Skills Analysis, Audit and Action Points - Essay Example

Personal Development Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No Introduction and Structure 3 2. Skills Analysis, Audit and Action Points 4 3. SWOT Analysis and Action Points 5 4. S.K.A. Analysis and Action Points 6 5. Strategic Concepts Milestones and Targets 7 6. References 9 7. Appendices 10 Introduction and Structure Personal Development Plan is a document in which time and effort of an individual is estimated and its optimum utilization for the development of future is planned. The need of appropriate knowledge and information for such a plan is very vital. Wrong information can lead to unrealistic plan and incomplete knowledge may encourage setting of unachievable targets. Knowledge that is built with evidence from observation and experiment is referred as Empirical knowledge. When knowledge is built by critically derived information from our senses to understand this world it is called Empiricism. Humans made huge advance due to the doctrine of Empiricism (Power Point Lesson 2011) Enlightenment, a notion of break through in knowledge, emerged in the sixteenth and seventieth centuries in Europe. Thinking has four idols which Francis Bacon (1561-1626) warned of removing from human mind; Idols of the Tribe, Cave, Market Place and the Theatre. Tribe limits human thinking, Cave sets narrow perspective, Market Place determines regions for trading and Theatre that stages act is prepared by human thought systems (Power Point Lesson 2011) The core component of knowledge is fact. Research is made on the basis of facts. All facts contain data and all data is created by human action. Each individual determines as to how the data created by someone is to be used. Appendix 1 shows the complex process of interpreting data as facts. The problem of concepts arises with the truth and relativism in data which is dealt in philosophy by a special branch called Epistemology; the theory of knowledge (Power Point Lesson 2011) Most human beings wish to understand their world and many build theories to sense it. Various aspects of world require enormous efforts for comprehension. Mostly people abandon their efforts at sometime and point where they feel satisfied with what they have achieved. The issues in Epistemology as described in Appendix 2 deals with the nature of the knowledge which is an inquiry into a certain concept or idea (Epistemology 2011) The main objective of the study program is to enhance my knowledge while working. The continuous education is supported by my job and my work is supported by the education I get at the University. It helps understand and implement best practices at my work Skills Analysis, Audit and Action points Skill is a set of abilities in an individual consisting of thinking, acting and performing. Skills are achieved through inheritance, training, observation, practice and experience. Skills such as reading, writing and speaking English language are required to acquire modern knowledge of science and technology. Critical analysis requires skills for analyzing, reasoning, evaluating, problem solving and decision making (Power Point Lesson 2011) Audit is the process of critical investigation. Appendix 3 shows six form of critical investigation. Epistemological form of critical investigation searches for the constituents of knowledge. Investigative form of critical investigation finds the impact of taking some thing for granted. Iconoclastic form of critical investigation identifies dominant images and icons. Political form of critical investigation determines persons who influence an argument and work out loses and gains. Revelatory form of critical investigation verifies and interprets the truth. Emancipatory form of critical investigation sees whether existing society faces any challenges (Power Point Lesson 2011) (Allen 2000, ANA 2000, p. 110) stated that three hundred and fifty employees surveyed by Allen Group Survey in Australia found that the most valued skills in Australian Industry Group needed for work is a mix that consists of personal attributes, interpersonal skills and specific competencies (Kearns 2001) Human Dimension Working Group (HDWG) in a report prepared for the National Innovation Summit, Australia identified innovation, creativity and lateral thinking as the most important skills for empowering an entrepreneurial workforce. Surveys carried out in Britain also found similar findings for the National Skills Task Force (NSTF 2000a, 2000b) (Kearns 2001) The action points for my study are to improve and perfect the personal attributes such as physical health by not indulging in to bad habits, show humility in temperament and achieve competencies that are needed to develop and further my career. Furthermore, struggle to improve knowledge and get more and more of it shall continue to use it constructively (Kearns 2001). SWOT Analysis and Action points SWOT stands for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat. In the environment in which a person lives have external factors that affect his over all personality, mentality, attitudes, behavior and quality of life. The external factors of environment include region or areas in which he is born and living his life, friends and foe he possesses, house or home in which he stays, quality of life he enjoys, the facilities of modern life that he gets, the school, collage or university where he studies and the office or premises where he earns provide several opportunities and threats to an individual (QuickMBA 2010) Similarly there are many internal factors of an individual such as his health, colour, eyesight, intellect, attitude, approaches, behavior, motivation, social status, contacts, family