BUS4009 Digital Skills and Professional Development Assignment Sample

Introduction - BUS4009 Digital Skills and Professional Development Assignment

Professional development refers to the learning which leads to as well as emphasizes education in particular professional career area. It also implies for the process of developing practical employment skills that help to get job in desired field. Retail sector has been chosen for this report. The reason behind choosing the sector is that it provides potential candidates the opportunity to achieve long-term career. This report will explain about the impact of recent changes posed by industry 4.0 on retail sector. This report will describe about the soft and digital skills needed to get sales job in retail sector. Analysis of own skills by using SWOT tool will be included. Further, the report will present the personal development plan to enhance skills and knowledge.

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TASK ONE

Impact of recent changes driven by industry 4.0 on retail sector

Technological developments are changing life around the global and highly impacting the business organisations. Technology advancements make it easy for the different business sector to do their work efficiently and improve operational efficiency. Retail sector is one of the major industries that also affected by the industry 4.0 which is also known as fourth industrial revolution (Har et al, 2022). There are different new and advance industry 4.0 technologies such as; internet of things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, advanced robotics, augmented reality and many that are contributing to retail industry. These technologies are responsible for several changes such as; digitalisation of business, automation, innovation diffusion etc. that are helpful for companies that operates under the retail sector.

AI powered tools helps the sector to improve efficiency by improving manufacturing, supply and operational process. Industry 4.0 is associated with liberating workers from the routine tasks through digitization. Advance technology has provided new ways to the employees to manage work and achieve proficiency. Industry 4.0 unlocks a range of opportunities for the people who works in retail sector and also provide more freedom to employees to perform their best that eventually helps the retail sector (Shankar et al, 2021). With the availability of the exclusive technologies, fast research and development process has become possible for the retail industry. Technology has also impacted the learning and development process and makes it easy for the companies to provide excellent training and growth opportunities to workers so that they can perform best and contribute to achieving goals and success.

Industry 4.0 plays a most crucial role in retail sector and provides lots of benefits to companies as well as people who are working this field. This is the reason I have selected the retail industry as my career field (Akram et al, 2021). Because of technologies, employees are become more able to create new and innovative ideas which does not only help business but also improve productivity of employees.

Range of soft and digital skills required in sales manager job

In retail sector, sales is one of the crucial department that determine the success or failure of the business. Sales department is accountable fort selling goods or services and help the company to achieve desired profit. It is crucial for an individual to have a valuable set of soft and digital skills to work in sales field.

Soft skills

Communication skills: It is most essential for the sales manager to have strong communication skills. It helps to convey the relevant information, ideas and strategies.

Active listening: Being an excellent listener facilitates sales manager discover pain points of consumers and provide right solutions (Woods, Doherty and Stephens, 2022). By using this skill, manager can make strong relationship with customers.

Time management: Sales manager often do multiple tasks as well as projects. So, managing time is important for them to complete project before deadline. Time management skills help to solve complex tasks without taking lot of time.

Decision-making: Sales manager requires to make decisions like what products sell, how to assign resources and which consumers to target (Lyu and Liu, 2021). So, sales manager should proficient in decision-making skills.

Self-management: A person with excellent self-management abilities are reliable and can carry out tasks without consistently asking for help from managers. It shows a person is capable to manage themselves and provide own ideas to do project.

Digital skills

Data analytics: Data interpretation and analytics skills are most valuable for sales manager in today’s technical world. It helps to track data and information regarding customers and make sales related decisions.

CRM software proficiency: As people step into 2025, customer relationship management remains important skill (Varra, 2021). It facilitates to track activities of sales team and manage information of clients.

Project management: Project management is another skill that crucial for sales manager. Excellent project management ability allow sales manager to develop, manage and perform sales projects online successfully.

Self-assessment on own skills with skill gaps

Strengths

From SWOT analysis, I have identified that I have good knowledge about sales field. It will allow me to apply for job in sales field in reputable company. By using this skill, I will be able to carry out the sales activities and projects in a proper manner. I also found out that I am excellent in problem-solving skills that help me to identify alternative solutions to the problems. I have knowledge about social media marketing which is useful for sales job. Marketing knowledge is essential in sales as it helps to inform customers regarding what a company offers. From personality test, I have identified that I have strategic mind-set that help in finding creative ideas (16 Personalities, 2024). As per the test, I have conducted, I identified that I am excellent in time management ability which help me to prioritize the tasks.

