Sherry E. Sullivan

The Changing Nature of Careers: A Review and Research Agenda

This review analyzes how the changing nature of careers can be conceptualized by examining two major categories of careers research. Specifically, the developmental stage theories of Super (1957) and Levinson (1978, 1986, 1996) and the boundaryless career concept (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996) are used to assess our understanding of careers in today’s dynamic work environment. Directions for future research on existing topics, as well as five major recommendations for a new research agenda, are offered.

Careers in the next millennium: directions for future research

Abstract Researchers have tended to focus on idealized models of careers that no longer accurately describe most workers (Arthur & Rousseau 1996; DeFillippi & Arthur 1996). The purpose of this article is to go beyond these models and examine careers in new ways. We suggest that the career patterns implemented by individuals will be influenced by two major factors: (1) transferability of competencies and (2) level of internal work values. Based on this differentiation, we propose a model of career types and examine the implications of this model for researchers, managers, and workers.

Work and Family—Allies or Enemies? What Happens When Business Professionals Confront Life Choices

The article reviews the book “Work and Family - Allies or Enemies? What Happens When Business Professionals Confront Life Choices,” by Stewart D. Friedman and Jeffrey H. Greenhaus.

Using the kaleidoscope career model to examine generational differences in work attitudes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine, utilising the Kaleidoscope Career Model, whether members of the Baby Boom generation and Generation X differ in their needs for authenticity, balance, and challenge.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were obtained from 982 professionals located across the USA. Correlations, t‐tests, and multiple regressions were performed to test the hypotheses.Findings – Members of Generation X have higher needs for authenticity and balance than Baby Boomers. There was no difference in needs for challenge between Baby Boomers and members of Generation X.Research limitations/implications – A limitation in the study, as well as in most of the research on generational differences, is the use of cross‐sectional designs that fail to capture the influence of the aging process. A longitudinal, multi‐survey design over the lives of individuals would enable scholars to capture within‐ and between‐person differences and to permit a better understanding of whether difference...

Global mentoring as a means of career development and knowledge creation

Purpose – This article aims to examine the process of mentoring and career development within the global arena. Although much has been written on the adjustment of expatriates, relatively little research has examined the exchange of information and knowledge among workers in different countries via the mentoring process.Design/methodology/approach – A model is offered of how an expatriate progresses through learning cycles aided by multiple mentors. Multiple mentoring contributes to the individuals career development and facilitates the development of organizational tacit and embedded knowledge.Findings – Using Hall and Chandlers conceptualization of multiple learning cycles over the life span, it is proposed that the expatriate cycles through a learning cycle over the course of an extended assignment. These learning cycles are shorter than the traditional career stages, often lasting two to four years – similar to the length of an expatriate assignment. It is suggested that the stages of an expatriate ...

Using the Kaleidoscope Career Model to Understand the Changing Patterns of Women's Careers: Designing HRD Programs That Attract and Retain Women:

The problem and the solution. This article explores how a new model of careers can be used to suggest human resource development (HRD) programs that better match the unique career patterns of women. Traditional career stage models, which form the basis of many modern HRD practices, were created by studying mens careers and do not fit the complexities of womens careers. The purpose of this article is to discuss the Kaleidoscope Career Model as a means of understanding the needs of women workers and how organizations can systematically fulfill those needs to gain a competitive advantage. In addition to HRD implications, we also discuss directions for future research.

Careers in a non‐Western context: An exploratory empirical investigation of factors related to the career success of Chinese managers

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to conduct an exploratory empirical examination to determine if factors (e.g. demographic, human capital, motivational, and organizational) associated with career success in Western countries are also related to the career outcomes of Chinese managers.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were obtained from 139 managers working in China. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship among common predictors of career success and the actual outcomes of Chinese managers.Findings – Predictors of two career outcomes were explored: total compensation and career satisfaction. Although some of the findings were similar to the findings of studies on the career outcomes of managers in Western countries, there were some surprising differences. The results showed that women and top‐level decision makers had higher total compensation. Furthermore, holding a middle management (as opposed to a line management) position, and perceptions that ones or...

Mentoring and career development

Purpose – This special issue seeks to examine mentoring relationships and offer new perspectives and frameworks, suggesting exciting avenues for future research on mentoring and career development.Design/methodology/approach – In the last two decades, the workplace has been dramatically transformed. Individuals traditionally had careers entrenched in organizations, relying on the paternalistic firm for career development. Increasingly now, individuals are enacting careers outside organizational boundaries, defining career success on their own terms rather than by the organizational measures of salary and rank. Rapid technological change and globalization have intensified the decoupling of individual careers from organizations, putting more emphasis on individuals for their own career development and creating an even greater need for mentoring.Findings – Although much research has been done on the impact of mentoring on subjective and objective career success, there are still many unexamined and under‐expl...

Recruiting and retaining older workers for the new millennium

I s your company making an effort to recruit and retain older workers? If not, you may be making a serious strategic error. In the Hudson Institute’s Workfirce 2000 report, Johnston and Packer (1987) projected that total work force growth will be slower in the next 15 years than in the previous half-century. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers in many industries may soon face a shortage of qualified workers for the 18 million new jobs that will be created by the year 2000. Businesses with an eye to the future will begin to plan for these predicted labor shortages. One solution is to focus on older workers. Despite the slow growth in the total work force, the number of older workers is increasing. An estimated two million individuals aged 50 to 74 are willing, able, and seeking employment. In the last decade, the number of men working beyond the traditional retirement age of 65 has increased 34 percent. With improvements in health care coupled with concerns about social security and other benefits, this trend is expected to continue. Almost 60 percent of working Americans over the age of 19 anticipate working at least part-time after the age of 65. Despite the availability of older workers, many firms choose not to hire or train them because of misconceptions about aging. But by examining research studies on the behaviors and attitudes of older workers, we demonstrate the value of employing these people and offer recommendations for recruiting and keeping them.

Preparing yourself for an international assignment

A s more U.S. companies expand their business overseas, the need to send employees on international assignments will increase. Many companies use overseas assignments as a means to assess which individuals should be promoted to top-level positions. Unfortunately, up to 40 percent of expatriate managers terminate their assignments early, costing their companies between