Overview
Changes in the economic structure of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are transforming the work life of the Chinese people (Ding & Warner, 2001). Much of the scholarly literature about careers, most of which studied the concept of career within western industrial societies, declares that the traditional career model is becoming obsolete and a new career model is taking shape (Altman, 2000; Arnold & Jackson, 1997; Arthur, 1994). The traditional career model—a hierarchical model often associated with bureaucracies—asserts that organizations shape careers by confining them within specific boundaries that they set. The new career model—often described as boundaryless and protean—claims that individuals deliberately shape and direct their own career, transcending the boundaries set by organizations. This paper explores whether career patterns of Chinese citizens who embark on a course of study leading to a graduate degree in business have changed accordingly, thus expanding the new concept of career beyond western industrialized nations.