Career Development at Electronic Applications

Electronic Applications Corporation is a major producer of silicon chips for the

computer industry. It is located southeast of San Francisco in an area of high
technology frms. Since its founding in 197! the company has gro"n rapidly
in terms of sales and profts! thus enhancing its stoc# price many times o$er.
%o"e$er! human resource policies ha$e tended to lag &ehind company
gro"th. Emphasis has &een on reacti$e policies to meet the re'uirements of
e(ternal organi)ations such as the federal go$ernment. %uman resources
ha$e not &een a high priority.
*ecently! %arold S"eeney has &een hired as +irector of %uman *esources for
the company. S"eeney had pre$iously ser$ed as an Assistant ,ersonnel
+irector for a large high-tech corporation in southern California. %e too# his
present position not only &ecause of an increase in pay and responsi&ility!
&ut also &ecause of "hat he termed .the challenge of &ringing his company
from a 19/0s human resources mentality to one more compati&le "ith the
current realities of the modern "or#place..
S"eeney has &een on the jo& for four months and has &een assessing the
situation to determine the most signifcant human resource pro&lems. 1ne
signifcant pro&lem seems to &e high turno$er among electrical engineers
"ho "or# in *esearch and +e$elopment. 2his is the core of the research
function and turno$er rates ha$e a$eraged a&out 30 percent per year o$er
the past three years.
In assessing the cause of the pro&lem! S"eeney chec#ed area "age sur$eys
and found Electronic Applications paid f$e to eight percent above the mar#et
for $arious categories of electrical engineers. Since the company did not
ha$e a formal e(it inter$ie" system! he could not chec# out other possi&le
e(planations through that mechanism. %o"e$er! through informal
con$ersations "ith a large num&er of indi$iduals! including the engineers
themsel$es! he learned that many of the engineers felt .dead-ended. in the
technical aspects of engineering.
In particular! the *esearch and +e$elopment +epartment had lost some of
the younger engineers "ho had &een considered to &e on the .fast trac#..
4ost had gone to competitors in the local area.
1ne particular *esearch and +e$elopment employee "ho impressed
S"eeney "as %elen 4organ. %elen "as 9 years old! had a 5.S. degree in
Electrical Engineering from California Institute of 2echnology! and "as
studying for her 4.5.A. at the 6ni$ersity of Santa Clara at night. %elen had
&een employed for se$en years7 three in an entry-le$el engineering position
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and four as a section chief. 2he latter promotion "as the highest position in
*esearch and +e$elopment other than the position of +irector of *esearch
and +e$elopment.
%elen claims that .the company doesn8t really care a&out its good people..
In her $ie"! the present director! %arry 9ames! doesn8t "ant to allo" his
&etter people to mo$e up in the organi)ation. %e is more interested in
#eeping them in his o"n department so he can meet his o"n goals "ithout
ha$ing to orient and train ne" people. %elen also claimed she "as told she
.has a &right future "ith the company. &y &oth 9ames and the former
,ersonnel +irector. %er performance appraisals ha$e &een uniformly
e(cellent.
She "ent on to critici)e the company for using an appraisal form "ith no
section dealing "ith future potential or future goals! no re"ards for
super$isors "ho de$elop their su&ordinates! no human resource planning to
identify future jo& openings! no centrali)ed jo& information or jo& positioning
system! no career paths and:or career ladders! and attitudinal &arriers
against "omen in management positions. She recommended that steps &e
ta#en to remedy each of the pro&lems she identifed.
S"eeney chec#ed out the information 4organ had pro$ided him and found it
to &e accurate. 4oreo$er! he heard through the .grape$ine. that she "as in
line for an e(cellent position "ith a near&y competitor. Clearly! he has an
e$en greater challenge that he had anticipated. %e reali)es he has an
immediate pro&lem concerning high turno$er of certain #ey employees. In
addition! he also has a series of interconnected pro&lems associated "ith
career de$elopment. %o"e$er! he is not 'uite sure "hat to do and in "hat
order.
