NLA and Work Based Learning - Research Proposal Example

NLA and Work Based Learning Introduction Career plan acts as a fundamental determinant of successful professional growth and a prosper life. The professional goals determined can be achieved by choosing a good career path and correspondingly, by developing a vital strategy within one’s life. As often observed, in absence of an effective and realistic career plan, most of the students, after the completion of their education, have to face difficulties in deciding their career, being misguided. In order to have a strong career growth, I have come to know about the importance of the education through this course. I believe it is very essential and undeniable for everyone as well as for me that educational qualifications and continuous self-assessments help in grooming and developing ones perspective as well as refining his/her understanding regarding the possessed potentials when defining their career plan. Undoubtedly, this course has played a pivotal role in structuring and polishing my knowledge substantially, helping me to redefine my career goals and plans further. Overall, it guided me to have a great career ahead. In context to the above-mentioned points, the main objective of this essay is to evaluate the importance of the Negotiated Learning Agreement (NLA), contributing to my abilities and critical understanding. The essay also emphasises the value and the importance of the work base knowledge in my career. It also reflects the way the education and the career goals have changed my viewpoints towards life in the competitive job market environment as well as in the employer organisation as well. Ultimately, it can be asserted that the course has helped me to review and access my performance throughout the NLA process and during my placement process. To be noted in this regards, the work-based learning program, in lieu of the placement process has helped me to overcome many problems and issues about which I lacked previous understanding, further helping me to clear the interview mitigating the gaps between the requirements of the employer and my competencies. Nevertheless, it has helped me to notify the gaps, which may arise in the future related to my career and take preventive measures accordingly. It also clarifies my doubt of how to develop my CV and to build a better career. Evaluation of the Negotiated Learning Agreement (NLA) a) The Value of the Agreed Learning Outcomes I am a marketing management student. It was owing to my passion towards organisational management that I ultimately decided to select this management course. I believe that it will help me to meet the criteria that are needed to build a strong career in the field of marketing. It is noteworthy in this context that possessing adequate understanding regarding marketing management plays a prominent role in the field of any business or organisation (Mizik, 2010). Correspondingly, the NLA that I experienced in this course provided me with substantial understanding regarding the fact about of the present market scenario and the role of marketing in this competitive world. It pointed out how rigorously I have to work in order to meet the target given by the organisation, highlighting upon my limitations and strengths too. To be noted in this context, the NLA contributed to my understanding of various cultures and their significance in shaping the modern and highly versatile business environment. Notably, mixed with my passion of travelling, the NLA offered me with the opportunity to build a strong career, having a succinct knowledge of my abilities and lacunas. The management course has accordingly guided me towards improving my forecasting and evaluation skills that can further prove highly beneficial for me to take proper and complex decisions in the future. Overall, the NLA helped in my improvement as a career oriented person, encouraging me to develop myself in almost every paradigm of marketing management. The management course will definitely help me to plan my future goals and to look for better independent life ahead. However, in context to above-mentioned importance of NLA in my career, it can be asserted that my understandings have mostly been from a theoretical perspective, which might hinder effectiveness of my plans. I have also come across friends and relatives arguing on the differences between educational or theoretical understanding regarding marketing management practices. Therefore, I have to give enough time to learn new things, as involved in fieldwork, on supposition that it shall be substantially different and unique from what I have learnt during my course. Undoubtedly, such differences will surely affect my plan, owing to which, I will also have to ensure that my career plan is flexible enough to adjust with any changes occurring during its implementation phase. b) Changes Made During the Placement Today, there is competition in the market where almost everyone is in the race of getting a better job to ensure a consistently growing and prosperous life. As mentioned in the above section, with rising complexities in the real life scenario of the job market, theoretical understanding developed b y me through the NLA shall not suffice every requirement of the working environment in the real life scenario. This particular supposition encouraged me to reassess my career plan and make it more flexible and adept to highlight my potentials, to make my placement more competitive and beneficial to support my growth. However, with the belief that each small or major outcome that I could obtain from the coursework shall someday prove beneficial in enriching my competencies, I have decided otherwise than excluding any particular element during my placement. The outcomes of the marketing management course have undoubtedly refined my thinking positively in order to get a desired placement and have encouraged me to strengthen my marketing skills substantially. Correspondingly, to enrich my competitive positioning I deemed it fit to have my developing leadership skills included in my placement in order to attain a competitive position in the marketing field (McDermott, 2007). c) Characteristics and Behaviour As Well As Aspects of the Situation in the Organisation and the Behaviour of Myself and Fellow Workers During my management course, I have learnt that in any organisation, the behaviour or the role of the employee is considered very important, not only to ensure better resource usability but also to guarantee customer satisfaction, where the understanding regarding marketing management and customer behaviour as well as market trends becomes quite crucial. It is believed in this regard that such multidimensional understanding helps building a competitive reputation within the organisation and yield better productivity for the employer as well. After the completion of the management course, I have managed to enter the organisation where I have come across many new underpinnings and information that has further enriched my knowledge as well as experience to deal with complex matters involving