Organizational Careers

For many individuals, their relationship with their employing organization is not a small or momentary thing - it is a critical element in their lives. If an individual's career is a journey - as it is most frequently conceptualized in metaphorical terms (Inkson, 2004, 2007) - then organizations are the most obvious and immediate parts of the context through which the individual travels. The paths along which people travel their careers are often determined by organizational structures, cultures, roles and pathways. And the journey is long - it may endure over 40 years and involve a long sequence of organizational roles. Through the institution of the career, the relationships between organizations and individuals constantly evolve and develop, often to mutual advantage. Organizational systems of career planning and managing, when professionally executed, generate and strengthen the bond between an organization and its employees. Thus, the understanding of careers and the understanding of organizations offer much to each other.