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Portfolio Item 2 - Reflective Report Assignment
Introduction of Career Growth Through Work-Based Learning & Personal Development
In the competitive market for jobs, it is important to learn and face challenges from the beginning of the career. Eventually, it helps to be more competitive and provides the required lessons to put the best foot forward to win the real world. During the time of my course in the first year of my MBA especially in Semester 2, when everyone decided to apply for the theory second year, I decided to go with the work-based learning route. It is the time when I choose to prepare for apply a theorythat improve my professional career graph and for that, the most crucial part is to concentrate on professional development and creating personal development goals. Professional development is the process who h helps to boost the employee's confidence at the work. On the other side, the personal development goal helps to drive the motivation to achieve the goals. Not only that, proper skills can help other people to bring the best version of themselves and their vision into reality. The most crucial two areas which I have found important and developed during my academic year are the process of applying for an appropriate theory and the professional development skills, which are also related to my personal development goals.
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Reflections
Reflection on applying for theory or Career Edge Programme
Figure 1: The Gibbs reflective cycle
(Source: associationofmbas.com, 2022)
Description
During the first year of my MBA course, I have not applied some improvement theory for the second year; rather I focused on a work-based learning route. It is one of the best options to start a career because it provides a real-life experience which can help in developing both academic and technical skills and additionally enhances employability. In simple words, it is a process which can help me in developing the most essential skills such as communication, teamwork, networking, problem-solving and decision-making (Orishev and Burkhonov, 2021). Most importantly the work-based learning route is a way to enhance professionalism, which will help in facing the competitive challenges in the way of achieving career goals.
Feelings
The most challenging part of the whole process is the teamwork and communication, which I felt quite difficult. This section of the program focused on how effective communication can enhance the power of teamwork and eventually affects overall productivity (Tan and Laswad, 2018). The lack of communication skills can hamper the whole process and create difficulties to manage the team. The most important thing that I have understood about it is that only good quality and transparent communication within a team allows for exchanging more ideas and cooperation. Not only that I have understood the importance of networking in the job searching process.
Evaluation
The idea of upgrading communication skills is the most effective way to enhance participation in a team. On the other hand, proper networking is the key to searching for jobs. Expertise in these three crucial sectors can help me to boat my confidence in the tie of applying for any behavioural theory (Rubens et al. 2018). For me, the program was an eye opener, which makes me realise about most important sectors that helps in the workplace and also play a role in the development of the CV.
Analysis
Communication is a key which can affect teamwork in both positive and negative ways. Because of that, it is important to understand the difference between them. On the other hand, a proper understanding of networking is the only way to have effective job options (Beenen et al. 2018). Without proper networking, it is not impossible to find the appropriate jobs, however, with time it just becomes tough to find the best options in this competitive job market.
Conclusions
During the programme, I have understood the importance of proper communication, teamwork and networking. The programme provides me with the needed confidence to work in a team who h will help me to apply for the work placement for the second year of the MBA course. I have applied several theories for the improvement of the organisation that guides to improve my self-efficiency. In short, this program is essential to prepare me for real-world jobs by providing them with ideas about the skills and sections which are required. Other than the key skill sets I have understood the basic that helps to navigate the job market effectively. The most attractive professional skill that provides a positive perspective about job seekers is the will to learn new skills. This programme helped me to adopt this quality, and it will have a positive reflection on my resume and eventually strengthen my value as a job applicator.
Reflection on Group Discussion/Skills development
Description
In semester 1, I took part in the group discussion task, which was one of the recruitment activities and there I encounter a wider assessment centre recruitment event. During the session, I experienced the importance and necessity of developing professional and personal skills which can help me achieve my future career goals. Skills such as intercultural business communication or collaboration skills and cooperative skills are essential to meet the requirements of any workplace and to enhance productivity (Boyatzis and Cavanagh, 2018). During the whole session, I learned and developed those skills for the betterment of my future.
Feelings
In the group discussion, I learned about the development of both professional and personal skills. There are some personal skills, which I need to be improved, such as temperament, intuition and thinking and judging or perceiving.
Evaluation
In the field of business communication, intercultural communication is considered the ability to talk and understand different people coming from different social backgrounds. It involves facial expression, thought patterns, customs and most importantly the urge to understand the opposite person (Lawrence et al. 2018). This skill is essential to work in a global market, where people from different places and cultures, share the same workplace. In the same way personal skills such as behavior, controlling temperament, and working on intuitions are the keys to achieving success in the workplace.
Analysis
Cultural diversity is the most recent trend in the global business market. To achieve success and make a position in the workplace it is important to improve intercultural communication skills (Costigan and Brink, 2020). During the group discussion, I came to know, about the effectiveness of this professional skill to achieve my career goal I have developed a basic understanding of the skill. During the session, I learned the most crucial part of it, which starts with self-awareness. It means that before understanding any other culture it is important to understand how my own culture has shaped me this whole time. Development in his skill simultaneously helps to improve other qualities such as reducing the tendency of conflict and cooperative nature (Ginting et al. 2020). Moreover, it also helped me to increase my skills such as it made me more tolerant.
