CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

The ultimate goal of every organisation is to make profit and equally provide services to the people. This objective may not be feasible if the career path of the employee that carryout the work is not properly incorporated in the organisation’s road of success. Employee career management has been a challenging issue among human resource manager’s as well as scholars due to globalization. However, as an organisation seeks to grow in terms of size, profit and technology; its employees should also be included in the growth circle. This is because employees are the machinery that drives growth in every enterprise. Taking cognizance of this fact; it therefore implies that human resource department is saddled with the responsibility of counseling the employees in line with their career aspirations and visions for the future (Ikechukwu, 2016).

However, in this era of technological competitiveness, human resource personnel are designing best approaches for employee career guidance that will create opportunity for advancement. Supporting this argument, Moses (1995) contended “in today’s fast-changing workplace, people need the skills and competencies to ensure future employability, and to manage new work and life realities. Organisations need flexible people, who can effectively manage change and adapt to new organisational directions. The key to achieving these goals, for both the individual and the organisation, is career self-management”. From the foregoing submission, it therefore implies that employees can effectively manage their career to any length they want. The current trend in career management has been how to increase the skills of employees to meet the turbulences facing the organisation.

One major aim of any career management in the organisation is to guide employee’s career and how he/she can achieve enterprise effectiveness (Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk, 2010). Nevertheless, in the 21^st century, the basic aim of career management has been shifted on staff and how they will achieve their own objectives in congruence with that of the organisation (Okwiet, 2014). In line with Okwiet’s submission, Hameed and Waheed (2011) advocated that “when organisations are engaged in employee development, the employees on the one hand tend to put more effort on their jobs by using their skills to improve workplace objectives”. Career management officers in public and private organisations should create a conducive atmosphere for employee’s progress in their career.

Subscribing to this assertion, Osibanjo, Oyewunmi and Ojo (2014) contended that organisation’s must provide enabling environment for employees growth opportunities, which tend to motivate, promote, recognize, reward, and retain valuable employees. Employees should be given the opportunity for career advancement through career management in the organisation to enable them plan for their future and that of the enterprise to avoid turnover which will affect production or service delivery. That is why Sean (2013) accentuated that “if peoples’ desire to make advancement in their own career is not fulfilled, they will begin looking for work elsewhere”.

The term ‘career’ in the context of the workplace can be seen most simply as the sequence of work experiences an employee may have over time. Work experiences may involve moving from one job to another, but also the changing nature of work within a single job and the experience of working on different projects. Career mobility in organisations are very often sideways rather than upwards, and may cross departmental, geographical or functional boundaries with the organisation (Price, 2009: 317).

Career management activities and development programmes can give a supportive climate for organisational performance. Armstrong (2001) agrees and points out, that today’s dynamic environment requires continuous professional and managerial development. He added that career growth is of great importance to both the individual employee and the organisation, noting that there is an interaction between the organisation for which he/she works and the development of the organisation through the employee’s career.

Organisational performance is considered to be related with the concepts of ability, opportunity and motivation (Ivancevich and Matteson, 2008), and employees being the key element of the organisation determines the success or failure of the organisation through their performance. Today's employees are more career conscious than ever and are more demanding from their work in terms of fulfillment, personal growth and satisfaction. Hence, employees are expressing a strong desire to pursue more than just a job. They are looking for employment opportunities that promise an extension of their interests, personality and abilities. They want variety of things from their jobs outside a pay cheque and a few fringe benefits, and their loyalty to the organisation depends upon the degree to which their employer satisfies these wants (Bartlett, 2012).

Therefore, this study seeks to examine employees’ career management and organisational performance with a particular to Flour Mills of Nig Plc.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

In many organisations in Nigeria employees’ career management and development are considered as luxury affairs and human resources supply is seen as an elastic item which can be easily replenished among organistions operation in the country. This phenomenon is leading to acute neglect of employees’ career management with its attendant effect on organisational performance.

Furthermore, there is highly recognized inadequate employees development processes in various organisations. There is growing evidence that inadequate development of employees contributed to poor service delivery with its associated long-run bankruptcy of the private sector in Nigeria. This is traceable to poor employees’ career management. In view of the above, employees planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, promotion and compensation which are the critical aspects of human resources management had been neglected and manipulated by incompetent personnel managers which in turn have hindered productivity, efficiency and performance in the Nigerian private sector (Omisore and Okofu, 2014).

It is against this backdrop that this research study seeks to investigate employees’ career management and organisational performance with a particular to Flour Mills of Nig Plc.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The major objective of this study is to assess employees’ career management and organisational performance with a particular to Flour Mills of Nig Plc. Other specific objectives are:

1.      To find out the effect of employees’ career progression on employee performance.

2.      To examine influence of employee career progression on organizational performance.   

3.      To assess the effect of employee career progression on employee motivation.

4.      To provide plausible recommendation on how career progression for improved organizational performance and employees’ welfare

1.4       Research Questions

The undertaking of this research project will beam a searchlight on the following research questions;

1.      What is the relationship between employees’ career progression and employee performance?

2.      What is the impact of employee career progression on organizational performance?

3.      What is the effect of employee career progression on employee motivation?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

The under listed hypotheses will be tested at 5% level of significance: