Professional Practice Report - Unit 3, HND Computing, ESOFT

This document is a comprehensive 'Work Related Learning Report' submitted as part of the Professional Practice module for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computing and Systems Development/Business Management program at ESOFT Metro Campus. The report details the design and delivery of a training program, focusing on soft skills and IT development for a non-profit organization. It covers various aspects, including planning, resourcing, activity design, evaluation of interpersonal skills, team working dynamics, problem-solving techniques, and the application of critical reasoning. The report also includes a section on Continuing Professional Development (CPD), outlining personal and career goals, a development plan, research into motivational theories, and the importance of CPD in the workplace. The assignment adheres to specific formatting guidelines, including Harvard referencing, and emphasizes the demonstration of communication skills, critical thinking, team collaboration, and professional development planning.

Higher National Diploma in Computing & Systems Development / Business Management
Assignment Submission Form
Name H. D. S. Enura Indula Name of Group Members (If Applicable)
ESOFT Reg. No COL/A-060329
Edexcel No
Module Name Professional Practice
Name of the Lecturer Dr. Dilina Herath
Date Due
Date Submitted 13/07/2018
Fine
Email-Address [e-mail]
Contact No 0765464362
Check List ( ) CD Assignment Brief Formatting Sheet Harvard Referencing
Signature on Coversheet Signature on Student Declaration
Herewith I agree for the given terms and conditions on plagiarism & Academic dishonesty also I declare the work submitted
doesn’t breach these regulation.
Note: Keep the softcopy of the assignment with you until the official results released by ESOFT. ESOFT has all rights to request the softcopy again at any
time.
[e-mail] ___ ___13/07/2018____
Signature Date
Higher National Diploma in Computing & Systems Development / Business Management
Assignment Submission Form
Name H. D. S. Enura Indula
Student Reg. No COL/A-060329
Edexcel No
Module Name Professional Practice
Name of the Lecturer Dr. Dilina Herath
Date Due
Date Submitted 13/07/2018
Fine
Email-Address [e-mail]
Contact No 0765464362
Check List ( ) CD Assignment Brief Formatting Sheet Harvard Referencing
Signature on Coversheet Signature on Student Declaration
I will keep the copy of this sheet until I receive the Results of my Submitted work
[e-mail]______ _____13/07/2018_____
Signature Date
#3, De Fonseka Road, Colombo 04.
ESOFT M ETRO CAMPUS

Higher Nationals
Internal verification of assessment decisions – BTEC (RQF)
INTERNAL VERIFICATION – ASSESSMENT DECISIONS
Programme title High National Diploma in Computing
Assessor Internal Verifier
Unit(s)
Unit 03: Professional Practice
Assignment title
Professional Practice
Student’s name
H. D. S. Enura Indula
List which assessment criteria
the Assessor has awarded.
Pass Merit Distinction
INTERNAL VERIFIER CHECKLIST
Do the assessment criteria awarded match
those shown in the assignment brief? Y/N
Is the Pass/Merit/Distinction grade awarded
justified by the assessor’s comments on the
student work?
Y/N
Has the work been assessed
accurately? Y/N
Is the feedback to the student:
Give details:
• Constructive?
• Linked to relevant assessment criteria?
• Identifying opportunities for
improved performance?
• Agreeing actions?
Y/N
Y/N
Y/N
Y/N
Does the assessment decision need
amending? Y/N
Assessor signature Date
Internal Verifier signature Date
Programme Leader signature (if required) Date
Confirm action completed
Remedial action taken
Give details:
Assessor signature Date
Internal Verifier
signature
Date

Programme Leader
signature (if required)
Date

Higher Nationals - Summative Assignment Feedback Form
Student Name/ID H.D. S. Enura Indula
Unit Title Unit 03: Professional Practice
Assignment Number 1 Assessor
Submission Date
13/07/18 Date Received
1st submission
Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd
submission
Assessor Feedback:
LO1 Demonstrate a range of interpersonal and transferable communication skills to a target audience
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P1 M1 D1
LO2 Apply critical reasoning and thinking to a range of problem-solving scenarios
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P2 M2 D2
LO3 Discuss the importance and dynamics of working within a team and the impact of team working in
different environments
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P3 M3 D3
LO4 Examine the need for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and its role within the workplace
and for higher level learning
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P4 P5 M4 D4
Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:
Resubmission Feedback:
Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:
Internal Verifier’s Comments:
Signature & Date:
* Please note that grade decisions are provisional. They are only confirmed once internal and external moderation has taken place and grades
decisions have been agreed at the assessment board.

Pearson Higher Nationals in
Computing
Unit 03: Professional Practice
Assignment 01

General Guidelines
1. A cover page or title page should be attached to your assignment. Use page 1 of this assignment
brief as your cover page and make sure all details are accurately filled.
2. The entire assignment brief should be attached as the first section of your assignment.
3. The assignment should be prepared using a word processing software.
4. The assignment should be word processing in an A4 sized paper.
5. Allow 1” margin on top, bottom and right sides of the paper and 1.25” on the left side (for
binding).
Word Processing Rules
1. The font size should be 12 point, and should be in the style of Time New Roman.
2. Set line spacing to 1.5. Justify all paragraphs.
3. Ensure that all headings are consistent in terms of size and font style.
4. Use footer function on the word processor to insert your name, unit, assignment no, and page
number on each page. This is useful if individual sheets get detached from the submission.
5. Use the spell check and grammar check function of the word processing application to review
the use of language on your assignment.

Important Points:
1. Carefully check carefully the hand in date and the instructions given with the assignment. Late
submissions will not be accepted.
2. Ensure that sufficient time is spent to complete the assignment by the due date.
3. Do not wait till the last minute to get feedback on the assignment. Such excuses will not be
accepted for late submissions.
4. You must be responsible for efficient management of your time.
5. If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and have valid reasons such as illness, you
may apply (in writing) for an extension.
6. Failure to achieve at least a PASS grade will result in a REFERRAL grade.
7. Non-submission of work without valid reasons will lead to an automatic REFERRAL. You will then
be asked to complete an alternative assignment.
8. If you use other people’s work or ideas in your assignment, it must be properly referenced, using
the HARVARD referencing system, in your text or any bibliography. Otherwise, you’ll be found
guilty of committing plagiarism.
9. If you are caught plagiarising, your grade will be reduced to a REFERRAL or at worst, you could
be excluded from the course.

Student Declaration
I hereby, declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely to use another’s work and to present it as
my own without attributing the sources in the correct form. I further understand what it means to copy
another’s work.
1. I know that plagiarism is a punishable offence because it constitutes theft.
2. I understand the plagiarism and copying policy of Edexcel UK.
3. I know what the consequences will be if I plagiarise or copy another’s work in any of the
assignments for this program.
4. I declare therefore that all work presented by me for every aspect of my program, will be my
own, and where I have made use of another’s work, I will attribute the source in the correct way.
5. I acknowledge that the attachment of this document signed or not, constitutes a binding
agreement between myself and Edexcel UK.
6. I understand that my assignment will not be considered as submitted if this document is not
attached to the assignment.
[e-mail] 13/07/18
Student’s Signature: Date:
(Provide E-mail ID) (Provide Submission Date)

Higher National Diploma in Business
Assignment Brief
Student Name /ID Number H. D. S. Enura Indula
Unit Number and Title Unit 3: Professional Practice
Academic Year 2017/18
Unit Tutor
Assignment Title Work Related Learning Report: Design and Deliver
Training Programme
Issue Date
Submission Date 13/07/18
IV Name & Date
Submission format
The submission is in the form of an individual written report about. This should be written in a
concise, formal business style using single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of
headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research
and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please also provide an end list of references
using the Harvard referencing system. Please note that this is an activity-based assessment where
your document submission should include evidences of activities carried out and of team working.
To carry out activities given on the brief, you are required to form groups, comprising not exceeding
15 individuals.
The recommended word count is 4,000–4,500 words for the report excluding annexures. Note that
word counts are indicative only and you would not be penalised for exceeding the word count.
Unit Learning Outcomes:
LO1 Demonstrate a range of interpersonal and transferable communication skills to
a target audience.

LO2 Apply critical reasoning and thinking to a range of problem-solving scenarios.
LO3 Discuss the importance and dynamics of working within a team and the impact
of team working in different environments.
LO4 Examine the need for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and its role
within the workplace and for higher-level learning.
Assignment Brief and Guidance:

Follow the guidelines given below assuming that you have recently joined as a management
trainee at a non-for-profit organization, which is specializing in Soft Skills and Information
Technology development in the local community.
Scenario:
Note on assumptions to be made: Organisation’s management trainees will be assigned to
project groups, to be placed under a training and development executive and are required to
produce documentation in the form of reports of their activities. Management trainees are
required to provide evidence to the top management that they have been able to
demonstrate interpersonal skills and have identified the need for continuous professional
development (CPD) on a report titled “Work Related Learning Report”.
Take following in to consideration when developing the “Work Related Learning Report”:
 You have been asked to support your training and development manager
with the planning and implementation of a professional development event
targeted at a suitable audience to develop their soft skills and/or
Information Technology related skills. Assume that you have to complete
the design and delivery within a period of three months.
 The training event you are to design can be scheduled to be delivered over a
single or multiple session based on the requirements given by the target
audience at a location agreeable to the target audience.
 The training programme you develop can include a number of workshops,
coaching sessions and team-building activities. The institution/audience you
are planning to conduct the programme for would require a schedule of the
types of activities proposed so that plans can be finalized.
Working in small groups (Not exceeding 15 individuals per group):
Produce a professional schedule (preferably using a project management software) that
identifies planning and resourcing prior to the event. In addition, design a training pack to
include a range of activities, and breakout sessions. It is expected that you will be having
considerable number of individuals attending. Please make sure that the location has
necessary facilities.
Working individually:

 Following the event, your training and development manager has asked you
to provide some feedback and include it in your “Work Related Learning
Report”. In the report, produce a written evaluation of the effectiveness and
application of interpersonal skills during the design and delivery process.
You should also include an evaluation of your performance in this project
and evaluate your contribution to the team you worked in and you have
been asked by the managers to produce evidence in the report that you
have designed and delivered the training event based on the dynamics of
team working.
 The report you produce also should have section allocated to discussing
problem solving and its importance in planning and running the event you
have conducted. Your report should include a discussion of various problem-
solving techniques and justify the solution methodologies used during your
project. You should also include a critique of the application of critical
reasoning and your experiences of it.
 Having completed the Training Event Management project, you now need to
reflect on your experience and consider your Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) needs add a section on the to your “Work Related
Learning Report” containing following subsections.
a. Consider your personal and/or career goals and identify your CPD
needs and what actions would put you in a position to achieve these
goals. Produce a development plan outlining your future goals and
identifying how these can be realized.
b. Conduct some research into motivational theories and how they can
be used to improve employee performance. Compare a number of
theories and report on them.
c. Write a section on the usage of CPD within organizations and what
evidence would be required to measure how effective this CPD is in
helping employees achieve their goals while using their time and
resources effectively.

Grading Rubric
Grading Criteria Achieved Feedback
LO1 Demonstrate a range of interpersonal and transferable
communication skills to a target audience.
P1 Demonstrate, using different communication styles and
formats, that you can effectively design and deliver a training
event for a given target audience.
P2 Demonstrate that you have used effective time management
skills in planning an event.
M1 Design a professional schedule to support the planning of an
event, to include contingencies and justifications of time
allocated.
D1 Evaluate the effectiveness and application of interpersonal
skills during the design and delivery of a training event.

LO2 Apply critical reasoning and thinking to a range of problem-
solving scenarios.
P3 Demonstrate the use of different problem-solving techniques
in the design and delivery of an event.
P4 Demonstrate that critical reasoning has been applied to a
given solution.
M2 Research the use of different problem-solving techniques
used in the design and delivery of an event.
M3 Justify the use and application of a range of solution
methodologies.

D2 Critique the process of applying critical reasoning to a given
task/activity or event.
LO3 Discuss the importance and dynamics of working within a
team and the impact of team working in different environments.
P5 Discuss the importance of team dynamics in the success
and/or failure of group work.
P6 Work within a team to achieve a defined goal.
M4 Analyze team dynamics, in terms of the roles group members
play in a team and the effectiveness in terms of achieving shared
goals.

D3 Provide a critical evaluation of your own role and contribution
to a group scenario.
LO4 Examine the need for Continuing Professional Development
(CPD) and its role within the workplace and for higher-level
learning.
P7 Discuss the importance of CPD and its contribution to own
learning.
P8 Produce a development plan that outlines responsibilities,
performance objectives and required skills, knowledge and
learning for own future goals.
M5 Compare and contrast different motivational theories and the
impact they can have on performance within the workplace.

D4 Evaluate a range of evidence criteria that is used as a measure
for effective CPD.

