Evaluation of Learning and Career Action Plan

This report evaluates the skills and knowledge developed through a project and proposes an action plan to improve the gaps. It also discusses the use of learning in professional life and identifies three skills that need improvement for success in business career.

BM562 CONSULTING IN
PRACTICE

Table of Contents.
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Evaluation is the process of determining and obtaining the educational objectives which
are achieved by the individuals (Knobbout and Van Der Stappen, 2020). The report will evaluate
my skills and knowledge which I have developed or enhanced as a result of the project. It will
further discuss that how my confidence level has improved and identify how my learning skills
will be useful in my professional life. Lastly, the report will propose an action plan to improve or
develop the gaps.
TASK 1
Having knowledge and skill not only build confidence amongst individuals but open the
door for career opportunities. Following are the skills I have obtained:
 Communication skill: It is the basic skill through which one can interact with others at
any place. The project has helped me to develop this skill by communicating with the
clients. It helped me to share my innovative ideas and opinion with others. For better
communicating skill, I must have absolute control over my written, oral and non-verbal
communication (Reed and Trumbo, 2020). I have learnt that the content should be free-
flowing whether it is short email or memo of the company, it could be easily interpreted.
For better communicating, listening is also important. While talking to clients, I respect
and allow the client to speak and listen him carefully regarding what he exactly wants
from me. I personally think that, there is a gap which can be improved my
communication skills by clearly articulating my thoughts, better interacting ability, listen
more than talk and by using training tools.
 Leadership skills: This skill is the art of managing people to achieve goals and
objectives. Group work or teamwork helped me to develop the leadership quality as while
working in group it encouraged, understand and inspired me with a sense of authority. It
benefited me to recognize my teammates strength and weakness. Effective
communication, mentorship skills, healthy relationships are the leadership's fundamental
pillars which would help me to become an effective leader. This skill helped me in every
task and assignment. It assisted me learn calm during the work pressure and allowed me
to work on my own leadership style that resulted to bring a vision to life.
 Critical thinking: According to Albert Einstein, “Education is not the learning of facts,
but the training of the mind to think.” While dealing with the client and providing him

innovative ideas, solutions helped me to think analytically. I had experienced this skill
while dealing in active learning activities like internship, field work, practicums, class
discussion, engaging with others are methods to develop this skill. In my personal
viewpoint, it is a habit not a skill as it is used while problem-solving. It is an important
skill for any kind of job and provides an edge against other recruiter because of strong
decision-making skills to figure out the complex hurdles faced during project work. This
skill would lead to better outcomes through critically analysing and thinking.
 Time management: Tight schedule helped me to build this skill which is an asset to any
business or organisation as I am able to manage time in effective way to fulfil the work
before deadline. This skill helped me to prioritize to complete the important tasks first. It
helped me in making my decisions quicker by keeping a to do list of my tasks.
 Delegation: It is an important skill and part of time management. It is not possible to do
every task by yourself which would increase the workload (Tokadlı, Dorneich and
Matessa, 2021). Therefore, delegating the tasks to subordinates is necessary to take
advantage of collaboration. While doing the project, I have learnt this skill which helped
me to reach my personal goals by managing the time in an effective and efficient way. It
helped me to become a good mentor by trusting my teammates while performing the
tasks.
 Work ethic: This is another skill I have learnt while working the project as it is one of
the most important characteristic every individual should carry throughout their life. I
developed this skill by accomplishing simple tasks like having professional attitude,
managing time-consuming tasks and being punctual regarding the work.
At the start of the project I was not aware to set clear goals and objectives by dividing
into simple tasks. Lack of communication was another learning of mine which I was not aware
of. Another challenge which I was not aware of was team conflict which lack strategic directions
and mismatched team skill was the challenge which resulted in inefficient work environment
(Vasiliene-Vasiliauskiene and et.al., 2020). Absence of accountability and impractical deadlines
are another challenges which were faced by me and was not aware of it. Poor and risky
management software are few challenges which are faced by myself.
Confidence is not a set of rules which could be learnt, rather it is a state of mind.
Training, knowledge, positive thinking, communication, practice helped myself to boost my

