Summary IOP3703 Study notes.

Study Unit 1: The Meaning of Work The Meaning of Work and Work Values Work is a major element of human activity: it sustains biological survival and it can sustain quality of life. Different meanings can be derived from different values associated with work, e.g. work seen as a means of making a living, of being occupied, of fulfilling a vocation, developing and utilising skills or fulfilling a life purpose. Evolution of meanings associated with work Pre-industrial era - drudgery - instrumental to spiritual or religious ends - intrinsically meaningful for its own sake Industrial era - Mechanistic, mass productions lead to decline in the will to work - Meaning sought outside sphere of work Post-Industrial era - Information technology and globalization lead to multicultural viewpoints about the meaning of work 21st century/knowledge - Boundaryless, service driven, technology intensive work environments - Work meaning is a socially constructed product that is dynamic and fluid and that expenses itself through the lenses of job meaning, role meaning and self- meaning a particular socio cultural context - Heightened change and uncertain markets lead to a search for meaning, higher purpose and spiritual sense making through ones work activities and life roles. • Work as a central life interest: degree of importance that working has in the life of an individual at any given point in time. Most adults working occupy a large part of their lives. Work Values - Values - to demote norms, beliefs, principles, preferences, needs, interest, intentions, codes, criteria, world-view or ideology. - Orientations that selectively determine modes of behaviour and life forms, incl work behaviour and work forms. Advancement People who value advancement in their work and their career attach much importance to achievement, upward mobility, making progress, development, power and status - Power o Capacity that a person has to influence the behaviour of other people so that they act in accordance with one’s wishes. - Status o Arise from tendency to categorise people according to work related factors. o Determine indiv place in status hierarchy of the community o Mobility and directionality o Aspirations can differ in diff societal or occupational groups Autonomy People who value autonomy want freedom to organise their life and work; seek to be free of organisational constraints Economic/materi al rewards Associated with the need for job security, good salary and good working conditions - Working to have things - Working to not be left behind - Working to confirm self-worth - Working to use technology Social values Centred around relations with people; affective rather than material; value of benevolence - Sense of belonging in society o Work can be a basis for integrating people into society by providing connections; ties the individual to society - Work-family enrichment o The extent to which experiences in one role improve the quality of life in another role; bi-directional Workplace spiritually Recognition that employees have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community o Acting with integrity and authenticity o Treating people with respect o Encouraging a work life balance o Connecting ones work to a larger sense of meaning and purpose o Creating a culture which embodies core values/ethical principles o Establishing decision making processes that incl reflection on the complex value at stake and consideration of justice for those affected o Doing business in a socially responsible manner Self-actualisation Process of inner-directedness through which individuals give expression to their intrinsic nature - Competency o Finding intrinsic meaning and a sense of identity in work is career competency - Leisure o Activities that fall outside the context of work; work may have a spill-over effect on leisure which may be positive or negative Study Unit 2: Changes in Organisations and Implications for Careers Understand the changing nature of work Predictions Future trends • Short working day amount to 25 working hrs per wk. Business open 24 hrs pday and people work 3 – 4 days a week. • More adv, personal computers will enable people to communicate audio-visually across the globe • 25 % of people will work from home and 10% of top companies will be virtual org • Careers will offer little job tenure and people have to make provision for periods of unemployment • Increasingly ageing yet active population • More varied household types • Multi-generations working side by side • Growing diversity in the workplace • Spirituality at work Traditional Workplace: Modern Workplace: • Stable environment with protected markets • Production-driven • Mechanistic, product, functional divisional structures • Hierarchical, multiple management levels • Seniority-based, time-based promotions • Command and central management style • Uni-dimensional career movements (linear) • Organisation responsible for individual career planning and development • Individual loyalty to organisation for • Dynamic, competitive environment, global unpredictable markets • Service-driven, technology-intensive • Flat, network, cellular structures • Knowledge and information-technology-driven learning organisations • Strategize, collaboration with competitors • Multi-cultural organisations • Small component of core employees, big component parttime, casual, contract staff • Empowerment of people • Competency-based outsourcing • Self-directed teams lifelong and steady growing employment • Job security, job-for-life • One or two career choices at early career age • Multi-directional career movements • Diminishing loyalty for organisation • Individual investment in employability • Increasing emphasis on work-life integration • Career self-management • Life-long learning • Knowledge workers • Composite and customised careers • Repeated career choices at different age stages • Careers as learning cycles (several organisations) • Spirituality at work 12 Predictions regarding the changing nature of work • Social bonds between worker and company decrease • People combine into teams • Back to guild structures • Work will take place in greater range of locations • Work is spread out in time • Work is more collaborative, less individualistic • Corporations morph into confederations with shared liability • Developing and delivering work support structures are a business in itself • The stars are producers not CEOs • Success means mastering ambiguity • Value embedded in social capital • Live to work to live and to enhance the quality of life Implications of changing organisations for careers Protean Careers This is a career shaped and managed by the individual. It consists of all the person's varied experiences in education, training, and works in several organisations and changes in occupational field and is characterised by a high degree of mobility, self-reliance and internal career thinking. It is a mindset about the career and is characterised by the following: • Psychological success • Self-direction • Freedom and autonomy • Choices are based on personal values • Continuous learning • High level of self-awareness • Age is unimportant • Personal responsibility • Freedom and growth are valued • High degree of mobility The employee does not blindly trust the organisation with his or her career. The present contract is with the self, instead of the organisation. Boundaryless Careers This is a career characterised by flexibility, mobility and movement between different global organisational contexts. It involves physical or psychological movement away from the current employer. Individuals have selfownership of their careers, managing them in a relatively autonomous fashion and in the process, their employment value is increased. The mobility takes place between jobs, companies, occupation and countries. Individuals can move between different organisations if they have transferrable knowledge, skills and abilities. Individuals will inevitably encounter external, unobvious or subjective boundaries within themselves that define career context, choices and development. Composite Careers This consists of having more than one working role or holding more than one form of employment. Individuals have to manage their time between different roles, companies, locations, clients, teams and schedules. It is a way to express those parts of one's multiple possible selves that are excluded from the narrow world of one-job-for-life. Workers in the 21st century are thinking less of themselves as "having a job" and more of themselves as "experimenting with work opportunities", which allow them to discover more about themselves and live meaningful lives. Entrepreneurial Careers Choosing self-employment as a career option which could include establishing and managing one's own business. The main aim is to achieve flexibility and autonomy. Successful entrepreneurs have the following skills and aptitudes: • Persuasive powers • Problem solvers and decision makers • Time management skills • Willing to take calculated and intelligent risks • Effective business management skills They generally display the following qualities and personality traits: • Need for autonomy and independence • Need for achievement, for being successful • High initiative and self-leadership • Creativity and flexibility • Ability to cope with adversity and change • Self-confidence • Commitment to goals and life purpose • Motivated and optimistic mindset Career Progress and Success Redefined Career progress refers to an individual's experiences of career growth which may include moving upward, increasing competence and expertise and gaining broader experience across multidirectional career movements. Career success refers to the objective and subjective (psychological) sense of achievement and well-being by individuals experience regarding their careers. Career success can be increased if individuals do something they feel passionate about and if new career goals are achieved. Lifelong Learning The process by which one acquires knowledge, skills and abilities throughout one's life and career in reaction to and in anticipation of changing performance criteria. Employees who cannot adapt to organisational change will find themselves sidelined by the organisation at an early age. Self-development can help individuals realise their career aspirations and increase their life satisfaction. Successful intelligence is the ability to attain one's goals in life, within one's socio-cultural context: • by adapting to, shaping and selecting environments • through the recognition of and capitalisation on strengths • through the recognition of and compensation for or correction of weaknesses • via the interaction of analytical, creative and practical abilities The organisation can foster continuous learning in the following ways: • By creating a culture of continuous learning • By establishing a transfer of training climate, where skills learned in training are reinforced when applied in the organisation • By giving constructive feedback, which addresses the causes of the individual's performance correctly and which is fair, helpful and considerate • By managing performance