Part 1 – Reflection
Introduction
The professional setting encompasses various challenges for a fresher or a new professional. This reflective model has been designed as a self-analysis that I have conducted on myself to identify my professional skills and knowledge. After completing the self-analysis, I have designed an action plan for the remainder of the year to be equipped with the most competitive professional skills and expertise.
The self-assessment has been conducted so that I can understand where I currently stand as a professional. The fundamental purpose of preparing the professional development plan is to understand the relationship between my model, acquired academic skills, and professional managerial competency. It would act as a vital tool that would help me to identify my current capabilities as a professional. I could refer to this model to move forward in the competitive organizational setting. This analysis would ultimately help me to acquire greater personal knowledge and professional knowledge so that I could plan a range of activities and learning processes to develop the required skills and experience.
Brief description of the Starting Point
When I joined the course I was not aware of the various complexities that could arise in the professional environment of an individual. I thought that my strong technical knowledge of my core subjects would allow me to sail through the professional setting. Once I started getting involved in the course and its subjects, I realized that various non-technical skills and models come into play and strengthen the effectiveness and usefulness of a professional.
When I joined the course I had strong technical skills but no managerial skills. I did not even know their relevance in the initial stage. Now I know that organizational skills are of high significance in the professional setting. Leadership skills, decision-making ability, conflict resolution techniques, people skills, and negotiation skills are key to developing a solid rapport in the organizational environment. Individuals can develop technical skills by referring books but professional skills involving managerial ability cannot be developed by referring books. One needs to get direct exposure in the external setting to develop the necessary professional traits.
Professional Development Needs
The course has helped me to identify various areas that I need to work on so that I can be considered a competent and effective professional candidate. As I am a fresher, I never knew the relevance of leadership skills, technical knowledge, decision-making ability, job knowledge, etc. This course taught me the relevance of all these aspects. The exposure that I have gotten till today has allowed me to understand my potential as a professional. Currently, I have got theoretical knowledge of all these aspects but I believe I need to understand their relevance and significance in practical and real-life scenarios.
I have got the chance to work in teams and this experience has helped me to strengthen my team-building approach. Since I have represented my class in several competitions, I have developed the leadership skills necessary for a student. But the leadership challenges that a professional is exposed to in a professional setting are much more complex and challenging. I need to develop better leadership skills so that act as a positive influence on my team. Similarly, I need to develop my decision-making ability so that I can take into account the well-being of all the involved individuals before taking a key organizational decision.
Experience with Critical Incidents and Learning
The modules I have come across in this course have allowed me to work in groups and identify my inner potential. During my academic years, I never got the chance to work in teams since the students had to focus on their performance. After enrolling in the course I realized the significance of groups and teams. Since I had to do my assignments in groups I understood the various challenges that one can come across while performing a specific activity. My experience of working in teams has helped me to understand the relevance of team dynamics and team spirit.
I had to work on a wide variety of assignments at a time. It seemed challenging and stressful at that point. But today when I sit back and look at the situation I feel that situation strengthened my prioritizing ability and taught me to prioritize the tasks at hand. This skill is of high relevance in the professional setting when the organization has to perform several activities simultaneously. Since I am not a very social person, the course has allowed me to improve my people management skills which are a core necessity in any kind of professional setting. Thus till now, the course has helped me to develop some of the key professional skills that can help me to have a competitive edge in the professional setting.
Designing of Action Plan
Once I felt comfortable with the curse and its subjects, I started devising the action plan so that I could use the opportunity to effectively develop my professional skills in the process. Before setting the action plan, I assessed my strengths and limitations so that I could draw heavily on my career and its outcome. This approach would allow me to grab the main opportunities that would cross my path. In the next stage, I set down my new and measurable goals. Then I set down my objectives so that I could adopt a self-disciplined approach to reach my desired target (Collegiovolta.org, 2017).
I used the SMART model since it helps to focus on specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives and goals. I knew that a very high goal for me would be difficult for me to achieve so I mainly focused on my already strong technical skills, communication ability, leadership skills, and team-building model. Even though I was pretty decent in some of the objectives, I chose to work on these professional skills so that I could polis them in the process. I believed that my experience in the classroom would allow me to identify the other areas that needed to be worked upon. This action plan allowed me to adopt a goal-oriented approach to upgrade my personal and professional skills (Dartmouth.edu, 2017).
