Influencing mechanism of managers' career competencies on career satisfaction : on the effect of person-environment fit and career consultation

Abstract

As career satisfaction exerts great influence on work performance, managers’ career satisfaction gains much attention. Studies reveal many factors influencing career satisfaction while researchers hold differing views. Employees no longer have to confine themselves to a single organization all through their lives, or wait for step-by-step promotion within one enterprise. Meanwhile, with voluntary or involuntary job turnover, and job shift inside or outside enterprises, employees become increasingly aware that career competencies is an important indicator for evaluating individual value. Do career competencies influence managers’ career satisfaction? If yes, how does it work? This study attempts to explore the influencing mechanism through 3 sub-studies. Based on the Person-environment Fit Theory, this study explores the process that career competencies influences career satisfaction, deduces the logical route of Career competencies-Person-environment Fit-Career Satisfaction (Sub-study 1), probes into the moderate effect of career consulting on career competencies and person-environment fit (Sub-study 2) and verifies the above through empirical study (Sub-study 3). Sub-study 1: Effect of person-environment fit on the relationship between career competencies and career satisfaction. Providing that an individual is willing to serve in an enterprise, his fitness into the job and the organization plays a crucial role and deserves deeper analysis. The hypothesis that career competencies exert influence on career satisfaction should be based on the fact that career competencies promote the degree that the individual fits the job and organizational values. Therefore, questionnaire method is adopted in Sub-study 1 to explore and verify the mediate effect of person-job fit and person-organization fit on career competencies and career satisfaction. Sub-study 2: Exploratory study on the role that career consulting plays in the relationship between career competencies and person-environment fit. Career development centers are now widespread in universities and career consulting gains increasing attention of scholars and educators. Nevertheless, does the career consulting mechanism currently provided by universities help students actually? What are the consulting items that deserve in-depth exploration and popularization? What role does career consulting play in students’ employment? Does this role meet expectation? In line with the Career competencies-Person-environment Fit-Career Satisfaction logic of Sub-study 1, and through deep interview with MBA graduates, Sub-study 2 explores the role that career consulting plays in the relationship between career competencies and person-environment fit, and puts forward a hypothesis on its moderate function. Sub-study 3: Comprehensive verification of the mechanism that career competencies influences career satisfaction on the basis of Sub-study 1 and 2. Specifically, sub-study 3 verifies the mediate effect of person-job fit and person-organization fit on career competencies and career satisfaction; the moderate effect of career consulting in the relationship between career competencies and person-job fit and person-organization fit. In one word, Sub-study 3 verifies the mechanism model that career competencies influences career satisfaction through the joint effect of person-job fit, person-organization fit and career consulting. The Major conclusion of this study is as follows: (1) Person-job fit and person-organization fit mediate the relationship between career competencies and career satisfaction. Preceding studies and empirical statistics of this study both prove that career identity and career insight are highly explanatory for career satisfaction. Nevertheless, career competencies is related to a certain occupation and attached to an individual as a kind of capital, while career satisfaction