Careers and Talent Management

A Critical Perspective

Cristina Reis

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780415735025
• eBook ISBN: 9781317819974
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Business General

Careers and Talent Management challenges and deconstructs the notion of the "perfect career" in order to provide new perspectives on talent management and career creation. It argues that the skills that organizations typically look for as indicative of superstar performance are not necessarily those that lead to competitive advantage. Attracting and retaining talent is both challenging and complex for organizations, since it is not known, especially at the top level, which employee skills will be most valuable in helping the organization be competitive globally.

In this thoughtful book, Reis bucks the trend on emerging super talents, critically analyzing topics related to the field of general management, careers and talent management – such as leadership, entrepreneurship, gender, and diversity – to demonstrate the range of employee skills that can benefit an organization globally. Chapter focuses include global entrepreneurship, remote business practices, and social responsibility.

These new perspectives on talent management will help students of human resource management think critically about the implications of pursuing or encouraging a "perfect" career trajectory.

1 A Critical Perspective

Introduction

Critical perspectives, in this book, are a way of using the researcher’s clinical eye to analyze societies, organizations and people’s social behavior. They are used to discuss what can be improved in certain scientific fields, taking into account the vulnerable people in our societies, and not only to promote the achievement of organizational profit at the cost of the vulnerable. This way of looking at critical perspectives does not negatively affect the issues as usually analyzed in the field of the ‘dark side of management’, but rather empowers the voice of those who are ‘destined’ to be victims.

The theoretical framework for a given critical perspective has been described in a previous book, which I co-edited in 2013, entitled Careers Without Borders. A summary of what was presented before as a critical perspective now follows, and is adapted to the topics of this book.

The current body of literature in the field of management work continues to lack an exploration of concepts and practices, from a critical perspective, which would address the processes of liberation for organizations, societies and individual lives. A critical perspective of careers and talent management (TM) has some commonalities with the established field of critical management studies regarding the use of critical theories. While critical management studies’ analysis tends to focus on labor process analysis (e.g., Braverman, 1974, and Foucault’s, 1982, work), critical perspectives, as argued in this book, are open to providing reflections upon the various aspects of organizations, societies and individual lives. The aim is to understand the processes of liberation, not only of the working class, but also of all individuals working for organizations. In other words, while critical management studies concentrate on the processes of liberation within working-class struggles, this critical perspective seeks ways of finding dignified lives for all individuals of all classes.

A given critical perspective does not propose management techniques regarding how to succeed in the business world in this increasingly global society. It is a reflection upon how we can be autonomous, because we have the capacity to free ourselves from reliance on various forms of subordination, inequality and various relations of social power. The idea behind this book began with a critical awareness of how careers and TM have been developing, both theoretically and in practice, in organizations – but this is not to say that critical awareness is sufficient for change. It implies a discussion of how we interconnect with each other and how we are collectively responsible for each other.

In this book is presented a critique of different forms of knowledge and its recognition within the present informal global economy. When the arguments presented are relevant to an analogy, selected ideas from Utopia, written by More (1512/1997), will be discussed, since the purpose is to reflect upon how careers and TM have common and to contrast these ideas to those already considered more than four centuries ago.

Useful Ideas from Utopia

The island of Utopia ‘[w]as the ideal commonwealth, painted by More in an ill-disguised philosophical satire on European, and more particularly English, statecraft’ More (1997: iii). Utopia is a fictional narrative about the manners of a community or society with near-perfect laws. Following Utopia, many other authors (e.g., Marx) developed other conceptual utopias and ideal societies.

This book uses ideas from Utopia adapted to the contemporary world of organizations and management. Some ideas from Utopia were identified as being interesting and as being capable of being related to knowledge management, symbolism, gendered divisions, the usefulness of material and nonmaterial work, and happiness. There follow some examples of citations which may be quoted throughout this book.

Ideas Related to Knowledge Management

In Utopia learning and sharing knowledge seem very simple, and there is no hidden information as in our contemporary, informal global economy.

