Personal and Professional Development: HRM Career Path Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of personal and professional development, focusing on a career path in Human Resource Management (HRM). It begins with a brief description of the HRM field, highlighting its importance in employee development and its role at companies like Marks and Spencer. The report then delves into analyzing a specific career path, outlining objectives, and identifying essential skills such as time management, managerial skills, problem-solving, ethics, communication, and leadership. It uses graphs to illustrate career path progression and identifies potential challenges, proposing strategies to overcome them by leveraging personal strengths. The report emphasizes the importance of continuous review and adaptation in achieving long-term career goals, referencing best practices from successful organizations.

Personal and
professional
development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
A brief description of Human resource field...............................................................................4
Analysing my career path in order to achieve them....................................................................5
The application of graphs to illustrate the career paths...............................................................8
Identification of possible challenges and ways to overcome these challenges using strengths10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional developments are the two important pillars of development which
play a vital role in developing the personality of a candidate (Ab Rashid, 2018) . The successful
students in academic life always include various practices that are related to systematic and
ethical development for desired success. Most of the companies in international market mainly
demands for professionalism in academic life in order to select right employee for the
organisation. In this report there is a brief explanation of HR related activities for the business
and its importance in employee development. This report also contains an overview of achieving
career path related objectives and aims. In this report there is a detailed description of various
possible challenges and the way to overcome in academic and career related life. In this report
the chosen field is human resource management as it plays a key role in increasing employee
productivity. This report includes example of Marks and Spencer which is a multinational retail
company based in United Kingdom. The company was founded in the year 1919 and is today
one of the largest super market chain in the whole world.

MAIN BODY
A brief description of Human resource field
The human resource management is an important body of an organisation which deals with
employee management by performing effective functions and tasks. In a company, human
resource management is the backbone which provides precise training and development to
different employees for their long term and systematic growth. At Marks and Spencer, the
human resource management is a unique body which is responsible for maintaining effective
culture in the company. In the development of a company at the marketplace, there is vital role
played by HR functions. In the contemporary world, there is a need of professional practices
related to human resource management in order to seek support of employees. Marks and
Spencer majorly focus on supporting talent management to develop innovative practices in the
company. With the help of talent management an organisation achieves desired goals at the
marketplace with maximum efficiency (Allen-Johnson, 2017). The above discussion concludes
that in the era of stiff competition HR management is the crucial part of every company which
helps in increasing overall productivity of the employees. In order to perform operations in the
global market the human resource management helps in developing desired strategy. The human
resource management of Marks and Spencer performs the following functions to gain
competitive edge in the marketplace:
 Recruitment and selection- The recruitment and selection is considered as one of the
major functions of human resource management of a company. In this approach the HR
management works hard to select appropriate candidate for performing major operations
of the company. In this function, human resource management takes regular interviews of
different candidates for increasing the strength of company. At Marks and Spencer, the
process of recruitment plays a main role by selection of the right employee for
performing major duties of the company.
 Employee induction- This is also one of the major functions of human resource
management of a company to perform employee induction in an ethical manner. The
employee induction is a formal process developed by HR management in order to make
new employee comfortable for a particular job.

 Culture management- Culture of a company is main element which determines the
internal environment related functions of a company. It is the major function of HR
management of Marks and Spencer to maintain culture of the whole company to develop
favourable working conditions.
 Conflict management- In a company, conflicts arise on regular basis which directly or
indirectly impacts functioning of a company. The conflict management is performed by
the HR to resolve various conflicts that arise in the company on regular basis due to
presence of vast diversity.
 Training and development- Another main function of human resource management of
Marks and Spencer to provide training to employees in order to develop their skills. For
completion of a task in a systematic manner it is essential for the company to provide
professional training (Cirocki and Farrell, 2019). The training and development is major
function of HRM to deliver best practices of increasing productivity of different
employees.
 Performance management- The performance management in an organisation is
essential to increase overall profitability of the company. Performance management
includes various techniques and solutions used by HR professionals to develop desired
objectives in the employees. In the development of a company, the performance
management play a vital role and it also leads to enable stability in the business. The
performance management will also help me increasing the strength of the business by
increasing development and expansion of the business.
Analysing my career path in order to achieve them
I want to become a reputed HR manager in a multinational company and for that I am
doing specialisation in this field. The HR field is considered as a major field which is helpful for
a business to gain the desired objectives in a short period of time. I personally consider that it is
important for me to analyse my career path in the leadership of various experts to increase
possibilities of my career development. In my career, I want to practice practically different
problems and their solution which are related to HR functions. I will take help and guidance of
my teachers and professors to achieve the major targets related to HR on time. In order to
succeed at the marketplace, I will also analyse HRM growth strategy which is used at Marks and
Spencer. I will learn the different HR skills to compete at the marketplace:

 Time management- This is one of the most important skills in the HR field which deals
with time management in a specified manner. In order to handle day to day tasks on
regular basis I will learn the time management skills, which will glorify my career path.
In the era of stiff competition between different companies it is essential for me to
develop time management skills for long term business development. In order to
complete the desired operations in a timely manner, the management of Marks and
Spencer should prepare and formulate effective time table and design the tasks
accordingly (Day, 2017). Many different companies takes assistance of strategic
management to develop and deliver ethical practices related to time management.
 Managerial skills- It is the major aim of HR personnel to develop desired managerial
skills for effectively managing employees in a systematic manner. The managerial skills
will also help me to develop professional practices which are helpful in increasing the
strength of the company. The managerial skills will help company to develop employee
management practices in a systematic manner. Managerial skills will also help the
company to develop ethical business by managing different practices that are helpful in
increasing productivity. Most of the successful companies at the marketplace, implement
best managerial skills by taking help of professional management employees in order to
gain desired success.
 Problem solving skills- In the functioning of a company, it is important for human
resource management to develop the problem solving skills. This will lead to develop
optimum utilisation of various resources that are present in the business and will also help
in increasing employee's performance.
 Ethics- The ethics are important part of development of the internal environment of a
company in order to develop sustainable practices. Most of the successful national and
international companies like Marks and Spencer follow ethical practices. The ethical
practices which are performed by a business should be also logical in order to convince
the employee (Farrell, 2020). The ethics and their development in a company brings
stability in the company and also leads to develop values in employees. Human resource
management of a company should also follow ethical code of conduct which is designed
by the company. It is the utmost priority of board of directors and top level management
to design ethics and integrity in maintaining employee and customer relationship.

 Communication skills- These are the most crucial skills which should be developed by
me in order to gain market growth. The communication skills help in increasing
coordination between employees and also help the organisation in achievement of long
and short term goals and objectives. In order to improve communication skills for the
development of my career path, it is useful to take support of different teachers and
professors. Communication skills bring a good level of coordination in the company
which leads to complete the major functions in a sustainable manner.
 Leadership skills- It is necessary for a person to develop leadership skills which are
essential in managing team related to operations. I will learn practical approach in
leadership to manage large number of employees as a HR manager. The leadership skills
include implementation of leadership style which is known as democratic leadership
style. The democratic leadership style is best according to me in order to formulate major
decisions with the help of all team members (Flornes, 2017). I will also use this type of
leadership in order to perform major objectives and aims to formulate effective decision
making. Leadership style should be chosen after taking feedback from each and every
employee of Marks and Spencer.

The application of graphs to illustrate the career paths
v

The process of selecting right career path is mentioned below with the help of following points:
Define career objectives- It is essential for a person who is involved in designing career path is
supposed to develop and define career objectives in the first phase which helps in identification
of objectives and goals. The goals of a person should be clear and achievable in a specific period.
Create long term plans- It is very much important for a candidate to develop long term
objectives instead of short term objectives for overall development of personality with major
development. A person should also develop a critical approach which is helpful in increasing
chances of growth.
Selection of the field- It is important for a person to select right field according to nature and
interest of the student. A student must choose effective field after proper analysis and evaluation
of interest. Also the knowledge related to career should be perfect, which plays a major role in
selection.
Preparation of strategy- A person must also develop and prepare a precise and systematic
strategy in order to gain competency edge (Hamilton, 2020). The candidate must take help of
professors and teachers in order to develop the whole strategy associated with the career
development.
Develop skills- This is the most important point in development of the career path which
includes development of skills. The candidate must develop skills like time management and
problem solving in order to develop career path in a short period of time. Most of the successful
students develop skills in a specified manner to achieve major goals in life.
Review work experience- The review of whole experience related to work should be developed
in a short span of time. The candidate should perform time to time review of the different
objectives and plans related to career for effective growth. Many different students also review
the career path and work with the help of professional management experts.

