QUESTION 1 Career roles explain how individuals apply their career identity in
order to achieve their career goals and explain how career significance influences
the attainment of career positions. Briefly describe, in your own words, the
various career roles and their motives. Reflect on your current job role and
explain which career role you identify with? In your answer, briefly explain what
significance your current career role adds to the company or organisation. (15)
Career roles can be defined as stable and repetitive patterns of functioning in the work
context that are independent of specific jobs and levels of functioning. Carrying out a
role has been referred to as role enactment . Career role enactment can thus be seen
as the behavioral manifestation of occupying certain career roles (Donaldson et al,
2006).
The Career Roles Model identifies six different career roles. These roles are based on
the systematic combination of three classes of individual motives that drive people in
their work . The classes of individual motives, derived, are distinction for example
autonomy and agency; integration or example connectedness and belonging
and structure for example collective meaning and cohesion (Donaldson et al, 2006)..
First, the Maker role can be characterized by the striving for personal goals such as
individual mastery and success. The role has a strong emphasis on autonomy and
independence. People that occupy the Maker role do well in an environment with clear
guidelines and task descriptions(Donaldson et al, 2006). Those who score high on
conscientiousness may be more likely to end up in the Maker role, because this
personality trait engenders in people a preference for tasks in which they may
demonstrate the will to achieve, to work hard, and to be responsible well organized
indeed, Conscientiousness is expected to be related to a preference for tasks in which
people can show that they are agentic and responsible , which in turn will foster
enactment of the Maker role.
To add on, the expert role is also characterized by personal goal setting, with a strong
emphasis on independent agency. Additionally, the Expert role is considered to be
, accompanied by a natural eagerness to explore. People in the expert role therefore
typically engage in problem solving behavior. Because conscientiousness stimulates in
people a preference for tasks in which they may demonstrate the will to achieve, it is
expected that conscientiousness will also related to a preference for and subsequent
enactment of the expert role (Donaldson et al, 2006). Additionally, both people who
score high on Conscientiousness, as well as people who score high on Openness to
experience, score relatively high on problem solving ability may boost their preference
for such role. Openness to experience is also often associated with the ability to think
outside the box and with being curious and unconventional, as well with a growth
tendency and the ability to adapt, which may stimulate their preference for the expert
role, and therefore their subsequent of the expert role.
Moreover, the presenter role can be characterized by the focus on social interactions.
Typically, people in this role engage in activities in which they influence others, for
example as a sales person or a lawyer. In line with Donaldson et al (2006). it is
expected that people who score high on extraversion to be attracted to the Presenter
role, because people scoring high on Extraversion are often dominant, active and
assertive which matches nicely with the social influence aspect of the presenter role.
Thus, extraversion is expected to be related to a preference for roles in which one may
persuade and influence others, which in turn is likely to be positively related to
enactment of the Presenter role.
The Director role is typified by activities focused on optimizing strategy and by minding
the overarching structure of groups and organizations. It is believed that especially
those people who score high on Extraversion will prefer the Director role, as they have
the opportunity to realize, establish and choose long-term goals from a dominant
position (Donaldson et al, 2006).. Extraversion is positively associated with a sensitivity
to potential rewards and dominance. Therefore, it is expected that extraversion is
positively associated with a preference for the Director role.
Finally, is the inspirer role. It is also characterized by the tendency to focus on
optimizing strategy. However, people in the Inspirer role are predominantly concerned
with initiating strategic change away from current strategic programs, often without
