Unit 13 Assignment on Personal and Professional Development

Program	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 13 Personal and Professional Development
QFC Level	Level 4

Introduction

Personal and professional development is very important for any person because, it enables individuals to improve their performance at work and skills. It also improves individual’s knowledge and this makes them more effective at work or school. It is important to prepare a personal and professional development plan by undertaking a SWOT analysis. An individual SWOT analysis will enable a person to identify his or her strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that are available to purse (Davis, 2014). A personal and professional development plan is a process where individuals plan and maximise on their skills and knowledge to achieve the set goals and objectives.  A PDP plan identifies the goals of a person’s and shows how the person will achieve the identified goals.

Task 1

1.1 Evaluating approaches to self-managed learning

Self –managed learning are very important because they improves the skills of a person and improves an individual efficiency and effectiveness at work. It is important for a person using self-managed learning approaches to first identify their motivation and should be able to evaluate and control all aspects that surrounds them or their lives (Bjork, Dunlosky and Kornell, 2013). The discussion below shows some approaches to self- managed learning.

• Attending conferences and seminars- There are several seminars and conferences that individuals can attend to improve their skills and knowledge. This seminars and conferences are hosted with highly qualified experts that have experience and knowledge in several fields. People that attend conferences and seminars come from different cultural backgrounds and they share and exchange ideas that improves individual’s perceptions and skills. As an individual i have attended several seminars and conferences that relate to my profession and this has improved my efficiency and effectiveness at work.
• Attending colleges and attending classes- people can improve their skills and knowledge by attending classes or college. This is by going to class to upgrade knowledge for example attending a master’s class or a PHD class. Other forms of self-managed learning are the use of online services. There are several articles that are written by several authors that have posted on the internet and people can use internet to learn more and to improve their skills and knowledge. Internet is available all over and therefore can be used by a person to learn and improve skills.

1.2 Proposing ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional context can be encouraged

Lifelong learning enables a person to continue learning and improving their skills and knowledge through learning throughout their lives (Gravel, 2013). This ensures that they are effective and efficient at work and at what they are doing. The following are some of the ways through which lifelong learning can be encouraged in personal and professional context and the following are some of the ways:

Honey and Mumford learning styles tries to explain why people act in a certain manner due to their personalities. They include activist, theorist, pragmatist and reflectors where the activists are open minded and enjoy new experiments where they engage themselves fully without bias. Theorists adapt and integrate experiments through observations where they follow step by step in a logical way. Pragmatic are keen on trying out new ideas and developing opinions based on theories and techniques. Reflectors stand back to ponder experiments and observe them from many different perspectives. This is through collecting data and analyses to make conclusion and recommendations. It is important to identify the learning style that is effective to influence the attitude and behaviour of employees in an organisation to improve their performance.

Kolb’s experiments theory- this is a cycle of learning which is expressed as four stage cycle of learning. This includes;

• Concrete experiments
• Reflective observation
• Abstract conceptualization
• Active experimentation

Kolb’s experiment theory is important where immediate or concrete experiments lead to observation and reflection enabling an individual to make decisions. He is able to experience, reflect, think and act accordingly therefore the assimilation are absorbed and translated into abstract concept to take an action.

• SWOT analysis – Undertaking a SWORT analysis will motivate individuals and enables persons to improve their skills and knowledge. A  SWOT analysis  will enable an individual to identify the strengths and knowledge of a person, it will enable an individual identify his or her weaknesses and threats as well as opportunities that exist in the environment. This will encourage a person to continue improving skills and maximising on his or her skills and knowledge. It will provide an opportunity for a person to identify threats that can affect their career and opportunities available to improve his or her skills and knowledge.
• Reflective learning- Reflective learning encourages long life learning because it provides an opportunity for individuals to improve their skills and knowledge. It is very important for persons to undertake a self-reflective learning because it will encourage lifelong learning and this will improve a person skill and knowledge throughout their lives.

