Book excerpt: Essay from the year 2002 in the subject Sociology - Work, Profession, Education, Organisation, grade: Grade A, University of Manchester (Institute for Development Policy and Management), language: English, abstract: Today's organisational demand for high flexibility can mainly be attributed to the rapidly changing global economic and social landscape. Organisations find themselves confronted with the need for ongoing transformation as environmental discontinuity requires permanent and accelerated adaptation. There is little doubt that these processes of change have considerable impact on the nature of work and pattern of employment. In this essay, the 'new' shape of careers in rapidly changing environments is examined. As not only economic but also social environments of organisations change, newly emerging career expectations of today's individuals cannot be neglected. It is essential to review these changes to understand arising necessities in career management. Having established the major features of present careers, the essay proceeds to discussing the responisbility for managing careers. It raises the question, if the individual or the organisation is responsible for career management and outlines issues to be addressed. In a conclusion the main results are briefly summarized.