Holland’s Typology

Holland’s Typology
Discuss with family and friends and bring to week 2 class.

Self-Exploration

Self-Exploration:
Learning Exercise IA contains a number of activities designed to provide self-assessment data. Be as thorough as possible in answering all questions. Remember that the more you write, the more self-assessment information will be available for you to interpret.

Learning Exercise IA: An Autobiography

Here you are today- a university undergraduate or graduate student, an employee with substantial work experience under your belt, or someone ready to re-enter the job market after an absence of several years. Think of all the yesterdays that made you what you are today.

Given all that you know about yourself, write an autobiographical story that traces your history up to now. Divide the story into chapters, each chapter should cover a five-year period, starting with birth to 5 years old, 5 to 10 years old, and so on. In each chapter, try to answer the following questions if they are relevant: Who were the important people in your life and why were they important? What was your family life like at the time? What were your school experiences like and how did you react to school? What were your work experiences like and how did you react to work? Did you develop hobbies and interests and what did you like about them? To what extent did your parents influence the activities you’ve pursued and the choices you’ve made? How have other family relationships shaped your experiences? What happened to you during this period that changed the course of your life?

Write as much as you can about each question. Don’t worry about whether these chapters have anything to do with your career–you’ll find that out later. If you are in doubt about whether or not to include something, include it. The more you write, the better…..

What do your responses tell you about your interests and particular strengths and weaknesses?

Learning Exercise IC: Focus on Work

Think about the BEST JOB you ever had. It could be your current job or a prior job either part-time, full-time, or temporary.

What do (did) you like most about the job? Be specific in terms of tasks, people, and other aspects.

What do (did) you dislike about the job? Again, be specific.

On what specific tasks or projects did you accomplish something significant? Why were you able to accomplish it?

On what specific tasks or projects did you not perform as well as you would have liked? What was the reason?

Now think you the WORST JOB you ever had. It could be your current job or a prior job, either part-time, full-time, or temporary.

What do (did) you dislike most about the job?
What do (did) you like about the job?
On what specific tasks or projects did you accomplish something significant? Why?
On what specific tasks or projects did you not perform as well as you would have liked? What was the reason?
Now describe your conception of an IDEAL JOB. What would it be like? Be specific in terms of the kinds of tasks, other people, rewards, and anything else that are important to you.

Next rank the following ten factors in terms of how important each is to you for a career-related job. Enter a 1 next to the factor that is most important to you, a ten next to the least important factor, a 2 next to the second most important, a 9 next to the second least important, and so on until you have ranked all ten factors.
How important is it that your job?

Permits you to work on a wide variety of tasks?
Gives you the opportunity to help others?
Provides you with a great deal of independence in deciding how the work gets done?
Enables you to make a great deal of money?
Offers you a secure future?
Gives you the opportunity to develop friendships at work?
Has pleasant working conditions?
Enables you to work with a supervisor who is competent and supportive?
Provides you with power and influence over other people?
Gives you a feeling of accomplishment?

Indicate any other job factors not listed above that are important to you.

Learning Exercise ID: Life Roles

How important are different parts of your life? Rank the following five life roles from 1 (most important) to 5 (least important).

Your career
Your religious and spiritual life
Your family life
Your participation in community service activities
Your leisure and recreational pursuits

Explain why each of these life roles is important (or unimportant) to you:

Your career:
Your religious and spiritual life:
Your family life:
Your community service:
Your leisure and recreational pursuits:

Source: http://www.harcourtcollege.com/management/greenhaus/le.html

Reflection on Learning Exercises and Class Activities 1

• Comment on your learning from lecture attendance/participation (Lectures 1-3)
• Your responses to the results of each exercise and tests. Reflect on the results – what do they tell you about your suitability for your chosen career? How should you modify your career strategy as a result of the findings of the tests? Discuss the results with other members of your class – how have they interpreted them?
• Use your readings to discuss the concepts underlying the exercises and your responses to them. When citing references use the Harvard system and include a reference list.
Self-Exploration-Theme Identification

Now that you have generated data about yourself in Learning Exercise I the next step is to derive a set of themes based on your data. You should be able to identify between five and ten themes from your data. Jot down your preliminary thoughts first, and then list your final set of themes along with supporting evidence.,CLICK HERE TO GET MORE.........

Theme 1:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 2:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 3:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 4:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 5:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 6:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 7:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 8:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 9:

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________
Theme 10

Evidence:
_____________________________________________________________________

Reflect upon the themes to emerge from exercises one and two.
Now, try to identify the factors that will most satisfy your interests, talents and preferred life-style within the four factors of occupations, jobs, organizations and families.

