Managerial career anchors in a changing business environment

Trainers need to take into account changes in working practices, which it is argued, influence manager’s perceptions of their careers. 540 managers were interviewed, and a questionnaire used to measure the relative importance of individual career anchors. It was found younger managers were more orientated towards their own skills and what they could contribute, whereas older managers were more inclined to be aware of the limitations of their role in the organisation. It was stressed the difference between the perception of their careers of the younger and older managers is something the trainer needs to take into account. Also significant to the trainer was how similar male and female managers were in their perceptions of their career anchors.