Management skills Selfassessment inventory personal development plan Communication methods time management learning style Based on this report, people should be more interested in this subject and get real chance to practice and apply skills to achieve more success in the future because managing professional development is not only a subject that we need to learn but it represents a fundamental attribute that todays knowledge based economy is demanding of its employers, employees and businesses. Therefore, people who really want and thirst for success should consider this as a good suggestion for them to be confident with their ambition and their aims for their life.
Report of Managing Professional Development Transmitted to: Prepared for: Tutor: Prepared by: No of words: 2974 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Nowadays, working environment is more and more active, working pressure is greater and greater, competitiveness is higher and higher, people need to achieve high requirements to survive and develop in the modern life As a result, managing professional development is born and honored more and more with the aim for more and more perfect people who can be confident in every situation of work and life A successful person is not really a person with a lot of money, certificates or qualifications but they must be good at both their career and life and they always balance and control to find happiness in life The important thing is that their success involves the presence of managing professional development Not only considered as a tool of developing people skills, managing professional development is also recognized as a key to make business more profitable and better places to work Thus, companies aren’t just assessing their current staff and future recruits on their specialist knowledge but they are now evaluating them on a whole host of soft skills competencies around how well they relate and communicate to others, all of these determine who you are, how you can work and they are a good way of assessment in your work For that reason, managing professional development is regarded as a necessary subject that has a great influence on the future of learners and it also become the concern of many people Being a student who is interested in economic major, I see that managing professional development plays a really important role in my current study, future work even future life Therefore, fulfilling this report helps to empower me by allowing me to build flexibility to my future Furthermore, I will also undertake responsibility for my own personal and career development as well as have an ability to demonstrate my selfmanaged learning in a professional context This report will be a right proof for me to evaluate my progress and achievement of personal development and learning targets and to develop interpersonal and transferable business skills which will support me to advance my future career This report could be useful data for me to look at myself and improve my weaknesses, so I can get many advantages from this Based on this, I recommend people should be more interested in this subject and get real chance to practice and apply skills to achieve more success in the future because managing professional development is not only a subject that we need to learn but it represents a fundamental attribute that today's knowledge based economy is demanding of its employers, employees and businesses Therefore, people who really want and thirst for success should consider this as a good suggestion for them to be confident with their ambition and their aims for their life TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page………………………………………………………………………… Executive Summary……………………………………………………………… Table of contents………………………………………………………………… Introduction 1.1 Basic concept of Managing Professional Development………………… 1.2 The aims, purposes, scopes……………………………………………… 1.3 Sources of information………………………………………………… 1.4 Limitation of weakness………………………………………………… 2 5 5 Current management skill 2.1 People skill……………………………………………………………… 2.2 Job skill………………………………………………………………… Self-assessment inventory 3.1 Skill self assessment audit……………………………………………… 3.2 SWOT analysis………………………………………………………… Current CV 4.1 Cover letter…………………………………………………………… 4.2 CV……………………………………………………………………… 4.3 Job advertisement……………………………………………………… Personal development plan 5.1 Academic planning……………………………………………………… 10 5.2 Career planning………………………………………………………… 10 5.3 Action plan……………………………………………………………… Communication methods 11 6.1 Formal letter…………………………………………………………… 12 6.2 Email…………………………………………………………………… 12 6.3 Memorandum…………………………………………………………… 12 6.4 Notice…………………………………………………………………… 13 Worked based problems and solutions…………………………………… Personal Development Journal…………………………………………… Time management………………………………………………………… 10 Learning style……………………………………………………………… 11 Lifelong- learning………………………………………………………… 13 13 13 14 14 12 The range of research methods and sources……………………………… 13 My progress in achieving objectives……………………………………… Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… References……………………………………………………………………… Appendix……………………………………………………………………… a) Appendix A…………………………………………………………… b) Appendix B…………………………………………………………… c) Appendix C…………………………………………………………… d) Appendix D…………………………………………………………… e) Appendix E…………………………………………………………… f) Appendix F…………………………………………………………… g) Appendix G…………………………………………………………… 15 15 16 17 19 A B C D E F G INTRODUCTION 1.1 Basic concept of Managing Professional Development Managing