personal effectiveness & development

LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

LEEDS BUSINESS SCHOOL

Name of the Candidate: Amit Agarwal

Module Title: Personal Effectiveness

Student ID: C7094607

Date of submission: 1st April 2011

Personal Effectiveness

Executive summary

This report based on personal effectiveness describes the essential skills and competencies

that are necessary to be successful strategic manager in relation to author’s experience upon

starting the masters program.

The report clearly states the aim of the author, objectives to be undertaken to accomplish aim.

The report uses SWOT analysis and SWAIN analysis tool to develop strategy for personal

and professional development. It then identifies the key personal and professional skills,

elucidates providing the author’s personal experience of learning.

The reflective practice and self -development strategy is used to learn and develop personal

and professional skills to accomplish developmental aims and objectives


Introduction

The concept of personal effectiveness deals with goals, success, and other related concepts

that seem to be branch of self -help movement. Personal effectiveness combines ideas of

positive psychology and positive thinking. It is worthwhile to be noted that personal

effectiveness is a step ahead of positive thinking as it involves more systematic approach to

achieve goals. Some supporters follow business process management technique approach

while some followers of personal effectiveness adapt physical wellness or holistic spiritual

approach. Personal effectiveness refers to making optimum use of available resources and

skills / competencies to the best of one’s own ability. (Kolker, 2006) At organisational level,

it portrays itself in form of interpersonal and group effectiveness. At personal level, personal

effectiveness, encourages well -being and happiness. It can be derived through family, or

work, or any other means. Personal effectiveness is made up of many factors combined

together that are credited to personal traits & external influencing factors that works in

harmony.

The personal effectiveness movement began in the mid-20th century and derived from

business and management. Some revolutionaries like Edwards Deming, and Peter Drucker

focused on concept like optimisation, efficiency, quality. Peter Drucker introduced the

concept of Management by Objective which led to leadership movement and further technical

progression like six sigma, lean thinking. (Stephen, 2001)

The biggest merit of personal effectiveness is stimulation of self- confidence. It is a

way above efficiency. This can be gained by knowing what inspires an individual, learning

and improving, getting organised and improving one’s health. The latter part of the report

would cover the strategy to achieve goals.

The significance of this core module can be interpreted from the fact that

interpersonal skills are so crucial aspects of working like. Apart from professional or

technical skills, success in one’s career directly relies on the impact one make on other. This

module gives an opportunity to stimulate and refresh knowledge & techniques to boost

interpersonal skills and other competencies required at workplace.


This report would state the aim, objectives and will delineate the strategy and the resources

needed to achieve aims and objectives.

Aim

The aim is to become an effective marketing manager in an growth oriented organisation that

offers me a stable and positive atmosphere and inspires me to enhance personal and

professional skills and competencies in a dynamic and unwavering workplace.

Personal and professional objectives

To complete Master of Business Administration course by the end of Dec 2011

To acquire personal skills like time management, stress management, influencing

others, managing people, leadership skills, communication skills, creativity and

assessment skills

To acquire professional skills like delivering presentations, conducting meetings,

decision making and continuous professional development

Tools to develop strategy

Before designing the appropriate strategy to achieve aims and objectives, it is necessary to

undertake SWOT analysis and SWAIN analysis which can pinpoint the weakness that needs

to be concentrated and and strengths that can be further developed.

SWOT analysis

Strengths

Enjoys experimenting new things

Can calculate probabilities

Can be well organised at workplace


Can work in synchronisation with rest of the team members

Ability to take high risk

Can work with less supervision

High tolerance capability

Ability to stay long with problem

Weakness

Get easily irritated on negative feedback from superior

Takes long time in taking action

Investigate every minor pros and cons before taking action leading to frustration

among other members of staff.

Completely disregard feelings of other people

Easily get upset when things do not go according to plan

Opportunities

Holds British qualification

Has high opportunity to work in multi- national company due international exposure

Threat

Other candidate holding British qualification and similar experience possess threat to

my current job

Threat to career aspirations is caused by immediate manager who is rarely available

and tries to ignore upon meeting.

