Action Planning for Personal Competitiveness in the “Broken Workplace”

Feller, Richard W.

doi:10.1002/j.2161-1920.1995.tb01094.x

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Within this new economic structure, the psychological contract between workers and employees has shifted. Within many firms, there is a flatter organizational structure, more emphasis on productivity, less job security, and, often, higher levels of stress and burnout (Feller, 1995). More people are finding themselves outside of the traditional organizational structures trying to find their way with part-time and contract work.…”

Section: Changing Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Three‐dimensional living

Amundson

2001

Journal of Employment Couns

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

....Tackling the topic of how one should live is not easy. I have been thinking about and trying to practice some of these ideas for many years with modest success. The key here is the word modest; in many respects the struggle continues. It is tough to put some of these ideas on the printed page because by writing them, there is a certain call to accountability. Yet I persist, knowing that I do not have it all figured out but wanting to share with you where I am in the journey. I hope some of these ideas will spur you on in your own journey.As a visual person, I find it helpful to use metaphors to help further my understanding. The adage a "picture is worth a thousand words" certainly fits with my experience of reality. Metaphors have the ability to capture relatively complex constructs (Rule, 1983). Thus, I begin by proposing a metaphor for the way we live. This metaphor is based on physical properties of matter. Basically, I see our lives as units of being with a structure that includes the dimensions of length, width, and depth. The properties of being are such that we can be separated and analyzed for our unique personal qualities. In this respect, we are like billiard balls in motion on a table with separate boundaries and connections with others that reflect straightforward cause and effect relationships. Psychological studies often reflect this perspective on personal reality. At another level, however, we fuse together and operate more like waves than like individual units. This collective identity is often captured through studies in the areas of sociology or political science. It is not that one view is more correct than the other. In fact, we are capable of both individual action and collective identity. A recent article by Lindh and Dahlin (2000) from Sweden illustrates how these different perspectives have developed (and are developing) in Europe and in North America.

show abstract

Section: Changing Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Three‐dimensional living

Amundson

2001

Journal of Employment Couns

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Action planning can be both a part of the career or employment problem-solving strategy (Beauchesne & Belzile, 1995;Feller, 1995;Hughes, 1995;Watts, 1992), and a process that occurs within (Watts, 1992) or throughout the various aspects of career counseling (Amundson, 1995) . In addition, whether the client or the agency owns the plan can have implications for the plan's practical application Watts, 1992) .…”

Section: Action Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

putting action back into action planning: experiences of career clients

Borgen

Maglio

2007

Journal of Employment Couns

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study used the critical incident technique to investigate what helped and hindered unemployed and career-changing people in implementing the action plans they developed while participating in career or employment counseling. Information from interviews with 23 women and 16 men generated 9 categories of helping incidents and 9 categories of hindering incidents. These categories increase understanding of the nature of action planning and reveal implications for preparing clients to engage in action planning activities.The purpose of this study was to determine what helped and hindered unemployed people and those changing careers in implementing the action plans that they had developed while participating in career or employment counseling . We focused on the latter part of the employment transition process, which is linked to action plans reflecting attempts to reconnect with changing labor market opportunities . MakINg CaReeR DeCIsIoNsCareer and employment decision-making interventions are used to help people make decisions about occupations or appropriate career paths . Client action planning represents the outcome of most of these career interventions . The ways in which action plans are developed depend on the theoretical frameworks underlying the selected approaches .Traditional career decision-making theories focus on individuals and their possible matches with the labor market . These theories present a particular perspective of what is required of individuals seeking satisfying employment . One of the earliest theories was trait and factor (Herr, Cramer, & Niles, 2004;Parsons, 1909), which posited that vocational choice is a static, systematic, and rational activity that reveals the single correct employment choice for the given individual .A second theoretical orientation uses a developmental approach or one that emphasizes the growth and change of values, attitudes, interests, and personality . Developmental theories suggest that occupational choice reflects the particular life

show abstract

“…Past employment relationships based on mutual commitment between employer and employee are no longer the norm in the marketplace (Cappelli, 2000b;Flood, 2002). Instead of a predictable linear rise up an organisation's hierarchy, careers are now characterised by a 'protean' model of movement between many organisations during the course of individuals' working lives (Feller, 1995;Flood, 2002;Kerka, 1995;Schreuder & Theron, 2001). The main driver of these shifts in the employment system has been economic -during the 1990s, many organisations downsized, often drastically, in an attempt to cope with changing market conditions that demanded flexibility in order to survive (Cappelli, 2000b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result of this, while organisations may be willing to forego commitment from many of their employees in exchange for the benefits of increased flexibility and responsiveness to environmental changes, this does not apply to those employees classed as talent (Feller, 1995). This is because the organisation's competitive advantage is often dependent on the specialised knowledge and skills possessed by these employees (Schreuder & Theron, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that these employees carry the '[tools of their trade] between [their] ears' (Stewart, 1997: 68), retaining this knowledge becomes a matter of retaining these employees, since their leaving means a loss to the organisation of its intellectual capital or intangible assets (Arkin, 2001;Buckingham, 2000;DeConinck & Bachmann, 1994;Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2000;Michand, 2001;Sveiby, 1997). Talent management should be seen as a strategic business priority (Towers Perrin, no date, cited in HR Focus, 2003, 80(1):3) and for this reason, the organisation is prepared to invest in the careers of these employees in order to increase their organisational commitment and avoid the phenomenon of market-driven turnover (Corporate Leadership Council (CLC), 1998a;Harvard Business Review, 2000;Feller, 1995), for example by focusing on policies that will ensure that they are 'employers of choice' (Cappelli, 2000b). One of today's most important workforce challenges, therefore, is the retention of this group of talented, value creating employees (CLC, 1998a;Prewitt, 1999;Rankin, 2000;Deloitte & Touche, 2001), so much so that it is being referred to as a 'war for talent' (Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2002: 32;Paton, 2002: 26).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Talent retention in a changing workplace: An investigation of variables considered important to South African talent

Birt¹,

Wallis²,

Winternitz³

2004

SAJBM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a workplace characterised by market-driven turnover, organisations attempting to retain those employees considered core to their purpose and continued success (referred to as ‘talent’) face a huge challenge in determining the factors instrumental in minimising turnover amongst this group. This research aimed to identify the variables important to this group of valued employees, with a specific focus on the South African context. In addition, it was aimed to discover the relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic variables to South African talent, particularly when these are considered as factors in their decisions to leave the organisation. It was found that South African talent placed great importance on intrinsic variables, although market opportunities were also considered highly significant in employees’ decisions to leave. The variable of ‘Concern with employment equity and affirmative action’ was revealed as a specifically South African variable, but it was not ranked as one of the participants’ top five most important variables influencing retention.

show abstract

Action Planning for Personal Competitiveness in the “Broken Workplace”

Abstract: The workplace and the psychological contract between employees and employer have structurally changed. This article suggests ways that counselors can help clients plan and take action to enhance their personal competitiveness in the “broken workplace.”

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Three‐dimensional living

Three‐dimensional living

putting action back into action planning: experiences of career clients

Talent retention in a changing workplace: An investigation of variables considered important to South African talent

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About