Developing the Professional - Coursework Example

? Developing the Professional Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Skills and Character Audit 3 Intellectual (thinking) skills 3 Professional/Vocational skills 5 Common Skill 7 SWOT Analysis 8 Weakness 11 Opportunities 12 Threat 12 Objectives 12 Force Field Analysis 13 Reference List 15 Appendices 17 Appendix A 17 Appendix B 18 Skills and Character Audit In this essay, I will shed light on my personal skill set and try to create a framework with which I can develop my existing skill level up to a greater extent. This document will also try to analyze my character and skill set that I developed during Masters Programme. After auditing my present skill set, I will conduct a personal SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) in order to identify critical skill areas which I need to improve in order to ensure my academic and professional development. Before going to the discussion about my skill level, I will try to shed light on the question that why personal skill development is an essential part for a management professional or for a student pursuing management course? Wilson (2009) pointed out that students in the management course should be encouraged to write reflective essays and such reflective writing helps them to identify their skill gaps. Ertmer and Newby (1996, p. 18) defined importance of reflective skill auditing as “reflection is critical for transforming the knowledge gained in and on action into knowledge available for action.” However, other research scholars such as Taylor (2006), Moon (2007), Johns (2004) and Watson (2008) segregated reflective skill auditing into three parts such as, 1- technical assessment of skills, 2- practical assessment of skills backed by practical examples and 3- emancipating reflection for transforming into a person with better skill set. However, in this paper, I will only focus on first two types of skill assessment which will help me to achieve professional and academic development in future course of time. I have divided my skill sets into three verticals such as Intellectual (thinking) skills, Professional/Vocational skills and Common skills. These skill sets can be defined in the following manner. Intellectual (thinking) skills Research scholars such as Csikszentmihalyi (1996) and Maani and Maharaj (2004) defined intellectual skills as the combination of linear thinking approaches such as empirical testing, analytic thinking, imagination and visualization, creativity, intuition, holistic evaluation and emotional intelligence. However, I cannot boast myself for having all the above mentioned linear intellectual skill sets but I believe that at present, I am complemented with certain level of intellectual skills. Losada and Heaphy (2004) and Vance et al. (2007) stressed on the fact that modern managers use non-linear dynamic pattern of intellectual thinking in order to solve complex business problems. Hence, it is evident from the discussion that developing intellectual skill plays vital role for a modern day managers. In such context, auditing my intellectual skill set will definitely help me to judge whether I am competent enough to handle corporate world challenge or not? Intellectual (thinking) skills Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree 1. I am a creative person who can adapt my thinking to circumstances 2. I am able to organise my thoughts, analyse, synthesise and critically appraise situations 3. I can identify assumptions, evaluate statements in terms of evidence, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, define terms adequately and generalise appropriately The first skill set is identifying my capability of being flexible and creative enough to adapt to the situational demand. I believe that my instinct works in well balance manner when it comes to being creative or develop new thinking. For example, during my MSc program in Management from University of Glamorgan, I got the opportunity to showcase my creative when it comes to preparing project with team members or solving a business case study from new viewpoint. I am pretty good when it comes to detecting false reasoning, identifying implicit value and critically analyzing the situation by using historical data. I have also been part of some designing project during both masters and bachelors degree, for example, during master’s degree, I handled a system management project by creating a new algorithm which got praise from my supervisors. I believe that my emotional intelligence flourishes when it comes to verifying any assumptions by using logical justifications. For example, when I was working as project leader in business project of the college, we had problems regarding the assumption of actual number of patrons for charity dinners. In such context, I had analyzed the database regarding the business problem and came out with an optimal solution regarding the business problem. Interesting fact is that, error margin in my assumption was less than 5%. I did my graduation in social science and technology. Hence, will it be wrong to assume that I quite comfortable with computer system usage, database handling, hardware and software programming, web marketing and web analytics? I believe that, getting acquaintance with the above technological skill set is showing the evidence for my cognitive intellectual skills. Professional/Vocational skills Eminent research scholars such as Richard et al. (2007) and Molineaux and Haslett (2007) stressed on particular skills such as problem solving ability, using multiple research techniques or tools to reach a solution, managing people, leadership capability etc, which transform an ordinary individual to successful professional. I believe the above mentioned skill sets should be classified as professional skill set which we use to solve problems in the professional field. I support the argument made by Yukl (2006) and Zhou and George (2003) that leadership is the most prominent management skill and using the leadership skill, professionals can encounter problems in the professional field. In the light of the above argument, my professional skill sets can be analyzed in the following manner. Professional/Vocational