Areas of improvements

By SWOT analysis tool, I found out that regular growing competition within job marketplace is threat for me and I need to improve my skills. People are highly focusing on technical skills which can create problem for me to get desired job. I does not have knowledge about sales related digital skills such as; customer relationship management and project management. Soft skills test allowed me to know that I need to improve my decision-making skills otherwise I can face failure in my job (Biz Library, 2024). Furthermore, I have to improve my active listening skills as I got less marks in this ability. It is crucial skill in the workplace and leads to better communication that benefits decision-making skills. I will make action plan to improve weak skills and enter into retail sector as sales manager job position.

TASK TWO

Professional development plan

SMART Objectives:

• To improve the active listening skills, I will join skill development course within 2 months
• To enhance self-management ability, I will read books and articles for the next one month
• To develop decision-making skills, I will participate in different activities and workshops in next 3 months
• To learn about CRM technology, I will complete online course within the next 5 months
• To become proficient in project management, I will complete training course within 6 months

CONCLUSION

As per above report, it is concluded that professional development is important for an individual who want to improve their quality of life getting job in interested field. Professional development allows a person to develop and improve skills and achieve growth in career. The report has explained that industry 4.0 has transformed the retail industry and impacted in terms of productivity, performance and efficiency. Further, the report has presented the self-assessment and identified strong skills like communication, time management and data analytics and areas of improvements such as; decision-making, active listening, CRM skills etc. It also included personal development plan by using SMART framework to improve the weak skills.

REFERENCES

Books and Journals

• Akram, U., Fülöp, M.T., Tiron-Tudor, A., Topor, D.I. and Căpușneanu, S., 2021. Impact of digitalization on customers’ well-being in the pandemic period: Challenges and opportunities for the retail industry. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), p.7533.
• Har, L.L., Rashid, U.K., Te Chuan, L., Sen, S.C. and Xia, L.Y., 2022. Revolution of retail industry: from perspective of retail 1.0 to 4.0. Procedia Computer Science, 200, pp.1615-1625.
• King, R., Taylor, B., Talpur, A., Jackson, C., Manley, K., Ashby, N., Tod, A., Ryan, T., Wood, E., Senek, M. and Robertson, S., 2021. Factors that optimise the impact of continuing professional development in nursing: A rapid evidence review. Nurse education today, 98, p.104652.
• Lyu, W. and Liu, J., 2021. Soft skills, hard skills: What matters most? Evidence from job postings. Applied Energy, 300, p.117307.
• Shankar, V., Kalyanam, K., Setia, P., Golmohammadi, A., Tirunillai, S., Douglass, T., Hennessey, J., Bull, J.S. and Waddoups, R., 2021. How technology is changing retail. Journal of Retailing, 97(1), pp.13-27.
• Shu, X. and Gu, X., 2023. An empirical study of A smart education model enabled by the edu-metaverse to enhance better learning outcomes for students. Systems, 11(2), p.75.
• Swann, C., Jackman, P.C., Lawrence, A., Hawkins, R.M., Goddard, S.G., Williamson, O., Schweickle, M.J., Vella, S.A., Rosenbaum, S. and Ekkekakis, P., 2023. The (over) use of SMART goals for physical activity promotion: A narrative review and critique. Health psychology review, 17(2), pp.211-226.
• Varra, L., 2021. Becoming digital: The need to redesign competences and skills in the fashion industry. The Art of digital marketing for fashion and luxury brands: Marketspaces and marketplaces, pp.299-343.
• Weintraub, J., Cassell, D. and DePatie, T.P., 2021. Nudging flow through ‘SMART’goal setting to decrease stress, increase engagement, and increase performance at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(2), pp.230-258.
• Woods, R., Doherty, O. and Stephens, S., 2022. Technology driven change in the retail sector: Implications for higher education. Industry and Higher Education, 36(2), pp.128-137.