Professional Development is a continuing process consisting of activities that enhance professional growth It may include workshops, independent reading and study, conferences, and consultation with peers and experts Since its primary purpose is to benefit the individual, professional development should be planned and managed by the individual 1.2 The aims, purposes, scopes This report illustrates many outcomes of managing professional development that emphasize on the needs of individual but within the context of how the development of self management corresponds with effective team management in meeting objectives In addition, the purpose of managing professional development is to develop learners’ ability so as to organize, manage and practice a range of approaches to improve their performance as well as their self-organized skills in preparation for work or future career development Following that, the subject enables learners to assess and develop a range of professional and personal skills in order to promote future personal and career development Learning managing professional development subject is a good opportunity for people to gain their soft skills and to be confident in every situation to get success Therefore, the current report is to record and evaluate my process of achieving goals and accomplishing necessary skills 1.3 Sources of information The information which is referred to in this report is collected from the Internet which I can get various documents from different writers with different points of view about topics and subject I concern I also use the course book Professional Development as a valuable reference for me to fulfill this report The other source of information is my own practical experience of the through the process of endeavor so that my report will be more lively and virtual 1.4 Limitation of weakness Although this report is based on a lot of previous studies and real experience, it cannot avoid its limitations In the process of carrying out this report, I have trouble in word account because of it is limited from 2000 to 3000 words, so I may not refer to specific information or explain problems that I want to make clear Besides I also have difficulties with my lack of practical knowledge and experience, so it is quite hard for me to show it clearer in this report These restrictions will be overcome to make the next report or research more detailed and clearer Current management skill 2.1 People skill There are many people skills that are essential and important in life but in this report, I only refer to three skills which I need to improve including time management, motivation and leadership I took many activities to improve my time management skill such as taking bus waiting time to learn, taking time watching TV to studying and going to the market twice a week to buy everything for the whole week Thanks to the actions, my level increased from to 3, which motivated me to set further goals like finishing all the subjects of this semester without any tiredness Besides, I also try to get my motivation skill better by spending my leisure time reading books, sharing my daily stories with my roommate and rewarding myself by listening 20 minutes to music after hard study time Following that I got 3.5 in this level comparing to at first Therefore, I made new goals in having enough health to stay up late instead of drinking coffee every evening and spending more time studying OB Another skill that I want to talk about is leadership With my actions like organizing group studying with three of my classmates and taking responsibility as the motorbike parade manager of the sport ceremony of ITP, I improved this skill from level to 3,5 then made future goal with accomplishing my task as a leader in the ‘street art festival’ and attracting people’s attention when I am saying 2.2 Job skill According to the requirement of the job I want to apply for, I must improve two of my job skills including teamwork and individual problem solving I took many actions to make these skills better, especially with teamwork skill, I cooperated and discussed with my classmates to prepare for the ‘street art festival’ Besides, I organized a small party on Vietnamese Woman’s day for all the female in my neighborhood and by these activities, I raised my level from to 3.5 and this is a motivation for me to achieve further goals like organizing a visit for my high school classmates to our teachers’ houses Furthermore, to be more confident with the job, I did some problem solving tests online and helped my mother go to take money from her debtors so that I can be clever in different situations and solve the problems in the best way Thus, I got 2.5 comparing to level in this field and this makes me think that I must try more and more to get better results Self-assessment inventory 3.1 Skill self assessment audit After taking all the questions in the skill self assessment audit, I identified my strengths and weaknesses Following that, I am good at writing skill, personal effectiveness, numeracy ability and my ability to interpret or construct graphs, charts, and diagrams to support my study In contrast, I realize my bad points that I need to improve especially my oral communication skill, my ability to debate in discussion meetings, my problem solving skill and my information technology skill The most important thing is that after finishing this self assessment, I am quite surprised at my weaknesses because all of those skills are essential for my future life and work