Downsizing and the Transformation of Organizational Career Systems

Over the past decade a number of analysts have argued that we have seen the end of the traditional managerial career. In this paper we examine how various types of downsizing affect the organizational career systems. We take the career system perspective of Sonnenfeld and Peiperl (1988) and examine how delayering, earlier retirement and other common forms of downsizing disrupt or reinforce these career systems. This analysis together with that of Evans, Gunz and Jalland (1997) provides us with a framework to help managers understand the impact of downsizing on careers and select modes of downsizing that will sustain or reorient the career systems of their organizations.