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1. Describe the nature and causes of the problem faced by Harold Sweeney.
Electronic Applications a company founded in 197 has seen a high gro"th in sales!
proft "hich enhanced the stoc# price. Although the fast pace of gro"th the human
resources policies ha$e remained unchanged.
2he major concern of the company is the high turno$er ratio o&ser$ed in the last
three years "hich "as close to 30;. 2his high turno$er is mainly a<ecting positions
among the electrical engineers in the *=+ department. Also! stated a&o$e! the
human resources policies didn8t follo" the gro"th of the company and only reacti$e
policies to meet the re'uirements of e(ternal organi)ations such as the federal
go$ernment "ere made. Although! Electronic Applications pays /->; a&o$e the
mar#et! the fact that there is no career de$elopment programs and no career
ladders is lo"ing the morale and the sense of career security. 5eing &ased in an
area "here many of their competitors ha$e o?ces! it also facilitate ne"
opportunities for employee@s.
2. What additional uestions should Sweeney as! or what additional
information is needed before proceedin" toward a solution to this
problem# Why#
Electronic Applications has not got a %uman *esources policy in place that goes
accordingly to its position in the mar#et and its actual gro"th. 2he company needs
to shift its focus from attaining people to retaining the people that already has.
S"eeney needs to assess the en$ironmental &y reassessing its SA12B
Strengths - Ahat are they good at
Aea#ness - Ahat are they not good at
1pportunities - Ahat ad$antages are present
2hreats - Ahat may pose a pro&lem
In order to align the %uman *esources policies "ith the companyCs strategy!
S"eeney also need to #no"B
- Ahat are the company major strategic issues for the ne(t three yearsD
- Ahat are the most critical needs and challenges "ill face for the ne(t three yearsD
- Ahat critical s#ills! #no"ledge and e(perience in terms of %uman *esources "ill &e
needed to meet these challengesD
- Ahat sta?ng le$els "ill &e re'uiredD
Furthermore! in order to &etter approach the pro&lem of the high turno$er ratio!
S"eeney should also implement measures toB
- 6nderstand future potential or future goals of the employees
- 6nderstand "hy super$isors don8t promote their su&ordinates E&uild incenti$es to
promote this issueF
- 1&tain a centrali)ed jo& information or jo& position system
- Create directions to implement career path or career ladders
- Gegate attitudinal &arriers against "omen in management positions
$. What are the individual and or"ani%ational bene&ts of a formali%ed career
development system#
E<ecti$e career de$elopment and management can result in a more e<ecti$e
"or#force and employees "ho are moti$ated and satisfed "ith their organi)ation.
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Also! organi)ations that engage in e<ecti$e career management should e(pect to
achie$e cost sa$ings &y retaining top talent and cut&ac# costs "ith recruiting and
training. Another accounta&le &eneft for the company is the strengthen of the
succession pipeline and generate #no"ledge transfer and retention along "ith the
flling of internal s#ills and role gaps.
2he major to employees is that they get helpful assistance and guidance "ith their
career decisions. 2he "or#force get to #no" a&out their o"n aspirations! o&jecti$es
and desires and understand ho" to shape their career. 5y using this system! they
ha$e can set more realistic goals and o&jecti$es that are feasi&le to &e
accomplished. Also! it encourage &etter communication &et"een the employee and
the manager as "ell as at all le$els of the organi)ation. Feed&ac# a&out their
performance is a good "ay to measure this increase of communication! "hich also
helps the employee to impro$e or realign his "or#.
2his process leads to jo& enrichment and enhanced jo& satisfaction! that translates
into &etter producti$ity "hich is positi$e for &oth sides.
