Logistics Manager - Personal Profile for a Job - Coursework Example

PDB ASS3 Name Professor Date Entry 2 Current level of development Like in any other professions one need to have and uphold certain standards and this seems to be a similar case for my profession as a logistics manager. Based on the various standards of professional practice and industry related standards there are aspects that I seem to e excellent in and in others in need to advance and make improvements on them. I seem to be good at protecting the confidence of the workers, employers, customers and the suppliers and based in these I do not take privilege of confidence granted to me and make use of it in unethical manner (The international Society of Logistics n.d). I ensure this by making reports in an honest manner. Another aspect is that I do not let my personal activities to conflicts with the interest of my employers. At the same time I ensure that the activities that I engage in even during off duty do not in any way discredit the logistics profession. Despite this, there seems to be major areas that though I have developed over the years I need to make improvements on to ensure that I attain the required level of professional practice. As a matter of fact I will need to improve more on some skills such as my problems solving skills and good leadership skills. I seem to be lacking adequate knowledge in handling problems and based on the fact that am bound to work with a great number of people problems are likely to arise. In this regard, I aim at attending certain workshops and learning of the best way to handle issues for the interest of all the involved parties. In relation to the leadership skills, I will also attend leadership seminars and take more leadership role in different scenarios. Through this will leader the various leadership skills and improve on what I already have. Additionally, based in the role I aim at achieving in the future I will need to improve on my interpersonal skills and this will help me greatly in leading the other employees in the company and achieving the required results in the most appropriate manner. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis which is also referred to as the SWOT matrix is an acronym for the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as threats and is therefore a structured methods that plays an essential role in evaluating the four elements of a business, person or a project. By conducting a SWOT analysis one understands their own strengths and weaknesses and they also identify the opportunities that are open to them and the various threats that they may face. Below is a personal SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses Good at maintaining confidence Honesty Working ethically at all times Inadequate leadership skills Poor problem solving skills Inadequate interpersonal skills Opportunities Threats Engage in seminars and workshops to enhance my leadership skills, interpersonal skills and problem solving skills Inadequate time since I also have another job. Stiff competition from my peers who have additional experience and qualifications Entry 4 Part 1: Career action Plan (750 words) Step Action Goal Start Duration Finish 1 Seeking updated articles on logistics management topics and attending seminars and workshops from the major players in the logistics industry. Have a clear and concise understanding on the merging issues in the field of logistics management October 16 12 months October 17 2 To improve my interpersonal skills I will seek various opportunities that enable me to communicate with a great number of people and the activity that I will engage most is in community and voluntary. To improve by interpersonal and leadership skills October 16 12 months October 17 3 Improve my written skills by taking up short courses and writing articles and getting critiques from my peers and tutors. To ensure that I gain the necessary knowledge needed and apply this in the future by writing report in logical manner. October 16 6 months April 17 4 As a manager I will need to work well with the other employees and thus I need to improve greatly in on team work skills. Thus, in the remaining time in the university I intend to engage more in team work activities and aim at meeting new people from time to time and this will involve getting into activities with people I hardly know as opposed to working with those that I am used to on daily basis. Ensure I take up of nay opportunities that are available for me to develop my team work skills. October 16 18 months April 18 5 Investigate the available options for example a graduate certificate, degree or diploma or other equivalent professional qualifications that I need to be well suited for the logistics manager job in the future. Select the most appropriate qualifications and attend study to attain them. Jan 17 24 months (depending on course taken) Jan 19 6 Engage in networks such as LinkedIn and this will help me in connecting with people in the same profession as mine and through this I will be up to date with the related professional organizations. Through this I will also engage in any upcoming events. Have a broader range of networks and more probably engage in areas with possible career paths for the future October 16 60 months October 21 7 Engaging in voluntary and part time work in logistics management. I will make use of the various websites available to attain these jobs. Through this I will apply the knowledge I have learned and gain necessary experience in tackling future duties. October 16 24 months October 18 8 Since the job requires a lot of engagement with stakeholders it would seem valuable to learn the various skills that are necessary to come up with industry publications as well as reports. I would make use of earlier reports written in the field and learn from those who are already practicing in the industry. This will enhance the report and offer the required information in the right manner and an understandable way. Have a clear understanding of what the logistics industry and more so in regard to the publications and industry reports Nov 16 4 months March 17 9 The role also outlines that it is imperative to have strong knowledge on the logistics processes in FMCG environment thus I will work in such an environment for me to get the necessary skills to enable me in taking up such jobs in the future and to be better experienced. Understand the FMCG environment entails and seek further action in such environment with the aim of increasing my knowledge in this area. May 17 1 month June 17 10 Engage in activities that shows how to have high motivation and also engage in courses on