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Frank Parson had written a book entitled Choosing a Vocation. Explain the concept of brain drain.

Introduction When getting this title, I have been trying to get a book written by an open library and managed to get the book written by Professor Frank Parson, published in 1909 by Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, USA. The book is available through the website of the University of Michigan in the U.S.. This book is divided into 3 parts, Part 1 - The Personal Investigation, Part 2 - The Industrial Investigation and Part 3- The Organization and The work. Before I discuss further about this topic, brain drain with a quick means by http://www.thefreedictionary.com mean The loss of skilled intellectual and technical labor through the movement of such labor to more favorable geographic, economic, or professional environments. Through my reading, it can be concluded that the concept of brain drain described by Parsons writing this book relates to how the needs of vocational experts is important in helping young people and women in choosing a job or career. In Introductory note has explained some of the things at a glance about the brain drain should be made an accurate assessment in determining a person's career. Among the matters discussed was : 1. It is better to choose a vocation than merely to hunt a job. 2. No one should choose a vocation without careful self-analysis through, honest and under guidance. 3. The youth should have a large survey of the field of vocations, and not simply drop into the convenient or accidental position. 4. Expert advice, or the advice of men who have made a careful study of men and vocations and of the conditions of success, must be better and safer for a young men than the absence of it. 5. Putting it down on paper seems to be simple matter, but it is one of supreme importance in this study (Parson, 1909). In particular, the concept of brain drain that expressed by Parsons is for the one who wants to choose a job, the organization and the industry that want to select employee

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requires a professional and scientific analysis. Parsons has outlined in Part 1 that the required Personal Investigation involving a number of things, namely:

1. The importance of scientific method 2. The principles and methods involved 3. Counselors and applicants 4. Extended discussion of personal data 5. The method in outline As an example, in discussing the importance of this scientific method. The wise selection of the business, profession, trade or occupation to which ones life is to be devoted and the development of full efficiency in the chosen field are matters of deepest moment to young men and the public. These vital problems should be solved in careful, scientific way, with due regard to each persons aptitudes, abilities, ambitions, resources and limitations and the relations of these elements to the conditions of success in different industries (Parson,1909). Clearly, the concept of brain drain could been avoided by ensure the five things in the Personal Investigation in selecting employees and workers choose their occupation. In Part 2 - The Industrial Investigation, Parsons insisted that the concept of brain drain can be avoided by taking note the following: 1. The conditions of efficiency and success in different industries 2. Classifications of industries 3. Industries open to women 4. The use of statistics 5. The movement of demand for workers 6. The geographical distribution of workers

The vocational counselor should be a careful student of industrial history and industrial geography. He should know how not merely get the statistics, but how to use them (Parson, 1909). For example on the use of statistics to avoid brain drain. Vocational counselor need to know how the development of annual deaths, sex, race , demand for workers in an industry and may also annual birth rate of past 3 years. From the information available, a vocational counselor will be able to make a scientific analysis to ensure that the
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information passed on to the industry will help so that there is not happen brain drain in the industry sector. The next example we can see the concept of brain drain by Parsons is in the movement of demand for workers. In this context, Parsons pointed out as follows in order to avoid going brain drain in the industry: In considering the movement of demand, two things are importance. First, by finding the increase or decrease in number of persons gainfully employed during the past ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty years, to discover the increase or decrease in the demand for workers in the different occupations during that time. Second by reckoning the increase in proportion to population, to find whether this demand has grown with the population or fallen behind it (Parson, 1909). In his book also, Parsons wrote in Part 3- The Organization and The Work. Parsons emphasized the following points need of organization and work: 1. The Vocation Bureau 2. The School for vocational counsellors 3. Supplementary Helps

In context to avoid brain drain among young men in Boston at the time, the effort by Parson and several partners involved in the Civic Service House has created a Vocation Bureau. Through the Vocation Bureau, the consultations provided for help choosing a job. This method can help the public understand and make choices as to aid in the scientific method. The Bureau does not attempt to decide for any boy what occupation he should choose, but aims to help him investigate the subject and come to a conclusion on his own account, that is much more likely to be valid and useful than if no effort were made to apply scientific methods to the problem (Parson, 1909). Conclusions can be drawn from the written book by Parsons that the brain drain can be avoided through the role played by vocational counselor to take action through the Personal Investigation, element of The Industrial Investigation and emphasized elements of The Organization and The Work.

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Refrencess: 1. Parson, F. 1909. Choosing a Vocation. Boston and New York: The Aiberside Press Cambridge, Houghton Mifflin Company.
http://archive.org/details/choosingavocati00parsgoog

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