background, culture, religion, friend circle, class mates, accessibility to internet, practices, interests and habits that provide strength or weaknesses to an individual (QuickMBA 2010) SWOT Analysis is a framework as illustrated in Appendix 4 that scans external and internal factors and group them in SWOT matrix of four squares. The SWOT matrix helps to plan overall strategy for development and improvement (QuickMBA 2010) S-O strategies are list of opportunities that should be persuaded W-O strategies are list of weaknesses that should be removed to persuade opportunities. S-T strategies list ways of reducing vulnerability to threats. W-T strategies provide defensive measure to prevent from external threats. My SWOT analysis is given below that provide all four strategies (QuickMBA 2010) Strength Weaknesses Opportunities S-O 1. Study program 2. Current Job W-O 1. Lack of time 2. Friend Circle 3. Habits and Interest Threat S-T 1. Search better job due to instability of economy 2. Increase competency by acquiring higher skills and education W-T 1. Implement good practices at work and home 2. Spend more time on education 3. Value and practice ethics SKA Analysis and Actions points SKA stands for Skills, Knowledge and Attitude. To decide in today’s knowledge-based global society the type of skills required to maintain employability and competency with opportunities of improving the current quality of life is one of the most difficult challenges for the young people. The exponential growth of internet has provided unprecedented access to the source of knowledge and information. The information overload by internet has increased the opportunities for learning and gaining knowledge on one hand and opened the door for unwanted, bad and harmful knowledge on the other hand. It is therefore absolutely necessary to understand and differentiate between good and bad knowledge. Good knowledge brings good values, ethics and information in mind that leads to peaceful, harmonious and satisfactory life. Bad knowledge brings bad habits, violence, war and evil with frustration and despondency in the mind. Attitude is the regular behaviour of an individual. Quality of attitude is judged from the responses and observations made by an individual. Attitude is evidence of an individual’s inner experience. An individual sees the world from knowledge, beliefs, faith and experiences he acquires. Appendix 5 gives various different types of definitions and meaning to the phenomenon of attitude. The approach of a person is based on his attitude. Person with positive attitude always search for the good things and hope for the best. On the contrary person with negative attitude always look for faults and mistakes and prepare for the worst (Attitude 2011) Negative attitudes mostly result in failure and despondency whereas positive attitude results in success and happiness. The rational for this interpretation is simple. A person with positive attitude accepts his mistakes when fails. He improves them and work harder. He converts it into another opportunity with additional struggles to achieve success. On the other hand if a person with negative attitude fails, he blames, argues and refuses to accept his mistakes. Consequently he ends up with situation of despair and despondency. The United States National Skills Standards Board (NSSB) identified academic skills, occupational skills and employability skills s three broad categories of skills and knowledge (NSSB 2000, p.1) (Kearns 2001) Employability skills include competencies at workplace such as communication skills, problem solving skills and team skills. Carnevale’s identified 16 skills as shown in Appendix 5 that are required for modern day’s employment (Kearns 2001) The points of actions are to assess the competency in 16 types of skills (Appendix 5) and find gaps and fill it with appropriate coaching and training plans. Strategic Concepts Milestones and Targets The strategic concepts related with Personal Development Program include aims and objectives of life, goal of academic achievement, and goal of professional achievement, goal of personal achievement, and preparing and maintaining personal records. Aims and Objectives of Life Strategy Concepts Milestones Targets (Achieved or Estimated) Academic Education School education Higher Education A Level Bachelor Degree Master’s Degree PHD Degree Achieved (year) Professional Education Technology M.S. Word M.S. Excel M.S. Project Web Browsers Internet Surfing Personal Achievement Pious Human Abstain Smoking Abstain Drugs Remember God Practice Ethics Care for others Respect elders Help for others Voluntary Service References Attitude 2011. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 20 November, 2011, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42266/attitude Epistemology 2011. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 19 November, 2011, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190219/epistemology Kearns, P. 2001. Review of Research: Generic skills for the new economy. Retrieved 19 November, 2011, from http://www.ncver.edu.au/popups/limit_download.php?file=research/proj/nr0024.pdf Power Point Lesson 2011. Knowledge Innovation Enterprise, 7MG0011(7) Assessing Evidence,. University of Wolverhampton, U.K. Power Point Lesson 2011. Knowledge Innovation Enterprise, 7MG0011(9) Being Critical? University of Wolverhampton, U.K. QuickMBA 2010. Strategic Management SWOT Analysis. Retrieved 19 November, 2011, from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/ Appendix 1: Complex process of Data Interpretation Appendix 2: Epistemology: The Nature of the knowledge Appendix 3: Forms of Critical Investigation Appendix 4: SWOT Analysis framework Appendix 5 Employability Skills Read More