Free Management Dissertations - Do Mentors Matter? What Advantages And Disadvantages Are There In The
Do Mentors Matter? What Advantages And Disadvantages Are There In The Mentoring Relationship For Professional Men And Women Who Wish To Climb The Managerial Ladder?
This essay explores the concept of mentoring and whether mentors matter, discusses the nature of the mentoring relationship, and considers the advantages and disadvantages of mentoring for professional men and women who wish to climb the managerial ladder.
Mentoring as a concept has existed for millennia. The origins of the word ‘mentor’ go back to the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey. According to the myth, when Odysseus went away to fight, he left his son, Telemachus, in the care of a friend named ‘Mentor’ who was also a tutor to Telemechas. The name ‘mentor’ has, therefore, become proverbial for a wise and faithful advisor. The modern concept of mentoring has developed significantly since the 1970’s during which period mentoring emerged as one of the key career development and progression tools available to the individual. In addition to its use as a development tool, many organisations have used mentoring as a method to support diversity initiatives. (Friday and Friday, 2002, Mullins, 1999)
A mentor participating in a mentorship programme be it formal or informal, can usually be identified as an influential senior member of the organisation who has advanced experience and knowledge and who is committed to providing upward mobility and support to careers. (Ragins and Scandura, 1994, p 962)
The mentor relationship may be formal and developed through the organisation as part of a development initiative, or informal, based on mutual interest. The term mentee and protégé are used interchangeably in the literature and mentee has been used as the preferred term in this essay. A mentee is a junior employee seeking to benefit from the mentor relationship and progress his or her career within the organisation.
Informal mentoring relationships exist within most organisations where the mentor and mentee share interests and commitment in both their organisational and personal contexts. The nature of the informal relationship is in-depth and the mentee is treated as a protégé. (Friday et al, 2004) The benefits of informal mentoring to the organisation include; improved employee retention, productivity, empowerment, and job satisfaction. These benefits have led to the development of corporate mentoring programmes to supplement training and development strategies, whereby an organisation actively seeks to align career development programmes with its strategic management process. (Friday et al, 2002) An article by Megginson, 2000, sounds a warning that the formal mentorship programmes may not be as effective as those that develop informally, because the motivation and commitment of both the mentor and mentees may not be as strong or yield the same outcome as the informal.
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