Employment For Visually Impaired Persons: Challenges And Interventions

The Problem of Employment for Visually Impaired Persons

The problem concerns the issue of employment for visually impaired persons. Those that can see have prejudiced against people living with blindness. In every part of a society, we see people with disabilities fail to achieve their full potential because of how a society perceives them. For instance, blind people have failed to benefit from equal access to education and the labour market. Activities such as the first Dialogue in the Dark exhibitions found in Germany, was started as one way for supporting the disabled people with impaired visions. However, one greater issue is how to influence and support the employment for visually impaired persons. Furthermore, while the international network is found in almost more than 32 countries,

Analysis, justification of the knowledge gap and future work

Several studies have focused on understanding the aspect of employment for visually impaired persons. One of the studies is the recent research conducted by Cavenaugh and Giesen (2012). The article sought to explore and synthesize different studies that look as the interventions that have been undertaken in order to achieve an improvement in the employability and employment outcome among visually impaired youths.

The findings from the review identified different studies that focus on interventions that can assist in improvements in employability among the youths that have visual impairment. Similarly, Zahoor & Qureshi (2017) discuss interventions with capability to enhance employability skills and self-constructs help to predict successful employment among youths that have visual impairment. However, the finding also showed that no research on intervention led to employment.

The second article by Goertz, et al (2010) sought conduct a systematic review of literature in order to understand a number of factors that relate to employment of visually impaired persons. The findings from Zahoor & Qureshi (2017) qualitative analysis shows that factors that determine participation in labour force includes body functions and structures, activities and participation, environmental factors, and personal factors. In the first factor for example, the findings showed contradictory results concerning the relationship between the degree of a visual loss and participation in the labour force. Furthermore, the findings revealed that persons that have low levels of vision had trouble on hobbies and work than those with total blindness. The findings about activities and participation only showed some limitations. Besides, the findings revealed that prior employment and some changes within objectives of career had a positive association with vocational rehabilitation.

 Conclusion

The review of literature review above shows that visually impaired persons experience a major problem of securing employment. As indicated in the one of the article, is that the level of participation and functions and structures of their bodies determine the disorder of this group.  They find themselves unable to participate in activities such as learning and education. The marketing plan will become the best approach to create awareness, increased participation, and acceptance among other people in societies.

Reference

Alan, R. (2010). Redefining Social Marketing with Contemporary Commercial Marketing Definitions Stephen Dann. Journal of Business Research, Vol. 63, Issue 2; pages 147

Analysis of the Knowledge Gap and Future Work

Bualar, T. (2015). Employer dilemma over disability employment policy in Thailand. Journal of Public Affairs (14723891), 15(3), 231-236

Cavenaugh, B., Giesen, J. M. (2012). A systematic review of transition interviews affecting the employability of youths with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness; Jul 2012; 106, 7;

Goertz, Yvonne H Hvan Lierop, Brigitte A G, Houkes, Inge. N, Frans J N. (2010). Factors related to the employment of visually impaired persons: A systematic literature review. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, July 2010

Zahoor, S. Z., & Qureshi, I. H. (2017). Social Media Marketing and Brand Equity: A Literature Review. IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 16(1), 47-64.

(Social Marketing Plan for DiD)

Identification and analysis of the social marketing problem

Visually impaired persons continue to experience the social marketing problem when they fail to find jobs. Unlike other people in a society, this group tend to experience challenges that put them off the society. For example, education and communication training (Goertz, et al. 2010) are factors that influence this group to participate in labour force. Similarly, a study by Heera (2016) has found that unemployment rate among those with visual impairment has remained relatively higher than the unemployment level for working groups. Factors that higher them in participating actively just as other groups can be found in an International Clarification of Functioning (ICF) model. For example, the model covers the functioning of their bodies, participation, activities, and external environment. Hence, a majority of them feel prejudiced upon by the other population in a society.

Analysis of the social marketing environment, upstream and policy issues

Stakeholder Analysis

The marketing plan will consider the importance of a number of stakeholders. For example, in order to become successful, the plan will depend on community-based organisation (CBOs), celebrities, and visually impaired persons. The CBOs play a vital role when it comes to creating of first contact with different groups that need assistance. The fact that visually impaired persons might feel prejudiced against by other groups in a society, they only feel safe when interacting with the authorities in their groups. The success of our marketing plan will see an increase in the number of such groups come forward to record their problems.

Second, celebrities also serve an important group in the marketing process. Celebrities are people that are known in our societies because of their contribution, their characters, behaviors, and the way of thinking. Their participation in the marketing plan will be a sure way of attracting a considerable large number of people including potential employers. When people consider them as people who associate with visually impaired persons, it will be easier for the community to start communicating, educating, and showing them the right way.

