University of Sunderland: Personal Development Report for Business

This report details a business student's personal development journey, focusing on enhancing employability skills essential for success in the business world. The report begins by highlighting key skills valued by employers, such as teamwork, communication, and problem-solving, and then reflects on the student's past development through academic and extracurricular activities, including a fundraising project. The student evaluates areas of strength and identifies weaknesses, particularly in organization and multi-cultural working ability, and outlines plans to address these through participation in university clubs, societies, and internship opportunities. A personal development plan for the next 18 months is presented, detailing specific activities aimed at improving skills and preparing for future employment. The report concludes with a summary of the student's objectives and a commitment to continuous learning and skill development, emphasizing the importance of employability in the current job market.

Module Code and Module Title
Title of Assignment
Module Leader’s Name
Your Tutor’s Name (this person will mark your work)
Your name (Family name underlined)
Your Student Number
Date of Submission
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1.0Introduction
Employment skills in this report will refer to a set of achievements, that is
personal features, skills and understandings that improves business
graduates’ likelihood of gaining employment and being successful in their
areas of occupations. These skills will benefit the graduates, fellow
workmates as well as the community. Employability of graduates is a very
vital issue to both the current students, the governments as well as
institutions of higher education. Due to the recent economic recession
followed by firstly expanding higher education, the competition for
employment in the market has intensified.
The major reason for individual investments in the higher learning institutions
is to improve their chances of obtaining jobs. Even though attaining higher
grades is highly valued, market competition has made it insufficient to
warrant securing a job of your choice. Employers expect graduates to possess
several other skills that will empower them to make an immediate impact on
the organisations once employed (Hambrick, 2007).
The focus of this report will be to evaluate my personal development progress
and planning. It will begin with a highlight of some of the skills which are
highly valued when it comes to finding a job. Later, all review my past
developments to date. Afterward, all evaluate areas that need perfection as
well as identify activities that may assist me to develop areas of weakness
during my learning process (Emiliani, 2006).
2.0Personal development planning
2.1Business students key study and employment skills
Of all the careers that I have knowledge of business is one of the areas
that require a diversity of skills. Even though a number of this skills can
be attained by going through the education curriculum and attaining
high grades there are some individual attributes that the students will
need to go an extra mile to perfect. Due to the diversity of the business
world skills such as multi-cultural working ability is very effective when
it comes to improving a graduate’s employability. This though is not an
isolated case, the students still need to possess skills such as effective
communication, good decision making and ability to work as part of a
team (Krishnan, 2008). Other areas such as research, planning, time
management, problem-solving, organisation and enthusiasm also need
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to be considered by students before they can declare themselves
ready to take on the employment market. Due to the vast number of
academic and personal skills that students are demanded to possess
by employers it may not be possible for a student to perfect all the
areas at the university level. Due to this, possessing the willingness to
learn is another skill that is crucial in improving the students’
employability as well as taking their occupation to the top.
2.2Reflection of my personal developments to date
During my time at the University of Sunderland I have managed to
obtain a grasp of several skills through the academic processes and
other learning activities designed by my lecturers. Of notice was my
participation as part of a group which was involved in organising a
fundraising activity for Macmillan Cancer Research based in London.
This is a research centre whose objective is helping people have a good
understanding of the cancer menace. As part of this group I was able to
grasp several attributes which have really assisted in my skill
development.
Being a group task, I learned a lot when it comes to teamwork and is
now able to develop and maintain a positive relationship that is needed
to work as a team and optimise the outcome. Moreover, the research
process enabled me to identify the value of time and the necessity of
managing it, with this comes the aspect of planning as it goes along
with time management. Since we were tasked with being part of the
fundraising organisers we had to communicate our ideas frequently to
the other parties (Nijhof, 2005). This occasionally raised conflict of
interests. The time spent solving the arising problems gave me a
chance to equip myself with problem-solving skills in addition to means
of communicating effectively. With this comes good decision making.
In general, the activity was very helpful in my quest to develop key
employability skills.
2.3 Areas currently being developed
Even though the participation in organising a Harambe gave me an
opportunity to develop my skills, most of the areas need time
before they can be perfected. Now am working around the clock to
sharpen my planning, teamwork, decision making and time
management skills. This is being done by tackling daily issues that
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arise in my academic as well as professional life. The CV attached in
my appendix gives more information regarding my skills so far.