The strengths can be further improved by practising it while the weakness can be

converted into strength by taking appropriate actions like taking feedback from

superior in professional manner and not personal manner, considering other people’ s

feeling, designing flexible plan that can accommodate changes. This can be learned

through reflective practice discussed latter in the report. The threats can be minimised

by becoming self- aware.


SWAIN ANALYSIS

Criteria Strengths Weaknesses

Aspirations Interests Need to do

Career

High demand of marketing manager

Lack of relevant

managerial experience

To be successful marketing manager

Marketing communicatio

n, brand management, advertising.

Qualification, experience,

personal and professional

skills

Qualifications / Training

Global recognised

British Qualificatio

n

Lack of practical training

To complete MBA

Marketing, media

planning

Study

Personal Skills and Qualities

Time management

, stress management, creativity

Little pratical

application of skills at workplace

To enhance personal skills and

competencies

All personal skills

necessary to be successful manager

Training and practical

implementation

Social Support

Family and friend’s support

Lack of support at work place

To be mutually

supportive

Social help Networking

It can be seen form the SWAIN analysis that lack of relevant practical experience is the

biggest threat to career aspiration. This can be overcome by undertaking apprenticeship to get

relevant practical work experience. The approach of experiential learning that is learning

through own’s experience can help to some extent.


Personal skill learned / to be learned

Stress management

Stress is now- a- days very usually observed among business managers due to heavy

workload and time pressure. Stress management pertains to improve chronic stress that is

generated due to an individual inability to tackle the heavy flow of work in a given limited

period of time. When a person takes too much work that is beyond his ability, the body

hormones breaks the conscious level of the brain to minor extent and therefore a person

cannot concentrate at work. Stress management techniques like deep breathing, walking in

parks, exercise, and yoga helps to relieves stress to greater extent.

For example, working with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) back at home

country generates stress due to daily targets to be achieved. The stress was managed with

following techniques

Stress management techniques

Minutes How often and when Effects

Deep breathing exercise

20 Everyday 06:00 to 06:20

Calm down the heart beats

Deep meditation 30 Everyday 06:20 to 06:50

Calms brain

Yoga 30 Everyday 19:00 to 19:30

Keep physically fit

Noortropics supplements

- Everyday before bed time

Energise mind

Physical exercise 30 Every alternative days 19:30 to 20:00

Keeps physical mental fitness


Time management

Time is such a resource that cannot be substituted by any other resources (Mullins, 2010). In

some organisation output if an employees is measured in terms of time. An organisation that

pays on hourly basis to its employees expects productive results every hour. Time

management is very crucial skill to be a successful strategic manager. In business language,

time is equivalent to money and therefore loosing time is just as losing money.

For example, the author of this report manages the time by creating time log as shown

below

Daily time Log

Mon (Hours)

Tue (Hours)

Wed (Hours)

Thur.(Hours)

Fri(Hours)

Sat(Hours)

Sun(Hours)

Total(Hours)

Time for studies at home

2 4 4 4 4 - 2 20

Time for studies at college

- - 4 8 6 - - 18

Time at workplace

10 10 - - - - - 20

Time for other activities (sleeping, entertainment, shopping)

12 10 16 12 14 24 22 110

Leadership skills

A leader is said to be effective only if he guides and leads the subordinate to perform

organizational task in an effective manner. Alford (2009) defines leadership is the ability to

secured desire action from group of follower voluntarily without the use of coercion. A good

leader must possess qualities like innovative, communication skills, initiative good

personality, judgement, discipline, administration skills, patience, human skills, coach and


guide, self -confidence, intelligence, self –motivated. To be a successful manager. It is

necessary to possess those leadership qualities.

For example, the author got promoted to team leader at workplace by adapting those

leadership qualities and following situational approach to leadership.

