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Career Development and Employee Performance in the Processing Firms in Calabar, Cross River State

1Eje Otegwa Otah 2 Joseph Otiwa PhD

Abstract

This study examines the Career Development and Employee Performance in the Processing Firms in Calabar, Cross River State The study is motivated by the need for processing firms to improve productivity, product quality, cost control, timely delivery, and effective utilisation of labour and production resources. The specific dimensions of career development considered are training and development, mentoring and coaching, career advancement opportunities, and career planning and counselling, while efficiency is considered in terms of productivity, quality, cost control, waste reduction, timeliness, and resource utilisation. A desk research methodology was adopted. Relevant information was obtained from scholarly journal articles, books, empirical studies, and other academic publications dealing with career development, employee capability, training, human capital, and organisational performance. The study is anchored on Human Capital Theory and the Resource-Based View of the firm. The reviewed literature indicates that career development can strengthen employee knowledge, technical competence, adaptability, motivation, and commitment, thereby supporting more efficient work processes. Training and development improve the ability of employees to operate equipment and respond to technological changes; mentoring and coaching facilitate knowledge transfer and problem-solving; career advancement can encourage employees to invest greater effort in their work; while career planning and counselling can align individual capabilities with organisational needs. Evidence from Nigerian manufacturing and related organisational settings also indicates positive relationships between employee development and performance. The study concludes that career development is an important human resource strategy for improving efficiency in processing firms. It recommends structured career development programmes, regular training needs assessments, formal mentoring and coaching, transparent promotion pathways, and the evaluation of development initiatives against operational performance indicators.

Keywords

Career DevelopmentTraining and DevelopmentMentoring and CoachingCareer AdvancementCareer Planning and CounsellingEmployee PerformanceOperational EfficiencyProcessing Firms.

References

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