Business Leadership - Assignment Example

Business Leadership Essay The personal career management plan My personal career management plan has four different phases. I intend to acquire valuable experience that would be the main factor that would assist me to acquire my preferred job. Some of the skills that I will require to be a marketing manager include communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the skill to carry out extensive research studies. This kind of experience can be acquired through training programs as well as the practice of occupying different work-related positions. In the first phase of my career plan, it is my intention to function as an official in a recognised marketing firm immediately after graduation. This experience will likely help me to improve my communication skills as well as the confidence in my business skills. Engaging in sales calls for an employee to try to convince others to purchase goods or services. The sales worker has to continue trying to sell products in the midst of disappointments that may be caused by rejections. In the capacity of a sales worker, I will also be able to benefit from various training programs that offer courses on international multi-national marketing incentives. Working as a sales official will also help me to be able to further develop my team-building abilities and talents. The second phase of my career management plan involves working with an organisation that specializes in marketing research. This will help me to be able to further develop my communication skills while also attracting the attention of more potential clients. Engaging in marketing research would also help me to be able to further comprehend different market segments. Engaging in marketing research can be quite beneficial; particularly if other recognised organisations are aware of the importance or significance of the academic research studies that are being conducted. The third stage of my career plan has to do with working in the capacity of a marketing officer on the international arena. In today’s business scene, marketing executives are required to have a lot of information about the requirements of different cultures. Many business organisations are particularly interested in learning about the different issues that influence the decision of customers when they make the decision to purchase goods or services. By working for a multinational corporation in the capacity of a marketing officer, I will be able to work in concert with officials from different cultures. This will give me much-valued experience in dealing with the business requirements of different societies. Being able to manage the workforces of different organisations in different geographical locations can greatly improve my career prospects. The fourth phase of my career management plan concerns functioning as the leader of a marketing group. This type of experience will allow me to be able to improve my communication skills through actually overseeing different levels of workers. It is essential for marketing executives to know about how best to be able to manage and lead other workers. After years of being groomed for the position, I will make a definite attempt to get my dream job as a senior global marketing executive. 2. A reflective report outlining my personal learning in regards to effective team working and future implications I have heard the experience of engaging in teamwork experience in the past. The one thing that was made evident is that teamwork is far from simple. According to Zelazny (2006) Tuckman’s theory of teamwork mentioned the existence of four Group Development stages. These were created in order to better comprehend and manage unexpected circumstances as well as potential problems. The different stages in Tuckman’s theory included storming, forming, performing, and norming (Zelazny 2006). It was my experience that there were different challenges that were experienced in the process of team-building. In the first phase, forming, the potential team-members have just met and find it hard to create or develop bonds with each other. Each group member wishes to find some type of area of comfort while also seeking to follow a strong leader. To overcome this issue, out team met regularly and engaged in informal activities in order to inspire group unity and cohesiveness. We then selected a leader who assigned various tasks to different individuals. In this way, the group moved onto the second stage which involved smooth development. Every group member’s weaknesses and strengths were determined; making it easier for the leader to know how to a lot responsibilities (Scott, Lundgren, and Thompson 2011). The allocation of tasks would also contribute towards teamwork efficiency. This would also ensure that there was less incidence of conflict among group members. At the conclusion of this forming stage, there was a greater feeling of belonging among group members who were inspired to work as a singular unit. The next phase, the storming stage, saw the clash of wills as the team members each began to openly express their concern about different issues. Team-members would openly challenge the views they did not agree with. To deal with the conflicts in a rational manner, our team would vote on different subjects on which there was no consensus. In our team, the storming stage concerned many members because there were times when there was no progress due to misunderstandings. However, it was also in this stage that team members learnt mutual respect for other members. It was also at this stage that team members began to understand the importance of ensuring the harmonisation of all opinions even while extolling the significance of independent thinking. In the final stage, the performing phase, the group mainly focused on finishing, implementing, and re-evaluating the task at hand. In this phase the team effected various modifications in regards to task manifestation. In the course of all these four stages, the team-members learnt that discipline and good communication is vital for the success of teamwork. In addition, it is important for team-members to develop trust, mutual respect, and understanding among themselves if they will be successful in reaching the team’s objectives (Scott, Lundgren, and Thompson 2011). Teamwork, though, remains as the main technique that is used to achieve different objectives in business organisations all over the world. It is likely that in future, there will be even more emphasis on developing team abilities in order to realise corporate objectives in different industries. There are many companies from different geographical locations around the world that are entering into joint ventures or partnerships in order for both of them to be able to reach more customers. This trend will likely grow in the near future; increasing the need for team ship qualities in different industries. In the present as well as future business scene, it is likely that the use of teams will continue to be central to the