Acknowledgement
Many people have contributed to the success of this Report. Although a single sentence hardly
suffices, the author would like to thank Almighty God for blessing him with his grace.
The author extends his sincere and heartfelt thanks to Dr. Dayan, Mrs. Pabasara and Miss Oshadhi, for
providing him the right ambiance for carrying out this work. The author is profoundly indebted to his
class guide, Dr. Dilina, for innumerable acts of timely advice; encouragement and the author sincerely
express his gratitude to him.
The author expresses his immense pleasure and thankfulness to all the teachers and staff for the
cooperation and support. In addition, a huge thank to the google and other sources that the author have
used in this report.
Last but not the least, he thanks all others, and especially his classmates who in one way or another
helped him in the successful completion of this work.
The author hopes contributors will recognize that he has done his best to reflect the variety of views
and the wealth of information, which were so generously provided, to him. The author takes full and
sole responsibility for the content of the report and for any errors or misrepresentations of fact or
opinion it may contain.
Regards,
The Author,
Enura.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 1

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement.......................................................................................................................i
List of Figures............................................................................................................................v
List of Tables..............................................................................................................................v
1. Introduction..........................................................................................................................1
2. Demonstrate a range of interpersonal and transferable communication skills..............2
2.1 The Training Event...........................................................................................................2
2.2 Time Management Plan....................................................................................................5
2.3 The Professional Schedule...............................................................................................8
2.3.1 Contingency Plan..................................................................................................................9
2.3.2 Communication Plan...........................................................................................................11
2.4 Self – Reflection of Inter – Personal Skills....................................................................13
2.4.1 Effective Communication with internal and external stakeholders.....................................13
2.4.2 Time management:..............................................................................................................13
3. Discussion on the importance and dynamics of working within a team and the impact
of team work...........................................................................................................................16
3.1 Working within a Team..................................................................................................16
3.1.1 Teamwork...........................................................................................................................16
3.1.2 Winning team..............................................................................................................17
3.1.3 Importance of teamwork.............................................................................................18
3.2 Analyzing Team Dynamics.............................................................................................21
3.2.1 What is the meaning of team dynamics?.............................................................................21
3.2.2 Team Dynamics Jigsaw.......................................................................................................21
3.2.3 Productive meetings............................................................................................................22
3.2.4 Team composition and roles they played............................................................................24
3.2.5 Belbin’s Team Roles Model................................................................................................25
3.2.6 Decision Making.................................................................................................................27
3.2.7 Issues faced when building the team...................................................................................29
3.2.7.1 Team building..............................................................................................................29
3.2.7.2 Team Development......................................................................................................29
3.2.7.3 Common issues faced when building a team................................................................30
3.2.7.4 Issues faced when building the author’s team..............................................................33
3.3 Evaluating own role in the team.....................................................................................34
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 2

4. Applying critical reasoning and thinking to a range of problem - solving scenarios...36
4.1 Problem solving skills....................................................................................................36
4.1.1 Tools and Methods use when solving a problem in a group................................................37
4.1.1.1 Brainstorming..............................................................................................................37
4.1.1.2 The Drill - Down Technique........................................................................................39
4.2 Applying Critical Reasoning..........................................................................................41
4.2.1 Critical Path Analysis..........................................................................................................41
4.2.1.1 Critical Path Analysis Diagram of the author’s group..................................................43
4.2.1.2 Justification of the CPA tool.........................................................................................43
4.2.2 Different Illustrations of Critical Path Analysis..................................................................45
4.3 Process of applying critical reasoning............................................................................47
4.3.1 Pros and Cons of Critical Path Analyzing...........................................................................47
5. Examining the need for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and its role
within the workplace and for higher-level learning............................................................49
5.1 Examining the need of a Continuing Professional Development...................................49
5.1.1 The purpose of Continuing Professional Development.......................................................49
5.1.2 Importance of Continuing Professional Development.........................................................50
5.2 Motivational theories and their impact on Continuing Professional Development.......51
5.2.1 Content Theories.................................................................................................................51
5.2.1.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs......................................................................................52
5.2.1.2 Alderfer’s Theory.........................................................................................................52
5.2.1.3 McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory...........................................................................53
5.2.1.4 Motivator – Hygiene Theory........................................................................................53
5.2.2 Process Theories.................................................................................................................54
5.2.2.1 Expectancy Theory......................................................................................................54
5.2.2.2 Equity Theory..............................................................................................................55
5.2.2.3 Goal – Setting Theory..................................................................................................56
5.2.2.4 Reinforcement Theory.................................................................................................57
5.2.3 The Distinction between Content and Process Theories of Motivation...............................58
5.2.4 How will this content help the author in the future?...........................................................60
5.3 Skill Audit......................................................................................................................61
5.4 Producing a Personal Development Plan.......................................................................63
5.4.1 Evaluation of Continuing Professional Development.........................................................64
5.4.1.1 Performance objectives................................................................................................64
5.4.1.2 SMART Model.............................................................................................................65
5.4.1.3 Goal setting worksheet.................................................................................................66
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 3

5.5 Evidence Criteria............................................................................................................67
5.5.1 Performance Appraisals......................................................................................................67
5.5.2 Salary Levels......................................................................................................................68
5.5.3 Promotions..........................................................................................................................68
5.5.4 Training and Development..................................................................................................68
5.5.5 Feedback.............................................................................................................................68
6. Conclusion...........................................................................................................................69
7. List of References...............................................................................................................70
8. Annexures............................................................................................................................76
Annexures 1 – Training Event..............................................................................................76
Annexures 2 – The Professional Schedule...........................................................................81
Annexures 3 – Interpersonal Skills......................................................................................82
Annexures 4 – Working within a team.................................................................................83
Annexures 5 – Analyzing team dynamics............................................................................85
Annexures 6 – Problem solving Skills (Broken Squares)....................................................86
Annexures 7 – Critical Path Analysis...................................................................................90
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 4

List of Figures
FIGURE 1 - TIME MANAGEMENT CHART....................................................................................6
FIGURE 2 - PROFESSIONAL SCHEDULE.......................................................................................8
FIGURE 3 - INTER-PERSONAL SKILLS OF THE AUTHOR............................................................14
FIGURE 4 - TEAM DYNAMICS JIGSAW.......................................................................................21
FIGURE 5 - MAJOR ROLES IN A TEAM......................................................................................24
FIGURE 6 - SIX SIDES BRAINSTORMING FOR A PROBLEM.........................................................38
FIGURE 7 - DRILL - DOWN OF A SPECIFIC PROBLEM................................................................39
FIGURE 8 - MAIN FUNCTIONS IN CPA......................................................................................42
FIGURE 9 - CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS IN THE AUTHOR'S GROUP..............................................43
FIGURE 10 - AN EXAMPLE FOR CPA IN A DIFFERENT WORKING AREA.....................................46
FIGURE 11 - SMART GOALS (EXAMPLE).................................................................................66
FIGURE 12 - PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.................................................................................67
FIGURE 13 - USE OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS....................................................................67
List of Tables
TABLE 1 - TIME MANAGEMENT (HOURS TABLE)........................................................................7
TABLE 2 - COMMUNICATION PLAN...........................................................................................11
TABLE 3 - SWOT ANALYSIS OF INTER-PERSONAL SKILLS......................................................15
TABLE 4 - BELBIN'S THEORY ROLE MODELS...........................................................................26
TABLE 5 - TEAM DEVELOPMENT CYCLE TABLE......................................................................30
TABLE 6 - DIFFERENT ILLUSTRATIONS OF CPA........................................................................45
TABLE 7 - PROS AND CONS OF CPA.........................................................................................47
TABLE 8 - SKILL AUDIT TABLE 1.............................................................................................61
TABLE 9 - SKILL AUDIT TABLE 2.............................................................................................62
TABLE 10 - PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN...........................................................................64
TABLE 11 - GOAL SETTING TABLE...........................................................................................66
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 5

1. Introduction
Being professional is not only about being competent and skillful, but it also means behaving
in an ethical way. In this report, the author and his team will start to consider and plan for
their future area of employment and what it means to be a professional in that area.
They also start connecting with potential employers, improve their ability to apply for
employment, and plan a course of action that ensures they complete their HND as ' work
ready ' people. They also learn important professional skills in communication and working
as part of a team.
To have that experience the author and his team had to conduct a training event successfully
so that they can have a good idea in teamwork and interpersonal skill management. As the
training event the author’s team has done a MS Office based training program for teachers in
a school namely, St. Claire’s College Wellawatta.
In this report, the author has mentioned all the activities the team has done and difficulties the
team came across when completing this training program. He has vividly elaborated his own
role in the team while formally discussing about the rest of the team members work also.
This report will guide the reader to have a vivid idea about the interpersonal and professional
skills, which are needed when someone works as a group in their day today life. Not only
have that but also how to continually use these skills, in their working area.
The reader will also learn about the workplace learning requirements of their specific course
of study. On completion, the reader will have a broad and coherent understanding of what it
means to be a professional and will start to take responsibility for the transition for becoming
a professional.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 1

2. Demonstrate a range of interpersonal and transferable communication
skills
2.1 The Training Event
Microsoft office is an office suite of applications, servers, and services developed by
Microsoft Corporation. It includes a number of programs named MS Word, Excel, Access,
Publisher, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
Author’s group selected the basics of MS Office as the event to conduct and they chose MS
Word, Power Point and Excel packages to conduct. All the group members agreed with the
idea about conducting the event on MS Office. It was fair to say that the group did an
amazing job on the training event.
The group leader met the audience with the event proposal and came to a position where both
the parties get the benefits equally and did the negotiation very fairly and very well. The
audience was teachers of St. Clair’s College and there were more than 100 members in the
audience. As mentioned earlier this training event was a great platform for the audience to get
to know about the most using day today application, MS Office.
The author’s group consisted by 17 members in all and each member had a specific task to
complete beforehand the train event. It is worth to mention the names of the people who were
in the group.
Jana, Manisha, Shashi, Dulantha, Nishadi, Sudesh, Ali, Yathurshana, Vahini, Nilsoh, Ismile,
Lanka, Yasiru, Chathura, Harshad, Anne and the author himself (Enura). Jana was the group
leader and Treasurer and Secretary was Manisha and Shashi respectively. The author himself,
Ali, and Yathurshana was the curriculum developers in the group and all the three members
did the task and finish it off in the given time. They did hand over the main three teaching
curriculums to the trainers who were going to present it in front of the audience. (Refer
Annexures 1 - “Training Event”.)
Group made a booklet about the three main packages of MS Office to distribute at the
training event. Nishadi, Dulantha and Lanka took the responsibility of making the booklet
and completed it by the given time. At the training event, group members distributed the
booklet to the audience who was the teachers of St. Clair’s College.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 2

Group members have used different communication skills when delivering the training event
and some have been mentioned below.
To convey the idea about the basics of MS Office, the author’s group has used Verbal
communication skills, Presentation Skills through slide shows and Demonstration skills to
teach the basics to the given audience. The author has inserted the evidences in the Annexures
under “Training Event”. Also, by giving a booklet to the audience, the group members
wanted to deliver the communication knowledge of learning through reading. Overall, at the
event itself the group has used four main communication skills, which are Verbal
communication, Presentation slide shows, Hands on demonstration through videos and
Reading.
Group leader started the procedures with a small introduction about the people who were
there in the training event. The beginning montage was very nice and short. The group sole
fully gives props to the leader on that. Then Dulantha, Nilsoh and Ismile taught the MS Word.
(Refer Annexures 1 - “Training Event”.) Dulantha was the leading presenter and he did an
amazing job on his role. He gave a good exposure to the audience, about how to use the
basics of MS Word 2013/16. While he was teaching the package, Nilosh and Ismile handled
the computer and did a small presentation about the Word. Overall, it was a good
presentation.
The leader taught MS PowerPoint and the author handled the laptop and gave a small
demonstration about how to use the basics in MS PowerPoint. Both the presentation and
demonstration were really good as the audience was really happy about that section of the
training event. Then there was a small break in-between before the final presentation which
was MS Excel.
The team has arranged some refreshments prior to the training event. All the team members
distributed the refreshments among the audience and they did love the arrangement. After the
small intermission Nishadi, Vahini and Sudesh conducted the training about Excel. Nishadi
was the main presenter at that moment and it was a well-balanced presentation and a
demonstration. To be honest audience did love the training event on Excel package more than
the other two. (Refer Annexures 1 - “Training Event”.)
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 3

After all, three packages were done, the author and some other people distributed the
Feedback forms to the audience. While it’s being distributing, the leader filled the audience
with the information about what to do with the forms.
These activities were all acted in front of the stage while a huge number of acts were
happening behind the scenes. Props should go to Manisha and Dulantha as they took a huge
and undeniable effort to write the certificates which the team distributed at the training event.
After all the work were done, members collected the feedback forms and distributed the
certificates to the audience and concluded the training event.
All the evidences of conducting the training event is in the Annexures under “Training
Event”.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 4