confidence level. Due to the accomplishment of project I had stopped comparing myself to
others, therefore proving social comparison theory wrong (Ravenscraft, 2019). It helped me to
figure out my own strength and weakness which allowed me to focus more on my own rather
than others. Confidence helped me to surround myself with positive people who truly loved me
and wants best for me. Positive attitude and self-confidence go hand-in-hand. It assisted me to
start self-care practices by taking care of my body through proper diet, exercise, sleep,
meditation. It had resulted in more confidence. Confidence aided me to be kind to myself, ignore
negative self-talk and provided me strength to face my own fears.
Learning could be beneficial in my professional life. It would help me to perform tasks
well within a group and becoming a master of resources to gather information which is required.
The learning skills would help me to prioritize my tasks to meet the deadlines on time. It would
aid me to communicate well with others and inspire myself to complete the tasks. It assisted me
with the strength to face challenges and never give up attitude.
TASK 2
Business skills are crucial in the success of any business world. The skills which are
essential are financial management, marketing, negotiation, leadership, project management,
networking, critical thinking etc (Beqiri, 2021). To be successful in my business career the three
skills I need an improvement are:
 Financial management: This skill would help me to understand the market i.e.
demand and supply of the business and let me plan new projects which would
generate more profits. Effectively managing finance would be beneficial for me as
it provides me the knowledge of balance sheets, P&L account and bookkeeping
which are directly linked to the organisation's performance (Gavin, 2019). It
would help me to interpret the cash flow, balance sheet and sales statement. The
financial management skill of mine can be improved by thinking analytically and
critically. Start reading the finance publications, contents, reviews, bloomberg
would help. Adapting with the latest technology would also help me to improve
with the financial management. For example, excel spreadsheets are outdated and
to analyse data I need to use to FinTech technology for better and quicker result.
 Business networking: Networking is one of the most important skills in the
competitive corporate environment to get business on the top. This skill would

help me with an edge to succeed. With the help of networking, I could convert
sales opportunities which is a cost effective method. To improve my professional
networking, I should never ignore social media which is a simple way to connect
with the market. Another way to improve my networking is by attending events
whether through any conference, meeting or video conferencing. I have to build
an online personality to connect with the right kind people through personal
webpage, blogs, LinkedIn, Instagram, Indeed, Facebook which should all be
updated and presentable.
 Sales & marketing: This skill becomes essential to remain competitive in the
market. With a complete knowledge of sales and concepts of marketing like price
structure, competitor analysis, advertising, sales techniques are true asset to the
organisation. Marketing would attract customers to your business but what brings
them back is due to the sales. For me, to improve this skill I need to focus on the
customer's and provide them services which should meet their wants. It would
help me to understand the customer's taste which could be useful while amending
new features to the products. I have basic feature of sales as I had sold my car but
good sales skill would definitely improve my negotiation with the client.
CONCLUSION
The report has been explained the learning and career action plan. Further the report has
been critically evaluated the knowledge & skills developed by completing the project which
resulted to boost up my confidence level. The study has been concluded that the use of learning
in my professional life is appropriate and will assist to improve the overall performance. Lastly,
study has been summarised three skills i.e. financial management, business networking and sales
& marketing that needed to be improved to be successful in my business career.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Knobbout, J. and Van Der Stappen, E., (2020). Where is the learning in learning analytics? A
systematic literature review on the operationalization of learning-related constructs in
the evaluation of learning analytics interventions. IEEE Transactions on Learning
Technologies. 13(3). pp.631-645.
Martynets, L. and et.al., (2020). Developing Business Skills in High School Students Using
Project Activities. Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala. 12(4).
pp.222-239.
Reed, V. A. and Trumbo, S., (2020). The relative importance of selected communication skills
for positive peer relations: American adolescents’ opinions. Communication Disorders
Quarterly. 41(3). pp.135-150.
Tokadlı, G., Dorneich, M. C. and Matessa, M., (2021). Evaluation of Playbook Delegation
Approach in Human-Autonomy Teaming for Single Pilot Operations. International
Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. 37(7). pp.703-716.
Vasiliene-Vasiliauskiene, V. and et.al., (2020). Peculiarities of educational challenges
implementing project-based learning. World Journal on Educational Technology:
Current Issues. 12(2). pp.136-149.
Online references
Beqiri, G., (2021). 10 Business Skills for Success in the Workplace. [Online] Available through <
https://virtualspeech.com/blog/business-skills-for-success-in-the-workplace>
Ravenscraft, E., (2019). Practical Ways to Improve Your Confidence (and Why You Should).
[Online] Available through <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/smarter-living/how-
to-improve-self-confidence.html>
Gavin, M., (2019). 10 important business skills every professional needs. [Online] Available
through <https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/business-skills-every-professional-needs>