Family Market in Hospitality and Tourism Context - Coursework Example

Critically Discuss Its Impact on Family Market in Hospitality & Tourism Context Just as a person can be explained in line with his or her stages in life, it is also possible to explain the stages, which occur all through the life of a household (family unit). Even though, the phases of family development are more variable and less distinct when compared to the phases of personal development, such a conceptualisation can assist a person to assess a household’s functioning in a wider context, and improved comprehension on the family’s problems, as well as the strengths. Understanding the milestones and skills of each and every stage in a family’s development allows a person to effectively move from a lower stage of development to the next vital stage (Blood and Donald 14). If a person does not understand the skills, then they might still move on to the following phase of the series, but they will more likely have trouble with relationships, as well as future transitions. Household (family) life cycle theory argues that successful transitioning might also aid in preventing emotional or stress-related disorders, as well as chronic illnesses. Needless to argue, the functioning and structure, along with the life cycle of many households, differ extensively from that of the nuclear household (Blood and Donald 14). Examples comprise of extended families, as well as the numerous types of single-parent families like the ones managed by an unmarried father or mother, widowed or divorced parents and adoptive parents. This section will, however, focus on normal families (nuclear) to come up with the conclusions in the stages of a family’s life cycle. The intellectual and emotional stages, which people go through from their childhood to their retirement days as a member of a family, are referred to as the family life cycle. In each and every phase, people face challenges in their family life, which cause them to gain or build fresh skills. Building these skills assists the person in working through the transformations, which nearly every household goes through (Sheth 56). Not everybody goes through these phases well. Circumstances such as financial problems, severe illness or the passing away of a family member, can have profound consequences on how well people pass through the phases. Luckily, if a person misses these skills in any of the stages, then they can still learn them in future stages. There are normally five stages in a family’s life cycle, but other researchers include a sixth stage according to the observations of a family’s development. These stages of the family’s life cycle comprise of: independence, marriage or coupling, parenting children through the adolescent stage, launching adult children and senior years or retirement. The sixth inclusion is parenting children through their early stages in life, which falls between the marriage and adolescent parenting stage. Whether an individual is a child or a parent, brother or sister, united by love or blood, the person’s experiences through the household life cycle will influence who the person will become or who the person is. The more a person comprehends the challenges of each and every phase of the cycle, then the more likely the person will successfully move on (Safilios 57). Therefore, it is vital to significant what the stages of the family life cycle thoroughly in order to avoid future illnesses or stress-related illnesses. Stage 1: Single Young Adults Leave Home At this stage, emotional changes are from the dependence of the family to recognition of financial and emotional accountability for ourselves. Second-order changes, at this stage, come to play. It includes differentiation of self with regard to family of origin (Safilios 90). This means people neither blindly consider what their parents believe or require them to accomplish, nor do people involuntarily respond harmfully to their requests. People behaviours and beliefs, at this level, are part of their identity, even though they will change and improve what they have believed all through our lives. During this stage, people also develop relationships on a more intimate rank than they had previously (Olson 55). They also become financially reliant on themselves. Stage 2: Marriage or Coupling The main emotional change during this stage is through dedication to a new life partner (Munsinger 62). Second-order change comprises of the creation of a matrimonial system and shift of relationships with extended families (McNeal 80). Stage 3: Households with Young Children Emotionally, people, at this stage, accept new additions into the family. This is not a difficult task since babies come in to brighten up the home (Komarovsky 99). They are sweet and innocent packages who open up the hearts of the couple. Sadly, in the middle of the night, people always wonder what they have gotten themselves into. However, they adjust the matrimonial system to make space for their children, financial and household tasks and juggling child rearing. Second-order change takes place with the rearrangement of relationships with extended family since children also come with grandparenting roles (McCarthy 40). Stage 4: Households with Adolescents Emotional changes are hard here for the entire family since the members need to enhance the flexibility of a household’s limitations to take in grandparents frailties and childrens independence (Jenkins 1). Therefore, second-order change is needed so as for the changing of the parent-child relationship to allow adolescents to move out and in of the family (Harder 1). Currently, there is a fresh focus on midlife matrimonial and career matters and the starting change toward mutual caring for the elderly generation when both aging parents and children demand people’s attention, forming what is currently referred to as the sandwich