communication skills. This will assist me in my future endeavors in interviews and also in my future work place when communicating with others and motivating each other towards the achievement of organizational goals Discover and attend relevant courses and more the courses related to communication and motivation. Jan 17 6 months June 17 11 Source for information from others already in the field on ways of contract negotiation and also in management of 3rd party logistic providers. This will enable be to handle such task in the future with a lot of optimism, courage and high level of professionalism. Seek approval to be involved in upcoming contract negotiation to gain the required knowledge and skills on the best way to handle such negotiations. Jan 17 36 months Jan 20 Part 2: Responses to the selection criteria Communication skills Communication skills are of great importance to every individual irrespective of the profession that one needs to take up in the future. In respect to these, I attained the communication skills during my first year in the university. During this time most of the assignments that we tackled we supposed to be in presentation form. Through this, I had to develop my communication skills since they were essential to my success. The role I played in the above situation is that I that of a presenter. I had to present my research worked in front of my tutor and to the fellow students. I ensured that I presented my assignments in an audible manner and maintained eye contact with the people I was addressing. These aspects showed that I had effective communication skills and through this I gained the attention of the listeners to the end of my presentation. Since marks were being allocated based on how well one presented as well as on the content I gained high marks since I presented my work well and the content used was also relevant to the topics under discussion. Organizational ability and initiative I gained this experience when I first joined the university. I have gained when I engaged in a number of workshops and seminars in the university. The main speaker emphasized more in how important both organization and initiative were essential to students. Since I used to work in the university in a temporary basis I was tasked with the duty of setting out and arranging the place where the workshops and seminars were to take place. Through these activities I was able to gain the above mentioned skills and I aim at applying them in future and aim to improve in areas that I seem to be lacking. I gained the initiative by looking by going far and above the required aspects in that in assignments I ensured that I conducted further research to understand the topic further. From such activities, I achieved a lot in that I have being implementing such skills in a number of activities even outside my area of study. Through this, I attained highly scores in my assignments since I also applied this skills in handling my assignments and presented assignments in the most logical and concise manner and in an easily understandable manner. Interpersonal skills I realized that a great number of people who worked on the development of strong interpersonal skills tends to be successful both in their personal and professionals lives. Based on these I aimed at developing these skills by engaging in a number of community forum on tackling issues that were affecting the society and also in forum in the university. In this forum, I usually took up the role of the main speaker and at times I acted as the coordinator. In this role, I would offer information to address the various issues facing the students and the society. I also offered them with the most appropriate ways of tackling the various issues. I achieved a lot form this activities in that I gained more interpersonal skills and at the same a number of issues that faced the society and the students were reduced to certain levels. For instances, a great number of students got more involved with their studies as opposed to wasting time of activities that were inhibiting their studies. Team work In the university team work is an aspect that is strongly recommended and this students needs to gain this skill and work with others in a collaborative manner. I developed experience in this while working in teams on completing some major assignments allocated to us by our tutors. During the team work project I took up the role of the team leader and this had to perform certain role related to resolving any conflicts, decision making and ensuring that the goals of the teams were attained in the right manner and time and in the most effective way. I ensured that I completed my allocated task on time so as to act as the good role model to the other team members. I achieved a lot from such skills in that I was tasked with the duty of leading others in other projects and also based on the project that we were working on we attained the highest possible marks since we dedicated all our resources fully to the success of the project. Reference The International Society of Logistics (SOLE) n.d, Code of Ethics, viewed 31st October 2016, http://www.sole.org/ethics.asp Appendix 1: Logistics Manager Job Advert Logistics Manager Sydney, NSW, Australia Reference: BZ/38220 Posted on: 22/06/2015 Job type: Permanent Drive a continuous improvement environment senior stakeholder engagement in an iconic Australian company Newly created position This role sits within Supply Chain and is responsible for the national distribution center operations. Duties include:   Management of 3rd party warehousing and distribution across multiple sites   Develop and implement a warehouse optimization plan with an aim of improving future business performance   Monitor performance of logistics service providers against KPIs to ensure commercial profitability of relationship   Accountability for the budget of the national distribution center network   Senior stakeholder engagement     In order to be successful in this role it is imperative that you have a strong working knowledge of logistics processes from within a FMCG environment. You will have clear examples of development and accountability throughout your career as well as possessing high motivation levels and impeccable communication skills. You must demonstrate strong business acumen with a successful history of contract negotiation and management of 3rd party logistic providers.   This role offers the opportunity to work within a newly established team and have a real impact on the strategic direction of the Logistics operation in an iconic Australian business. From http://jobs-apac.hudson.com/en-au/logistics-manager-sydney-101429/ Read More