Introduction
Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud are great psychologists who came up with different theories that seek to explain the formation and development of personality. Erik Erikson came up with psychosocial theories, which explains that personality development depends upon epigenetic elements and the influence of culture in a given society. He further explains that there are eight stages of personality and each stage entails the resolution of a psychosocial crisis that is important in personality development. Sigmund Freud on the other hand came up with the psychosocial theory, which postulates that personality development has intricate links with sexual development. He argues that sexuality forms an integral part of childhood development because sex mediates between the mind and the body. In his five stages of personality development, he asserts that sexual instincts are the driving forces in personality development. Erik Erikson is a proponent of Freud’s psychosexual development theory supporting Freudian elements of psyche and the concepts of Oedipal and Electra complexes as an explanation to sexuality. This essay explores my personality development stage and relates it with psychosocial and psychosexual theories.
Psychosocial and Psychosexual Stage
According to the Erik Erickson chart showing the eight stages of personality, I should be at the seventh stage (30-65 years) given my age. I am experiencing challenges that compel me to seek the meaning of career, family, and community. The characteristics that I experience fit in the seventh stage where the psychosocial crisis is between generativity versus stagnation. “Generativity is an extension of love into the future; it is a concern for the next generation and all future generations” (Boeree, 2006, p. 12). Generativity is a compulsion that seeks to care for others contrary to stagnation. The tendency to stagnation means that a person is a selfish and unproductive member of society. The skewed development towards generativity results in a maladaptive tendency of overextension, while skewed development towards stagnation results in a malignant tendency of rejectivity. At this stage, the ego struggles to have the proper resolution of the psychosocial crisis of generativity versus stagnation to yield a psychosocial virtue of care. The meaning of life comes from participation and caring for others.
The last stage of Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages depicts the behavior of adults in society. This stage occurs at puberty and it signifies sexual maturity as well as personality. At this phase, there is a shift of interests from selfish needs to the consideration of others. Ridgway argues that “the shift in the needs is due to the maturity of the ego that allows proper coordination of the conflicts in the psyche making the child transition well from childhood into adulthood” (2007, p.9). The cumulative resolution of the conflicts by the ego at all preceding stages determines the personality in adulthood. Proper resolution of psyche conflicts is evident by adulthood experiences such as the responsibility to society, having good relationships, and stable marriages.
My Experiences
My current experiences fit into Freudian and Erikson theories. I desire to seek meaning in my career, family, and community through productive work. These challenges of life fit into the seventh stage of the psychosocial theory of Erikson. This stage is a middle life crisis where an individual tries to seek the meaning of life. Boeree argues that “…what we call the meaning of life is a matter of how we participate and what we contribute” (2006, p.13). Therefore, finding meaning in my career, family, and community is thinking about my contribution and participation to elevate their status. Also, the psychological virtue acquired at this stage is care, which explains why I am very concerned about the family and the community by working productively.
According to the psychosexual theory by Sigmund Freud, the resolution of the psychosexual conflicts by the ego manifests themselves in adulthood. “The genital phase marks the maturity of both the ego and genitals, which have a continuous influence on the personality through into adulthood where responsibilities emerge such as marriage and work…” (Ridgway, 2007, p. 10). In my case, I also fit into the psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud because of my interests in the family, career, and community. Adult people with mature psyche display their love for the family and the community by working very hard to fulfill their needs. Therefore, the psychosocial theory by Erik Erikson and psychosexual theory by Sigmund Freud underlines my personality.
Conclusion
Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud’s personality development theories have exhaustively characterized human development throughout the lifespan. Psychosocial theory by Erik Erikson attributes personality development to the epigenetic factors and the influence of society. The psychosocial crisis derived from the society coupled with the epigenetic factors directs personality development throughout life. The psychosexual theory by Sigmund Freud postulates that sexual drives within individuals are responsible for personality development for they mediate and control the relationship of the psyche and the body. Although five stages are showing that personality development occurs up to puberty, the cumulative resolutions of the ego have lifelong implications on an individual. These theories, psychosocial and psychosexual, have empirical significance and are very relevant in the field of psychology.
