A Review of Progress - Personal Statement Example

?Personal Progress Review As a first year at the of East London School of business, I have significant interests in determining mypersonal progress. Although my academic grades were higher than those of other student were, I consider a review that is measured against my potential as the most appropriate. Reviews that are measured against the progress or performance of other students lack credibility and are subject to fluctuation. On the other hand, a personal progress review that is based on personal potential measures current performance against set goals and objectives. In this case, goals and objectives remain constant despite fluctuations in priorities. The course objectives given by the lecturers at the beginning of every course were also instrumental in measuring my progress and current position. The main objective of enrolling in UEL business school was the need of been above the bottom line (UEL, 2000). However, it is evident that academic performance is not the only, measure of personal progress for any student in any learning institution. This essay will therefore analyze my personal progress based on the first semester results and future expectations. Current Position The current position is instrumental in establishing the future progress and measuring my past performances. From a general perspective, it is evident that I am in a fair position in both academic and extracurricular activities. However, these performances do not comply with UEL School of Business maxim of been above the bottom line or been above average. In addition having a fair performance indicates lack of consistence of performance in different courses. This requires specialized analysis of performance at each of the key areas. In addition to the final exams, I have done several assignments as part of the school’s continuous assessment program. Random assessment tests given by various lectures are also instrumental in establishing my assessment. My first assignment was from my Introduction to Economics class. In this assignment, I was able to achieve 20 marks out of the possible 30 marks. Although I achieved an average score from the assignment, the score was attained through hard work and considerable amount of struggles. I also achieved average scores in other continuous assessment tests done in the first semester. My best performance for the first semester was in Marketing Principles & Practice course, where I achieved grade A. My final examinations in all core units had a direct correlation with the grades that I had achieved in respective continuous assessment tests taken within the semesters. In the first semester, I had not taken any optional unit since I was having a computer class that took considerable amount of time. In addition to the academic life and prospects, social life is of equal concern particularly for a business student. During the first semester, I lived outside the campus, in a university-owned apartment that was preferred by most foreign students. Living with oversees students was very instrumental for my social life and future career. However, during the first semester I never realized the significance of been close to students from different countries. The apartments provided accommodation to students from various countries such as German, France, US, and Yemen. During the first semester I focused on my extra class without considering the opportunity of been close to international students. For instance, I did not learn even a single German word from my colleagues of German origin or learn how to construct a single sentence in the French language. I therefore consider this as a lost opportunity. Analysis on Expectations When I attended my first Introduction to Economics class, I purposed to get a grade A in the course due to its content and significance to my business course. In addition, I viewed the course outline as familiar since we had covered most of its components in our introduction to business course. The lecturer of this course was also determined to have every student achieve excellent grade at the end of the semester. Getting a grade B in this course unit was my first unachieved target. I also got a grade B in Marketing Principles & Practice, Economic for Business and Applied Economic Courses. Applied Economics was the only course that I expected a poor grade. In fact, I did not expect achieving a grade above C in the course. My performance in this particular course was above my expectations. I had also hoped that by the end of the semester I should have either participated in at least one academic function by conducting a presentation or been research assistance. This was of particular significance to my UEL scholarship application. I addition I had purposed to have been known by at least three lecturers at a personal level. This also became a failed objective since I had not known any of my lectures at the end of the semester. I am also concerned with other extra curricula activities particularly sports. At the end of the first semester, I had planned to be an active player in the UEL basketball team. However, I only managed to secure a place in the second team. Other fields that I achieved a fair performance included academic discussions and debate that formed part of the academic curriculum. This has enabled me to build my communication skills. My discussion groups in the four core courses were among the best discussion groups in the school. I also participated in EU Green Energy Research as an online respondent. Participating in this research project contributed considerably to my data analysis skills particularly in quantitative surveys (Bond, 1993). However, I did not have an equal performance in quantitative research methods due to lack of adequate statistical knowledge. Assessing my past performance in different course units would be instrumental in determining my goals and objectives. My goals and objectives are also based on my expectation concerning my final grade and future career prospects. In particular I am expecting at least a grade 2:1 in my BA at the end of my of course. This indicates that my current position is instrumental in determining my final grade (Greiner, 1972). Achieving this grade will depend on my cumulative performance in all subjects. This requires me to concentrate more on my weak areas with the prospects of improving my performance. In addition, I need to put considerable effort to maintain my strong areas. The first area I need to work on is time management and organization. Time is a resource and hence subject to scarcity (Campbell, 2005). The difference in variation in performance among different students arises from their difference in time management (Parnell, 2006). Effective time management will enable me achieve my goals since they are time bound (Cockburn, 1996). In the second semester, all my activity should be in accordance with my time schedule. In addition, I will require having a diary, which will help me organize my time accordingly (Hirshleifer, 2005). By the end of the third week of the second semester, I need to have achieved at least 80% percent adherence to my time schedule. I hope to improve the performance to the levels of 99% by the end of the second semester. Time management will be instrumental to my management skills. In addition to time management, I require effectiveness in managing my finances (Chance, 2000). By the end of the semester, I require to have spent my finances according to my personal budget without requiring extra finances. I will also need to improve my networking skills. Ability to establish strong relationship will be instrumental for both my academics and future career. Setting targets and objectives will enable me to realize my social goals through effective networking. Effective networking skills are also significant in business research. In addition, my future career relies heavily on effective networking skills. I intend to pursue a postgraduate course in international business. This indicates that I have to have a good basis in international relations (Bennett, 2002). Improving my relations with foreign students at the apartment would be a basic source of international awareness. By the end of the first month through the first semester, I will need to have basic knowledge of French language. I will therefore need to enroll in a French class during my free time. This will diversify my ability to communicate with foreign student particularly those of French origin. This will also increase my international awareness. Finally, I will need to work on my accuracy and efficiency. The main cause of my poor performance in Applied Economics course resulted from my inability to work effectively with numerals. My low levels of accuracy have also contributed to my poor performance in quantitative research, which relies on statistical principles. In addition, low accuracy has contributed to my poor performance in courses that require adequate mathematical knowledge. Efficiency is instrumental in answering examination questions since it determines the quality of answers in structured examination questions (Smither, 2005). To improve on my efficiency and accuracy in computation I will be doing three mathematical problems every morning. I should also be able to get correct answers in at least two of the attempted questions. Works Cited Bennett, J 2002, “Multinational Corporation, social Responsibility, and conflict.” Journal of International affairs. Vol 2. Bond, H 1993, Social psychology across cultures: Analysis and perspectives, London, Harvester Wheatsheaf. Chance, D 2000, Essays in derivatives: Risk-transfer tools and topics made easy, New Jersey, John Wiley & sons. Campbell, D 2005, International taxation of low-tax Transactions: Low-tax jurisdictions volume 2, California, York hill. Cockburn, T 1996, Disclosure obligation in business relationship, Sidney, Federation. Greiner, L 1972, Evolution and revolution of growth. Harvard Business Review, July-August, 37-47. Hirshleifer, J 2005, Decisions, marking, and information. London: Cambridge University Press. Parnell, A 2006, Generic strategies after two decades: a reconceptualization of competitive strategy, Management Decision, Vol. 44. Smither, J 2005, Does performance improves following multisource feedback? Personnel Psychology 58, 33-66. UEL, 2000, Programme summary for BA (Hons) Business Economics, Viewed 2 June 2012, and . Read More