Activities to Develop Skills
During the Masters’s program, I have undertaken several activities so that I can develop several professional skills such as technical knowledge and expertise, communication and interactive ability, decision-making ability, etc. The development of these skills is of high relevance in the professional setting. To strengthen my technical knowledge, I took part in various competitions and quizzes that would help me to revise the core subjects and their topics. This helped me to get familiar with the major concepts and principles. My communication skill was pretty decent right before joining the course. But to improve the quality of my language I participated in various debates and extempore so that my fluency and control over the English language could improve.
Even though I was not involved in any high-level decision-making process, I got the chance to make decisions at the team level. This exposure allowed me to understand the various intricacies that are involved in the decision-making process. Even though the process cannot be compared with the professional decision-making process, it still gave me an idea to understand the various elements that are involved in the process.
Positives and Areas of Improvement
The learning process that I have adopted has helped me to work on my strengths and has been an effective and important plan for me. But I believe the learning process is a never-ending process so there are a few aspects that I need to work on so that I can strengthen the learning process. I do not have much idea about the influence of culture in the professional setting. The culture that is adopted in the professional setting is a vital component that impacts the ultimate business objective and outcome. It is not easy for the course to cover all the aspects such as culture or beliefs. So I need to try to understand the significance of culture in the professional environment because today professionals need to function in a diversified cultural setting. I need to learn about the cultural aspects of an entity and the way it impacts its management ability.
I also need to gain the ability to understand the relevance of the human resource function. Humans are the only elements that do not have a constant behavior pattern. The university can’t highlight the characteristics of every human being. So I must work on my interpersonal skills so that I can understand the human resource function in a better way.
Professional self-management
I think my decision to take the particular course has been a key decision that I have taken. This learning process would add value not only in my professional life but also in my personal life. The different subjects that I have studied have helped me to understand their relevance not only in the professional or corporate setting but also in the day-to-day life setting. The course has taught me the relevance of management, plans, and strategies. I need to continue to work on the acquired skills and knowledge so that I can use them to perform a wide variety of operations efficiently.
To take forward the learning process of professional self-management in the future I need to work on them on the regular basis. The skills that I have acquired are highly relevant so I must constantly be in touch with the relevant tools and techniques so that I can use them as my assets. The team building ability, leadership skills, communication model, technical competency, etc can be used by me in any form of professional setting. In the future, if I plan to start a business firm, I can apply my strengths and capabilities to build a sustainable organization.
Relevant Theory
Different kinds of theories can be used in a professional and organizational setting. Some of the vital theories that I have learned in the course include contingency theory, chaos theory, etc. The contingency theory allowed me to understand the decision-making process that is adopted by managers in a given situation. Similarly, the chaos theory has helped me to understand that the only thing that is constant in an organization is change (WhatIs.com, 2017). All these theories are of high relevance in the learning process and they have helped me to understand the various complexities that might arise in my path in the professional setting (Leadership-Central, 2017).
Ultimate Reflection
My professional skill model is highlighted my overall learning process to date in the academic setting. I believe I have used the learning experience quite effectively to strengthen my professional and personal position. But there is much more scope to further strengthens my professional and personal skills that can make me a key professional in the competitive professional environment. This self-analytical model would be used by me to further boost my skill set and expertise so that my internal capabilities could be effectively used in an uncertain professional setting. The different theories and models relating to management that have been covered in the course can be used by me to strengthen my managerial ability and professional skills. It would ultimately influence the various processes relating to professional life. I believe all the theories that I have covered to date have relevance and are of high importance to me. I can use them in the current professional scenario to be a potential employee in reputed organizations.
My learning experience has been highly enriching for me and I believe I can strengthen my learning and knowledge in the future as well by focusing on my strengths and capabilities. I also need to work on my weak areas so that I can convert them into my major strengths.
Part 2 – Portfolio
I have presented my portfolio using the Smart model so that I can demonstrate my overall learning and progress in this course. This portfolio has been designed to highlight the various processes and resources that have been used in my learning module. The personal, professional, and overall development has been featured in the portfolio using the smart model so that I can identify my internal strengths and weakness. This would fundamentally act as evidence that would allow me to keep track of my development process
Competencies
I have presented the competencies and skills that make me an efficient individual. I might seem like an average young individual to the teachers but what differentiates me from the rest of the lot is my dedication to doing a particular activity. I believe my dedication and willingness to learn have got me here despite numerous challenges and shortcomings (Webb et al., 2002). I have seen many challenging circumstances which have motivated me to boost my learning graph so that I would not have to go back to those times. My most competitive strengths would be my communication skills, sound technical knowledge, and dedication.
