The Rationale underlying the
Career Decision-Making Profile (CDMP)
Multidimensional Model |
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One of the most significant variables distinguishing
career clients is the way they make decisions, or what is often referred to
as their career decision-making (cdm) style (e.g., Harren, 1979; Johnson,
1978; Kelly & Gunn, 2007; Phillips & Pazienza, 1988; Walsh, 1987).
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Most of the previous research on cdm
styles has focused on classifying individuals into a few types based on
their most dominant characteristics, using a rather restricted repertoire of
characteristics (e.g., Arroba, 1977; Harren, 1979; Jepsen, 1974; Johnson,
1978; Sagiv, 1999). These typologies do not account for the complexity of
the decision-making process or individual differences in the way it actually
takes place (Shiloh, Salton, & Sharabi, 2002). The use of a dominant feature
to describe an individual’s decision-making style provides a parsimonious
way to characterize career clients, but it makes the description less
accurate. We suggest conceptualizing the way individuals make career
decisions in terms of a profile rather than a style. |
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We use profile instead of style for two main reasons: (i) to indicate
that we are dealing with a complex, multidimensional construct rather than a
single dominant trait; and (ii) because “career decision-making style”
suggests that personality characteristics are of greatest significance,
whereas “career decision-making profile” suggests that individuals'
personality and situation both influence their decision-making behavior.
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