Occupations Jobs
Tasks Task variety
Training requirements Task significance
Financial Rewards Security
Security Social relationships
Social Relationships Physical setting
Physical Setting Life style
Life Style |Considerations
(Time and Stress) Level of autonomy

Organisations Families
Industry outlook Spouse’s career aspirations
Financial health of the organization Spouse’s emotional needs
Business strategies Children’s emotional needs
Career path flexibility Other family member’s needs
Career management practices Family’s desired life-style
Size and structure Family stage
Reward systems Self and spouse career stage
For example and industry’s size and financial health can impact upon mobility and career opportunities. Task significance for careers such as nursing and teaching may lead an individual to forgo other benefits, such as higher salaries.

Source: http://www.harcourtcollege.com/management/greenhaus/le.html

Reflection on Learning Exercise and Class Activities 2

• Comment on your learning from lecture attendance/participation (Lectures 4-5)
• Your responses to the results of each exercise and tests. Reflect on the results – what do they tell you about your suitability for your chosen career? How should you modify your career strategy as a result of the findings of the tests? Discuss the results with other members of your class – how have they interpreted them?
• Use your readings to discuss the concepts underlying the exercises and your responses to them. When citing references use the Harvard system and include a reference list.,CLICK HERE TO GET MORE.........

Individual Differences

Where is Your Locus of Control?

Circle one letter for each pair of items, in accordance with your beliefs:

1 A Many of the unhappy things in people’s lives are partly due to bad
luck.

B People’s misfortunes result from the mistakes they make.

2 A Unfortunately, an individual’s worth often passes unrecognised no
matter how hard he tries.

B In the long run, people get the respect they deserve.

3 A Without the right breaks one cannot be an effective leader.

B Capable people who fail to become leaders have not taken advantage of their opportunities.

4 A I have often found that what is going to happen will happen.

B Trusting to fate has never turned out as well for me as making a decision to take a definite course of action.

5 A Most people don’t realize the extent to which their lives are
controlled by accidental happenings.

B There really is no such thing as “luck”.

6 A In the long run, the bad things that happen to us are balanced by
the good ones.

B Most misfortunes are the result of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness, or all three.

7 A Many times I feel I have little influence over the things that
happened to me.

B It is impossible for me to believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my life.

Note: In determining your score, A = 0 and B = 1
Arbitrary norms for this shortened version are: External locus of control = 1-3; Balanced internal and external locus of control = 4; Internal locus of control = 5-7

Source: J B Rotter, 1966
Research Findings on Locus of Control

Behavioural differences between internals and externals:

• Internals display greater work motivation
• Internals have stronger expectations that effort leads to performance
• Internals exhibit higher performance on tasks involving learning or problem solving, when performance leads to valued rewards
• There is a stronger relationship between job satisfaction and performance for internals than externals
• Internals obtain higher salaries and greater salary increases than externals
• Externals tend to be more anxious than internals
Form small groups to discuss and comment on the implications of these behavioural differences on career choice and career development.,CLICK HERE TO GET MORE.........

Learning Exercise 3 B: What is your cognitive style?
Part I
Circle the response that comes closest to how you usually feel or act.

1 Are you more careful about:
A People’s feelings
B Their rights

2 Do you usually get along better with:
A Imaginative people.
B Realistic people

3 Which of these two is the higher compliment:
A A person has real feeling
B A person is consistently reasonable

4 In doing something with many other people, does it appeal more to you:
A To do it in the accepted way
B To invent a way of your own

5 Do you get more annoyed at:
A Fancy theories
B People who don’t like theories

6 It is higher praise to call someone:
A A person of vision
B A person of common sense

7 Do you more often let:
A Your heart rule your head
B your head rule your heart

8 Do you think it is worse:
A To show too much warmth
B To be unsympathetic

9 If you were a teacher would you rather teach:
A Courses involving theory
B Fact courses

Part II
Which word in each of the following pairs appeals to you more? Circle A or B.

10 A Compassion
B Foresight

11 A Justice
B Mercy

12 A Production
B Design

13 A Gentle
B Firm

14 A Uncritical
B Critical

15 A Literal
B Figurative

16 A Imaginative
B Matter of fact
Scoring Key
To categorize your responses to the questionnaire count one point for each response on the following four scales, and total the number of points recorded in each column. Instructions for classifying your scores are indicated below.
Sensation

Intuition
Thinking
Feeling
2 B 2 A 1 B 1 A
4 A 4 B 3 B 3 A
5 A 5 B 7 B 7 A
6 B 6 A 8 A 8 B
9 B 9 A 10 B 10 A
12 A 12 B 11 A 11 B
15 A 15 B 13 B 13 A
16 B 16 A 14 B 14 A
Total = Total = Total = Total =

Classifying Total Scores

? Write intuitive if your intuition score is equal to or great than your sensation score.
? Write sensation if sensation is greater than intuition.
? Write feeling if felling is greater than thinking.
? Write thinking if thinking is greater than feeling.
? When thinking equals feeling, you should write feeling if a male and thinking if a female
Questions for Discussion & Comment,CLICK HERE TO GET MORE.........