Moreover, it is not as good as I expected because I thought that my independent life far from home taught me a lot and I should have been much more mature than before but maybe it is not enough and in the future I will have to try much more to fulfill my weaknesses 3.2 SWOT analysis Personal SWOT analysis is a good tool to evaluate myself and from that I understand clearly my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats In particular, I can be proud of my strengths which could help me a lot in life when I am mature and independent This also requires me to be good at self- motivation and self-control skill Besides my parents are sole traders with a lot of practical economic experience that can help me in my major In contrast, I also recognized my weaknesses when I am not confident to deal with excellent people because of my low knowledge about economy and society I also have difficulties finding suitable study methods for subjects, so I often get confused with my time and effort I should spend Apart from these internal factors, I also identify my external factors with my opportunities and threats I have a chance to study abroad, work with foreign lecturers and study special subjects like MPD or OB which not include in national college program of Vietnam However, I also have to face great challenges with this new and modern program whose fee is very high, so I must be serious in my studying After all, I have my own aims and objectives for my study and life that I need to achieve Current CV 4.1 Cover letter With my expectation and desire with this job, I wrote a formal letter for Ms Thuy Lien who in human resource department of KFC company Vietnam This is a chance for me to show my writing and reporting skill which I am quite good at In addition, by referring to my good points such as my fluent English, office computer application skill and my ability to be well cooperated with people by all of my enthusiasm and inquiry to improve myself as well as my work skills 4.2 CV Being a second year college student, I want to find a job that is suitable for my current knowledge and ability, so I apply to be an assistant of restaurant manager of KFC Vietnam which also requires skills that I can meet In my CV, I refer to my major achievement in my English prize and scholarship which is my best point Also, I have interest in reading book and news on the Internet which helps me update all the information about society and people’s needs With my strengths in my English level, current major and experience, I believe that I can have enough conditions to get this job and I am confident about my ability 4.3 Job advertisement The job advertisement for an assistant of restaurant manager is retrieved from website http://www.careerlink.vn/index.php? language=vn&panel=jobseeker&module=job&content=add_job&action=view&cid=30&pid=28550 and it is the need of KFC Company Vietnam With the job category is restaurant/food service/hotel/tourism and employees can work full time or part time, KFC wants to choose 1000 to 4999 employees in this time for their needs Their work places are very flexible when staff can work in all the restaurants of KFC Vietnam in Hanoi, Danang, Haiphong and Khanhhoa Following that, an assistant must work alternatively at all the staff positions with different roles in restaurants, support store monitor to run restaurants Personal development plan 5.1 Academic planning I made a development plan to take the initiative in my academic plan For my first academic plan, I am going to get IELTS 6.0 by the end of January 2011 To achieve this plan, I made a detail timetable and action to follow and make it real Similarly, I aim to get merit grade in financial reporting by the end of January 2011 and make particular activities and timetable to realize it The third academic plan is to achieve merit grade in managing professional development by the end of January 2011 This is one of the subjects that require not only theory knowledge but also practical experience and practice, so with the same action of other subject, I also join enthusiastically with activities of this subject to apply skills that I gained from it 5.2 Career planning Accompanying with my academic plan is my career plan which I make two plans The first one is to become an assistant director of a distribution company by February 2015 when I graduate from Banking Academy and have particular knowledge to realize this plan With this plan, I really want to become a real assistant director of a book contribution company and have more opportunity to get more experience Besides, I should have more knowledge about marketing, negotiation skills and make good relationships with people My role of an assistant of director in a distribution book company will make me have basic view about book major so that it is easier for me to reach my further plan that is to open my own bookstore by February 2020 and manage it with my own way that I gain and collect during I study and work before By my steps that I refer to in the appendix D It is important for me to become the owner of the bookstore and fulfill a lot 10 of needs of people, especially students The bookstore is known widely and gets quite much profit I realize many things that I have learnt when I was working I would like to widen my customers to be able to serve foreign customers 5.3 Action plan To realize my plans, I carried out my action plan that points out my learning and development progress For the plan that is to get IELTS 6.0 by the end of January 2011, I made plans