2.2 Time Management Plan
Justification of Time allocation:
Time management is not very difficult as a concept, but it is surprisingly hard to do in
practice. The author had many time management skills and through this event, he gained
some more aspects of time management qualities. From this training program, the author
understood that, it requires the investment of a little time upfront to priorities and organize
yourself.
However, once done, you will find that with minor tweaks, your day, and indeed your week
and month, fall into place in an orderly fashion, with time for everything you need to do
(Time management Skills, 2011).
Below the reader will see the time allocation graphs of the team. The author has made these
graphs to show that the team has done the time allocation well and in a balanced manner.
Time allocation graph has mainly designed through the professional schedule. Professional
schedule tasks have been taken as the main tasks of conducting the training event and have
allocated the time according to that.
Time management was a key feature when organizing the training event. Time management
skills of the group members were taken to the test before the training event and while the
event is being conducted.
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The above time management chart shows the time the team has allocated to the each task
respectively. It shows as a percentage of time as it a Pie chart. If the reader takes a closer look
and compare those two charts together (Pie and Professional Schedule), he/she can have a
vivid idea about the balanced time allocation. For the ease of the reader, the author has added
the hours and minutes table to get a clear knowledge about the perfect time allocation.
The reader can see that the group has a better understanding about the difference between
urgent and important, because the author’s team has allocated the time to specific scenario in
balanced. From the below table the reader can get an idea about how many working hours
have put into the plaining and delivering the training event.
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Figure 1 - Time Management Chart

2.3
The
Professional Schedule
A professional schedule is a listing of a project's milestones, activities, and deliverables,
usually with intended start and finish dates. Those items are often estimated by other
information included in the professional schedule of resource allocation, budget, task
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Table 1 - Time management (Hours table)

duration, and linkages of dependencies and scheduled events. A schedule is commonly used
in the project planning and project portfolio management parts of project management.
Elements on a schedule may be closely related to the work breakdown structure (WBS)
terminal elements, the Statement of work, or a Contract Data Requirements List
( ProjectEngineer,2018).
Justification of the Professional Schedule:
Part (I)
The above table is the professional schedule of the author’s team. The team has faced a
number of tasks and the above schedule has vividly mentioned those tasks, beginning with
the first meeting where the roles were assigned individually to each team member. The author
was just a member in the team at the first meeting day.
Leader assigned the Secretary and Treasure. The first get together went for a good hour or so
and did discuss a lot of work, which needs to be done.
On the second meeting day, the leader and the
group members discussed the importance of selecting
a suitable topic for the training event. At the end of the group, meeting all the members
agreed on one topic to conduct the training event.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 8
Figure 2 - Professional Schedule

On the third group meeting, the group discussed about the plan B, if in some case the plan A
did not work. Group members gave their best when making a contingency plan. The main
contingency plan was to observe different school and the team had to use that plan when
continuing the procedures, because the first audience did not agree for the terms and the team
indeed needed to use the contingency plan.
2.3.1 Contingency Plan
The group members, through the guidance of the group leader, made the contingency plan.
First, the group was aiming for the Lindsay girls’ school. Team made a proposal and the
group members went to the school with the proposal to get the approval. Unfortunately, the
team came just short of getting the approval because of a date issue. Then the author’s team
moved on to the contingency plan.
Which was to find another school. The team started the planning and working so early in the
process so that even a small disapproval did not cost them that much when it came to the
training event.
According to the contingency plan, the team found another school to conduct the training
event. The school approved the request of organizing a training event and leader sorted out
the rest with his communication skills.
All the letters of approval and letters from Esoft will be attached in the annexures under “The
Professional Schedule”.
Part (II)
The group abled to make the draft budget by the end of March and treasurer gave a vivid idea
about the full budget towards the group to collect money prior to the training event.
By the end of month April, the group was all well organized and prepared for the training
event. The training event date was the 10 th of May and the author’s group completed all their
tasks well and truly one week before the training event.
When consider about the work getting done before the given time, props should be awarded
to the team leader and the author because they did a great job when managing the time with
the other group members. The author always pushed the other team members for their limits
to get the work done.
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Even though some people didn’t agree with his method, still the aggression made them to do
their work in a well-balanced manner. The author was very keen on time always as he had
prior knowledge of time management skills in his career.
Through all these difficulties and through all these planning and contingencies the group emerged
victorious when managing the time and the stakeholders.
The draft budget and the proposal the author’s team provided to the school will be in annexures under
“The Professional Schedule”.
Effective Communication with the Stakeholders:
The most important element in stakeholder communications is identifying the target
audience. In the given context, the target audience was teachers and the author’s group had to
adjust according to that audience. Once you have identified the audience, the ways below
helped the author’s group to keep communication active, frequent and ongoing collaboration
and there was a strong support for preparing the event (ProjectEngineer, 2018).
1. Meetings – Meetings with the audience members and Esoft staff.
2. Conference Calls – Calls with the group members and with the target audience.
(Principal of the school)
3. Newsletters/ Email/ Posters
Another huge aspect of planning the training event was communication. The leader of the
author’s group was a good listener. So that the communication was very effective and the
leader always clarified the doubts, which were in the team environment (wikiHow, n.d).
To make the communication effective the team formed their own Communication Plan and
one way or another that plan was huge pros when engaged with the stakeholders because the
team members knew what they were dealing with.
It’s not enough to just have a plan. It is critical to seek to understand what your stakeholders’
desire both spoken and unspoken. The expectations must be carefully managed from
beginning to end. Every team and project vary in its rate of change, so picking the most
advantageous communication channel, frequency and making sure it’s effective is a point
which the author gained from this event (workfront.com, 2018).
Communication is a constant, error on the side of over communicating as there are always
people that didn’t hear, understand or make connection when they heard it the first time.
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2.3.2 Communication Plan
Communication Plan of the Group:
Communication
Type
Objective of
Communication
Medium Frequency Audience Deliverable Format
Kickoff Meeting Introduce the
team and the
training event.
Review project
objectives and
management
approach.
- Face to
Face
Once - Project
Team
-
Stakeholders
- Agenda
- Meeting
Minutes
- Soft copy
archived
on
SharePoint
site.
Project Team
Meetings
Review status of
the project with
the team.
- Face to
Face
-
Conference
Call
Weekly - Project
Team
- Agenda
- Meeting
Minutes
- Project
Schedule
- Soft copy
archived
on
SharePoint
site.
Monthly Project
Status Meetings
Report on the
status of the
project to
management.
- Face to
Face
-
Conference
Call
Monthly - Project
Team
- Slide
Updates -
Project
Schedule
- Soft copy
archived
on
SharePoint
site.
Project Status
Reports
Report the status
of the project
including
activities,
progress, costs
and issues.
- Email Monthly - Project
Sponsor
- Project
Team
-
Stakeholders
- Project
Status
Report
- Project
Schedule
- Soft copy
archived
on
SharePoint
site and
project
website.
Table 2 - Communication Plan
The best example for the effective communication took place when the team went to search
for a school. According to the above paragraphs, the team conducted a contingency plan and
executed it well. The author took a main role in that execution because the other team
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members were so desperate and down after the first disapproval. Then the author led the team
for the second school. The incident, which took place at the school premises, is a good
example for the effective communication.
The author handed over the proposal to the school principal and she went through it. While
she was reading the proposal, the author took a different route and filled the principal’s mind
with the benefits, which they will gain from this training event.
The author enlarged the need of a training event to the school at that time because the school
indeed needed a computer literacy training event at that moment. The group knew all the
weak areas in the school working area because they did a research to make the contingency
plan. This contingency plan came excessively handy at the end of the day as the principal of
St. Clair’s College gave the approval to have the training event on a given date.
The author’s communication skills took a major role in that moment and his negotiation skills
with the stakeholders were undeniably good. The author and his group proposed the date 11 th
of May to conduct the training event. Unfortunately, that day was unavailable, but the author
communicated with the stakeholders and agreed to the day before the planned date. The
author did the negotiation well where the both parties, team and stakeholders get the benefits.
At the end, it was a ‘WIN-WIN’ situation for the both parties. That happened mainly because
of the well-mannered communication skills of the author and help of the team members.
The evidences of meeting with the stakeholders and communicating effectively will be in the
annexures under “The Professional Schedule”.
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2.4 Self – Reflection of Inter – Personal Skills
Interpersonal Skills are fundamental parts of our everyday lives. Interpersonal skills are the
skills used by a person to interact with others properly. Interpersonal skills include everything
from communication and listening skills to attitude and deportment. Good interpersonal skills
are a prerequisite for many positions in an organization.
In this section, the author has mainly given his attention to the communication and listening
aspect in interpersonal skills (WikiJob, 2018).
2.4.1 Effective Communication with internal and external stakeholders
Communication is a process of expressing thoughts by using verbal and non-verbal
communication. Having excellent interpersonal skills, allows us to achieve effective
communication with our peers and colleagues. When working within a team, it is vital to be
able to communicate effectively with service users and with work colleagues
(Officetimeline.com, 2018).
The author was a good listener. That quality made his communication with other people so
effective. As in example above (P2), the author has given before, he able to handle the
audience very well with his communication skills. The author always used the below skills
when communicate with the stakeholders.
Eye contact: This is an essential part of effective communication. The author always
managed to have eye contact with the stakeholders when communicating.
Tone of voice: Another aspect of effective communication, which the author has used, is tone
of voice. A good tone is always a productive information to the listener. When the author did
the communication with the principal, he used a quality tone to endeavor the idea to her.
2.4.2 Time management:
Time management was not the author’s strongest ability. He was little bit weak in that aspect.
Even though he communicated well when it comes to punctuality, he was little off.
The best example of this scenario is, when there was a group meeting he always got late to
attend even though he forced others to be on time. His quality communication strengths and
the little aggression made others to be on time even though he was a bit off on that skill.
The author is a constant learner. Through different studies, he will turn this weakness into one
of his strength in the future.
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The author’s Inter personal skills in a small chart;
The above figure will demonstrate inter personal skills of the author, which he pursues in his
social life. The reader will get an idea about the skills, which he / she should have when
proceed along, in his career.
The author has inserted a small SWOT analysis about his interpersonal skills. There were
weaknesses of the author just as his strength. Therefore, this SWOT analysis will clarify
those qualities respectively.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 14
Figure 3 - Inter-Personal Skills of the author

