Do Governmental Units Lack Career Path ?

[ProToCoL_MaN]

Over the few past years many government employees was granted full or half scholarships in order to do various levels of studies (First degree, Masters, PHD) in different majors.



However, after these employees go back to work again after obtaining their degrees, they end up being in the same position they left, and sometimes shifted to another department which is not related to their field of study. For example, an employee is sent to study computer since and he ends up doing administrative work.



Don’t you think that there is lack of career path or lack of career planning in some governmental units? Or is this a common problem in public and private organizations?

[Invincible]

It's definantely a common problem in the public sector. They do lack designing and implementing succession planning.
I'm not saying that the private sector sets the best example although there are a few firms and companies that do offer individuals career planning and enhancement, job skills training, job placement, educational opportunities, scholarship and financial aid information, etc.

Changing or improving this will reshape the business of Ministries which will also increase competitiveness and will help the governmental units to be prepared to face the challenges of the millennium.

[ProToCoL_MaN]

U r right Invi, but the thing is that some units has no goals or aims at all, which make the planning thing missing.
What I mean to say here, decisions are made randomly and based on little knowledge.

[Invincible]

If there's no aims or goals then there's obviously no strategy....which obviously means there is no basis for a planning.

A question for you, What decisions are made randomly and based on little knowledge? may you pls elaborate.

[muscati]

The problem with working with the government isn't just that they often lack career planning, it's also that even if they have a clear path planned for you they are often tied down by budget constraints. I know people who work in the governemnt who are clearly shining stars and have been given added responsibilities by their bosses but can't be promoted because their budgets don't allow it. They have to wait till the next budgetary approval to get their standard promotions. It's very hard to put someone on an accelarated career path in the government. Often you have to wait the standard 3 to 5 years between promotions even if your performance is excellent.

[ProToCoL_MaN]

Alright Invi, let me tell you this example… there was this department of tourism (Qism al seya7a wal athar) at SQU which was established five or six years ago. After the first batch graduated they had to wait for more than two years to be employed coz simply the labor market didn’t need such majors, neither the Ministry of Commerce and Industry nor the Ministry of National Heritage, as well as tourism offices.



At last, there was a high level order to distribute them among different ministries and it was solved…so u can imagine that some are working now on something which is totally different from what they have studied for four year. However, the department was shut down.



This was what I meant by random decisions based on lil knowledge so u can imagine the lack of planning in the given example and its negative consequences.

[ProToCoL_MaN]

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Often you have to wait the standard 3 to 5 years between promotions even if your performance is excellent.

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Muscati, i guess you have to wait at least for 4 years as recently amended by the civil service board in order to be promoted, because of the tight general budget.

[Invincible]

Protocol Man,



Isnt that frightening? ppl's lives at put at a hault. Sheeesh, I'd love to work for the government but not under the above conditions - no way. I worked for 3.5 years in the private sector, and I got promoted every year without fail, and I also got a salary increase of 25-30% with the promotion every year. Ok, of course, this doesnt happen everywhere in the private sector, but it can happen. Of course, performance matters, but what Im saying is that I'd never progress that fast if I was working for the government. I heard salaries increase by RO 5 or so every year and sometimes promotions could take up to 10 years!. That's mad and insulting for those who work hard.



The thing is, nobody will work for the government, at least, those who are hardworking and ambitious because there isnt any incentive. The general budget could easily be expanded if they have the right ppl working for them, if they have competitive people working for them, performance will improve, and buget will easily expand along...



Just my thoughts, I could be wrong.

[NaDa]

If we Omanies didnt work for the government, who will ?

Ok i do agree that govt. bodies lack career path n fair promotion schems, etc.. but then u cannot get it all. It really matters that u work in ur field n not just work for the sake of getting paid at the end of each month. Of course there r other ways of being recognised in the public sector such as by getting higher responsibilities.I dont think the financial incentive is the first priority for all, at least not for me.Job satisfaction does matter. Am a govt. employee n am satisfied.

[ProToCoL_MaN]

Invi, u r right to some extent but don’t forget that most of the governmental units are a non-profit organizations, which makes the performance related pay schemes hardly implemented or u can say missing. Beside, governmental units do not compete with each other they integrate each other, unlike the private sector who is built on completion.

Yes there are employees who have to wait for more than 7 or 8 years to be promoted, especially those who works for the Ministry of Health as well as Ministry of Education, because of its large number of employees (thousands).

[Invincible]

Nada,



You're one of the very few who are probably satisfied. I have friends who work for the government and they're very unhappy. I just know two ppl who are happy and maybe that's because they work for the Ministry of Oil and Gas (they get a lot of training, they're paid well etc). Ok, also, a couple of ppl at SGRF are happy.



I agree with you, job satisfaction does matter to me far more than financial incentives. When I started working for the private sector, I took up a job that paid less than a job I was offered at a couple of Ministries - the difference though, the job offered at the private sector was far more mind stimulating and mentally rewarding.



Employees today want an entrepreneurial environment where they have the opportunity to develop strong skills and have higher visibility in the organisation, seeking more discretion in job creation, flexibility, competitive compensation and benefits, recognition for unique contributions, work life balance and most important of all a piece of the action. They want to be nurtured, not monitored. In the early 80’s, employees sought job stability and security but the new generation has approached employment with a completely different attitude. Employee loyalty has dropped, fierce competition particularly those with strong skills and young employees have become a management challenge.