skills Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree I use a wide range of techniques in approaching and solving problems. I am comfortable with a range of research techniques I am able to analyse and interpret quantitative data I am able to analyse and interpret qualitative data My leadership skills are well developed and I can adapt them to different situations I am able to manage people effectively Motivating myself and others comes easy to me I am aware of my responsibilities to myself, the organisation and other people I treat people with respect and consideration During my masters program, I got an assignment to work as business consultant for a UK firm and help them to decide product strategy for particular country. I took the academic assignment as a challenge and I used variety of techniques such as Porter Five Forces to understand industry forces, Porter’s Diamond model to understand national competitiveness, PESTLE for environmental auditing etc and I got praise from my teacher on that assignment for using multiple business tools to analyze the problem. However, I believe that although I am familiar with no. of research techniques such as questionnaire survey, secondary data analysis, log linear analysis, historical data analysis, collecting data from journal articles but these areas are needed to be polished in order to make them as an ornament for me to develop as market research professionals. I must admit that lack of ability to interpret quantitative data is biggest weakness for me and I must improve my quantitative skill set in order to handle data driven business problems. I am proud of my leadership skills and believe that, I have the natural capability to motivate my team members and co-ordinate with them to accomplish a common objective. During my MSc program in Management from University of Glamorgan, me and my partners have registered to CYMRU (which is registered in England and Wales 1017658 and registered charity in Scotland SC038104) in order to raise money Breast Cancer Care. While working for the non profit organization, I took the leadership role to motivate and co-ordinate my partners to give their best at collecting money breast cancer help. In this non-profit job, we worked with charity members to raise money and I took the initiative to understand expertise of doctors to handle breast cancer patient (Breast Cancer Care, 2009). The charity organization has praised me and my team members for our excellent work as fund raiser (see Appendix A). When I was working at project lead in business consultancy project during master’s degree, I had successfully performed the responsibility of customer care executive and my supervisor appreciated me for my effort to handle team member quarries. In my daily life, I regularly take part in rock climbing and social activities where I need to extensive amount of leadership and team handling skills in order to make each occasion a successful one. Common Skill Research scholars such as Kumar and Hsiao (2007) and Brown and Bowen (2009) stressed on soft skills such as communication, interpersonal skills etc over hard skills when discussing the importance of common skill in the life of a professional. Other research scholars such as Carbone and Gholston (2004) pointed out that an individual cannot develop their common skill level up to its fullest potential without entering into professional field. In such context, I will analyze my personal common skill by using rational viewpoint. Key/Common skills Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Mathematical techniques Numerical data interpretation Software usage Use of Information Technology Good listener Face to face communication Writing Skill Presentation Skill Drive for continuous improvement Time management Promptness Sensitivity to cultural difference Learning attitude Co-operative attitude Team member Team building skill Communication of personal view Flexible learning behaviour Effort in group task I am an aspiring entrepreneur who is pursuing management degree at master’s level hence there is no surprise that I am pretty much comfortable in handling financial management projects. But, interpreting quantitative data is the pain area for me when it comes to professional development. My face to face communication skill has been improved by giving presentation and taking part in business seminars during master’s degree. I have participated in numerous group based projects during my master’s program in University of Glamorgan. I have communicated with my team members and co-ordinated their activities during the project and got appreciation from teachers for leadership skill. Although my time management skill has improved up to certain extent while working as project lead in various business projects but I still need to work on my time management skill. I regularly read journals and books in order to gather knowledge and also attend seminars and workshops in order to learn working knowledge for latest technologies. While working in a group, I maintain an open attitude to learn new things for my team members and upgrade my skills at regular interval. While working on the breast cancer project at CYMRU, I conducted daily meeting for my team members in order to gather their opinion regarding fund collection and subsequently improve my understanding about the problem. I am currently working on improving my sensitivity regarding cultural difference of different cultural groups by attending different social events. However, I need to improve my cultural understanding skills in near future in order to restrain myself from taking any racially or culturally biased decision. SWOT Analysis Auditing personal skills has helped me to understand my existing skill level and next, I will conduct personal SWOT analysis in order to identify opportunities for me to improve my existing skill level which might help me to achieve both professional and academic development. Majority of the research scholars such as Patton et al. (2006), Kuh et al. (2005), Kuh (2001) and Habley (2004) pointed out that a student cannot develop up to their full potential without the support of teachers and professors. I agree with them and I felt that, respected teachers and professors in the