achievement of corporate objectives. However, this has never seemed as challenging in the past as it is today. Most nations today are marked by a dynamic and mobile economy. Managing the different talents that could exist in teams formed in such setting, while highly rewarding, could also prove to be extremely challenging. Teams today have to take into consideration the effects of factors such as globalisation, technology, diversity of the workforce, and environmental challenges in order to realise their corporate group objectives. Teamwork is not just beneficial because it realises more objectives; it also streamlines more operational processes thus saving costs. In addition, the creation of teams can no longer be entrusted to organisational executives. In the past, teams were created by line or middle managers. In today’s organisation, however, the changing nature of different industries has huge implications on how experts determine how to manage people and design the organisations. In many industries such as the transport sector, there are organisations that are already leveraging teamwork strategies even as their less eager rivals struggle to comprehend the meaning of the future. One of the reasons why it is difficult for organisations, particularly in the developed nations to effect teams successfully is because the culture does not encourage such collaboration. For instance, in the United States, the culture tends to stress on the importance of achieving a good individual performance. In addition, monuments tend to be created in recognition of individual effort and not teamwork (Gillies 2013). This can function as a deterrent against engaging in cooperation with others. Still, it cannot be denied that teamwork is one of the determinants of the future success. Even in today’s business scene, this is evident. For instance, team based business organisations are a major trends in the present trade environment. Traditional business enterprises are typified by allowing only the executives on top of the corporate structure to get involved in the process of decision-making and management (Rushton 2010). Due to the fact that workers are not allowed to take part in the process of decision-making in such cases, it falls to the managers to conduct research and assess data in order to correctly decide on programs for the company’s future. On the other hand, team-based organisations allot management activities to their workers and encourage initiatives such as collective decision-making. This then allows managers to be able to invest more time in collecting and assessing information prior to making decisions. Any organisation can be based on teamwork. Essentially, the key to team-based organisations’ successes has to do with the delegation of responsibility and authority. 3. Review of a CILT Student Conference Presentation as well as Existing Networking Opportunities In the one-day CILT student conference, there were many opportunities for students to be able to benefit from the experience of professionals. Students also had the chance to be able to expand their knowledge base in matters concerning the delivery of projects. In the conference there were numerous guest speakers who allowed for a period for answering questions and also provided opportunities for networking (Gillies 2013). The conference was aimed towards engaging its audience in matters concerning logistics, transport, and connected industries in the public sector. Though this conference was of particular interest of practitioners, managers, engineers, planners, and researchers, it was also targeted towards students. This conference provided numerous opportunities for networking between transport problem enthusiasts, practitioners in the transport sector, and students who were interested in aspects of transport. The objective of the net-working process was not to ensure that programs were created for the immediate gain of the stakeholders. An advantage of networking is increasing one’s own administrative network. Indeed, many students were actually more interested in finding out about social platforms that provided a way of learning about new subjects in the transport sector. The practitioners were also more interested in ensuring that long-term goals were the main object. Most of the conversations between transport enthusiasts and transport sector practitioners were not very invasive or in-depth. The CILT program was discussed and there was a lot more social net-working that took place. At this conference, people from different social levels were able to meet and listen to the ideas of others. Forums that support such formation of relationships are not common. This is why this particular conference was so beneficial for all parties involved. Using social media platforms to communicate can be quite advantageous because users can endorse each others’ skills while also sharing articles in a way that cannot be construed as being overly intrusive. 4. Attending a Seminar or Presentation by the CILT The CILT’s (Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport) seminar was held with many professionals as well as enthusiasts in attendance. Supply chain professionals created a presentation that engaged the audience and drew the attention of attending students. The seminar was mainly focused on investigating the concepts of logistics and transport while also considering new approaches to the evaluation and design of transport systems. Apart from addressing concepts to do with freight and passenger transport as well as global and local logistics, the conference also sought to address issues like modern e-business in the transport system, as well as environmental issues (Rushton 2010). This made it seem more concerned with contemporary issues which would increasingly captivate the interest of the younger attendees as well as the professional practitioners. For students, there are accredited programs that are affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). For instance, there are courses that allow students to become recognised specialists in the transport sector as well as by business and academic circles in Britain. In addition, there are many campuses that offer courses that contain CILT activities. Students are also permitted to regularly visit industrial plants in which they can learn more about the activities endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. In some circumstances, they can even invite CILT-affiliated guest speakers and even partner with or seek the guidance of recognised experts for their dissertation projects. References Gillies, A. (2013) Conference Interpreting: a students practice book, Routledge, London. Rushton, A. (2010) The handbook of logistics and distribution management, Kogan Page, New York. Scott, C., Lundgren, H. & Thompson, P. (2011) Guide to supply chain management, Springer, New York. Zelazny, G. (2006) Say it with presentations: how to design and deliver successful business presentations, revised & expanded edition, McGraw-Hill, New York. Read More