real life situational hazards. Furthermore, the behaviour of the fellow workers within the organisation helped me to feel more comfortable within the workplace and soon my behaviour became flexible to get aligned with situational demands. It helped me to obtain a prominent position within the organisation, wherein the friendly environment also contributed in building my level of confidence to a substantial extent and regarding the essentiality to manage both personal life, likenesses or dislikes and job responsibilities to avoid conflicts and stress in my career path (Chandrasekar, 2011). This has evidently helped me to build a strong relationship within the organisation and develop my career goals in a more realistic and rational manner, understanding the possible disruptions that I was likely to face when implementing my entire career plan. The fellow workers also helped me to gain knowledge of the marketing field and provided me with the solutions to overcome the abrupt situation, which may arise in the job process and thus, played a key contributory role to enhance my practical understanding of the field. Evaluation of Work-Based Learning According to Eraut & et. al., (n.d.), individuals within the organisation have to learn and adapt to the needs of the organisation, maintaining a balance in their personal objectives and overall organisational goals. The skills learnt or attained correspondingly, are further supposed to help the individuals to build a strong relationship in the organisation and suffice the common goals as determined. As per Unwin & et. al., (n.d.), continuous learning in the workplace form the base of a sustainable and efficient developmental process, which further helps individuals to deal with the problems within the organisation as well as with the outside world with integrity. On the other hand, such developmental measures, i.e. the incorporation of a learning environment with the organisation also gives the opportunity to the management for expansion as well as innovation, rewarding the company with the competitive advantages of better industry positioning, including quality employees and accordingly, supporting proper decision-making as well as execution of strategies. As mentioned above, my understanding regarding workplace environment and learning needs in the same were framed by the same theoretical underpinnings. However, my practical experience through the work-based learning depicted a somewhat different notion. The organisation, which I was associated with, was a retailer. The organisation use to sell beauty products. The organisation was well renowned for offering quality products to the customers. As I became gradually associated with the various managerial operations of the organisation, I was able to recognise that the organisation paid much attention towards providing services, which were differentiated from most competitors in the market. It was a mid-size organisation operating in different fields as well, which further added to its marketing efficiencies and competitive advantages. The organisation was having a single owner and the operations were mainly carried out by the managers of the organisation where continuous training and development was considered with due attention. The system was highly organized, as every product detail was continuously updated by the use of the data base system within the organisation to keep a track of the quantity output of their products and its distribution channel within the domestic market. As can be apparently noted in this regard, unlike being confined to training and development, as addressed in the theoretical context at often times being treated as synonymous to work-based learning, my practical understanding offered a wide context wherein marketing management knowledge is essential. For instance, the managers in my employer organisation required having a substantial understanding of customer preferences, competitive measures taken by its counterparts and above all, identifying organisational strengths and weaknesses to direct its operations suitably to suffice organisational goals. Correspondingly, being a sales assistant in the organisation, I also have to supervise and manage other strategic and marketing related operations of the organisation. This has actually given me a chance to build a leadership quality and develop my real-life understanding to a substantial extent. It helped me to make proper decisions and develop competent ways to reduce the costs of production. Moreover, it also helped me increase in my productivity and simultaneously draw profit for the organisation within my limited capacity in an integrated manner. Most vitally, it helped me distinguish the real life concerns of marketing management, which was apparently different to the one, I had learnt during the management course. Review and Assess your Performance during your Placement In my personal experience, I had to face many challenging situations when I had to take complex decisions and accept the responsibility of failure. Such situations have often been argued to strengthen understanding about the structure and the culture within the organisation, which was also apparent in my personal experience (Godwyn & Gittell, 2011). As per my personal understanding and review of my performance in the placement, I would thus like to mention that I performed well by developing my understanding as to how individuals obtain knowledge to get connected with the workflow of the organisation and align personal goals with that of the organisation. However, as per my review, I also believe that I have to learn new things and prepare hard for placements independently in future. Notably, my preparations and dedications have helped me to handle the placement situations and its environment. In my point of view, I have performed like an average student and have managed to clear the interview and have entered into organisation. The placement has made me to strengthen my skills and develop my leadership qualities substantially. It has also improved my analytical and communication skills (Guo & Sanchez, 2013). The placement opportunity has also furbished my understanding of the industry, further helping me to link my theoretical underpinnings with the real life scenario. It gave me the ability to overcome the critical issues and offered me guidance to identify the way the situation can be best handled. It also strengthened my leadership qualities and made me more enthusiastic about new ideas and concepts, applying the same in my personal experience. To be noted in this regard, one of the crucial understandings that I was able to obtain through the placement was the necessity of considering ethical issue to ensure sustainable accomplishment of any particular goal. The knowledge and the ethical values, which I have gained through the management, also helped me to take proper decisions, guiding me towards the correct path during the placement (Walton & Duska, 1998). Clarification of Career Direction In context to the above mention points, the placement has boosted my career intentions and has