References
Boeree, G. (2006). Erik Erikson: Personality Theories. Psychology Department Shippensburg University, 1-17.
Ridgway, J. (2007). Sigmund Freud. Psychological Theory and Practice, 1-15.
“Vacant Positions” Presentation Analysis
Introduction
Attendance of the ‘Vacant Positions’ presentation held on 21st December 2010 in Mykonos Grand Hotel presented me with an opportunity to gain more insight into the hotel industry. The presentation gave a comprehensive analysis of the hotel industry. Through the presentation, we were able to evaluate the feasibility of succeeding in a career based on the hotel industry. For example, as a management student, I learned that there are numerous job opportunities that the hotel industry presents to the graduates. This arises from the fact that the panel presiding over the hotel informed us of the various departments which compose firms in the hotel industry in their effort to attain effectiveness and efficiency in their operation. Additionally, the panel presiding over the presentation was very elaborate on the requirements for one to be employed in the various departments of firms in the hotel industry.
During the presentation, the panel informed the participants that the firm had a vacant position in the post of a sales manager. This presented a classic employment opportunity because my interest is in business management. To be enlightened further regarding the post, the participants asked several questions which enabled us to gain information regarding the suitability of the candidate for the post. In, addition, the presentation allowed us to inquire about various issues regarding the position thus enlightening us further. From the information gained, I was able to conduct a self-appraisal for the post based on the information provided.
Organizational requirements
Because firms in the hotel industry such as Mykonos Grand Hotel depends on their sales personnel to generate a high level of revenue, the firms consider the role of a sales manager to be of paramount importance. The firm requires the sales manager to develop strategies that would enable the firm to attract and retain customers. As a result, it will be possible for the firm to have a stream of customers. The resultant effect is that the firm would be able to enhance its sales revenue. To achieve this, the firm requires recruits who have a strong ability in formulating and implementing effective operational strategies.
Additionally, it is the firm’s requirements for the recruits to have a strong interpersonal relationship. This will enable them to develop a business relationship with various organizational clients such as the visitors’ bureau in the city. This will enhance the firms’ opportunity of increasing their sales by gaining new sales leads. To strike a sales deal, the recruits are required to have a strong personal touch with the client. Additionally, the sales manager is required to take into account all the customer’s product or service requirements. This can be achieved by having a strong recording keeping ability which will contribute towards enhancing the future relationship with the client. Such a relationship will also make the clients feel confident when dealing with the firm in the future. This means that the firm expects the sales manager to act as the face of the firm when attracting and retaining customers. Because the firm’s objective is to maximize its profit levels, the firm intends to recruit a candidate who is efficient in setting and achieving the set sales targets.
Because a firm’s sales force works as a team, the sales manager must have strong organizational skills. The firm requires the recruits to possess the capability of managing a team. Because conflicts may occur in the process of working as a team, it is paramount for the recruits to have a strong capability of solving conflicts. This is the only way through which the intended synergy can be achieved.
Method of recruitment
To hire the right personnel, the firm has designed a comprehensive recruitment process. The initial step which the firm undertakes is job analysis. This entails documenting the intended requirements for the respective job. By conducting a job analysis, the firm can develop a job description. As a result, the firm can define boundaries regarding the job. This increases the probability of the firm recruiting a candidate who will be able to perform the relevant duties.
After the job description, the firm sources suitable candidates by posting advertisements through various mediums. Some of the mediums which the firm uses include print media such as the daily newspapers and job centers. Also, career opportunities are posted on the firm’s website. The firm also participates in campus graduate programs which are mostly organized during career weeks in various institutions. This allows a large number of potential applicants to view the requirements for the post and consider applying.
After receiving the applications, the firm selects the candidates to conduct a comprehensive screening and selection. The screening and selection process entails the conduction of interviews on various issues relevant to the job. Upon identification and selection of the best candidates, the firm conducts a comprehensive induction process. The induction is aimed at enabling the new employees to become acquainted with the operations and the working environment of the firm to improve their productivity.
