University Report: Career Development and Human Resource Development

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of career development and Human Resource Development (HRD). It begins by defining career development and its core objective of aligning individual needs and organizational goals. The report then explores the factors influencing career development, including technological advancements, workforce demographics, and global market expansion. It highlights the shift in career responsibility, the changing nature of careers, and the increasing importance of employee-driven career planning. The report further discusses new directions for career development, such as informal learning and individual counseling, and emphasizes the need for a systems perspective that integrates career development and HRD. Finally, the report identifies key areas for future research, including effective career interventions, the impact of societal changes, and the application of systems thinking to foster a holistic approach to career development within the HRD framework. The report underscores the importance of career development as a cornerstone of HRD, emphasizing its role in shaping the workforce and contributing to organizational and national economic health.

Running head: CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
Table of Contents
Career development...................................................................................................................2
Focus..........................................................................................................................................2
Factors affecting career development........................................................................................2
Changing the nature of careers...................................................................................................3
New directions for career development.....................................................................................4
Directions for future research.....................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................6

2CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
Career development
There are specific needs and abilities of the individual that must be designed in such a
way that it matches to the current and future goals of an organization. The process through
which these needs of an individual are developed, and the action plan implemented
accordingly is known as career development (Vondracek, Lerner & Schulenberg, 2019). The
main objective of career development is to improve and enhance the potential of the
employees according to the need of the organization. This process is considered as a planned
and organized process for improving the skills and performance of the organization (Brown
& Brown, 2012)
Focus
The paradigm shift from the agricultural economy to that of the industrial one has
created a need for the people in identifying and accessing the jobs that are emerging
(Savickas et al., 2009). At that time, the main focus of career development was on helping
individuals choosing a profession. In the twentieth century, it was found that it was essential
to include some career development interventions that were covered by a wide range of the
population, and many organizational settings were useful in the development of the career
(Ferreira et al., 2007).
Factors affecting career development
According to the system theory, the factors present in the macro environment have a direct
effect on each of the employees in an organization (Patton & McMahon, 2014). There are
factors such as technological advancements, demographics of the workforce, global market
expansion, and many others that are responsible for influencing the skills that are needed to
have an advanced career.

3CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
The main and the basic principle of career development is for the individuals that have a high
potential and not for everyone (Van Dijk, 2004). There are certain other principles that
include learning and recognizing the change that is ongoing and adaptive. Learning is very
important for the personal development that occurs continuously. Similarly, focusing on the
journey will help in making an individual learn and grow at the same time. Recognizing
change will have a positive impact on the development as it will help an individual to keep
updated and develop likewise (Blustein, 2013). There is a ubiquitous attribute in the career
development and in HRD as both hold a very strong caliber in influencing the health of the
economy as well as the knowledge and skill of a workforce that is based on a national level
(Cocchiara et al., 2010)
Changing the nature of careers
The shift in the responsibility is considered as the most significant change for the
development of the career. The nature of the career is more likely to change in the coming
years (Schein & Van Maanen, 2013). Unlike the traditional careers that required the climbing
of the traditional ladder in order to gain the power and hold in, the organization is now no
more. The organizations are now into a phenomenon that is based on the survival of the fittest
(Barley, Bechky & Milliken, 2017). This is also known as the boundary-less career that.
However, people with these career option plays a significant role in the upcoming future of
the HRD and career development (Tams & Arthur, 2010). For the development of the career,
it is very important that the employees set up an action plan for the attainment of the goals
and objectives set (Gisbert-Trejo et al., 2018).
The shift in the demographics across the globe has made a creation of a unique
phenomenon, where the young employees are more likely to replace the employees who are

4CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
senior as the seniors have their own perception in the organization (Lyons, Ng, & Schweitzer,
2014).
New directions for career development
There is a shift in the responsibility for the development of a career from the
employer to the employees. However, it is not that the responsibilities are not taken by the
organization anymore. Instead, a climate is created, which influences the decisions based on
the career of the employees with the help of several techniques that includes pay and benefits
for the people (Watson, 2013).
There is a very crucial role played by the informal learning, and these are based on the
accessibility and convenience of the employees. The approaches made for the career direction
can take two forms of individual counseling as well as information services (Watson, 2013).
There is an essentiality in having an understanding of the current positions that is accurate as
this helps in directing a phase through a thorough assessment.
The direction for the development of a career helps in providing a roach map of the career
goal to achieve by the help of HRD (Hughes, 2019). Evidence shows that need satisfaction
can be enhanced and can only come from the managerial climate, design of the job, and
compensation strategies that are well crafted. Therefore, a focus on all these needs that are
basic is required to leverage positive change and achievement of the goals (Rigby & Ryan,
2018).
A systems perspective might provide a new insight into the relationship between career
development and HRD (Jacobs, 2014). The elements of this system thinking that include
parts that are interconnectedness, relatedness, and notion constitutes that any system as a
whole is greater than the sum of the two parts or the other parts was already present in the
career development theories (Patton & McMahon, 2014).

5CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
Directions for future research
The main objective or purpose of this paper was to make an argument based on the
development of the career as a foundation in the field of the department of HR. The future
research must focus on the areas that are based on the effective interventions for the
development of the career, the changing nature of the work and careers of the career
developments and its consequences, an approach that is holistic in nature, learning and its
role in the development of the career of an employee, issues based on society and nation, and
the most important is the systems thinking. All these areas can be covered in the future
approach to be made on the career development and in the field of HRD (Leong & Leong,
2014). The focus made on both the systems that are the career development and the HRD
helps in showing the potential that helps in bringing both the fields closer and together. There
is an influence of the systems on the sub systems and their nature. However, a more
appropriate research is required to know how HRD influences the career development in
some or the other way.
Over the years, there is a dramatic change in career development due to the factors
such as the macroeconomy, changes in demographics and technology, and many others. A
question that arises here in this situation is that if there is any other paradigm for this or the
career development will still be considered as a unit of HRD? It is generally observed that
carer development mainly focuses on the choice of the career, its developmental choices, and
the counseling process. Still, when systems theory is considered, it helps in providing an
elaborative approach to this matter. HRD and career development together will help in
developing professionals for the organizations at all the levels that would help the
organization in creating opportunities for learning and a learning behavior that will be
encouraged at all the levels of the organizations. The practitioners of HRD and career
development will help in assisting the employees with their goals set. They would also help

6CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
in creating a clear vision that would help the individual in learning and have enhanced
performance on the individual, system, and organizational level.
References
Barley, S. R., Bechky, B. A., & Milliken, F. J. (2017). The changing nature of work: Careers,
identities, and work lives in the 21st century.
Blustein, D. (2013). The psychology of working: A new perspective for career development,
counseling, and public policy. Routledge.
Brown, D., & Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career
development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Cocchiara, F. K., Kwesiga, E., Bell, M. P., & Baruch, Y. (2010). Influences on perceived
career success: findings from US graduate business degree alumni. Career
Development International.
Ferreira, J. A., Santos, E. J., Fonseca, A. C., & Haase, R. F. (2007). Early predictors of career
development: A 10-year follow-up study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70(1), 61-
77.
Gisbert-Trejo, N., Landeta, J., Albizu, E., & Fernández-Ferrín, P. (2018). Alternative
mentoring: an HRD key for a rapid changing work environment. Human Resource
Management International Digest.
Hughes, C. (2019). Workforce inter-personnel diversity: The power to influence human
productivity and career development. Springer.

7CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND HRD
Jacobs, R. L. (2014). System theory and HRD. Handbook of human resource
development, 21, 39.
Leong, F. T., & Leong, F. (2014). Career development and vocational behavior of racial and
ethnic minorities. Routledge.
Lyons, S. T., Ng, E. S., & Schweitzer, L. (2014). Changing demographics and the shifting
nature of careers: Implications for research and human resource development. Human
Resource Development Review, 13(2), 181-206.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2014). Career development and systems theory: Connecting
theory and practice (Vol. 2). Springer.
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Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J. P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., ... & Van
Vianen, A. E. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st
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Schein, E. H., & Van Maanen, J. (2013). Career Anchors: The Changing Nature of Careers
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Van Dijk, M. S. (2004). Career Development within HRD: Foundation or Fad?. Online
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