STRENGTHS
The author has good communication skills that
can be developed further more through
teamwork in presentation etc. in the upcoming
semesters. The author has worked both well in
the team and independently.
WEAKNESESS
The author’s time management skills are a bit
weak but he hopes to improve by doing work as
soon as it is set to allow him to recap and revise
and have time to fit in other activities.
OPPERTUNITIES
The author has a good memory which may help
him when achieving higher in exams when
information needs to be remembered.
Being a sociable person may help when carrying
out group work and making friends.
THREATS
The author lack commercial experience which may
make him less employable, however he picks up
new skills and knowledge quickly.
Table 3 - SWOT Analysis of Inter-Personal Skills
Overall, interpersonal skills have played a huge role when carrying out the training event.
Even though the author did not know that he was using interpersonal skills, he has done a
great job however. In this section, the author has vividly shown the skills which he has and
which he has to improve in the coming years.
There are evidences of the author communicating with the stakeholder effectively in
annexures under “Interpersonal Skills”.
3. Discussion on the importance and dynamics of working within a team
and the impact of team work
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3.1 Working within a Team
3.1.1 Teamwork
A team is ‘a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a
task, job, or project’.
The main idea behind the creation of a team is having people working as a group to achieve a
goal. Every team/group is different because it can be made up of people coming from diverse
backgrounds that have different personalities, values and working styles (Skillyouneed.com,
2018).
Remember,
T – Together
E – Everyone
A – Accomplishes
M – More
W – With
O – Organization
R – Responsibility
K – Knowledge
These elements are the ingredients that can either make or break a team – if they are not
balanced effectively.
Goal:
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In the given context the author’s group had a specific goal which is to successfully complete
the training program and all the group members worked as one to achieve it. Many members
knew what they were doing and that was really when marching towards the team goal.
A common and meaningful purpose sets the tone. Specific performance goals are an integral
part of the teamwork. The author’s group always kept that one goal in their minds. The
combination is essential to the performance. By staying rooted in the team’s commitment,
today’s vision becomes tomorrow’s reality.
3.1.2 Winning team
What makes a great team?
The answer is the individual members of the team. That is because each person plays a
significant role within a group. This is better understood through the amount of responsibility
they share for a project, activity or task and how much they are willing to get involved.
The quicker the team members realize that the easier it will be for them to work out a plan on
how to move forward, settle their differences, come up with the desirable results and
complete their mission (Campbell, 2018).
When the author’s team was formed the leader specially had concerns about the below
aspects which ultimately made the group a winning group.
Let each person shine – As members of the team the success of the team needs to be shared,
not focused on a single person. The leader always made the other members of the team feel
special and made them feel that they are the reason for the team success, which ultimately led
the individual member to their own success (Campbell, 2018).
Make each person committed - If every person can do his or her role effectively then the
team can be successful. This was a key feature of the author’s group because this aspect only
happened only for some extent. Why? Some members neglected their roles in the team and
did not committed much to the group, because of that some people had double the work,
which was a bit of concern even on the event day (Campbell, 2018).
Accepting and learning from others - Some group members might not be good in certain
areas. They should learn from other members who are good at those areas and others should
accept for who they are. The leader always put this into the minds of the group members.
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With the above aspects, the team leader guided the team to a winning team and in the given
context; winning can be referred as successfully completing the training event.
End of the each scenario the group members identified the different aspects of forming a
winning team (positively present, 2018).
3.1.3 Importance of teamwork
Teams and teamwork have become a central part of work life. It doesn’t mean everybody
doing the same thing or everybody being able to do each other’s jobs. It’s more a means to a
synergistic way of working, where the sum is greater than the parts (Xyrichis and Ream,
2008).
Properly managed, teamwork maximizes strengths, bringing out the best in each team
member, a key theme on this site. These specific, possibly unique individual strengths are
then complimented by the strengths of others, or of the team as a unit (Xyrichis and Ream,
2008).
Why is team work important? Points below will endeavor the idea.
Creates synergy: Where the sum is greater than the parts. Creating a synergy supports a
more empowered way of working, removing constraints which may prevent someone doing
their job properly.
Accomplishment: When the group works together, the accomplishments will surpass any
results associated with any one individual.
Teamwork motivates unity in the working area:
A teamwork domain advances a climate that encourages fellowship and loyalty. These
affectionate connections inspire representatives in parallel and adjust them to work harder,
collaborate and be steady of each other.
People have assorted abilities, shortcomings, relational abilities, qualities, and propensities.
Subsequently, when a teamwork domain is not supported this can posture numerous
difficulties towards accomplishing the general goals and destinations. This makes a situation
where representatives wind up concentrated without anyone else accomplishments and
contending with their kindred associates. At last, this can prompt an unfortunate and wasteful
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workplace. At the point when teamwork is working, the entire group would be spurred and
progressing in the direction of a similar goal in concordance (Skillsyouneed.com, 2011).
Teamwork offers differing perspectives and feedback:
Great teamwork structures give any association a decent variety of thought, imagination,
points of view, openings, and critical thinking approaches. An appropriate group condition
enables people to conceptualize by and large, which thusly builds their prosperity to issue
explain and land at arrangements all the more productively and viable.
Compelling groups additionally enable the activity to advance, thus making an aggressive
edge to achieve goals and targets. Imparting varying insights and encounters fortifies
responsibility and can help settle on successful choices quicker, than when done alone. Team
effort increases output by having quick feedback and multiple sets of skills come into play to
support the teamwork. Team can do the stages of designing, planning, and implementation
much more efficiently when a team is functioning well (Skillsyouneed.com, 2011).
Teamwork provides improved efficiency and productivity:
When incorporating teamwork strategies, members become more efficient and productive.
This is because it allows the workload to be shared, reducing the pressure on individuals, and
ensure tasks are completed within a set time period. It likewise enables goals to be more
achievable, upgrades the enhancement of execution enhances work fulfillment and builds
work pace.
At last, when a gathering of people's cooperates, contrasted with one individual working
alone, they advance a more efficient work yield and can finish assignments quicker because
of numerous personalities interlaced on similar goals and destinations of the business
(Skillsyouneed.com, 2011).
Teamwork provides great learning opportunities:
Working in a team, it enables to learn from one another’s mistakes. Members able to avoid
future errors, gain insight from differing perspectives, and learn new concepts from more
experienced colleagues. In addition, individuals can expand their skill sets, discover fresh
ideas from newer colleagues and therefore ascertain more effective approaches and solutions
towards the tasks. This active engagement generates the future articulation; encouragement
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and innovative capacity to problem solve and generate ideas more effectively and efficiently
(Campbell, 2018).
In the given context, the group has used all the necessary aspects on beginning from forming
a team to working as a team. Group members have improved by the beginning of the training
event. Even though the members were not so keen and sharp in the beginning of the project,
they were when it came to the near date of the training event. The author has inserted some
evidences of doing teamwork and some letters and screenshots of chats where the members
have talked about the event in annexures under “Working within a team”.
When managed properly, teamwork is a better way to work!
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3.2 Analyzing Team Dynamics
3.2.1 What is the meaning of team dynamics?
The behavioral relationship between members of a group that are assigned connected tasks
within a company. Dynamics are affected by roles and responsibilities and have a direct result
on productivity. The term “group dynamics” refers to the interactions between people who
are talking together in a group setting. Group dynamics can be studied in business settings, in
volunteer settings, in classroom settings, and in social settings. Any time there are three or
more individuals interacting or talking together, there are group dynamics. In the given
context the author has identified two main settings where team dynamics can be formed
which are, classroom setting and social setting (Team Dynamics, n.d).
3.2.2 Team Dynamics Jigsaw
The author’s team has used this method to identify the team dynamics more deeply as they
wanted to observe the different aspects of building team. Functioning as a successful team
requires the integration of many different activities. If any piece of the puzzle is missing,
then the groups of people is not likely to functions as a true team.
The figure above illustrates the main issues that will be covered in this material. It is laid out
in the form of a jigsaw puzzle to illustrate the learning approach. The author has illustrated
below, the real scenario activities while considering the jigsaw puzzle. When considering to
the author’s team / group, they had some great team dynamics and that made them a force to
be reckoned in the class working area.
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Figure 4 - Team Dynamics Jigsaw

3.2.3 Productive meetings
Albeit singular colleagues perform assignments between group gatherings, a significant part
of the collaboration got finished when all colleagues were as one amid gatherings. Indeed,
even in the creator's group numerous individuals hated gatherings; nonetheless, profitable
gatherings upgraded the possibility of having a fruitful preparing occasion.
Much the same as different processes, gatherings can be considered and always made strides.
It is hard to have beneficial gatherings since few individuals know the guidelines and
aptitudes required for such gatherings. A similar situation occurred in the creator's group
when they composed the principal meeting of the group. In fact, the goal of having constantly
improved meetings may be as hard for the team to reach as the improvement goals set for the
project. The best way to have productive meetings is to follow the guidelines given below
from the start of the project when the members expect to learn new ways of working together
(Me.udel.edu, 2018).
1. Use Agendas:
Each meeting must have an agenda, preferably one drafted at the previous meeting and
developed in detail by one or two members prior to the actual meeting. It should be sent to
participants in advance, if possible. A meeting is actually a perfect opportunity to achieve a
lot of things. It is as chance to catch everybody up on what is going in the overall scheme of
things or work (Harvard Business Review, 2018).
In the author’s group members exactly knew what they were doing and they had clear cut
topics to discuss in the meetings. Secretary made an agenda which is another important factor
of conducting a productive meeting because when you have a purpose, you must have a
meeting agenda.
In the agenda she listed the work which needs to be done in the available time. The leader
was very friendly and strict at the same time and he always encouraged the members to
participate in the meetings. If the purpose of your meeting is relevant to those in attendance,
leader always wanted them to participate in the discussion and be involved in the decision –
making.
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Taking minutes and using technology is another main point of productive meetings. The
minutes are the record of what was discussed and decided at the meeting and they help to set
the agenda for the following meeting. (Refer Annexures 3 – Analyzing Team Dynamics)
2. Have a facilitator:
Each meeting should have a facilitator who is responsible for keeping the meeting focused
and moving. Ordinarily, this role is appropriate for the team facilitator. In the author’s team
the role facilitator was assigned to Harshad, who was a person with a bit of aggression and a
person who knows all three languages (Harvard Business Review, 2018).
Among the facilitator's chief responsibilities were:
 Encourage compliance with the Code of Cooperation and other team norms;
 Keep the discussion focused on the topic and moving along;
 Intervene if the discussion fragments into multiple conversations;
 Tactfully prevent anyone from dominating or being overlooked;
 End discussions.
The facilitator should also notify the group when the time allotted for an agenda item has
expired or is about to expire. The team then decides whether to continue discussion at the
expense of other agenda items or postpone further discussion until another meeting.
In the team according to the given context the facilitator did a great job as, the leader formed
several meetings in a week because the conducting was easy with the help of facilitator
(Eventbrite UK Blog, 2018)
3. Draft next agenda:
At the end of the meeting, draft an agenda for the next meeting.
4. Evaluate the meeting:
Always review and evaluate each meeting, even if other agenda items go overtime. The
evaluation should include decisions on what will be done to improve the meeting next time
and helpful feedback to the team leader. You may want to experiment with mid meeting
evaluations. Team members always laid their ideas in front of others when evaluating the
meeting (Eventbrite UK Blog, 2018).
According to the author, productive meetings are very successful method when improving the
team dynamics. All the team meetings, agenda, etc.… will be added in the annexures under
“Analyzing team dynamics”.
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3.2.4 Team composition and roles they played
Choose or building the right team is vital for the success of any task. Successful projects are
usually the result of careful planning and the talent and collaboration of a project’s team
members. It is essential that the right people be assigned to a team. Each person should be
selected based on his or her knowledge and expertise as well as other potential factors
(Villanovau.com, 2018).
The leader of the author’s team was always careful when assigning the roles, which each
person had to play in the training event. As to his knowledge, he selected the relative people
based on his or her characteristics and experience on a given context. In addition to selecting
the appropriate people, leader used key roles that are essential to the overall team's success
(Villanovau.com, 2018).
Key roles include Sponsor, Leader, Facilitator, Member, Gatekeeper, Recorder, Timekeeper,
and Devil’s advocate.
The above figure illustrates some important aspects of team organizational structure. Note
that the Team Leader and Team Facilitator are ‘on the same level’ as all other Team Members.
It shows the equality of the members in a sort of manner.
Sponsor - The Sponsor oversees and supports the activities of the project teams. Typically,
the sponsor is the manager (or instructor) who chose the projects and appointed the teams;
however, other people may be involved (Nazzaro and Strazzabosco, 2018).
Sponsors do not conduct the actual project; they guide the efforts of the project team. They
appoint the project team and together with the team leader determine the project's boundaries.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 24
Figure 5 - Major Roles in a team

