Background investigation of Career Development initiatives and outcomes: A special reference to Commercial Banks in Uva Province

Abstract

Note: See the PDF Version In a highly competitive era, and a complex business environment, organizations not only stick with local market, but also try to expand in to the international/ global markets, by using different corporate-level strategies. If the organization is to cope with these dynamic changes in the local as well as international markets it is important that it manages its people in a proper way by establishing human resource strategies at different levels especially with regards to planning and managing their careers (Baruch, 2004). According to the resource based view approach, human resource is considered as a valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resource. A good programmer of career planning enables the organization to empower their own human capital and thereby encouraging the spirit of creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation among their employees. A well-structured career development system facilitates the organization to enhance their in-house talent for staffing and promotion by matching the experience, skills, and aspirations of individuals to the needs of the organizations. Therefore, considering the importance of the career development, this paper developed a model to identify the different types of initiatives of career development, its outcomes and the necessity to maintain sustainability in career development in organizations. Commercial banks in the Uva province were chosen for this study where this conceptual model was empirically applied and tested upon. In this context, a 'career' has been defined as a lifelong process made up of a sequence of activities and related attitudes or behaviors that take place in a person's work life (Hail and Associates, 1986). According to the Leibowitz et al. (1986) the career development involves an organized, formalized, planned effort to achieve a balance between the individual's career needs and the organization's work force requirements. Obviously, with proper career planning and career management, an individual expects to harvest the result of such investment by attaining career development. Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk (2000) suggests that career development is an ongoing process by which individuals progress through a series of stages, each of which is characterized by a relatively unique set of issues, themes, and tasks. Furthermore, Hall and Associates (1986) define career development as the outcome emanating from the interaction of individual career planning and institutional career management processes. This idea of career planning and development initiatives fostering organizational effectiveness depends on the organization's ability to transform employees from a traditional pattern of expectation to one of increased responsibility for their own career growth and development (Martin et al., 2001). Apart from that Chen et al. (2004) surveyed the capability of career development programmers in responding to career needs at different career stages and the influence on job satisfaction, professional development and productivity among the R&D personnel. Furthermore, Noordin et al., 2002 have stated that career development opportunities support career commitment initiatives among employees. Therefore, based on the literature survey, this study took career planning and career management as input variables, career development as an intervening variable and Job satisfaction, job performance and career commitment as output variables. This study mainly focused on to determine the impact of (a) career development initiatives on career development and (b) career development on career outcome of employees' in Commercial Banks in Uva Province, to assess the degree of linkage between career planning and career development, career management and career development in Commercial Banks at Uva Province, to assess the degree of linkage between career development and job satisfaction, job performance, and career commitment in Commercial Banks at Uva province.