to practice all the modules required in this exam including speaking, listening, reading and writing The next plan I would refer to is to get merit grade in FR by the end of January 2011, I intend to read all the slides, homework, find further information in order to pass all the outcomes and get merit grade Next, I would join all activities of MPD, finish appendixes and get pass of all the outcomes to achieve merit grade in this subject In addition, I take action plan to accomplish my career plan including becoming an assistant director of a distribution book company considered as the first plan and the second one is to open my own bookstore by 2020 By doing this, I could have a clear view about my road ahead and have a firm grasp about what I have to and need to so that I have my own direction for my future Communication methods 6.1 Formal letter On behalf of 4-eye group, I wrote the formal letter to Mr Chu, a lecturer in design faculty of Hanoi Architecture University with our expectation to get his help Therefore, in the letter I referred to the objectives of Street Art festival and our plan for our business 11 with his distribution so that he can have an overview about what he can to help us and whether he should agree or not By our faithfulness and enthusiasm in this event, all my group members believe our action 6.2 Email Being a general manager of my group in preparation process for Street Art festival, I sent an email to Sally, my group secretary, to tell her to accomplish composing invitation cards for our teachers In the email, I suggested that she should finish this three days before the festival so that the teachers can arrange their time Besides, I also mentioned to what should be written and performed in the cards in order that she understands what and how to 6.3 Memorandum With the title is ‘cheer up’, I gave the memorandum to Vesna, my group’s product manager to motivate her In the time, apart from her task, she had some problems in her family and I knew that a good leader is also a good motivator Hence, except for the role of a group leader, I want to be a friend to stand beside my group members to overcome difficulties with them and listen to their problems 6.4 Notice On November 04th 2010, the first ITP Olympics would take place at the Big Hall of Banking Academy and this is a big event which many students are interested in Making use of this advantage, I made a notice to inform my group members to deliver leaflets on this occasion to get the best result in our promotion plan Work-based problems and solutions 12 This is the first time I have joined in such a big program, so I had many difficulties including internal and external problems The important thing is that with each problem, I found suitable solutions thanks to the help of Mrs Leo and the enthusiasm of my group members After facing work-based problems, I learned a lot especially I improved my problem-solving skill, so I believe that from now on, I will much more confident in dealing with troubles Personal Development Journal From November 07th to November 26th, I wrote my own PDJ to record events, emotion and experience that I gained everyday In this time I had many things to but keeping this diary helped me look back on my daily activities and from that I can memorize my mistakes as well as experience to be cleverer in the future During the process, I realized writing PDJ regularly is really helpful and it is also a way to reduce stress when I could spoke out my feeling without any compassion and that is a part in the meaning of life Time management During the Street Art Festival preparation, I used many strategies not only to manage my time, but also to control my group’s time However, I mostly focused on three time management strategies including making a to-do list, prioritizing and taking time in the group’s meetings In this time, I also participated in the ITP Olympics, so these strategies helped me balance my activities in working, studying and relaxing 10 Learning styles According to four types of learning style in Honey and Mumford theory, I prefer ‘reflector’ that is good at reviewing the experience in stage of the learning cycle and it is similar to ‘diverging’ (feel and watch) in Kolb system On the other hand, I am not 13 confident with having an experience in stage which represents ‘activist’ preference and also ‘accommodating’ (feel and do) Being a quiet person who only wants to find peace in life, I don’t dare to take a risk for new things, but I would like to observe people’s reaction to find my own way From my strengths, I could follow previous generation’s steps to make it better and better although I will also miss many good opportunities to develop 11 Lifelong-learning People are usually proud of their masters in many fields of life but behind that they always think they are lifelong students Not only to achieve my academic and career objectives, I also want to be a lifelong student to learn and gain my level I believe that small actions can make big achievements then I find all means to learn and gain my abilities, knowledge and experience by reading book, a form of acquiring knowledge and getting new ideas I often collect and make notes about meaningful sentence so that they will remind me to live better The most important thing is that I will spend 30 minutes everyday to learn something new about different fields, so after each year I can learn a lot to support my future 12 The range of research methods and sources There are three main kinds of research methods