accordingly, advanced my career direction adequately. It has offered me a great and wide variety of knowledge in various aspects. It has provided me with a multidimensional viewpoint and information needed to manage an organisation in the marketing sector (Krstic & Petrovic, 2011). In addition, the course has offered me the idea about what should be taken into consideration to clear the interview. It has provided me with the information, which is vital during the placement. Accordingly, the placement procedure helped me in developing my occupational and communication skills to a substantial extent, as often argued by theorists (Krstic & Petrovic, 2011). It helped me to gain substantial knowledge about the new technology in the environment. Today, technology has changed the concept of marketing substantially, which I was able to understand through my experience in the coursework. The new technology, which I have come across, has minimized the time to make proper decisions within the organisation and therefore, I have included technology enhancement and better technology inclusion strategies in my career path. My experience in this regard also highlighted that intangible assets, such as the services in the marketing is considered important, which has also influenced my career path to a substantial extent. This placement also helped me to develop my leadership skills and its influence in the market. It has also offered me a clear view of how the knowledge of everything is necessary for the marketing field. It has also helped me build a relationship with the customers, understanding their expectations towards the products of the company. The other skills, which I have developed with the help of the placement process, are to adapt and deal with challenging situations and the way it should be managed in the marketing fields. It also helped me furbish my interpersonal relationship with my fellow workers, supporting my leadership developments and managerial competencies within the workplace. These contacts proved highly beneficial to clarify my doubts, which were evolving in the organisation. It also guided me to build a strong influence on my team and other members, helping me to guide their independent professional wellbeing indirectly. The contacts also helped me in complex decision-making and in accomplishing the assigned job responsibilities in the workplace. Review and Assessment of Your Job Application Skills I have developed a CV in which I have mentioned certain points and have tried to make it more appealing to any organisation during the interview or placement process. I believe that the presentation of the CV or resume plays a very important role to impress the reader from the organisation and augment the placement chances of any candidate (Khwaja & et. al., n.d.). With the same intention, I have also kept the objective clear in the curriculum vitae. Based on my personal review and opinion, I believe that such measure will help the organisation to know more about my intentions. Then my CV also includes a summary brief in which I have mentioned information, which I could learn or achieve in my theoretical or educational and professional experiences. Moreover, in this category, I have mentioned all the important facts that will be involved and as I am interested in marketing. Correspondingly, I will make sure to make it more appealing to gain the attention of the organisation. Therefore, in order to make certain changes in my CV, I took the help of my colleagues and other professionals, in order to decide upon the changes and make it more relevant for the organisation. Based on my initial draft of the CV, the responses that I obtained from the experts helped me understand that is was not well structured and there were many gaps in providing the correct information. The feedbacks, which I received from my colleagues, helped me to know the differences further required to be taken into account in order to make it more presentable and well structured. They guided me to follow the correct pattern and helped me to write a better CV, which is presentable to the employers. Undoubtedly, they have boosted my thinking process and helped me to overcome the gaps, which were present in my initial draft of the CV. Moreover, the helping hands of my college friends also helped me a lot to prepare for the interview. Notably, the colleagues gave me feedbacks based on their personal experiences and the way they have prepared for securing the job. Thus, I admit that the overall knowledge, which I have gained with the help of friends and colleagues, helped me to face the interview. During the interview, I was very nervous and worried. However, the experiences, which I gained through the assistance of my colleagues and friends, ultimately helped me to perform well during the interview. Conclusion In context to the above-discussed points, it can be asserted that today I believe of being a career oriented person. The management studies have really changed my thought process and have helped me substantially to develop my skills, which are necessary for managing marketing operations in any organisation. The passion, which I have for travelling from place to place, I guess it has been fulfilled by taking the marketing management course, as I was able to understand how necessary it is today to consider cultural as well as social diversity persisting amid the market to ensure better productivity to the organisation. My experience within the management course has undoubtedly caused a massive influence on the way I think and realise my responsibilities. Moreover, the placement has made me understand how the organisation works. The placements process has also helped me to know about the organisation structure and its goal aligning both theoretical and professional experiences that I obtained throughout the coursework. The placement process further helped me understand the way activities are carried out in the organisation and identify the skills needed for the organisation to ensure productivity from its workforce. This knowledge has guided me to update by skills largely. Furthermore, the placement procedure and generosity of my friends, colleagues have helped me to understand and develop my CV in a more competent manner indeed. Nevertheless, the ideas and tips of my friends in facing the interview have also had its contribution in mitigating the gaps between the expectations of the management and my abilities (Nicole & Alex, n.d.). This has also encouraged me to develop my skills on a continuous basis and make use of these tips and tricks to win the market. Notably, the experience, which I have received after the completion of the course and entering the marketing field, is quite different from the theoretical concepts, which I had learnt during my academic course. References Chandrasekar, K., 2011. International Journal of Enterprise Computing and Business Systems. Workplace Environment and Its Impact on Organisational Performance in Public Sector Organisations. Vol. 1, No.1, pp. 1-19. Eraut. M. & et. al, No Date. 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