Personal development business studies - Essay Example

Competence review Individual Competence review: My two main strengths as identified in the competence review are (a) my ability to manage my time effectively through optimum allocation of priority to tasks to be performed and (b) my ability to motivate others and empathize with them. My problem solving and logical ability also ranks high on the scale together with self confidence and optimum channeling of my energy. My main weakness is that I am not a good listener. My ability to communicate effectively and work in a team, to process information and achieve performance standards is average and quite adequate for the job.. According to the job importance review, the most important areas identified are self confidence and assertiveness, the ability to listen to others and to motivate them by understanding and empathizing with their needs.

The least important areas are logical, statistical and critical thinking skills, effective time management and achieving performance standards. This analysis indicates that this is not a technical job that involves statistical or critical thinking skills, neither is it a job where set standards are to be achieved. Rather the focus is on the candidate’s self confidence and ability to empathize with others. The significant difference in terms of job skills vs. my skills is that my ability to listen to others is not good while this is a high priority in the job.

My excellent ability to control and manage myself is not likely to be important in this job. For this job, I need to develop my listening skills, to be patient and devote time to letting people share their views. For the future, I may need to develop my abilities to work effectively in a team and also improve my communication skills.Steep Analysis: The steep analysis conducted for this organization shows that it is predominantly concerned with the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle and is a youth oriented career.

It involves people of different socio economic groups. Electronic and Internet facilities are available at the job site for use where necessary and there is a focus on the conservation of energy. Economically, the job is one that is not stable, rather it goes through a boom-bust cycle. There are political efforts on to introduce the European working model into this arena, with specified minimum wage levels. This analysis indicates that I am in a job where it is necessary for me to be healthy and physically active, since I need to retire early, therefore it is probably sports related.

This is also a job where I have to work with people from different racial groups, so it is likely that I am either a player or a sports teacher. The major development issues that appear to be emerging are (a) increased use of electronic communication methods and (b) the push towards adopting the European work model, with its 48 hour working week and the imposition of minimum wages for employees in the sports profession. The major phenomena impacting upon the organization are the boom/bust cycle which may be the result of the unpredictability of the market or in this instance, and the lack of good sports talent .

The trend towards increased use of electronic communications appears set to continue and it is likely that video messaging will become commonplace. Hence this is on an upward trend and is likely to increase as the time goes by. The effort to impose European working conditions appears to be uncertain. While there is a trend emerging to bring workers on par with those in Europe, the direction of this trend cannot be predicted with any degree of accuracy, because it may to may not go through successfully.

While recent trends towards outsourcing is likely to affect the business of the gym in terms of equipment being purchased from other countries, sports training and coaching appears to be set to put in its pitch for better wages and improved working conditions with the imposition of minimum wages. The opportunities inherent in this business are the possibility of wider markets and the possibility of nurturing talent to be successful at the professional level. The use of electronic facilities such as videos also provides opportunities for improvement of games, by learning from visual observation of play.

The threats in this business appear to be the uncertain nature of the economic cycles, which could prove to be unprofitable for the business. Additionally, the increased costs of energy conservation will also be economically unviable.Learning process: My aim is to learn the basic principles of marketing in a business. The duration of this course is two years and I will not only gain knowledge on the fundamental principles of good marketing but I will also learn how to implement and use the Harvard referencing system.

The availability of certain resources will be a great asset to me, such as tutors to teach me and IT staff to clarify my doubts and guide me in the practical application of electronic learning. The fact that the course is for two years will be also be helpful to me because I am a slow learner and take time to assimilate all the facts. The procedure that I will follow is to consult with my tutor and with the support staff in learning the course materials and preparing my final marketing assignment based upon what I have learnt in the course.

I plan to discuss the final project parameters with my tutor and the IT support staff, search for the appropriate software packages for the Harvard referencing system and then enter my plan into the logbook. I have an I.Q. of 126, so I am confident that I will be able to master all the fundamentals successfully. There are however certain disadvantages that I can foresee, which could conceivably, be a drawback for me in the accomplishment of my goals. The biggest handicap that will have to be overcome is the fact that I have no previous experience with computers and don’t know much about them.

There is also the question of problems that may arise with the operation of the Internet, broadband congestion which could lead to delays and frustration for me and the inability to put in sufficient time to ensure optimum learning, because I am dependent upon a reliable Internet supply and connection to complete my task of learning in this course with some degree of success. Another major problem I may have is to sift and sort through all the information available on the Internet in order to pull up the most relevant and meaningful information.

However, in spite of these handicaps, I am confident I can succeed with the right amount of will power to learn and the determination to succeed.Action Plan 2:The objective that I have in mind is to take up this course on business decision making so that within a time period of about two years, I will be able to master the structure of the course and its requirements. This course will help me to make use of professional opportunities that will become available to me after completing of this course, so that is a very big positive thing I have going for me, since I will surely improve my job prospects after completion of this course.

However, there are also some things that are going against me. For example, one of the problems I may face is a lack of time to attend to my lessons, especially if I have computer networking problems, since this is an on line course. Moreover, I am also a novice and have no previous experience, either in computer operations or in business decision making, so my lack of experience may go against me.The people involved with me on this course would be the IT support staff who may be able to help me cope with networking problems and to learn online.

Before taking up this course, the tools that I will need to achieve successful completion are a computer and the ability to study over the net through using software study skills. However, due to my lack of experience, the strategy that I plan to use is to discuss the matter with IT support and plan how best I will go about it. They will be able to help me and guide and provide me with troubleshooting tips, which I propose to enter into my logbook so that I can refer to this plan when there are any problems.

Reference cited:* Morris, Forbes and Wilkinson, No Date: “Market research : External analysis” [Online] Available at: http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/CSM/default.asp?chap=3; Accessed 09/14/2005; Internet.