Lessons learned on the prospects of the labor market
The presentation acted as an eye-opener on the various opportunities in the hotel industry. This arises from the fact that numerous information regarding requirements for various management posts in the hotel industry was also divulged. Some of the information I gained relates to the associated benefits. For example, the hotel industry is becoming a lucrative source of employment income. As a result, a large number of individuals are undertaking management courses related to the hospitality industry. The resultant effect is that the labor market has become very competitive.
The presentation also enhanced my understanding of the dynamic nature of the hotel industry. According to Ingram, LaForge, and Avila (2008, p.5), the industry’s high rate of dynamism arises from the fact that consumers change their tastes and preferences from time to time. As a result, individuals in the hotel industry are required to be creative to tap the opportunities presented in the market.
Also, an increase in competition is making the industry require personnel’ who can handle the challenge. To move with the market changes, potential candidates are increasingly updating their skills to enhance their employability. This means that the labor market requires the sales manager to be proactive in updating his or her skills to meet the market challenges.
To improve my employability, I will enroll in several business management courses. This will enhance my knowledge of the hotel industry. One of the courses which I will consider in improving my employability relates is strategic management. The decision to consider this course emanates from the fact that the hospitality industry has become very dynamic. Therefore, it is paramount for firms in this industry to have a high competitive advantage concerning strategy formulation. Also, a firm’s efficiency in strategy formulation and implementation can contribute to the success of a firm. This course will increase my decision-making capacity. This arises from the fact that I will gain skills on how to be efficient and effective in identifying market changes and making decisions appropriately.
My decision to consider the hospitality industry has been necessitated by the need to develop my career as a sales manager. From experience, I have learned that sales form one of the major sources of revenue for most organizations. This opinion is further asserted by Ingram, LaForge, and Avila (2008, p.5) who assert that sales are a key ingredient in the long-term survival of a firm. Therefore, for a firm to succeed, it must be efficient in its sales processes. Besides, sales management as a career is very challenging. This arises from the fact that the market changes from time to time thus necessitating the need to implement new strategies aimed at enhancing the firm’s sales. The challenging nature of the industry will enhance my creativity concerning formulating and administering selling programs. Besides, the industry will also enhance other management functions and roles such as planning, controlling, evaluating, recruiting, and training. The industry will also enhance my budgeting skills. This arises from the fact that I will be required to allocate finances for major budgetary items to be used during the selling process such as salesforce salaries, sales material, commissions, travel expenses, and bonuses. Besides, I will be able to appreciate the importance of motivating the employees to attain the set organizational goals.
Conclusion
The ‘Vacant Position’ presentation increased my enlightenment about the hotel industry. The presentation gave me insight concerning the benefits and opportunities associated with the hotel industry and hence the need to pursue a career related to the industry. This arises from the fact that the presentation resulted in the creation of awareness regarding the numerous employment opportunity available in the industry.
Also, there are numerous personal and professional development benefits associated with the industry. For example, the presentation highlighted the benefits associated when one is employed in the post of a sales manager. Apart from the numerous financial benefits which a sales manager accrues, the position also enables him or her to develop his or her managerial skills. Some of these skills relate to planning, controlling, staffing, directing, and organization. These skills are paramount in sales management because the industry is very challenging. Therefore, there is a need for those holding managerial positions such as sales managers to be creative. Gaining these managerial skills will enhance my ability to be employed in other managerial positions. This means that working as a sales manager will play a major role in my personal and professional development.
Reference List
Ingram, T., LaForge, R., & Avila, R., 2008. Sales management: analysis and decision making. New York: ME Sharpe.
Sociolinguistics: Language Teaching And Age
Discuss William Littlewoods’s point of view on choosing what to teach
William Littlewood (1981) argues that language education should reflect the communicative needs of students. The problem is that in many cases, children are supposed to learn mostly about various structural elements of the language. For instance, one can speak about the use of various passive voice or subjunctive mood. However, this linguistic content does not reflect the way in which children communicate with one another on a daily basis (Littlewood, 1981, p. 77).
