Personal/Professional Development - Research Paper Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Thesis Statement 2 Strategic Assessment 2 Mission and Vision 3 Values 3 Analysis of External Environment 3 Analysis of Internal Environment 4 Prior Business and Liberal Studies 5 The PPD Plan 5 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 Introduction Continuous emphasis on ‘Personal and Professional Development’ (PPD) is vital for every person in order to determine the aspects that must be learnt for managing the individual activities towards attaining the desired objectives in life. PPD is a continuous procedure for evaluation, exploration and examination of personal as well as professional attributes, which are perceived by every individual and are related with each other. The process of PPD includes aspects such as the direction of life, values, mission and vision along with external and internal environmental elements among other factors. PPD outlines the time frame and events which should be done in order to satisfy the defined objectives. More importantly, PPD helps in enhancing the self-confidence and recognizing the self-motivational aspects which further contributes to the life-time achievements of an individual (University of Arts London, “Personal & Professional Development (PPD). Thesis Statement The discussion is intended towards explaining a PPD plan in order to analyze my training requirements and other activities so as to develop my personal as well as professional life. The objective of the discussion is to enhance my personal employability and thus develop my individual skills (such as technical skills). Besides, the discussion is also aimed at understanding the tangible as well as intangible aspects witnessed by me to have an impact on my personal as well as professional life. Strategic Assessment My personal and professional strategic assessment begins with formulating a direction in terms of mission, vision and values. In my life, I have thought of various professional options such as becoming a proficient employee in a reputed company or becoming a self-employed person. However, I have selected to become a professional employee in a reputed organization in my field of work which will help me to attain a sustainable monetary value with minimum risk exposure (Morrisey 11). Mission and Vision The initial phase of developing a PPD plan is to create a personal mission statement which is the general announcement of how I desire the ideal position in my personal life and professional career in future. My mission is to use personal abilities in the profession I have selected in order to achieve promotion and success. I also wish to help my co-workers as well as clients through conducting best practices. My vision is to be acknowledged by my peers and relatives as a successful person in both personal as well as professional life. In this regard, I wish to revitalize my life through using knowledge and skills. Values Value is considered as the characteristics which have great worth in life. My personal as well as professional values include obligation, devotion, responsibility and admiration. I am always obligated for achieving my objectives and maintaining good relationships with the family members. I also desire to demonstrate high level of devotion toward the organization I am currently working with or in which I wish to work in the future. I also believe to have a good sense of responsibility toward my work, irrespective of it being personal or job related work. In professional and personal life, I also intend to depict high level of admiration towards my superiors and elders. Furthermore, I always attempt to accept the tasks given to me irrespective of its difficulties and complications. However, my value restricts me to conduct any tasks which are immoral, dishonest and not approved by the management irrespective of professional interests. Analysis of External Environment There are several factors in the external environment which have significant influence on my direction of life such as money, family, relationship and economy. Every decision I take for my life are based on these external factors. Money: Money is one of the most important external factors which have a strong impact on my decisions. I consider that having money can help me to gain higher status, higher attention and greater honor in life. Besides, money also acts as a motivator as I believe it to be a sign of achievement in my professional life. Money is also essential for satisfying the basic as well as psychological requirements. However, at times, I also believe that money also acts as de-motivator in life. For instance, monetary rewards often make me overlook the other imperative aspects in life such as concerning about individuals around me which is not quite coherent with my values. Additionally, I believe that emphasizing all my concentration into earning money can also damage the balance between my personal and professional life. Family and relationship: Family and relationships are the second most vital factors that have a significant impact on my direction in life. One of the objectives of chasing behind money is to fulfill my responsibilities toward my family by satisfying their requirements. Relationships are also essential for me as neglecting relationships would certainly result in crisis. Thus, I always care for my relationships to preserve a reason for existence in life. Contradictorily, family and relationship also at times can act as strong de-motivators for professional life. Unable to maintain balance in rendering significance between these personal factors of life and professional obligations can also impose severe disadvantages on my direction. Economy: The economic condition also acts as an influencer in my life. The economic condition of my home country results in changes of spending pattern which definitely would impact on vital decision-making in my personal life. Besides, economic