Identification of possible challenges and ways to overcome these challenges using strengths
In the marketplace and in academic life there are major challenges that are faced by large
and small organisations. It is essential to meet the requirements of all employees to lead the
marketplace with competency edge in specific period of time. Many different companies in
international and national market take into consideration the old and contemporary challenges
which are creating obstacles for the business. The main challenges which will be faced in the
Human resource operations will help me to deliver effective practices in business environment of
the company. The following are possible challenges are faced by Marks and Spencer:
 Conflicts- In the functioning of a business, conflicts arise on daily basis, which indirectly
impacts on the operations of business (Harvey and Carpenter, 2020). The conflicts
between employees directly impact on the time period which is taken by the business to
complete a task. In Marks and Spencer, the human resource management is responsible
for handling major conflicts of the company in order to maintain employee development.
The conflict should be maintained in a specific manner for long term growth and
achievement of effective milestones.
 Employee productivity- The employee productivity is a major challenge as most of the
companies in corporate world are unable to utilise potential of the employees. In the
development of whole system or hierarchy of the company, the human resource
management plays a vital role.
 Cultural issues- Due to the presence of large number of employees who come from
different sections of the society. The cultural issues are related to traditions and beliefs of
different sections of the society. In a business like Marks and Spencer, the HR
management is responsible for maintaining effective organisational culture, for
maintaining effective internal environment in the company.
 Health and safety- The health and safety laws related to a business should be
implemented and followed in a precise manner for overall development of the business.
This is a main challenge which takes into consideration a great responsibility of a
company to develop employment legislation. In order to develop effective practices for
maintaining health and safety of employee for developing ethical business.

 Discipline- It is important for a business like Marks and Spencer, to develop discipline in
all the operations and activities. In order to maintain discipline in a precise manner, it is
important for Marks and Spencer to promote discipline in the company. Discipline also
brings stability in the organisation by maintaining full growth of employee productivity.
 Team work and management- The team work and management allocation is also a
major challenge for the organisations like Marks and Spencer to evaluate major practices.
It is also very much crucial for the company to manage team work for economic
development of the company (Jones, 2021). The company can deploy effective
leadership style which is suitable for managing all employees in a systematic manner.
Major companies in market also take into account team work theories like Belbin to
effectively perform different functions.
 Cultural issues- Due to the presence of the dynamic culture of the organisation, in the
organisation much different discrimination arises which are not good for the employees.
The beliefs, traditions and behaviour which is developed by the employees helps a
business to develop different cultural practices that deals with HR issues in a significant
manner.
Strategy of management to deal with them with the use of strengths:
It is compulsory for a business entity like Marks and Spencer to develop perfect and
systematic strategy which is useful in providing effective operations. The Marks and Spencer
will use the following approaches and strategies to overcome different issues at the marketplace:
 Performance management- It is very much crucial for the management to develop
effective performance management in order to develop desired performance of
employees. The management which is present in Marks and Spencer should apply
effective techniques of performance management which are essential for completing
different tasks (Khan and Du, 2017). Top level management of the organisation should
use effective methods that are beneficial in increasing performance of the employees
using various models and theories.
 Skilled and trained employees- In order to overcome various issues at the marketplace,
it is major duty of a business to hire skilled and trained employees. The skilled and

