Career management

These activities are classified into six groups: employee self-assessment tools, organizational potential assessment, internal labor market information exchanges, individual counseling or career discussions, job-matching systems, and development programs. The career management activities investigated in their study consist of career reviews with superiors, psychometric testing and feedback, career planning workshops, self-assessment materials, information on career paths, fast-track programs, developmental assessment centers, assigned mentors, and informal mentors. Of all the OCM programs examined, career reviews with superiors is the most commonly adopted, followed by informal mentoring and the provision of career path information.

There are main 20 features of Hilton’s Hotel business in China and abroad.

Scale items

1. 360° performance appraisal

2. Job posting

3. Orientation/induction program

4. Formal education/tuition reimbursement

5. Lateral move (job rotations)

6. Dual-career ladders

7. Succession planning

8. Counseling by direct manager/by human resources manager

9. Formal mentoring

10. Performance appraisal as a basis for career planning

11. Retirement preparation programs

12. Common career paths

13. Booklets and/or pamphlets on career issues

14. Written personal career planning for employees

15. Assessment centers

16. Development centers

17. Career workshops

18. Special program (high-flyers, dual-career couples)

19. Creating psychological contracts

20. Secondments

 

A total of 22 personal interviews were conducted from February–May 2008 to collect information on major OCM practices. The target sample in the first-round of in-depth interviews consisted of the critical group of employees matching the following profile: hotel staff aged 20–38 in middle management positions with at least two-year work. The participants in the second-round in-depth interviews were six general managers and deputy general managers. With an average age of just over 42, these general managers and deputy general managers typically had on average of over eight years of hotel management. Two of them had gained international management. All the participants were male and had been educated to either Bachelor's or Master's degrees. Three of them had been educated to college certificate level and the rest were university graduates. All the interviews were conducted in Chinese and were transcribed before being translated into English.

The interviewer started the in-depth interviews by taking the participants through an open-ended questionnaire and asking them to describe the types of career management activities practiced in Hilton hotels. The interviewer recorded all the participants’ responses. Frequently mentioned career practices were summarized in the item pool. After asking all the open-ended questions, the interviewer then presented and explained the 20-item to the interviewees and asked to what extent these career management activities were conducted in Hilton hotel.

 

Hotels provide effective career management activities such as training, mentoring, performance appraisal, and development programs to their employees. These activities are beneficial to the development of career competency. For example, performance appraisal provide input to career planning, and help employees to be better aware of their performances. Mentoring plays an important role in directing career development and decision making. The use of these career activities helps Hilton hotels provide employees feedback on their strengths, and subsequently related to the competency of “knowing why”, “knowing whom”, and “knowing how”. Employees obtaining feedback of their performance can develop specific career goals, leading to the “knowing why” career competency. In addition, mentoring and training provide networking opportunities, and thus enhance the “knowing whom” competency. Organizational training and development programs also enhance employees’ learning and the “knowing how” competency. All of the above relationship lead to the following prediction that perceived hotel career management contribute positively to career competency.

Career satisfaction is the satisfaction that individuals derive from the intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of their careers, including pay, advancement, and developmental opportunities. Employees’  perceived career satisfaction reflects how they feel about their career-related roles, accomplishments, and success. Career satisfaction is an important predictor of career success that has been conceptualized as comprising both extrinsic and intrinsic outcomes, and is thus measured using both objective and subjective indicators. Objective career success indicates an external perspective that delineates more or less tangible indicators of an individual's career situation. Indicators of objective career success include salary, promotion, family structure, and job level. Subjective career success is defined as “individuals’ feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction with their careers”, and is most often measured by career satisfaction. As objective career success comprises visible outcomes, it usually depends on a third-person perspective, and thus does not reflect an employee's appraisal of his or her own success. In recent years, subjective measures of career success have become increasingly important, with career satisfaction being one of the most significant predictors of career success. This study thus focused on employees’ career satisfaction.

 

As stated, career competency comprises three types: “knowing why”, “knowing whom”, and “knowing how”. The “knowing-why” competency encompasses career insight, a proactive personality, and openness to experience. People who know themselves well are able to clarify their career aims, while people with a proactive personality tend to seek opportunities and act on them. Openness to experience refers to the degree to which individuals are curious, imaginative, creative, willing to accept changes, and accepting of. Individuals who score highly on this trait tend to achieve higher levels of job performance and seek regular training and development opportunities to acquire transferable skills. It has also been found that employees with high job performance scores are perceived to have more favorable advancement prospects, which is associated with a higher level of career satisfaction.

The “knowing whom” competency relates to the career-related networks, mentoring, and contacts of an individual both inside and outside the organization. Individuals in a mentoring relationship show great effectiveness in self-managing their own careers and better career success. Individuals often benefit greatly from networks, as networking inside and outside the organization helps them to stay on top of new developments and approaches. An employee can also gather career-relevant information and social capital through networks. As both internal and external networking aid career development, it is assumed that the “knowing whom” competency is an important predictor of career satisfaction.

The “knowing how” competency involves career- or job-related skills and career identity. Career identity is the degree to which people immerse themselves in skill-enhancing and professional activities. As employee skills are an important predictor of job performance, employees who are strong in a variety of skills are expected to receive better compensation and promotion opportunities, which increases their career satisfaction. Thus, the accumulation of career- or job-related skills may help to increase employee career satisfaction. This lead to the following prediction that:

Career competency may contribute positively to career satisfaction.

 

Hotels can enhance the career satisfaction of their employees by engaging in effective career management activities. It has been found that specific career management activities, such as job rotation schemes, are positively related to career satisfaction. Other career management practices, such as career sponsorship, training, and career development programs, also contribute positively to career satisfaction. Organizations try to enhance employee career satisfaction by providing effective career support, such as training, performance appraisal, and challenging jobs. This engenders a perception among employees of being supported by the organization, which leads to better career satisfaction and retention intention. Therefore it is hypothesized that perceived hotel career management may contribute positively to career satisfaction.

 

In addition to its direct influence on career satisfaction, career competency mediate the relationship between hotel career management and career satisfaction. The function of a mediator represents the generative mechanism through which the focal independent variable is able to influence the dependent variable of interest. There are two forms of mediation: full mediation and partial mediation. When the direct effect between the independent variable and the dependent variable is no longer statistically different from zero after controlling for the mediator variable, the effect is said to be one of full mediations. However, if the absolute size of the direct effect between the independent variable and the dependent variable is reduced after controlling for the mediator variable but the direct effect is still significant, then the mediation effect is regarded as partial.

 

 

Conclusion.

All in all the adducted theory is the key for a successful hotel business in China and Hilton Hotels follows all of these points. That’s why I tried to organize my work in this way, it is necessary to understand every singularity of the sphere and company’s work. Career management is one of the most important features for a good and stable business and if you follow every stage you will get a strong model of hotel’s company with the satisfied customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

1.Ball, B. (1997). "Career management competences – the individual perspective". Career Development International 2 (2): 74–79.

 

2.Ibarra, Herminia (2003). Working identity: unconventional strategies for reinventing your career. Harvard Business Press.

 

3.Strenger, Carlo (2008). "The Existential Necessity of Midlife Change". Harvard Business Review. February 2008: 82–90.