BMP4001: Business Management & Law - Personal Development Portfolio

This document presents a personal development portfolio (PDP) for a Business Management and Law student. It includes an introduction to PDPs, defining their value and purpose in academic and professional settings. The report outlines SMART goals related to teamwork, academic achievement, and professional certifications. A self-appraisal section incorporates a SWOT analysis to reflect on personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The portfolio also discusses academic and transferable skills such as problem-solving, communication, and teamwork, along with strategies for their development. The document concludes with a reflection on personal development progress, references, and appendices containing an action plan, CV, and learning log. This PDP serves as a roadmap for the student's skill enhancement and career preparation.

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND LAW
By (Student’s Name)
Professor’s Name
College
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Date

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Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1 Definition and Overview of PDP...............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.1 Definition............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.2 PDP – value of the PDP.....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2 Learning style.........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3 Goals..........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1 SMART Goals....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. Self- appraisal...................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1 My SWOT analysis – reflection................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2 Motivation..................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. Analysis/Discussion on (Academic/Transferable) Skills Relevant to Goals...........Error!
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3.1 Definition and Overview of Academic and Transferable skillsError! Bookmark not
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3.1.1 Team work..........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2 Communication..................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.3 Problem solving..................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Skills Development strategies....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.1 C.R.E.A.M learning strategy..............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4. Conclusion........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1 Personal Development so far.....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. References........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
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6.1 Action plan.................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.2 CV..............................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.3 Action Plan................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.4 Learning Log Error! Bookmark not defined.

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO
1. Introduction
As a student of business management there are skills of importance that I need to undertake
(Cottrell 2013). These skills not only help in achieving success in the future career but are also
important in helping note important things within the business management course. Identifying
such skills and objectives is made rather easy with the presence of learning plan. The learning
plan that helps achieve such objectives has to be developed in a report form. This report is
referred to as a professional development portfolio. It is through the professional development
portfolio that all, including eye is able to mirror my personal targets and developmental skills
that I require in being manager. This essay is therefore a professional development plan showing
that will help me achieve success not only during my training in the University but also during
my career life. At the end of the paper, in the appendix, there is an action plan, learning log and a
CV. The three are supposed to shade more light on my management skills and what I am seeking
to gain.
1.1 Definition of a PDP
To achieve anything successfully, we have to plan, especially those aspiring to be
managers. Therefore, personal development portfolio is a plan developed by a manager or a
manager student that helps in achieving specific goals. Apart from writing it so that it offers a
clear guide on how to achieve such goals, it is used as proof of the milestones that one has
already covered towards achieving their goals. Our goals for this case are the management skills

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that one shall have gained. A PDP is therefore our mind but functioning in the future (Coon &
Mitterer2013).
Parts of a PDP that include action plan, CV and logical ends are supposed to help monitor
individual progress while acting as a support element for where we want to go. The process of
preparing a PDP in itself gives upcoming managers skills. Research skills, self-analysis, goal
setting, decision making and reflections are skills that one gains through the preparation of a
PDP.
1.2 Value of a PDP
Professionally
It helps is setting goals that one really needs to achieve throughout the learning period. It
helps a student focus on their future career and involve themselves sufficiently enough to do the
same. With such skills the student is marketable enough to the career market. It also helps
student to become skilful enough so that they are able to catch up with the latest developments in
the field of management (Coon & Mitterer2013).
Academically
During the duration in University as time progresses there is tendency of losing hope
among students. It is therefore prudent that students are always motivated on the best things they
should do in order to achieve such success. The PDP is therefore a good motivator as it always
reminds the student to stay on track and not to lose focus.
Accomplishment of each step towards the students’ goals might be a perfect motivation
that the student needs to keep it going.

