DECISION MAKING MODEL
WHICH OCCUPATION SHOULD I CHOOSE?
by Nikos Pavlakos - Spyros Michaloulis
This is a model in decision making theory from Victor Vroom. His theory has to do with
the way that people make decisions. In simple words it says that a person will choose the
occupation that fulfils most of his values and the one he/she thinks has a better chance to
succeed in it. We present below the basic table that we use for this exercise and, after the
table, we explain how the exercise works.
Decision making table
VALUESPERSONAL
1
2
3
CHARACTERISTIC
GRADE
OF OCCUPATION
Recognition of work tasks
Authority, prestige,
reputation
Opportunity of
occupational
advancement
Financial earnings
Administration,
leadership
Occupational stability
Financial bonus
according to performance
Opportunity of taking
responsibilities
Creativity
Mental activities
Variety of activities
Artistic dimension in
work
Independency in the
place, time and type of
work
Opportunity of physical
activity
Traveling
Distance from the place
of residence
Cooperation with other
employees
Provision of help to other
people
Pleasing occupational
environment
Scale: 1 - 10. (1 = no interest / connection at all, 10 = absolute interest / connection)
4
The above table illustrates a practical method of organizing your will and your
thoughts. In the first column which is entitled “Values”, you have the chance to write
down the characteristics that are related to an occupation. The “Values” we presented
above are indicant and you can add as many as you can think of. The second column
asks for the personal grade of interest. In other words, how important is this value for
you and in which grade you want for the occupation you are going to do to have this
characteristic. These two columns remain stable, whereas the others are modified
according to the occupation you examine. As far as the third column is concerned, you
should think of a specific occupation and examine to what extent this occupation is
connected to each one of the stable characteristics. You can follow the same procedure
for as many occupations as you want. This procedure is extremely useful when someone
wants to decide among specific occupations (three the most, we suggest).
An example is presented below:
Characteristics of
occupation - Values
(1)
Grade of personal
interest
Product
(1X2)
10
9
8
9
(2)
Grade of
existence:
Doctor
7
10
8
9
Creativity
Money
Initiative
Opportunity of
occupational
advancement
Team spirit
Social provision
Contact with other
people
Free time
Leadership duties
Occupational
environment
Product
(1X3)
70
90
64
81
(3)
Grade of
existence:
Biologist
9
6
9
7
6
7
7
6
10
9
36
70
69
7
9
6
42
63
42
5
8
8
3
5
6
15
40
48
9
7
8
45
56
64
Total
577
90
54
72
63
481
Scale: 1 - 10. (1 = no interest / connection at all, 10 = absolute interest / connection)
The next step is to answer the question: how likely is it to be accepted in the faculty of
Medicine and how likely is it to be a student of Biology?
Likelihood
Medicine:
Biology:
5
8
Consequently, the final score will come out as below:
Medicine:
Biology:
5 X 577= 2.885
8 X 481= 3.848
In spite of the fact that the student is more interested in Medicine, it is more likely to
choose Biology, because he/she believes that there are more possibilities to be accepted
by this faculty.
This exercise is a very useful one for students, especially those who balance between 2 or
3 occupations they like the same way. It is also a good method in order to teach students
how to make decisions in every aspect of their lives.