2.4 Areas that need development
Even though my development progress to date has been impressive, I
still have a few weaknesses that need to be addressed before I can feel
fully equipped to handle a job in the business world. One of my major
weakness is organisation. Currently I have low ability to utilise
resources optimally and feel this area need improvement. In addition to
this, I have little experience with cultural diversity and feel I may not
possess enough skills when it comes to multi-cultural working ability.
Furthermore, I may wish to improve my enthusiasm when undertaking
tasks that are crucial but out of my hobbies bracket. Finally, I feel the
need to improve my willingness to learn so I can be flexible in handling
issues arising in the business world (Neubaum, et al., 2009). More
information in this area will be obtained in the resume attached in the
appendix.
2.5 Learning and skill development opportunities while at the university
Apart from attending lectures, the University of Sunderland offers
several avenues that students can pursue to assist them further their
employability skills. The school has several clubs and societies that are
associated with a diverse range of people and tasks. This though is not
the only avenue that I can use to learn, during the holidays the school
allows its students with the help of their lecturers to secure temporary
internship opportunities. This programme assists students to have a
glimpse of what employers’ demand as well as give room for students
to work together with people of diverse cultures (Paucar-Caceres,
2008).
Another opportunity that can assist student gain some useful
employability skills is actively being involved in organising students’
programmes. This may range from students’ meetings, students’
library operating programmes as well as assist plan for special events
like entertainments within the school. All these areas together with
others not mentioned in my report are useful paths that students can
pursue to develop additional employability skills that they are not able
to acquire from lectures (Podolny, 2009).
2.6 Avenues for improvements that I intend to pursue
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As part of my development programme I intend to join one club and
one society to assist me to develop some vital skills. One society of
interest that I have singled out is the African Caribbean society. This is
an old society in the University of Sunderland that aims to promote,
educate as well as aspire Sunderland regarding the diversity of the
African and Caribbean cultures (Presmus, Sanders and Jain, 2003). The
target is the creation of cohesion and a sense of unity. Being an
African as well as Caribbean society that accept people of all races I
believe this is the right place to acquire some multi-cultural working
ability. My deficiency in this area together with the desire to learn more
regarding other cultures is what has motivated me to join this group
(Tsurumi, 2005). Also, I intend to join the debating club to assist me to
gain some enthusiasm. I usually do admire the level of psych shown by
students during their debating sessions. Finally, to further my
organisation skills I intend to seek an internship during my holidays to
learn resource distribution and optimisation.
My general assumption is that by pursuing these three avenues all be
able to participate actively in their operations and position myself to
acquire some of the skills which I currently lack.
Considering that I may face some difficulties securing internships due
to the market competition for jobs, I intend to seek some assistance
from my lecturers to secure the same opportunity within the university.
As a business student I have acquired some skills which can be useful
to the university departments. The school on the other hand can give
me an opportunity to improve my skills (Woollard, Zhang and Jones,
2007).
2.7 My personal development plan for the next 12-18 months
Table 1: Personal development plan for the next 18 months
period Task Activity Objective
May-
July
Join the
African
Caribbean
Society
 Hold sessions
with students
to teach them
about the
African and
Caribbean
 Strengthen
my multi-
cultural
working
ability skills
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cultures.
 Organise group
activities
where students
get to socialise
and learn
about each
other’s
cultures
 Attend
meetings to
discuss
upcoming
group activities
and review
past tasks
July-
Feb
Be part of the
debating club
 Attend
debating
training
sessions
 Participate in
debating
competitions
among the
students.
 Assist in the
organisation of
the group
upcoming
events.
 Boost my
enthusiasm
regarding
diverse
areas of
learning.
 Sharpen my
communicati
on skills
Feb-
August
Secure an
internship
 Undertake
tasks assigned
by the
managers of
the enterprise.
 Practise
 Acquire
organisation
skills.
 Sharpen my
time keeping
skills.
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timekeeping.
 Train on my
organisation
abilities
 Sharpen my
teamwork
skills.
3 Conclusion
Employment is the target of most of the students currently undertaking
graduate programmes. Whether you intend to pursue self-employment or
seek a vacancy in some of the already developed firms there are skills out of
the normal academic qualifications that you will need. The market trends
combined with the increased number of people investing in higher learning
have made competition for jobs stiff. With this educational excellence is no
longer enough to guarantee employment. To improve my employability
attributes, I have undertaken a personal development initiative to acquire the
necessary skills that will improve my value to the potential employers.
