In the light of the changing economic and organizational contexts for careers, it is argued that a model of organizational careers needs to be: contextualized; interactive between individual and organization; subjective, not normative; processual, not structural; tolerant of different interests; and cyclical in nature. A model of organizational career as a sequence of renegotiations of psychological contracts is proposed. These contracts are based both on a perceived match between one's own wants and what the other has to offer, and on the exchange of promised offers. The cost-benefit ratio of this exchange for themselves is optimized by each party, and is affected by the power each takes into the negotiation. Responses to the contract by each party are based on their perceptions of its equity and of whether it has been honored. Depending on whether the contract is transactional or relational in nature, a variety of outcomes will ensue, including exit from the contract or its renegotiation. Since the model proposes that each party's wants and offers are predicted by their business, personal, and social contexts, and since the process of negotiation and renegotiation is cyclical, this model allows for the present radical changes in careers.

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A theoretical model of managerial careers in organizations was tested by questionnaire. Respondents were 200 managers attending management courses. The model incorporated traditional structural predictors of objective and subjective indices of managers' career progress. It also introduced perceptions of the career management practices of an organization as a predictor, together with career progress, of satisfaction with career management. Results indicated that an organization's structure was a powerful predictor of its perceived career management practices; these in turn were more powerful predictors of satisfaction with career management than was career progress; of particular power was the perceived fairness of career management practices. Regression analysis indicated that the model was generally supported. It was concluded that perceived equity is a powerful determinant of satisfaction, and that therefore an organizational model of career management as part of a psychological contract is likely to be more effective than one based on the prescriptions of human resource management ideology.Since the pioneering work of Schein (1978), it has been realized that careers within organizations can be viewed from two perspectives: that of the organization and that of the employee. There have been repeated recommendations that both parties' interests and aspirations should be taken into account (e.g. London and Stumpf, 1982;Arthur and Kram, 1989) when career moves are chosen. However, there has been little empirical research which incorporates both perspectives. What research has been conducted has mainly focused on structural features of organizations and their effects on objective career variables and managerial level. The principal objective of the present research is to test a model of managerial careers in organizations which incorporates:organizations' perceived career management practices as well as structural data; Address for correspondence: Sundridge Park Management Centre, Plaistow Lane, Bromley, Kent BRI 3TP, UK.individuals' subjective career timetable and satisfaction with career management as well as objective progress.The model is presented in Figure 1, and the following review of the literature will proceed from left-to-right of the model.The relationships of organization structure, managers' career history and personal data to career progress have been thoroughly investigated. In the UK, Nicholson and West (1988) found that the more inter-organizationally mobile managers had been, the higher their managerial level. In the USA, Rosenbaum (1979Rosenbaum ( ,1989) discovered a significant negative relationship between the time individuals spent in their first job in an organization and the level they ultimately achieved. He based a tournament theory of careers on these results, suggesting that if individuals failed to win a promotion in an early round of the tournament, they are less likely to progress through later rounds. Veiga (1983) repeated this finding in three more organizations, also large in size ...

Networking is increasingly being seen as a crucial skill associated with career success. Presents the findings of a study into the attitudes towards networking of a sample of women from the UK, Spain and the USA. A prior questionnaire-based study of members' needs, perceptions and expectations with the European Women's Management Development Network suggested some cross-cultural differences in networking attitudes and behaviours. In order to investigate these further, the questionnaire used was further developed and distributed to women's networks within the USA, UK and Spain. The results indicate differences between the three countries in terms of a whole range of networking issues, leading to the categorization of American women as instrumentalists, UK women as developers, and Spanish women as socialites. Discusses the importance of developing a further understanding of networking practices and motives across cultures and suggests further research.

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