Comparison of Hollands Code to the Big 5 Career Theories - Research Paper Example

A comparison of Hollands to the BIG 5 career theories due: With the rising level of competition in today’s product and service market, organizations are fighting to attract and retain the best staff. One of the notable ways of reducing employee turnover is by matching employee’s personality traits to the job description during the recruitment process, so as to increase job satisfaction. People are also seeking to find the occupation that most suits their personality so as to find fulfillment in what they do. Many theories have been developed by psychology researchers to explain the connection that exist between a person’s personality traits and their suitable career choice. Of the available theories, two theories have stood out over the years; The Holland’s code and the Big 5 career theories. These two theories have been products of psychological research over a period. The Holland’s code is a career theory developed by John L. Holland. The theory’s main argument is that a person’s vocational interest says something about his personality. The Holland code explores the relationship between people’s personalities and the jobs they feel attracted to do. The theory also explains how, through the interactions between people and their job environments. It describes how people’s personalities are changed by their job conditions and at the same time, and the job settings are changed by the public (Nathan, Enns & Williams, 2013). In this theory that explains how well people interact with their work environment, John L. Holland seeks to address three main questions that form the basis of his argument. The issues dealt with include; the personal and environmental traits that enable a person to either have a satisfying or dissatisfying career, the personal and ecological traits that enable a person to be stable or to adapt to changes in the type of work a person does over a lifetime and the most effective ways to give help to people with career problems. In his assumptions, Holland believes that, the entire human population can be put into one of the following personality categories; Artistic, social, enterprising, investigative, realistic and conventional. He also argues that that the work environments correspond to the personality types such that, there are six types of work environments named Artistic, social, enterprising, investigative, realistic and conventional. In the theory, he argues that people are drawn to work environments that enable them to utilize their personality traits freely effectively. He also argues that the more the similarities between a person’s personality characteristics and his work environment, the higher the chances of success, stability and personal adjustment in their respective careers. The following is a breakdown of the character traits of each personality group as presented by the Holland’s code theory. • Artistic- The members of this personality group are sensitive, intuitive, creative and expressive. They like to create things using words and materials in a free environment. • Social- These are caring, patient, generous, friendly and kind. They value human relationships and like to be useful to others. • Enterprising- They exhibit assertive, ambitious, enthusiastic and optimistic behavior. They are risk takers, persuasive and dominant. They like to manipulate and persuade people in order to achieve specific goals. • Investigative- They are logical, work with a methodology and are curious. They make rational analysis. They can make good researchers. • Realistic- These people have a practical approach to life, are emotionally stable and are genuine in their dealings. They like to work with their hands. • Conventional- They are keen to detail, are orderly and thorough in everything they do, and they are logical in their work. They like to work in a systematic environment (Marini & Stebnicki, 2009). On the other hand, the Big 5 career theory was developed by a number of independent researchers over a period of years between 1961 and 1991. The reliability of this approach lies in the fact that it was developed by different researchers who built on the works of each other as the model improved. This theory is still a topic under research by many psychologists today. This theory was developed to help people understand the relationship between their personalities and career choices. This theory helps people make informed career choices that fit perfectly with their personalities (Patton & McMahon, 2006). The big 5 theory argues that peoples personalities are grouped according to five personality factors as follows; • Neuroticism The people exhibiting this personality factor are usually insecure, anxious, defensive, worried and tense. These people are considered to be emotionally unstable, have a little tolerance in stressful conditions. They lack enthusiasm and are pessimistic when faced with challenging situations. They are usually not clear- minded and are mostly paranoid. • Extroversion The people exhibiting this personality factor are usually energetic assertive, talkative, active outgoing and enthusiastic. They interact actively with other people and like to dominate group activities. • Openness to experience These are creative, intelligent, curious and imaginative. These people have an independent mind, and they like to explore. • Agreeableness The people exhibiting this personality factor are trusting, have a likable personality, are kind and forgiving, and they easily cooperate. They like to give up their interests to please others so as to get along with them. • Conscientiousness The people exhibiting this personality factor are responsible, self –driven, are oriented towards achieving their goals, are thoughtful, and they plan well before executing their plans (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Over the years, researchers have agreed that all other personality theories can be accommodated into the Big 5 theory of personalities and hence it is considered very effective in career canceling. The theory is widely accepted since its research was conducted globally, and most of the factors held to be true across the different cultures. The nature of the Big 5 theory is such that it can be used for a wide variety of applications as compared to the Holland code since it can accommodate all the available personalities. An analysis of the two theories reveals that they are both based on a careful analysis of people’s behavior patterns in their work environment. Even so, most psychology researchers have criticized the big five theory arguing that it does not meet the requirements of the theory and hence they do not consider it a theory. Halverson & Tirmizi (2008) argue that the Big 5 theory gives a clear difference between the different personality groups but doesn’t give the theory to explain it. Another major criticism against the big 5 theory is the fact that it can only be used to show where an individual’s personality lies at a particular time. The Holland code shows clearly how the people in different personality groups interact with their work environments and how the people and the work environments affect each other over time. In conclusion, the big 5 career theory only shows the personalities of persons at a specific instant. This is a weakness in the part of the Big 5 theory since the person work relationship is a dynamic one. The Big 5 theory does not take into consideration the fact that the interaction between an individual and his environment could bring about changes in a persons personality. The Big 5 theory also doesn’t take into account the fact that a person can bring about changes in the work environment. This is clearly seen by the Holland code. Like most other career theories, the Big 5 theory and the Holland code are still under research to determine which theories can best serve the purpose of career canceling to enable people make informed career choices. The findings of the research will also enable employers to recruit the best staff for the right work environment. References Halverson, C. B., & Tirmizi, S. A. (2008). Effective multicultural teams: Theory and practice. Dordrecht: Springer. Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, application, skill development. Australia: SouthWestern/Cengage Learning. Marini, I., & Stebnicki, M. A. (2009). The professional counselors desk reference. New York: Springer Pub. Nathan, P. E., Enns, C. Z., & Williams, E. N. (2013). The Oxford handbook of feminist multicultural counseling psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2006). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Read More