Creativity and logical argument skill

This skill is utmost important at marketing level where the challenge is to attract customer by

using innovative way. Creativity and logical argument skills includes studying cause and

effect, patterning, deductive & inductive reasoning, forecasting, analogies, webbing,

critiquing, planning, webbing, classification and comparison. It also involves creating

original or new that is never discovered before. It involves skills of elaborating,

brainstorming, fluency, originality, imagery, forced relationship, modification, metaphorical

thinking.

For example, the author created a unique sales pitch to attract customers through

telephonic conversation.

Assessments skills

It is very necessary for strategic managers to have high assessment skills. As all jobs involves

some sort of calculations. The numerical skills can helps an individual to take faster decision.

The only way to improve skill is constant practice.

The author is in the process of acquiring this skill by calculating in mind without the

use of calculator.


Managing people

Another very important skill for a successful manager is managing people. Managing people

is an art of getting things done through people (Vaz ,2003 cited by Henri Fayol) by making

them happy. People can be managed by motivating them through provision of monetary and

non -monetary factors.

As a team leader in call centre, the author was in charge in managing team of 12

people. The author believes that the best way to manage people is to give them respect and

due dignity and to follow consultative leadership style where team members are consulted

before taking any critical decision which makes them feel happy and proud.

Communication skill

At any business level, communication is the prime skill needed. The communication can be

oral or verbal. One can master the communication skill through consistent practice as it is

rightly said practice makes man perfect.

For example, the author improved the communication skill upon taking masters

course. The group discussion and presentation at class room level has raised the confidence to

speak in public.

Professional skills learned and or to be learned since starting master’s program

Continuous professional development

Continuous professional development is similar to taking oath in medical profession. Just like

a doctor take oath that every endeavour will be made to save patient’s life, an individual

commits to improve and update his professional related knowledge throughout his entire life


time. An individual can update and remain expert by being member of professional

association like chartered institute of marketing, or chamber of commerce or any other

recognised body. Continuous professional development can help an individual to accomplish

personal and professional goals in his life.

The author career aspiration is in marketing manager and seeks to be member of

professional bodies to get updated knowledge on marketing issues. The author regularly

browses the marketing magazines like marketing week, marketing campaign, broadcast but

the achievement of developmental objective remain incomplete as the author have not got

any prospects to become fellow member of professional body.

Decision making and problem solving

Decision making and problem solving skill are very crucial for management & leadership.

There are various tools designed to help an individual to come up with correct decision like

SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, brainstorming, and other statistical tools like Decision Trees,

simulation, linear programming, and decision pertaining to projects can be solved using tools

like project evaluation review technique (PERT) and critical path analysis (CPA).

Upon starting the master’s course, the author uses SWOT and PEST analysis to arrive

at decision. However, the other statistical and project based tools are yet to be studied at

masters programme.

Business networking

Business networking skill is just like social networking skill. The only difference is that in

business networking people meets only for business purpose and not to entertain themselves.

Such type of skills helps to expand business. Its involves less of company’s funds but more of

personal commitment.


The author has so far not experiences business networking but seeks and opportunity

to attend business trades or events that allows business networking

Delegation

The manager cannot concentrate on all activities simultaneously and therefore he needs to

delegate work to his team members. Delegation must be done with utmost care as if the

person to whom the work is delegated is unaware of the process may ruin up the task.

Delivering presentation

The managers sometime are asked to given business presentation to the existing clients or

potential clients. The presentation can be about issue, or new product or updating of any

information. The level of confidence is what attract the most of the clients.

Upon taking this master programme, the author has learned to give presentation with the help

of class presentation and raised confidence.

Running meetings

Conducting meeting is the basic skill that a manager must possess. This skill can be sharpen

by understanding the process of conducting meeting and diving the work into before, during

and after meeting activities.


The author practiced this skill in an informal manner with the class mates before

delivering presentation. The meeting is conducted at class room with agenda to be discussed

and each member comes up with their views.