including online, offline methods and sources that people use today to their study However, online method is the number one choice for me to research because it is not only time-saving and money-saving but also various and reliable Besides, I use the offline method to widen my knowledge by reading course books and reference books On the other hand, I collected information by asking my lecturers and tutors for their assessment and discussing problems with my 14 friends and classmates Also, I got the great support of my family in many ways by their motivation, their financial support and especially their practical knowledge and experience 13 My progress in achieving learning objectives Despite having many difficulties in my progress in achieving objectives, I didn’t give up trying I had such strong will thanks to the encouragement of my family, especially my father who always listen and know my troubles In addition, I was lucky to be instructed by my lecturers and tutor in the progress and they helped me to make my goals more simply The most important thing is that I had my particular learning objectives and I had my plan to achieve and reasons to get them, so I know that I must follow it By my endeavor, I got some achievements and that is also a motivation for me to go on trying Conclusion This report provides an overview about what I achieved and what I planned to but it is also invaluable lessons for me to build my life in the future Conducting this report made me realize that each person’s life is actually made by themselves because the past doesn’t represent the present but the future belongs to what you have done today Therefore, fulfilling this report also means that I made the first step for my future and I 15 know that only when I dare to overcome all troubles ahead to follow my plans, I am sure that I can achieve what I want By my experience and what I learned from this report, I recommend that you should have your plans to identify your direction in the future It will be dangerous if someone doesn’t know what to next and how is their future; because they don’t have objectives to achieve so they don’t know what their living purpose is Therefore, from now, you should find our own aims to live and try During the process of doing this report, I can’t avoid mistakes and limitations, so your feedback will be very useful for me to make my next report better References CILL, Academic Report Writing Template (online) Available: http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/reports.htm#Introduction (Assessed 07 January 2011) CILL, Report Writing: Conclusion (online) Available: http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eiw/report_conclusion.htm (Assessed 10 January 2011) 16 Devra Gartenstein, How to Start a Business As a Bookshop Owner (online) Available: http://www.ehow.com/how_5877422_start-business-bookshop-owner.html (Assessed 07 January 2011) EssayMill, Papers about Soft Skills, Sample Essays on Soft Skills, Soft Skills Tests (online) Available: http://www.essaymill.com/tag/soft_skills (Assessed 10 January 2011) Imel and Susan, Managing Your Professional Development: A Guide for Part-Time Teachers of Adults ERIC Digest (online) Available: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/guide.htm (Assessed 07 January 2011) IMPACT FACTORY, Soft Skills (online) Available: http://www.impactfactory.com/p/soft_skills_training_development/snacks_157-910650901.html (Assessed 09 January 2011) FabJob Inc, Open Your Own Bookstore (online) Available: http://www.fabjob.com/bookstoreowner.asp (Assessed 07 January 2011) Jide Awe, Eight Great Reasons to Develop Your Soft Skills (online) Available: http://certification.about.com/od/certificationsbytopic/a/softskills.htm (Assessed 09 January 2011) JIST Publishing, Soft Skills Advantage (online) Available: http://www.jist.com/shop/product.php?productid=16722&printable=Y (Assessed 09 January 2011) 10 Kate Lorenz, Top 10 Soft Skills for Job Hunters (online) Available: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/01/26/top-10-soft-skills-for-job-hunters/ (Assessed 09 January 2011) 11 LEARNING FORWARD, Definition of Professional Development (online) Available: http://www.learningforward.org/standfor/definition.cfm (Assessed 09 January 2011) 12 Pamella Neely, 10 Characteristics of a Successful Consignment Store Owner (online) Available: http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Characteristics-of-a-Successful-ConsignmentStore-Owner&id=3655104 (Assessed 09 January 2011) 13 PIONEER, Cánh tay phải - "Con Đường Ngắn Nhất Trở Thành C.E.O" (online) Available: http://www.trolygiamdoc.com/NewDetail.aspx?ID=NEW56 (Assessed 07 January 2011) 14 Soft Skills for Success (online) Available: http://www.softskillsforsuccess.com/faq.htm (Assessed 10 January 2011) 17 15 Uni learning, conclusion (online) Available: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4bv.html (Assessed 10 January 2011) 18 APPENDIX 19 ... presence of managing professional development Not only considered as a tool of developing people skills, managing professional development is also recognized as a key to make business more profitable... INTRODUCTION 1.1 Basic concept of Managing Professional Development Managing Professional Development is a continuing process consisting of activities that enhance professional growth It may include... individual, professional development should be planned and managed by the individual 1.2 The aims, purposes, scopes This report illustrates many outcomes of managing professional development that