Conclusions
Working on the skills such as communication in diverse situations and understanding the importance of cooperation in the workplace are some of the essential skills which can play a role in changing the dimension of my career (Mello and Wattret, 2021). Other than those professional skills, I felt the necessity of improving my personal skills such as tolerance, using intuition, or Perceiving, therefore I can be more productive and organized in my workplace. It will provide confidence to deal with the problems arising in the workplace and increases my professionalism during the work placement.
Action Plan for the professional development
I found communication skill is required to develop an effective PDP. The six steps are elaborately discussed below.
Step 1: Assessment of myself
Self -assessment is the fundamental process of the professional development process (PDP). this is the step where the individuals evaluate their own plans for the future, career choices, hopes, and current knowledge and skill sets (Bardosono et al. 2018). Assessment of the communication skills of an individual can take 2-3 weeks.
Step 2: Goal Setting
After the assessment of the self, based on the current position the individual need to set further goals to work hard on the in competencies he or she possesses. There are three types of goals short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals (Phelps, 2019). It is necessary to break up the main goals into several kinds of goals to achieve them in a structured way. In the case of developing communication skills, it can be done that the short-term goal, of meeting new people for 2-3 weeks is the primary step of developing communication skills.
Step 3: Develop strategies
Active listening, thinking before speaking, and positive body language, and many other strategies can be possessed by the individual. It requires 1-2 months.
Step 4: Gather Resources
Several seminars and workshops regarding communication skills can be effective. It can take 3-4 weeks to gather several resources.
Step 5: Create a timeline
The creation of a deadline can be effective to achieve the goals that are set for the PDP. An individual must set a period of time within which he or she can possess effective communication skills.
Step 6: Track your progress
A regular review process is required to understand the progression of the development of the chosen skills. It is needed to check throughout the process of development. It can take 5-6 months to enhance effective communication skills.
Conclusion
The professional skills and personal skills, both are interconnected and much needed to achieve success in the time of applying some professional as well as behavioural theory. Only with one of them, it is hard to survive in the competitive business world. During my MBA course and in the job search process or in the group discussion in which I have participated, I came to know about the importance of both skills and also learned and developed a basic idea about how they can be improved. Professional skills are needed to crack the interview and have positive results in the eyes of employers and it is eventually reflected in my implemented theory for the improvement of the career graph and my productive nature. These skills are the basic ones which can help one to succeed in the job irrespective of the sector. Being a student of an MBA helps me to gather specialized knowledge and skills to increase my maturity in handling the job and dedication towards the work.
Proper communication and teamwork and the importance of networking are the key skills which I have learned and can help me in the future to understand and deliver my job. Other than that, I have learned the importance of having strong personal skills to achieve success in real-world jobs. Improving my personal skill will allow me to work and understand other employees. With strong personal skills, I can communicate new and creative ideas in the workplace which will help in my growth. A clear understanding of my skills and strengths will provide me confidence in dealing with every issue in the workplace and also provide me clarity in decision-making. In the session and during the programme I got the opportunity to develop each of the personal and professional skills which I can use in cracking the interviews for the job placements in the second year of my course.
References
Journals
Beenen, G., Pichler, S. and Davoudpour, S., 2018. Interpersonal skills in MBA admissions: how are they conceptualized and assessed?. Journal of Management Education, 42(1), pp.34-54.
Boyatzis, R.E. and Cavanagh, K.V., 2018. Leading change: Developing emotional, social, and cognitive competencies in managers during an MBA program. In Emotional intelligence in education (pp. 403-426). Springer, Cham.
Costigan, R.D. and Brink, K.E., 2020. Developing listening and oral expression skills: Pillars of influential oral communication. Journal of Management Education, 44(2), pp.129-164.
Ginting, H., Mahiranissa, A., Bekti, R. and Febriansyah, H., 2020. The effect of outing Team Building training on soft skills among MBA students. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(3), p.100423.
Lawrence, E., Dunn, M.W. and Weisfeld-Spolter, S., 2018. Developing leadership potential in graduate students with assessment, self-awareness, reflection and coaching. Journal of Management Development.
Mello, L.V. and Wattret, G., 2021. Developing transferable skills through embedding reflection in the science curriculum. Biophysical Reviews, pp.1-7.
Orishev, J. and Burkhonov, R., 2021. Project for training professional skills for future teachers of technological education. Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal, 2021(2), pp.139-150.
Rubens, A., Schoenfeld, G.A., Schaffer, B.S. and Leah, J.S., 2018. Self-awareness and leadership: Developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA leadership course. The International Journal of Management Education, 16(1), pp.1-13.
Tan, L.M. and Laswad, F., 2018. Professional skills required of accountants: what do job advertisements tell us?. Accounting Education, 27(4), pp.403-432.
Bardosono, S., Pansawira, P. and Ratih, M.P., 2018. Effective communication skill: doctor–patient consultation. World Nutrition Journal, 2(1), pp.i-ii.
Phelps, D., 2019. Developing visual supports for individuals with intellectual disabilities who are non-verbal to enhance communication in the home, school, & community. The Omnipedia Review, 1(1), p.6.
Websites
associationofmbas.com, (2022), How to apply Gibbs Model of Reflection, Available at: https://www.associationofmbas.com/how-to-apply-gibbs-model-of-reflection/ [Accessed on: 26th November, 2022]
