Personal and Professional Development - Assignment Example

Personal and Professional Development Personal and Professional Development Introduction Self-managed learning is an effective tool for both personal and professional development. The dynamisms and complexities that characterize modern organizations have necessitated life-long learning achieved through carrying out SWOT analysis and reflective learning. Self-managed learning can occur through workshops, seminars and conferences, social networks, internet, and in-service trainings. Self-managed learning has proved to be vital to both individuals and organizations because it encourages creativity, innovativeness, and flexibility. I believe that skills such as critical thinking, self-discipline, and a positive attitude are crucial have been effectively reflected in my development plan. Implementing the development activities involves several processes and activities such identification of needs, resource accumulation, institution selection, and performing the actual learning process. Task 1 1.1 The most common approaches to self-managed learning include workshops, seminars and conferences, social networks, internet, and in-service trainings. It is possible to learn through seminars, conferences and workshops because people use these forums for expressing their experiences and finding new ways of making changes for the future. Seminars, workshops, and conferences are effective in self-managed learning because they provide participants with opportunities for presenting their knowledge about various aspects to other people, who also learn new things from them (Cunningham, Bennett & Dawes, 2000). Another benefit of these forums for learning is that they help people gain confidence in speaking to the public. Additionally, participants are afforded with opportunities for developing presentations skills, which are critical in running dynamic and complex organizations. Social networks provide additional forums for self-managed learning. Social networks include Facebook, Twitter, and My Year Book. People spend time chatting with friends and learning new inventions and information from others through their posts. The internet contains several articles written by various authors and on a variety of subjects, including accounting, management, economics, and marketing. The internet provides the most convenient source of information; knowledge from the internet learners can be transfer and put to practical applications at their workplaces. In-service trainings constitutes learning programs organizations plan, develop and administer to their employees. These programs are effective in self-managed learning because they are provided by the organization that exactly understands its needs and skill requirements. 1.2 Modern organizations are characterized by dynamisms and complexities caused by rapid changes in markets and technology. Lifelong learning, therefore, is critical in order to ensure adaptability to ever-changing business environment. The best methods for encouraging lifelong learning in both personal and professional contexts include carrying out SWOT analysis and adopting self-reflective learning. SWOT analysis helps interested learners to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The learners, therefore, maximize on their strengths and available opportunities while minimizing the ramifications associated with own weaknesses and environmental threats. For example, if the learner realizes that he gets tired easily, he could adopt a habit of having enough sleep and doing physical exercises to make his muscles and brain active. SWOT analysis should be a continuous process aimed at identifying improvement aspects of one’s life (Cunningham, Bennett & Dawes, 2000). Another way of ensuring lifelong learning is self-reflective learning. Self-reflective learning is crucial in learning because it helps learners to review their judgments, opinions, and actions; this helps them link professional development to real-life situations. Any discrepancy between the learner’s prior knowledge and current viewpoints calls for additional learning aimed at eliminating possible fallacies that would have developed over time. 1.3 Self-managed learning enables individuals to develop teamwork skills because they share knowledge during the process of learning. Learners acquire skills for making proper presentations using technological devices; this provides them with opportunities for expressing their knowledge and developing confidence for making presentations to the executives in the future. The independence that characterizes self-managed learning enhances the creativity of learners and develops proper communication skills through connecting with others during knowledge sharing. Self-managed learning encourages flexibility among the organizational members. Organizations prefer flexible people to rigid members provided that personal commitments do not limit employees from performing their duties. Organizations derive benefits from flexibility that are acquired through self-managed learning. Self-managed learning saves time for organizations because it does not require strict time schedules that may interfere with the working time for the staff members (Cunningham, Bennett & Dawes, 2000). Self-managed learning is also less costly to the organization because it involves several members of staff receiving learning at the same time; for example, seminars, workshops, and conferences are performed for several members of the organization at the same time. Additionally, organizations gains from learners’ competencies such as effective decision-making, problem solving, and ethics acquired through self-managed learning. Task 3 3.1 & 3.2 1. Perform needs analysis to identify the personal and professional development needs. needs analysis constitutes the process of reflecting on oneself to identify aspects that need to be developed through education and experience. I have evaluated myself against my roles and responsibilities and realized that I need further skill development to enhance my professional performance. 2. Identify the required resources necessary to meet the identified personal and professional development needs. Development cannot be achieved without investing resources in the process. Resources include the money for paying school fees and time required for attending classes during the endeavors for developing oneself. I think it is vital to recognize that resources are needed in order to make proper strategy for implementation of personal and professional development plan. 3. Research the best learning institutions that can enable you to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience for development. Personal and professional development takes place in learning institutions. I would propose selection of the most suitable institution that can facilitate effective learning in a profession of one’s choice. Similarly, some organizations support learning for members through in-service training, seminars, workshops, and conferences. It is imperative to research and select an organization that rhymes with skills development needs in order to enhance personal and professional development. 