Learning Journal Summary: the Management Skills Development 2 Course - Assignment Example

Learning Journal Summary The work that e went through provided a number of lessons for me that enabled me not only to expand my knowledge but also to develop a higher degree of scholarship. The Management Skills Development 2 course was spectacular; I have been able to grasp five lessons in which I would like to address in this learning journal. Setting learning goals was one of the major lessons that was clearly delivered and made me to learn much about it. Setting learning is important in ensuring that one is able to remain within the confines of the mandate they want to achieve. The main concepts learnt pertains the process of making goals achievable and measurable. Goals keep on pushing us to achieve something, failure to which we lack the direction that we should be taking. I learnt that when setting goals they have to be specific; this helps in narrowing down to a particular goal that one wants to achieve. To make this to be clearly appreciated in the classroom setup we clearly defined our learning objectives. After going through the teachings on setting goals, it became absolutely clear that writing down the goals is not enough in helping us achieve our goals. The specificity of the goal has to be defined based on the specific interventions that can be done in order to ensure that the goal is achieved. In addition, the measure of the goal has to be there in order to monitor progress. I also learnt that the goals set should be evaluated from time to time; the individual or system of evaluation has to be defined. For the successful implementation of the laid down goals, a strategy is necessary in order to achieve them. The strategy acts as the road map that directs the actions of the goal. In order to gain hand-on skills, I participated in the group work deliverable, in which case, I engaged in developing strategies and actions that facilitated an understanding of the topic addressed in the group work. Through the processing of setting up goals in real-life, I was able to meet the challenges that come with establishing and implementing goals. In addition, the learning goal setting provided an opportunity for me to develop self-awareness especially on how I ought to approach goals and the most appropriate strategy of implementing them. The table below shows some of the goals that I set and will use the lessons learnt in this module to successfully implement them. They are achievable, specific, measurable, realistic, and fall within set periods: Learning Goal Actions/Strategies Timeline Active listening; Speaking calm at work in stress situation; 80% tone gesture without help; Assertive communication like eye contact and I statements Evaluated by my supervisor 1 Find a mentor- check in weekly as per strategy 2 Management skills workshop 3 Making journal each week and track success/failure in journal 4 Counselling 5 Seek feedback from colleagues I trust (3 feedbacks on weekly basis) 6 months 3 months 6 months 6 months 6 months The second class provided an opportunity to learn more on presentation skills. I have always admired great presenters and good content. In this learning topic, I learnt so many tips in developing a good presentation that appeals to the listeners while still conveying an important message. For the message to be conceived positively by the users, the language that is used is very important. It was noted that when giving a presentation, the presenter should have a memory of the content and should know of how the information in the presentation follows one another. This is a very important skill for me since I endeavor to become a manager; it will help me in preparing speeches, working papers, and PowerPoint presentations among others when there is the need to do so. Developing proper communication skills was emphasized; in this regard, I grasped tips on conducting introductions as well as giving a vote of thanks. In future, as I engaging writing professional content including writing academic papers, the skills learnt will be of great importance. One outstanding aspect that I will not repeat in my future presentations is putting so much text in the PowerPoint presentations; instead, I will memorize my content and have short, brief, and concise information. In my future presentations, I will mainly focus on the audience as learnt. The presentation skills will also benefit in helping boost my confidence especially since I will be harmed with the content on the presentation. I endeavor to adopt the skills learnt in my future presentations. The third aspect that came out clearly for me is the relationship between productivity and teamwork. I was able to learn that for productivity to be maximized, teamwork in an organization ought to prevail. We engaged in a teamwork exercise that enabled us to appreciate the importance of teamwork. The exercise entailed a paper making game for the entire class. According to my observations, Joe’s team did relatively better than the rest. As I sought to understand why, I realized that the role that they discharged was very clear to them. Each of the group members took his/her own piece of work but were working in twos. Joe’s team comprised of two categories of people; those that folded the planes (Candace and Nan), while the other threw the planes into the box (Eric and Joe). The teamwork and clear definition of roles enabled the group to exemplify high productivity. In most of the other teams, they worked, as individuals hence no team work was evident. Effective communication in the workplace coupled with teamwork is an ingredient to high productivity. This course will help me in developing working relationships with colleagues, teachers, as well as service to my future employer. The fourth aspect entails the aspect of striking a balance between work and life. As presented by Group 6, work-life balance concepts that I was not aware of were made to be part of me. I learnt about the wheel of life together with its various components. Though I did not know much about the whole aspect of work-life balance, I faced the various issues in the wheel. Through a personal evaluation, I doubted my ability to strike a balance. I specifically engaged in the assessment of work-life balance in which I found that mine was imbalanced. I endeavor to promote use the techniques learnt in achieving the balance. Of essence to me were the aspects of prioritizing, developing schedules, and management of time. The importance of time cannot be overemphasized, it determines the differences in performance. I endeavor to avoid controllable time-consuming events while ensuring that I am cautious in avoiding aspects that consume time and are outside my control. Using Covey’s matrix, I foresee a situation whereby it will be easy to approach an undertaking based on its urgency and importance. This will help me greatly in setting clear priorities that will provide guidance through my MBA program as well as in later engagements in the employment. Finally, I will endeavor to engage in developing schedules and abiding by them as learnt. When scheduling, I will look into maximizing the use of the available time in order to improve productivity while also ensuring that proper prioritizing has been done. I got to learn job seeking skills through the presentation by Karen Hatt. She brought forth diverse skills that are necessary for one to successfully maneuver in getting a job. She emphasized the need to start small and grow in the job. This means that a job seeker should know what they want but they should not be too discriminatory. When looking for a job, it is important that one should take time to develop eye-catching curriculum vitae that details all the information that is relevant to the employer. In addition, the accompanying cover letter should be well articulated. I also learnt that one could opt to start as intern or a volunteer in an organization of their choice. When the individual exemplifies success, the chances of getting absorbed by the organization are quite high. In addition, the internship programs provide the interns with diverse experiences, which can help them in securing other job opportunities. As put forth by Karen, I will endeavor to develop networks with professionals so that I will be able to know which organizations have job opportunities. Finally, I endeavor to focus mainly on the business solutions since most of the employers are seeking employees that are capable of providing solutions to their businesses. Read More