Department of Business Administration Career Needs and Career Development Programs: An Investigation of the Concept of Gap Pao-Long Chang Department of Business Administration Feng Chia University 2005-05-12

Chen, T. Y. , Chang, P. L. , and Yeh, C. W Chen, T.Y., Chang, P.L., and Yeh, C.W. An investigation of career development programs, job satisfaction, professional development and productivity: The case of Taiwan. Human Resource Development International Chen, T.Y., Chang, P.L., and Yeh, C.W. (2004). A study of career needs, career development programs, job satisfaction and the turnover intentions of R&D personnel. Career Development International, 9(4), 424-437. Chen, T.Y., Chang, P.L. and Yeh, C.W. (2003). The study of career needs, career development programs and job satisfaction levels of R&D personnel: The case of Taiwan. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(6), 1001-1026. (SSCI) Chen, T.Y., Chang, P.L. and Yeh, C.W. (2003). Square of correspondence between career needs and career development programs for R&D personnel. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 14, 189-211

Career Stage (I) Super’s theory(1957) age  career stage 5 stages childhood growth (up to the age of 14) search and inquiry (up to the age of 25) establishment (up to age 45) continuity or maintenance (up to age 56) decline or disengagement age  career stage age  social roles: child, student, leisure seeker, citizen, worker, home-maker

Career Stage (II) Super, Savickas and Super (1996) give the description of Super’s stages (1) growth stage dealing with the tasks associated with becoming concerned about the future, increasing control over one’s own life, committing to school and work, acquiring competent work habits and attitudes exploration stage encounter crystallizing, specifying and implementing occupational choice

Career Stage (III) Super, Savickas and Super (1996) give the description of Super’s stages (2) establishment stage beginning of one’s career; the tasks are stabilizing, consolidating and advancing in one’s occupational position maintenance stage concerned with issue of middle crisis; the tasks of holding on , keeping up and innovating. (career plateau) disengagement stage phasing out and retirement

Career Stage (IV) Levinson’s theory (1978) Seasons of man’s life childhood early adulthood middle adulthood late adulthood

Career Stage (V) Dalton, Thompson and Price (1977) focus on professional growth and managerial development apprentices autonomous work mentoring others direction, representation, sponsoring

In our study, we focus on professional life with specific stages of exploration establishment maintenance disengagement

Career Practices in 1990s Studies (I) Job postings external recruitment vs. internal recruitment Formal education / tuition reimbursement a first degree in engineering; an MBA; professional and vocational qualification courses insecurity and instability of investment in people Performance appraisal for career planning PA is the most fundamental practice of all career practices Counseling by manager individual interest career options

Career Practices in 1990s Studies (II) Lateral moves the flattening of organization job rotations and role changes Counseling by HR knowledge of organizational goals and development; HRM planning for the whole enterprise Pre- retirement programs financial programs psychological programs Information on leisure activities and other fulfilling tasks Succession planning to decide on the possible replacement of every manager within the organization

Career Practices in 1990s Studies (III) Mentoring bring togather a person with managerial potential and an experienced manager Common career path to lead people through various departments and units within the organization and in overseas subsidiaries Dual ladder a different promotion path for non-managerial staff Career booklets / pamphlets Information on career paths, the competencies required for each position on the path, time scales , ……

Impact factors size age globalization workforce diversity

Career Needs (I) Schein (1978, 1980), Hall (1986) and Meehan (1995) mentioned the importance of the concept of career needs. We define career needs as: Career goals focus on existing career needs and determination of the direction and aims of an individual’s current efforts. Career tasks pertain to the career needs that exist during the achievement of these career goals. Career challenges relate to future career needs which arise from subsequent career development opportunities or obstacles.

Career Needs (II) Using R&D personnel in high-tech industries as example. a higher turnover rate exists among R&D personnel in high-tech industries than average level for industry as a whole

The concept of Gap between career development programs and career needs Three types of the gap the gap between career goal needs and corresponding career development programs the gap between career task needs and corresponding career development programs the gap between career challenge needs and corresponding career development programs

Hypotheses (I) Three types of the gap between career development programs and career needs will be positively influenced with turnover intentions Three types of the gap between career development programs and career needs will be negatively influenced with job satisfaction We expect job satisfaction to mediate the relationship between gap and turnover intentions Career stages may moderate the effect on job satisfaction from the gap between career development programs and career needs

Hypotheses (II) Gap Job Satisfaction Turnover intentions Career stages

Data source The sample was drawn from R&D personnel in high-tech industry in HSIP 1300 questionnaires were distributed, 367 valid questionnaires. Overall return rate 28.2%

Measurements (I) Career stages

Measurements (II) Career Needs: a 32-item scale factor analyses confirm the underlying constructs (all Cronbach’s α are larger than 0.7) Career development programs: a 33-item scale

Measurements (III) The gaps are measured by subtracting the average awareness values of career development programs from the average career needs values Job satisfaction-- Job Descriptive Index scale of Smith et al. (1987), using a composite of 5 sub-scales: pay, promotion, supervisors, co-workers and work (Cronbach’s α=0.92) Turnover intentions-- based on Mobley, Horner and Hollingsworth (1978) (Cronbach’s α=0.88)

Empirical Results (I)

Empirical Results (II)

Empirical Results (III)

Empirical Results (IV)

Empirical Results (V)

Empirical Results (VI)

Research Issues Scale development for general use Explanatory power of gap vs. programs only Procedual and distributive justice