Despite the growing concern over recruiting and retaining the "best and the brightest" in government, the evidence suggests there is very little structured career management activity at either the individual or agency level in the federal government. This article suggests that one of the reasons for this is a lack of accepted conceptual frameworks for understandingcareermotiva tion. Schein's classic career anchor theory is examined as a potential source of such a framework, and implications for a career management strategy in the federal government are discussed.
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