Through the assistance of my lecturers I have been able to participate is
some helpful activities as far as my mission is concerned (Shweta, 2012). The
participation in the Macmillan fundraising was a curtain raiser to my
objectives. The task opened my eyes to a diverse number of experiences
which saw me gain massively when it comes to personal skills.
From learning time management, teamwork, planning, research and decision
making all the way to equipping myself with crucial proper communication
attributes. I intend to make this just the beginning of my skill acquisition
programme. To further my aims of improving my employability I went ahead
to identify other areas of weaknesses and means to strengthen them by
participating in several university programmes. I intend to get involved in a
club as well as social activities within the school. The African Caribbean
society being singled out (Cranmer, 2006). Finally, I will seek internship
opportunities within or outside the university. All this are aimed at assisting
me to develop personal as well as professional skills necessary for propelling
my occupation to greater heights. To achieve these targets all will have to
rely on the help of my teachers as well of those of fellow students hence I
intend to make both my close associates from now onwards (Latisha and
Surina, 2010).
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References
Cranmer, S., 2006. Enhancing graduate employability: Best intentions and mixed
outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 169-184.
Emiliani, M., 2006. Improving management education. Quality Assurance in
Education, 14(4), pp. 363-84.
Hambrick, D., 2007. The field of management’s devotion to theory: too much of a
good thing. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6), pp. 1346-53.
Krishnan, V., 2008. Impact of MBA education on students’ values: two
longitudinal studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 83(2), pp. 233-46.
Latisha, A.S. and Surina, N., 2010. Employability awareness among Malaysian
undergraduates. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(8), pp.
119-123.
Neubaum, D.D., Pagell, M., Drexler, J.A. Jr, McKee-Ryan, F.M. and Larson, E.,
2009. Business education and its relationship to student personal moral
philosophies and attitudes toward profits: an empirical response to critics.
Academy of Management Learning and Education, 8(1), pp. 9-24.
Nijhof, W., 2005. Lifelong learning as a European skill formation policy. Human
Resource Development Review, 4(4), pp. 401-17.
Paucar-Caceres, A., 2008. Mapping the structure of MBA (AMBA-accredited
programmes) in the UK and France. International Journal of Educational
Management, 22(2), pp. 184-209 .
Podolny, J., 2009. Are business schools to blame, s.l.: Harvard Business Review.
Presmus, R., Sanders, N. and Jain, R. K., 2003. Role of the university in regional
economic development: the US experience. International Journal of Technology
Transfer and Commercialization, 2(4), pp. 369-83.
Shweta, T., 2012. SKILLS, COMPETENCIES AND EMPLOYABILITY THROUGH
BUSINESS EDUCATION. Journal of Management & Research, 6(4/4), pp. 1-13.
Tsurumi, Y., 2005. Dysfunctional corporations and flawed business education in
America. Japanese Journal of Administrative Science, 18(3), pp. 179-92.
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Woollard, D., Zhang, M. and Jones, O., 2007. Academic enterprise and regional
economic growth: towards an enterprising university. Industry and Higher
Education, 21(6), pp. 387-403.
4 Appendix
An up to data Annotated CV
David Salmond
Address: Kingstreet, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NF14 2FT
Telephone Number: [phone] Home:
[phone](mobile)
Nationality: British
Education
2014-Present University of Sunderland-BSc. Business
2006-2014 Queens School of Accountancy, Sunderland
GCSEs May 2005
Biology B, Physics B, General Studies C, Business Studies A, Mathematics A,
English B
Short course GCSEs, May 2004
Employment
30th May 2014-Present Quicksale limited (Part time, Evenings and
weekends)
Agency Department, setting up functions and
answering customer queries.
Jan – May 2014 Wellbull wholesale, Sunderland (part time, weekends)
Customer care services
Personal Statement
Am I a cheerful, honest and humble hardworking individual who derives
satisfaction by
working with others as well as alone. I am an ambitious person who sets up
high skills
for myself so I can be able to develop my skills further.
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I aspire to be part of a business world which will ensure consumers derive
quality and
quantity in their quest for services.
Interests
Attending rock concerts and festivals
Yoga and gym
Singing in the university band
Travelling and touring
Playing basketball
References
Mrs Beckham Dr. Joe Hellen
Principal CEO
Queens School of Accountancy Quicksale limited
Sunderland City Sunderland
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
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