Learning for Business Success - Essay Example

From my tests that I have conducted I have learned that I posses various strengths which improves my employability which include; a good time manager, neat, decisive, and posses high extroversion skills. To start with, the great ability to manage myself in terms of time will make my life so much easier in the workplace. I learnt that time management will allows me to prioritize all daily tasks and projects by ranking them in order of importance and this will keep me focused on a daily basis. Moreover, I learned that this strength will help me increase my productivity and performance as with higher focus on projects and timelines finding more efficient ways to completing tasks. Am also neat in my work and this will make me appear as an organized person. Being neat in my workplace will ensure that my desk is empty and provide ample space to relevant paper in an orderly manner on the desk and will help to do my tasks with at most convenience. In addition, the ability to maintain my office neat make the organization to be in perfect order and this will not only benefit me but also the entire organization. Lastly, I can socialize very well with new people and this is especially beneficial in fields such as marketing. I learned that socializing will help me build strong alliances in the workplace and this could result in a powerful team that finds ways to cut costs in production. Moreover, socializing with other workers will lead to knowledge sharing and this will give me exposure to different perspectives on changes in projects and policies in the workplace. I also learned that socializing encourages teamwork in workplace and this will make an efficient team member which enhances my employability skills. Despite my strengths that I have outlined above, I also have some weaknesses. To start with I have a problem of using big words when smaller words would do and therefore people might not understand what am trying to ask or tell them since the larger words are not always the right words. I learned that workers who have poor communication skills may confuse people when they are talking to them on the phone or when explaining how the company’s main program works. However, improving my communication skill will bring huge difference in the way that I relate with others. I learned simple techniques to improve my poor communication skills and listening skills which include; Speak clearly Slow down your speech Emphasize the main points Avoid distractions when speaking Avoid performing multiple tasks when Take the time to listen carefully When listening to others, pay attention to the facial expressions that the speaker makes Watch for changes in body language Account for the speakers culture when listening From the tests I conducted, I also learned that am particularly weak in critical thinking which is very disadvantageous to me as critical thinking is what professionals and individuals in general use to solve problems that they encounter in their daily engagements. Critical thinking is essential is very important to my employability skills and therefore to improve on it, I learned the following strategies; Take time to look around i.e. Browse business websites and read related publications to learn how other organizations have implemented various strategies in order to increase their competitive advantage When problems arise, don’t settle for a quick fix but Instead, carefully look at the problem and take the time to analyze all possible solutions Be willing to change directions and/or pursue new goals when strategic opportunities arise, Think about what is keeping you on the same path and force yourself to ponder whether or not you should shift plans Despite these weaknesses, I have great opportunities in making and maintaining highly effective teams due to my high score of 19 in agreeableness and also 16 in openness. These two traits mean I can be a good team player and also one that can reason to solve unique problems. This will improve my employability skills as becoming an effective team member in the work place will provide me with opportunities to gain support from other individuals in the organization. Moreover, I learned that this will boost my own career success and also assist to build my reputation of being a valued worker and therefore being an active team player will add significant benefits to me and the organization that I will work for. Lastly, I noticed from my results in the McCrae’s Big Five Locator that I am to some extent affected by negative emotionality. The problem is that this can really impact negatively on my relations with people and also on my performance. One of the key issues in this threat that I will work to do away with is the fact that I am easily distracted from my course. Strengths time manager Neat Decisive Social Weakness Poor communication skills weak in critical thinking Opportunities making and maintaining highly effective teams Threats negative emotionality The results from my Personal Development plan indicated that I have an ENTP profile. That is, I am enthusiastic, inventive, logical, and spontaneous. I learned that people with this personality profile are excited about what the future will offer and the many opportunities and possibilities that the future holds for them. I also learned that people with this personality are objective and rational when it comes to decision making and just like in my case, they are best when confronted with a complex or challenging issue. ENTPs love to use their intellectual capability to increase their understanding of the world and how the world works. People with ENTP profile are often interested in new ideas as well as theories and they are constantly searching for new and better solutions to existing problems. Just like other people with ENTP profile, I enjoy debating and am very precise with my meaning an language. I especially like to play the devil’s advocate as I try to critic a situation logically from all perspectives. For this reason, sometimes I am very argumentative and negative. I am however very optimistic and I always strive to achieve continuous improvement. Like other people who have an ENTP profile, I see all my setbacks as an opportunity or a stepping stone to better things and I am able to easily adapt to a rapidly changing environment. I also learned that people with ENTP profile are able to bring out complex ideas with ease and sometimes we can be quite charming and very persuasive. We are resourceful as well as resilient and sometimes will are not patient with others who do not air their independent spirit. We also value competence and we prefer to work with people are straight forward and innovate. Moreover, people with ENTP profile prefer to work in a flexible work environment where they are given freedom to work at their pace. They are enthusiastic about new projects and are always confident that they have the necessary abilities, skills as well as intelligence to find solutions to all problems. People with ENTP profiles are said to be inspired innovators who are always motivated to come up with new and better solution to challenging issues. We are clever and curious always seeking to comprehend systems, people and principles that are around us. We are visionary, easy going and open minded and we always seek to understand other people, their behavior, their ideas as well as their motivation without being judgmental. We like to re-invent new way of doing a task and we do not like to carry out a task the same way day in day out. We challenge the norms and sometimes we ignore them altogether. We are not inspired by already existing procedures and we would rather try out a new way of doing a task rather than conform to the standards. People of ENTP personality share some common hobbies including writing, sports, video and computer games, art appreciation, attending cultural events and continuing education. Personally, I especially love to travel and read books and it gives me great inspiration. Moreover, from the PDP, I learned of some famous people who posses ENTP profile. They include: Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Richard Feynman, Nikola Tesla, Lewis Carroll and John Malkovich. At work, people with ENTP profile are mainly concerned with getting innovative solution to all challenging work problems so as to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the work systems. For these reasons, many people with an ENTP profile take an entrepreneurial approach in their work place and they prefer to handle tasks in an unstructured and casual way with little or no limitations on their inventiveness. I learned that ENTPs value competency and they always strive to become experts in their areas. They prefer to work in positions that require continuous improvement of their skills as well as their knowledge. They prize power and they want to be in careers that will allow them to come into contact with powerful people as well as offer them opportunities to have influence or become leaders. ENTPs get bored with routine tasks or attending to details and they work best in a highly conceptualize environment that will allow them to solve problems in a creative manner without necessarily thinking about the details. Therefore, the most ideal work place for people with ENTP profile is one that is not rigid, intellectually challenging and one that has intelligent and creative co-workers. And the ideal job for a person with ENTP profile is one that will allow them to develop on their innovative ideas while allowing them to delegate tedious and detailed tasks to be taken care of by others. Furthermore, I learned that as a person with ENTP profile, I can be in any of the following careers: Executive, Management Consultant, Reporter, Environmental Scientist, Entrepreneur, Industrial Engineer, Art Director, HR Recruiter, Public Relations Specialist, Marketing Manager, Urban Planner among others. I learned that as pertaining to communication, I am an active and lively communicator. I like to explore or available possibilities and make use of all the information that I have received. I am enthusiastic about change and I love innovative solutions to problems at hand. Am very analytical and I do not hesitate to criticize other people’s ideas if they do not seem logical to me. I like to work with teams and I look forward to learning as much as possible from every member of the team. In relationships, I am enthusiastic, inventive and spontaneous and am always excited by partners who have new ideas. I am interested in knowing how my partner’s minds work and am creative in coming up with solutions to some of the interpersonal problems we encounter. I always encourage my teammates to strive to achieve their ambitions. Read More