What is your cognitive style?
Sensation/thinking (ST)
Intuition/thinking (NT)
Sensation/feeling (SF)
Intuition/feeling (NF)
Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

Will you cognitive style, as determined in this exercise, help you achieve your career goals?

During this week go to the Keirsey site (see course guide for Web address) and complete the Attributional Style Inventory Test. Compare the results with the tests done today and comment.
Learning Exercise 3 C: Interpersonal Values Questionnaire
(Source: Robbins, S., 1999, Training In Interpersonal Skills – Tips For Managing People At Work, Prentice-Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, NJ)

This questionnaire is designed to help you better understand the assumptions you make about people and human nature. There are ten statements. Assign a weight from 0 to 10 to each statement to show the relative strength of your belief in the statements in each pair. The points assigned for each pair must total 10. Be as honest as you can and resist the natural tendency to respond as you would “like to think things are”.

1. It’s only human nature for people to do as little work as they can get away with.
_____________ (a)
When people avoid work, it’s usually because their work has been deprived of meaning.
_____________ (b)
10
2. If employees are allowed access to any information they want, they tend to have better attitudes and to behave more responsibly.
_____________ (c)
If employees have access to more information than they need to do their immediate tasks, they will usually misuse it.
_____________ (d)
10
3. One problem in asking employees for ideas is that their perspective is too limited for their suggestions to be of much practical value.
_____________ (e)
Asking employees for their ideas broadens their perspective and results in the development of useful suggestions.
_____________ (f)
10
4. If people don’t use much imagination and ingenuity on the job, it’s probably because relatively few people have much of either.
_____________ (g)
Most people are imaginative and creative but may not show it because of limitations imposed by supervision and the job itself.
_____________ (h)
10
5. People tend to raise their standards if they are accountable for their own behaviour and for correcting their own mistakes.
_____________ (i)
People tend to lower their standards if they are not punished for their misbehaviour and mistakes.
_____________ (j)
10

6. It’s better to give people both good and bad news because most employees want the whole story, no matter how painful.
_____________ (k)
It’s better to withhold unfavourable news about business because most employees really want to hear only the good news.
_____________ (l)
10
7. Because a supervisor is entitled to more respect than those below them in the organisation, it weakens their prestige to admit that a subordinate was right and they were wrong.
_____________ (m)
Because people at all levels are entitled to equal respect, a supervisor’s prestige is increased when they support this principle by admitting that a subordinate was right and they were wrong.
_____________ (n)
10
8. If you give people enough money, they are less likely to be concerned with such intangibles as responsibility and recognition.
_____________ (o)
If you give people interesting and challenging work, they are less likely to complain about such things as pay and supplemental benefits.
_____________ (p)
10
9. If people are allowed to set their own goals and standards of performance, they tend to set them higher than the boss would.
_____________ (q)
If people are allowed to set their own goals and standards of performance, they tend to set them lower than the boss would.
_____________ (r)
10
10. The more knowledge and freedom a person has regarding their job, the more controls are needed to keep them in line.
_____________ (s)
The more knowledge and freedom a person has regarding their job, the fewer controls are needed to ensure satisfactory job performance.
_____________ (t)
10
SCORING
This questionnaire taps your basic assumptions about the nature of people at work. It’s based on Douglas McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Theory Y. To get your scores, add up the points assigned to the following:
Your theory X score is a sum of a; d; e; g; j; l; m; o; r; and s.
Your theory Y score is a sum of b; c; f; h; i; k; n; p; q; and t.
Total your scores for X and Y and record below:

Theory X______________ Theory Y______________

INTERPRETING YOUR SCORE:

McGregor (1960) proposed that a manager’s view of the nature of human beings tends to fall into one of two sets. In the first, which is called Theory X, managers assume:
1. Employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it.
2. Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve goals.
3. Employees will shirk responsibility and seek formal direction whenever possible.
4. Most workers place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition.

In contrast to these negative views about the nature of human beings, McGregor listed four other assumptions that constituted what he called Theory Y:
1. Employees can view work as natural as rest or play.
2. People will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to the objectives.
3. The average person can learn to accept, and even seek, responsibility.
4. The ability to make innovative decisions is widely dispersed throughout the population and is not necessarily the sole province of those in management positions.

Do you see people as basically lazy and irresponsible or as industrious and trustworthy? Look at you theory X & Y scores – which did you score the highest? Now, subtract your low score from your highest. The larger the number is, the more strongly you hold to the assumptions of the higher category.

Conversely, the lower the number the more flexibility you show. That is, the closer each of your Theory X & Y scores is to 50, the less intensity you have about the fixed nature of human behaviour. You regard some people as hard-working and trust-worthy, but see others as irresponsible and needing direction.

