Human Resource Career Development Activities Essay - 1

Human Resource Career Development Activities - Essay Example Free trade agreements have increased activities around the world. We have encountered the need to interface, travel, and live in many parts of the world. Yet, often our employees do not have a cultural familiarity with the people that they contact in meetings, e-mail, or by telephone. Baugh (2005) has pointed out the importance of mentoring in career development (p. 523). It is time to extend our mentoring program outside our borders and view the world as our office, learn about the host country we are dealing with, their work role, office culture, and prepare people for international assignments. We also have a need for our internal employees to understand diversity in the workplace. Currently, we place a high value on our recruiting efforts in this area. However, the positive effects of creating a diverse workforce will be entirely dependent on how they are perceived by the men and women in our organization. (Burke 2005 p. 191). If the existing employees are not open to such policies, it will create new problems rather than solve existing ones (Burke 2005 p. 191). Improper and inadequate diversity training hold everyone back, even the beneficiaries of affirmative programs. We also have a need to offer our employees a program of lifelong learning. Education for everyone is an activity whose value has been proven. Education should include job related technical training as well as personal growth. Where this program has been implemented it has been a success. McGoldrick (2001) reports that the "investment in lifelong learning for employees has paid off in positive career experiences and positive psychological contracts". Workers feel like they are a valuable part of the organization and are worth investing in. Employees benefit from the training and also form a better psychological relationship with the company. The three activities of international mentoring, diversity training, and lifelong learning can add tangible and