Changing expectations of career development: Implications for organizations and for social marketing

Explores the effects of organizational transformation on career development. Through a case study of a large blue chip company in the brewing industry, illustrates that organizational and managers’ expectations of promotion, responsibility for career development and the role of the line manager in career guidance can be substantially mismatched at the current time. Highlights that this can be seriously disadvantageous to individual motivation and organizational effectiveness. Suggests that the principles of social marketing could inform initiatives to change attitudes to careers and to encourage the valuing of lateral career moves. Considers the implications of this for management developers and career management specialists within organizations and suggests a role for government agencies such as the TEC/LEC network in the UK. Concludes that a range of initiatives should be considered to address this important issue.