Personal & Professional Development: Analysis, Plan & Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive overview of personal and professional development, encompassing self-managed learning, lifelong learning strategies, and motivational theories. It begins with an introduction to the concept of personal and professional growth, emphasizing the importance of self-managed learning and the application of various learning approaches such as Honey & Mumford learning styles and Kolb's experiential learning cycle. The report then explores ways to encourage lifelong learning, including reading, industry analysis, and SWOT analysis for professional contexts. It further details the benefits of self-managed learning for individuals and organizations. Task 2 focuses on a skills audit, personal SWOT analysis, and the creation of a personal and career development plan. Finally, Task 3 delves into motivational theories and the application of time management strategies. The report provides a thorough analysis of each aspect, offering insights and practical strategies for enhancing personal and professional growth.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1. Approaches to self managed learning.................................................................................3
2. Proposed ways to encourage lifelong learning for personal and professional development4
3. Benefits of self managed learning......................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
1 & 2 Skills audit and activity require to develop it...............................................................6
3. Personal SWOT analysis....................................................................................................7
4. Activity required to implement the development plan.......................................................8
5. Personal and career development plan...............................................................................8
6. Personal development plan after critical reflection............................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
1. Motivational theory..........................................................................................................10
2. Letter for communication solution...................................................................................11
3. Effectiveness of the purposed time management strategies.............................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development means to learn and implement new things with
the help of teachers, supervisors and mentor. It is a type of plan which is prepared in order to
achieve the goal, strategies and outcomes which are targeted within a given time frame.
Difference will be there in plans that are made by different individuals. This includes training
sessions which can be formal or informal. It also involves reading, communication, meeting with
colleagues, learning skills and knowledge which will be used in future planning. The most
important aim of an individual is to develop its mind because everything in life is done by the
use of mind and the way it operates. For presenting my views and opinions on self-managed
learning, enhancement of lifelong development, the way I would take the responsibility of my
own personal and professional development will be explained.

TASK 1
1.1
Self-managed learning is the mode of learning in which people applies different
techniques of learning new things which they do not know. I am also preparing myself for
learning new things with the support of my teachers, family members, friends and colleagues.
The aim is to get some valuable things from the professional learning. Self-managed learning
practice is helping me in identifying my needs and in developing my views on learning
(Gijselaers, 2013). The environment in which learning is provided is supporting me with full of
energy and enthusiasm. There are different learning approaches through which self-managed
learning can be enhanced such as:
Honey & Mumford Learning styles:
This is one of the most effective learning which mainly covers 4 type of learning styles
i.e. Activist, theorist, pragmatist and reflector. Honey and Mumford stated different qualities of
all these people. In this, activists learn by doing things they learn from practical experience while
Theorist always understands theory behind action. These types of learners require different
theories and models to learn. In addition to this, Pragmatist put their learning into real world and
makes their experience from this. Lastly, reflector learns by observing and thinking about what
happened. These are the different ways of learning in which I am a Pragmatist and I use to put
my learning into real world. It is the best way through which individuals can learn and enhance
their experience in a far better way.
Seminars and Conferences:
It is another most effective way to enhance the self-managed learning. By attending
various seminars, people can apply those things in their life to make their future better. It
enhances their knowledge as well as understanding and makes them confident about their
communication as well as presentation skills. By attending seminars and take participation in
conferences I am able to enhance my knowledge and expertise in various areas.
Kolb's Experimental learning cycle
As per Kolb's Experimental learning cycle, there are four phases which I am going to
apply in my learning sessions. Among all of them, the first is “Concrete experience” that is
related to feeling of doing something and gaining experience. At this stage I will learn through
the knowledge which is given in the classroom and I will also learn through my experiences with

