Management Skills Learning and Development Plan - Coursework Example

Management Skills Learning and Development Plan Student’s name Code & Course Professor’s name University City Date Career goal and opportunity I am currently a business student, studying to complete a master’s degree course in accounting. This is a two year business course where one attains a deeper understanding of accounting principles and trends. I am currently in the first of my two year study, and at the stage where career choice and interests begin affecting choices of classes and areas of specialization. In the next three to five years, I see myself being an accounting manager in a major online marketing company. The current generation is one of the few that does not remember a time without some of the common technologies like mobile phones, laptops and tablets. With the dependency on technology certainly set to increase, I believe there is enormous potential in the online marketing sector. Every few decades, the retail sector undergoes a big revolution. In the mod 1800s, the growth of the cities through the railroad network meant the incorporation of the large department store. At the turn of the next century, the mass production of automobiles saw the suburbs and the new specialty department stores challenging the original city based stores. In the 1950s and sixties, a new wave of discount chains took over the market, the perfect example being Walmart. At the turn of the next century came the digital retail revolution, which got off to a shaky start but is now slowly picking up (Rigby, 2011). Retail revolutionary trends in the past have taken approximately 50 years to mature and give way to the next. However, in my opinion, digital retail has such enormous potential it does not necessarily have to become a passing fad. An online presence is no longer the clever business strategy but a necessity, with every business striving to become an Omni-channel organization. About myself Several weeks of learning about self-evaluation tools and aspects of learning like the personal style inventory and PAMS, I have begun to get a clearer picture of values, personality type, strengths, weaknesses and learning styles. I have realized that I am introverted individual, who much prefers going it alone. I have had a history of not being very outgoing or as competitive as I would like. This is the reason why I would like to work on the online environment. I prefer being in charge of the behind the scenes positioning of the company rather than being the conventional brick and mortar accounts manager. In the past, I have had low self-efficacy issues, not believing in my ability to push through with various tasks (Lunenburg, 2011). However, my confidence has been growing with my research and interest in this line of work. My introverted nature further enables me to concentrate on projects. I have always had an external locus of control, with many of my decisions and character influenced by other people’s ideas and views (Hamedoğlu, et al., 2012). While many might view this as negative, I feel it is just what I require in my line of work. Having an external locus of control has enabled me to improve my ability to learn other people and their preferences, a must have trait in the business field. This means I can take calculated risks out of years of experience reading other people’s thought processes and ways of thinking. The unique combination of being an introvert and having an external locus of control has enabled me to improve my ability to handle problems analytically and come up with creative solutions, even in less that straightforward situations as one is likely to encounter in the business sector. Current skills Strengths Planning and organization: I am a meticulous planner in every task I do. From routine tasks to complex problems. My preference for structure means I never leave anything to chance. I feel confident thinking through every angle and possible source of problems. This has improved my problem solving and decision making skills. Leadership skills: Years of reading people’s character and motivations means I understand others and how they think. This makes it easy for me to select and develop the right people, and be able to delegate jobs and power in a leadership situation. I believe I am an excellent motivator and communicator. Technical and conceptual skills: I believe myself to have high technical and conceptual skills. To be successful in the online retail and marketing business, one must have the right technical ability to take advantage of the enormous opportunities available. It is also important to understand the lay of the land with respect to past and future trends. I believe years of interest and research in this line of work, coupled with an excellent grasp of coursework enables me to demonstrate two of the most desirable managerial attributes (Papulová & Mokroš, 2007). Weaknesses Risk taking: according to Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, the learning process should follow four processes, reflective observation, concrete experience, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation (Konak, et al., 2014). My rigidity and inclination towards planning and control or outcomes often gets in the way of the ability to take risks, which can sometimes pay off. Given the business environment is one that requires as much leadership as learning, this gets in the way of the active experimentation cycle of learning. Negotiation skills: I often find it difficult to be assertive and strong enough in the face of opposition and criticism to persist with a point or position I have taken in order to negotiate a position for myself, team or organization. Interpersonal skills: Effective managerial work requires technical, interpersonal, conceptual and communication skills (Papulová & Mokroš, 2007). While my grasp of communication, technical and conceptual skills is extensive, I lack in various aspects of interpersonal skills such as the ability to develop personal influence and impact, managing discipline and interpersonal conflict. Learning goals and action plans Skill area: Risk Taking The increasing frequency with which the word risk appears in popular and scientific literature only serves to underline its increasing importance. There are three important aspects of risk in decision making situations; Uncertainty: where the decisions made could lead to a set of consequences, each of whose probabilities are unknown. Risk: where every action taken might lead to a few outcomes, each of whose probabilities are known. Certainty: where every action taken is known to always lead to a specific outcome (Shapira, 1995). The field of marketing and retail, especially online, allows for positioning to various different client groups, which gives a lot of freedom in terms of risk taking (Rigby, 