The Graduate Challenge Report: Skills, Challenges, and Action Plans

This report, an E-portfolio, details the challenges faced by a student during coursework, focusing on the development of essential skills and the formulation of action plans for improvement. The report analyzes challenges encountered in various activities, including the T-shirt challenge, debate challenges, presentation challenges, and hotel challenges. Each section outlines the specific difficulties faced, the skills required to overcome these challenges, and the strategies implemented to enhance these skills. The T-shirt challenge highlights branding, pricing, and operational challenges, emphasizing the importance of communication, time management, teamwork, and business skills. The debate challenges focus on communication and presentation skills, with an emphasis on presenting viewpoints calmly and persuasively. The presentation challenge underscores the significance of communication, presentation, and time management skills. Finally, the hotel challenge addresses challenges in marketing, human resource management, and the necessity of effective communication, team management, and excel skills. The conclusion summarizes the importance of self-assessment and the development of targeted action plans to improve skills and prepare for future professional endeavors. References to academic sources are also provided.

The Graduate
Challenge
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CONTENTS
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
T-Shirt challenge.........................................................................................................................3
Apprentice challenges:.................................................................................................................4
Presentation challenge:................................................................................................................5
Hotel challenge............................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Graduate challenges are those challenges which a student mainly faces during its
coursework that plays a significant role in developing their skills and capability for preparing
them to manage with future business-related challenges. The current report involves E-portfolio
which represent detail about the several challenges that student face during coursework, skills
required to deal with it and action plan for further improvement (Duckworth and et. al., 2017).
The main purpose behind preparing the E-portfolio is to demonstrate challenges found while
performing certain activities along with pictures in an appropriate format to make it clearer so
that action plan can be performed effectively.
MAIN BODY
T-Shirt challenge
There are number of challenges that have to face while preparing T-shirt i.e. branding,
finance and operations. The first of all the major challenge is branding where it is crucial to
select an appropriate brand logo that can attract customer attention and make them assure about
its quality. The second challenges is about pricing where selection of appropriate pricing strategy
is crucial as it not support in attracting the customers but also help in dealing with competition
present (Mok and Jiang, 2017). So that major challenges lies that at what price a product must be
sold. The third challenge in T-shirt designing is manner in which operations must be performed
that how it will design, what material and method to be adopted, mode of selling etc. Some
pictures of prints prepared for T-shirt challenge,
Skills:
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While working over T-shirt challenge, we found several challenges that affected our
work too but still we tried our best to deal with it. For working over T-shirt prints we are
assigned with a team, so in order to make sure that each individual perform their very clearly I
decided to use my communication skill by interacting with them and convey all the guidelines
and tasks to consider while working over this so no space remains for a mistake. Other than this
after communicating about it we get indulge into team work and with mutual contribution started
our work and during this when the activities are taking more time we decided to prepare a time
scale and schedule each activity so that time limit can be maintain and with this we become able
to manage our time (Singh, 2019). From this work we realise importance of business skill, as
after preparing the T-shirt we have to prepare a presentation and display the activities to which
we go through during this challenge and what is unique in our work so that people buy T-shirts.
Additionally, we also learn to use excel sheet which is to maintain to keep record of all the
material used, its quantity and price.
Action plan:
Throughout this T-shirt challenge I realise the importance of posses particular skills
which help be in dealing with several issues such as communication skill that help in making
things clear and perform actions without any error or misunderstanding. Other than this time
management skills help in completing task on time, teamwork help in enhancing the work
quality and reduce the burden and business skill help in making product so easily along with
profit (Chan, 2015). So, I decided to develop and improve these skills. For this I decided to take
seminar for improving communication skills to get learn about basic antiquates required within
the duration of 6 months, this will also help me in improving my presentation skills. Other than
this I decided to take online classes for learning about excel and presentation skill with duration
of approx. 3 months.
Debate challenges:
Debate is a activity where a candidate is assigned with a title and they have to present their
understanding and knowledge about that topic. While performing this debate activity I came
across several challenge where I have to choose a topic among two presented one which is very
much difficult as I have to choose one over which I can speak fluently. After that form one topic
I have to make a choice about going against it or in its favour which is very difficult for me as
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time was very much limited and I have to choose one over which I can argue in such a manner
that nobody can claim my statement to be wrong.
Skills:
While my experience throughout debate discussion I become able to learn about several
kind of skills that are crucial for an individual to work effectively. Being a participant of debate,
I have to present several key point of my selected topic in order to strengthen my arguments and
make the people front of me to be convinced with the information that I am presenting. This in
turn support me in improving my communication skills as I came to learn about the way I have
to communicate the manner in which I have to manage my pitch so that interest of people can be
maintained in my speech. Other than this I also learnt about how to represent my view point
while remaining calm and without doing nay kind of argument to the people (Ravichandran and
et. al., 2017). Despite of this, I found that while giving some information about a topic to people,
presentation skill is very crucial as when I demonstrate about knowledge, I have to present each
and every aspect along with reason why it is so and manner in which it is valid for current topic
view point.
