Developing the Professional - Coursework Example

REFLECTION Introduction This is a reflection on two assignments that were done as part of the “Developing the Professional” module of my studies. Assignment one was on how to improve my limitations in the course of developing my professional profile. Assignment two was about a book donation project report that involved the use of teams. In this reflection, the Gibb’s reflection cycle model is used. A reflection of my experiences under the six stages of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan that are contained in the model is presented. Description I did two assignments as part of my coursework: assignments 1 and 2. Assignment 1 was about an audit of my skills and character and an analysis of my strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats. It was based on a well structured process by which I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and relate them to my ability to develop my professional conduct. With regard to an audit of my skills and character, there are different sets of skills that I evaluated myself against. First, I evaluated how good my intellectual or thinking skills are. I had to respond to questions that tested how well I could exhibit creative, critical and analytical thinking when handling different assignments. Another set of skills that I got tested for when doing the first assignment was vocational or professional ones. The questions I responded to under this category were designed to help me identify my ability to handle quantitative data, handle people effectively and provide leadership. For the third set of skills, I was tested on common or key skills. This included my ability to use information and communication technologies, listen to others, interact effectively with other people at the workplace and complete the tasks that are assigned to me in time. With regard to an analysis of my strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats, which was the essence of the second part of assignment one, I identified specific factors that act as strengths or limitations. I also identified specific situations that could present me with opportunities or threaten my success as a professional. I then elaborated on every single factor or situation identified under the classes of strengths or limitations and opportunities or threats respectively. The elaboration was based on my past experiences as a student. Assignment 2 under the module was about a group project. As part of a group of students, I participated in a community project in which a one-day book donation and resale event was carried out in Cardiff city. Since this project was carried out through teams, it involved a lot of detailed processes in the form of team formation and general preparation activities before the actual activity was done. First, teams had to be formed. This was followed by the process by which the actual nature and activities of the project were identified. Later, the actual project was undertaken. Finally, a comprehensive report on the entire project was compiled. The compilation of the report was the most important part of the second assignment. The report contained all the details of the report from the first to the last stages. It also contained information about the reflection that was done by the group immediately after the project had been completed. The reflection was based on the need to identify areas in the way the project had been carried out that required to be improved upon in the future. Feelings I had different feelings and thinking prior to, during and after the experiences that I went through in the course of doing the two assignments. This shaped my reactions to the activities that I performed during the two assignments. Notably, prior to doing assignment 1, I felt that it would be an important way of helping me to gauge my overall skills and capabilities as an individual. I thought that responding to the different questions that were meant to help me audit my different skills and capabilities would provide a clear picture of my skills and character as a professional. In the same manner, I felt that evaluating my personal limitations and strengths and identifying different opportunities and strengths that I face would help me understand my professional future quite clearly. With regard to assignment 2, I felt that it was difficult to successfully do the project since all of us were new to the city and we did not understand it well. I thought that the entire project would not be highly successful as expected. During the assignments, I also had different feelings and thoughts. In the course of doing assignment 1, I thought that it was a difficult experience to be honest enough to admit that I did not possess particular skills and attributes which I believed were quite important for any professional. In the same manner, when identifying my strengths and limitations and the threats and opportunities that I faced, the tendency to understate my limitations and threats while at the same time overstating my strengths and opportunities was constantly present. In the course of doing assignment 2, I felt that my initial fears about the success of the project were completely unfounded. This was after I saw that many individuals in the streets were willing to listen to us and actually donate books. My reactions during my experiences in the course of the two assignments varied greatly. For instance, during the course of the first assignment, my initial reaction was to attempt to portray myself in a more positive light than it was actually the case. However, after considering the importance of the assignment, I did my best to answer the questions with the highest level of honesty that I could manage. Further, my analysis of different sets of skills and character traits triggered the remembrance of different experiences and occurrences that I had witnessed in the past. These formed the examples that helped me paint a clear picture of my skills and overall strengths and limitations. When doing the second assignment, my initial reaction was to capitalise on the unexpected success that my group experienced and do the project to the best of my capabilities. This was reflected in the review that we did about the project at the end of the activities of the day. After the experiences of Assignment 1, I felt that I had drawn a completely