Within the Context of the Boundaryless Career Critically Analyse the Coursework

Within the Context of the Boundaryless Career Critically Analyse the Challenges Faced by Graduates in a Volatile Global Economy - Coursework Example 1 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Boundary less Careers 3 Challenges Faced by Graduates 4 Conclusions 6 References 7 Introduction The recent economic downturn had a deep impact on the job market as companies went overdrive to cut jobs in the backdrop of a severe financial crisis. The period of economic recession saw many individuals being handed pink slips (Tuppen, 1988, p.54). It also meant that fresh graduates even from reputed institutions could not find a job of their choice. This has led to emergence of certain very critical aspects with regards to career growth and development of individuals (Roberts, 2009). The present study would analyze the career aspects of a graduate in the recessionary environment in the backdrop of a boundary less career for an individual. Boundary less Careers The definition of boundary less career itself is a matter of research with varied version of the definition of the term across academic circles. Among the most accepted of the definition is t he one given by Arthur and Rousseau (1996) that defines boundary less careers as the complete opposite of organizational career that span across various organizations against traditional assumptions of employment. The definition given above was challenged by Eby (2001) who defined boundary less careers as a connecting sequence of expertise across jobs and companies (Barling & Cooper, 2008, p.279). Greenhaus, Callanan & Godshalk (2009) Conducted a research into the aspect of boundary less careers and concluded that the aspect was majorly due to the inter organizational mobility and a change in attitude among the employees to look for greener pastures in their careers. This trend is particularly been observed in the capitalist economies of USA, UK and other developed nations as there are large number of business organizations that are ever in need of good professionals for their company. There are many perspectives on this approach firstly, certain researchers propose that boundary fe wer careers involve increased mobility towards better opportunities and rewards. Another contradictory school of thought states that aspects like mentality, identity and psychological aspects that defines the aspect of boundary less careers. Networking and connections also play a major role in the mobility of individuals across organizations (Greenhaus, Callanan & Godshalk, 2009, p.23-24). The aspect of boundary less careers has also been debated with regards to the aspect of commitment and loyalty. On one hand some individuals feel that the aspect of boundary less careers has reduced the loyalty and commitment aspects. The protagonists of this theory feel that boundary less carers have increased and improved individual performance in the quest for greater improvements in the careers due to which individuals resort to job hopping across organizations and business verticals in an attempt to better influence the careers (Purcell & Wright, 2007, p.133-134). Guest & Conway (2004) stated that there was a contrasting view in boundary fewer careers as it led to development of loyalty towards an individual’s own career and personal interests. Academic and research professionals have often critiqued this aspect and stated that this was detrimental to the organizational interests as individuals in boundary less careers often put themselves and their personal ambitions before the organizational interests (Guest & Conway, 2004, p.51). Challenges Faced by Graduates The recent market recession has led to a serious job cuts within economies. According to the data released by OECD USA alone reported a major job cut that is evident from the fact that there were 145362000 employed civilians in 2008 as compared to 139877000 individuals in the following year. The statistics reveal a clear