FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION *** SKILL DEVELOPMENT REPORT THE FLEXIBLE APPLICATION OF SOFT SKILLS Instructor Mr Hoang Anh Duy Ms Pham Thi My Dung Course PPHE101 3 Group[.]
FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION *** SKILL DEVELOPMENT REPORT THE FLEXIBLE APPLICATION OF SOFT SKILLS Instructor: Mr Hoang Anh Duy Ms Pham Thi My Dung Course: PPHE101.3 Group Nguyễn Thị Bích Loan 2012250043 Nguyễn Thành Long 2012250044 Đào Phương Mai 2014250206 Phạm Thị Phương Mai 2013250016 Bùi Hoàng Minh 2013250017 Đào Xuân Minh 2013250018 Đặng Đức Minh 2012250045 Lại Quang Minh 2013250019 Nguyễn Ngọc Hà My 2012250047 10.Bùi Hoàng Nam 2014250207 Hanoi, June 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION I Rationale of study II Objective of study III Scope of study .4 LITERATURE REVIEW .5 I Soft skills II Four important soft skills III The application of soft skills in Covid-19 pandemic .10 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .11 I Applied method 11 II Research procedure 11 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS .12 I Story 12 II Analyze the story 12 III Applied skills in project 13 RECOMMENDATION 16 CONCLUSION 18 REFERENCES 19 APPENDIX 20 I Task division 20 ABSTRACT Along with the vast development pace of the 21st century, youngsters now face the challenge of perfecting themselves with not only profound knowledge but also diverse skills Consequently, soft skills equipment is becoming increasingly essential, especially the application of skills: Positive thinking, Time management, Communication and Teamwork Our group was so fortunate to learn these skills in the Skill Development Class of Mr Hoang Anh Duy, Ms Pham Thi My Dung and had a great opportunity to apply them into practice by doing a group project: making a reflection video In order to finish this assignment and successfully convey our message, our group has utilized the skills from the beginning stage of collecting ideas to the final steps of making the video The idea for our video stems from the reality that a large number of students in university have not recognized the importance of soft skills and not applied them flexibly in certain situations When difficulties come and the whole life inverses, they realize that lacking of soft skills influences negatively on their work and they often fall into discouragement Therefore, in our group project, we hope to reflect this reality to share the feeling with those who are experiencing the same states with our main character – an excellent student lost motivation during quarantine time but finally overcame by the power of soft skills application With the negative-to-positive journey of a boy, our video will cover three main skills: teamwork, time management and communication In this report, we would like to show how the video has been launched to finish The following parts will be about Introduction, Literature Review, Research Methodology, Findings and Analysis , Recommendation, Conclusion and Appendix INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE OF STUDY Soft skills are considered as one of the most powerful weapons in achieving goals It is widely acknowledged that soft skills are cultivated through experiences in real life so they are not innate or inherent in everybody Soft skills require people to frequently practice and experience to achieve them As a matter of fact, students need to develop these skills and apply them in every aspect of life Especially when the Covid-19 pandemic breaks out, soft skills are becoming more and more important for people to adapt and normalize several problems Through launching this project, we hope to remind the application of soft skills in challenging situation like the Covid-19 pandemic II OBJECTIVE OF STUDY Through the video, we want to portray the picture of the reality in some youngsters’ quarantine time in order to sympathize and encourage people to get through the most difficult time We also emphasize the role of soft skills in helping people adapt to new situation and apply them flexibly in any circumstances Moreover, we want viewers watching our video can understand our message: Life is constantly changing every hour, every minute, every second We live in the present and the future not in the past so always make efforts to change yourself to get used to the situations, never let circumstances affect you and keep trying to improve yourself day by day III SCOPE OF STUDY Execution time: From May to June, 2021 Location: Private houses Implementer: Group - Class PPHE101(1+2.2/2021)CLC.3 Video title: Flexible application of soft skill Language: English Report: 21 pages Video length: 10 minutes 02 seconds LITERATURE REVIEW I SOFT SKILLS Definition Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships with other people (Will Kenton, 2021) Soft skills are personal attributes needed for success on the job Soft skills include: Communication skill Body language Presentation skill Teamwork skill Professional ethics Interpersonal skill Time and stress management Leadership skill The importance of soft skills In a research carried over by Professors from University of Michigan, Harvard and Boston College pointed out that appropriate soft skills training delivered positive impact over productivity, employee retention, job satisfaction and most importantly professionalism of a workplace The crucial benefits were that such programs resulted in higher return on employer investment and leadership development in a sustainable way For example, lack of communication skill may create confusion, tension, misunderstanding and an overall negative impression of a person with the colleagues or the superiors without any knowledge to that individual giving rise to conflicts in relationships and unnecessary stress at work II FOUR IMPORTANT SOFT SKILLS Positive thinking Positive thinking, or an optimistic