CAREERS AND THE WORK ORGANISATIONS.

A modern work organisation is unique in the sense that it becomes the focal point for a number of related occupations. The career lines of those working in these occupations do not conform to an uniform pattern. While occupations are inter-related, the careers of persons involved in a common work situation are often differentiated in terms of the varied processes at work in the work situation.< br/> Everett C.Hughes in his work on 'The Study of Occupations' in Merton,R.K et al (Eds) Sociology Today (1960) considers work situations as 'systems of interaction..... in which people of various occupational and lay capacities ...interact in sets of relationships that are social as well as technical'. The characteristics of careers are determined by the way in which the relevant occupations are related in a work situation. Hence, careers in the same Occupation may vary from one work situation to another. In this regard Everett C.Hughes points out the significance of careers in a work situation. For him, 'the career includes not only the process and sequence of learning the techniques of the occupation, but also the progressive perception of the whole system and of possible places in it and the accompanying changes in conceptions of the work and of one's self relation to it.
Basically the term ' career' implies movement over time through successive positions within an institutional system, which provides differential opportunities for the different occupations functioning in relative position within the system. A career normally implies upward movement in the institutional hierarchy available to an occupation in terms of income, status and responsibilities. But it may also imply acquisition of higher technical or professional skills, with the accompanying expectations of appropriate reward for the contribution, that superior skills can make toward the achievement of organisational goals.

Thus, career becomes an intrinsic aspect of the dynamics of a work organisation, and it has ramnifications that extend beyond the boundaries of a specific occupational group. Careers represent a dynamic element in the work process as occupations respond to changes in technology.
Thus, careers mirror the changes in the work processes. A study of careers is fascinating and rewarding.

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Bibliography
Careers and the Work Organisations by Dr.C.S.Rangarajan