Protocol man,



Whatever the case is, governmental units must create a competitive environment to attract the talented ppl in the market. Government units have a lot of space for improvement, that can only be done with ppl who have hot skills. I would personally love to work for the government, but the thought of not progressing, or not given any creative work to do really pulls me back.

[NaDa]

Invi.,

If u know 2 ppl who r unsatisfied with their jobs in the govt. I know many who r unsatisfied working in the private sector.

I wud say it depends on the orgnization u r working for,among other factors of course. For instance,1 of my close friends who works for a bank, didnt spare a try to move to the govt.coz despite the normal increase in her pay she is given the minimal responsibilities n the real work is assigned to the expats ,n i can assure u that she is smart,hard working, n willing to learn.
Another moved departments within the same orgnization with the hope that she will get what she's hoping for, with no luck so far...N i can go on n on..

So as i mentioned earlier, it depends on ur orgnization n personal satisfaction.

[muscati]

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If we Omanies didnt work for the government, who will? Ok i do agree that govt. bodies lack career path n fair promotion schems, etc.. but then u cannot get it all. It really matters that u work in ur field n not just work for the sake of getting paid at the end of each month.

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It's entirely up to the person. It's a choice you've got to make. There are some jobs which don't pay much but provide tremendous job satisfaction. Teaching, for example. Teachers aren't paid very well all over the world, and yet there are always enough youngsters getting out of highschool and choosing to go into the field of education. Why? They know they won't be well paid and yet they do it anyhow. Is it because of a sense of having a higher purpose? I don't know. I've known some brilliant teachers in my life, and I've also seen some seriously demotivated teachers who openly admit that they don't give 100% anymore.

Anyhow, people do what they do for different reasons. Some people choose to work in the government for a few years to get some experience and gain contacts and then switch to the private sector. There are also people who openly admit that the reason they work for the government despite the low pay is because they are happy to be paid less so long as they don't have to work hard. They like the two day weekends. They like the shorter work hours. They like the longer holidays. Etc etc etc. It all depends what you want out of your job, your life, your future, and what balance you want to strike.

As for myself, I have a certain minimum pay threshold. I won't work for less than a certain amount. But once I passed that threshold I chose to work for the best balance of job satisfaction and pay. As it is now, I am well paid and I love my job. I have been offered jobs informally by some competitors with hints of much higher pay and I refused to even apply. I don't need the higher pay if it doesn't carry the same level of satisfaction. Last week someone told me that he's been asked by a bank if they think I'd be interested of joining them if I was approached and he told them "I don't think that guy would ever leave where he is now." Of course the reason why I feel this way is because I work in a really excellent organization. There are other places out there that are horrible places to work and pay huge salaries to recruit people because they can't find anyone to work for them and they have to give very lucrative offers to people to make them switch. I'd rather be happy at my level of pay, with the promise of getting higher pay in the future, instead of being very well paid but unhappy.

There are some government organizations that pay well and have highly motivated staff. Unfortunately it is not always the case. I know a guy who quit the government when he couldn't take the mismatch between his pay and responsibilities anymore. He was one of the minister's chief advisers and had worked on formulating policies as well as participating in high level negotiations on behalf of the government with international organizations abroad. And yet in his 7 years of employment in his ministry he was promoted just once which was the standard promotion that all people in his grade got. Despite all his responsibilities and contributions to the government, his salary was less than 700 rials a month. When his boss quit, he was put in his place as an "acting manager". When a year later he was still the acting manager with no change in pay he quit and joined the private sector for a salary of around 1000 rials. But after a couple of years in the private sector he couldn't take that either. He was much better paid, but he was just an employee. He wasn't reporting to a minister, he wasn't participating in anything important like he used to. He just didn't have the right balance of responsibility in his job. He moved out of the country all together.

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Of course there r other ways of being recognised in the public sector such as by getting higher responsibilities.I dont think the financial incentive is the first priority for all, at least not for me.Job satisfaction does matter. Am a govt. employee n am satisfied.

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More power to you, NaDa. <img src="/threads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Invincible]

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If u know 2 ppl who r unsatisfied with their jobs in the govt. I know many who r unsatisfied working in the private sector.

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A little correction, you misread what I wrote. I said, amongst all the ppl I know who work for the government, only two seem to be happy.

Dont get me wrong, I would never want to diss the government. Id love to work for the government and directly add value to our economy...but there has to be some good incentives. Im greedy to learn, I'd sacrifice pay any day for training.

[Jinan]

I work for the govt too.. am very much satisfied with wht am doing and the place am working...there was a time when I hated it because my boss was one lousy person who didnt know wht a director is supposed to do... but then the board realised wht was wrong with us and they changed our director.. and now me and including my other collegues cudnt be happier... we are all utillised in a better way... we have alot of responsiblities given to us... for me... it was always the job satisfaction than the financial incentive... with the new generation joining the govt sector and wanting to bring changes... it will defiently happen but with time.... they have started building career paths for people who are fresh graduates... alot of them want to work where I do... we get alot of CVs everyday... the demand is too high... but wht the problem is that we cannot take more poeple.. since its gradually becoming over employed.

[ProToCoL_MaN]

NaDa:
U sound having a good experience in working for government (Mashalllah).

Muscati:
As u stated in ur previous post, everything has its positives negatives.

Invi:
As NaDa said, it’s the matter of the organization u work for and personal satisfaction which I call (self-recognition).

Jinan:
U r right, the working climate is very important aspect for being satisfied, especially when it comes to ur boss.