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Like mentioned earlier, the PDP academically offers skills to the students that help the
student develop. From critical thinking skills to physical oriented skills, the PDP suits the
students with important skills for facing the career future.
1.3 My Smart goals
Goals are target that an individual who wants to be successful must have. For the
mnemonic SMART, It a short form that guides in making the goals more suitable and achievable
(Dempsey et al. 2017) Goals that are not smart might make us not achieve what we really want at
the end of it all. The SMART mnemonic therefore stands for specific, measurable, attainable,
realistic and timely. My SMART goals therefore in achieving my business management skills
include;
a) Developing skills in team work and team leader skills.
b) Academically achieve a second class upper honours degree from the University
c) Register for a certificate of certified managers course at the end of second at the
University
d) Improve my interview skills on business management interviews
e) Take an extra course in safety certificate level.
2. SELF –APPRAISAL
After creating goals there is need to start an honest evaluation and self-reflection on the
skill already present that will make me achieve the goal. Analyses of these personal skills also
help determine which areas to work on more often in order to achieve the relevant goal attained
to each skill. Self-appraisal can be done through the following criteria’s: skill audit, swat

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analysis, pest analysis and motivational analysis. Below are self-analysis based on the mentioned
criteria.
2.1 Skill audit
Communication skill as a manager
Communication skill is one of the most important skills in management. Information needs
to be communicated from a manager to the rest of the stakeholders (Vukomanović, Young and
Huynink 2016). I have to mention that this is a skill that I really lack. Being an introvert I prefer
doing this to myself and involving only those that are inside my circle. However, being that I
need to be a manger it is important I learn it as soon as I can.
Team work skill
Another skill that I really need to improve on is how I should work with others. I prefer
working alone since I assume I produce the best things. However team work make things easier
and therefore I have to learn this skill as soon as I can.
Critical analysis skills
One of the gifts I have. I have the ability to manipulate situations critically and unearth the
underlying structures of issues. This is a skill that might help me understand my fellow team
members. It also helps me in handling exams and personal tests given by the teacher in the class.
2.2 SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths

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My strength skill has been learnt from personal interaction with people. I have leadership
skills. I gained leadership skills from my experiences in the previous learning institutions that I
have been too. My reputation has always been built based on my leadership ability
Weaknesses
I have a lot of weakness in handling my emotions. In one word I would refer to myself as
temperamental. I lose the handle quit easily and end up fighting with a lot of people. I have
engaged a lot of people in verbal wars. That I didn’t think were necessary for me too really.
Opportunities
I have the opportunity to learn on how to improve my skills in teamwork and
communications that will help me become teamwork oriented individual. There is also an
opportunity to learn about myself and improve my leadership skills through knowing how to
manage my anger.
Threats
I have threat in balancing my health and academic life. I suffer from a cardiac infection
making it difficult to balance times to spend on my academics and the ones to spend on hospital
bed undergoing several heart check-ups. If I learn about time management I might balance well
my health and academic life.
LEARNING STYLE ANALYSIS
Lecture learning method
I prefer learning from being lectured than the rest of the learning style. When I attend
lectures interaction between me and the lecturer or my fellow students is minimized. Being a
person who hates academic interactions, through lecturing I get the concepts even better.
Discussion

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I am not a discussion kind of guy. I hate discussions since they are interactive and one has
to not only listen to the other but also grasp the idea from another person, analyse all of them and
decide on which one to use. I prefer solo decisions that are easy to make and affect one person
and not whole group of people (Foucault et al. 2016).
Motivation
Motivations are all about having that extra push that is got from getting personal
development. Internal motivation is normally occurring when there is no external reward but an
individual there is the urge that you feel should keep you going Coon, D. & Mitterer, J. O.
(2013). My motivation is intrinsic since I have a passion for business management. Business
management develops my academic and professional skills and therefore I do not require an
external form of reward for me to get motivated.
3. Professional Academic skills to be motivated
There are skills that will help me achieve my professional goals. Qualities like teamwork,
communication, writing and oral skills, critical analysis skills and problem solving qualities are
key towards helping them achieve my goals.
3.1 Academic and Transferable Skills.
Academic skills that can help get future employment after getting through with education
of the course are very important. The academic skills which I possess that help achieve my goals
include; strength in decision making and time management. It is critical thinking that helps
manage things at a workplace and even in the University when you become a team leader.
Transferable skills are those skills that are personal and non-academic which build ones
relationship with others (Cottrell 2015). For instance the team work skills needed to analyse and

