Employability Strengths and Personal Effectiveness - Coursework Example

Week 1 understanding your employability Introduction To analyse an individual’s personal internal capabilities, a swot analysis is often used. The swot analysis includes the individual’s internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external attributes that encapsulate both opportunities and threats. In order to determine my employability, I took a swot analysis and below is an essay about my employability. Strengths In order to analyse my personal employability strengths, I will evaluate my accreditations, qualifications, values, philosophy experience, knowledge and personal capabilities. To begin with, I have a robust educational background. Currently, the degree I am pursuing in international business is one of my major strengths. Also, my educational background has enabled me to be an articulate individual. As such, I have excellent communication skills. I have the skills and ability to converse well with clients. Additionally, I have excellent convincing techniques. Therefore, I can easily persuade clients and make them believe that the goods/products I market are the best and worth the price tag. Additionally, positive traits such as a pleasant appearance, personality and problem solving skills enhance my employability chances. Weaknesses These are the negative internal traits that normally inhibit an individual from achieving his/her full potential. In a competitive environment, weaknesses are often inevitable. Capability gaps, inadequate competitive strength, proposition disadvantages and distraction are the basic weakness traits. In light of this, I acknowledge that my patience skills are wanting. As such, my inadequate perseverance and patience attributes leads to hurriedly made decisions which may not be wise on some occasions. Also, I have very little work experience. Additionally, experience some difficulties when it comes to prioritizing work. Poor work prioritization mostly results in poor time management. Lastly, I get anxious when I am presenting ideas to a large group of people or to clients. Opportunities Opportunities are the external positive conditions that a person can take advantage of to increase his employability. My undergraduate degree programme will equip me with the relevant skills needed for the job market. In addition to this, employment of people in the field of international business and management is expected to increase considerably by more than 7% by the year 2018. Moreover, the field of internal business covers a wide area hence a lot of job openings an opportunities are available. Threats These are the negative conditions that cannot be controlled. However, they can be minimised. The main threat is the fluctuation of employment opportunities due to the changing economic conditions. Week 2 thinking skills Although both articles analyse and evaluate a similar topic, their presentation differs to some extent. However, both articles claim that the middle universities in the United Kingdom face extinction as a result of the proliferation of online courses. As such, they imply that universities which will not take the relevant steps and adapt to the current online trends will be at a disadvantage. Whereas the guardian article advocates for universities to adopt a single specific model, the BBC article criticises this single model adoption strategy and instead argues that agility will be the main factor determining universities’ future success. As such, the BBC article implies that international campuses and advanced research should be combined. Contrary to this opinion, the guardian article recommends for specialised institutions to take over advanced research programmes instead of them being contained in universities. Unlike the guardian which steers clear of the challenges or issues that may arise as a result of the increase in online courses, the BBC gives some insight about some of these problems. For instance, the government’s current student loan policy does not include or cover students who are taking different courses from different universities simultaneously. Lastly, the BBC article depicts that traditional universities are doomed to fail since they don’t have any advantage. However, the guardian article illustrates that traditional universities have some advantages over the online universities and for profit colleges. Week 3 & 4 research skills Urbanisation and emergence of global cities 1. Glaeser, Edward L. "The new economics of urban and regional growth." The Oxford handbook of economic geography (2000): 83-98. According to Glaeser (p.24), the emergence of global cities is a phenomenon which is gradually happening worldwide. These global cities bridge the distance gap via the use of technology. To find this book, I used urbanization and global cities as search terms. I primarily used the search terms since the topic under interest was urbanization and emergence of global cities. 2. Black, Duncan, and Vernon Henderson. "A theory of urban growth." Journal of political economy 107, no. 2 (1999): 252-284. I found this article while rummaging through books and articles in my home library. The article furthermore is reputable since it has been reviewed by various experts and has also been published under the journal of political economy field. 3. Knight, Richard V. Cities in a global society. Vol. 35. Sage Publications, Incorporated, 1989. To find this article, i employed global cities as the primary search term. Although the research results were many, I decided to settle on this one since it gave examples of global cities. 4. Sassen, Saskia. "The global city: strategic site/new frontier." American Studies (2000): 79-95. I went to the school library to source for this book. I narrowed down my search to the development of global cities in America and their importance. 5. Abu-Lughod, Janet L. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities. U of Minnesota Press, 1999. Using the school online library, I focussed on some of the global cities in America. As such, the primary terms I used were ‘America global cities’. Subsequently, I picked this book from the wide array of results. Week 6. Cross cultural relationships From time immemorial, the history of relations between nations, cultures and peoples has been a complicated and complex one. For example, in some specific circumstances, distant/ neighbouring peoples have successfully engaged in symbiotic trade while in other instances, the interactions have been characterised and dotted with conflict emanating from miscommunication. Yet intercultural and international interactions, whether personal or global are gradually becoming crucial for many people daily, making cross cultural communication and understanding imperative. Individuals travelling internationally often comment on the cultural differences they encounter upon arriving at their destinations, alternately, refreshing, strange, intriguing or annoying. Additionally, in multinational corporations, people interact with people from different cultures on a daily basis. As such, they have to learn to communicate across cultures. The increase in cross culture interactions can be attributed to the ease at which people can travel. In the past, different cultures were majorly isolated as a result of war, beliefs in ethnic purity or geographic reasons. However, immigration and trade have bridged this cross cultural interactions. Therefore, immigration and trade has basically brought together individuals of different backgrounds and diverse cultures hence making communication/interaction