CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

for abstraction if the tangible processes of career planning are formally monitored then
the biases in the data collection process for such planning could be minimized thereby
retaining the effectiveness of the process.
At this stage, if the organizations play their role effectively and could give
meaning and direction to individual career plan, then this could effectively get integrated
with strategic HR plan. Such kind of integration would lead to the automatic
implementation of individuals’ career development while implementing these HR
strategies.
Gilley and Eggland guaranteed the success of career development when the
organization and the individual team up for work (1989, in Beyond the Learning
Organization; Gilley & Maycunich (1999). This means they both contribute towards each
other goals achievement. If in routine process the individual performance is evaluated
and judged with the perspective that how much he/she is contributing towards the
achievement of targeted goals of the organization, then why not the processes could be
taken vice versa? This means that the organizations should also be judged for
contributing toward individuals’ target achievement.
If their arguments rest in the fact that the organization is the entity possessing
financial resources and is the source of providing financial capital for businesses, then the
counter arguments could be that the individuals are ones who are the source of providing
human capital. So if the individuals are expected to perform their role towards achieving
the organization’s targets then similarly organizations should also be expected to perform
their role in achieving the targets of their employees. After all finance can only make the
organizations run when human resources is available to them.
Gilley and Maycunich (1999) have assigned the role of planning and management
of careers to the HR professionals within the organization and also to serve as a liaison
between the employees and the organization. Taking this role a step further Gilley and
Maycunich (1999) has identified HR professionals as catalysts who are supposed to
develop understanding of the individuals about their careers and their fit into the
organization by projecting upon the trends for their career within the organization. This
role of HR as such identified by Gilley and Maycunich, is definitely laudable but merely
developing understanding may not be enough without a futuristic plan of implementation.