In the given context Dr. Dilina Herath, the author’s mentor was the team sponsor. He guided the
team and always pushed the members to complete the training program.
Team Leader - The team leader manages the team: calling and, if necessary, facilitating
meetings, handling or assigning administrative details, organizing all team activities, and
overseeing preparations for reports and presentations. In the author’s team Jana was the
leader and he worked accordingly to the face of the scenarios every time possible (Nazzaro
and Strazzabosco, 2018).
The team leader should be interested in solving the problems that prompted the project, and
be reasonably skilled at working with individuals and groups. Ultimately it is the leader's
responsibility to create and maintain channels that enable team members to do their work.
According to the author’s perspective the leader was a great person to deal with as he was a
perfect example for captain cool as he always kept his cool when solving different problems.
Facilitator - The ideal facilitator has a combination of people, technical, and training skills.
In the workplace, facilitators should be chosen from outside the process area being studied so
that they are neutral to the project. Even though the facilitators should be chosen from outside
the project, the team appointed Harshad as the facilitator even though he was another regular
member of the team (Nazzaro and Strazzabosco, 2018).
Team Member - Team members are the rest of the people involved in the project. The author
was a team member in the team but according to the occasions, he had to be the leader and
also had to play different roles. Not everyone who could contribute something worthwhile
need be on the team; project team members can always consult with experts or other staff as
the project unfolds (Nazzaro and Strazzabosco, 2018).
3.2.5 Belbin’s Team Roles Model
When identifying the team roles there was another model where the team members can fit in.
Belbin identified this model as this model has name after him as Belbin’s Team Roles
Model. In this model, Belbin identified nine team roles and categorized those roles into three
groups.
 Action Oriented Roles
 People Oriented Roles
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 Thought Oriented Role (Belbin.com, 2018).
Team Role Description Team Member Name
Resource Investigator Uses their inquisitive nature to
find ideas to bring back to the
team.
Dulantha Weerasekara
Team Worker Helps the team to gel, using their
versatility to identify the work
required and complete it on behalf
of the team.
Jana (The leader)
Coordinator Needed to focus on the team's
objectives, draw out team
members and delegate work
appropriately.
Nishadi
Plant Tends to be highly creative and
good at solving problems in
unconventional ways.
Enura Indula (The Author)
Monitor Evaluator Provides a logical eye, making
impartial judgments where
required and weighs up the team's
options in a dispassionate way.
Harshad Iqbal
Specialist Brings in-depth knowledge of a
key area to the team.
Ismile
Sharper Provides the necessary drive to
ensure that the team keeps
moving and does not lose focus or
momentum.
Manisha
Implementer Needed to plan a workable
strategy and carry it out as
efficiently as possible.
Sudesh
Complete Finisher Most effectively used at the end
of tasks to polish and scrutinize
the work for errors, subjecting it
to the highest standards of quality
control.
Lanka
Table 4 - Belbin's Theory Role Models
Above roles are assigned to the group members by the leader. He made every member to take
part in the ‘Belbin Test’ online and assigned the roles according to the results. These roles
were so effective when carrying on the training event.
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3.2.6 Decision Making
Types of decisions team members made and how effective they were
As a team works at a task, or at team maintenance functions, decisions must be made. The
quality of team decision making, and the extent to which a decision is accepted and
implemented by team members, is greatly affected by the decision making process. The six
most common team decision-making patterns are given below. The author’s team has made
some decisions when organizing the training event those decisions have been categorized
below alongside with the six most common decision making patterns. So that the reader can
get a vivid idea about the context which the author’s team faced (Forbes.com, 2018).
Unilateral/Authoritarian
One person makes the decision and imposes it upon the team. Often, there is very little input
from team members, and acceptance/commitment is low. In the context, the author’s group
had a lot unilateral decisions. Even though there were a lot of ideas and decisions, they did
not affect the outcome that much. As an example, a group member made a decision to change
the audience even after getting the approval. It was a unilateral decision and ultimately it did
not affect the outcome (Forbes.com, 2018).
Handclasp
Two team members make a decision and impose it upon the team. This pattern sometimes
looks participatory, but it still involves little input from the other members, who will have a
low level of commitment to the decision (Forbes.com, 2018)
Minority
Several members make a decision and impose it upon the majority, who have been
disenfranchised. In the hands of skilled practitioners, this may appear to be participatory
decision making, but it is only a handclasp among a few members. Decision quality suffers
because of the lack of input from the majority, and commitment to the decision is low among
those outside the minority (Forbes.com, 2018).
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Even though normally minority decisions make a less impact on the final outcome, when
consider about the author’s content once he and another couple of people made a decision to
add a new member to the group. That decision affected the final outcome as the other
members also agreed on that decision.
Majority
This is the popular, "democratic" default option. When a team is unable to resolve a conflict,
there is almost always a suggestion to "take a vote, majority wins." Majority rule has the
illusion of fairness, but it cuts off discussion, thereby reducing decision quality. Furthermore,
there is no commitment to the decision from the losing minority. In the given context a lot of
decisions were majority voted decisions as all the members agreed on those decisions. Such
as, making Dulantha Nishadi and Jana the three main presenters at the training event. Also,
the topic of the relevant training event, etc.… were all majority decisions (Forbes.com, 2018).
Consensus
Consensus can be defined as an agreed upon decision by all team members that reflects full
exploration of a decision issue and does not compromise any strong convictions or needs.
Consensus is difficult to achieve but results in the best decision quality and the highest level
of commitment to the team decision (Forbes.com, 2018).
A consensus decision often becomes new policy. Just as the majority, consensus is another
form of method which the team used when making decisions. The group leader was well
aware of these methods and because of that decision making looked easier among the team
and also when conducting the training event.
Regarding the given context decision making was a vital aspect of the training event. Good
leadership and good understanding among the team members made these decision makings so
effective and it was less time wasting.
Ex: As the best example of decision-making, the author can demonstrate the incident, which
took place in the training event itself. The members of the group and the trainers did the
rehearsals and practice sessions in Sinhala language, because the stakeholders (The audience
and the principal) requested it to be in Sinhala language. However due to some issues they
asked to conduct the event in English and Tamil language. Then the author and leader made a
decision to not to change the agenda of teaching in Sinhala, instead while teaching in Sinhala
he made other members who were fluency in Tamil and English to translate it to the audience.
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The decision-making took place within a couple of seconds and it was a good move, which
was made by the leader, and it did pay off well for the team.
3.2.7 Issues faced when building the team
3.2.7.1 Team building
What is a team? It is a gathering that has a vocation to do, regardless of whether as paid
members or as volunteers. A gathering has hung out, regardless of whether in littler
augmentations over a drawn out stretch of time or by spending an end of the week or even
more cooperating on something. It is a gathering that accomplishes cohesiveness; a team's
quality is found in the connections among the team individuals. It is a gathering with a typical
goal, whose individuals are clear about progressing in the direction of one reason. It is a
gathering whose individuals are associated. While different gatherings may perceive the
qualities of every part, team individuals depend on the qualities of every part to achieve the
target (TeamBonding, 2018).
3.2.7.2 Team Development
Teams, similar to people, go through unsurprising, consecutive stages after some time.
Tuckman (1965) marked the phases of team advancement as framing, raging, norming,
performing, and dismissing.
Teams and gatherings are living creatures with certain anticipated phases of improvement.
One portrayal of the movement of team improvement has been delineated by a progression of
ventures on a chart (Team Development, 2018).
One axis speaks to progress with assignments that are increasingly confounded and other
speaks to the measure of time and exertion that the gathering has put resources into turning
into a team. The diagram resembles this:
Success Complexity
Transforming
Performing
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Norming
Storming
Forming Time; Effort
The author has table charted the five stages of group development below. The reader will get
a clear idea about the different characteristics of the team development and how those stages
affected the given context.
STAGE MAJOR PROCESS CHARACTERISTICS
Orientation (Forming) Exchange of Information; task
exploration; identification of
commonalities
Tentative interactions; polite
discourse; concern over
ambiguity; self-discourse
Conflict (Storming) Disagreement over procedures;
expression of dissatisfaction;
emotional responding; resistance
Criticism of ideas; poor
attendance; hostility; polarization
and coalition forming
Cohesion (Norming) Growth of cohesiveness and unity;
establishment of roles, standards,
and relationships
Agreement on procedures;
reduction in role ambiguity;
increased "we feeling"
Performance (Performing) Goal achievement; high task
orientation; emphasis on
performance and production
Decision making; problem
solving; mutual cooperation
Dissolution (Adjourning) Termination or roles; completion
of tasks; reduction of dependency
Disintegration and withdrawal;
increased independence,
emotionality, and regret
Table 5 - Team Development Cycle Table
3.2.7.3 Common issues faced when building a team
Team building exercises are very important in the development of task-oriented teams that
will work together on a complex project for an extended period of time. Experiences
designed to facilitate team development should be focused on some, if not all, of the
following five issues;
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1. Interdependence.
Each team member's outcomes are determined, a minimum of parts, by the actions of the
other members. The structure of the team task ought to be such it needs cooperative
mutuality. Functioning severally of different team members, or competitive with them, can
cause lower than optimum outcomes for the whole team.
The team building task ought to even have a cooperative interdependent structure. Tasks that
need the successful performance of subtasks by all team members are referred to as divisible
and conjunctive tasks. The team building exercise ought to be structured such the team
members become awake to, knowledge and their interdependence (MindTools.com, 2018).
2. Goal Specification.
It is very important for team members to have common goals for team achievement; in
addition, team members must communicate clearly about individual goals they may have.
Some team building sessions consist entirely of goal clarification (specification) exercises.
Shared goals is one of the definitional properties of the concept "team". A simple, but useful,
team building exercise is to assign a newly formed team the task of producing a mission and
goals statement (MindTools.com, 2018).
3. Cohesiveness.
Teams are cohesive to the extent that membership in them is valued; members are drawn
toward the team. Task-oriented groups involve each social cohesiveness and task
cohesiveness. Social cohesiveness refers to the bonds of social attraction that link team
members. Though a high level of social cohesiveness might create team life a lot of pleasant,
it is not extremely concerning team performance (MindTools.com, 2018).
Still, the patterns of social attraction among a team are a very outstanding concern. Team
building exercises that have a part of the fun or play are helpful in encouraging attraction
bonds to develop. Task cohesiveness refers to the approach within which skills and talents of
the team members mesh to permit effective performance. Exercises that need the applying of
the abilities, which will be necessary for completion of the team assignment, however, need
them in an exceedingly less stringent state of affairs, enable the team members to assess one
another's abilities. Such experiences will cause the thought of ensuing issue, the event of
team member's roles and of the norms that govern role enactment (MindTools.com, 2018).
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4. Roles and Norms.
All teams develop a set of roles and norms over time. In task-oriented teams, it is essential
that the role structure enable the team to cope effectively with the requirements of the task.
When the task is divisible and conjunctive, as are most of the important team tasks, the
assignment of roles to members who can perform them effectively is essential. Active
consideration of the role structure can be an important part of a team building exercise
(MindTools.com, 2018).
Task roles may be rotated so that all team members experience, and learn from, all roles. It is
important that the norms governing the assignment of roles is understood and accepted by
team members.
Norms are the rules governing the behavior of team members, and include the rewards for
behaving in accordance with these rules (or normative requirements), as well as the sanctions
for norm violations.
Norms will develop in a team, whether or not they are actively discussed. There are common
norms that govern most teams; however, a team building assignment in which those common
norms, as well as some that are specific to a team, are discussed and accepted is useful
(MindTools.com, 2018).
5. Communication.
Successful interpersonal communication is fundamental to the smooth working of any task
team. There are numerous methods for encouraging the learning of powerful communication
abilities. Undivided attention works out, hone in giving and getting criticism, hone in
checking for cognizance of verbal messages, and are altogether gone for creating
communication abilities. It is likewise vital for a team to build up a viable communication
organize; who conveys to whom; is there anyone "unaware of what's going on?" Norms will
create administering communication. Do those standards urge everybody to partake, or do
they enable maybe a couple prevailing individuals to guarantee all the "broadcast
appointment?" Team building activities can center on expertise advancement, organized plan,
and standards, however, notwithstanding when the activity is centered on another issue,
communication is going on (MindTools.com, 2018).
Watch it! Shape it!
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3.2.7.4 Issues faced when building the author’s team
When building the author’s team, they also faced some different issues. As the author has
shown above his team also came across some issues when building the team. Mainly the
communication barrier was there when communicating with the team members, because the
leader was not a good Sinhala language speaker. When communicating and conveying a
message to the team members it was a bit difficult and communication barrier was there.
These issues are not intended to present a series of team building exercises. Rather, they are
intended to help you evaluate the potential effectiveness of an exercise. Team building is not
a silver bullet for fixing dysfunctional teams, or assuring that all of your teams will work
well. Team building exercises can be helpful in developing effective task-oriented teams, if
they are selected to enable teams to explore the issues identified in this outline.
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3.3 Evaluating own role in the team
The author (Enura Indula) had a vital role to play in the group. His role was to make the
training materials and he named as a ‘Curriculum Developer’. The leader had a lot of faith on
the author, as he was one of the pillars in the team.
His main goal was to develop the materials that were to present at the training event by all the
presenters. The author divided all three-office packages to three main groups. Those three
groups were formed by the leader prior to the curriculum develop.
The author personally met all the presenters and managed to get their idea about each
package. After some deep researches, the author managed to create three curriculums for
three main office packages. In addition, the members presented those.
What have done better that the expectations:
To be honest, none of the team members expects the curriculum to be professional. Although
it was professional. At the later part of designing the training event, team members came to
an idea to distribute that curriculum among the audience due its professionalism. That was a
perfect example for exceeding the expectation levels of the team members.
In addition the team leader had a small verbal communication problem, because of that he
could not communicate with the stakeholders that much, especially with the principal of St.
Clair’s College.
The author was the one who led the team in that situation. The author used his effective
communication most of the time. The author was a very ethical person and always has a smile
on his face when engaging with people and when doing work. That made him a valuable
person among the group also in the Esoft studying area.
What could have done better:
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The author was a valuable and a team player, still he also had different aspects, which he had
to improve and work which he could have done better.
As an example, he tried to do the curriculum development on his own even though he had
another two members for help him. It was not his ego or any sort of a thing. He was a sole
worker and he managed to achieve many things through that working style. Still that working
method did not suitable for a teamwork.
When considering about that factor he could have done a lot better. He could have develop
the curriculum with other fellow members.
As the reader knows by now, the author is a constant learner and a try hard. He will use this
fault as an example and will turn around this to his advantage in the near future.
Below the author has mentioned the score which other team members gave him after the
training event.
 Communication – 9/10
 Literacy – 9/10
 Teamwork – 7/10
 Leadership – 8/10
 Task Fulfilment – 8/10
The above levels are just personal ratings that were given by other team members towards the
leader. These ratings can be different in the real-world scenario.
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4. Applying critical reasoning and thinking to a range of problem - solving
scenarios.
4.1 Problem solving skills
Groups tend to make for one of two reasons: either for strictly social functions (a celebration, for
example) or to induce one thing accomplished. In the latter case, there will be some variety of
drawback finding needed of the cluster. It is once a gaggle is attempting to accomplish one thing that
the interactions or dynamics become stronger, particularly if the cluster is beneath constraints in time
and resources. There are structured experiences, equivalent to “Broken Squares”. Often a reasonably
easy, straightforward exercise that may bring out variable designs and skills may build a gaggle
cohesive and effective. It will facilitate cluster members learn what helps and what hinders cluster
drawback finding (Skillsyouneed.com, 2018).
Successful group problem solving depends first on good communication among the members. By
“communication”, the author means the sharing of information by everyone. Silence does not mean
approval. Group members do know that each person has a contribution to make. Members must offer
what they know, what they observe, what they think, what they feel the group to be most effective
(Skillsyouneed.com, 2018).
The following are some recommendations for effectively solving a problem as a group and methods
that the author’s group used in the process.
 Each member should understand the total problem or task. Someone, usually the
chairperson or task leader, should summarize the task that is to be done.
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He or she should seek clarification from the members to assure that everyone understands
what the group will be doing.
 Each person should realize how he or she could contribute to the solution. Everyone
has talent and skills that they were born with, as well as talents and skills they have
acquired.
Most of us tend to downplay or minimize what we have to offer. Problem solving is no time
to be modest about one’s talents. All available skills and talents should be on the table for use
by the group in solving its problem.
 It is the group’s responsibility to help manage the group’s dynamics; for example, to
help the shy person to contribute, and to help the dominant person make time
available for others to speak.
 Sometimes members lose sight of what the original purpose was and may get
sidetracked. These “detours” can waste a lot of the group’s time. It is important to
keep the purpose, goal, or task in mind, and to bring the discussion back to the stated
focus. This is the shared responsibility of all group members.
4.1.1 Tools and Methods use when solving a problem in a group
The author will illustrate two main methods that they have used when they solve problems in
the team. They have used these methods effectively, because of that solving problems was
easy for some extent. However, the reader should get an estimate about what is problem
solving and what are the methods which use when it does.
4.1.1.1 Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the name given to a circumstance when a gathering of individuals meets to
create new thoughts around a particular territory of intrigue. Utilizing rules, which expel
hindrances, individuals, can think even more uninhibitedly and move into new regions of
thought thus make various new thoughts and arrangements. The members yell out thoughts as
they strike them and afterward expand on the thoughts raised by others. Every one of the
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thoughts is noted down and are not censured. Just when the brainstorming session is over are
the thoughts assessed (Brainstorming, n.d).
Refer the below diagram for the one of the sample brainstorming which the team did before
the training event.
Figure 6 - Six Sides Brainstorming for a problem
The above brainstorming took place for choosing a relevant topic for the group to conduct the
training event. The above six steps were the most embedded from all the others. It shows how
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 38
Six Sides
Brainstorming
3/7/2018
Choosing a topic for the training event.
Group members threw different ideas on the
table.
The leader chose two topics from those
ideas and got the feedback for that topics
from other members.
Some group members agreed to the two
topics and some didn't. So the group further
analysed the two topics.
Finally all the members agreed on single
topic and proceeded with it.
After all the procedures members made
arguments for and against the topic.