1.3 Evaluating the benefits of self-learning to the individuals and organisations

Importance to an individual- Self managed learning plays an important role to an individual because it improves the skills and knowledge of a person. It makes an individual more effective at work and improves the creativity of a person.  It provides an opportunity to an individual to share and exchange ideas and this improves an individual profession. It provides an opportunity to an individual to identify their strengths and weakness and this ensures that he or she puts in place measures to improve their skills (Coman and Ronea, 2009). It provides an opportunity for an individual to monitor and control all aspects of his or her entire life.

Importance of self-learning to organisations- Self managed learning is very beneficial to any organisations that operate in the business environment. It improves the performance of an organisation and that of its employees. It increases efficiency and effectiveness of organisation and increases the level of productivity in an organisation. It reduces the training costs and increases the competitive position of a company. It improves the skills and knowledge of individuals and improves the level of creativity in an organisation. It makes it easy for an organisation to achieve its set goals and objectives.

Task 2

2.1 Evaluating current skills and competencies against professional standards and organisation objectives  

The following are my current skills and competencies:

• Good leadership skills- Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence and motivate persons to work towards a common goal and objective (Boud, 2013). I have good leadership skills and i am able to motivate other people and to motivate others to work towards a common goal. I able to handle issues that affect group work and encourage group members to work towards a common goal. I am able to ensure that team works in collaboration and this enables them to work together.
• Good communication skills- I have good communication skills and this has made it easy for me to communicate and share information with other people in my organisation. Communications is the ability to share information from one point to another (Bourner, 2011). I am fluent in several languages and this enables me interact with people from different cultural backgrounds.
• Good team management skills – I have good time management skills and this has enabled me to plan and manage my time effectively. I am to finish my tasks on time and submit reports on time. Good management skills have enabled me to manage other employees and this has improved the performance of my organisation.

2.2 Identifying own development needs and activities required to meet them

The following are my own development needs and activities required to meet them:

• Computer skills- The world today is changing drastically and that rate at which technology is improving is very high. I need to improve my computer skills because it will improve my efficiency and effectiveness. Currently my computer skills are below average and I will improve my skills by attending college and seeking guidance from my supervisors and fellow students.
• Negotiation skills – I need to improve my negotiation skills because currently they are below average. I will improve these skills by attending school and participating in group discussions. I will also improve these skills by going to college and gaining more knowledge Improving this skills will enable me negotiate deals for my organisation and suppliers.
• Problem solving skills- I need to improve my problem solving skills because currently they are average. Problem solving skills will enables me solve problems that arise or occur in my organisation or in teams. I don’t consult my employees and classmates on how to solve problems and I need to improve these skills by attending class and participating in group discussion. I also need to improve my team work skills because they are not effective and improving them will improve the performance of the organisation.

2.3 Identifying development opportunities to meet current and future defined needs

Opportunities are the chances that are available that will enable me improve my skills and knowledge. The following are some of the development opportunities discussed in details.

• Attending training- There are several training that are organised by several organisations and stakeholders (Beryl, 2007). Attending these training will improve and meet my current needs as well as the future defined needs. I will attend training related to my profession and those that are organised by my school and my company.
• Further studies- I will improve my current skills by attending college to get additional skills and knowledge. I will register for a master’s class to improve my skills and efficiency. This will enable me meet my current needs as well as the future needs. It will improve my efficiency and effectiveness. Furthering my studies will improve my performance and will enable me complete tasks on time.
• Attending mentorship programs- Attending mentorship programs will provide me with an opportunity to meet my current and future needs. It will provide me with an opportunity to interact with successful people that have the required  employability skills  and knowledge. It will provide me with an opportunity to share ideas and skills. This will improve my performance and will motivate me. It will equip me with additional skills and knowledge.

2.4 Devising a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs

A personal development plan contains all information that relates to a person, his or her goals and how the goals will be achieved (Cunnigham, 2010). Devising a personal and professional development plan based on the needs identified will require me to identify my short term and long term objectives. I will need to undertake A SWOT analysis to identify my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The following is my personal and professional development plan.

