RDI/EDEXCEL

City of London Business College

Diploma in Management Studies

Assignment on
Advanced Professional Development
Task 4

Prepared by

Student name: Md. Alamgir Hossain Student ID: 3523 Date of submission: 18th May 2011

Table of Contents
Task-4: Personal Development Portfolio ................................................................................... 3 4.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3 4.1 Learning log: .................................................................................................................... 4 4.1.1 Record keeping: ........................................................................................................ 4 4.1.2 Organisation and time management........................................................................ 4 4.1.3 Decision making and problem solving ..................................................................... 5 4.1.4 Planning .................................................................................................................... 5 4.1.5 Delegation ................................................................................................................. 6 4.1.6 Coaching ................................................................................................................... 6 4.1.7 Target setting ............................................................................................................ 7 4.1.8 Academic report writing ........................................................................................... 7 4.2 Attention to Assignments and Examinations ................................................................... 8 4.3 Future Personal Development Plan.................................................................................. 8 4.3.1 Reflect on the current and/or future activities........................................................... 8 4.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 10

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Task-4: Personal Development Portfolio

4.0 Introduction
As my previous personal development assessment in task three I disclosed myself reflective by using SWOT tools. There I identified that my strengths are co-operative working, leadership and motivation. My opportunities were self discipline motivation and thoroughness, library resource. These opportunities I can use to overcome my threats as I discussed there my threats were competition from college graduates, competition from superior skills, knowledge and experience. My weaknesses were divulging lack of stress management skill, oral presentations in different contexts e.g. seminars, conferences, academic report writing, and poor time management skill. Stress management also was my weakness as this can make effect in my life as Stress comes in all forms and affects people of all ages and all walks of life. No external standards can be applied to predict stress levels in individuals -- one need not have a traditionally stressful job to experience workplace stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more stress related to parenting than a parent of several children. The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual factors such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we carry, the degree of others' dependence upon and expectations of us, the amount of support we receive from others, and the number of changes or traumatic events that have recently occurred in our lives. Some generalizations, however, can be made. People with strong social support networks (consisting of family, friends, religious organizations, or other social groups) report less stress and overall improved mental health in comparison to those without these social contacts. People who are poorly nourished, who get inadequate sleep, or who are physically unwell also have reduced capabilities to handle the pressures and stresses of everyday life and may report higher stress levels. Some stressors are particularly associated with certain age groups or life stages. Children, teens, working parents, and seniors are examples of the groups who often face common stressors related to life transitions. There analysis helps me to prepare plan and then I put myself on development and after a short time I already improve myself some sector that make me satisfied. I do also realised to do lot more to improve in some sector as that may potential in my career stage. To improve management skills I collected some management books and DVD that I recon to get further 3|Page

information as I applied some situation and I realized that some gap of management skill I already developed internally.

4.1 Learning log:

From the learning log in task two I arranged my current skills by scoring and I decided the schedule when I can start and I may finished as I expected.

4.1.1 Record keeping:

The target was March 2010 to July 2010 now I can say that I get potential confident that I can do that now professionally. Must realise that records kept will be one of the most important
management tools it possesses and, therefore, it should be allocated due importance. Many business owners invest a lot of time and effort into the running of their business and yet fail to realise the importance of maintaining good documentation. The business owner is looking for the maximum return from their investment and the maintaining of good records is part of that equation. For the business to achieve its success and profit, it is necessary for the scores to be kept, as it were. Keeping records is really like score keeping - if I went to a football game where no one kept the score, I would have to ask what was the point of that whole exercise? By keeping the score I am able to work out who is winning and whether I am winning at all. Many people do not know the "current score" of their own business because they have failed to realise the importance of keeping good and adequate records. Any record keeping system should be accurate, reliable, easy to follow, consistent as to the basis used and be very simple. Good record keeping is vital in regards to meeting the financial commitments of the business and providing information on which decisions for the future of the business can be based.

4.1.2 Organisation and time management

Follow up day to day activity and maintain record could be improving my time management skill. The schedule was fixed March 2010 to July2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident. A life skill is simply something that is beneficial to living a happy, balanced life. Time management fits into this description quite nicely as it does benefit those who practice it. Managing your time leads to a balanced life. Another term for time management could be "task management" or even "life management". Both these terms express how managing time better is one of the core life skills. It is important to develop all the cornerstone life skills including time management.

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4.1.3 Decision making and problem solving

The schedule was fixed June 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident. Due to I have my previous lack of prioritising my decision making. To prioritising my work and the consequences of problem will help me to improve this sector. Problem solving and decision-making are important skills for business and life. Problemsolving often involves decision-making, and decision-making is especially important for management and leadership. There are processes and techniques to improve decision-making and the quality of decisions. Decision-making is more natural to certain personalities, so these people should focus more on improving the quality of their decisions. People that are less natural decision-makers are often able to make quality assessments, but then need to be more decisive in acting upon the assessments made. Problem-solving and decision-making are closely linked, and each requires creativity in identifying and developing options, for which the brainstorming technique is particularly useful. See also the free SWOT analysis template and examples, and PEST analysis template, which help decision-making and problem-solving. SWOT analysis helps assess the strength of a company, a business proposition or idea; PEST analysis helps to assess the potential and suitability of a market. Good decision-making requires a mixture of skills: creative development and identification of options, clarity of judgement, firmness of decision, and effective implementation. For group problem-solving and decision-making, or when a consensus is required, workshops help, within which I can incorporate these tools and process as appropriate. Here are some useful methods for effective decision-making and problem-solving: First a simple step-by-step process for effective decision-making and problem-solving.