attitude, is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation Positive thinking has a lot of physical and mental benefits It gives us greater health, better creativity or problem solving skill; it reduces our stress so we can get the best of the work result Time management skill a) Definition Time management skill is the combination of discipline/principles, routines, tools and systems to use time effectively Time management skill plays an important role in achieving the goals and completing tasks It will help to attain best results b) The application of time management skill Time is a limited resource We cannot estimate how long it left Bad time organization and management gives us several problems such as forgetting to something because we have lots of things or even nothing to focus on, overloading, having boring days, distraction, procrastination, … Time management skills will help to control our time and organize our life more effectively Think systematically Collaborate more effectively with available resources Be ready to respond to changes in the external environment Be more proactive in assessing the results and achievements of individuals and organizations c) Methods to achieve time management skill The Urgent/Important Matrix The Urgent/Important Matrix is used to manage time more productively and to achieve goals It means spending your time on things that are Important and not just Urgent Important: These are activities that lead to the achieving your goals and have the greatest impact on your life Urgent: These activities demand immediate attention, but are often associated with someone else’s goals rather than your own Using the Eisen Decision Principle, tasks are evaluated based on the criteria important/ unimportant and urgent/not urgent, and then are placed in according quadrants in an Eisenhower Matrix (also known as “Eisenhower Box” or “Eisenhower Decision Matrix”) Teamwork skill a) What is team A team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, knowledge and skills and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal (Thompson, Leigh 2008) Teamwork is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals (Business Dictionary, n.d) Teams are important because they can accomplish much more than any of the members could achieve individually The team that functions effectively and efficiently brings together a diverse range of characters, skills, and talents, and is able to realize large, complex projects b) What makes a successful team Group roles A role refers to behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit Two factors need to be in place in order for a team to have the best chance of succeeding: The team leader needs to specify clearly the purpose, objective, or goal of the team, and all team members need to work together to achieve it Team members need to understand and agree on the role of each person In all likelihood, once this has been done, the team members will work well together and achieve their goals, and at the same time gain a sense of satisfaction from the experience Group Conflict Management Conflict is perceived as incompatible differences resulting in some form of interference or opposition Whether the differences are real is irrelevant If people in a group perceive that differences exist, then there is conflict Thomas-Kilmann’s five modes for handling conflicts include types of conflict solving: Competing Accommodating Avoiding Collaborating Compromising Communication skill a) Overall Communication is a process of transferring, delivering, exchanging messages or information between senders and receivers Communication is often divided into types: Verbal and Non-verbal communication Non-verbal communication, or Body language, includes facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures displayed through body language and the physical distance between the communicators They are powerful communication tools that account for 70-80% of communication Verbal communication contains Speaking, Listening and Writing Research has found that three or more people working together on a project are much more effective than a single person spending all of his time doing the same thing However, without communication, the three-plus team members can be as useless as if the project went untouched Benefits of Communication: Teams that communicate complete projects in a quicker and more efficient amount of time than others They also are more accurate in their work than others Effective communication also allows team members to understand their roles and the roles of everyone else on the team It also gives room for understanding among the team members for what needs to be done There are some rules that we can apply to have effective communication: ABC: Accuracy, Brief, Clear 5C: Clear, Concise, Correct, Complete, Courteous 7C: Clear, Concise, Correct, Complete, Courteous, Consistent, Coherent, Cautious b) Listening skill Understanding is the highest level of listening skill We need to pay attention to all of the speech and even apply information in the future to feedback, answer and sympathize There are some tips for better listening skill: Try to remove the obstacles Give your full attention on the person who is speaking Make sure your mind is open Be following the speaker and let the speaker finish before you begin to talk Taking note is sometimes really effective when listening Your body language can show that you are listening or not Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You cannot really listen if you are busy thinking about what you want say next c) Speaking skill In order to have effective speaking skills, we need to focus on something: Thinking before speaking Prepare what you will say Gain listeners’ attention Speak briefly, easy to understand Use usual and popular statements and idioms Use proper tone, volume, and speed in the context Ask for responses to make sure that audiences receive