Pdp plan:

Learning objective	Current proficiency	Target proficiency	Development  activitie to use		Criteria for judging success		Time scale
To improve negotiation skills	Currently they are below average	I Need to improve in order to make good negotiations with my organisation suppliers and to make good deals for my company and also to enable me work well with my class mates	I will improve on these skills by going back to school, reading books and seeking for assistance from my supervisors.		Checking if a easily convince peers		3 months
Computer skills	They are currently average	I need to improve my computer skills because they will improve my performance and will improve my analysis.		Going back to college and seeking assistance from my class mates as wells as my fellow employees.		Analysing if I use computers in high proficiency
To improve decision making skills	Average	To make good decisions. To solve problems that occurs in my organisation.		I will improve by attending school, training and seminars as well as participating in class discussions.			6 months
To improve my problem solving skills	Average	To handle problems that occurs in my organisation and in my group at work. To be able to handle problems without taking sides.		Attending college and seeking assistance from my supervisor.		Checking if I effectively assist peers to solve challenges that they face	3 months

Task 3

In this section of the study, the PDP plan that is outlined in 2.4 above will be used to cover all the sections of this task. The process of implementing the above plan will be clearly outlined and the outcomes will be evaluated. In the end part of the tasks, the plan will be updated in order for me to have an opportunity to improve on my skills and knowledge further.

3.1 Discussing the process and activities required to implement the development plan

Implementing a development plan requires resources and therefore, I will ensure that there is a budget. A budget is a financial plan that outlines the costs of implementing the development plan. I will ensure that I commit myself towards implementing the plan by ensuring that I allocate time to implementing each activity. I will develop a plan that I will follow when implementing the plan. I will develop measures that will be used to measure the development plan once implement to ensure that it achieves the set objectives. I will put strategies in place that will ensure that the plan activities are monitored and implementing the plan is not interrupted. I will ensure all the activities in the plan are implemented and ensure that I seek for help when encountered with any challenge during the implementation process. There are adopted strategies for effective monitoring over all the activities including comparison with the set budgets and analysing variances which can define where the problem in implementation of the plan. There can be defined an authority who will monitor the results and will give its responses on the performance of the plan. Decisions must be taken after considering the overall alternatives and option which also help in achieving objectives of the plan. There can be set some standards or benchmarks which will help in achieving the objectives of plan implementation. There can be adopted a mechanism which identify the problems and make effective alternatives for that and ensure the effectiveness of the plan implementation.  

3.2 Undertaking and documenting activities as planned

The PPD plan which is executed by strategic decision making and management in which the decisions are taken by analysing different aspects and factors making impact on the overall personality of a person, and also carry various important results related to the personality of an individual which are identified after effective analyses and evaluation. There are used different tools and techniques to analyses and evaluate different aspects of personality of an individual and make impact on the overall perception of that particular person. There is used SWOT analyses for effective analyses of individual and identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for individual and make an effective plan including all these aspects. The prepared plan is effective and covering all the important aspects which are important from the point of view of the effective PPD plan and meeting the level of adequacy. There can be achieved objectives by following this PPD plan but there are required some amendments or changes which can lead to more effective results in the process of implementation of this plan. There can be used different methods related to the analyses of the internal and external factors making impact on the overall effectiveness of the plan implementation and can enhance the level of adequacy. These changes are required to effective results and can be done by deciding some development activities including the time period required for implementation which is defined as follows.   

Development activities	Time period required
Attending seminars and conferences Reading more books in the library and online articles that relate to decision making and problem solving. Asking for assistance from my lectures and classmates.	5 weeks
Attending classes and additional trainings.	3 months
Participating in class presentation or discussion and reading articles related to my profession.	5 weeks
Participating in class work and interacting with my mentor and reading books.	On daily routine

3.3 Reflecting critically on own learning against the aims and objectives

I developed my personal and professional development plan by identifying my goals and objectives and this was after undertaking A SWOT analysis.  My aim of developing the plan was to improve my  decision making  skills, computer skills, negotiation skills and problem solving skills. I was able to achieve my objectives by following the plan and ensuring that it was implemented as planned. Reflecting on my progress, I can say that I was able to achieve my objectives through the support that I got from my class mates, fellow employees and lectures. This improved my performance and enabled me achieve my set goals and objectives.  I was able to improve my decision making skills and currently I have the ability to come up with good solutions when faced with challenges. Also, I am now good at handling computer packages as a result of the good IT skills that I gained in the process. I have been able to improve my performance and my skills and knowledge. Based on evaluation from my lectures, employees and class mates I have been able to perform well. There are identified some problems with the existing PPD plan which are defined as follows.

