9-25. The concept of career anchors indicates that there is more to career development than having and matching skills to competency requirements. Some managers view development as a moral imperative. That is, business is about making money, but it also should be about helping people to grow and realize their career aspirations. Do you agree? Explain why or why not.

9-26. Competencies are important to career success, but so, too, are career anchors. These two factors are analogous to ability and motivation being predictors of performance(i.e., performance [equals] ability [times] motivation) (see Chapter 5). Construct a parallel equation using competencies and anchors as predictors of career success. How is this simple equation useful?

9-27. In some work environments, career aspirations are ignored and immediate performance is the focus. Do you think this lack of attention to career anchors is an ethical issue? Explain why or why not.

Team Exercise

9-28. A key issue in career development has to do with the competencies associated with different career paths. Strengths and weaknesses on various competencies can be assessed and then a plan for development can be put into place. Another key issue is the career anchor that employees bring with them. A misfit between an employee’s anchor and the company and/or career chosen would likely result in employee dissatisfaction and other difficulties.

a. As a team, develop a framework or model for how these two sides of career development should be managed. You might label one concern as skills competencies and the other as career anchors/values. Your team could develop a model that uses boxes and arrows to indicate the causes or predictors for both the skills side and the anchors side. Your model might take a form similar to the one above.

b. Given the predictors identified in your model, what are the implications for management? Specifically, if skills are low or don’t match what is needed, what could you, as a manager, do? Likewise, if career anchors don’t match, what, if anything, can be done?

c. Alternatively, your team could develop a 2 × 2 framework using the skill and anchor variables. You can use two levels of each variable: low and high levels of match or fit. Your resulting framework would look something like the following:

For each cell in the matrix, describe the particular combination of skills and career values. Identify management implications for each of the four cells. For example, what should be done, from a management perspective, in regard to employees whose skills have a high fit but whose career anchors are a misfit?

9-29. As a team, select a member to share career anchors and plans. As a class, assess whether there is a high degree of fit with career anchors. What is the consensus of the class regarding the importance of this fit?