4. Join the learning process and perform all the activities required to achieve personal and professional development. The final process in development is participating in the learning process. This can be either through joining an academic institution or beginning working in an organization that supports the acquisition of skills and experience required for personal and professional development. The learner/trainee has the responsibility of participating in all activities that are critical in development in order to benefit from such organizations/institutions. 3.3 & 3.4 My years of study have been characterized by a realization that possessing critical thinking, self-discipline, and a positive attitude is vital for the achievement of learning objectives. Both academic and social success requires proper evaluation of abilities to ensure that they rhyme with the objectives desired to be achieved. It is through critical thinking that I have led a streamlined life while performing both academic and professional endeavors. Critical thinking involves applying cognitive strategies that enhance the chances of achieving a desirable outcome. Critical thinking is vital in enabled in making reasonable decisions and inducing reflective thinking, which are necessary for identifying own weaknesses throughout my career. Self-discipline has enabled me to adopt self-control and independence. It is through self-discipline that I have been able to successfully achieve my career goals. Self-discipline has always enabled me to maintain focus in completing my tasks in time, ignoring peer pressure, and controlling my emotional reactions prevalent in my roles as a student, an assistant manager, and a bookkeeper. In addition, being self-disciplined has contributed to my ability of avoiding paying attention to peer pressure, which is adversarial to both personal and professional development. Peer pressure is one of the most common features in both learning institutions and social contexts; however, ignoring destructive influences and staying focused protect me from peer pressure. Having a positive attitude has enhanced my comprehension skills. A positive attitude is critical in enhancing my social skills particularly during interactions with colleagues in the classroom and at the workplace. Cross and Papadopoulos (2003) assert that the primary role of a positive attitude is instigating a feeling of happiness and enabling people to develop constructive thinking. Realization of my academic objectives has been accelerated by development of a positive attitude. My source of inspiration has always constituted anticipation of success instead of failure. Having a positive attitude towards problems that I face during my academic and professional roles enables me to view challenges as sources of strength for success. I have learnt to concentrate on finding solutions instead of dwelling on past failures. Opportunity identification could not be possible without a positive attitude; I believe that ability to identify opportunities in the environment is vital for my personal development and achievement of professional goals. Leadership skill is an integral part of my personal and professional development. Leadership involves working in teams; this has enabled me develop skills such management, problem solving, and cultural diversity. Teamwork is characterized by sharing of ideas, which further sharpen leadership skills essential in both current and future career prospects. Having leadership skills has also improved my level of creativity. Working in teams leads to generation of different ideas that provide a framework for personal development. According to Cross & Papadopoulos (2003), people with leadership skills have high confidence levels and improved social skills. I believe I can maintain my competency as an assistant manager and bookkeeper because I have excellent leadership skills. Leadership skills have accelerated my speed of learning various aspects of my personal character and understanding the critical requirements for skills of managing people with individual differences in the organization. Conclusion The primary objective of the report was to discuss personal and professional development. The report evaluated the approaches to self-managed learning, their applicability and benefits to an individual and the whole organization. The report also focused on the ways through which lifelong learning can be encouraged and evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to the individual and organization. The learning that had taken place previously was also evaluated against the aims and objectives of the development plan. Task 4 Introduction Finding solutions to workplace problems is necessary for smooth flow of organizational activities. Ways of finding solutions to workplace problems include identifying issues, understanding everyone’s interest, and ensuring compliance to rules and regulations. Communication is crucial to organizational success and sustainability because it makes it possible to transmit messages that maintain performance of tasks. Both personal and professional development is contingent upon proper time management to ensure effective utilization of available time. The main strategies for time management include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. 4.1 Identifying issues Finding solutions to work-based problems requires a clear understanding of the actual problem. There should be recognition that different people hold different views about issues. Organizational members are vested with the responsibility of finding out the actual causes of workplace problems. Identifying problems occurring in the accounting department helps in curing issues associated with bookkeeping, invoices, reconciliations and cost categorization. This is because it becomes easy to provide solutions to identified problems. Cross & Papadopoulos (2003) argue that identifying the problem is itself a solution to the problem. This is because it becomes relatively easier to find proper solutions to known problems than for unknown problems. Understanding everyone’s interests Interests constitute needs that ought to be satisfied by the required solution. Ignoring people’s true interests and becoming attached to one particular solution is adversarial to organizational success. In handling the duties of an assistant manager, I deal with several people when doing reception duties, taking orders, arranging, and preparing meetings; each of these parties have varied interests. As an executive, I strive to come up with a solution that satisfies everyone’s interests. This solution requires assuming all differences and listening to each party with an intention of understanding. Ensuring compliance to rules and regulations The executive are bound to respect the rights of employees. Employees are also required to obey the rules and regulations of the organization, and work within the purview of the predetermined standards provided their rights be not infringed. My accountancy roles is bound by several accounting standards such as ISAs, which I should observe in preparing books of accounts. I also manage people such as line managers, who work under me. Strict observance of both parties’ requirements is the primary cure for workplace problems. Failure to comply with workplace policies, conventions, rules, and regulations creates more problems that are difficult to solve. 