4.1.4 Planning
I find it hard to target setting and set priorities with regard to my life. I can set clear plan and goals for the next six months. I can prioritise my day-to-day activities so that I can meet my objectives. The schedule was fixed April 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident and I can do that now.

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Most potential investors or lenders will want to see a business plan before they consider funding your business. Although many businesses are tempted to use their business plans solely for this purpose, a good plan should set the course of a business over its lifespan. A business plan plays a key role in allocating resources throughout a business. It is a tool that can help you attract new funds or that you can use as a strategy document. A good business plan shows how you would use the bank loan or investment you are asking for. See our guide on how to use your business plan to get funding.

4.1.5 Delegation
The schedule was fixed April 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident. Adopted delegation skills I need to more focus on it. I can read delegation theories from different books. And discuss with classmate friends as group. Most companies fail in their network marketing businesses because of their lack of effective delegation. Delegation is not just telling my employee to answer a call or to fill out some paperwork for you. Delegation does not mean that I give an employee an easy task; rather, it is about assigning challenging jobs. The reason why most companies find it hard to delegate these types of tasks is due to lack of confidence in their employees. Delegation is very important for a business to prosper. Effective delegation allows me to trim down my tasks so that I can concentrate on the major areas of your business. I should have proper networks where I can delegate my tasks.

4.1.6 Coaching
The schedule was fixed August 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident. Organisation and Time management, planning skills will help me to improving coaching skill. Employees are an important asset for any organization, which should be managed wisely if the organization has to succeed in the line of its business. The fact of the matter is that all the people who join an organization may not be at the performing level. They are not sharp, not 6|Page

smooth and well polished. The challenge for the organization is to sharpen them, smoothen the rough edges and help the employees to reach the performing level.

4.1.7 Target setting

Recording of objectives with setting of time and monitoring will help me to improve target setting skills. The schedule was fixed March 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident.

4.1.8 Academic report writing

I find it hard or I do not have the skills I need in order to write report. After hard practice I feel confident that I can write, have written, have submitted or completed report. The schedule was fixed March 2010 to December 2010 to achieve and I currently achieve that skill and now I am confident. The process of writing academic papers is an integral part of the schooling process. One should be aware of specific structures and formats as I right now. If I lack some information, I can conduct a research and find necessary data in the Internet databases or within library materials. Theory is a basic level of every experiment or approach. One should develop a theory before starting practical exploration. That is why theoretical importance of report writing consists in value of knowledge acquired in the course of writing a paper. It is obvious that students engaged in the process of writing papers should feel the importance of report writing and use acquired knowledge in further activities. Theoretical issues have to be proved practically. So, it is necessary to prove practical importance of report writing. With a view to practical importance of report writing, I have to develop writing skills in order to improve oral ones so that I do. When I have realized theoretical importance of report writing, he/she is sure to use it in practice. That is why theoretical and practical importance of report writing is obvious. Every academic paper should be written in accordance with a specific structure and format. I have to fulfil all assignments carefully with a view to their importance.

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4.2 Attention to Assignments and Examinations

In my current course those skills such as time management, report writing skills helps me to do that effectively.

4.3 Future Personal Development Plan

Start by thinking about my role and the elements of my job that require me to work in an international context. Depending on my situation, I may wish to concentrate on my current role or perhaps on a future anticipated role if this has a greater international context. For example: - What are the key relationships that will be important for success in this role? - What will be the key tasks that I will be performing? - What additional knowledge and understanding will I need? - With whom, and how will I mostly be communicating? - How clearly will my goals be defined? - What personal pressures will this role impose on me?

4.3.1 Reflect on the current and/or future activities

The insights gained by working with the feedback from the International Profiler. Hopefully, this will have made me more consciously aware of strengths that I may raise to the level of conscious strategies in certain international settings. It will also have highlighted some areas of development that you may need to focus on to be as effective as possible in international and cross-cultural environments.

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4.3.1.1 A SMART Action Plan

Working with the areas I have selected in before, identify the specific actions I am going to take to bring about change and development for myself. The plan I make should be a SMART plan, i.e. 1 Specific Is my goal well-defined? Avoid setting unclear or vague objectives; instead be as precise as possible. Instead of: To listen more Make it specific: To use the next meeting of the European marketing managers as an opportunity to practise listening behaviours and to reinforce this by writing a detailed minute of the meeting 2 Measurable Be clear how I will recognise when I have achieved my goal. Using numbers, dates and times is one way to represent clear objectives. Instead of: To find out about Managerial job Make it measurable: To use the internet and the local library to identify and read key references and make notes on the history, economy, and politics of Germany and current market and recent requirement. This already completed by the end of next month. 3 Attainable Setting me unrealistic goals will only end in disappointment. Make my goals challenging, but attainable. Instead of: Learn German by Christmas. Make it attainable: Register with a language school and attend classes to learn German on a weekly basis for the next 12 months. Then review progress and set new goals. 4 Relevant Ensure that any development actions that my plan are directly relevant to the international context that I am currently, or will be, operating in. Test them for relevance against the answers me gave in as I discussed above. 5 Time-bound Set a time scale for completion of each goal. Even if I have to review this as my progress, it will help to keep me motivated. 9|Page

4.4 Conclusion
In my personal development portfolio the outcome from self reflection it seems to me very important as it reveals my current situation and the way how to fill the gaps that leads to me to achieve my future goals. Some skills as I achieve in social phenomenon and later this assessment make me realised that I may need to add myself to compete in real world after my study. As I get motivation skills from my old days that help to follow managers target with colleagues and after self reflection I improve record keeping skills by getting IT course. For time management my score was average before now it improves and I feel confident to go further with decision making and problem solving skills as I develop now.

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