Communication skill – I believe in my communication ability because I have got the opportunity to interact with people and students from different cultures and regions. After enrolling in this course, I realized its significance. Since I got the chance to make active participation in the course I was able to freely communicate in front of a large audience (Management concepts, 2017).
Technical Competence – Technical knowledge of the core subjects is of vital necessity in the learning process. My knowledge of technical subjects is strong due to the high level of teaching that is imparted at the institutional level. The best faculties teach the management subject and make sure that the students do not face any academic challenges (Management concepts, 2017). Thus my technical knowledge of various management subjects has helped me to understand the concepts and principles relating to various theories that can be applied in the professional setting.
Dedication – I have always been a dedicated and self-motivated individual. After enrolling in the course I realized that I am one of the few students who give high relevance to the assignments and activities that are conducted in the classroom setting. This competency has ultimately helped me to commit to my academic and professional objectives (Webb et al., 2002).
Developed skills
After attending some of the key support functions in the University such as the Learning and Development groups and the students union, I have got the opportunity to develop some of the most vital skills such as leadership and management skills and negotiation skills. The learning experience has been extremely fruitful for me because I have to explore a new self who can make a positive change in my surroundings (Management concepts, 2017).
Leadership and Management Skills – This program has helped me to locate the hidden leader in me who can lead a group of individuals to reach a common objective. The involvement in the various assignments and group activities has taught me the approach that one needs to adapt to work effectively in teams. I have got the chance to strengthen my leadership skills and bring all my teammates on the same page to achieve good grades (Webb et al., 2002).
Negotiation Skills – I have developed negotiation skills that are extremely necessary for the organizational setting. I have been introduced to different concepts, elements, and stages of effective and successful negotiation that can be applied to a variety of real-life situations. I strongly believe that these skills can be used by me in my future professional setting (Management concepts, 2017).
Work-based learning
The learning experience has been useful for me since have been exposed to several external scenarios as well such as volunteer work and street-based role plays. Such exposure has helped me to understand the external setting in a better manner. The volunteer work that I was involved me taught me to adopt ethical practices while performing my duties. The ethical approach would allow me to act as a responsible professional in the future (Webb et al., 2002). While performing in the street-based role plays I came across many social groups and their members who need financial support to introduce a social change. Such exposure has strengthened my belief in myself and motivated me to use my learning to make a significant change in the society that I live in.
Action Plan – SMART goals
My action plan has been highlighted below using the SMART approach so that I can prepare myself for better work to function in the professional setting.
Specific – I want to work on my decision-making skills and people skills since they are of high relevance in the organizational environment. A robust decision-making ability would allow me to take quick and effective decisions for the concern. Similarly, my people skills would allow me to have a proper rapport with all the people on a given team.
Measurable – To measure the success of my decision-making ability I would have to assess its impact on the specific situation. If it has a positive impact, it would indicate my strong decision-making ability. Similarly, to measure better people skills, I would have to assess the strength of the bond among the team members.
Achievable – The objectives that I have set are realistic. I would have to focus on my competency and analytical skills so that I assess all the situational factors before arriving at a decision. Similarly, I must work on my social skills so that I can be a people person.
Relevant – These skills are relevant in the professional scenario because a manager needs to take decisions regularly in the organizational setting. People skills are also relevant to gain new projects and contracts in the work setting.
Time-based – The skills that I want to work on are long-term in nature so I would at least require 3 months to work on them and see the difference in me. They would empower me to operate as an effective professional in a competitive setting.
References
Collegiovolta.org. 2017. UIDE to the COMPLETION of A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN. [online] Available at: http://www.collegiovolta.org/images/example_pdp_2016.pdf [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
Dartmouth.edu. 2017. Performance Objectives and SMART Model. [online] Available at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hrs/profldev/performance_management/performance_objective.html [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
Leadership-Central.com. 2017. Fiedler’s contingency theory. [online] Available at: http://www.leadership-central.com/fiedler%27s-contingency-theory.html#axzz50OTpsfSD [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
Managementconcepts.com. 2017. Communicating Strategically | Management Concepts. [online] Available at: https://www.managementconcepts.com/Course/id/4320 [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
Managementconcepts.com. 2017. Professional Skills training. [online] Available at: http://www.managementconcepts.com/Curriculum/id/Professional%20Skills [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
WhatIs.com. 2017. What is chaos theory? – Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/chaos-theory [Accessed 5 Dec. 2017].
Webb, C., Endacott, R., Gray, M., Jasper, M., Miller, C., McMullan, M. and Scholes, J., 2002. Models of portfolios. Medical education, 36(10), pp.897-898.