2011). However, my ability to handle instances of uncertainty and risk, as described above, might get in the way of my success in this field. Broad goal: to improve my propensity to take risk and analyze the risk involved in various situations, to improve outcomes in personal, educational and career life. SMART goal; Specific: Understand specific aspects of risk such as its role in decision making, definitions, attitude and characteristics of risk and risk taking, and the prospects of improving managerial risk taking. Measurable: develop a specific formula for evaluating decision making choices in risk situations in both personal and private life. This will making decisions based on as much information as possible, or the lack thereof. Much of my decision making has always been driven by fear of failure or losing control; fear of the unknown. Attainable: this can be done by reading through popular literature on risk taking in personal life and in business and managerial life. I will also do this by always arranging meetings with my mentor to discuss my goals, progress and decision-making processes. I will also adopt an accountability approach with close friends, telling them of the steps I take and having them always keep me accountable to my risk taking goals every time I make decisions. Realistic: I believe this goal is attainable, although it will take a long time to change many behavioral aspects that influence how I think. However, in order to achieve long term goals, one must incorporate choice and interest into their daily activities. Measurable: I intend to incorporate a deeper understanding of risk in decision making within the year left in my university education. Action plans: dial back on making assumptions, always factor in time available, maintain the key connections with the right people, always corroborate sources and make sure to have the right information, maintain an acceptable margin of safety, set time horizons for the impact of decisions, for instance short or long term plans, learn to take the right risks (Funston, et al., 2010). Skill area: Negotiation Skills Negotiation is a way through which to resolve the disputes that arise in the course of interactions between various people. It helps to get what one wants from others, a back and forth communication whose main aim is to reach an agreement when people in a similar setting have interests that are shared and others that are conflicting (Ury & Fisher, 1990). Broad goals: to be bold enough to be able to actively pursue my interests or positions in a negotiation. Specific: to learn to constantly find the right balance between using people skills in a negotiation, and separating the people from the problem. Measurable: I will know the goal is achieved when I am able to negotiate effectively with my professors while writing my final year project report and thesis. Attainable: mock sessions with friends and my mentor emulating various situations where negotiating skills are required will further help me achieve better negotiating skills. Realistic: while this might seem difficult, often the difficulty of the goal has a positive correlation with the motivation to achieve it (Locke, 1968) Time bound: I have always been a rigid planner, setting goals and always wanting to be in control of various situations. I believe the 12 month calendar period is enough to develop strong negotiation skills. Action plans: Understand the process of negotiation through literature review, always prepare my points before entering negotiation situations, develop better listening skills, develop strong people skills, understand the formulation of BATNA, always put negotiated agreements in writing and always frame negotiations around one or two key points. Skill area: interpersonal communication Regardless of the nature and appeal of working behind the scenes in the online environment, the need for understanding interpersonal communication is one of the fundamentals of business. Business owners or companies go out of their way to stock what their customers want. The role of the business executive is to make sure the target consumer knows that the company has what they want, exactly what they want. The increasing need for specificity in business, especially with the consumer taking an active role in value creation, places a bigger burden on interpersonal communication (Seretny & Seretny, 2012). Broad goal: to be able to gain an understanding of interpersonal communication and use this understanding in both close circle and external communication. SMART goals Specific: to be able to master both verbal and non-verbal communication skills Measurable: I will always seek feedback from close friends, classmates, teachers, family members and mentors on improvement in communication and interpersonal skills. Attainable: learn to ask the right questions, use the right non-verbal cues and body language. There are many opportunities available to improve interpersonal communication in the institution. Class group activities, debate and public speaking clubs and sports teams all provide opportunities and resources to improve practice interpersonal skills. Realistic: various research processes have demonstrated the fact that interpersonal skills can be improved, especially in a leadership and business setting. Timely: Due to the abundance of opportunity in a school setting, I will put a timeline of a year to take advantage of the time remaining before graduation. Reference list Funston, F., Wagner, S. & Ristuccia, H., 2010. Risk Intelligent decision-making, Tohmatsu: Deloitte. Hamedoğlu, M. A., Kantor, J. & Gülay, E., 2012. The Effect of Locus of Control and Culture on Leader Preferences. International Online Journal of Educational Studies, pp. 319-324. Konak, A., Clark, T. K. & Nasereddin, M., 2014. Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle to improve student learning in virtual computer laboratories. Computers & Education, Volume 72, pp. 11-22. Locke, E., 1968. Towards a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives. Organizatinal Behavior and Human Performance, 3(2), pp. 157- 189. Lunenburg, F. C., 2011. Self-Efficacy in the Workplace: Implications for Motivation and Performance. International Journal of Management< Business and Administration, pp. 1- 6. Papulová, Z. & Mokroš, M., 2007. Importance of managerial Skills and Knowledge Management for Small Entrepreneurs, Bratislava: Comenius University . Rigby, D., 2011. The Future of Shopping. The Harvard Business Review, December. Seretny, M. & Seretny, A., 2012. Sustainable Marketing -A New Era in the Responsible Marketing Development. Foundations of Management, pp. 63-76. Shapira, Z., 1995. Risk Taking: A Managerial Perspective. s.l.:Russell Sage Foundation. Ury, W. & Fisher, R., 1990. Gettint to Yes: Negotiating an agreement Without Giving in. s.l.:Random House Business Books. Read More