Professional Practice: Communication Styles, Teamwork & CDP Plan

This report provides an overview of professional practice within PA Consulting Group, focusing on key areas such as communication styles, time management, problem-solving techniques, team dynamics, and Continuous Professional Development (CDP). It includes examples of email communications tailored to different audiences (managers, guests, and staff), a time management plan for a training event, and an analysis of problem-solving methodologies. The report also discusses the significance of team dynamics in achieving group goals and emphasizes the importance of CDP in personal and professional growth, culminating in the creation of a development plan comprising responsibilities, performance objectives, and skills development. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools for students.

Professional Practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Use of different communication styles and formats for target audience..............................1
P2. Use of effective time management skills..............................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P4. Demonstrate that critical reasoning has been applied to a given solution............................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5. Discuss the significance of team dynamics and its contribution in a group work................5
P6. Work within a team to achieve a defined goal......................................................................6
contribution of CDP in own learningTASK 4.................................................................................7
P7. Discusses the importance of CDP and its contribution to own learning...............................7
P8. Produce a development plan comprising responsibilities, performance objectives and
skills............................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Professional practice refers to the performance of activities by an individual which are
associated with a specific job or profession (Barley and Kunda, 2016). There are some basic
criteria which should be possessed by a person to become eligible to work in an organisation and
these are qualification and training. It is beneficial in continuous learning in the corporate world.
It involves number of strategies and practices for the development of an employee. In this report,
PA Consulting Group has been chosen which is expert in management consulting, technology
and innovation. It is located in London, United Kingdom and established in the year 1943.
Furthermore, it is a privately held company in which 51% shares are held by The Carlyle Group
in which outside shareholders who are private hold 10% of shares and rest of the shares are held
by the employees. It has clients from private as well as public sector which comprises of local,
national including defence sector. The main idea of the company is to provide innovative
services related to various fields in the organisation which can help it manage the business
activities in an effective way.
TASK 1
P1. Use of different communication styles and formats for target audience
Communication skills is defined as the ability of a person to exchange information from
one place. There are two parties involved in this viz. Company and target audience. On the other
hand, interpersonal skills refers to the attitudes or behaviours of an individual which are used in
conversing or interacting with other people working in the entity (Bruss and Kopala, 2013).
Both of these skills should be possessed by an employee to conduct the activities
effectively. It is also significant in sending the right and exact message to target audience so as to
achieve the goals and objectives. Being an employee of PA consulting group, there are mails that
can be sent to number of stakeholders which are as follows:
Email 1 – Manager
Respected Mr Gallagher,
PA Consulting Group is considering to invest in new innovation which can be provided to our
target customers. This is an initiative for making change within the organisation in order to
improve the efficiency and achieve the goals and objectives. A meeting is going to be held in
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the meeting room of company which will have the presence of all the directors and also take
into account their ideas. Furthermore, some extensive analysis have been conducted and the
outcomes have provided that there are some problems in online solutions provided by the
company which can be resolved through effective solutions. It is a suggestion which can be
used to improve the efficiency and increase profit through this.
IT Transformation department is waiting for reply so that a final decision can be made as
proceeding with the same will involve further investment.
Thank you,
IT Transformation Team
PA Consulting Group
Email 2 – For Guests
Dear Guests,
Thank you for showing your interest in PA Consulting Group. It is to notify that the there are
different kinds of solutions that our company provides to large number of customers based on
their choices. This to provide personalised service to the individuals availing the services for
their organisations. The range of services that we provides include technical solution which is
available online, training to team engaged in agile development, generation of business idea and
many more. We have priority to provide quality and meet the expectations of customers in order
to remain at the top in the industry.
We would like you to come to our office for obtaining the information about the services and
we will provide the best possible quotation.
Thank you.
IT Transformation Team,
PA Consulting Group
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Email 3- For Staff
Dear Team,
The administration of PA Consulting Group has developed new policies and plans which are
mandatory for every employee to follow and adopt. Also, the company is planning to include
new innovation in the services offered by it for which a session is going to be held on 2nd
January, 2020. It is going to be conducted in office only. It is compulsory for every employee to
join the event and improve their skills and efficiency.
Thank you,
Human Resource Department,
PA Consulting Group
P2. Use of effective time management skills
Time management skills is about managing the time in an effective manner which helps
in achieving the goals and objectives within the time. In other words, it means the optimum
utilisation of limited time to create maximum outcomes within the time frame (Bainbridge,
2016).
Table 1. Planner
Activity Date Resources Responsible
Meeting of manager/board 20/12/19 Budget for the meeting and
notices should be prepared in
order to make adjustments for
fulfilling the requirement.
Introduction to innovation 24/12/19 Human and financial resources
for achieving the
advertisement.
Training to employees 26/12/19 Human resource management
strategy and software together
sufficient amount of funds for
carrying out activities
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properly.
Table 2. Event Agenda
Activity Resources Responsible
New innovation in the service range Market research data for making a decision for
bringing new innovative technology.
Enhancing skills and capabilities Training software which is useful in tracking
the performance of each employee.