4.2 I have realized that effective communication in my management position enhances the speed of problem solving and aids in building personal relationships. Integrated communication involves using a variety of media to reach the organizational publics. While executing my bookkeeping and assistant manager’s duties, communicating in a variety of ways increases the chances of the message reaching the greatest number of people within the organization. I use a variety of methods to transmit messages to the interested groups such as my executives and juniors at GBLS Ltd.; these include e-mails, letters, telephone calls, minutes of meetings, and both external and internal memos. The styles of communication available for my accounting profession include aggressive, passive, and assertive. As a receptionist and assistant manager, I am opposed to aggressive communication because it is expressed in a forceful and hostile manner. This is because it which may de-motivate other members of the organization or scare away GBLS Ltd’s clients. Passive communication involves the speaker putting their needs last. I embrace assertive style of communication because it involves clearly expressing what I feel without making demands of what should be done. I believe that assertive communication is effective because it leads to consideration of other people’s points of view; this is critical in avoiding conflicts and maintaining positive relationships among the organizational members. Poor communication is the primary cause of tension and bad feelings within relationships. 4.3 The fundamental objective of time management is to strategically plan and organize a person’s activities in order to increase the possibilities of achieving the intended objectives. People should understand and apply time management strategies in order to counteract the barriers to time management. Time management techniques that most people use include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. Time budgeting is the process of setting standards for spending the available time. I believe that managers, students, teachers, and other employees budget for their time; this is because time budgeting limits the possibilities of time wastage. When performing my accountancy duties, I divide the available tasks into unit projects, prioritizing project units in order to determine their level of urgency, deciding the amount of time to be spent on each project unit and spreading the available time over specified days required to complete the project (Forsyth, 2010). When I was serving as a waitress at Café Futa, I realised that successful implementation of time budgeting enhances organizational performance because it guarantees achievement of goals as predetermined. The daily planner is another strategy for time management I always use when performing the duties of an assistant manager; the daily planner enables people to plan activities of the day in order of urgency. Effective daily planners are structured to set realistic deadlines with the objective of avoiding unnecessary frustrations. I handle urgent accounting activities first before matters that do not need urgency. This is critical in GBLS Ltd because it ensures continued flow of operations without undesirable delays that can lead to failure. The time log is a chart that allows individuals to keep track of the time spent on each activity by connecting both regular and unexpected activities of the day (Forsyth, 2010). A review of the time log at the end of the day enables the time manager to trace loopholes, for time wastage and deal them accordingly. I usually use time log in identifying areas of delays and instituting the necessary counteractive measures to avoid further time wastage. Time management strategies provide foundations for both individual and organizational prosperity. The most crucial part of any time management endeavor is identifying potential barriers to effective time management and provide mechanisms to eliminate them. First, chatting too much on personal matters reduces the time for relevant tasks. Second, too many interruptions, which could be due unplanned visits or receiving unnecessary phone calls may hinder one from sticking to time management. Third, indecisiveness and inability to take a prompt action when faced with more than one alternative of equal urgency lead to wastage of time due to prolonged decision-making. Fourth, fatigue reduces a person’s ability to do tasks with the speed due to physical or mental exhaustion contributed by environmental conditions such as congestion and poor ventilation. Causes of ineffective time management arise from both personal and institutional defects. I believe in instituting mechanisms for checking employees’ activities during the day and morally persuading them to avoid misusing time. There are many options available to effective time management. At GBLS Ltd, I work as an example by avoiding engaging in irrelevant socialization when I should be working on relevant tasks. As an assistant manager, I discourage sources of interruptions such as unplanned visits and long formal phone calls to ensure employees concentrate on their actual tasks. Self-motivation is the fundamental ingredient in accomplishing tasks within a specified period. Due to the complexity of presentation of accounting statements, I am sometimes affected by procrastination; this constitutes the root cause of indecisiveness and inability to take immediate action. I have realized that it is necessary to eliminate procrastination by avoiding perfectionism. Institutional structures should be well ventilated and uncongested to reduce chances of fatigue in organizational offices. These strategies can reduce the amount of time wasted and save time for performing organizational and personal tasks. Conclusion Finding problems to workplace problems should constitute a collective responsibility for all organizational publics. Modern organizations should adopt integrated methods of communication to ensure information reaches as many people as possible. Proper time management is necessary because it enables organizations and people to achieve their objectives as planned. References Cross, M. C., & Papadopoulos, L. (2003). Becoming a therapist: A manual for personal and professional development. Hove: Brunner-Routledge. Cunningham, I., Bennett, B., & Dawes, G. (2000). Self managed learning in action: Putting SML into practice. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Gower. Forsyth, P. (2010). Successful time management. London: Kogan Page. Read More