Article Review on Mentoring in the Workplace

Introduction
Mentoring and its application is very much the vogue today in corporate America. It is a strategy employed by companies or institutions to enhance professionalism and the increased transfer of learning and building of skills from the more adept and/or experienced to the junior or neophyte employee. It is also a way of improved retention rate within a company.
Discussion

A survey conducted by the TWA, a publication of the Society of the Petroleum Engineers, revealed that in the integrated major oil companies, 36% responded on the subject matter they posed on mentoring. Another which participated came from the service and/or manufacturing companies (28%). The article substantially presented the essence of mentoring, what an ideal mentor is like, and the prevalence of the practice in organizations as well as the projected status this process would attain in the future (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).
An excellently done study, the article mentions the many-faceted concept that mentoring is today. It was able to give the reader a balanced idea whether this practice has done well in terms of its success in the application. For instance, the finding that the reasons other companies’ mentoring program did not do well was due to a “fragmented approach.”
It is remarkable that the responses of employees on their company’s mentoring program range from satisfaction to what the editors say as “demotivated mentors and mentees.” This has shown that planning is crucial to its successful implementation. The successful ones had their focus on the technical advice and career development that are the most important issues for employees and their dream for advancement. This is a selling point for those institutions which are hesitant in their implementation (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).
The article also mentioned the nuances of the practice in terms of the different schemes each company that participated in the survey might utilize. This means that mentoring can be formal or informal, and it can be monitored or with minimal attention at all. However, as mentioned, a careful study on method, conceptual framework, system of monitoring and evaluation might be an effective preparation before the practice starts (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).
I think it will work in my workplace. Although, not as formally introduced and practiced as many other companies had done already, a few other co-workers had started an informal working relationship as mentor and mentee. This must be the reason that renewed interest and enthusiasm permeates the workplace milieu since its informal inception. I guess it will even work well if my organization’s leadership will institutionalize the program.
Reference
Tealdi, Loris, John Donachie, Forum editors. Mentoring today for tomorrow: The Way Ahead ©2003 –2007. Accessed June 25, 2007