my teachers (Jogulu, 2010). The second part of learning life cycle is “Reflective Observation”.
In this stage, I will observe the views and proposed ways to encourage lifelong learning for
personal and professional development. Third stage is “Abstract Conceptualization” which
provides a reflection to rise in new ideas as well as modification of existing ideas. Last stage is
called “Active Experimentation” in which leaners applied them to around the world and see the
results. These four stages are presented by Kolb by which individual can enhance their learning
experience and knowledge as well.
2.
Lifelong learning is one of the most crucial and significant parts of the development
process of an individual. It is the process which encourages a person to cultivate the interest of
continuous learning or grabbing opportunities to learn new things. In order to enhance my
professional development within competitive world, I will efficiently adopt lifelong learning
process for my personal and professional development which will help me to attain wide
prospects of growth and success. This measure will help me in enhancing my employability
skills as well. In order to encourage lifelong learning, I will efficiently focus on the learning
cycle.
Life-long learning methods in a personal context
I will effectively read books and newspapers in order to keep myself updated with the
latest happening around the world. Moreover, reading books will help me in brushing up my
theories and concepts regarding various topics for example marketing, human resource
management, etc. (Coetzee, 2007). Apart from this, I will develop a habit of analysing industry
growth and professional factors which would help the business and people to grow within
competition. I will try to develop and cultivate my skills to enhance my competitiveness within
market. Taking regular and timely feedback from industry experts and experienced person may
prove to be yet another effective measure for enhancing my professional growth.
Life-long learning methods in a Professional context
There are various ways through which life-learning can be enhanced within the professional
career such as:
SWOT Analysis: It is the most effective method through which I am able to identify my
strength, weaknesses as well as threats and opportunities with reference to my professional
career. Through this, I can raise my confidence level and try to well work with the organization.

By identifying my weaknesses within the context of my professional life I always try to
overcome with the same. Further, it can be determine that it is the most effective tool which
reflects the personality of individuals and help them in to make necessary changes for
professional growth.
Self-Reflective Learning: With the help of this method individual can learn several new
things and easily develop their work and personal skills. In this technique, opinion of other
people as well as judgment can take into consideration. It is the most effective method to better
develop the plan.
3.
Self-managed learning is one of the most significant parts for enhancing the knowledge
and success of an individual. It will help a person in creating a wide impact on the overall
development of business along with his or her professional success.
Benefits of self-managed learning to an individual
By adopting self-managed learning, I will effectively create a wide impact on the growth
prospects of my own career and employability. It will help in brushing up my theoretical
concepts which will make me confident and competitive as well. It will be easy for me to
understand the theories and concepts of various terms and strategies as well. I will be able to
present myself in an efficient manner as better and effective knowledge of the subject will
enhance this ability of person. Apart from this, self-managed learning is a well appreciated
quality by companies. This strategy will help me in enhancing the employment opportunities. In
this manner, this can save the training costs and time for my employers.
Through the opinions obtained from my teachers and friends and fellow participants I
will analyse myself. It will help in articulating the reflections in a proper way that will help me to
use the same in future as well. Doing own reflection is not adequate enough for professional
development (Hughes and Youngson, 2009). The third life cycle product is “Abstract
Conceptualization” which says that the plan for future learning can be based on the experiences
gained in current learning sessions which can be obtained by reading literature, books and
theories as well as by being present at the staff development and other activities. The last life
cycle stage is “Active Experimentation” which includes making plans to try and apply whatever
we have learned in the professional training and development programs. As per Honey and
Mumford life style, the topology is linked with Activist who prefers doing experimentation. The

reflector who observes and reflects, theorist who wants to understand and underline the reasons,
concepts and relationships and at last, the pragmatists likes to have a go and try to do things to
see if they work or not.
Benefits of self-managed learning to an organisation
With the help of self-managed learning individual can enhance their skills and
capabilities. It helps the organizations in several ways such as:
Firms can easily discover the motivated and confidence person within their organization
and try to boost personality with the same. It is also fruitful in decision making process and helps
the company in providing better services to their customers.
Self-managed learning allows individuals for their personal and professional
development by fulfilling all their responsibilities in an effective way. However, it is highly
beneficial for company as they are able to provide high quality services to their customers. They
can become more ethical and improve their brand image within the mindset of customers.
Further, it is being stated that self-managed learning will allow the organization to develop their
employees as per their set responsibilities and easily meet out the given deadlines of work.