to categorize the problem to different aspects and solve them easily. The group did many
brainstorming activities and the above chat is one from them.
4.1.1.2 The Drill - Down Technique
Drill Down is a simple technique for breaking complex problems down into progressively
smaller parts. To use the technique, start by writing the problem down on the left – hand side
of large sheet of paper. Next, write down the points that make up the next level of detail on
the problem a little to the right of this. These may be factors contributing to the problem,
information relating to it, or question raised by it. This process of breaking the problem down
into its components part is called ‘Drill Down’ (Free Management Books, 2018).
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 39
Figure 7 - Drill - Down of a specific problem

Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and team problem solving activities
can be a great way to get members prepped and ready to solve real problems in real life
scenarios. Whether in school, work or in their social relationships, the ability to critically
analyze a problem, map out all its elements and then prepare a workable solution is one of the
most valuable skills one can acquire in life (Free Management Books, 2018).
The author has mentioned the above two methods which his team used when solving a
problem while delivering the training program.
Broken Squares tool will be added in the annexures under “Problem – solving Skills”. It was
also an important method that the author’s team used frequently. The using of the tool and
examples will be in the annexures for reader’s further researches and studies.
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4.2 Applying Critical Reasoning
4.2.1 Critical Path Analysis
The reader might be confused by Critical Path Analysis (The author has used the short form
CPA from now on words for ease if the narration), what is CPA? Let the author restate it in a
way that is easier to understand.
The critical path is simply all the tasks that determine the end date in a project schedule. In
this context, it is referred as professional schedule. If one of those tasks is late by one day,
then the project end date will be extended by one day. Oftentimes, there will be tasks that are
not on the critical path; this is due to the slack in the project schedule. If the reader refers to
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the current schedule, you can examine the chart and quickly identify the tasks that have some
float compared to the tasks that have no slack (Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, 2018).
Slack: Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without affecting the start date of a
subsequent task. The critical path methodology is simply a technique to identify all the tasks
that will directly affect the project end date.
Creating a Critical Path (The author’s team):
There are couple of steps to proceed to design a critical path. The author has mentioned all
the steps which his team when creating a critical path.
 Identify all steps in the event process or work plan.
 Document the steps in the sequence in which they occur.
 Identify the relationships between steps, and document the dependencies between
them.
 Determine the latest allowable start and end time or date when each step can occur
without delaying the next step and, subsequently, the whole value stream or work
plan.
 Calculate a float value for each task. Critical tasks usually have zero float. Non-
critical tasks will have a numeric value associated with them, representing slack time.
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 Calculate the float for each step by subtracting the Early Start time or date from the
Late Start time or date and assign a float value to each task and sub-task.
 Using the information collected above, identify the critical and non-critical tasks and
sub-tasks by determining the duration of the value stream or work plan.
 Chart/document the critical path.
Refer the below figure to get an idea about the functions of CPA;
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 43
Figure 8 - Main Functions in CPA

4.2.1.1 Critical Path Analysis Diagram of the author’s group
4.2.1.2 Justification of the CPA tool
The above diagram was the author’s group CPA diagram, Leader and the author managed to
design this diagram according to the professional schedule. (Figure 9) Once the decision and
planning is made, it was the time to act. In the final step, the group have put the plan into
action. As the reader can see in the above figure, the planning has been started from forming
a group. Then the group’s main concern was to find a school and then continue from
onwards.
The CPA was a new tool to all the group members, as they never knew about something like
this. However, there were a lot of float time in the process because the members were unware
of the fact of what to do and how to do it effectively.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 44
Figure 9 - Critical Path Analysis in the author's group

Float Time:
In the real scenario, when forming the teams and taking actions there were a lot of float time.
Group members were not familiar with the tool and that cost the team a bit too much when
proceeding forward. As an example when creating a draft budget it took a lot of time because
of the collection of money. Even though the proposal had a draft budget, it was not the best
budget. Even though it has a lot of float time it did not affect the training event that much,
unlikely the below incident which cost the team in a bad way (Brighthub, 2018).
The author’s role was the curriculum developer where he had to prepare the training
materials.
He had another two group members to work with. Unfortunately the author was the only
member who prepared the training materials as the other two members were did not
communicate with the author well. As the author was a Plant (Refer Table 4) he did the work
by his own.
That took some time to complete the work, as he had to do 3 times the work as he had. In
other case it increased the float time of the operation, because of that the trainers got their
working materials a bit late. After that, trainers complained that they do not have enough time
to practice the presentation.
As the author was a good communicator as well as a socialize person he managed to work
with the trainers and complete the task in the given time. In the given context, trainers
practicing the presentations is a dependent on preparing the working material.
As the reader has seen above, a small miscalculation can lead a team to a vast devastation,
because of the author’s socialize and communication skills he did manage to come up with a
solution and it shows how effective and how efficient he was while working in a group.
As for now, the author has talked about how effective CPA was to his group when delivering
the training program. Let us take a small turn and analyze how other people have used this
method when they work in a company or in a working area. Example and context is below.
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The reader can get a vivid idea about CPA and how it works when comparing the author’s
scenario and below example. Obviously, after the full workout the reader can apply these
methods in his or her working area.
4.2.2 Different Illustrations of Critical Path Analysis
In order to use CPA let’s first consider a scenario. The below scenario is making a small
building. Let’s consider this scenario and try to understand how to use CPA (Pmbypm.com,
2018).
Table 6 -
Different illustrations
of CPA
Clearly some of
these activities
cannot be started
until other activities
have been completed.
For example
Activity G cannot begin until Activity E has been completed. The following table shows
which activities must precede which,
D must follow E,
E must follow A and B,
F must follow D and G,
G must follow E,
H must follow G,
I must follow C and F,
J must I
These incidents are call Precedence Relations.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 46
Activity Duration (In days)
A - Prepare foundation. 7
B - Make and position doorframes. 2
C - Lay drains, floor base and screed. 15
D - Install services and fittings. 8
E - Erect walls. 10
F - Plaster celling. 2
G - Erect roof. 5
H - Install door and windows. 8
I - Fit gutters and pipes. 2
J - Paint outside. 3

The network shown below can represent all this information.
In this network, a vertex represents each activity. Joining vertex X to vertex Y shows that
activity X must be completed before Y can be started. The number marked on the each arc
shows the duration of the activity from which arc starts. Note the use arc here to mean direct
edge. Sometimes you can easily form the network activity (Pmbypm.com, 2018).
However the whole point of illustrate another example apart from the group’s CPA, to reader
to understand the value of this method and tool when solving a problem.
The activities, which took place when designing the CPA and their evidences, have been
added to the annexures under “Critical Path Analysis”.
Enura Indula (COL/A - 060329) Professional Practices Assigment - 1 47
Figure 10 - An example for CPA in a different working area

