Learning Diary or Log - Personal Statement Example

Topic: Learning Diary or Log (Formative work) Introduction: This paper starts with Part One, which aims to help me prepare in draft a personal development plan by noting from the record experiences and activities that we had during the MSc year. It describes what happened, reviews the events by reflecting, analyses the various situation, derives appropriate conclusions and explains any learning thereby. It continues with Part Two which is a reflective commentary on what ever learning I had throughout the duration of the MSc year and relating the same with any relevant literature on reflective learning and development. Part I Description of what happen; Analysis of behaviour, thoughts and feelings with Notations of the behaviour of other parties. I notice that I become more aware of the business world when I finished the first semester in taking up the course of MSc in Business Management. I have seen how forces of internationalisation work. One cannot be a traditional manager because of the development of technology. Globalization is true and inevitable in relation to what man needs. Under normal circumstances, a business expects to grow and after a corporation has performed within its borders, it inevitably faces competition from other countries because the governments of different nations make the world borderless in terms of free movement of goods and services. This is very evident in the case of the European Union (EU). It came into existence because of economic integration among several European nations. Economic integration has its underpinnings in free movement of goods among the member states. This is not to mention the WTO and the GATT where business realities lead to international competitions in the light of the given state of technology and the evolving need of humanity. I felt the need to have an international perspective, in order to survive business in the following years. By being international, I need to understand many things like other cultures, their language, their arts, taste, preference, and even their religion. Analyzing what happened before and after; I notice a big change on my part and on the part of my classmates. After finishing international business context, our languages have become “international.” We are able to see the world as really a big playing field where different players in so many fields do their work. I felt the big adjustment of the third world countries need to have in relation to globalization. I felt the inherent conflict between their citizens and their government leaders. Their citizens want to continue with the protectionist policies but government leaders do not really have much choice except to join the globalization in order to allow entry of cheaper products into their countries. The government leaders have really a big role to play in convincing it citizens to adopt said policies. b. Review the event by reflection Introducing us to the international business context may be big eye opener for some who have not thought of its implications but because of the present state of technology, i.e. , particularly the internet, students, I would say are not surprised really to be talking about those things. However, I would like to presume that before students did really enrol in the course, they know before hand or have made prior research on things that will be learned and talked about. So I would say, based on my personal feelings and observations generally the modules went well, except may be for some review of more basic concepts of economics and management. Being a BSC graduate, my orientation of management concepts, is I shall say, is good enough. I have a good foundation to understand the bigger world of international business. I have just a few comments on methodology of presentation of the subject matter. The lectures are generally well presented but the effectiveness of the method seems to suffer some limitations. I felt a more active interaction between professor and the students would have accomplished more. c. Analysis of situation and assessment of its development The situations where lectures have happened are realities because of the design of the curriculum. The program presumes the student to have enough background of management concepts in terms of education and exposure; hence, lecture was given more preference than case method discussion inside the classroom. The lectures may be comprehensive and covers the necessary topics but the present state of technology, I suppose, have also changed how students behave inside the classroom. There is the feeling that if one could read everything in the internet why he or she would listen much inside the classroom. Students these days, I suppose want to have the best alternatives of how to use their time, because so many choices offer so many competing alternatives. However, the limitation I think is partly addressed by the assignments given which complemented the lectures, which more or less make the learning experiential. Personal Development Plan a. Present Status and Identification of Achievements For the first semester, I have achieved so much as compared when I had started in this school. The first semester, I would say, is a fruitful experience for me. Having seen the world with a bigger perspective, after confirming some things, which I know and seem to know before hand about how should the world operate in terms of international business, I now find myself more prepared to move in the ladder or ladders of my career. The knowledge that I had from the first semester, I would like to believe, illumined the path for me to plan. My personal and professional strategy for growth would seem to be clearer now. b. Goals, Identification of Skills development and future career objectives I would like to become a finance manager both (local and international) in the future in the international sense. Having this objective in mind, I should not only familiarize myself with the different concepts nationally and internationally but also their actual applications in business. With a more independent attitude as a result of this course, perhaps after graduation, I will just need to continue seeing and experiencing myself how the concepts and principles are applied in an actual business setting. How issues are settled? How strategies are designed? How strategies are modified in relations to changing conditions? These are just some of the questions that are flashing back in my mind and I believe I will continue doing them in the future because learning is unending. My learning and skill development objectives I suppose to improve further critical reading and integration of the theories in different business applications. c. Constraints and weaknesses to hold me back Constraints if any that will hold me back would be my unwillingness to face the challenge of the future. My being an accountant has influenced my thinking as just conservative