TASK 2
1 & 2
Knowledge and skill which I consider to
be important for my current studies
My ability rating (1-5)
 Reading
 IT skills
 Writing skill
 Presentation skill
 I am giving three ratings to
reading skills because of I
can read easily and
understand the meaning of
those lines.
 I am able to use the skills of
IT at some extent of
technology so, I rate it as 3.
 I am giving 2 rating to my
writing skills because I am
not very good to use this
skill.
 Presence of presentation
skills is also essential so that
more confidence and
effectiveness can be
achieved.
Knowledge and skills which I consider
to be important for my future career
My ability rating (1-5)
 Communication skill
 Time management
 Operational skill
 Leadership skill
 I feel that my communication
skill is good and I can use it
in the best way.
 I am familiar with time
management strategies and I
can manage my time

effectively.
 I am having less awareness
about the operations of
business so, I rated it as 2.
 Leadership skill is another
quality in which I can
manage people as a team
leader thus; I give it rating as
4.
I consider many skills which are important for my future career and rating them will help
in identifying where I am standing right now rate them according analyses myself.Skills can be
improved by doing some activity in order to get better outcomes. There are some fields in which
I am required to develop myself by training or other methods (Bolton, 2010). My skills can be
enhanced by using below given activities:
 Training and development programmes
 Evaluating work of team members
 Analysing and preparing data

3.
SWOT analysis helps me in finding new strengths and weaknesses into current skills as
well as opportunities and threats with these skills.
Strength Weakness
Presentations
Problem solving
Leadership
Communication skill
Decision making
Lack of knowledge about technical work
Absence of clear objectives
Opportunity Threats
Growth in business
Better management of people
Advantage with enhancing skills
Knowledge and experience
Strong competition
Changes in technology
I am a quick decision maker which is the need of today's business world so; it will help
me in taking better decisions for my business. Good communication and leadership quality will
help me in better handling of team members and would support in guiding them in a better way.
Apart from that, these skills will help my organization in gaining growth in highly competitive
market. I can solve problems of my co-workers very quickly so, it will create opportunity for me
to enhance my skill.
I have lack of knowledge about technical work which can impact on my growth because
it is necessary in the organization (Craft, 2002). Another weakness is absence of clear goals and
objectives and this can be a threat for my organization because every work needs some targets.

4.
It is necessary to identify career opportunities in order to decide the working area. I set
improvement in knowledge about technical work as my long term objective and for achieving it
successfully; I can undertake activities such as research on particular field or by getting practical
experience. It will help me in better understanding about technical work in organizations.
Another objective is to improve writing skills in order to become well verse in this particular
field. It can improve my reading of books and journals. I can read such document at library and
at my home. These will help me in getting knowledge about different issues. So, on the basis of
this knowledge, I can write effectively. I also focus on improving my oral and verbal
communication through writing and speaking practices (Masters and Wallace, 2010). These help
me in regulating information in better ways.
It needs daily practice in order to become well verse in all the above activities. These
help me to understand personal as well as organizational objectives so that I can decide future
plan in order to achieve the objective within provided time period. In order to implement the
development plan there are various activities which are required such as:
Step 1: Prioritization of tasks and settings of goals and objectives
Step 2: Research on particular topic or field as well
Step 3: Attending seminars and conferences
Step 4: Physical exercises
5.
Personal and career development plan helps in finding my needs and interest for
particular area and sources by which these needs can be fulfilled. These help me in finding my
objectives and goals so that accordingly, I can plan to achieve them (Moon, 2013). For finding
personal and career opportunity, following method is suitable:
What are my
Objectives (long
and short term)
Success criteria Activity require
to undertake
Implementation Time period
Improve
knowledge about
technical work
To become well
verse in technical
work
- Researches
- Experiencing
this work
Through reading
books and
articles.
6 months

Getting practical
working
experience.
Improve writing
skills
To make
understandable
documents
Reading of books
and journals
Schedule for
Weekly library
study
4-5 months
Better
communication
To keep good verbal
and oral
communication
Speaking, writing
and reading
Practices of
communicating
by using all
medium.
5-6 months
For monitoring and evaluating my technical knowledge about work after a fixed time
period, I would set some parameters by which I would come to know about increase in particular
field. I also ask my team leader or teacher to rate my performance as compared to the previous
one. I will divide my work in different parts and then I will set the time period for achieving
them and to evaluate my work after some time so that actual position can be identified. I can
monitor my writing practices by checking it from journalists or experts. I can also take
suggestions from them for effective writing. I can evaluate my writing skill by getting feedback
from friends or relatives (Day, Kington and Sammons, 2006). To monitor my verbal
communication skill, I can speak with person who is a professional speaker. I can evaluate my
communication skill by taking reviews and feedback of experts and friends.