the messages d) Writing skill Writing is an essential skill, especially in professional workplace, or even in study We need to learn the skill of writing emails & letters and academic report III THE APPLICATION OF SOFT SKILLS IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC The Covid-19 pandemic opens a whole new situation for everyone around the world People, especially students, stay at home more than ever before to study online As a result, it changes entirely our life, our habits and even our attitudes People may feel bored and have no interest in studying or working at home Many individuals lose their jobs and become unemployed At that moment, soft skills are the key to normalize our life Time management skill will help us to spend our day suitably and work more productively Therefore, we will not feel that nothing has been done and tasks are completed more effectively Positive thinking is the solution for depression and stress Communication should be conducted online, but it will become more interesting if we can take advantage of technological devices 10 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY I APPLIED METHOD We make the video following the change of the main character in his life when the pandemic came and he had to make efforts to be different in his lifestyle At the beginning of the clip, we decide to introduce the character of the protagonist, who is absolutely a perfect student at school But there suddenly returned the pandemic and he became unenthusiastic with study, or teamwork Throughout the scenes is how the central character becomes better and leads his teammate to great grade at the end We use a realistic filming style to show all the psychological developments of the characters The content of the video focuses mostly on the main character but also shows the effect of the supporting character on him In the processing of filming, each character has some scenes so that we can develop our ability to act, express our face-emotion and our voice In some scenes, we have reappeared classes on MS Team or another online basis so that everyone in group can attend video The way we act in this video also has something similar to how we actually teamwork We have a chance to remove our limitations and make difference in our attempts to have the work done II RESEARCH PROCEDURE We want viewers to understand what they are watching and keep up with the main character’s change From that point, we hope viewers feel sympathize with the character and have the motivation to be hard-working in this difficult period of the pandemic 11 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS I STORY The video is about Nam - a typical Foreign Trade University student In his first year of college, by his hard work and the knowledge he learned from skill development class, he had become an excellent student However, his ability was really tested when the pandemic returned During this time, he can't go out or his usual activities like going to school, working part-time, doing sports, or hanging out with friends During the first period, he started to have negative changes Since he couldn't go out, he started to feel bored; time to study, practice sports have gradually been replaced by time playing games Finding a new joy, he started staying up late to play; even when studying online, he quit listening to lectures to play games with his classmates This negative change was only realized through the results of his macroeconomic presentation when he was assigned the task of team leader Unlike before, the division of work is delayed; the work is divided unreasonably and the works of team members were not supervised by the team leader For that reason, the presentation was not successful and received many criticisms from the teacher After that failure, he dreamed of himself in the future who unable to graduate with good grades, lose confidence and become unemployment Since then, he decided to find what he had lost He started waking up earlier, spending time exercising at home, focusing more on his lessons Then the chance to correct his mistake appeared when the macroeconomics teacher gave the class one more presentation to improve the score After the last mistake, Nam feels guilty and hopes everyone will give him a chance to it again This time, Nam no longer neglects the work All the tasks are divided more clearly and more rationally, everything is done under Nam's supervision On the presentation day, Nam and everyone's efforts have been rewarded, the presentation was very successful and received many compliments from friends and teacher II ANALYZE THE STORY Communication Definition: Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior Communication 12 is the act of developing meaning among entities or groups through the use of sufficiently mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic conventions There are types of communication: verbal and non-verbal communication, both of which have their own impact on people’s behavior Skill using in the video: Communication is used in most of the scene that Nam work with his teammates All the types of this skill had been used in the video Non-verbal communication: mostly using in the online meeting Verbal communication: using in most scene of the video when Nam chatting on group or in every meeting online scene Time management Definition: Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity (Susan, 2014) Skill using in the video: appear after the failure in the first presentation Nam had managed his time well and get good grade in the second one Teamwork Definition: Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way Skill using in the video: In the first part of the video, teamwork skill does not appear much or can be said that the group had work not effective and efficient In the time that prepare for the second presentation, this skill is mostly use in every activity of the