Portfolio 2: Presentation Experience, Ethical Dilemmas, and Skills

This portfolio documents a student's professional development journey, encompassing reflections on a presentation experience, ethical dilemmas encountered in a trainee database administrator role, and assessments of various skills. The student analyzes their strengths and weaknesses in communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, particularly in the context of a group presentation where they faced challenging questions and recognized the need for better preparation and teamwork. The portfolio also explores an ethical dilemma involving employer favoritism in scholarship allocation, prompting a reflection on the importance of ethical conduct, codes of behavior, and public interest within the ICT industry. The student discusses interpersonal, listening, and verbal communication skills, reading skills, and teamwork skills, as well as the impact of ICT technologies and communication and collaboration technologies on organizational success. The portfolio concludes with a summary of the learning outcomes, including areas for improvement such as refining learning outcomes and incorporating real-world case studies.

Portfolio 2
My Experience
After a week-long preparation and lots of anxiety, I finally delivered my presentation this week. I
along with another three students had put in a lot of efforts to research and collect the relevant
material for the presentation. Though my group had other students to share the pressure, I was
determined to give it my best shot to impress one and all with my communication skills.
However, things didn’t turn up so well as per my expectations, and now I am left with some
serious homework to better myself. After a lot of introspection, I found that this presentation has
helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses as a communicator. It made me figure out the
areas where I need to work on to develop myself as a professional over the years to come.
My contribution to the experience
Given my experience in public speaking during my schooling, I confidently delivered my part of
the presentation. I was crisp and clear throughout and demonstrated the same confidence through
my body language. This presentation reinforced my belief as a spontaneous performer as I have
the knack to hold the attention of the audience. However, I faltered during the last part when
some students bombarded us with a volley of tough questions. While I batted a few of them
confidently, I was scrambling for perfect answers with some tricky ones. I tried to maintain my
calm but then I got caught up with fumbling and responded with some random answers to just
close the session. Even though one of my team members tried to salvage the situation and
diverted the topic, I think I spoiled my impression then and there only. My professor applauded
my efforts but I knew where I failed.
My learning
As it was a group presentation, the failure is equally shared by all the team members. However, it
has taught me a tough lesson that all the members need to mutually share and prepare each other
for such presentations. I would be more prepared to handle all sorts of questions in context of the
presentation subject. It is the responsibility of all the group members to see that all the necessary
topics have been equally prepared to combat the difficult questions.

Future changes for self-development
I feel this experience has given an opportunity to develop my problem-solving skills as a team
member. I would put in more efforts to do pre-presentation planning to get a better insight into
the topics. Even if there comes a situation when I fail to provide a suitable answer, then I would
handle it politely and assure the questioner a satisfactory response in person after the
presentation. Meanwhile, I would continue to polish my presentation skills to better myself the
next time.
Pros and cons of my experience
In totality, the group presentation has shed light on my caliber as a communicator in practical
situations. Whilst I have learned group dynamics during the planning stage, I feel there is lot of
scope for improvement as an individual and as a team member.

Portfolio 3
My response towards the unfair treatment
I have often heard about ethical dilemmas when you find yourself entangled between your
individual principles and professional commitment towards your employer. However, little did I
know that I would experiencing something similar at this nascent stage of my professional life.
As a trainee database administrator, I am under professional commitment to follow ACS code of
professional conduct (2014) and ACS code of ethics (n.d.) to serve the organization with
complete honesty and integrity. I am obliged to work and perform in the best interest of the
employer and in favor of my professional development. However, recently I have discovered that
my employer’s favoritism costed me and some more students the golden opportunity to earn
scholarship. This was indeed an unexpected turn of events for me as I am serving the same
organization and was bereft of the benefits of scholarship.
Initially I was enraged with the differential treatment happening in the organization. However, I
held my nerves and instead of going public with the revelation, I decided to share it with my
manager. Notably, any outrageous or impulsive decision could cost me my job, which in any
case is not going to serve the problem. Also, it would dent the public image or repute of the
organization. This selection criteria is not just professionally wrong but is hampering the chance
of some deserving candidates out there to earn scholarship to excel professionally. Given the
unfairness of the situation and the ACS code of professional conduct (2014) towards giving
precedence to the interest of the general public, I feel morally compelled to report the incident to
my manager to find a proper resolution to the same lest deserving candidates would continue to
suffer due to their poor financial state. In addition, the ACS code of ethics (n.d.) favors public
interest over the vested interests or personal motives of some business sections. Notwithstanding
the ulterior motive behind my employer’s decision, I would like this issue to be discussed. I
strongly believe that meritocracy is a necessary and sufficient condition to hire and absorb
suitable candidates in an organization. Any form of bias or favoritism raises a huge question over
the moral fabric, and risk the public reputation of the organization. Keeping this in
consideration, I feel there is sufficient reason for me to consult my manager to address the
severity of the situation and ensure some corrective measures to improve the perennial problem
in the organization to establish fair and transparent practices.