Furthermore, program for retaining the
employees and funds.
TASK 2
P3. Use of variety of different problem solving techniques
Problem solving refers to the act or process which begins with the identification of the
issue, determining the cause for the same, followed by choosing alternatives and finally ending
with the implementation of a solution. There are different stages involved which are as follows: Definition of problem- It is the first step in which the issue is defined in clear terms with
the description of goals to be achieved. In this step, a defect or error is recognised which
should be prevented before it get worse with the time. Development of ideas- This is about creating various ideas or ways through which issues
can be solved. It helps in achieving the goals and objectives with the use of solutions to
resolve the issue. It is prepared in a list by including number of alternatives
(Chamberlayne, P. and Bornat, J. eds., 2014). Choose a solution- This step involves choosing the most appropriate solution which is
effective and can be beneficial for the company. Furthermore, the positive as well as
negative impact of the considered solution should be decided which is suitable. Implementation of the solution- There should be a full fledge plan for implementing the
chosen alternative within the organisation which ends with the feedback. So that
corrective measures can be taken with a view to improve.
 Review the results- This is the last stage in which the outcome of solution is reviewed for
helping the entity assess the weak points or shortcomings in order to mitigate them.
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Furthermore, it helps in improving the brand image of the company and make it work
effectively.
Apart from this, there are different kinds of techniques which can be applied in solving
the issues. The same are as follows:
1. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)- In this the planning part includes identification of
problem on the basis of extracted data. Do is the next step in which is about
development and implementation of solution. Check is about making comparison
and act is to make changes.
2. Goal, Reality, Opportunity and Wrap-up (GROW)- The goal should be defined
based on the problem which should be defined as SMART, reality is the process
of outlining the situation, opportunity is the obstacles and final stage is the actions
which can help the company (Crocket, 2014).
P4. Demonstrate that critical reasoning has been applied to a given solution
Critical reasoning refers to the ability of an individual to analyse information objectively
and make a reasoned judgement about the same. It is the way in which a person react on a
situation by thinking in a different and in-depth manner. Every solution has to be understood
with critical thinking so that its suitability can be gathered. For example, PA Consulting Group is
facing difficulties in attracting the customers to its services because there are many other
competitors providing the same services at considerable low prices. In such as case, PA
Consulting Group can follow the process of problem solving in order to identify the main issue
with the reasons behind the problem. Therefore, in case of the above-mentioned issue, PA
Consulting Group can have a solution to train its employees in providing better services with
quality. This should be thought in a critical way so that underlying details such as investment in
research and development department, changes in business environment, their effect on the
business etc. can be known. This is going to help in formulation plans and strategies which can
help PA Group to attract customers by increasing their satisfaction (Elman, Illfelder-Kaye and
Robiner, 2015).
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TASK 3
P5. Discuss the significance of team dynamics and its contribution in a group work
Team dynamics refers to those psychological as well as unconscious forces which highly
influences the performance and behavior of team. It has been identified that team dynamics are
mainly developed by the nature of a team, team member's personality, working relationship of
team mates with others and the surrounding where they work (Grubenmann and Meckel, 2017).
Therefore, it has been said that it is one of the most dynamic as well as complex in nature which
affect the overall performance of the business entity. In the present context of PA Consulting
group, it has been said that team dynamics create various positive outputs for the organization.
Team dynamics plays very essential role in order to get success at the competitive marketplace.
It has been identified that in order to attain the goals and objectives of a business entity, each and
every team member rely on each other which might affect their own performance. For instance,
team mates involved in a project are highly depended on their project leader which influences
their whole performance. If all the forces are managed in an effective manner then the project
leaders attain their predefined goals and objective within given time frame. Along with this, it is
also very important in order to motivate their staff members for the attainment of task.
P6. Work within a team to achieve a defined goal
Team or group refers to two or more people who are termed as members and work in
collectively. No one is treated individual because the identity of each one of them is their team in
which they are the member. There is a common goal for which every member works in a
collaborated way and in the same direction. Leaders give similar instructions to every sub-
ordinates in the team who make their efforts in the same direction to achieve the defined goal.
Every personality is has to contribute to the common goals which are clearly defined. There
should be co-ordination as well as co-operation with each other as this can give rise to conflicts
and create major issues capable of affecting the work and efficiency of the entity (Kram,
Wasserman and Yip, 2012).
Furthermore, team members are given the authority to use their own patterns and ways
for accomplishing the goals and objectives which are defined goal. In addition to this, there
should be understanding between all the members. There may be some situations where the issue
can occur because of the different opinions. The reason behind this is every individual has their
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way of thinking and doing the activities which can may not match with rest of the people
working in a team. In the context of PA Consulting Group, it can be said it should form teams by
defining the goals which are to be achieved. Also, each one of them should be assigned the work
according to their skills and capabilities so that complete efforts can be provided by them.