trained employees will perform work in a better manner and will also lead to develop
objectives of the company.
 Human relations theory- The application of this theory in an organisation develops
healthy and effective relationship between different employees. It is the duty of human
resource management of a business to create harmony between employees for systematic
growth of business entity.
 Scientific management theory- The Marks and Spencer company can use this theory to
perform all the functions and tasks in a systematic manner. Scientific management theory
is also a major approach which also brings stability in the business by performing
operations in a quick and accurate manner. In a business, the application of scientific
management theory applies different techniques of performing activities in an universally
adopted manner.
 Motivation- This is the major factor or strategy of a company which increases moral and
mental development of the employees. Motivation is important factor which includes two
major theories like content and process for overall development of the company. The
company can also develop desired motivation in the employees for increasing their
productivity and satisfaction (Liu and Ye, 2019). The major successful companies like
Marks and Spencer rely on content theory of motivation which brings stability in the
company. Motivation is termed as an important factor which brings mental stability in the
mind of employees. The Marks and Spencer, achieves all the objectives with the
application of process theories of motivation in order to gain desired success in
marketplace. The employees of a company should also apply motivation in major fields
like performance and development to achieve main targets of the organisation.
 Cost leadership- This technique will help the business to deliver and provide cost
efficient product to customers (Schmidt, 2017)This leads to increase profitability and
revenue of the company; this also helps to achieve profit in a quick manner of time. The
cost leadership should be developed by the financial management in order to lead the
marketplace. Cost leadership also helps a business to overcome cost related issues at the
marketplace.
 Focus- The focus is an essential component which plays a major role in the development
of whole organisation. Focus of whole company and staff should be on development of

the business firm. Most of the times in business functioning, it is important to focus on
the proper expansion of business. It should be moral responsibility of a company to build
focus on effective elements of business to develop focus on all business operations in
order to gain expansion in the market. Focus of all level of management of Marks and
Spencer should be on achievement of goals and objectives of the company in a countable
manner. The company should regularly motivate all the employees in order to develop
the advantage in a well defined manner.
 Leadership- This is an important technique which helps in management of large number
of employees. The company should perform all the team management operations with the
help of appropriate leadership approach in order to grow at marketplace. It is very much
crucial for a company to select right type of leadership approach which will help the
company to grow in right direction. The democratic style of leadership should be used by
Marks and Spencer in order to develop and formulate major decisions of the organisation.
The company must chose this leadership style because it generally takes into
consideration advice of all team members or employees. This style of leadership is also
helpful in minimising risk associated with the operations. There is a big advantage of
democratic leadership that it helps the organisations to take quick and appropriate
actions. Leadership should be considered as an art by Marks and Spencer to perform all
the operations with competency edge. The company should also select appropriate
leaders with the help of top level management and board of directors to remain stable in
market. Also the company should not use autocratic leadership style as it is not effective
in developing decision making (Xerri, 2017). The autocratic leadership style is a rigid in
nature as it takes into consideration solely by leader which creates problem for the
company. In the recent times, many different companies are taking help of democratic
leadership style in order to maintain stability in market.
 Management hierarchy- The management hierarchy is a major approach which will
help the company to develop organised structure. It is the major role of a company to
develop a distinct hierarchy which is helpful in creating delegation and decentralisation.
Most of the companies try to maintain and develop systematic operations in a timely
manner. The management hierarchy of a company is generally considered as major
approach which is helpful in completion of the work. In the recent times, many

companies try to develop management hierarchy for systematic development of the
business firm. In order to perform decentralisation in the company the management of a
company design effective hierarchy.

CONCLUSION
From the above stated report it can be concluded that in the academic and career related
life personal and professional development play a major role. It is essential for an institution to
focus on development of professional identity in the students for increasing their overall growth.
This project concludes that it is also major and moral duty of a students to develop ethical
practices while maintaining professional and personal development in order to gain success at
the marketplace. It is the major role of human resource management to provide effective
solutions to employee problems and is liable for overall development of the employees. The
above discussion concludes that it is moral duty of management to include, ethical practices that
are effective in development of whole field of operations.

REFERENCES
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Harvey, S. and Carpenter, J.P., 2020. Genesis and change in physical educators’ use of social
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Jones, W.M., 2021. Teachers’ perceptions of a maker-centered professional development
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Schmidt, M.K., 2017. Personal and professional development through internship engagement.
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