ABSTRACT
Careers are “an individual’s work-related and other relevant experiences, both inside and outside of organizations, that form a unique pattern over the individual’s life span” (Sullivan and Baruch, 2009: 1543). Most work careers take place within and between organizations. Correspondingly, organizations deal with careers as part of their efforts to manage human resources (e.g., Baruch, 2003; Gutteridge et al., 1993b). Organizational career management (OCM) has to take into account its effects both on the individual and the organization. However, career theory today almost always takes the perspective of the individual career actor (as an exception see Schein, 1978). In doing so, it largely fails to acknowledge careers as an organizational concern and ignores the strategic function careers serve for organizations (Dries et al., 2012). In this chapter, the focus is on the organizational perspective.