is an individual’s feeling about a certain occupation. Therefore, career competencies influences career satisfaction to the extent that it is attached to an occupation in an organization. An individual’s fit in a certain occupation, including person-job fit and person-organization fit is the critical means by which career competencies influences career satisfaction. This study verifies the mediate role that person-job fit and person-organization fit play in the relationship between career competencies and career satisfaction. Sub-study 1 and 2 verify that career identity and career insight promote managers’ career satisfaction partly because they improve managers’ knowledge, skills, abilities and interest to fit the position. As a result, managers can work proficiently, cherish effective control over their autonomous actions, reach good results, foster strong sense of accomplishment, develop further enthusiasm in the job and enjoy sense of satisfaction. The result of Sub-study 1 and 3 indicate that person-job fit and person-organization fit partly mediate the relationship between career competencies and career satisfaction. (2) Career consulting moderates the relationship between career competencies and person-job fit and person-organization fit. Specifically, face-to-face consultation and career information moderate the relationship between career competencies and the mediator, namely, person-job fit and person-organization fit. Career consulting agencies have become an important part in universities and have been gaining attention of enterprises and social organizations. Through quantitative research, Sub-study 2 for the first time probes into the influence of career consulting on the relationship between career competencies and person-job fit and person-organization fit, deeply explores the actual role that career consulting plays in the relationship. Sub-study 2 reveals that among career consulting items, face-to-face consulting and career information provided by career development agencies have prominent effect, which is verified by Sub-study 3. Face-to-face consultation between consultants and students help the latter specifically understand their strengths and weaknesses, foster career inclination according to their interest and specialty and orient them toward occupations and positions that fit them. This kind of face-to-face service targeted at exploiting strengths to fit future career is exactly of great help to students who don’t have high level of career identify and keen career insight in that it guides them to realize person-job fit and person-organization fit so as to improve career satisfaction. As career information provided by career development agencies acquaints students with working conditions of various occupations and requirements of different positions, assists them in further analyzing their strengths and weakness in working abilities, endows them with opportunities to bring their knowledge, skills and abilities into full play, it plays an obviously moderate effect in the relationship among career identity, career insight, person-job fit and person-organization fit. (3) Theoretical and practical significance of the conclusion. This study reveals: a. Person-job fit and person-organization fit mediate the relationship between career identity, career insight and career satisfaction. That is, an individual of high level of career identity is more likely to realize person-job fit, and an individual of keen career insight is more likely to realize person-organization fit. Meanwhile, career identity and career insight can both promote the individual’s career satisfaction. This finding is practically inspiring for planning career consulting systems in universities. In future career consulting, more importance should be given to tutoring students in terms of career identity and career insight so as to improve their career competencies and help them achieve career satisfaction through person-job fit and person-environment fit. b. Face-to-face consultation and career