6.
I set my objectives previously and targeted to attain them in time of six months but some
of them required more time to be accomplished. As compared to decided target, only 80% of
them are achieved because of less time. I also decided to change my monitoring and controlling
style because I need to bring more accuracy in my professional work. I decided to develop a new
personal development programme to gain more skills below details are for new PDP:
What are my
Objectives (long
and short term)
Success criteria Activity require to
undertake
Implementation Time
period
Knowledge about
technical work
To become expert
in this work
Working with
organizations
Research on
technical work of
the organizations
2-3 Months
Better verbal
communication
For guiding team
members
Taking advises
from seniors and
referring
communicational
programmes
Attaining
communication
sessions
2-4 Months
For preparing new development programme, I have chosen two areas in which I need
improvement for attaining the desired goals. These are knowledge of technical work and
improvement in verbal communication (Lessing and De Witt, 2007). To fulfil these targets, extra
time is required which is 2-4 months for both the fields. For improving my technical work, I
would prefer working with organization as it will help me in getting practical knowledge about
this field. For attaining this criterion, time will also be needed to increase and thus, 2-3 months
more are required. For improving verbal communication, I would like to attain communication
programmes and it will take time of two to four months.

TASK 3
1.
It can be stated that in the present task, interpersonal skills needs to be developed and maintained
so that best relationship can be developed. However, it helps business to support and influence
trust and cooperation so that conflicts and issues can be managed effectively and efficiently. In
the current scenario, Global link UK organization has been undertaken which is a advertising
company and thus it has been poorly performing from quite some period of time and its profit
margin is also declining.
As given in the case study, organization is facing problems because of lack of proper
motivational system. It is resulting to fall in profit margin continuously. So, company should
apply Maslow's hierarchy theory for motivating its employees. According to this theory,
employees need to fulfil their own needs with the fulfilment of business requirements. So,
company should provide them base salary and good working condition in order to motivate them
to achieve the organizational target. These needs are defined as the physiological need of
employees and it also includes food, water and shelter (Lown, Newman and Hatem, 2009). When
these needs are fulfilled, employees require safety for the work from organization’s side such as
work safety, job security and insurance. They also want to fulfil their personal need along with
the organization needs such as freedom of work and freedom of choice. It can be assessed that
business is facing issues of lack of proper motivational system. Thus, business is required to
provide proper motivational benefits to its workers so that desired results can be attained. For
instance, HR department of the organization is required to determine the needs and wants of its
workers and then provide them proper benefits and rewards in the form of monetary as well as
non-monetary so that desired outcomes can be generated. For this, firm adopts Maslow
Hierarchy needs that helps in identifying the needs of individual and provide them best choice so
that results can be attained. Thus, it helps firm to overcome the problem and satisfy the needs of
workers by motivating them.
Further, employees need belongingness from co-workers, supervisors, teams and clients
and personally from family and friends. These motivate employees to work for organization to
get maximum margin. At the next level, company should provide esteem needs to employees
such as responsibility, status, recognition, approval of community and friends. This also helps to
motivate the employees. Last thing that company should do to motivate its employees is

providing them growth, training, advancement, etc. So, company should adopt Maslow’s
hierarchy theory to motivate its employees towards achieving goals and objectives of individuals
as well as of the organization (Malm, 2009).
2. (a)
To,
CEO, Global link, UK
From last few months our organization is suffering from the issues of high staff turnover. In that
regard there is a need to organize a meeting with all the staff members and the management
people so that solution can be discovered. . Because of such problems; our profit margin falls
continuously so we need to dis on these problems. We are facing high level of absenteeism of
employees from work so we need to take some strict actions. We also have to take decision
about the way to motivate our employees so that they would work for achieving organizational
goals (Charleson, 2012). We also have to take decision about implementation process of such
strategies.
We have conducted research to know the reasons behind this performance of company
and we found that employee’s motivation level is very low and it is the main reason for this
condition. We have also found that employees have very little opportunity for training and
development so they face problems in understanding the work and it ultimately affected the
growth of company. So, we request you to please arrange meeting with all management staff as
soon as possible.
Regards,
Business consultant (UK location)

2. (b)
As given in the case study, there is high level of absenteeism. So, it is important to apply
such strategies in order get the desired results in the fixed time period. Effectiveness of these
strategies helps company in many ways such as:
 To achieve its goal on time – Effective time management strategies help organization in
achieving its target within time period. By using such strategy, work can be divided into
group of employees and time limit can also be fixed for the complete task (Hughes and
Youngson, 2009). Company should give some extra benefits to employees when they
complete their work within time so that they can motivate them towards completion of
task.
 To keep control over performance of individual – Effective time management helps a
company to keep control over the performance of employees and also supports in
monitoring them. Company should maintain the task list so that individual performance
can be measured and contribution in team work can also be checked (Wallace, 2010). On
this basis, company can reward the best performer by giving monetary benefits to them.