TASK 4
P7. Discusses the importance of CDP and its contribution to own learning
Continuing Professional Development (CDP) refers to the exercise in which a person take
absolute control for learning new things and gaining experience within an on-going process of
reflection and action. It is the natural phenomenon which should come from within and no one
can be made accustomed to follow and engaged themselves. It is useful in making decisions
which can implement within the work as well as professional level. It helps in understanding the
skills, present level of knowledge and experiences which are useful in carrying the work
effectively and efficiently (Miller, 2018).
The main elements of CDP are as follows:
 Learning new things and gaining experience is in the hands of the learner. There is no
imposition from the higher authority or any other person.
 It is an approach by which a person can create balance between different aspects of life
and professional work.
 It involves reflection which helps in ascertaining the strong points as well as weaknesses
in oneself so that improvements can be made.
It has main contribution in own learning in a way in which the person work in a positive
manner to understand the working pattern and efforts made in the goals and objectives. It is a
continuous process which helps in development of an individual to grow with the time which add
things in professional as well as personal aspect (Oliver, 2015).
P8. Produce a development plan comprising responsibilities, performance objectives and skills
Personal Development Plan (PDP) is a process or structure which is formed by a person
to plan personal, academic and career development. It helps in understanding the areas which are
strong as well as those areas which are not that strong and require improvement.
Skills Required Activities Resources Time Changes
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Required
Communicat
ion Skill
If I want to improve my
communication skills, it
is essential for me to
attend different sessions
of communication. A
good communication
skill will help me to
interact with customers
efficiently and guide
subordinates
appropriately (Tarvydas,
V. M. and Hartley, M. T.
eds., 2017). Moreover
this will help me to work
in team effectively.
The resources
which are required
for improving the
communication
skills are books of
debates, public
speaking, effective
communication is
given. This helps in
managing
customers in more
appropriate manner.
The duration
for improving
my
communicatio
n skill will be
around 2
months.
I am not an
extrovert person
and it takes a lot
of time for me to
interact with
strangers easily
and so I should
increase my
confidence and
develop
communication
skills.
Time
Managemen
t Skill
It is very important for
employees to set a
specific time frame for
managing all business
tasks and achieve them
in given time frame.
To increase my
skills it is essential
for me to
effectively manage
my work. I can use
along with this I
can use a
stopwatch while
accomplishing
work and targets in
less time.
To effectively
enhance and
improve this
skill it is
important for
me to
understand
how all
business
activities are
performed in
given time
frame.
Changes can take
place with the
help of others and
following idol
individuals as to
know how they
manage their work
and do
accordingly.
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Problem
Solving
Skill
A problem solving skill
is the best skill which is
required by me to
critically analyse my
skills and utilise them
for developing
interpersonal skills. This
will help in developing
relationships among
employees
To improve my
problem solving
skills case study,
training and
development,
aptitude test,
simulation
reasoning and many
will help to develop
my skills and
knowledge
I am required
to improvise
my problem
solving skills
within 5
months of
time period.
It is essential for
me to emphasize
on effective
decision making
in proper time
frame by ensuring
that all necessary
things are
available with me
to find solutions
of different
organisational
issues and
problems.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that professional practice is important in
every person's life for growth and development of in personal and professional life. There are
many things such as team work, working group, PDP, use of various skills such as time
management, communication etc. which should be used by an person to manage the
organisational activities in the best possible way.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
Barley, S. R. and Kunda, G., 2016. Contracting: A new form of professional practice. Academy
of Management Perspectives. 20(1). pp.45-66.
Bruss, K. V. and Kopala, M., 2013. Graduate school training in psychology: Its impact upon the
development of professional identity. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice,
Training. 30(4). p.685.
Bainbridge, A., 2016. On Becoming an Education Professional: A Psychosocial Exploration of
Developing an Education Professional Practice. Springer.
Chamberlayne, P. and Bornat, J. eds., 2014. Biographical methods and professional practice: An
international perspective. Policy Press.
Crocket, K., 2014. From narrative practice in counselling to narrative practice in research: A
professional identity story. International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community
Work. 2004(2). p.1.
Elman, N. S., Illfelder-Kaye, J. and Robiner, W. N., 2015. Professional development: training for
professionalism as a foundation for competent practice in psychology. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice. 36(4). p.367.
Grubenmann, S. and Meckel, M., 2017. Journalists’ Professional Identity: A resource to cope
with change in the industry?. Journalism Studies. 18(6). pp.732-748.
Kram, K. E., Wasserman, I. C. and Yip, J., 2012. Metaphors of identity and professional
practice: Learning from the scholar–practitioner. The Journal of Applied Behavioral
Science. 48(3). pp.304-341.
Miller, K., 2018. The evolution of professional identity: The case of osteopathic medicine. Social
Science & Medicine. 47(11). pp.1739-1748.
Oliver, D. A. V. I. D., 2015. Identity work as a strategic practice. Cambridge handbook of
strategy as practice. 2. pp.331-344.
Tarvydas, V. M. and Hartley, M. T. eds., 2017. The professional practice of rehabilitation
counseling. Springer Publishing Company.
Sims, D., 2011. Reconstructing professional identity for professional and interprofessional
practice: A mixed methods study of joint training programmes in learning disability
nursing and social work. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 25(4). pp.265-271.
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