Exploring the Boundaryless Career Essay

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Organizations cannot exist without managing the development of individuals that comprise their people. People in organizations are individuals who seek to find work situations and developmental opportunities which suit their needs. Thus, a career has been defined as “the sequence of employment-related positions, roles, activities and experiences encountered by a person” (Arnold 1997, p. 16). As this definition suggests, a career is not simply an occupation but a personal sequence of employment-related events. As such, it may include self-employment and freelance work, as well as education and leisure activities that relate to a person’s work-life in some way. It is also closely related to the non-work aspects of a person’s life upon which it impinges. However, in a world rapidly modernizing, the boundaryless career captures the idea that careers are not tied to (or bound to) a single organization and that people will have a variety of work experiences in different organizations over the course of their careers (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Compared to the traditional career that is defined as professional advancement within one or two firms, a boundaryless career is defined as “…a sequence of job opportunities that go beyond the boundaries of a single employment setting” (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996, p. 116). This is why boundaryless careers concepts are becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States (DeJanasz et al., 2003).

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The emergence of the boundaryless career implies an enlargement of the “career space” since work and non-work roles are likely to overlap and intermingle to the extent that they jointly shape a person’s career identity and sense of self (Mirvis and Hall, 1996). This overlapping and intermingling are significantly reinforced by the widespread use of technologies which “invade” the non-work sphere, such as laptops, virtual networks and mobile phones. Thus, any notion of a boundaryless career that overlooks the boundary between work and non-work is likely to be incomplete (Fletcher and Bailyn, 1996).

The benefits of a boundaryless career clearly enhance people’s career and non-career life at the individual level. This is because a boundaryless career brings about greater autonomy for the individual, granting wider discretion over both thought and action. Individuals clearly become main tile agents in career direction and progression. In other words, the responsibility to develop tacit knowledge falls squarely on the individual (Bird, 1994). On the group level, there might be fewer and weaker organization values since boundaryless careers are also characterized by less structure. Though the influence of individual firms may wane, this does not mean that collective organizational influence will become insignificant. The presence of network organizations and complex webs of strategic alliances may impose a structure of its own. Bird (1994) averred that the analogy of bone and cartilage might capture the difference between structure imposed by an individual organization and that provided by a group of loosely connected organizations.

Similarly, Sullivan (1999) proposed the organization as a group may benefit from a boundaryless career because it emphasizes the importance of network relationships (i.e., social capital). This line of research focuses on how each worker has a network of relationships with colleagues, friends, and other associates who provide information that aids in the worker’s development of career opportunities. Social capital is more readily acquired when a network contains no redundant contacts. This network configuration increases the amount of information and social contacts an individual can rely on to provide career assistance.

On the other hand, Bird (1994) suggested that the increased inter-firm mobility associated with the boundaryless career may also exert a significant influence on how explicit knowledge is internalized. With frequent movement within or between organizations, the internalization of new knowledge may become divorced from the development of commitment to an organization. The self-renewal that derives from expanding one’s tacit knowledge base and the consequent reframing of perspective may be seriously diminished.

In the research by Blau and Lunz (1998), they examined the effect of professional commitment on 457 medical technologists’ intentions to leave their profession. They found that the technologists who were younger, less satisfied, and male showed greater intent to change professions. When age, satisfaction, and gender were controlled for, professional commitment accounted for significant differences between those intending to stay and those intending to leave. Although past research has focused on organizational commitment and workers’ attachment to one firm, with increased job mobility and changes in individuals’ views of career success and work/non-work balance, professional commitment may replace organizational commitment as one of the most used research variables on boundaryless careers. Thus, Blau and Lunz (1998) concluded that future research should investigate the differences in professional commitment across various career patterns (e.g., boundaryless vs traditional) and the interaction of professional and organizational commitment.

Because women’s experiences of balancing work and non-work demands are more extensive and coupled with feminine traits, women are better suited than men to boundaryless careers (Fondas, 1996). Furthermore, women may be more successful than men in working in newer organizational forms where empowerment, relationships, and team skills are emphasized over competition (Hall & Mirvis, 1996). The abilities most associated with being effective in boundaryless careers (e.g., focus on process over outcomes, cooperation, and greater sensitivity to employees’ needs) are typically defined in U.S. culture as feminine traits (Fondas, 1996). Research needs to investigate whether women are better suited to boundaryless careers and advance more quickly in newer organizational structures as hypothesized.

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Although boundaryless careers have many positive aspects, there are also potential negative aspects. The boundaryless career era may not significantly improve the working lives of women and minorities. For example, as firms become more fluid and hire a greater number of workers for shorter-term projects, discrimination in hiring and compensation may increase, especially as the pace of business may make it more difficult to monitor the fairness of employment practices. Sexual harassment may also increase as a contract, and part-time workers fear that reporting such incidents will cost them future jobs or as company practices make it difficult for short-term employees to follow through on complaints. Similarly, women and minorities outside formal organizational structures may have increased difficulty in finding sponsors and networks to gain career advice. Research on the positive and negative effects of changing employment relationships on the career experiences of women and minorities is needed (Sullivan, 1999).

Bird (1994) also supplied a warning that individuals may have difficulty in determining what work experiences will lead to relevant tacit knowledge with boundaryless careers. A critical aspect of the knowledge creation perspective is that new knowledge should be of value in helping the firm to differentiate itself. The question boils down to what sorts of tacit knowledge organizations need. Though heightened inter-firm mobility will afford a greater opportunity for fit between an individual’s tacit knowledge and a variety of organizations’ needs, there may also be less clarity as to what types of knowledge one ought to pursue.

Under the boundaryless career model, success depends on continually learning new skills, developing new relationships, and capitalizing on existing skills and relationships. These people in organizations place a premium on flexibility and the capacity to do several different types of tasks, to learn new jobs, to adjust quickly to different group settings and organizational cultures, and to move from one firm, occupation, or industry to another. Thus, their employment security depends on their marketable skills rather than their dedication to one organization over time.

Works Cited

Arnold, John M. Managing Careers into the 21st Century, London: Paul Chapman, 1997.

Arthur, Michael B. and Rousseau, Denise M. (eds). The Boundaryless Career: A.New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Bird, Allan. Careers as repositories of knowledge: a new perspective on boundaryless careers, Journal of Organizational Behavior 15.4(1994): 295-306

Blau, Gary and Lunz, Mary. Testing the incremental effect of professional commitment on intent to leave one’s profession beyond the effects of external, personal and work-related variables, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52 (1998): 260-269.

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DeFillippi, Robert J. and Arthur, Michael B. Boundaryless contexts and careers: A competency-based perspective. In M. B. Arthur and D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), The Boundaryless Career, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

DeJanasz, Suzanne C., Sullivan, Sherry E., and Whiting, Vicki. Mentor Networks and Career Success: Lessons for Turbulent Times, Academy of Management Executive 17.4 (2003): 78–91.

Fletcher, Joyce and Bailyn, Lotte. Challenging the last boundary: reconnecting work and family, In M.B. Arthur and D. Rousseau (Eds), The Boundaryless Career, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Fondas, Nanette. Feminization at work: Career Implications. In M. B. Arthur and D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), The Boundaryless Career. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Mirvis, Philip H. and Hall, Douglas T. Career development for the older worker. In D. T. Hall (Ed.), The Career is Dead – Long Live the Career. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

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