Please click here to access the new HRM Failures case associated with this chapter. HRM Failures features
real-life situations in which an HR conflict ended up in court. Each case includes a discussion
questions and possible answers for easy use in the classroom. HRM Failures are not included in
the text so that you can provide your students with additional real-life content that helps engrain
chapter concepts.
1.1.1.1.1 Chapter Summary
This chapter begins by discussing the relationship between development, training, and careers.
Then, four approaches (education, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships)
used to develop employees, managers, and executives are presented. The third section of the
chapter provides an overview of the steps of the development planning process. The chapter
concludes with a discussion of special issues, including succession planning, melting the glass
ceiling, and helping dysfunctional managers.
1.2 Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Explain how employee development contributes to strategies related to employee retention,
developing intellectual capital, and business growth.
2. Discuss the steps in the development planning process.
3. Explain the employees’ and company’s responsibilities in planning development.
4. Discuss current trends in using formal education for development.
5. Relate how personality type, work behaviors, and job performance can be used for employee
development.
6. Explain how job experiences can be used for skill development.
7. Develop successful mentoring programs.
8. Describe how to train managers to coach employees.
9. Discuss what companies are doing for melting the glass ceiling.
10. Use the 9-box grid for identifying where employees fit in a succession plan and construct
appropriate development plans for them.
Extended Chapter Outline
Note: Key terms appear in boldface and are listed in the “Chapter Vocabulary” section.
1.3 Opening Vignette:
Development Helps ESPN Stay on Top of the Leaderboard
ESPN prizes employee development, but in an industry where currency is the speed at which you
can deliver rapidly developing news, time away from work is difficult to find for employees.
Additionally, the company is expanding into Latin America and alignment with local culture and
norms is critical to maintain effectiveness.
Employees with the company are required to complete an individual development plan (IDP)
which helps employees learn where they are and where they want to go in their careers. The
company uses a 70-20-10 approach for development – 70% of development occurs on the job,
20% from relationships and informal learning, and 10% from targeted formal courses developed
to hone specific skills. To insure development activities support business needs, ESPN has a
learning and advisory board which includes senior leaders and vice presidents from its different
businesses. Also, the Employee Learning Council, which includes employees from each of
ESPN’s business units, provides feedback and helps to plan development programs.
Discussion Question
1. What evidence is there, based upon the information in this case, that ESPN is willing to
invest time and resources in identifying and developing its employees?
The IDP program provides substantive evidence that ESPN is interested and invests in the
identification and development of its employees. Senior leaders and Vice Presidents from
I. Introduction
II. The Relationship between Development, Training, and Careers (See Table 9.1 in text)
A. Development refers to formal education, job experiences, relationships and
assessment of personality and abilities that help employees prepare for the future.
B. While development involves learning what is not necessarily related to one’s
current job, training is focused on helping employees’ performance in their
current job.
C. Development and Careers- Careers have been described as the sequence of
positions held within an occupation. Each employee’s career consists of different
jobs, positions, and experiences.
1. A new concept of the career is often called a protean career. A protean
career is a career that is based on self-direction with the goal of
psychological success in one’s work. Employees are taking major
responsibility for managing their career.
a. Evaluating the psychological contract between employees and the
company has influenced the development of the protean career. A
psychological contract is the expectations that employees and
employers have about each other.
b. The goal of a new career for an employee is psychological success
or the feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes from
achieving life goals.
2. The types of knowledge that an employee needs to be successful have
changed. In the traditional career, “knowing how” was critical. Now
employees also need to “know why” and “know whom.”
3. The emphasis on continuous learning and learning beyond knowing how
as well as changes in the psychological contract are altering the direction
and frequency of movement within careers.
a. Traditional career patterns consisted of a series of steps arranged in
a linear hierarchy, with higher steps in the hierarchy related to
increased authority, responsibility, and compensation.
b. Expert career patterns involve a lifelong commitment to a field or
specialization.
c. The most appropriate view of a career is that it is “boundaryless.”
It may include movement across several employers or even
different occupations.
4. To retain and motivate employees companies need to provide a system to
identify and meet employees’ development needs. This system is often
known as career management or development planning system.
1.3.1.1.1.1
1.3.1.1.1.2 III.Development Planning Systems (see Table 9.2 for an outline of the design factors of
effective development systems).
1.3.1.1.1.2.1 A. Self-assessment refers to the use of information by employees to determine their
career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies.
1. May use psychological tests like the Myers-Briggs, Strong-Campbell Interest
Inventory, or the Self-Directed Search.
1.3.1.1.1.3
1.3.1.1.1.4 B. Reality check refers to the information employees receive about
how the company evaluates their skills and knowledge and where they fit into the
company’s plans (potential promotion opportunities, lateral moves).
1.3.1.1.1.5 C. Goal setting refers to the process of employees developing short-
and long-term development objectives. These goals are often discussed with the manager
and written into a development plan (Text Figure 9.3).