4.3 Process of applying critical reasoning
4.3.1 Pros and Cons of Critical Path Analyzing
Advantages Disadvantages
Helps reduce the risk and costs of complex
projects.
Reliability of CPA largely based on accurate
estimates and assumptions made.
Encourages careful assessment of the
requirements of each activity in a project.
CPA does not guarantee the success of a project
that still needs to be managed properly.
A decision-making tool and a planning tool
all in one.
Resources may not actually be as flexible as
management hope when they come to address
the network float.
Provides members with a useful overview of
a complex project.
Too many activities may the network diagram
too complicated. Activities might themselves
have to be broken down into mini-projects.
Links well with other aspects of planning,
including budgeting.
CPA operates on the assumption that there is a
precise known time that each activity in the
project will take. However, it may not be true in
real practice.
It identifies the most critical elements in the
project. Thus, the management is kept alert
and prepared to pay due attention to the
critical activities of the project.
CPA time estimates are not based on statistical
analysis.
Table 7 - Pros and Cons of CPA
Evaluation:
Once the decision and plan are made, it is time to act. Evaluation is often a neglected step in
the decision-making process. The key to evaluation is to seek feedback constantly on how
your plan is doing. Get feedback from subordinates. Go to the point of the action and
determine first hand if the plan is working or not. If not, determine why not and take
immediate action to correct the plan. If your problem is still not solved, go back to the list of
options and choose another. Follow the same steps.
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Things, which can be improved in the author’s team;
According to the evaluation of the CPA, the author’s team can also gain some knowledge
about how to work on more effectively in a given context. In this scenario, as the author has
explained there were a lot of float time and miss directional parts. When the evaluation is
done the author’s, team should reduce those float tie and miss directions.
As an example, the team spent a lot of time when finding the school. It went on even after the
last end date in the CPA. Next time around through some different communication skills, the
author’s team can surely reduce that sort of mistakes and it will reduce the float time.
When consider about the float time again the author’s team can reduce it in the upcoming
projects as they have a better knowledge of what to do because of the mistakes of this
training event. The reader should understand that CPA steps are depending on each different
step (Refer Table 6).
Without continuing one-step then a team cannot be done the other steps.
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5. Examining the need for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
and its role within the workplace and for higher-level learning.
5.1 Examining the need of a Continuing Professional Development
5.1.1 The purpose of Continuing Professional Development
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” – Albert
Einstein.
In an ever-increasing globalized and competitive society, the importance of Continuing
Professional Development (In the later part it has referred as CPD) cannot be overstated. The
author being a trainee management himself, this training program has helped his professional
career in a vast way. By The world’s industries are forever evolving, which creates exciting
opportunities but which also comes with challenges. CPD enables an individual to regularly
apply attention to important areas of development and takes appropriate action to reduce any
shortfalls in knowledge (Nirmali, 2018).
Equally, an individual must see CPD as a way to remain competitive with his or her peers,
and as an opportunity to differentiate themselves at moments where this may be required,
such as in job interviews or in tenders for new work and business acquisition. In the given
context the author’s role taught him many valuable lessons in professional development and
that made him indeed to continue CPD in a vast way. As more people become professionally
qualified with similar qualifications, CPD becomes more important as a means of separating
yourself from the pack (Continuing Professional Development, n.d).
A planned approach to CPD allows an individual to put themselves in charge of their own
career development and work-related ambitions. A personal empowerment of learning brings
with it an increase in confidence and resulting abilities, all of which correlate to an
improvement of capability for their employment environment (Nirmali, 2018).
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5.1.2 Importance of Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development is widely known as basic to the advance of standards
and skills for people and their industries. Before trying to grasp the way to build the foremost
of the varied CPD opportunities out there, it is necessary to grasp why CPD is very important,
why it exists and its primary purpose.
Continuing professional Development exists to make sure that personal enhances their skills
and skills once they need formally qualified. Typically, tutorial qualifications have already
been completed at this stage, a person is currently operating their specific business, and job
operate. CPD is very important because it helps to make sure that additional learning is
progressed during a structured, sensible and relevant thanks to guaranteeing that square
measure applied efficiencies in learning. CPD permits a person to specialize in what specific
skills and data they need over a short-run amount, say a couple of years, to be assured there is
a recognizable improvement in their proficiency and talent sets (CPD - The CPD Certification
Service, 2018).
The responsibility for finishing continued skilled Development lies ultimately with the
individual, usually inside the context of their membership and involvement with business
skilled bodies or institutes. However, additional and additional employers square measure
taking a proactive and supporting role with the CPD needed by their workers. Other than
business associations, the importance of CPD inside the overall enterprise is growing, as
additional employers see the advantages of additional extremely complete, actuated and
committed labor (CPD - The CPD Certification Service, 2018).
The author, being an expert person by himself it is necessary to continue that methodology
until his operating career ends. Continued skilled development may be a very important side
of being a top quality worker. The reader of the thesis can get a vivid plan concerning the side
of constant the skilled development. There is a standard misunderstanding with some
employers that CPD takes important time, which can end in periods of “out of the business”.
However, the supply of additional versatile CPD suited to business necessities has inflated
considerably in recent years, with the introduction of online learning, short courses, and half-
day workshops, also as distance learning and academic exhibitions. These will give CPD
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learning seminars aboard new business revenue and networking opportunities
(WordPress.com, 2018).
5.2 Motivational theories and their impact on Continuing Professional Development
The term motivation is gotten from the Latin word ‘movere’, signifying "to move."
Motivation can be comprehensively characterized as the powers following up on or inside a
person that reason the excitement, heading, and steadiness of objective coordinated,
intentional exertion. Motivation theory is along these lines concerned about the procedures
that clarify why and how human conduct is enacted (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
The wide rubric of motivation and motivation theory is a standout amongst the most much of
the time contemplated and expounded on subjects in the authoritative sciences and is viewed
as a standout amongst the most essential territories of concentrate in the field of hierarchical
conduct. Regardless of the extent of the exertion that has been given to the investigation of
motivation, there is no single theory of motivation that is all around acknowledged
(Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
The absence of a bound together theory of motivation reflects both the multifaceted nature of
the development and the assorted foundations and points of the individuals who think about
it. To depict these essential focuses, it is lighting up to consider the advancement of
motivation and motivation theory as the objects of logical request
(Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
There are two parts of motivation theories,
1. Content Theories.
2. Process Theories.
5.2.1 Content Theories
Substance (or need) hypotheses of motivation center on factors interior to the person that
invigorate and direct conduct. In general, such theories regard motivation as the product of
internal drives that compel an individual to act or move (hence, "motivate") toward the
satisfaction of individual needs. The substance hypotheses of motivation are situated in vast
part on early speculations of motivation that followed the ways of acting in reverse to their
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apparent cause in inside drives. Major content theories of motivation are Maslow's hierarchy
of needs, Alderfer's ERG theory, Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory, and McClelland's
learned needs or three-need theory (Verywell Mind, 2018).
5.2.1.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs, which suggests that individual needs
exist in a hierarchy consisting of physiological needs, security needs, belongingness needs,
esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs are the most basic needs for
food, water, and other factors necessary for survival. Security needs include needs for safety
in one's physical environment, stability, and freedom from emotional distress.
Belongingness needs relate to desires for friendship, love, and acceptance within a given
community of individuals. Esteem needs are those associated with obtaining the respect of
one's self and others. Finally, self-actualization needs are those corresponding to the
achievement one's own potential, the exercising and testing of one's creative capacities, and,
in general, to becoming the best person one can possibly be. Unsatisfied needs motivate
behavior; thus, lower-level needs such as the physiological and security needs must be met
before upper-level needs such as belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization can be
motivational (Verywell Mind, 2018).
Applications of the hierarchy of needs to management and the workplace are obvious.
According to the implications of the hierarchy, individuals must have their lower level needs
met by, for example, safe working conditions, adequate pay to take care of one's self and
one's family, and job security before they will be motivated by increased job responsibilities,
status, and challenging work assignments. Despite the ease of application of this theory to a
work setting, this theory has received little research support and therefore is not very useful in
practice.
5.2.1.2 Alderfer’s Theory
The ERG theory is an extension of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Alderfer suggested that
needs could be classified into three categories, rather than five. These three types of needs are
existence, relatedness, and growth. Existence needs are similar to Maslow's physiological and
safety need categories. Relatedness needs involve interpersonal relationships, are comparable
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to aspects of Maslow’s belongingness, and esteem needs. Growth needs are those related to
the attainment of one is potential and are associated with Maslow's esteem and self-
actualization needs (YourCoach, 2018).
The ERG theory differs from the hierarchy of needs in that it does not suggest that lower-
level needs must be completely satisfied before upper-level needs become motivational.
ERG theory also suggests that if an individual is continually unable to meet upper-level needs
that the person will regress and lower-level needs become the major determinants of their
motivation. ERG theory's implications for managers are similar to those for the needs
hierarchy: managers should focus on meeting employees' existence, relatedness, and growth
needs, though without necessarily applying the proviso that, say, job-safety concerns
necessarily take precedence over challenging and fulfilling job requirements (YourCoach,
2018).
5.2.1.3 McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory
McClelland's theory suggests that individuals learn needs from their culture. Three of the
primary needs in this theory are the need for affiliation, the need for power, and the need for
achievement. The need for affiliation is a desire to establish social relationships with others.
The need for power reflects a desire to control one's environment and influence others. The
need for achievement is a desire to take responsibility, set challenging goals, and obtain
performance feedback. The main point of the learned needs theory is that when one of these
needs is strong in a person, it has the potential to motivate behavior that leads to its
satisfaction. Thus, managers should attempt to develop an understanding of whether and to
what degree their employees have one or more of these needs, and the extent to which their
jobs can be structured to satisfy them (MindTools.com, 2018).
5.2.1.4 Motivator – Hygiene Theory
Frederick Herzberg developed the motivator-hygiene theory. This theory is closely related to
Maslow's hierarchy of needs but relates more specifically, to how individuals are motivated in
the workplace. Based on his research, Herzberg argued that meeting the lower-level needs
(hygiene factors) of individuals would not motivate them to exert effort, but would only
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prevent them from being dissatisfied. Only if higher-level needs (motivators) were met would
individuals be motivated (Onlinelibrary.com, n.d).
The implication for managers of the motivator-hygiene theory is that meeting employees
lower-level needs by improving pay, benefits, safety, and other job-contextual factors will
prevent employees from becoming actively dissatisfied but will not motivate them to exert
additional effort toward better performance. To motivate workers, according to the theory,
managers must focus on changing the intrinsic nature and content of jobs themselves by
"enriching" them to increase employees' autonomy and their opportunities to take on
additional responsibility, gain recognition, and develop their skills and careers
(Onlinelibrary.com, n.d).
5.2.2 Process Theories
Process (or intellectual) theories of motivation center on cognizant human choice processes
as a clarification of motivation. The process theories are concerned about deciding how
singular conduct is empowered, coordinated, and kept up in the particularly willed and self-
coordinated human psychological processes. Process theories of motivation depend on early
subjective theories, which set that conduct is the aftereffect of cognizant basic leadership
processes. The major process theories of motivation are expectancy theory, equity theory,
goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory (Onlinelibrary.com, n.d).
5.2.2.1 Expectancy Theory
In the mid-1960s, Victor Vroom connected ideas of social research led in the 1930s by Kurt
Lewin and Edward Tolman straightforwardly to work motivation. Fundamentally, Vroom
proposed that people pick work practices that they trust prompt results they esteem. In
choosing how much push to put into a work conduct, people are probably going to consider:
 Their hope, which means how much they trust that advancing exertion, will prompt a
given level of execution.
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 Their instrumentality or how much they trust that a given level of execution will bring
about specific results or rewards.
 Their valence, which is the degree to which the normal results are alluring or ugly.
Every one of the three of these variables are required to impact motivation in a multiplicative
manner so that for a person to be profoundly energetic, each of the three of the segments of
the hope demonstrates must be high. Furthermore, if even one of these is zero (e.g.,
instrumentality and valence are high, however, hope is totally truant), the individual will have
not a motivation for the undertaking. In this way, supervisors should endeavor, to the degree
conceivable, to guarantee that their workers trust that expanded exertion will enhance
execution and that execution will prompt esteemed prizes (MindTools.com, n.d).
In the late 1960s, Porter and Lawler distributed an augmentation of the Vroom anticipation
show, which is known as the Porter-Lawler hope demonstrate or the Porter-Lawler display. In
spite of the fact that the fundamental commence of the Porter-Lawler demonstrate is the same
with respect to Vroom's model, the Porter-Lawler display is more perplexing in various ways.
It proposes that expanded exertion does not naturally prompt enhanced execution since
people may not have the vital capacities expected to accomplish large amounts of execution,
or in light of the fact that they may have a lacking or unclear view of how to perform
essential errands. Without a comprehension of how to coordinate exertion successfully,
people may apply significant exertion without a relating increment in execution
(MindTools.com, n.d).
5.2.2.2 Equity Theory
Equity theory proposes that people take part in social correlation by contrasting their
endeavors and remunerates and those of applicable others. The impression of people about
the decency of their prizes with respect to others impacts their level of motivation. Equity
exists when people see that the proportion of endeavors to rewards is the same for them as it
is for others to whom they think about themselves. Inequity exists when people see that the
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proportion of endeavors to rewards is unique (as a rule contrarily so) for them than it is for
others to whom they look at themselves. There are two kinds of inequity – under -
compensate and over - remunerate. Under -remunerate happens when a man trusts that she is
either puts in a bigger number of endeavors than another, yet gets a similar reward, or invests
an indistinguishable exertion from another for a lesser reward. For example, if a worker
works longer hours than her associate, yet they get a similar compensation, the representative
would see inequity as under – remunerate (Study.com, 2018).
Then again, with over-remunerate, a man will feel that his endeavors to rewards proportion is
higher than another person's, to such an extent that he is getting more to put in a similar
exertion, or getting a similar reward even with less exertion. While looking into proposes that
under-compensate motivates people to determine the inequity, inquire about additionally
shows that the same isn't valid for over-remunerate. People who are over-compensated
regularly take part in psychological cacophony, persuading themselves that their endeavors
and rewards are equivalent to another's (Study.com, 2018).
As per the equity theory, people are motivated to diminish seen inequity. People may
endeavor to diminish inequity in different ways. A man may change his or her level of
exertion; a representative who feels under-remunerated is probably going to work less hard. A
man may likewise endeavor to change his or her prizes, for example, by requesting a raise.
Another choice is to change the conduct of the reference individual, maybe by urging that
individual to advance more exertion. Finally, a man encountering inequity may change the
reference individual and contrast him or herself with an alternate individual to evaluate
equity. For chiefs, equity theory stresses the significance of a reward framework that is seen
as reasonable by workers (Study.com, 2018).
5.2.2.3 Goal – Setting Theory
The goal-setting theory posits that goals are the most important factors affecting the
motivation and behavior of employees. Primarily Edwin Locke and Gary Latham developed
this motivation theory. Goal-setting theory emphasizes the importance of specific and
challenging goals in achieving motivated behavior (Gostrengths.com, 2018).
Specific goals often involve quantitative targets for improvement in a behavior of interest.
Research indicates that specific performance goals are much more effective than those in
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which a person is told to "do your best." Challenging goals are difficult but not impossible to
attain. Empirical research supports the proposition that goals that are both specific and
challenging are more motivational than vague goals or goals that are relatively easy to
achieve (Gostrengths.com, 2018).
Several factors may moderate the relationship between specific and challenging goals and
high levels of motivation. The first of these factors is goal commitment, which simply means
that the more dedicated the individual is to achieving the goal, the more they will be
motivated to exert effort toward goal accomplishment. Some research suggests that having
employees participate in goal setting will increase their level of goal commitment.
A second factor relevant to goal-setting theory is self-efficacy, which is the individual's belief
that he or she can successfully complete a particular task. If individuals have a high degree of
self-efficacy, they are likely to respond more positively to specific and challenging goals than
if they have a low degree of self-efficacy (Gostrengths.com, 2018).
5.2.2.4 Reinforcement Theory
This theory can be traced to the work of the pioneering behaviorist B.F. Skinner. It is
considered a motivation theory as well as a learning theory. Reinforcement theory posits that
motivated behavior occurs as a result of reinforces, which outcomes are resulting from the
behavior that makes it more likely the behavior will occur again (Study.com, 2018).
This theory suggests that it is not necessary to study needs or cognitive processes to
understand motivation, but that it is only necessary to examine the consequences of behavior.
Behavior that is reinforced is likely to continue, but behavior that is not rewarded or behavior
that is punished is not likely to be repeated. Reinforcement theory suggests to managers that
they can improve employees' performance by a process of behavior modification in which
they reinforce desired behaviors and punish undesired behaviors (Study.com, 2018).
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5.2.3 The Distinction between Content and Process Theories of Motivation
Content Theories:
These theories search for the factors inner human beings that motive, preserve or prevent
conduct. Their predominant focus are the desires that inspire humans. Even as the theories
given by means of them have proved beneficial at knowledge motivation, they are still to be
completely tested thru studies (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
Nonetheless, these theories have giant fee in research associated with motivation. The
content material theories especially imply that individuals are specific and might have
particular resources of motivation.
It would be beneficial for managers to apprehend the assets of motivation for each individual
employee. The basis of the content material theories is that absence of motivating factors
creates tension that can trigger a bad behavioral performance (Referenceforbusiness.com,
2018).
These theories propose that when people do not get what they accept as true with they want,
they try to satisfy those needs.
 Particular needs can supply rise to the favored behavior. Those needs should be
diagnosed.
 Rewards can fulfill person needs. Figuring out these wishes will help create an effect
thru the motivational applications that managers create.
 Performance may be optimized if right rewards are presented. But, its miles important
to make sure that the awards we offer are proper.
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 Desires can keep converting based on people’s studies and other factors. It is
important to layout motivation applications to meet the converting desires.
Process Theories:
The process theories then again investigate how conduct is caused, supported or ceased by
the motivational elements. There are four transcendent process theories that incorporate
support, hope, equity and objective setting (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
The process theories primarily infer that individual decisions depend on inclinations,
remunerate factors and feeling of achievement. In this manner, the chiefs ought to
comprehend the process of motivation. Crafted by Skinner are referred to regularly regarding
the fortification theory. The fundamental suspicion basic Skinner's work is that it is the
outcomes (alluded to as operant; that is the reason the term operant molding) that influence
conduct. The hope demonstrates centers around the probability of the event of the result
(Referenceforbusiness.com, 2018).
Nonetheless, in the event of the equity theory the fundamental basic supposition is that
representatives contrast their endeavors and compensates and other individuals working
under same conditions. Another vital process theory is the objective setting theory that was
created by J Stacey Adams, a therapist for General Electric (Referenceforbusiness.com,
2018).
The theory contends that objectives must be more particular to drive execution. This theory is
additionally upheld by inquire about. Unclear objectives do not motivate representatives, as
do the particular objectives.
Therefore, a couple of things that can be comprehended from the process theories are:
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 Goals are important to direct behavior.
 Equity should be considered an important factor while designing the motivational
programs.
While inquiring hasn't been able to confirm these theories completely, still, they have given
us a structure to comprehend motivation and its applications in different settings. The
significance of motivation has developed in the 21st century as associations are centered on
expanding profitability and inferring upper hand through HR (Referenceforbusiness.com,
2018).
In such manner, the process and substance theories can give a supportive system to start a
discourse and outline important projects.
5.2.4 How will this content help the author in the future?
As a future project manager, (Assumption)
The author will manage his employees more efficiently because he will know what needs /
factors / goals will get them motivated.
Listen for employees who struggle so the author can create motivation with them.
These implementations will make the firm more productive and profitable.
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5.3 Skill Audit
A skills audit is essentially a process for measuring and recording the skills of
an individual or group. Skills audit includes areas such as evaluating self-management,
personal and interpersonal skills and leadership skills.
The main purpose for conducting a skills audit is to identify the skills and knowledge that an
individual requires, as well as the skills and knowledge that individual currently has.
The author has given his skill audit. That audit is based on the training event that he and his
team took part. Through examine that audit; the reader can get a vivid idea about skill audits
and how to use them in their working area and career path.
Score Scale: 1 = Very Poor 2 = Poor 3 = Satisfactory 4 = Good 5 = Excellent
Skills Score
{1-5}
Evidence of where, when and how you have used this skill/quality.
Team Work 4 Group work for conducting a training event. The author and the group
leader mainly took the responsibility of conducting the training program.
The author was good at doing the teamwork properly and he always
helped the other team members to complete their tasks.
Co-Operation 4 The author always gave his all to the team and always tried to co-operate
with every team member possibly.
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Communication 4 When considering this aspect, the author used formal and informal
communication methods to join with team members. However, he can
always improve these methods through different researches.
Problem Solving 4 The author always had the curiosity of solving certain problems. The
author did online researches to get the work done. Even though the author
is good at problem solving he always has space to improve the skill by
asking the people who had more experience in problem solving.
Achieving Aims 4 The author and his teammates worked for one single goal and it was to
complete the training event successfully. To achieve that aim the author
helped his team in so many ways while motivating the team in regular
basis.
Working with
Others
3 The author was a good team player and he worked with others well. Still
he can improve this skill by forming teams and working in those teams.
Interpersonal Skills 4 The author has used different Interpersonal skills to make the training
event a success. Mainly he used his communication skills very well.
Non-Verbal Skills 4 The author had a vast area of writing skills and those were on pinpoint as
he used it very well to accomplish goals during the event.
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Table 8 - Skill Audit Table 1