• There is identified problem related to the implementation of the computer skill development which required to be effective and efficient and can make impact on the overall development of a personality which is average in the current stage. The plan is defining that development is required which cannot be achieved by seeking assistance and taking their advice. This can be done by taking classes and practical sessions and making efforts to learn the use of the computer skills and implementing them.
• There is defined the requirement to improve the power and skills of decision making which is required to make improve the overall personality and its development. There are various aspects which can be adopted to improve which are defining in the PPD plan including attending school classes and seminars and participating them. But there can be adopted some other activities like analysing different things and options which are available before taking the decision and increasing the confidence level which can help in making the decisions stable and effective.

3.4 Updating the development plan based on the feedback and evaluation

When implementing my PDP plan, I realised that there are some development needs that I had not catered for. Thus, it was necessary for me to upgrade my plan in order to be in a position to develop good personal and professional skills and knowledge. The table below shows my updated development plan in relation to the evaluation and feedback that I got from my employees, lectures and classmates. Below is an outline of how I will upgrade my PDP;

Learning objective	Current proficiency	Target proficiency	Development  activitie to use		Criteria for judging success	Time scale
To improve negotiation skills	Currently they are below average	I Need to improve in order to make good negotiations with my organisation suppliers and to make good deals for my company and also to enable me work well with my class mates	I will improve on these skills by going back to school, reading books and seeking for assistance from my supervisors.		Checking if a easily convince peers	3 months
Computer skills	They are currently average	I need to improve my computer skills because they will improve my performance and will improve my analysis.		There are required to attend classes and lectures in the school and to take the practical classes to have the practical knowledge which can be used in having effective knowledge to operate different programmes and software in computer.	Analysing if I use computers in high proficiency. Analysing the speed and efficiency in using different software and programmes on computer.
To improve decision making skills	Average	To make good decisions. To solve problems that occurs in my organisation.		There can be effective training and theoretical knowledge to know the way and methods which help in making most strategic decisions by analysing and evaluating the available options. By increasing the confidence level that can help in provide stability in the decisions.	By analysing the results which are achieved by the decisions taken and evaluating their efficiency.	6 months
To improve my problem solving skills	Average	To handle problems that occurs in my organisation and in my group at work. To be able to handle problems without taking sides.		Attending college and seeking assistance from my supervisor.	Checking if I effectively assist peers to solve challenges that they face	3 months

Task 4

4.1 Selecting solutions to work based problems

There are several challenges that face organisations that operate in the global business environment. Some of the challenges include discrimination and other employment related challenges. Others include failure to achieve the set goals and objectives, technological problems and economic problems. It is important for organisations to come up with strategies and ways of reducing these problems to be able to achieve the set goals and objectives. It is important for organisations to ensure that they comply with the employment law by ensuring that employees are fairly compensated and are given an equal opportunity to be employed. It also important to ensure that organisations are provided with good working conditions and their health and safety is safeguarded. It is important for organisations to put in place policies and guidelines that should be followed by each and every person in the organisation (Gravel, 2013). Polices that are established should be provided to each and every person. Organisations should ensure that they comply with the set laws and regulations. Organisations should operate ethically and provide an opportunity for others organisations to succeed. It is important for organisations to put in place a code of conduct and should train their employees to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. It also important to outline ways of handling conflicts within the organisation without taking sides and disciplinary procedures should also be outlined.

4.2 Communicating solutions using appropriate communication styles

Communication is essential for the performance of any organisation and therefore, it is important to ensure that communication style that is used is effective and reaches all the stakeholders (Beryl, 2007). There are different types of communication, verbal or non-verbal.Verbal communication is the use of words or oral communication which is important and effective in influencing thoughts, attitudes and behaviour of individuals. Oral communication is important because it encourages discussions and development of informal conversations to enable interactions among individuals. This will lead to development of ideas and opinions that will be effective in problem solving.