in decision-making. This may be because accountants are conservative in their assumptions but there are also adventurous attitudes of accountants that I know. As an accountant, I make projections and I would like to see the future in clearer terms. I found out that many things in this world are based on assumptions. My profession as accountant was founded on accounting assumptions and business behaviour are based on assumptions. This we have seen when we were discussing the subject, Managing People. Said set of assumptions are based in a given set of conditions so that if conditions change, the assumptions will also change and the resulting theory have to allow variability as well, in the same way that in “every rule there is an exception.” Hence, I would say if every there is any constraint that would hold me it would be my unwillingness to see all the challenges that lie in business but at this point, this possibility is just remote. d. Highlights of what and how I intend to do it. My dream to become a finance manager is not unrealistic. In fact is very close to my present profession as an accountant. By being an accountant, I would like to believe I have a big edge as against those who have no accounting background but again to be a finance manger is not simple knowing the internationalisation of business. As I said at the start, the internationalization forces one to cross borders that the moment a firm has performed well against its competitors with the country, it faces the big reality of competition from other countries because of the government moves in international investment and trade. I, too, need to be able to cross border in terms of skills and attitudes, hence this course. To be a future finance manager requires me to look at business concepts strategically in an international sense. This should challenge me to study the different finance models in the evaluation investment decisions. However, apart from these models are the human side of it. As I confirmed, management is not just about models, it is also about people with different attitudes and temperaments. Of course managing people entails also business models. The people that will implement a financial plan must of course support the plan and before they support business plans their needs and wants, as human beings must first be satisfied. Such is the complex nature of human beings that a separate module for professional skill development and managing people was added in the course, I suppose. Organizations are composed of people and people are as complex as they are in themselves. In their desire to know and conquer themselves, different theories have evolved. However, it cannot be denied that there are standard formulas for people’s success and to be successful financially in an endeavour is itself a proof of achievement. To be a player in that big world of finance of which I plan to enter would be a great challenge for me. I may not predict everything so that I will be ahead of my competitors but I would be happy enough to know how to apply principles of which I find evidence to support that they really work under defined set of conditions. Part Two Reflective Commentary on my learning with relevant literature Knowing where I am and knowing where I have to go are the first requirements of my personal and professional journey to success. With the first semester, I learned many things including international business context and corporate strategy, managing people and professional skill development. Where I am now is clear to me. I am in a world of dreamers and my classmates now would actually be my competitors in the big world of international business. They are my competitors but not my foes. This is because the competition is with rules of game. There is good business and there is bad business. Of course, I know that business will be driven by profits and as future finance manager; I will be in charge of how to deliver maximization of wealth of stockholders. That I will do with responsibility. But this I cannot do without people. Models cannot implement plan but people do. Not all business will result to success but there are experiences of companies from which one can learn. I know now my learning and skills development objectives and my future career objectives. As a future finance manager, I have not only started familiarizing myself with the different finance concepts both nationally and internationally but also their actual applications in business. Now I see the relevance of studies and surveys conducted about the causes of failure. These causes include financial reason, which could have been prevented by a responsible finance manager. With these yearnings in mind, I am crafting my career objectives. Of course, wisdom is never stagnant. With a more independent attitude, perhaps after graduation, I will just need to continue seeing, experiencing and learning by myself how the concepts and principles are applied in an actual business setting. In relation to this reflective summary, I would say that what I do also finds application in literature on reflective learning and development particularly King and Kitchener’s Model of Reflective Judgement. The article entitled On Reflective Thinking, 1999, says that the Model of Reflective Judgement emphasizes the thinkers epistemic assumptions-what can be known and how a person can know. The paper citing the work of King and Kitchener, 1994, p. 18 says.” In this vision of the higher order cognitive ability, the reflective thinker examines and evaluates the available relevant information and opinions to construct a plausible solution to a problem at hand.” The paper then said that this plausible solution becomes the individuals belief that is subject to change as she gathers more information and that the object of reflection is recognized as temporary. It is clear that a reflective thinker, just as I am now doing, draws on available information to construct his or her own belief system. That belief system is subject to change. This model is applicable in my case since as I said conditions change and therefore my plans are based on given set of assumptions and as a human being, I must allow some flexibility to really adjust in the ever evolving environment. References: 1. FAQS.org., 2003, , [www documents] URL http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-14593.html [Accessed January 15,2006] 2. GATT guide,1996, , [www documents] URL www.ciesin.org/TG/PI/TRADE/gatt.html [Accessed January 15,2006] 3. Icons Project,2006, [www documents] URL [Accessed January 15,2006] 4. King, P. M. & Kitchener, K. S., 1994. The development of Reflective Judgment in adolescence and adulthood. Jossey Bass: San Francisco. 5. On Reflective Thinking, 1999, [www documents] URL http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/cmazow/MajorProject/model.htm [Accessed January 15,2006] 6. WTO, 2006, , [www documents] URL http://www.wto.org/ [Accessed January 15,2006] Read More