generation. Stage 5: Launching Children This is one of the changes, which can be most psychologically tough for parents since they now have no option, but accept a mass exit of their children to also form their own families (Green 326). If the decisions of the children departing the home are compatible with the expectations and values of the parents, then the change can be fairly easy and enjoyable, particularly if the parents productively navigate their second-order changes, like the renegotiation of the matrimonial system as a unit instead of simply as parents. Other developmental transformations comprise of the development of adult-to-adult association between parents and their matured children, addition of grandchildren and in-laws, and coping with the death and disabilities of our own parents (Granbois 69). Stage 6: Later Life and Retirement When Erik Erikson (1902–1994) talks about this phase, he centers on how people, as individuals, either assess their lives with approval and a feeling of achievement or with regret and bitterness. A household systems approach, nevertheless, is interested in how the household, as a whole, sees and responds to the key emotional principle as acknowledging the transformation in generational roles (Ferber 49). Second-order changes agitate people to maintain their own functioning and interests as a marriage unit in face of emotional decline (Draper 56; Dunsing 100). People shift their attention onto the young generation and assist them as they also release their own children to the world. In this practice, the younger generation is required to make room for the experience and wisdom of the elderly, assisting the older generation devoid of overworking them. Other second-order change comprises of dealing/coping with the loss of siblings, spouses and peers, as well as the preparation for people’s own death plus the end of their generation. How Children Influence Family Decisions A majority of researchers in the field of family decision-making have associated family decision-making with the wife and husband decision-making (Cigna 1). They have ignored or excluded the role played by the children in the household. The power of children in decision matters about the family has been a much too ignored subject of inquiry. Basically, nearly all research has centered on the husband-wife and neglected the role of children in influencing family matters. Children, as expected, have extremely significant roles in the Western nuclear family or from any other parts of the world. Adult consumer behaviour or choices is the direct forerunner of child consumer behaviour. A majority of researchers have put their attention to childrens responses to diverse types of television programming, as well as advertising appeals. Arnott (683); Bell (51) and Berey and Pollay (71) have studied behaviours of child behaviour in the store setting. However, there seems to be an invalid fact in the literature of decision about the family in exploring children’s power. Let us take for instance purchase of explicit material such as alcohol. Parents might shy away to purchase alcohol or use it in minimal quantities since they do not want their children to turn into alcoholics. Also, they kinds of food taken by couples without children are different from the kinds of foodstuffs taken by couples who have children. This is because the well being of the young ones comes first (Children and Health 1). Conclusions and Recommendations Taking not of the above findings, it is vital to consider that a family will never make any decision without taking into consideration what the children think. In the hospitality and tourism industry, especially those that focus on the entire family, should also consider pleasing young children as much as they would want to please the main couples (Children and Health 1). For instance, children were considered to have the most power, in relation to other sub decisions, in settling upon the kinds of holiday activities for the family to partake. Works Cited Arnott, Catherine C. "Husbands Attitude and Wives Commitment to Employment," Journal of Marriage and the Family 3.4 (1999), 673-684. Print. Bell, Gerald D. "Self-Confidence and Persuasion in Car Buying," Journal of Marketing Research 4.2 (2006), 46-52. Print. Berey, Lewis and Pollay, Richard. "The Influencing Role of the Child in Family Decision Making," Journal of Marketing Research 5.6 (2004), 70-72. 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"Feminine Role Perception and Family Purchasing Decisions," Journal of Marketing Research, 12.9 (1975), 325-32. Print. Harder, Arlene F. The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson. N.p, 2010. Web. Jenkins, Roger L. The Influence of Children in Family Decision-Making: Parents Perceptions. N.p, 1979. Web. Komarovsky, Mirra. Class Differences in Family Decision-Making on Expenditures. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. McCarthy, Caroline. Erikson on Development in Adulthood: New Insights from the Unpublished Papers. Dallas: Hope Melinda Bird, 2002. Print. McNeal, James U. Children as Consumers. Austin, Texas: Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas, 1964. Print. Munsinger, Weber. "Joint Home Purchasing Decisions by Husbands and Wives," Journal of Consumer Research 1 (2006), 60-66. Print. Olson, Diana. "The Measurement of Family Power by Self-Report and Behavioral Methods," Journal of Marriage and the Family 31 (1969), 54-59. Print. Safilios, Rothschild. "Family Sociology or Wives Family Sociology? A Cross-Cultural Examination of Decision-Making, Journal of Marriage and the Family 12.4 (1969), 88-90. Print. Safilios, Rothschild. "The Study of Family Power Structure: A Review 1960-69," Journal of Marriage and the Family 53.5 (1970), 56-60. Sheth, Joanne. A Theory of Family Buying Decisions. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. Print. Read More