Strategies to accomplish developmental objectives

Reflective practice / experiential learning

Reflective practice is described by Donald, 2000 as ‘the calibre to reflect on action so as to

involve in course of unceasing learning’. In other words it refers to set of skills and abilities

to show taking of critical standpoint an orientation to problem solving. It is an active process

of examining one’s own experience to have a closer look. Upon developing the capacity to

explore the personal experience and being curious about experience one can possibly open up

purposeful learning which is not coming from books or thought of experts but from one’s

own life experiences. In involves range of activities that needs to be undertaken for the

purpose of learning. Reflective practice is an independent learning that aims to develop

critical thinking skills. (Mathews, 2006)

Reflective practitioners are those who are engaged into professional activity which

they can use to reflect on their strengths, weakness, & area of development. The author

adapts the reflective practitioner style of learning like highlighting of what has been learnt in

the class tutorials, group discussion, presentation, placements etc. the author keeps the notes

of the themes of what has been discussed, and recalls the main concepts taught. The author

learns from its own experiences.

Reflective practices will help the author to learn and develop personal skills like stress

management, time management, managing people, creativity, assessment skills and

communication skills and professional skills like conducting meeting, delivering

presentations, continuous professional development, problem solving skill through own

experiences that occurred at work place and at masters programme


Self -development

Self- development is a group of activities that improves an individual competences and skill,

self- knowledge & identity, boost quality of life, builds human capital, and activities that

contributes to fulfilment of personal dreams and career (professional) aspirations. Self -

development activities includes self -awareness, self- knowledge, developing strengths,

improving health, improving social abilities, executing personal development plans, spiritual

development (Bandura, 2007)

Of these, the main approach to self- development is self- awareness. It is rightly said

that “knowing other is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightment” By becoming self -

awareness, one knows what good he is onto and what motivates him to do. By becoming

aware of what are his weaknesses, he can improve by taking appropriate actions. Self-

awareness means focusing the attention on oneself and evaluating and comparing the existing

behaviour and performance to internal standards & values that are systematically set right

from birth until the entire life. People are said to be self-aware when their behaviour is

aligned to the internal standards. But if the people do not live according to their internal

personal standards they may be negatively affected.

For example, the author is truly aware of what he wants; why he wants which

empowers him consciously & actively to turn wants into reality. The personal and

professional skills can be gained through self- development approach by having self-

awareness and self -knowledge.


Summarising learning and development skills with resources and time frame

Learning and development needed

Learning action to be taken including resources

Monitoring and feedback

Time frame for success

Time management

Making use of time log consistently

Everyday 6 weeks

Stress Management

Exercise, supplements, deep breathing

Every week 6 weeks

Leadership Reflective practice

Every week 8 weeks

Assessment skills Reflective practice

Every week 8 weeks

Managing people Reflective practice

Every week 8 weeks

Continuous professional development

Membership, reflective practice

Every month On going

Problem solving skills

Reflective practice

Every month Every month

Business networking

Attending events, awards

Every six months On going

Running meeting Reflective practice

Every three months

2 months

Making presentations

Reflective practice

Every three months

2 months

Conclusion: It can be concluded that managerial career is significantly relying on learning

and development of range of intellectual skills and competencies that must be developed

before and during the managerial career. To become a successful manager, one need to boost

self- awareness and follow reflective practice by utilising one’s own experiences from past

life to be better in future.


References

Bandura, A. (2007). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman

Kolker, R. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, p. 106, Oxford University Press US,

2006

Matthews, R. (2006) . "Intelligent strategy" (PDF). Kingston upon Thames: Kingston

Business School

Stephen, V. 2001 The Insanity Defense, p. 9, Yale University Press,

Web references

http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/whatisreflectivepractice.pdf

accessed on 21st March 2011


http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/whatisreflectivepractice.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Business_School

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Business_School

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_upon_Thames

http://web.archive.org/web/20060924045313/http:/www.kingston.ac.uk/~ku00136/publications/intstrat.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick

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