned with the “agreement with one’s self and one’s work” (Hall, 1996).
Without the guidance and support of an individual’s manager and organisation they work for, each employee’s vision and talents will not be realised. According to Doreen Nixon, HR Director at Sandoz, “It is the responsibility of the manager to understand each employee’s vision, to channel their inherit talents into realistic applications, and to find avenues that best capitalise on their individual’s abilities, strengths and passions in the context of the organisation’s best interests” (Gololo, 2013).

Conclusion:
A high level of personal responsibility and awareness in their own individual aspirations, goals and values, is required when pursuing the protean career. While many people value the freedom that comes with the protean career path, there are others that are terrified by this freedom due to a lack of organisational support. This is when the organisation can use learning or developmental processes to assist employee’s transition.
This shared responsibility of control in regards to career development, allows for a more ‘task-focused relationship’ to exist and also assists with organisational diversity, in which further enables the organisation to survive into the future. This means that the individual does not have to carelessly trust the organisation with his or her own career, meanwhile the organisation does not hold any burden – a win-win for both parties (Hall, 1996).
2,026 Words
Reference List:

Cueni-Cohen, J. (2014). Who's in Charge of Career Development?
Eyl, E. (2014). Apple CEO Tim Cook on bringing your whole self to work. Linkedin. from https://http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141110152407-4647240-apple-ceo-tim-cook-on-bringing-your-whole-self-to-work
Gololo, M. (2013). Whose Responsibility is Career Development
Hall, D. T. (1996). Protean Careers of the 21st Century. Academy of Management Executive, 10(9), 8-16.
Inkson, K. (2006). Protean and boundaryless careers as metaphors. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 69(1), 48-63.
Parker, G. (2015). What is Career development? Retrieved 30.3.15
Quast, L. (2014). Who's In Charge of Career Planning? You. Retrieved from Forbes website: http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2014/09/29/whos-in-charge-of-career-planning-you/

Ramachandran, R., & Zappa, J. (2013). The Real Story Behind Career Development: Who is Responsible? Paper presented at the Webinar.
Ramakrishna, H., & Potosky, D. (2001/2002). Structural Shifts in Career Anchors of Information Systems Personnel: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 42(2), 83.
Siverson, D. (2014). Whose Responsibility is an Individual’s Career Plan? White Pages and Articles. http://xponents.com/resources/white-pages-and-articles/whose-responsibility/
Smith, C. (2012). Schein's Career Anchors. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_99.htm