Non-verbal communication is the way people are communicating through sending and receiving wordless clues. This is through gestures, signs, body languages and other visual communications to send messages to the next person. This is important where they are used to emphasize on the issue at hand to take actions.There are different skills that employees need to communicate effectively which are communication techniques skills include speaking and listening skills, good persuasion and negotiation skills as well being assertive and very persuading. This is vital in facilitating effective communication in the workplace and as a result ideas and information to achieve or surpass organisational performance are discussed.

Communication is the process of sharing information from one place to another. It is important for organisations to have a communication chart because it shows how communication flows in an organisation. It shows how communication reaches the lowest employees on the organisation structure or chart.To solve the problems that organisations incur they should put in place strategies and policies that should be adhered to by every employee. It is also important to have in place put in place a code of conduct that employees should follow and which should outline how activities are carried out in the organisation. It is important for the organisation to ensure that communication is effective by ensuring the right channel and language is used. It is also important to outline procedures that employees should follow to raise their concerns and all barriers that affect effective communication should be eliminated.

4.3 Evaluating and use of effective time management strategies

Time is money and effective time management will enable an organisation to achieve its set goals and objectives (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). Time management strategies also enable individuals to achieve their goals and objectives. There are several strategies that can be used to manage time and reduce time wastage. They ensure that organisations achieve their objectives.

The following are some of the strategies that can be used to manage time:

• Prioritizing workloads- this is important where challenging and risky tasks are performed first and those that are less risky are performed last. This strategy is based on urgency of the work therefore enabling employees to perform their duties and responsibilities towards achieving organisation objectives.
• Setting targets- this is time management strategies that motivate employees in the organisation to perform their duties to meet targets. This is important where challenging roles are performed first to meet targets therefore achieving the general objective of the organisation.
• Time table- A time table can be used to manage time and ensure that time is used effectively (Beryl, 2007). A time table shows the activity that will be taken and the time it will take to complete the activity. Time tables will ensure that there is accountability.
• Schedules- Schedules shows that tasks allocated to individuals and the time required completing the tasks. It shows the time an activity will start and when to will be completed (Gravel, 2013). Organisations should use schedules to ensure that tasks are allocated on time.
• Training- Employees need to be trained on how to improve their day to day performance. This is vital in ensuring that they are equipped with highly effective and efficient skills and knowledge to deliver high organisational results. During the training, they are also taught on how they can management time well. This will be vital in assisting them to achieve set organisational results and objectives on time.

Conclusion

The report has identified the criteria used in developing a personal and professional development plan and the importance of the plan to an individual and organisations. It is extremely important to prepare a personal and professional development plan by undertaking a SWOT analysis. An individual SWOT analysis will enable a person to identify his or her strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that are available. The report has identified and discussed several self-managed learning and ways of encouraging long life development. The report has shown time management strategies.

References

Beryl, H. (2007), Organizational Management and customer service, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Boxall, P., and Purcell, J. (2003), Strategy and  Human Resource Management , London: Macmillan
Bjork, R. A., Dunlosky, J. and Kornell, N. (2013), Self-regulated learning: Beliefs, techniques,and illusions, Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 41-444
Boud, D. (2013), Enhancing learning through self-assessment, London: Routledge
Bourner, T. (2011), Developing self-managed action learning, Action Learning: Research and Practice, 8(2), 117-127
Coman, A. and Ronen, B. (2009), Focused SWOT: Diagnosing critical strengths and weaknesses, International Journal of Production Research, 47(20), pp. 5677-5689
Cunningham, I. (2010), Learning to lead: Self-managed learning and how academics resist understanding the process, Development and Learning in Organizations, 24(2), 4-6
Davis, P. J. (2014), What employees do not like about L&D opportunities: Six learning strategies to win them back, Development and Learning in Organizations, 28(2), 14-16
Graves, N. (ed.). (2013), Learner managed learning: practice, theory and policy, London: Routledge