group Also, the role of Nam as the leader of the team had been expressed really good at the end part III APPLIED SKILLS IN PROJECT Positive thinking After the deadline for the video was set, it was about over a month for us to prepare for this activity For the first few weeks, most of the team members had neglected the work Much time had been wasted but everyone still thought that it just a video and we just need a few days to make it done We had not realized the importance of the video and 13 we saw that the video would have done even if we hadn’t been tried our best But after seeing some other groups working so hard on this project, we had recognized that this video can affect a lot on our grade and study results so that we decided to focus on this project With the thinking to have this project to be done, we had gathered all the members to start doing the video However, the meeting was not as our expectation at all All we got at that time was the silence of the group, we could not find any ideas to make it done The meeting was before the deadline two weeks We were so deadlocked in finding the ideas for the video, everyone had been so disappointed But luckily, a member had talked about his idea although it was really a bad one, we had realized our problem We were too shy to share our ideas After that, many ideas had been brought up and all of us had believed that we could the work We had noticed that with positive thinking and don’t be shy, we could everything Communication Communication skills help us a lot in making the video With these skills, we can easily share our ideas and opinions and that helps us in every part of the process of making the video But unfortunately, the COVID pandemic had return and the situation this time was the worst, so the government has to lockdown some cities, and FTU decided to have the students attempt the classes online By that period, we really struggled to communicate with each other The pandemic had collapsed our plan before so that we need to have a new one, but communication is a huge problem and the progress of it was slow Technology was a hero of us in this project With many social networks and online meeting foundations, we had reunions frequently and solved many problems Instead of using the way that meeting face to face, working online had become the best way for us to communicate and share our work Time management Having learned the time management skill, we all have better skills to manage time We decided to use these skills in this project as a way to practice them During the time making the video, we had made the timeline for the scenario, video, and report Also, each of us had made a timeline to work for ourselves and make it done as planned 14 Teamwork Because the project is a cooperative work, teamwork plays an important role that will help each individual member either complement the mistakes of each other or improve themselves Although working in a team is a big problem for some people, it is hard to avoid opposing opinions and it makes them broken easily But for our team, we had worked together before in the other course so we had known about the group and could split the work logically For this project, we decided to choose our part so that each of us can take full advantage of our ability By this way, the video and the report had been done smoothly 15 RECOMMENDATION When we speak of good time management skills, we are talking about the ability to organize our work in order to accomplish an objective or obtain a desired result It can be difficult and timing is important because it can vary depending on one’s field or how much work they are doing Good time management skills go beyond just organizing or scheduling one’s project or assignments and generally include self-control, patience, and efficiency They not only give us more control over our productivity but also help us manage stress better which leads to a happier life overall There is no easy way out when you think about it: better results require hard work and effort The lessons we learn from having good time-managing skills are: - If you have the chance to your work, it straight away because it is more convenient for you to arrange - It is good to have some spare time when you are busy, because if there was an emergency you should be able to use this spare time - If you want to avoid any mistake happening, make sure that you take some extra care when doing your work and by that way there will be no mistakes at all Many people believe that they should be able to tasks without any supervision They are thought to have a responsibility to learn how their work contributes to the final result and are expected to know exactly what their duty is However, the problem with this plan is that it does not always happen this way In fact, oftentimes the result of having this type of teamwork can lead to poor performance on either party’s part or simply too much work for one person to handle alone Here are some ways that you can improve your teamwork skills: - Making sure everyone is working together and put a system in place for communicating, especially when there is a failure or an issue with making progress on a task - Working together on figuring out how to create a plan of action and execute it effectively without forgetting anyone's specific duties in the process of doing so 16 Communication skills are essential in group work especially when working with a diverse team Communication is the key no matter what the situation is When you are doing group work, it is important that every person has a say in what they want to and also know about what is going on with the other people in the group There are many ways to improve your communication skills We are not saying that it will happen right away but these lessons will definitely help you as time goes on Some of the ways you can improve your communication skills as well as some tips to