ABSTRACT
This chapter explores career management within the context of the management of scientists at work. In practice, interpretation of the employment relationship varies widely in differing organisational circumstances. The chapter discusses the approaches to human resources management (HRM) and relative responsibilities for aspects of the career management process amongst scientists, their managers and personnel specialists in organisations. It examines the main inter-related personnel activities that impinge on career management, identified by Von Glinow’s career-oriented HRM model. The discussion raises some of the key issues for consideration in relation to the management of careers of research scientists. It begins with an examination of career structures, which define the jobs carried out by scientists at different levels in the organisation. The nature of the human resource required to carry out that task, and the contextual influences, there appear to be strong grounds for personnel policies to be tailored specifically for research scientists.