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work in a groups so that a perfect project is produced such is a transferable skills. The project
will make each one of the members contribute therefore transferring their individual skills to
each other.
After reflecting on my skills, I realised I do possess some skills while other I do not. They
include:
3.1.1Problem solving skills
Problem solving skills is important towards achieving all the goals. In the academic
endeavours it is not always going to be a smooth ride. At times challenges and problems come
through the way (Coon & Mitterer 2013). It is the problem solving skills that will help pass these
hurdles in a way that we are still focused to achieve the goal (Richards 2015). I realize I can
solve a lot of problems if I listen to people however at times I lose my handle and engage people
through fights. Engaging people through fights while not managing my temper makes me quite a
bad problem solver when it comes to solving my personal issues. It is therefore prudent to find
more and quality training in my problem solving skills.
3.1.2 Communication skills
Being an introvert I had not developed and sharpened my communication skills. I have
perfect skills in written communication format. Written communication is easier produced since
there is no communication with another person but through writing. Verbal communication
which creates more effect according to psychology, I am very poor at such skills and really need
to develop it very well. All managers should be good communicators so that they extend their
generosity to the rest of the members. I have to create progress in sharpening my communication
skills (Avargues-Weber, Lachlan and Chittka 2018).
3.2 learning strategy

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The best strategy to use as of my case is the CREAM strategy. The strategy just like the
mnemonic it forms is about being more than creative, reflective, effective, active and motivated
(Vance, Burford, Shapiro and Price 2017). Creativity helps exploit the personal skills that one
has and uniquely manipulate them to learn new skills. Reflection is all about focusing on oneself
and knowing what you want most that will help gain such skills. Effectiveness helps on
developing skills that help analyze performance over certain duration. It is through effective
evaluation that one is able to analyze his personal adjustment and follow through to know if they
are working or not. Activeness and Motivation are the learning points. It is through being active
that one gains the necessary skills needed. Active learning demands for personal involvement.
The learner like I am has to know what they want and actively look for just that (Roche, Roche,
Nayak and Umakanth 2018).
Motivation means to be sure of what you want to achieve and therefore not relenting even
one bit towards achieving just that (Crocker 2015). Through motivation all the assignments and
projects that will be given to help develop any skills, I will directly be motivated to follow
through.
Resources to be used to gain skills
Resource person
I am a good learner who learns through role modelling. I would use a resource person who
would act as my model in helping me develop communication and team work skills.
Discussion group and projects
Working in discussion groups and achieving tasks together can be a key resource in
helping me sharpen my team work skills and also communication skills. If I am made the team

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leader it is easier to achieve skills in team work as I would be the overall command and has to
listen to my fellow members (Milad 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, PDP helps in developing skills in academic and transferable skills. For me it
has helped in assessing my progress. It has helped in marking my steps throughout the journey of
achieving my goals in business management. There are many advantages that come with the
PDP and just like professional documents are updated I shall always update my PDP for
professional and personal development.
At my time during the study of the course, the PDP helped me develop particular skills that
are important which helped in achieving particular goals. It is fundamental to notice that for any
university students planning on how to take control of their professional future. It is even easier
to find employment guided with the updates of the PDP.
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Avargues-Weber, A., Lachlan, R. and Chittka, L., 2018. Bumblebee social learning can lead to
suboptimal foraging choices. Animal Behaviour, 135, pp.209-214.
Coon, D. & Mitterer, J. O. (2013). Psychology: A Journey. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing Co Inc. 61-73
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Macmillan
International Higher Education.(133-137)

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Cottrell, S. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook. 4th Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
1703-1705.
Crocker, J.R., 2015. Design, implementation, and evaluation of an ePortfolio approach to support
faculty development in vocational education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 46, pp.61-73.
Dempsey, M., Flynn, S., MacLochlainn, M., Hogan, M., Gupta, A., Burns, D., O'Connell, J. and
Ó Sealbhaigh, F., 2017, June. MISFITS: Lego, Wool, Art, Equations agus Seanfhocail:
Professional Development Pilot–a living teaching portfolio initiative. In 15th CELT Symposium
on Higher Education-Learning Communities, Collaboration, and Collegiality. Centre for
Excellence in Learning and Teaching, NUI Galway.(322-325)
Foucault, M.L., Vachon, B., Thomas, A., Rochette, A. and Giguère, C.É., 2018. Utilisation of an
electronic portfolio to engage rehabilitation professionals in continuing professional
development: results of a provincial survey. Disability and rehabilitation, 40(13), pp.1591-1599.
Milad, M., 2017. Applying the CREAM Strategy for Coaching Teaching Practices. IAFOR
Journal of Education, 5(1), pp.65-82.
Richards, J.C., 2015. Error analysis: Perspectives on second language acquisition. Routledge.
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