between individuals of different backgrounds/cultures unavoidable. The society or environment in which an individual is brought up in has certain specific traditions, beliefs, norms, values, acceptable behaviours, taboos, dialects, modes of dressing, religious influences, dance, music, and a wide variety of other aspects that when combined form the person’s culture. This concept/ behaviour is often confused with ethnicity which primarily refers to the person’s genetic background. Due to these evident cultural differences in beliefs, behaviour, attitudes and thinking, it is often easy and common to succumb to emotional and cognitive reactions which lead to generalizations and stereotyping other people. Moreover, the emotional reactions tend to influence people to make pre judgements even before interacting with the person to know what he was saying. These reactions and processes are common in the modern world and especially at the workplace. The common terms often employed to describe these processes and reactions include prejudice, ethnic stereotypes, discrimination and multiculturalism. As stated earlier, business and communications technology have made permeability between culture/country boundaries easier. Understanding other people’s cultures is meant to foster good relationships and interactions which are free from conflict and miscommunication. To better understand cross cultural relationships, both the contemporary and historic differences especially between the non-western and eastern societies have to be comprehended. The common cultural differences are mainly observed in specific areas: time perception, space perception, personal responsibility, significance of face and non-verbal communication. For instance, some societies consider space to be a vital element during interactions. Also, while other cultures value face more than they value their well-being, others don’t care about face at all. In addition to these, some people place more importance on non-verbal cues than others. Therefore, it is crucial to understand different cultures. To reduce and make it easy to interact with peoples from different cultures, specific guidelines have to be followed. First, acknowledge your own bias. This is the first step. Being honest with the prejudices you hold against other people’s customs and cultures enables one to work hard to overcome them. Secondly, learn to smile. At the work place, a lot of people underestimate the power of the smile. Third, doing some background research to gain insight into someone’s culture is recommended. Also, pronouncing other people’s names correctly helps to make cross cultural interactions easy and hospitable. Nevertheless, in any communication, miscommunications will most probably occur. When this occurs, it is appropriate to be humble, apologize and the move forward. An act of humility or kindness goes a long way in enhancing cross cultural interactions. Week 7 & 8- writing skills Introduction Currently, the modern world is experiencing a rapid and unprecedented urbanisation. The basic concepts of a globalised world are the movement of goods or people. As such this essay will argue whether urbanization and emergence of global cities is an on-going trend in the modern world. Main points Migration has been a pivotal element in the spread of technology, culture and knowledge.1 The movement of people has been categorised into both macro and micro levels. Micro refers to internal movement whereas macro means external movement of people. Consequently, a shift of people may either be voluntary or non-voluntary. According to the United Nations, movement of people to urban areas is set to increase. Further, the United Nations predicts that by 2023, more than 60% of the world population will reside in cities or urban areas. The increase in urbanisation will lead to the creation of huge/mega towns/cities which will house more than 10 million people.2 The rate of urbanization will only be reduced by lowering poverty, empowering women and increase the provision of quality services to rural areas. Due to urbanization, cities are gradually being interconnected. Week 9- preparation of exams There are a variety of ways of revising for exams. However, the least effective methods of exam revision are those that mainly involve reading notes over and over only. Nonetheless, the most effective ways of exam revision are those that involve interactions with the material, hence making it more meaningful to the reader. Revising actively means that the student/learner is making an effort to comprehend what he/she is learning, rather than only memorising and cramming the text/information. Therefore, I will follow the following approach 1. Scoping the task This is the first step for exam revision. It is better to comprehend the characteristics and size of the revision before commencing. Under this step, a systematic list of what should be covered in the revision should be underlined. This is significant because it allows the learner to gather all the needed revision materials before stating anything. 2. Timetabling A timetable is necessary since there are many activities to be covered when revising for an exam. A timetable as such acts as a planner for the whole revision period. A timetable therefore has to include; the exam dates and where they are being held, time which the student knows/ or I know I won’t be available will be blocked out, the exam length and the number of questions to be answered during the exam. Also, the timetable should include the exam characteristic; whether it’s a closed book, restricted book or an open book exam. Moreover, take time to familiarize yourself with the location of the exam. If it’s a new place, make an attempt and visit the place a day earlier to the exam. 3. On the eve of the exam, it is recommended to get a good night’s sleep. This will ensure that I tackle the exam with a clear well rested mind. 4. Ensure that all the materials that are needed for the exam are ready, available and assembled in one easily accessible place. For instance, the learner should have the student id, an extra pen/ pencil and a calculator. Week 10- work experience and action plan Personal development plan Personal development objective How to achieve the objective volunteering Will volunteer to charitable organisations so as to help the needy or champion for a cause Improving team work skills Will join a sports team to enable me to polish my communication skills and my teamwork skills too. Attending conferences I will attend seminars at Aston. Seminars and conferences give an insight into what is need either in the job market or the external environment. Self-motivation activities After achieving a set target or doing something exceptionally well, I will reward myself. This will act as a motivation to have the ability to write both succinctly and coherently To achieve this objective, I will make it a habit to read books, articles and magazines. The art of reading imparts one with the skills and knowledge to write well and clearly References Abu-Lughod, Janet L. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities. U of Minnesota Press, 1999. Black, Duncan, and Vernon Henderson. "A theory of urban growth." Journal of political economy 107, no. 2 (1999): 252-284. Glaeser, Edward L. "The new economics of urban and regional growth." The Oxford handbook of economic geography (2000): 83-98. Knight, Richard V. Cities in a global society. Vol. 35. Sage Publications, Incorporated, 1989. Sassen, Saskia. "The global city: strategic site/new frontier." American Studies (2000): 79-95. Read More