In the world of growing global competition, technological displacement, and market forces, good career management is mandatory. You must become proactive in your career as if you are the star player of the game setting up the play for the final touchdown. In order to be on top in your field, you can't afford to relax after you find employment and assume you will be able to keep it or that it will never change. Most employees would not want that anyways. It would be boring and eventually lose its charm.

So, how do you work in a shaky work atmosphere while staying positive and in control? You don't want to worry yourself that every little rumor from the corporate mill has you wondering if you are next in line for a layoff. You want to prepare yourself in case of a layoff, but you also want to be certain that you are a needed employee to your company. Don't assume you will not be replaced, but don't assume the company is going to close either.

In the corporate world, employees have become commodities. Think of yourself as a product that you are selling to your company, every day. If the product you are selling is beneficial to your company, it will keep buying your brand. If, however, your product isn't maintained, becomes easily replaced for less money, or becomes too much trouble, then the company stops buying the product.

One of the most important goals of a company is to generate profit. If the commodity they hold, you, is not valuable to them in terms of the bottom line, then they may decide in tough times to let you go and look for some other way to fill your position. That's the reality of business.

The previous view was what initiated much of the stampede towards outsourcing in past years. Many jobs were not only easily replaced for less in other countries, but the business owners making the switch saw no reason to keeping an American employed versus hiring someone in a foreign. One of the biggest areas that this trend impacted was the outsourcing of technical support and customer service call centers.

Now, we are starting to see the problem with the idea of a human being as just a cog in a big machine. The end result is that workers leave those positions and find employment elsewhere in another field of industry. Meanwhile, foreigners may not understand the cultural environment of the customers they are doing business with in the United States. What results is customers get frustrated with their purchasing experience and sometimes take their business elsewhere.

Now, we have a rising development called insourcing, where Americans are being hired by industries in India to do call centers so that the customers are met with someone who comes from the same cultural enviroment and is able to speak their language. Like this, many people have managed to make themselves valuable to their company as human beings again. For this reason, you should never underestimate the power of how your cultural upbringing and abilities can aid you in career management.