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Add one more slide with a summary

3.
It can be evaluated that it is essential for business to undertake effectual time management
strategies so that performance of business can be enhanced. Further, prioritizing the task,
scheduling of work etc. that helps in developing proper planning and allocation of business
activities so that desired outcomes can be generated. While, delegating the task to
subordinates also helps Global Link to delegate the authority to others so that best actions
can be attained.
Set priorities activities can be organized through employing effective management team so that
they helps in managing all the operations in business and carry out the task effectively and
efficiently. It is essential to organize such task efficiently so that best outcomes can be
attained.
Setting the priorities went best for me so that I was able to overcome the issues faced within
business in regard to complete the crucial task earlier.
I assessed that it is essential for me to delegate the responsibilities effectively so that best
individual could perform it.

I will develop my skills and abilities and organize the task effectively so that best results can be
attained in future and satisfy the needs of consumers.
CONCLUSION
Personal and professional development is one of the most crucial and significant parts of
the success of individual and business. Increasing market competition has resulted in increasing
the demand for trained and effective employees within business units. The companies seek
competitive workforce in order to create a competitive edge within market. This measure helps
the individual and organization in filling the gap between what people have and what company
requires. Being a student, this measure helped me in gaining a huge impact on the employment
opportunity. The above report develops a deep insight about the factors that are associated with
the professional development of a person and strategies that can help him/her in gaining market

success. The overall analysis of report helped me in creating an effective impact on
understanding effective means and measures to grow within competitive scenario. The report
withdrew an effective map representing the theoretical and practical needs as well as
requirements of a person. The study helped me in effectively understanding and analyzing the
needs and requirements for successful career in the present era.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Bolton, G., 2010. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. SAGE.
Charleson, B., 2012. Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy. SAGE.
Coetzee, M., 2007. Practising Education, Training and Development in South African
Organizations. Juta and Company Ltd.
Craft, A., 2002. Continuing Professional Development: A Practical Guide for Teachers and
Schools. Routledge.
Day, C., Kington, A. and Sammons, P., 2006. The personal and professional selves of teachers:
stable and unstable identities. British Educational Research Journal. 32(4). pp. 601-616.
Duignan, P., 2007. Educational Leadership: Key Challenges and Ethical Tensions. Cambridge
University Press.
Gijselaers, W., 2013. Effect of using a personal development plan on learning and development.
Journal of Workplace Learning. 25(3). pp.145 – 158.
Hughes, J. and Youngson, S., 2009. Personal Development and Clinical Psychology. John Wiley
& Sons.
Jogulu, U., 2010. Culturally-linked leadership styles. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal. 31(8). pp.705 – 719.
Lessing, A. and De Witt, M., 2007. The value of continuous professional development: teachers'
perceptions. South African Journal of Education. 27(1). pp. 53-67.
Lown, B. A., Newman, L. R. and Hatem, C. J., 2009. The personal and professional impact of a
fellowship in medical education. Academic Medicine. 84(8). pp. 1089-1097.
Malm, B., 2009. Towards a new professionalism: enhancing personal and professional
development in teacher education. Journal of education for teaching. 35(1). pp.77-91.
Masters, A. and Wallace, H., 2010. Personal Development for Life and Work. Cengage Learning.
McLaughlin, H. and Vuuren, W., 2012. Affirming entrepreneurial education: learning,
employability and personal development. Industrial and Commercial Training. 44(4).
pp.187 – 193.
Moon, J. A., 2013. Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice.
Routledge.
Wallace, H., 2010. Personal Development for Life and Work. Cengage Learning.

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Student Name Roxana Daniela But
Student ID P1029526
Assessor Name Joy Meme
Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma Business
(Management)
Unit Number & Unit Title Unit 13: Personal and Professional Development
Assignment Title PPD
Date of Submission 11.01.2016
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