Portfolio 4 (Part A)
Interpersonal/listening/verbal communication skills
I feel the group presentation helped me demonstrate my strong communication skills to create
the impact. During our discussions, I used my patience and actively listened to the suggestions to
incorporate in the final presentation. I would give due credit to my interpersonal skills to help me
collate and collaborate with other team members to accomplish the bigger task.
Reading skills for academic excellence
As much as training delivery is important, engaging and relevant content is essential to add
authenticity to the chief arguments. Since I am a voracious reader, it helped me in quickly scan
through the online articles and other web content to extract the important content for the
presentation topic. I believe that my competence in reading saved lot of time in collecting and
preparing the presentation.
Team work skills
My presentation has exposed me to various modalities of team work. This group presentation
helped me learning how to lead in a group or team. During pre-presentation planning, I use my
management skills to divide the entire presentation amongst the team members. Each member
had a section of their preference to prepare, so they were internally motivated. I assigned two
members to prepare the content while me and the other team mate focused on the effective
delivery of the presentation. It was the team effort that the presentation was effectively delivered.
Importance of ethics, codes of behaviour, and societal, privacy and legal issues within the
ICT Industry
I have experienced ethical dilemma whilst serving as a trainee database administrator. It was
disappointing to know that my employer indulged in favoritism to give scholarship to a lesser
deserving candidate. This compelled me to introspect my principles with respect to professional
ethics, code of conduct, and other legit issues within the ICT industry. Whilst I will continue to
serve my duties as per professional code of conduct, I would protect the sensitivity of the
incident and share it within the organization to avert such cases in future.

Importance of cultural diversity
During my tenure as a trainee administer, I met many employees from different countries.
Though initially I was hesitant to interact with them, eventually I found some common
connection with them which helped me to strike conversations with them. I actively listened to
their apprehensions within the new cultural set up and helped them to build a bridge with the
employees of my organization.
ICT technologies and organizational success
Many companies have an impressive range of ICT devices and tools to help employees engage to
achieve its strategic objectives. These devices help the employees connect with business clients,
customers and other associates. These IT-enabled devices improve the service delivery with
rapid exchange of market data and information (Marius, 2013). As a trainee administrator, I
realized the importance of mobile technology to stay connected with the sales personnel on the
field to receive latest information. I felt these latest technologies have reduced data redundancy
and reduced the time and effort to analyze the current business situation.
Communication and Collaboration technologies
After completing this unit, I found video communication systems (skype) and shared
whiteboards to be effective collaborative technologies to enhance engagement with the loyees
(Goodwin,2014). As for communication technologies, employees continue to use emails and
instant messages to share information. It improves business decision making as employees can
effectively converse through these communication and collaborative technologies. They are cost-
friendly and enhances employee engagement to improve business results.

Part B
This unit has been a learning experience for me since it allowed me to explore my cognitive
power to understand various relevant subjects. For instance, the group presentation exercise
compelled me to determine my strengths and weaknesses. Alongside it encouraged me to
improve myself as a professional communicator. Likewise, the next section stirred the ethical
dilemma most of the working employees witness during their employment against their personal
principles. This entire unit has helped me understand group dynamics, team work, interpersonal
skills, listening skills, reading skills, professional development, social and ethical aspects and
many other communication and collaborative technologies relevant for the growth and success of
an organization.
The things I liked about this unit are the two reflective exercises which give an insight into my
real strength and competence as a professional. It helps me observe the complications in practical
scenarios from a neutral perspective, thereby helping me understand intricate modalities.
However, there could be some improvements. Firstly, the learning outcomes could have been
reduced to focus on specific skills only to have some cohesive direction. Secondly, the case
studies could be based on the real situations in some company to explore the tangible facts about
the industry.

References
Australian Computer Society (ACS) . (2014). ACS Code of Professional Conduct. Retrieved
from https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-documents/ACS%20Code-of-Professional-
Conduct_v2.1.pdf
Australian Computer Society (ACS). (n.d.). ACS Code of Ethics. Retrieved from
https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-documents/Code-of-Ethics.pdf
Goodwin, B. (2014). No more email? Why companies are turning to collaboration technology.
Retrieved from http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/No-more-email-Why-companies-are-
turning-to-collaboration-technology
Marius, M. (2013). 4 WAYS ICT/TECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS.
Retrieved from http://www.ict-pulse.com/2013/09/4-ways-icttechnology-improve-business/