1.3.1.1.1.6
1.3.1.1.1.7 D. Action planning refers to employees completing an action plan
which is a written strategy that employees use to determine how they will achieve their
short- and long-term career goals. Action plans may involve enrolling in training
courses and seminars, conducting informational interviews, or applying for job openings
within the company.
1.3.1.1.1.8
Competing Through Technology:
Career Management and Leadership Development Is Served 24/7 at Intercontinental Hotel
Group
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) provides its employees with a web portal to access a variety
of tools designed to help employees manage their career and development plan within the
organization. The website features several tools including a skills and interest profile that
provides the employee with information about jobs that are available to them given their skill
profile. They also provide a feature known as the Leadership Lounge which provides for
development tools for general managers, corporate directors, and employees in higher positions.
This features costs about 5% of an average 3 day on-site leadership workshop and more than
70% of lounge members use it per month and average 6 times per year.
Discussion Question
1. Which design features of effective development systems are included in IHG’s online
leadership and career management system?
Through the website employees can get career advice and create a skills and interest
profile which they can use to search for a job. Employees can evaluate their skills and
2. What other design features might they consider including in their system? Explain your
recommendation.
1.3.1.1.1.9
Evidence-Based HR
MassMutual Financial Group
As a result of restructuting to a flatter and leaner structure, Mass Mutual has found engagement
survey evidence indicating employees do not believe they can achieve their career goals with the
company. The company introduced a web portal called The Career Resource Center to help
employees identify their strengths and weaknesses and to assess the match with their current
position and career goals as well as position openings across the company. One year into the
program, 66% of employees have used it and participation in learning and development courses
has increased.
Exercise
Facilitate a large group discussion where the class brainstorms features they would like to see in
an online portal program such as the one introduced by Mass Mutual. Then, have the class
brainstorm what type of curricula the ideal leadership and management development program
should contain and how participation in such programs could be bolstered with a web portal.
Have them then discuss as a large group how, in a distributed environment, they would have
leaders and managers take courses, access the tools, and engage in online discussions and
interactions with their peers who may be in disparate locations.
B. Assessment involves collecting information and providing feedback to employees
about their behavior, communication style, or skills.
C. Personality Tests and Inventories. Tests are used to determine if employees have
the personality characteristics necessary to be successful in specific managerial
jobs or job involving international assignments.
D. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
a. MBTI, refers to an assessment that is based on Carl Jung’s
personality type theory. This theory emphasizes that we have a
fundamental personality type that shapes and influences how we
understand the world, process information, and socialize.
b. The MBTI identifies individuals’ preferences for energy
(introversion versus extroversion), information gathering (sensing
versus intuition), decision-making (thinking versus feeling), and
lifestyle (judging versus perceiving).
c. Sixteen unique personality types result from the four MBTI
preferences.
d. MBTI is used for understanding such things as communication,
motivation, teamwork, work styles, and leadership.
e. Research on the validity, reliability, and effectiveness of the MBTI
is inclusive.
E. Assessment Center (Table 9.4 shows an example of the skills measured by the
assessment center).
a. The assessment center is a process in which multiple raters
evaluate employees’ performance on a number of exercises
b. From 6 to 12 employees usually participate at one time, and the
assessment center is usually held at an off-site location.
c. A leaderless group discussion is a process in which a team of five
to seven employees solve an assigned problem together within a
certain time period.
d. An Interview refers to when employees are questioned about their
work and personal experiences, skills, and career plans.
e. In-basket is a simulation of the administrative tasks of a
manager’s job.
f. Role-plays refer to a participant taking the part or role of a
manager or other employee.
g. Assessment center exercises are designed to measure employees’
administrative and interpersonal skills.
h. Assessment centers are useful for development purposes because
employees who participate in the process receive feedback
regarding their attitudes, skill strengths, and weaknesses.
i. The evaluators are normally managers from the organization who
have been trained to identify behaviors related to the skills
assessed.
Example: Steelcase, the office furniture manufacturer based in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, uses assessment centers for first-level
managers. The assessment center exercises include in-basket,
interview simulation, and a timed scheduling exerciser requiring
participants to fill positions created by absences.
F. Performance Appraisals and 360-degree Feedback Systems
a. Performance appraisals are the process through which an
organization gets information on how well an employee is doing
his or her job.
b. Upward feedback involves collecting subordinates’ evaluations of
managers’ behaviors or skills.
c. The 360-degree feedback system is a performance appraisal
system for managers that includes evaluations from a wide range
of persons who interact with the manager. Table 9.6 shows the
type of activities involved in using 360-degree feedback for
development.
1). The benefits of 360-degree feedback include collecting
multiple perspectives of managers’ performance, allowing
the employees to compare their own personal evaluation
with the view of others, and formalizing communications
between employees and internal and external customers.
