Professional Development Plan and Career Goals for MBA Student

This assignment presents a detailed professional development plan crafted by an MBA student at an Australian university, focusing on a career in tourism management. The student identifies strengths such as willpower and empathy, while acknowledging weaknesses in communication and self-confidence. The plan outlines career goals, including becoming a successful marketing or operations manager within a tourism company, and emphasizes the importance of developing skills in communication, cross-cultural management, and geographical knowledge. The student utilizes a SWOT analysis, and the four stages of competence model to assess their current skill level and plan for continuous improvement. The assignment also highlights the student's values of honesty and empathy, as well as ethical considerations for professional conduct. The student aims to develop a strong client base and improve their understanding of the tourism industry, with a focus on overcoming personal weaknesses and achieving long-term career success.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Professional Development
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
I am currently studying in one of the most renowned universities in Australia. I wish to
work as a manager in the future years. I have enrolled myself in the course of business masters of
business management. I have been very active in group-based works right from my childhood. I
always try to make sure that I am being able to take up the challenges that are thrown in front of
me and work hard so that I can reach up to the mark of excellence. I always try to make sure that
I am being able to move forward with the joint collaborative effort of all my team members so
that I get all the important business deals to get the desired outcomes of the work. However, I
have some issues in the communication area. I have been born and brought up in a different
background than my current place of studies. In other words, I have been born and brought up in
an Asian background where I was not exposed to the English speaking or the multi-lingual
background. Therefore I have some issues in understanding and also respond to the group
activities or the different lectures that are often conducted during the seminars or the workshops
at our University.
I have completed my high school course and enrolled myself in the field of masters of
business administration. I have undertaken this course at my University or my graduation level. I
feel that this will help me in getting a very good exposure. I have realized after joining this
foreign University that it is a very good platform for my future career and for being a good and
ideal manager. I have been able to get the management lesson from all the renowned professors
and have been able to get useful tips from them. I am a fresher in the professional field and I do
not have such experience. However, I feel that the internship project that the University arranged
for us has been very helpful as it helped me to understand the actual complications that can arise
in the practical business setup. It was very knowledge ale to work as a leader in the team during
the internship. As per my perception, this has very essential in understanding the areas of

3PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
strength and the areas of weakness that I have. This has helped me in understanding the different
measures that I need to take up in the future to solve the weakness that is present within me.
In the modern-day scenarios, MBA is one of the most sought after courses. I feel that I
am thankful as I have been able to get an admission here. The good signs are that after
completing an MBA from the renowned B schools in Australia people will be able to get good
jobs in well-known companies like Aldi, Woolworths, Deloitte, and many others. As per the QS
TopMBA Jobs & Salary Trends Report 2014/15, Australia is the Top Payer (Pires, 2018). I will
be able to get good jobs in any of these companies after I can complete the course with good
marks. However, it is also essential to know that on the modern-day scenario many students from
different parts of the world are trying to take part in the business management courses. It is for
this reason that the aspiring candidates must be able to take up the course very seriously and also
make sure that they are not wasting their `time. Just like any other educational courses, there are
both good and the bad aspects of MBA course as well. There is always the need for going an in-
depth research and development before getting enrolled in any of the business courses.
This is mainly because some meltdowns are going on around in China and also in
Greece; it is for this fact that there is some good and prominent scope in these two fields.
However, students who are taking up their course in the other specialized management fields are
also doing well and can get good employment opportunities. In the same time, they have to make
sure that they are properly choosing their fields of education so that they can find good
employment opportunities in the long run that are after completing their studies. However, in the
beginning, I thought that I will be taking up the course in hospital administration as a specialized
course for my MBA course. However, I realized that I am poor in the communication field and I
have to work hard to attain success in that field. However, it was suggested by my professor that

4PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
there is a good scope for me in the field of the tourism sector. This is because I have a good idea
in the art of understanding the geographical locations and the tourist activities that are going on
currently in different parts of the world. I like to browse about the different events and the
festivals that are going on around in a different part of the world.
At the same time, I like to travel to many new places. Therefore this would be an added
advantage for my future career, I will be able to do good if I take this as my future career. It must
be noted in this context that there are good MBA schools and the B-Schools in Australia to carry
on the course of management studies. Thus it can be said that Australia is a moderately safe
place for undertaking the course of management in tourism. Therefore it is evident that while
taking up the course of masters in the field of administration in any of the management schools
in Australia one must be able to study the job market in the current and also the future scope of
getting employment in the companies in Australia and also in the other parts of the world.

5PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In the next three or four years, I see myself placed as one of the successful marketing
manager or the operations manager working in any of the top well-known tourism company in
Australia.
Where I see
myself
The goals and
expectations of
clients
Own career goals How well they fit
each other
Time frame
I want to
establish myself
as a successful
marketing
manager
Clients will also
expect that I can
understand all
their doubts and
solve them in a
very quick and
easy manner.
My own career
goal is also to
develop myself
as a successful
manager in the
tourism
company. To do
this, I will have
to develop my
communication
skill, team
working skill and
also domain
skills.
As per my
perception, these
two goals will be
fitting well next
to each other as I
will be trying to
find out the areas
of my weakness
and then
overcome them
to
I will try to
accomplish this
goal within the
coming 4 months
I want to develop
the client base
The clients or the
customers living
I want to develop
my skill in the
These two goals
will be placed
2 months

6PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
both on the local
and the global
level.
in different parts
of the world both
from Australia
and other parts of
the world will try
to use the
products and the
services of this
company. The
customers in the
modern-day
scenario are
looking for some
better services
different
geographical
areas and the
tourism activities
that are being set
up in those
places. Along
with this, I will
also take up the
communication
classes and the
cross-cultural
management
courses so that I
can develop
myself as a
successful
tourism manager.
very well side by
side each other
and I will be able
to strike a
balance between
the two and
make sure that I
am being able to
accomplish my
goals

7PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The professional's values that I would like to follow are-
Honesty
I will always try to stay honest and make sure that I am not treating my team members or my
employees with any bad temper or rude behavior. I will always try to understand the queries
being caused by the team members and solve them immediately.
Empathy
As per my perception empathy is one of the most important skills that must be present within
each of the working professionals. As I want to work as a manager I will always try to treat my
employees or my co-workers as my followers and not as my subordinates. I will always try to
develop a friendly and approachable nature. I will try to take with each of my team members to
know their problems
Cross-cultural management is also of utmost importance in the modern-day scenario. I will
also undertake many cross-cultural development training systems so that I can understand the
culture and the belief of all the employees. As a manager, it is essential to respect all the
employees irrespective of their social, religious and technological backgrounds.
I would also like to abide by a strict set of ethics that will be helping me to manage the work
properly. To do that I will have to make sure that I am abiding by the set of ethics that follows-
 To make sure that all the employee details are being stored with strict confidentiality. As
a manager, I will have to ensure that the personal details about any of the employees or
the customers are not being given away to anyone. In other words, I will always try to

8PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
make sure that I am being able to stay with the employees and provide them all the
possible resources for overcoming their shortcomings and their skill gaps as well.


9PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage
1Unconscious
Incompetence
or
Unconsciously
Unskilled
2 – Conscious
Incompetence
or Consciously
Unskilled
Stage 3 –
Conscious
Competence or
Consciously
Skilled
Stage 4 –
Unconscious
Competence or
Unconsciously
Skilled
Stage 5 –
Continuous
Improvement or
Complacency
I am aware of all
the strengths and
the areas of
drawbacks
present with me,
I will thus be
able to work on
er the same. For
instance, I have
realized that I am
good at being
empathetic with
my co-workers. I
can always stay
by their side and
help them deal
I am able to
achieve the skill
set of this stage, I
have been able to
develop the
method of
understanding
the weaknesses
in myself and I
know how to
work towards
overcoming them
and achieving
them.
I have gained
good proficiency
in this aspect as I
feel that I have
been able to
develop the
conscious
competence, I
have the
willingness to
learn and also
perform the
different skills
I have realized
that I have a skill
gap in this part as
I am not very
good at teaching
or coaching skills
to others. I have
some
communication
issues and I fell
that I will not be
able to speak
properly in front
of a large
number of
people.
I have realized
that I want to
develop myself
and follow the
method of
continuous
improvement
strategy but I
lack in self-
confidence.

10PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
with their issues.
This is my
strength.
On the other
hand, my
weakness is a
lack of
communication
skill.
Therefore I will
have to develop
myself in this
aspect
Personal SWOT
Strength
`My biggest strength is my willpower and my supportive nature. I have realized that I am
always ready to face any kinds of challenges and get to reach to the solution of the same. I have
to make sure that I am not taking a back step even if there are several challenges in front of me.
Weakness
I lack self-confidence and this can turn out to be one of the major problems. I have to
make sure that I am being able to overcome this. To do that I will be taking part in many of the
team development activity so that I can develop my self-confidence, I will also make sure to take
part in many group discussion sessions and the personal interview session as well. This will help
me in getting rid of the lack of self-confidence. I will also have to work over my anger issues.
Often under pressure, I get tensed and cannot keep my calm. This is a major threat to my future

11PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
career. I will have to take sure that I am being able to support my team members and take care of
them at every point o time.
Opportunity
I am empathetic and I can take care of all the needs and demands of my team members.
This is one of the major opportunities that will be helping me to get a good and well-established
career for myself in the future. As I want to work as a manager in the tourism department I will
have to deal with many clients and understand their needs and their demands. I will have to make
sure that I am being able to talk to them and also understand their queries.
Threat
My communication skills is poor as I have noit been exposed to the English speaking
environment. As a result of this I feel that this can turn out to be one of the major setbacks in my
career as a member, English is a Global language and in order to establish myself as a good
manager in near future I will have to develop the art of speaking and make sure that I am being
able to interact properly with all the different team members and understand their queries. This
will help me in understanding the client needs and provide apt and quick solutions to them.

12PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Action Plan
What I want to
achieve
Resources
needed
Feedback system Desired output Time frame
Work over
communication
skills
I will take part in
many group
discussion and
team-based
activities. Apart
from this, I will
also enroll
myself in the
communicative
English classes s
that I can
develop the
competency in
speaking in
English
I will carry in
taking feedback
from my coach
that is the
trainers and also
from my
immediate
colleagues and
my team
members
The desired
output is that it
will help me to
develop
competency in
English which is
a Globally
accepted
business
language. This
will help me in
terms of business
meetings
3months
Work
overconfidence
level
I will have to
take proper
training from the
experienced
teachers and the
I will be taking
feedback from
my colleagues
and also maintain
a track of self-
I will be able to
work with proper
precision without
suffering from
any panic pr
3 moths