Measuring and Developing Young Managers' Career Motivation

This paper outlines a programme of concept development, research and application on the career motivation of young managers. An assessment centre was used to evaluate dimensions of career motivation. The results were corroborated by other research data and suggested the need for considering situational conditions affecting career motivation. This led to a set of guidelines for early career development and a consideration of company policies and supervisory strategies for applying them. The impact of the results on the companies involved is described. Finally, the paper addresses the value of this research approach for generating useful knowledge.