2). Some of the potential limitations of 360-degree feedback
include the time demands placed on the raters to complete
the evaluation, managers seeking to identify and punish
raters who provide negative information, the need to have a
facilitator to help interpret results, and companies’ failure to
provide ways that managers can act on the feedback they
receive.
G. Job Experiences—Most employee development occurs through job experiences:
relationships, problems, demands, tasks, or other features that employees face in
their jobs (Text Table 9.7).
1. Enlarging the Current Job
Job enlargement refers to adding challenges or new responsibilities to an
employee’s current job.
2. Job Rotation
Job rotation gives employees a series of job assignments in various functional
areas of the company or movement among jobs in a single functional area or
department.
Job rotation helps employees gain an overall appreciation of the company’s goals,
increases their understanding of different company functions, develops a network
of contacts, and improves their problem solving and decision making skills.
3. Transfers, Promotions, and Downward Moves
a. A transfer is the movement of an employee to a different job
assignment in a different area of the company.
b. Promotions are advancements into positions with greater
challenges, more responsibility, and more authority than in the
previous job; they usually include a pay increase.
Since transfers requiring relocations can be anxiety producing,
many companies have difficulty getting employees to accept them.
(1) Employee characteristics associated with a willingness to
accept transfers include high career ambitions, a belief that
one’s future with the company is promising, and a belief
that accepting a transfer is necessary for success in the
firm.
(2) Among married employees, the spouse’s willingness to
move is the most important influence on whether
employees will accept a transfer.
c. A downward move occurs when an employee is given less
responsibility and authority. Temporary cross-functional moves to
lower-level jobs, which give employees experience working in
different functional areas, are most frequently used for employee
development.
d. To ensure that employees accept transfers, promotions, and
downward moves as development opportunities, companies can
provide:
Information about the content, challenges, and potential
benefits of the new job and location.
Involvement in the transfer decision by sending the
employees to preview the new location and giving them
information about the community.
Clear performance objectives and early feedback about
their job performance.
A host at the new location to help them adjust to the new
community and workplace.
Information about how the job opportunity will affect their
income, taxes, mortgage payments, and other expenses.
Reimbursement and assistance in selling and purchasing or
renting a place to live.
An orientation program for the new location and job.
Information on how the new job experiences will support
the employees’ career plans.
Assistance for dependent family members, including
identifying schools and child care and elder care options.
Help for the spouse in identifying and marketing skills and
finding employment.
4. Temporary Assignments, Projects, Volunteer Work, and Sabbaticals
a. Temporary assignments are job tryouts such as employees taking
on a position to help them determine if they are interested in
working in a new role, employee exchanges, sabbaticals, and
voluntary assignments.
b. Procter & Gamble and Google participated in an
employee-exchange program so that the two companies could
better understand each other’s business and discover ways to
improve the services provided.
2
c. Temporary assignments can include a sabbatical (a leave of
absence from the company to renew or develop skills).
3 H. Interpersonal Relationships
1. Mentoring
a. A mentor is an experienced, productive senior employee who
helps develop a less-experienced employee (protege).
b. Developing Successful Mentoring Programs—Most mentoring
relationships develop informally; however, companies can have
formal mentoring programs. (Text Table 9.8) provides some
examples of mentoring programs).
(1) One of the limitations of formal mentoring programs is that
the mentors may not be able to provide counseling and
coaching in a relationship that has been artificially created.
(2) One of the major advantages of formalized mentoring
programs is that they ensure access to mentors for all
employees, regardless of gender or race.
(3) Characteristics of a successful formal mentoring program
include such things as voluntary participation and the
length of the program being specified (Text Table 9.9)
2. Benefits of Mentoring Relationships
a. Mentors provide career support, which is coaching, protection,
sponsorship, and providing challenging assignments, exposure, and
visibility.
b. Mentors offer psychological support, which is serving as a friend
and role model, providing positive regard and acceptance, and
creating an outlet for a protégé to talk about anxieties and fears.
c. Proteges normally receive higher rates of promotion, higher
salaries, and greater organizational influence.
d. Mentoring relationships provide opportunities for mentors to
develop their interpersonal skills and increase their feelings of
self-esteem and worth to the organization.
4. Coaching
a. A coach is a peer or manager who works with an employee to
motivate him, help him develop skills, and provide reinforcement
and feedback.
b. There are three roles that a coach can play. Part of coaching may
be one-on-one with an employee. Another role is to help
employees learn for themselves. Third, coaching may involve
providing resources such as mentors, courses, or job experiences
that the employee may not be able to gain access to without the
coach’s help.
c. To develop coaching skills, training programs need to focus on
four issues related to mangers’ reluctance to provide coaching.
First, managers may be reluctant to discuss performance issues
even with a competent employee because they want to avoid
confrontation. Second, managers may be better able to identify
performance problems than to help employees solve them. Third,
managers may also feel that the employee interprets coaching as
criticism. Fourth, as companies downsize and operate with fewer
employees, managers may feel that there is not enough time for
coaching.