consider for better group work: - Talking more, using body language effectively, and mastering different forms of communication - Learning to validate and respect other people's opinions and emotions - Nurturing positive relationships with others in the team, even when someone is not your favorite person - Avoiding criticism or sneering remarks about another person's opinions or actions on their part - Listening actively and responding in a timely manner to ensure that you are relevant to the discussion 17 CONCLUSION As what we have mentioned before, there are many parts that need to be considered when working in a team Some people may have a skill set that is useful for one part of the team while others have skills that are useful for different aspects The best teams work together because they realize it's not about who is better but about who has what they need to complete the tasks at hand It is important to juggle multiple responsibilities and ensure everyone is contributing in the way most important for them as an individual and at their own capacity level Ensuring everyone has what they need provides a sense of support and acknowledgement which encourages more effort from all members of the group with less resentment Additionally, soft skills such as communication, teamwork and time management plays an important role in our life So not be a slave of your emotions and take charge of your life You are the master of your destiny Make the right decision today so you can live happily ever after tomorrow We hope this report as well as the video help you to overcome some difficulties or blocks in lacking soft skills We would like to express our thankfulness to Mr Hoang Anh Duy and Ms Pham Thi My Dung for being so encouraging and doing everything you can to keep us motivated and supported throughout our group work We wholeheartedly appreciate your warmth and willingness to clarify information We wish you the best with your career and your life 18 REFERENCES Indeed Career Guide 2020 Teamwork Skills: Definition and Examples [ONLINE] Indeed.com Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career- development/teamwork-skills [Accessed 28 May 2021] Jennifer Liu 2021 These are the top skills people are learning while working from home [ONLINE] CNBC Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/these-arethe-top-skills-people-are-learning-while-working-from-home.html [Accessed 02 June 2021] Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen 2016 The Secrets of Great Teamwork [ONLINE] Harvard Business Review Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/06/the-secrets-of-greatteamwork [Accessed 02 June 2021] Matt Bochenski 2021 team working skills that could improve your performance [ONLINE] Workplace from Facebook Available at: https://www.workplace.com/blog/team-working-skills [Accessed 07 June 2021] MindTools 2016 Understanding Communication Skills [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm [Accessed 27 May 2021] Tim Herrera 2018 Tips to Have Better Conversations [ONLINE] The New York Times Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/16/smarter-living/tips-betterconversations.html [Accessed 29 May 2021] Toggl 2021 Time Management Skills [ONLINE] Available at: https://toggl.com/track/time-management-skills/ [Accessed 05 June 2021] Will Kenton 2021 Soft Skills Definition [ONLINE] Investopedia Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soft-skills.asp [Accessed 01 June 2021] 19 APPENDIX I TASK DIVISION Brainstorming First of all, the whole team gathered together at a video conference and started ideation of the video script Ideas came from everyone, either through talking or by doing an activity related to what we are going for One person noted down all the ideas on a big coworking online sheet Then we all joined in the sheet to get more input, and people spoke up with their ideas for better ones as well as questioned about what it would be like when finished It was important to give feedback periodically so that we knew where we were at during the process Script writing Dao Xuan Minh and Nguyen Thanh Long are responsible for building a complete script A script is a written form of the video It is step by step and it consists of dialogue, sound effects, camera angles, and actions The purpose of the script is to act like the blueprint for a film or video production We created scripts based on our brainstorming session to come up with ideas for our project Once we finished writing the script, we went back and made changes if needed but most importantly communicated as much as possible with each other before moving on to the production Acting Bui Hoang Nam, Nguyen Ngoc Ha My and Nguyen Thi Bich Loan are the main actors of the video Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease, we were unable to meet one another to have direct interaction when acting So we made a decision to film ourselves at home in order to follow the government’s requirement during the pandemic The video started to be recorded based on the prepared script It was quite challenging because we had to set up everything and film ourselves After collecting all the footages, we sent it to our teammates so they could see if our ways of acting were not only pleasing but also informative and impactful enough to the audience 20 ... .4 LITERATURE REVIEW .5 I Soft skills II Four important soft skills III The application of soft skills in Covid-19 pandemic .10 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY... with the vast development pace of the 21st century, youngsters now face the challenge of perfecting themselves with not only profound knowledge but also diverse skills Consequently, soft skills... learn the skill of writing emails & letters and academic report III THE APPLICATION OF SOFT SKILLS IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC The Covid-19 pandemic opens a whole new situation for everyone around the