Non-Linearity and Response-Ability: Emergent Order in 21st-Century Careers

Abstract

Over the past two decades there has been a shift in the career literature from the view of a career as being a linear progression of job responsibilities within an industry, to that of a ‘boundaryless’, competency-based exploration that evolves in unexpected ways. This article argues that core constructs from ‘new science’ (non-linearity, interdependence and emergence) can provide a useful theoretical foundation for understanding the current dynamics of career behavior. The article also discusses implications of these constructs for career development practice and its contexts.

The concept employability: a complex mosaic

“…Bergmann Lichtenstein and Mendenhall [71] use the term 'dysfunctional career spiral' to refer to the process whereby "an individual is stuck in a pattern of low success, and does not have the ability to shift to new arenas of work". The employability process model helps identify the causes of such a dysfunctional career spiral.…”

Defining the “global” in global leadership

“…Non-linearity occurs when events and the outcomes associated with them are inherently non-proportional in nature; basic examples include the truths that experiencing 140 8F is not twice as pleasant as experiencing 70 8F at the beach and the realization that taking eight aspirin for a headache is not eight times as effective as taking one aspirin (Goerner, 1994;Lichtenstein & Mendenhall, 2002). In the simplest sense, Meiss (1995, p. 1) notes that nonlinear can be characterized as ''the negation of linear.''…”

“…''The result may be more than linear, as when a diode begins to pass current; or less than linear, as when finite resources limit Malthusian population growth'' (Meiss, 1995, p. 1). Independent forces do not result in dependent outcomes in nonlinear dynamical systems, because the components and behaviors cannot be separated as they can in linear mechanical systems (Lichtenstein & Mendenhall, 2002). Rather, all elements are 'mutually constituting', which means they function and change as an interconnected network (Capra, 1996).…”

An Evaluation of Career Transition Phenomenon

“…This upward progression presupposed a vertical movement up the corporate ladder in search of external elements such as higher income and promotion up the hierarchy (Brousseau, Driver, Eneroth, & Larsson, 1993;Foot & Vene, 1990;Kelly, Brannick, Hulpke, Levine, & To, 2003). These traditional careers were described as linear careers (Foot & Vene, 1990;Lichtenstein & Mendenhall, 2002;Woodd, 2000) with a direct correlation between an employee's age and the associated level in the hierarchy (Foot & Vene, 1990). The term career was applicable to a selected few as it referred only to professional and higher occupations and was equated to "advanced levels of education" (Schein, 1984:72).…”