Creating your dream job: personal career development strategies

Creating Your Dream Job

We all have an ideal position we would love to occupy in an organizational setting. While there are those who dream of being chefs in a five star hotel, others would do just fine as aircraft pilots. My dream job is that of a General Manager of a fortune 500 company.

Before I develop the aforementioned position's job description and compensation/benefits package, it will be prudent to first develop an ideal scenario with regard to the said position. To begin with, I would prefer to be stationed in a major city as opposed to a small town. In addition to being one of America's largest corporations (by virtue of being in the fortune 500 list), the company in which I would love to serve as General Manager should also have global presence. Most particularly, I would prefer to work for a company in the Auto Manufacturers, Departmental Stores, or Investment Brokerage industries.

It is important to note that the point-of-view I adopt in this text is that of the board of directors of a large corporation and in so doing, I will assume that the board is seeking to fill the position of General Manager in the organization. The hypothetical name of the organization will in this case be XYZ Corporation -- a holding company with interests in manufacturing, banking, and retail.

Job Description for my Dream Job

Position/Job Title: General Manager

Job Statement

Reporting to the board, the GM will be responsible for all the strategic activities of XYZ Corporation. In addition to being in charge of the corporation's major administrative functions, the general manager will also be expected to oversee the effective management of the HR, finance, as well as marketing and public relations functions. The GM may also from time to time be assigned specific assignments by the board.

Essential Functions

1. Enhance the effectiveness of the company's middle level managers by amongst other things ensuring that those who are hired to offer their services in various capacities are up to the task.

2. Train, coach, and discipline managers in an attempt to ensure that organizational goals and objectives are achieved.

3. Enhance the image of the company by amongst other things collaborating with the relevant stakeholders including but not limited to the government, special interest groups, the community, customers, suppliers, and shareholders.

4. Enforce organizational standards and ensure that the organization embraces ethical business practices by amongst other things developing (and strictly enforcing) an ethical code of conduct.

5. Develop the appropriate strategies to help the company meet not only its long-term but also its short-term goals.

6. Liaise with the board of directors and departmental heads in the development of both short-term and long-term corporate objectives while at the same time formulating evaluation mechanisms to measure or gauge implementation.

7. Ensure that the organization complies with all the relevant regulations and standards including but not limited to the IFRS and other requirements especially with regard to environmental health and safety.

8. Constantly brief the board on all the relevant issues and developments.

9. Liaise with the Business Development Manager to come up with the appropriate foreign expansion policy.

10. Provide guidance during the preparation of the corporation's annual financial statements.

11. Coordinate or oversee job transfer and posting programs through the establishment of job posting and transfer procedures, review of transfer applications, etc.

12. Execute any other function as assigned by the board of directors with diligence and commitment.

Job Specifications

1. An MBA in finance or accounting

2. Three years experience (minimum) in a similar or other top management position. Those who have previously served as CFOs in the financial services or retail sectors are particularly encouraged to apply.

3. Proven ability to supervise teams in a large organizational setting.

4. Proven ability to initiate and oversee change

5. Proven negotiating, customer service, as well as leadership skills.

6. Ability to communicate effectively

7. Effective time management and organizational skills

8. Superior problem solving skills

9. Computer literate

Compensation and Benefits Package

The compensation of the successful candidate for this position will be based on the provisions of XYZ Corporation's executive compensation program. With regard to the position of General Manager, the program will make use of a base salary and an incentive plan in the computation of the annual cash compensation.

Annual Cash Compensation

Description

Amount (in USD)

Base Salary

3,500,000

Annual Incentive Plan (AIP)

Total (exclusive of the AIP)

3,500,000

Other Compensation and Benefit Packages

The successful candidate for the position of GM will also be entitled to several other compensation and benefit packages including but not limited to an annual incentive plan, a stock option program, a tax-qualified defined benefit plan, periodic health evaluation plan, etc. Other benefits in this case will include access to the corporate aircraft and access to company sponsored security services.

Paid Leave

The successful candidate for this position will be entitled to a 26-day leave every year. Please note that the said leave will be exclusive of all the public holidays. In addition to being taken at a time that is mutually convenient, the annual leave may not be claimed before or after the year for which it is due. The successful applicant will also be entitled to an 8-day personal or private annual leave. This particular leave is however subject to the existing policies of XYZ Corporation.

Base Salary

It should be noted that the committee in charge of remuneration will review the base salary of the successful candidate for the position of GM each year.