conditions in relation to employment tend to determine my bargaining power in any organization. Analysis of Internal Environment The internal factors which influence my ability to move forward in both personal and professional life are personality, knowledge, skills and fear. These aspects act as motivators as well as de-motivators in my life. Personality: My personality traits constitutes of various attributes such as hard-working, attentive, cautious, comprehensive, responsible, and systemized. I am believed to be logical in developing my ways along with being reliable. Another personality trait of mine indicates my nature as a risk averter. These personality aspects make me highly committed toward my work. However, my highly conscious and risk averting personality at times restricts me to enjoy certain advantages in my profession. Knowledge and skills: My knowledge also helps my capability to move forward. Through-out my courses, I have learned several aspects about strategic management which I further attempt to use in my knowledge and skill enhancement to facilitate my personal and professional life. Fear: The most significant internal aspect which imposes a negative impact on my abilities to move forward is my fear of criticism, fear of failure to complete certain assignments or rather challenges and fear of penalty imposed due to my inability to satisfy my given target. Accumulatively, these aspects tend to negatively impact any decisions I make in my professional or in my personal life. I have often realized that these fears hinder my spirit in forecasting the success behind difficulties. Prior Business and Liberal Studies My previous studies on strategic management helped me to forecast and manage my life direction tactically. With the virtues of my prior studies, I have been able to learn about different strategies and recognize my own vision, mission and objectives in life. The learning also assisted me in evaluating the external and internal environmental factors which have a strong impact on my personal and professional life. By learning the strategic management, I have gained the ability to enhance my skills in order to become competitive as well. My learning also helped me to make wise and logical moves for resolving any issues in my personal or professional life and ultimately assisted me to gain success (Flat World Knowledge, Inc., “Mastering Strategic Management”). The PPD Plan The objective of my PPD plan is to become more creative in attaining my desired objectives. Plan for External Aspects Table 1: The plan for external aspects of the life External Environment Activities Money Complete my graduation course attentively Try to save maximum amount of money by avoiding unnecessary spending Improve and renovate personal skills in order to get suitable job Family and relationship Satisfy the requirements of my family by providing financial support Communicate with my family and share the experiences regularly to strengthen my relationships Travel infrequently with family in order to reduce professional stress Allocate specific time for family in order to balance the personal and professional life Economy Maintain a home-based life and evade frequent outside dinner plannings in order to save money Make investments through bank and make monthly savings in order to handle any future occurrence of negative economic situation Develop planning for future retirement though better finance management Internal Environment Personality Read magazines and books more in order to develop knowledge Develop healthy behaviors; for instance, proper sleeping, eating and bodybuilding which can enhance my personality Share opinions with people about any decisions and develop conversations in order to recognize the point of view of different individuals and to stimulate risk taking behavior Knowledge and skills Read articles, books or magazines for enhancement of practical experience Take training on any technical subject in order to form practical skills and knowledge Fear Enhance the self-confidence though planned visits with friends, neighbors and other folks Always stay in touch with the friends as well as family in order to overcome fear Plan before any unpredicted event (for instance life insurance and fire insurance) to remove any fear of loss Develop valuable experience and knowledge in order to strengthen my focus Table 2: The timeline for activities of PPD plan Activities Time Line Finish the study 2 years Get coaching for developing interactive skills and communication skills 6 months Get a suitable job 2 years Develop technical skills through professional training and development sessions 7 months Switch job by taking other better job opportunity 4 years Accumulate money for purchasing new house 5 years Settle money for purchasing vehicle 7 years Plan for future self-employment opportunity 10 years Conclusion PPD is often regarded as a vital process required for developing personality traits, relationships, self-pleasure attributes and wealth. I believe that the PPD developed above will help me to appraise my life progression by recommending activities that can direct toward the fulfillment of my desired objectives. The PPD plan is essential as it can defend me to stay on the correct path regardless of any possible difficulties in future. The PPD plan would also assist me in yielding greater willpower, simplicity, focus and confidence which are highly beneficial for my personal and professional growth in life. Therefore, it will not only help me to rearrange my life, but also support me to develop the path for future success. Works Cited Flat World Knowledge, Inc. Mastering Strategic Management, 2012. Web. 28 Jul. 2012. Morrisey, George L. Creating Your Future: Personal Strategic Planning for Professionals. United States: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. University of Arts London. Personal & Professional Development (PPD), 2011. Web. 28 Jul. 2012. Read More