clear picture of my individual skills and character traits. I also felt that I had provided an accurate evaluation of my personal strengths and weaknesses and that this could help me to take advantage of opportunities that came my way while avoiding the threats that I could face in my career. After the experiences that I went through when doing Assignment 2, I felt that my group had done the best work in terms of preparing for the project, carrying out its actual activities and evaluating the overall performance. Evaluation Whereas many things went well in the course of doing the two assignments, a few did not work out as planned. However, the activities that I participated in during the two assignments were successfully completed. Several things went well in the course of doing the two assignments. In the first assignment, my attempts at getting a clear understanding of the specific range of skills and character attributes that I possess were largely successful. I was able to identify specific skills that I possess and demonstrate this with evidence from my past experiences. Furthermore, I was able to identify my personal strengths and limitations, drawing from my past experiences to illustrate them. On the other hand, I was able to identify areas in which I am weak. By highlighting my limitations and identifying the threats that I faced in the course of my profession, I was able to achieve the main objective of the first assignment, which was to analyse individual strengths, limitations, threats and opportunities. Considering that the two assignments were carried out successfully, very few things can be said to have gone wrong. For example, in the course of doing the second assignment, the leadership approach adopted by the leader of the group was the laissez faire type. Although this is generally a good style of leadership, it was not the most appropriate one for enabling the group to achieve its objectives as observed in the after-project review. From the review, it was noted that a democratic style of leadership would be the most appropriate one for the group in the case of having to tackle a similar assignment in the future. Similarly, although our approach as a group when preparing for the project that was done as Assignment 2 can be described as productive, we made a number of mistakes. This was seen in the form of our fears and anxiety in the initial stages of the project. Although we ended up succeeding in carrying out the project, the fears of whether or not the entire project would have been a success actually affected our expectations and made us set objectives that reflected our timidity. All the experiences of the first and second assignments were complete. The initial fears on whether we could actually accomplish our objectives as a group during the second assignment were resolved by the success that we experienced in the field. Also, the manner in which we created synergy, successfully resolved conflicts and formed a united and highly motivated team was reflected in the success that we experienced while carrying out the project. Analysis When doing the first assignment, the process of mapping my skills and character traits and analysing my strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats went well. I was able to clearly identify the extent to which I have mastered different types of general, intellectual and professional skills. Similarly, I was able to identify my individual strengths and limitations and at the same time, describe the opportunities and threats that I faced in my professional life. Several factors contributed to my success; however, one important factor was my ability to recollect my experiences in the course of my learning and doing practical work. It is from the events that I recollected that illustrations of the extent to which I have mastered the different set of skills were drawn. Secondly, my level of honesty played an important role in helping me to successfully identify my skills and overall attributes. It is a result of being sincere when identifying the extent to which I have mastered the different skills indicated in the analysis that I was able to develop a clear picture of my professional and character skills. In the second assignment, the entire process of team formation and functioning was a success. Right from the early stages of deciding on the members who would be part of the team, preparing for the actual assignment to the last stages of carrying out the actual assignment and reviewing the project, all the members of the team made significant contributions. This can be understood using Belbin’s Team Roles Theory. According to Belbin (2009, cited in Utley 2010, p. 284) different individuals play different roles in teams. The roles that are played by specific individuals in a group include the following: resource locator, plant, shaper, implementer, team worker, specialist, completer, evaluator and co-ordinator. Right from the start of the project to its close, the group undertook different activities that required specific individuals to play the different roles that are identified in the theory. It is because the different individuals who formed the team played the different roles that are identified in this theory that our activity as a group succeeded. The overall effectiveness of the group was enhanced by different factors. For example, all of us were new students in the university and no one amongst us was conversant with the city of Cardiff. Furthermore, we were faced with the common challenge of having to undertake a project that we had little information about and in an area that we were not quite familiar with. Despite this, we identified with each other’s situation in that we spoke with a common accent. These factors contributed to the level of cohesion and unity that was exhibited within the group. Lastly, the type of leadership that was used to guide the activities of the group contributed to the overall success that we had when doing the second assignment. The leader of the group, who was chosen at the first meeting of the group, played the role of a co-ordinator. A ‘laissez-faire’ approach style of leadership was used to manage the activities of the group. It has been argued that this style of leadership, which falls under the Three-Dimension Theory of Leadership, is not usually the most effective one as compared to the democratic style of leadership (Hamilton 2010, p. 271; Lee 2013, p. 38). Therefore, although the ‘laissez-faire’ approach worked in our case, it may be important to consider adopting a different style of leadership in the future. Conclusion There are several things that I should have done differently. For example, I should have approached the first assignment – which involved analysing my strengths, limitations, threats and opportunities – differently. Although I identified different factors that represent my strengths and limitations, I did not identify many situations that could either turn out to be opportunities or threats to my future success as a professional. Therefore, I should have increased my list of opportunities and threats as a way of creating a clearer picture of possible scenarios that I may face in my professional life. As well, I should have contributed more to the activities of the group in the course of the second assignment. Although I made different contributions to the activities of the group right from the initial formation stage to the stage that entailed carrying out the book donation project, I think that I should have played a more important role in all the activities of the group. Particularly, I should have been more proactive than the way I was. I should also have made my voice heard during the preparation for the project as well as during the execution stage. There are several reasons that made me not to identify many situations that could later turn out to be opportunities for me or threaten my future progress as a professional. However, one important reason is that I tended to focus on identifying my own limitations and strengths at the expense of identifying possible opportunities and limitations. I think that at the time of doing the assignment, I was guided by the belief that identifying my personal limitations and strengths was far much important than attempting to map out possible opportunities and threats. In addition to this, I think I found the task of identifying my strengths and weaknesses easier than attempting to identity opportunities and threats. Identifying my limitations and strengths involved reviewing my past experiences in the course of learning. On the other hand, mapping out possible opportunities and threats relied less on past experiences. With regard to the second assignment, my little contribution to the activities of the group can be explained in terms of the Structuration Theory. When this theory is used, groups are seen as structural entities that are guided by specific processes established by members (Cragan, Wright & Kasch 2008, p. 9). The roles, contributions and activities of the members are guided by the processes and structures established for the entire group. Therefore, I believe that I failed to grasp the importance of the norms that we had created as a group and to make my best contribution to the activities of the group. Action plan From my analysis of strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities and the recommendations of the group assignment, there are several areas in which I need to improve and specific steps that I need to take in order to be well prepared for a similar assignment in the future. These are outlined as follows. First, I need to improve my communication skills. Although my written English has improved significantly over time, my spoken English is still not up to the required standard. Secondly, I need to improve my overall capability to handle different types of information and communication technologies. Although I am comfortable handling different types of technologies, the fact that the state of technological development is in constant change means that I have to constantly learn new developments so that can I keep in touch with the trends. Additionally, I need to improve the way in which I participate in team activities. I need to develop a stronger sense of self belief so that I become confident enough to contribute to team activities to my best. For me to improve in the three different areas that have been identified, there are specific steps that I need to take. With regard to improving my communication in general and the quality of my spoken English in particular, I need to enrol for an English language course. There are many different courses that are being offered in the city. Furthermore, the cost of going through a basic course in English communication is not very expensive. Therefore, this is a step that can be taken quite easily. Apart from taking such a course, the availability of many native speakers of the English language within the university and the city provides an important opportunity for me to practise my spoken English. By listening to native speakers and attempting to communicate with them all the time, I shall be in a position to improve my quality of spoken English easily. With regard to my skills in working in teams and in the use of information and communication technologies, I need to take advantage of organisational training programmes as well as the numerous training programmes that are offered online. Their availability and relatively cheap costs makes it easy for me to enrol in them and acquire the necessary skills required for my improvement. Conclusion It can be seen that the Gibb’s reflection model is an effective tool for reflective learning. Its use has allowed me to reflect on my experiences of doing the two assignments under the “Development the Professional” module of my studies. It not only helped me to effectively reflect on the positive things that happened during the course of the work, but has also been an effective tool in helping me identify things that did not go well in the course of doing the two assignments. This has helped me to identify the areas in which I need to improve and the specific steps that I need to take. References Cragan, J, Wright, DW & Kasch, C 2008, Communication in small groups: theory, processes and skills, Cengage, Mason. Hamilton, C 2010, Communicating for results: a guide for business and the professions, Cengage, London. Lee, MR 2013, Leading virtual project teams: adapting leadership theories and communications techniques to 21st century organizations, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Utley, R 2010, Theory and research for academic nurse educators: application to practice, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, London. Read More