Action plan
In order to perform well in future, I decided to develop these skills to which I get aware
through my debate activity. For improving my communication skill, I decided to take
participation in group discussion so that I get confidence to speak more fluently and tackle the
situation with it, in order to improve skill within 4 months. Other than this I will also take
seminars in order to learn the tricks to make presentation more effective that make people listen
to me and to observe how other people present their view point or information in a flow that
make their argument more valid for the current situation.
Presentation challenge:
While giving a presentation about the business operations for new plan within the
organisation among team member there are several challenges that one has to face. The major
challenge that an individual faces at that time is to explain the operations to be perform more
clearly when a change has to implement as job and responsibility of people get changes and they
have to manage accordingly which seem quite difficult to make team member understand
quickly (Ruggiero, 2014).
Skill: -
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Through this challenge I get an idea regarding number of skills that an individual must
have to deliver presentation much effectively. The first and foremost skill that an individual
require is communication skill as while giving presentation if the presenter won’t able to convey
his idea behind it, then the whole efforts are useless and to present it he must be good at
communication skill. Other than this presentation skill is also required which help in adding
appropriate graphics and add creativity to it. Despite of this time management skill is very
crucial as it support in completing the work on timely manner plus help in giving presentation in
stipulated time period so that all the information can be conveyed by providing equal time
duration.
Action plan
For developing my presentation skill, I decided to take online classes so that I can add
creativity when I prepare presentation that help in capturing the attention of people. For this I
decided to take a one-month course for this. Other than this for improving my communication
skill I decided top take participation in debates, class room presentations, group discussion for at
least 6 months so that it get into my practices and for time management I decided to set time
duration on each slide and then practice for its presentation so that I learn to manage with time.
Hotel challenge
While performing operations related with hospitality activities there are range of challenges
that one has to face. As du e to increasing in number of hotels in market it become more
challenging to attract customers as marketing practices are required to be more effective and
competitive (Ruggiero, 2014). Another challenge that one faces is with the human resources
management as a manger has to keep its employees always prepare for a new change and this is
very challenging to make employees accept new change their operational procedure as it make
things difficult.
Skills:
From these challenges involve in hotel related work I found that communication skills are
very crucial as it support in providing instruction to employees correctly and make them work
with motivation. Other than this it also helps in performing marketing activities effectively by
interacting with customer effectively and attract them toward availing services. Other than this
team management skills is also required as a manager is require to handle a group of employees
and make them work coordinate and align toward the goal. Additionally, excel skills are also
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required as manager have to keep track regarding their leads given by employees and leads that
convert into customers along with profit that company gain through it.
Action Plan:
For working within hotel industry effectively I required first of all to improve my
communication skills so that interact with customers and attract them toward availing services.
For this I decided to keep on practicing on my communication by having a fake conversation
with my class mates about ways to handle customers for around 7 months which support me in
preparing for future challenges. For improving my team management skills I take participate in
team work and also take regular guidance from my seniors and teacher to tell me about my
weaknesses while performance and ways to correct them. For improving my excel skill I practice
it regularly and try to take guidance and learn things from my seniors and else I will be studying
books regarding its basic and try to implement it.
CONCLUSION
From the above performed reflection I has been summarised that a student take
participates in several activities during course work where they face certain challenges. These are
crucial as challenges help them in getting idea about skills they require to improve for future
work. So, students must regularly evaluate about the weakness or skills they required to improve
and then prepare action plan to deal with it.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Chan, W.K., 2015. Higher education and graduate employment in China: Challenges for
sustainable development. Higher education policy, 28(1), pp.35-53.
Duckworth, O. W. and et. al., 2017. Revisiting Graduate Student Training to Address
Agricultural and Environmental Societal Challenges. Agricultural & Environmental
Letters, 2(1).
Mok, K.H. and Jiang, J., 2017. Massification of higher education: Challenges for admissions and
graduate employment in China. In Managing international connectivity, diversity of
learning and changing labour markets (pp. 219-243). Springer, Singapore.
Ravichandran, S. and et. al., 2017. Strategies to address English language writing challenges
faced by international graduate students in the US. Journal of International
Students, 7(3), pp.3-7.
Ruggiero, D.M., 2014. Graduate Courses in Languages for Specific Purposes: Needs,
Challenges, and Models. Global Business Languages, 19(1), p.5.
Singh, M.K.M., 2019. International graduate students’ academic writing practices in Malaysia:
Challenges and solutions. Journal of International Students, 2015 Vol. 5 (1), 5(1),
pp.12-22.
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