1. Explain the importance of careers in adult life and various career selection theories. (CLO 1 and 2)
2. Understand the advocacy role that the Association of Adults and Retired Persons (AARP) plays in policies aimed at older adults. (CLO 3)

Directions:

Career: The Case of Sarah Martin from Fried and Mehrotra (1998)

Read the following scenario and post your first response in the discussion, then respond to one or more post:

"Sarah Martin, a 58-year-old Black woman, works in a sales position at Anderson's Department Store. She enjoys working with the customers as well as the other employees. in recent years, the turnover at Anderson's has been quite high, especially in the women's division, where Sarah works. In less the 2 years, she has worked under the supervision of three division managers. Every time there is an opening, a salesperson from the women's division or from another division within the store is brought in to manage the division. All of them tend to be under the age of 40. Last month, Sarah requested that she be considered the next time there was an opening for the divisions manager's position. She knows that the position involves more responsibility than her current position. However, a higher salary, a commission on total sales within the division, and the availability of stock options make the position financially attractive for her. She feels that her 5 years of experience at Anderson's, together with her previous experience in similar companies, have prepared her well for the position."

"During the past 8 months, when has been passed over for promotions on two occasions. At first she informally expressed her disappointment to Ronald Johnson, the store manager. on the second occasion, she demanded an explanation from him. Johnson finally agreed to meet with Sarah. He began by reviewing Sarah's work record. Although the company did not have a formal employee review policy, Johnson referred to handwritten notes from Sarah's personnel file. He pointed out that her record was only average. While he acknowledged that she was a dependable worker with a good attendance record, he said that these qualities alone do not make her a first-rate candidate for the division manager's position.

"Although Sarah is still working at Anderson's, she is disheartened by the lack of opportunities to handle new challenges and responsibilities. Some of her associates think that this may be a case of age discrimination and have encouraged her to discuss this situation with an attorney. She is hesitating to lodge an age discrimination complaint, because such an action may creative additional difficulties for her in the company and may lead to harassment by management" (p. 121).

Fried, S. B. & Mehrotra, C. M. (1998). Aging and diversity: An active learning experience. Washington, D. C.: Taylor & Francis.

CONSIDER ONE of the following:

• Look up the position of sales manager in the occupational outlook handbook (OOH), and describe how Sarah might become one according to the “how to become one” section for that job in the OOH.
• Describe the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967, whether you believe that Ms. Martin has a case, and report back on the number of ADEA charges in on US state in 2016.