Role of Occupational and Ease Attachment to Life in the Society - Term Paper Example

Career and Leisure Assignment Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: University: Career and Leisure Assignment Part A: Compare and contrast John L. Holland and John Krumboltz The term career describes a lifelong process that involves a type job that someone has. This definition has become dynamic to include any type of job that someone does in a lifetime even if it is not professionally acknowledged. Just as careers are dynamic, the process of counseling is an evolving process that is determinant on the situation. The unique traits of the clients and the counselor mixed with different theoretical perspectives opens up opportunities for flexibility and variety in the process of career counseling. In this paper I will critically compare two key career theories use the theories to critically reflect on my family career genogram and conclude with now this exercise will help me in my future work as a career development practitioner. In his theory of vocational personalities and work environments, John L. Holland argues that the career that an individual chooses is a reflection and extension of their personality (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). On a similar breath, Krumboltz, in his social learning theory of career decision making, emphasizes that the choices an individual makes are dependent on their lifespan and he experiences hey have that then shape the generalizations they have about themselves and the world (Mitchel & Krumboltz, 1996). These assumptions make up their personalities and influence their career decisions. Holland further asserts that people who have certain backgrounds and personality traits are drawn to titles and occupations that correspond to the variables that shape their personalities and meet their needs (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). Similarly, Ktumboltz’s theory acknowledges that human beings are intelligent and alter or control the environments they are in to suit their needs and purposes (Mitchel & Krumboltz, 1996). This includes the career choices they make. In addition, he simplifies the process that people go through in making career choices are affected by life events. The two theories are also similar in that they advocate for the use of interventions to reinforce the choice of alternative careers. Holland identifies six occupational types that an individual’s personality is connected to. These occupational types are: realistic, artistic, conventional, social, investigative and enterprising (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). These connections in turn describe the occupational framework and the individual orientations. On the other hand, Krumboltz’s trends that affect career choice are the individual’s stresses and beliefs, their generalizations about the world view, generalizations about their self observation, their actions and the skills they employ in approaching tasks. According to Krumboltz (1996), the connections that people make between their personalities and the types of occupations that they view as being most suitable for them are based upon their stresses and the things they believe in. On the contrary, Holland attributes connection and career choices to the environment that a person is in (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). In essence, he is arguing that regardless of the beliefs that a person holds, their environments will have the most influence on the decisions that an individual makes as pertains to the career choice that he sees as being most suitable for his personality type. Another difference is that Krumboltz’s theory emphasizes on giving people skills to deal with changing careers and varying career problems while Holland’s theory is mostly with guiding people through the process of making an appropriate career choice. Part B: Family Genogram (paste your genogram here…) The above genogram shows three generations of my family from my grandparents to my siblings and I. My grandparents were Selva and Lalitha, parents to my father and Balan and Komathi, parents to my mother. My grandfathers had primary education and were both farmers. My grandfather Selva was also a village elder in the evenings where his duty was to conduct restorative justice for crimes. His leisure activities consisted of playing cricket, fishing and organizing village festivals and ceremonies. He died at the age of 73 in 1978. My grandfather Balan was liked to clean temples, make mats and to folk dance in his leisure time. He died in 1984 at the age of 77. My grandmother, Lalitha, had no formal education and was a homemaker. She enjoyed singing traditional folk songs in weddings and weaving traditional clothing in her leisure time. She died at the age of 69 in 1984. My other grandmother, Komathis had primary school education and was also a homemaker. Her leisure time activities included sewing, cooking and she was a traditional advisor for ceremonies and festivals. She died in 2001. My father, Kandasamy, died in 2004 when he was 75 years old. He was educated to primary school level. From 1950-1962, he worked as a rice farmer in India then as a bus driver from 1965 – 1971; then from 1972 – 1995, he was an entrepreneur. His engaged in leisure activities such as playing cricket, social drinking and gambling, gardening and travelling. My mother, Satena, also got educated to the level of primary school. She is 69 years old. From 1960 - 1972, she was a homemaker then she worked as a coffee shop attendant from 1974-1978. From 1982-2002 she was a butchery owner. In her leisure time, she likes watching movies, travelling, visiting temples and cooking. My eldest sister, Rathinam, is 45 years old. She has a bachelor of education degree and works as a teacher. Her leisure activities include travelling, tennis, rugby and watching movies. Maran, my brother is 44 and was a truck driver from 1991-1999 and currently owns a transport company. He got educated to secondary school level. He likes riding his motorbike, hiking, soccer, camping and fishing. My sister Prama is 42 and was educated till primary school. She is a homemaker and travels, watches movies, paints and makes pottery in her leisure time. I am 40 years old and I am a bachelor of psychology. I also have a Masters in education and I am currently pursuing a Masters in Guidance and counseling. From 1996-2002, I was a communications officer than a teacher from 2004-2008 and I am currently a counselor. In my leisure time, I like reading, watching movies, walking, fishing and going to the gym. My brother Vasu is 39 and has a Diploma in Business Administration. He is a police officer and likes travelling, fishing, camping and soccer in his leisure time. Part C: Critical Reflection The career choices that have been made by my family for the last three generations reflect diversity, differences in the environment and differences in personalities (Penick, 2000). According to Holland on his career typology theory of vocational personalities and work environments acknowledges that the career type that an individual has is a reflection of what the society and culture expects of an individual (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). Cultural and societal expectations do not determine the career. My sister Prama chose to be a home maker while Rathinum decided to be a teacher. The age difference between them is only three years meaning that they were brought up in environments with similar cultural and societal expectations. The differences in their career choices show that their personalities played a part in the process of