Despite technology and the internet’s expansion, certain forms of knowledge (see Table 1.1 for different forms of knowledge) continue to be in the service of only a few. Knowledge management did not exist as a concept, but in Utopia they developed ways of information exchange and also managed information.

Table 1.1

A critical perspective	Utopian ways of life
Autonomy	Dependency
Reflection	Assumption
Sees forms of subordination in all classes	Does not see subordination – rather, a perfect social order
Responsibility for one another is challenged, if not a long-term problem	Responsibility for one another is not challenged
Forms of knowledge differentiate individuals	Forms of knowledge are assumed to be shared and understood by all citizens
Dignified ways of living are challenged	Dignity is assumed and not challenged

Every year twenty of this family come back to the town, after they have stayed two years in the country; and in their room there are another twenty sent from the town, that they may learn country work from those that have been already one year in the country, as they must teach those that come to them the next from the town

More, 1512/1997: 29

Ideas related to symbolism

Utopia was enmeshed in the symbolism of differentiation in labor, inequality and power. However, in Utopia such concepts were not elaborated upon or challenged since Utopians accepted their way of living and social organization. In the next citation, the uniformity of buildings gives an image of social unity and strong walls, and protection from the threats and challenges of the outside world to their way of living.

The town is compassed with high and thick wall, in which there are many towers and forts … their buildings are good and are so uniform, that a whole side of a street looks like one house.

More, 1512/1997: 31

Utopians do not challenge whether they are really ‘all employed in some useful labour’ (37) or whether magistrates distribute their working time and non-working time in a fair way. Although Utopians improve their minds through the time allocated for these activities, ‘knowledge’ in particular (52) is assumed to be shared and understood by all Utopians.

In Utopia material goods exhibiting scarcity in nature, such as gold and silver, have no exchange value and are culturally perceived as having enhanced superficial value. Only children should be concerned with pearls and gems. If an individual were to wear such materials, they would be regarded as foolish: ‘See that great fool that wears pearls and gems, as if he were yet a child’ (45).

Ideas Related to Gendered Divisions

Clothes have the function of distinguishing heterosexuality. There is a hierarchical generational order within the family related to business control passed through the male head of the family to other males. Other members of the family serve the superior male hierarchy and other divisions of labor are created among wives, children and the elderly. ‘[T]hroughout the island they wear the same sort of clothes without any other distinction, except what is necessary to distinguish the two sexes, and the married and unmarried’ (More, 1512: 33); trade generally passes down from father to son and ‘[w]ives serve their husbands, and children their parents, and always the younger serves the elder’ (38).

Ideas Related to Happiness

In Utopia, happiness is achieved through the improvement of its citizens’ minds:

The magistrates never engage the people in unnecessary labour, since the chief to allow the people as much time is necessary for the improvement of their minds, in which they think the happiness of life consists.

More, 1512/1997: 37

While critical theory (e.g., Habermas, 1974) sees the achievement of happiness through reflection, in Utopia it is through the improvement of the mind. However, the difference between the two ideas lies in the belief in individuality and collective ways of thinking. One way is by critical thinking through reflection, where there is a progression to individual autonomy and happiness, while in Utopia it is through the improvement of the mind by collective means of, for example, sharing knowledge. Often, success and satisfaction are mixed with happiness, but the first is more a societal concept rather than an individual concept. Table 1.1 gives some key words that show the differences between a critical perspective and Utopian ways of life.

Talent Management

This section summarizes the different debates on the area of TM. The use of terms such as ‘acquisition’, ‘retention’, ‘attracting’, and ‘development of talent’ have become common in the field of human resources management, but have scarcely been related to the strategic goals of organizations.

Some authors (e.g., Scullion and Collings, 2011) suggest that TM is concerned with employees who add value to an organization, and that it should be focused on certain employees. The reasoning behind this idea is that it is critical for each organization to establish what talent means to them, since it is connected with their strategic objectives. Therefore, talent requirements vary between organizations.