Choice of appropriate theories for application

The theory of application in this plan will cover the International Classification of Functioning theory developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The theory applies well to the problem of unemployment among visually impaired persons. For example, the theory shows that factors that differentiate this group from the rest in a society includes disorder that depends on the functioning and structures of the body. The second factor involves the level at which people are willing to participate in different learning and employment activities. While the above are internal, two external factors will depend on the environment and personal factors.  

Conclusion

Therefore, while using the above theory, the marketing plan will focus on creating an awareness of what the group can do that others cannot do. Even though this group is likely to feel prejudiced against by other members found in society, it is through marketing that will remind them to use the functioning and structures of their bodies to participate in communication and learning activities. Of course, any potential employer that would like to employ those seeking employment irrespective of the status of the body in terms of structures and functionality will depend on whether the person can express oneself through communication. This will also extent to whether the person has succeeded in learning new skills and abilities such as time management, interpersonal skills and among other important aspects that relate to employability (Gewurtz, Langan & Shand, 2016).

Development of the social marketing planning process

Segmentation and Targeting

Proper marketing would require segmentation of the market based on their lifestyles, demographic, psychographic, and geographic. For example, while using geographic process, the process will look at the location of customers and their regions. Furthermore, the process to use demographic will focus on age, gender, occupation, and socio-economic factors of visually impaired persons. Third, the planning process will also involve the behaviors of visually impaired persons in terms of how often they use tools of employment and their loyalty status.

 Positioning 

Positioning strategy will play a critical role. The fact visually impaired persons have some disabilities, they should not be considered as people who cannot accomplish anything. This will be a way of prejudice. Doing this will make them see prejudiced and hence, start to lose their self-esteem. Therefore, the best approach will be to use celebrities, well-informed personalities, and policy makers. This approach will help deliver a message in the most appropriate way. In addition, the already visually impaired persons that have undergone training will help in delivering informative messages. This approach will make in natural and realistic. Just as explained by Stolarczyk (2016), is that use of people without any knowledge about visual impairment, could lead to this group developing low esteem.

Recommendations for implementing and evaluating the social marketing approach. 

Appropriate implementation of the social marketing plan will require that we adopt a social media tools. Chanthinok, Ussahawanitichakit & Jhundra-indra 2015) outline that businesses now depend on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and among other tools when they want to create awareness in the market. For example, the marketing department in liaison with the communication department will create good accounts with above-mentioned tools (Veja?ka, 2017). Besides, it will not be all about opening up accounts, but that we shall talk to celebrities to share their stories. Evans (2008) recommends that the best way to do this could be a creation of a small inspirational video that talks about the need to embrace everyone in a society, the need to accept those considered visually impaired persons.

Celebrities will create videos that explain to the targeted groups the need for them to develop high self-esteem, express their feelings and share the same with those around them. This approach will target at getting visually impaired persons to acknowledge that they also have talents just in the same way as other groups.

Monitoring and evaluation

We shall monitor the marketing plan while looking at the statistics. The statistics will be collected from schools, police station areas, churches, or schools for visually impaired persons (McCabe, 2017). This approach will help identify the number of people that will have managed to come out and show their talents to others.

Reference

Chanthinok, K., Ussahawanitichakit, P., & Jhundra-indra, P. (2015). Social media marketing strategy and marketing outcomes: a conceptual framework. Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings Of The Academy Of Marketing Studies (AMS), 20(2), 35-52.

DeCoster, D., & Naatus, M. K. (2017). Experiential Learning in Digital Marketing: A Library Social Media Takeover. Business Education Innovation Journal, 9(1), 84-88.

Evans, D. (2008). Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Indianapolis, Ind: Sybex.

Gewurtz, R. E., Langan, S., & Shand, D. (2016). Hiring people with disabilities: A scoping review. Work, 54(1), 135-148.

Heera, S. (2016). Employers’ perspective towards people with disabilities. South East Asian Journal of Management, 10(1), 54-74.

Hemphill, E., & Kulik, C. T. (2016). Help Wanted People with Disabilities and Recruitment Advertising. Journal of Employment Counseling, 53(2), 71-85

McCabe, M. B. (2017). Social media marketing strategies for career advancement: an analysis of LinkedIn. Journal of Business & Behavioral Sciences, 29(1), 85-99.

Stolarczyk, P. (2016). Equality of chances for people with disabilities in the labour market. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 15(2), 139-149.

Veja?ka, M. (2017). Social media marketing in comparison with other forms of marketing in the Slovak banking sector. Trziste / Market, 29(1), 23-38. doi:10.22598/mt/2017.29.1.23