information moderate the relationship between career identity and person-job fit. When face-to-face consultation and career information are of low level, career identity exerts obviously positive influence on person-job fit; when face-to-face consultation and career information are of high level, the connection between career identity and person-job fit is not obvious. This finding is of practical significance in guiding universities selecting MBA candidates. If quality face-to-face consulting can be provided, candidates’ career identity and career insight don’t have to be considered in selection, but rather they are encouraged after admission to take an active part in career consulting. This can improve their person-job fit after graduation, because the face-to-face career consultation provided in the university downplays the influence that career identity exerts on person-job fit. On the contrary, if there is no face-to-face consultation to provide, candidates’ career identity and career insight should be stressed before admission, because only when students’ career identity and career insight are of high level, they are likely to fit their positions after graduation.

經理人對職業的滿意狀況受到企業的高度重視，因為，職業滿意度對其在工作上所產生的績效往往起到重要影響作用。在有關職業滿意度的研究中發現，影響職業滿意的因素有許多，學者們對此也是眾說紛紜。員工不再需要終其一生只為一個組織服務，或只停留在一個企業裏面穩定地循序升遷，同時, 由於自願或非自願性的工作流失，以及在企業內或外，橫向或不同的職業轉換，員工也越來越體驗到，在這些為各種不同組織服務的過程中，個體的職業競爭力成為企業判斷個體價值的一個重要指標。 職業競爭力真的會影響經理人的職業滿意度嗎？如果會，它的影響機制又是如何呢？本研究通過三個子研究來完成對該機制的探索。 本研究立足於人-環境匹配理論，探討職業競爭力對職業滿意度的影響過程，並推導出“職業競爭力→人-環境匹配→職業滿意度”這一邏輯路線（研究一），深入剖析職業諮詢對職業競爭力和人-環境匹配的調節作用（研究二），並全面地對之進行了實證檢驗（研究三）。 研究一：人-環境匹配在職業競爭力和職業滿意度度關係中的作用研究。個體如果願意留在企業中並且為其服務，其與工作職位以及組織之間的匹配應該起到關鍵性的作用並值得做更深入的探討。職業競爭力對職業滿意度的影響作用，應該是以職業競爭力可以提升個體與企業所提供職位及組織價值觀的匹配為前提的。所以，研究一採用了問卷調查法，以經理人為對象獲得100份問卷，來探索並檢驗人-職位匹配、人-組織匹配對職業競爭力和職業滿意度之間關係的中介作用。 研究二：職業諮詢在職業競爭力對人-環境匹配的影響機制中所起的作用的探索性研究。職業諮詢中心是現今許多高校爭相設立的學生輔導機構，職業諮詢的作用也被越來越多的學者和教育家所重視。然而，當下高校所提供的職業諮詢機制是否真能幫助學生？又有哪些諮詢項目值得深耕並加以推廣？職業諮詢對學生未來就業所產生的影響和作用到底如何？是否真的發揮了預期的效果？研究二通過對12份MBA畢業生的訪談，在研究一“職業競爭力→人-環境匹配→職業滿意度”的邏輯下，對職業諮詢在職業競爭力和人-環境匹配兩者間關係的作用進行了探索性研究，並對職業諮詢在其間所產生的調節作用提出假設。 研究三：在研究一和研究二的基礎上，對職業競爭力對職業滿意度影響機制進行了全面的實證檢驗。具體來說，研究三採用問卷調查法，獲得了248份經理人問卷，檢驗了人-職位匹配和人-組織匹配對職業競爭力對職業滿意度關係的中介作用；職業諮詢對職業競爭力和人-職位匹配、人-組織匹配之間關係的調節作用。也就是說，研究三檢驗了在人-職位匹配、人-組織匹配和職業諮詢共同作用下的職業競爭力對職業滿意度的影響機制模型。 本研究的主要研究結論如下： （1）人-職位匹配、人-組織匹配在職業競爭力和職業滿意度之間的關係起到中介作用。前人的研究和本研究的實證數據都證明，職業身份認知、職業洞察力對經理人職業滿意度具有較強的解釋力。然而，職業競爭力與職業相關，是附著於個體上的一種資本，職業滿意度是個體針對某種特定職業的心理感受，因此，職業競爭力需要依附著於某一個組織內的職業才可能談及職業滿意度，而個體與該特定職業間的匹配，包括人-職位匹配和人-組織的匹配則是實現職業競爭力影響職業滿意度的關鍵途徑。本研究驗證了人-職位匹配、人-組織匹配在職業競爭力和職業滿意度兩者關係中的中介作用。研究一和研究三證明，職業身份認知、職業洞察力之所以能夠提升經理人的職業滿意度，部分是 因為職業身份認知、職業洞察力可以提升經理人的知識、技能、能力和興趣與 其職位相匹配，使得員工在工作時能得心應手，對於自己主動性行為能夠有效 地控制，因而在工作上能達到較好的績效，對工作結果產生較高的成就感，使 得員工更加喜愛自己的工作，因此在情緒體驗上有滿意感。研究一和研究三結 果顯示，人-職位匹配和人-組織匹配對職業競爭力和職業滿意度之間的關係起 到部分中介作用。 （2）職業諮詢在職業競爭力和人-職位匹配及人-組織匹配關係中起到調節 作用。具體來說，一對一諮詢和職業資訊調節了職業競爭力和中介變量——人- 職位匹配和人-組織匹配之間的關係。 職業諮詢機構已經是當今高校普遍設立的一個重要單位，在企業和社會組 織中也越來越受到人們的重視。用質性研究的方法，研究二首次探索了職業諮 詢對職業競爭力和人-職位匹配及人-組織匹配之間關係的影響，對職業諮詢在 兩者之間實際上發揮的作用做了深入的探討。研究二結果表明了，在職業諮詢 眾多項目中，諮詢師與學生的一對一諮詢和職業發展機構所提供的職業資訊的 重要作用，而研究三的結果又驗證了這些調節作用。 諮詢師與學生的一對一諮詢可以幫學生適度的、以量身訂衣的方式，來瞭 解他們對自己優缺點的認知，幫助他們分析自己的興趣、專長來設定職業方向， 往比較適合自己的行業和職能方位來尋找工作。這種幫助學生發掘自己優勢來 匹配未來工作所需的一對一諮詢服務，恰好對職業身份認知程度不高、職業洞 察力不強的學生發揮了重要作用，有利於這類學生實現人-職位匹配和人-組織 匹配，進而提升其未來的職業滿意度。由職業發展機構提供的職業資訊也可以 幫助學生瞭解各個不同行業的工作環境和不同職能對工作的要求，協助學生得以更佳地分析自己在工作能力上的長短處，並有機會接觸到能夠充分發揮自己 知識技能能力的工作機會，對職業身份認知、職業洞察力和人-職位匹配的關係 起到了顯著的調節作用。 （3）研究結論的理論和實際意義。本研究發現： a. 人-職位匹配與人-組織匹配對職業身份認知、職業洞察力和職業滿意度 之間的關係起到中介作用，也就是說，職業身份認知程度高的個體更容易實現 人與職位的匹配，職業洞察力高的個體也更容易實現人與組織的匹配，而兩者 都能有效提升其對職業滿意的程度。這個結論對高校規劃其職業諮詢機制具有 實際的啟示意義：未來高校於提供職業諮詢時可以更著重於對學生職業身份認 知程度和職業洞察力提升的輔導，來有效提高學生的職業競爭力，最終幫助他 們在就業後能夠經由人-職位匹配和人-組織匹配的實現，來達到對職業的滿意。 b. 一對一諮詢和職業資訊對職業身份和人-職位匹配之間的關係起到調節 作用：一對一諮詢和職業資訊低時，職業身份對人-職位匹配有顯著的正向作 用；當一對一諮詢和職業資訊高時，職業身份與人-職位匹配之間的關係不顯 著。這個結果對高校選擇MBA 學生有著實際的指導意義；如果學校能夠提供 優質的一對一職業諮詢服務，在挑選MBA 學生入學時，可以暫且不需要考慮 應試學生對職業身份認知程度和職業洞察力的高低，只要鼓勵學生在入學後積 極參加學校所提供的職業諮詢，就可以適當提高學生畢業後人-職位匹配的程 度，因為學校的一對一諮詢服務可以使得職業身份認知對人-職位匹配的作用不 顯著。反之，如果學校沒有提供一對一職業諮詢服務，就應該在入學前加強對 學生職業身份認知能力和職業洞察力的要求，唯有當職業身份認知能力和職業 洞察力高時，學生畢業後與職位相匹配的程度才會高。