TM is a growing area derived from five sub-areas. One sub-area (1) is the perspective of standard human resources practices and functions, that is used interchangeably with international human resources management (IHRM) and is a future-oriented perspective of human resources planning, which is about projecting employee/staffing needs; the second sub-area (2) is a focus on the type of individual-level capabilities needed in the future; another sub-area (3) involves the high-performing individuals known as ‘high potentials with talent’; sub-area (4) focuses on strategic jobs (or core jobs) that are critical to the organization in terms of creating competitive advantage; the final sub-area (5) involves the perspective of the capabilities-based approach to strategic human resource management as a subdivision of human resource management.

Two important dimensions have emerged from the perspectives of TM – that of the individual, and that of GTM (global talent management) systems. The following sections summarize the two dimensions.

The Individual Dimension

The individual perspective of TM is often connected with the high levels of current and potential human capital which are adequate for the strategies of multinationals (Tarique and Shuler, 2010) or ‘forward-looking companies’ (Heidrick and Struggles, 2012). Usually, this perspective focuses on ‘superstars’ or individuals with high levels of talent (e.g., knowledge, talent and skills), and how these talented people can add value to organizations. In this book, the term ‘competency’ is frequently used, and in general this means:

a set of measurable, performance-related characteristics that are critical to driving the organization’s strategy goals. A competency should be targeted and behaviorally performance-driven to meet strategic organizational needs. It should be written at a high level and be more general in nature than specific skills, qualifications, or certifications.

(Berger and Berger, 2011)

At the turn of the millennium, popular practitioner studies (Michaels et al., 2001) suggested that the demand for talented employees has exceeded the available supply, forecasting changes in how organizations would have to manage talent shortages. However, they failed to determine which competencies would match the objectives of each organization (e.g., Scullion and Collings, 2011). Today, the trend of talent shortages continues to be discussed, and the ‘super-talented’ organizational discourse has been converted into a discourse on the emergence of employees who would ‘opt out’ of organizations and who would transform themselves into independent contractors or individual entrepreneurs (Kofman, 2006; Mackey, Sisodia, and George, 2013). It is a fact that the area of entrepreneurship has grown as an academic discipline in the past decade, with many authors writing on entrepreneurship (e.g., Bates, 2014) as well as the offering of different undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs in many universities.

Are governments hoping that we will all become individualized workers? In the chapter 2, the consequences of an individualized labor market and society will be discussed.

The Global Talent Management Systems Dimension

According to Scullion and Collings (2011), organizations fail to match the supply and demand for talent. However, most large organizations have IHRM policies and practices implemented systematically to manage employees with high levels of talent. Therefore, most writers in the area of TM started using the wording ‘global talent management’ (GTM), since it is often connected with international activities.

This dimension seems to suit only those who are considered as having high levels of talent by organizations. Although IHRM activities can be applied to all employees if customized to their needs, it is implied with the notion of TM systems that only those who are selected will have the privilege to be a ‘talent’. An example of talent engagement in organizations is executive training programs. Consequently, some consultants (e.g., Heidrick and Struggles) see the emergence of company titles, such as ‘Head of Talent’, led by employees who will combine global demographic trends and economic crises that seem to be associated with the shortage of talent. Such heads of talent will have a particular agenda aligned with each organization’s objectives. Those who are selected as talents may be assigned responsibility and authority in decision-making. A critical perspective reflects upon those who are responsible for others.

Talent Management from a Critical Perspective

A critical perspective challenges the usefulness of the practice of TM for the common good, and not only for organizations. Organizational talents pertain only to certain audiences, and the value and merit of those who have been identified as talents can be challenged outside the organization, particularly if it is a public company which provides services for the common good of all. It is useful to draw an analogy with Utopia here.

In Utopia, talents (or super-performers) do not exist, and even if someone were to propose such an idea, it would run the risk...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgment
• 1. A Critical Perspective
• 2. Useful Careers
• 3. Identifying Talents Cross-Culturally
• 4. In Search Of Talented Leaders
• 5. Global Entrepreneurs Dealing with Business Remotely
• 6. The Family Work of Executives and Organizations
• 7. Socially Responsible Executives
• Index