'. (f Sweeney decides to develop a formali%ed career development system at
Electronic Applications) what components or types of services should be
o*ered# Why#
%uman *esources managers are responsi&le for designing and de$elop an e<ecti$e
career in their organi)ation! they should ha$e the complete #no"ledge a&out the
system components &ecause they are the facilitators &et"een system and people. A
good career de$elopment system should address &oth the indi$idual career
planning and organi)ational career management in order to &e more e?cient. Some
of the acti$ities areB
Assessment +hase
Employees complete self-assessment e(ercises and fll information a&out their s#ills!
interests! competencies! "or# attitudes and preferences! long and short term goals
and o&stacles and opportunities. 2his acti$ity helps them understand their o"n
desires and aspirations and li#es and disli#es. 2his tool should &e complemented &y
sharing their fndings "ith their super$isors in career-planning "or#shops. 2his can
"ill help the indi$idual to get feed&ac# and at the same time cali&rate the plans and
aspirations "ith unrealistic am&itions.
Direction +hase
5y ha$ing indi$idual counseling pro$ided &y %* specialists Efrom "ithin or outside
the organi)ationF employees ha$e a understanding of their o"n goals! they can
ma#e a change in them if re'uired and "or# on impro$ing their s#ills and
competencies.
In this phase is important to ha$e organi)ational assessment programs "ith tools
and methods for e$aluating employees@ potential for gro"th "ithin the organi)ation.
Aith this assessments the company can e$aluate the potential of an indi$idual and
e$entually create special teams "ith indi$idual "ith high potential to "or# on
special projects. 2his #ind of appraisals can &e done &y assessment centers!
psychological testing! 3H0 degree appraisal! promota&ility forecasts and succession
planning.
Development +hase
2his phase is characteri)ed &y programs that are used &y an organi)ation to
de$elop their employees for future positions. 2his #ind of programs can &e done &y
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internal or e(ternal sources. E(amples of this #ind of programs areB internal training
programs! e(ternal training seminars and formal mentoring programs. 2hey can &e
oriented for special target groups Ehigh potential! senior le$el! super$isors etcF.
4entoring and coaching are also good tools to de$elop the employees. 5y
implementing this #ind of programs the outcome "ill &e a more trained! s#illed and
empo"ered "or#force.
,. Should the career development activities be inte"rated with other human
resource mana"ement activities# (f yes) which ones# Why#
Ies! &ecause career de$elopment programs are most e<ecti$e "hen they are
integrated "ith the organi)ations ongoing training and de$elopment strategies.
,rocesses such as recruitment and selection! human resource allocation!
appraisal:e$aluation and training :de$elopment should &e integrated "ith career
de$elopment. 5y integrating acti$ities! the %uman resources can "or# to"ards the
needs and con$enience of an organi)ation "hile maintaining a s#ilful and moti$ated
"or#force. Aligning moti$ations! the needs and the "ants &et"een &oth
current:future employees and the organi)ation strategy is paramount to o&tain a
$i&rant "or#force in the company.
-. What criteria should Sweeney consider to evaluate "ood candidates for
promotion# What criteria could be used to evaluate the performance of
supervisors in development of their subordinates#
A good candidate for a promotion should &e an employee that consistently
demonstrate an outstanding performance in the follo"ing criteria8sB
JualityB 2he degree of 'uality that the employee puts in his "or#
JuantityB 2he amount of "or# produced
2imelinessB 2he degree to "hich an acti$ity is completed! or a result produced
Cost-E<ecti$enessB 4a(imi)e the use of the organi)ation@s resources
Geed for super$isionB 2he degree to "hich a performer can carry out a jo& function
"ithout super$ision
InterpersonalB 2he degree to "hich the employee promotes feelings of self-esteem!
good"ill! and cooperation among co-"or#ers and su&ordinates.
In order to &etter e$aluate these criteria8s the employee should &e fully a"are of
their role in the organi)ation and "hat is e(pected from them.
In terms of e$aluate the performance of super$isors in de$elopment of their
su&ordinates! S"eeney should loo# for e$idences of acti$e promotion of the
su&ordinates! such as coaching! mentoring or suggestions for training. Furthermore!
a super$isor that pro$ides career paths and:or career ladders and super$isors that
foster the mo$ement of employees &et"een departments in order to enhance their
'ualities or to impro$e their "ea#nesses! should also &e highlighted.
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