University of Glamorgan have helped a lot to improve my professional skills. However, the personal SWOT analysis can be presented in the following manner. SWOT Analysis Leadership skills * Quantitative research People management skills * Reflection Qualitative reasoning *Managing difficult people Time management Secondary research * Fear of quantitative research Management simulator Exercising with friends Strength Being an aspiring entrepreneur is always advantageous for a professional to deal with business problems which need extensive amount of usage of people management and leadership skill. Masters degree in management has improved my understanding about marketing mix, integrated communication technique, country analysis, industry analysis, cost benefit analysis skills and these skills will help me start a new business or distribute capital for the business. Having knowledge about different business tools such as Porter five forces, cluster modelling, PESTLE, product portfolio management etc will definitely help me to solve real life business problems. Communication skill and managing people or team members in difficult project (both one-to-one and one-to-many) are biggest strength for me and I expect that these skills would help me to express my view points to others in clear and precise manner in the workplace. My ability to co-ordinate, communicate and listen to other member’s viewpoint will definitely put me in advantageous position when it comes to work in a team based project. I am pretty much proud of my leadership and I follow democratic leadership style for managing various people who are expert in different field. I also classify my leadership trait as the mix of charismatic and servant leadership. Hence, allowing people to express their view will definitely increase their trust upon me as a leader. Managing multiple tasks within scheduled time is also strength factor for me and this strength will help me while I will handle multiple tasks as an entrepreneur. Weakness I am an introvert person and I feel shy to approach new people or difficult people which might be considered as weakness for management professionals. For example, I am not good when it comes to manage photographers or people with extrovert nature. Being shy might create problem for me to contact new persons or influence others in near future. Lack of mathematical knowledge to interpret numerical and quantitative business problems is the biggest weakness for me. These weaknesses will create problem for me to solve business problems or analyzing data to take predictive decision in my professional life. I must admit that, writing reflective or introspective articles is not my cup of tea. I am not a reflective person and that might create problem for me to find my own mistakes. Opportunities In future, I have the opportunity to participate in different social gathering or management stimulator exercise in order to come out of my shyness and enhance confidence level while communicating with others or managing difficult people. I will indulge myself in more complex team handling projects in order to improve my team management skill to further extent. I will also participate in complex projects which require multiple task handling in sequential manner and taking this step will definitely improve my time management skills. I will brush up my secondary research skill in order to increase my expertise in qualitative research. Threat Till date, I have very little experience in handling complex and big projects which involve multiple team members with different character trait, hence, there is possibility that I might falter when managing difficult and complex people. There is also the chance that my present skill set will fall short to accomplish a task in future workplace. I am also worried about my poor quantitative research skill which might create difficulties for me to analyze financial data of my own business. However, these threats can be partially or fully mitigated by careful personal development plan. The personal development plan can be summarized in the following manner. Objectives Research scholars such as Evans et al. (2002), Zeichner and Wray (2001) and Hattie and Timperley (2007) stressed the specific and time bound aspect of any personal development plan. Hence, my personal development plan or objectives should meet the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound) criteria. My objectives can be summarized in the following manner; Area What I am going to do. How I am going to do it When I am going to do it by Quantitative skills Practicing business statistics problems and reading books on business statistics. Learning statistical tools such as SPSS, SAS, OLAP, Matlab, and Advanced Excel. Joining data analytics program offered by different institute. Summer vacation People management Improve people management skill. Participating in social events and exercising management stimulation problems. Twice in a week. Reflection Solving self-reflective problems and writing essay reflective essay. Reading articles about self reflective essay and keeping diary. Twice in a week. IT skills Learning new software applications Joining IT degree program and practising software applications regularly with friends. Every weekend Conflict resolution skills Participating in role play game with friends. Arrange group sessions with friends Once a week. Market research skill Improving both qualitative and quantitative research technique. Participating in market research project with friends either in freelancing or sponsored manner. Once in two months. I have already started working on improving my existing skill set, for example I have applied “Student Experience Manager” post in City Lit (see appendix B) in order to improve my professional skills. Force Field Analysis Lewin (1947) gave the concept of force-field analysis which can be used to identify factors that will help or hinder in personal development. My business education, having family business back ground, ability to conduct qualitative research and leadership skill will definitely help me to become an entrepreneur in near future. However, uncertain economic market condition, lack of education, lack of professional skills or lack of quantitative will create hindrance for me to become a successful entrepreneur. I cannot predict the future market condition hence it will be foolish to propose a personal development plan for handling tumultuous market condition. For rest of the hindrance factors, I have already mentioned how I would overcome them in the objective section; hence no further discussion is done here. Reference List Breast Cancer Care., 2009. Taking Action to End Breast Cancer. [online] Available at: [Accessed 25 June 2013]. Brown, M. and Bowen, T., 2009. Project Steering Meeting. Manchester: M. Alam. Carbone, T. and Gholston, S., 2004. Project manager skill development: A survey of programs and practitioners. Engineering Management Journal, 16(3), pp. 10-16. Csikszentmihalyi, M., 1996. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. Ertmer, P. A. and Newby, T. J., 1996. The expert learner: strategic, self-regulated, and reflective. Instructional Science, 24(1), pp. 1-24. Evans, A., Ali, S., Singleton, C., Nolan, P. and Bahrami, J., 2002. The effectiveness of personal education plans in CPD: An evaluation. Medical Teacher, 24(1), pp. 79-84. Habley, W. R., 2004. The status of academic advising: findings from the ACT sixth national survey. Monograph No. 10, Manhattan. KS: National Academic Advising Association. Hattie, J. and Timperley, H., 2007. The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77, pp. 81-112. Johns, C., 2004. Becoming a Reflective Practitioner. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell. Kuh, G. J., Kinzie, J. H., Schuh, J. H. and Whitt, E. J., 2005. Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Kuh, G., 2001. Organizational culture and student persistence: Prospects and puzzles. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1), pp. 23-9. Kumar, S. and Hsiao, J. K., 2007. Engineers learn “soft skills the hard way”: Planting a seed of leadership in engineering classes. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 7(1), pp. 18-23. Lewin, K., 1947. Frontiers in group dynamics. II. Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human Relations, 1(1), pp. 1143-53. Losada, M. and Heaphy, E., 2004. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams: A nonlinear dynamics model. The American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6), pp. 740-65. Maani, K. E. and Maharaj, V., 2004. Links between systems thinking and complex decision making. System Dynamics Review, 20(1), pp. 21-48. Molineaux, J. and Haslett, T., 2007. The use of soft systems methodology to enhance group Creativity. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 20(6), pp. 477-96. Moon, J., 2007. Getting the measure of reflection: Considering matters of definition and depth. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 6(4), pp. 191-200. Patton, L. D., Morelon, C., Whitehead, D. M. and Hossler, D., 2006. Campus-based retention initiatives: Does the emperor have clothes? New Directions for Institutional Research, 103, pp. 9-24. Richard, O. C., Murthi, B. P. S. and Ismail, K., 2007. The impact of racial diversity on intermediate and long-term performance: the moderating role of environmental context. Strategic Management Journal, 28(12), p. 1213. Taylor, B., 2006. Reflective Practice: A Guide for Nurses and Midwives. 2nd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Vance, C. M., Groves, K. S., Paik, Y. and Kindler, H., 2007. Understanding and measuring linear/nonlinear thinking style for enhanced management education and professional practice. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 6(2), pp. 167-85. Watson, M., 2008. Building your Portfolio: The CILIP Guide. Facet: London. Wilson, J., 2009. Reflecting-on-the-future: A chronological consideration of reflective practice. Reflective Practice, 9(2), pp. 177-84. Yukl, G., 2006. Leadership in Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice-Hall. Zeichner, K. and Wray, S., 2001. The teaching portfolio in US teacher education programs: What we know and what we need to know. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, pp. 613-21. Zhou, J. and George, J., 2003. Awakening employee creativity: The role of leader emotional intelligence. The Leadership Quarterly, 14, pp. 545-68. Appendices Appendix A 24 April 2012 RE: Saleh Alyafei and Masters Students from Glamorgan University To whom it may concern This is to confirm that Saleh Alyafei and fellow Masters Students have registered with us to organise an event to raise money for Breast Cancer Care – registered charity in England and Wales 1017658 and registered charity in Scotland SC038104. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the charity. Any contribution to his fundraising efforts would be greatly appreciated. Please give generously. Breast Cancer Care is here for anyone affected by breast cancer. We bring people together, provide information and support, and campaign for improved standards of care. We use our understanding of people's experience of breast cancer and our clinical expertise in everything we do. Visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk or call our free helpline on 0808 800 6000. Please do not hesitate in contacting me if you have any queries on Best wishes Wendy Murgatroyd Fundraising Executive – Wales Appendix B City Lit Keeley Street Covent Garden London WC2B 4BA 19 March 2013 Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing in response to your advertisement for the position of Student Experience Manager at City Lit. I am a perfect candidate for this position given my interpersonal and communication skills. I also have experience playing the leadership role in the academic context. I believe that firms must serve their customers as though they have only one. Individual attention is vital to the attainment of a competitive edge according to my approach to customer service. Even if the theory of corporate social responsibility does not take social service into consideration, my approach to customer service makes a strong connection between the firm and its external stakeholders. As this approach is bound to help your company grow – personalized attention being the foundation of student success – I offer my services to grow with City Lit. Yours sincerely, Read More