If you scored high only on Theory X assumptions (above 65 points), you don’t have much confidence in others – an attitude that is likely to show itself in behaviours like unwillingness to delegate, authoritarian leadership, and excessive concern with closely monitoring and controlling the people who work for you. A similar high score for Theory Y assumptions indicates a great deal of confidence in other people and may lead, at the extreme, to ineffective managerial performance. How? Excessive delegation of authority, inadequate coordination of subordinates’ activities, and unawareness of problems that need attention are some of the possible dysfunctional outcomes of an unrealistic confidence in one’s employees.

Comment on your view of the relevance of this questionnaire.
Reflection on Learning Exercise and Class Activities 5
• Comment on your learning from lecture attendance/participation (Lectures 8-10)
• Your responses to the results of each exercise and tests. Reflect on the results – what do they tell you about your suitability for your chosen career? How should you modify your career strategy as a result of the findings of the tests? Discuss the results with other members of your class – how have they interpreted them?
• Use your readings to discuss the concepts underlying the exercises and your responses to them. When citing references use the Harvard system and include a reference list.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reflection on Learning and Class Activities 3
• Comment on your learning from lecture attendance/participation (Lecture 6-7)
• Your responses to the results of each exercise and tests. Reflect on the results – what do they tell you about your suitability for your chosen career? How should you modify your career strategy as a result of the findings of the tests? Discuss the results with other members of your class – how have they interpreted them?
• Use your readings to discuss the concepts underlying the exercises and your responses to them. When citing references use the Harvard system and include a reference list.

Occupational Exploration

Choose a professional field about which you would like to learn more. Maybe it is one you are considering pursuing. Or perhaps you are pretty sure you want to pursue a certain occupation and would like to examine it in more detail. Write down the name of the occupation you have chosen to explore:

Name of occupation: _____________________________________

Using as many sources as possible, collect information relevant to each component of the working environment in relation to the occupation you have chosen to explore. Summarise the information and the sources (so you can re-examine the raw data) in the format shown below. Remember to try to use many different sources of information – personal contacts, library resources, the Web, career counsellors.

Complete table below for the occupation you have chosen to investigate:

Components of working environment: Relevant Information about occupation: Information source:
What tasks and activities are performed?
What talents are required? Do you possess them, or can you learn them?
What type of working relationships with other people are likely?
What is the physical work setting?

How much money can be earned in the short term and in the long term?
How much job security is likely?
Effect of pursuit of occupation on family, leisure, religion, community.
Other significant issues: job prospects; opportunities for mobility etc.
The first step is to develop a long-term (7-10 year) conceptual goal (this is the field you would like to work in). List the elements of your long-term conceptual goal below and consult previous exercises to verify that all-important elements of your preferences are incorporated in the long-term conceptual goal.

Conceptual goal: What field would you like to work in?_______________________

Elements of long-term conceptual goal:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The next step is to convert the long-term conceptual goal listed above into possible long-term operational goals. Using the list above, choose two operational goals (plan A & plan B) for types of occupations or specific jobs that are ‘in fit’ with your conceptual goal, and which you believe you would be interested in pursuing in the long-term.

Long-term Operational Goal (A)_____________________________________

Long-term Operational Goal (B)_____________________________________
Next list all the positives (advantages) and negatives (disadvantages) you can think of regarding the operational goals you have identified.
Long-term operational goal (A)________________________________

Positives Negatives

Long-term operational goal (B)________________________________
Positives Negatives

List the elements of your short-term conceptual goal below:

Elements of Short-term Conceptual Goal:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The next step is to convert the short-term conceptual goal listed above into possible short-term operational goals. Using the list above, choose two operational goals (plan A & plan B) for the types of occupations, specific jobs, or learning/educational activities, that are ‘in fit’ with your conceptual goal, and which you believe you would be useful and interesting. List the positives and negatives of each goal.,CLICK HERE TO GET MORE.........

Short-term operational goal (A)________________________________

Positives Negatives

Short-term operational goal (B)________________________________
Positives Negatives

If you are still not sure which short-term operational goal is more appropriate for you, it may be necessary to examine one or both goals in more detail. That is, part of your career strategy would include plans for additional data gathering.

Reflection on Learning Exercise and Class Activities 4
• Comment on your learning from lecture attendance/participation (Lectures 8-9)
• Your responses to the results of each exercise and tests. Reflect on the results – what do they tell you about your suitability for your chosen career? How should you modify your career strategy as a result of the findings of the tests? Discuss the results with other members of your class – how have they interpreted them?
• Use your readings to discuss the concepts underlying the exercises and your responses to them. When citing references use the Harvard system and include a reference list.
• You should carefully compose a reflective response of 200 words.

Career Strategy Development

In this exercise, you will develop strategies to help you attain your stated career goals. See Table 4-3 (Greenhaus, 2000) as a model.