decision making. This further supports Holland’s assertion that career choice and adjustment expound a person’s personality (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). My brother, Maran, likes to ride his motorbike during his leisure time; this correlates to his career choice of being in the transport business. However, my mother has been a home maker, a coffee shop attendant and she has been a butchery owner. Her hobbies are equally diverse showing that her choices were inspired by her lifespan and unique learning experiences that she had. As Krumboltz puts across, a person’s unique lifespan including the experiences that they have had results in various generalizations which in turn influence the career choices that they make (Mitchel & Krumboltz, 1996). My lifespan included experiences from my family’s career choices and the different things that influenced them. One of the things that are evident in my family’s career choices is that they keep pursuing and working on something till they are successful. This is the basis of my generalizations about the world view and me. As Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career decision making asserts that the generalizations come to represent an individual’s reality. My grandfather and my parents had multiple career choices (Mitchel & Krumboltz, 1996). This reflects on my decision to have dynamic career choices and educational pursuits. In his theory, Holland explains that people are drawn to occupational titles that will reflect on certain variables that are in their characteristic personalities and backgrounds (Reardon & Lenz, 1998). My brother Vasu likes leisure undertakings that involve a lot of physical activities and his choice to be a police officer reflects this. On my every member of my family has a leisure time activity that corresponds to a similar career choice that they have made (Rojek, 2005). Reading is a variable that is present in my personality as well as my background which is reflected in my choice to be a teacher, in addition, my background in psychology and my past career as a communications officer is reflected in my choice to pursue guidance counseling both as a career and educational interest. As Holland elucidates about the environment having an impact on career choices, my family has provided me with the opportunity to witness the different career choices that different people can make thus influencing and reinforcing my career choice to be a counselor. Part D: Insights from the exercise By gaining knowledge about the nature of a person including what they like to do in their leisure time as well as their background and experiences, a decision can be made that involves the intersection that these variables meet. Indigenous student populations have a most dynamic and wide environment where they are likely to engage in numerous leisure activities and get inspiration from a lot of sources (Crump, 2001). My future plans include working with indigenous student populations in the area of guiding them in developing their careers. People always strive to live the best lives they can and in order to do this, they need to understand contingencies that reinforce their overall control over the environments they live in (Amundson, Harris-Bowlsbey & Niles, 2009). From this point of view, the person with the most understanding about how different aspects of their environments affect them has a better chance making effective career choices and making correct moves in case of unexpected events. Indigenous student populations need to be given these skills as they will aid them in their career choices. Lately, there has been a trend of the integration of career theories into practice gaining significant attention and consideration. A successful integration will result in counselors gaining skills that are practical and backed by a consistent knowledge base. Subsequently, these skills will be useful in empowering clients and guiding them through making decisions and taking actions that will assist them in creating a situation where they live satisfied lives and capitalize on unexpected incidences which are inevitable when it comes to careers (Kosine, Steger & Duncan, 2008). This exercise has contributed majorly to developing my skills of using theoretical perspectives within a real situation (Malott & Magnuson, 2004). Krumboltz (1996) emphasizes that counselors should not only guide their clients through deciding on their careers but also arm them with enough expertise or skills to deal with all career problems. A good example is when my Father had to change his career from being a rice farmer in India to being a bus driver then he eventually became an entrepreneur. Using his business skills as a farmer, he capitalized on the change and became an entrepreneur. In addition, the exercise has given me a holistic outlook to career choices that will be greatly beneficial in career counseling. The client needs to be given skills and guided to making a decision that will result in them having a balanced career in terms of the overall quality of life that they will get from making the choice (Kosine, Steger & Duncan, 2008; Pichler, 2009). They should be guided towards attaining a holistic quality of life. This means that the client should not only be told or guided through making the best of their career time but also on choosing careers that they enjoy and those that reflect their personalities (Leitner, 2000). In other words, they should be guided to making decisions determined by how well they will be able to provide for themselves and the feelings that have towards their work experiences. References Amundson, N., Harris-Bowlsbey, J. & Niles, S. (2009). Essential elements of career counseling. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Pearson. Crump, D. (2001). Issues in Indigenous educational and vocational counselling. Australian Journal of Career Development, 10(3), 20-24. Kosine, N. R., Steger, M. F., & Duncan, S. (2008). Purpose-centered career development: A strengths-based approach to finding meaning and purpose in careers. Professional School Counseling Journal, 12(2), 133-136. Leitner, M. (2000). The role of leisure counselling for special populations in facilitating successful adjustment to life in the community. In A. Sivan & H. Ruskin (Eds.). Leisure education, community development and populations with special needs, pp. 93-100. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing. Malott, K., & Magnuson, S. (2004). Using genograms to facilitate undergraduate students' career development: A group model. The Career Development Quarterly, 53(2), 178-186. Mitchell, L. K., & Krumboltz, J. D. (1996). Krumboltz's learning theory of career choice and counseling. In D. Brown, D. L. Brooks & Associates (Eds). Career choice and development, 3rd ed., pp. 233-280. San Franscisco, CA: Jossey-Boss Publishers. Penick, N. (2000). The genogram technique: A therapeutic tool for the career counsellor. In N. Peterson & R. C. González (Eds). Career counseling models for diverse populations: Hands on applications by practitioners, pp. 137-149. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Brooks Cole. Pichler, F. (2009). Determinants of work-life balance: Shortcomings in the contemporary measurement of WLB in large-scale surveys. Social Indicators Research, 92, 449-469. Reardon, R., & Lenz, J. (1998). RIASEC theory: Past and present. In The Self-Directed Search and related Holland career materials: A practitioners guide, pp. 13-28. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. Rojek, C. (2005). An outline of the action approach to leisure studies. Leisure Studies, 24(1), 13- 25. Read More