Compensation and Benefits Package Rationale

From the onset, it is important to note that "given the enormous cost to the organization of benefit packages, HRM professionals and their organizations must carefully assess the benefit that accrues to the organization from those packages" (Sims, 2006, p. 486). For this reason, the HR department must ensure that while the compensation and benefits package it offers to its executives is competitive, it does not defy economic sense. In the development of the GM's compensation structure, I was largely guided by an extensive market review of the compensation of other top executives. I assumed that the companies I relied on are similar to our hypothetical corporation in terms of size, operations complexity, as well as scope of operations. As I have already pointed out elsewhere in this text, I would love to be the GM of one of America's largest corporations. Further, for clarity purposes, an assumption was made that XYZ Corporation is a holding company. For this reason, the peer companies I focused on included JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

With the market pay levels as its basis, the base salary took into consideration both the complexity and seniority of the position. It also took into consideration internal equity which Mathis and Jackson (2011) define as the move to ensure that employees are compensated in accordance with their knowledge, skills, as well as abilities. A competitive base salary is critical for employee retention purposes. The benefits I have highlighted in this text were included for both retention and motivation purposes. Benefits according to Griffin (2005) are essentially those other rewards (other than compensation) that an entity offers to its employees. With regard to the Annual Incentive Plan, it is important to note that the said plan will come in handy in rewarding the GM for exceptional short-term business and financial performance. Being dependent on the said performance, the figure is thus largely variable. The purpose of this particular form of annual cash compensation is to ensure that the successful candidate for the position of GM will train his sights on the most important operating and financial objectives.

Stock options were included in the compensation and benefits package as a long-term incentive seeking to ensure that the successful candidate for the position of GM focuses on enhancing the performance of stock price. In the words of Philips (2012) "stock options give an employee the right to buy shares of the company's stock at a certain price (the exercise price) during some period of time" (p. 328). As the author further points out, the employee can in this case offer the shares for sale at a profit if the exercise price happens to be lower than the stock's market price (Philips, 2012). With regard to the tax-qualified defined benefit program, it is important to note that there is a need to promote the post-employment security (financial) of the successful candidate for the position of GM. Some of the factors that will be used in the determination of this particular benefit include but they are not limited to the GM's contribution and IRC guidelines. The next benefit, the periodic health evaluation plan, is meant to ensure that the GM's performance is optimal. It provides for periodic medical evaluation and could help in the minimization of medical risks especially with regard to the prevention and early detection of medical conditions.

Access to the corporate aircraft is meant to reduce flight times in an attempt to ensure that time is utilized more efficiently. It should however be noted that the corporate aircraft will be available to the GM for official corporate duties only. To enhance the security of the GM, adequate security will be offered by amongst other things facilitating the GM's access to company sponsored security services. This will go a long way to ensure that the executive concentrates on other more important issues like expansion and enhancement of shareholder wealth. When it comes to the annual and personal leave, it should be noted that employees also need to rest and attend to their own personal issues or emergencies. The leave plans outlined provide adequate time for the GM to rest and relax as well as attend to other non-official duties.

The annual review of the GM's base salary by the committee responsible for remuneration will be done with the knowledge that adjustments to the base salary are largely unavoidable due to the need to keep up with the market pay levels. We are fully aware that to retain the best talent, we must be prepared to offer competitive pay packages. It is also important to note that as we continue to expand, the nature of our operations will continue to become more complex. In that regard, the base salary will be adjusted accordingly.

Performance Appraisal Program for the position of GM

The performance appraisal tool I develop below will come in handy in the assessment of the GM's job performance. The form will be completed by all those who sit in the governing committee.

Performance Appraisal Form

Purpose: An Assessment of the General Managers Job Performance

Please use the scale below to note performance levels:

Poor (General Manager never meets expectations) = 1

Below Average (General Manager meets expectations rarely) = 2

Satisfactory (General Manager regularly meets expectations) = 3

Above Average (General Manager in most cases exceeds expectations) = 4

Excellent (General Manager maintains a very high standard of performance) = 5

Period of Evaluation: To

Professional Skills and Ability

1. Plays a role in the enhancement of the abilities of the company's middle level managers

2. Contributes towards the professional growth of employees by amongst other things organizing for their in-house training

3. Advances the agenda of the company by amongst other things collaborating with the relevant stakeholders

4. Protects the organization from negative publicity and losses arising from lawsuits by amongst other things ensuring adherence to the relevant regulations, standards, and practices

5. Contributes significantly to not only the development but also the implementation of the corporation's goals and objectives