In order to illustrate the pitfalls of this approach, the scholar refers to the following sentence, “My grandmother’s ear trumpet has been struck by lightning” (Littlewood, 1981, p. 77). Admittedly, this sentence throws light on the grammatical peculiarities of the English language, but it bears little relevance to students’ communicative needs. In turn, the author explores a variety of approaches to linguistic education. At first, the author examines the so-called functional-structural approach. This strategy implies that a teacher should still focus on the structural peculiarities of the language such as the use of verbs.
Nevertheless, one should demonstrate how these linguistic units can be applied in everyday speech. For instance, the scholar focuses on various communicative situations such as asking for directions. Furthermore, William Littlewood believes that at the point when learners have already acquired the basic grammatical and syntactical structures, they should focus mostly on the communicative functions of the language (Littlewood, 1981, p. 79). These functions may include asking or giving permission, justifications of one’s actions, offering apologies, and so forth. As a result, they will see how their learning activities can be applied for practical purposes.
Additionally, the author examines the so-called notional approach can also be fruitful. In this case, learners are taught to express various concepts such as duration, space, time, or quantity (Littlewood, 1981, p. 80). These concepts can be related to various structural elements of the language such as the use of past and present tenses, singular or plural forms of nouns, and so forth. Moreover, the scholar mentions the topic approach.
Provided that this strategy is adopted, students may explore such topics as art, mass media, sports, housing, and so forth (Littlewood, 1981, p. 81). On the whole, William Littlewood notes that it is possible to combine different approaches during classes. However, they should be relevant to the communicative needs of students; otherwise, they may believe that their learning activities are meaningless. As a result, their language acquisition can be impaired. These are the main issues discussed by the author.
Discuss the language and age according to R. A. Hudson (sociolinguistics)
In his book, Richard Hudson (1996) discusses the way in which the use of language changes as the person becomes grows older. The author distinguishes such stages as “babyhood, childhood, adolescence and adulthood” (Hudson, 1996, p. 14). In particular, the scholar discusses the way in which an individual acquires language by emulating the behavior of various role models. For instance, babies emulate the speech of their caregivers.
In turn, children tend to focus more on the linguistic behavior of older children (Hudson, 1996, p. 15). This author refers to such a phenomenon as age-grading which means that certain linguistic items can be used by a representative of a specific age group, but they become irrelevant when an individual grows older (Hudson, 1996, p. 15; Murphy, 2010). For instance, one can speak about counting rhymes and skipping songs.
Furthermore, the author speaks about the linguistic behavior of adolescents who try to differ from the previous generation of teenagers. This is why they try to invent new forms of slang. Additionally, Richard Hudson mentions that adults attempt to adjust to the linguistic norms adopted within a certain social group (1996, p. 16). It should be noted that this strategy is critical for the status of an individual and his/her economic prosperity. Overall, adults attach more importance to social acceptance, and they are more conservative in their use of language. For instance, they are more likely to avoid the use of slang, if it is not accepted by other members of the social group.
Additionally, Richard Hudson (1996) examines the way in which the age of a person influences his/her acquisition of a foreign language. During babyhood and childhood, people are more likely to adopt the elements of a foreign language (Hudson, 1996, p. 17). Moreover, they can use linguistic forms that are not a part of the norm in their families (Hudson, 1996, p. 17). For instance, they can jargon words that are not considered to be appropriate by parents.
Only later, they begin to assess various linguistic items in terms of their appropriateness. This is one of the details that should not be overlooked. On the whole, the author’s discussion shows that age is an important factor that influences the use of different linguistic items. Furthermore, this issue should be taken into account by teachers. These professionals need to know how the socio-cultural environment affects the acquisition of language at different stages of psychological development. This knowledge can be vital for the design of appropriate instructional models.
Reference List
Hudson, R. (1996).Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Murphy, B. (2010).Corpus and Sociolinguistics: Investigating Age and Gender in Female Talk. New York, NY: John Benjamins Publishing.