Part B: Family Genogram (paste your genogram here…) The above genogram shows three generations of my family from my grandparents to my siblings and I. My grandparents were Selva and Lalitha, parents to my father and Balan and Komathi, parents to my mother. My grandfathers had primary education and were both farmers. My grandfather Selva was also a village elder in the evenings where his duty was to conduct restorative justice for crimes. His leisure activities consisted of playing cricket, fishing and organizing village festivals and ceremonies.

He died at the age of 73 in 1978. My grandfather Balan was liked to clean temples, make mats and to folk dance in his leisure time. He died in 1984 at the age of 77. My grandmother, Lalitha, had no formal education and was a homemaker. She enjoyed singing traditional folk songs in weddings and weaving traditional clothing in her leisure time. She died at the age of 69 in 1984. My other grandmother, Komathis had primary school education and was also a homemaker. Her leisure time activities included sewing, cooking and she was a traditional advisor for ceremonies and festivals.

She died in 2001. My father, Kandasamy, died in 2004 when he was 75 years old. He was educated to primary school level. From 1950-1962, he worked as a rice farmer in India then as a bus driver from 1965 – 1971; then from 1972 – 1995, he was an entrepreneur. His engaged in leisure activities such as playing cricket, social drinking and gambling, gardening and travelling. My mother, Satena, also got educated to the level of primary school. She is 69 years old. From 1960 - 1972, she was a homemaker then she worked as a coffee shop attendant from 1974-1978.

From 1982-2002 she was a butchery owner. In her leisure time, she likes watching movies, travelling, visiting temples and cooking. My eldest sister, Rathinam, is 45 years old. She has a bachelor of education degree and works as a teacher. Her leisure activities include travelling, tennis, rugby and watching movies. Maran, my brother is 44 and was a truck driver from 1991-1999 and currently owns a transport company. He got educated to secondary school level. He likes riding his motorbike, hiking, soccer, camping and fishing.

My sister Prama is 42 and was educated till primary school. She is a homemaker and travels, watches movies, paints and makes pottery in her leisure time. I am 40 years old and I am a bachelor of psychology. I also have a Masters in education and I am currently pursuing a Masters in Guidance and counseling. From 1996-2002, I was a communications officer than a teacher from 2004-2008 and I am currently a counselor. In my leisure time, I like reading, watching movies, walking, fishing and going to the gym.

My brother Vasu is 39 and has a Diploma in Business Administration. He is a police officer and likes travelling, fishing, camping and soccer in his leisure time. Part C: Critical Reflection The career choices that have been made by my family for the last three generations reflect diversity, differences in the environment and differences in personalities (Penick, 2000). According to Holland on his career typology theory of vocational personalities and work environments acknowledges that the career type that an individual has is a reflection of what the society and culture expects of an individual (Reardon & Lenz, 1998).

Cultural and societal expectations do not determine the career. My sister Prama chose to be a home maker while Rathinum decided to be a teacher. The age difference between them is only three years meaning that they were brought up in environments with similar cultural and societal expectations. The differences in their career choices show that their personalities played a part in the process of decision making. This further supports Holland’s assertion that career choice and adjustment expound a person’s personality (Reardon & Lenz, 1998).

My brother, Maran, likes to ride his motorbike during his leisure time; this correlates to his career choice of being in the transport business.

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