The author has given a vivid idea about his skill audit from the above table and all the skill
points are just assumptions by him. These skill points and levels can be different in the real-
world scenarios.
The below skill audit table has the future role of the author and how he would rate his skills
for now and what he can improve before engaging with the market place.
Chosen Role Software Engineer
Skills How the skill / quality might enable
me to perform the role?
Area for development?
YES/NO-WHY?
Teamwork
As the author has chosen the role
Software Engineering, it is vital to
have teamwork mentality because he
has to do many projects in the job
market.
YES – Even though the
author is good at
teamwork, he can
always improve that
skill through working as
a group.
Co-operation
As a future Project Manager, the
author should have good co –
operation with other people. As for
now, he has good co – operate skills,
which he used in the training event
as well.
YES – The author should
negotiate with different
people more, so he can
improve the skill more.
Communication
The author’s best weapon in his
arsenal was communication. He
managed to communicate effectively
and managed to solve a lot of
problem through this skill.
NO – The author thinks
that he is excellent in
both verbal and non –
verbal communication, so
he can continue this skill
as it is in the job market.
Problem solving
The author used effective problem-
solving methods and tools when
designing the training event. In his
future career path, he can use this
skill to solve problems especially in
Software Engineering.
YES – The author can use
different tools and
methods in his working
area so that the author can
improve it.
Interpersonal skills
E.g.: Reading, writing,
speaking,
listening
The author had a vast reading,
writing, speaking and listening skills
that he used in the training event.
The author can use these skills in his
working area in future to achieve
goals.
YES – The author can
improve his speaking
through communicating
more with different
people.
Non-verbal communication
E.g.: Body language, gestures,
facial expressions, eye
contact, posture
As the reader has already known by
now the author is a very happy
person who always do his work with
a smile on his face. He can continue
his skills in the working area in
future without any hesitance.
NO – As to the author, he
can continue his non –
verbal skills without
making any changes or
improving them. He can
use the same skills in his
working area in future.
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Table 9 - Skill Audit Table 2

5.4 Producing a Personal Development Plan
PDP is an organized and supported process attempted by a student to consider their own
particular learning, execution and additionally accomplishment and to anticipate their own,
educational and career advancement. It is a comprehensive procedure, open to all students, in
all HE arrangement settings, and at all levels (QAA, 2009, p. 2).
The primary objective for PDP is to improve the capacity of individuals to understand what
and how they are learning, and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning.
This will help students:
 Become more effective, independent and confident self-directed learners
 Understand how they are learning and relate their learning to a wider context
 Improve their general skills for study and career management
 Articulate personal goals and evaluate progress towards their achievement
 Develop a positive attitude to learning throughout life. (Houghton and Maddocks,
2005, p. 1)
The most imperative plans to take from the announcements displayed above are those of
responsibility, reflection and undergoing a continuous process. Likewise, and altogether due
to the subject of this course, profession improvement is additionally alluded to as a key piece
of self-improvement arranging. In this way, the reader can apply every one of the three key
thoughts of PDP,
 A willingness to take responsibility for personal development planning is something
that more and more employers are expecting from their employees.
 Reflection is one of the key cognitive skills you need to create evidence for in this
course, and thinking critically and thinking for a purpose are two key aspects of
reflection.
 The notion that the cycle of reflection, planning and action must be a continuous one
is also crucial and links the process to lifelong learning and employability.
The below table is the PDP of the author and he has filled it after a deep evaluation of his
skills and competencies. All the written skill levels and calculations are just assumptions and
could be vary in the real life situation or at future working area.
5.4.1 Evaluation of Continuing Professional Development
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5.4.1.1 Performance objectives
Name: Current Position: Date Started:
Mr. Enura Indula HND Student 28th February 2018
Career Mission Statement (What you Intend it accomplish, and why)
BEng. Software Engineer - Job satisfaction from creating/building new things, it also gets decent amount of
money and can have many immigration opportunities.
Major Career Goals (What you need to accomplish in the medium term to further your mission)
Goal: Complete HND
with all Distinctions.
Target Date:
August 2019
Goal: Become a
Project Manager.
Target Date:
January 2023
Goal: Complete BEng
Degree.
Target Date:
December 2020
Goal: Starting an own
company.
Target Date:
By the end of 2025
Goal: Complete MSc
in Software
Engineering.
Target Date:
March 2021
Goal: Migrate to a
country for work
purpose.
Target Date:
By the end of 2022
Skill Audit
A: I have accomplished this skill/I demonstrate high competence
B: I have this skill/competency but some improvement could be made
C: I need to improve this skill/competency
D: I need to put in considerable work to develop this competency
E: I need to acquire this skill/develop this competency
Skill/Competency
Rank
Skill/Competency
Rank
Now 6m 1yr 3yr Now 6m 1yr 3yr
Team Building. C C A A Computer Literacy. B B A A
Writing Skills. B B A A Self – Confidence. B A A A
Speaking & Listening
Skills
B B A A Flexibility. C B A A
Making Decisions. C B A A Empowering others. B A A A
Trustworthiness B B A A Interpersonal
Awareness.
C B A A
Planning &
Organization.
D D A A Thoroughness. B A A A
Each individual is responsible for setting objectives for the future. These objectives should be
directly related to the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) or Project Team Objectives at
workplace. At the end of the year, these objectives will form the basis of your performance
results.
It is important to ensure that objectives are not simply day-to-day activities that are a “given”
within your job description.
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Table 10 - Personal Development Plan

Objectives should be:
 Incremental projects, responsibilities or actions that support key operational
initiatives.
 Linked to strategic goals.
 Integrated with department/division objectives.
 Provide a clear opportunity to recognise and reward.
 Have “High-Impact” (Should add value).
 Have specific outcomes/results.
5.4.1.2 SMART Model
The SMART model is a popular goal-setting tool. As an acrostic, it is easy to remember. Each
letter in the word "SMART" represents a key element of a complete and actionable goal:
S – Specific: Is the goal explained with enough detail that it can be well understood by those
involved in its completion and by any stakeholders?
M – Measurable: How will those involved in completing the goal know it has been
accomplished and how will stakeholders determine its success?
A – Attainable: Is the goal attainable or feasible given the resources available?
R – Relevant: Does the goal align with, support, or advance the organization's vision,
mission, values, principles, and strategies?
T – Time bound: Does the goal have a target date for completion?
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Figure 11 - SMART goals (Example)

5.4.1.3 Goal setting worksheet
Goal Description Intended Results or
Outcomes
Completion
Timeline
Resources
Identified
Possible
Roadblocks
Become proficient in
using Microsoft
PowerPoint (Image
based learning).
Proficiency means being able
to use PowerPoint to create
and update accurate and
polished slideshows that will
be used in public presentations
attended by diverse audiences.
Slideshows should require
minimal proofreading or
additional formatting by
others.
Complete
PowerPoint
training course by
July 1st. Be able to
create satisfactory
slideshows by
August 1st.
Lynda.com
courses:
PowerPoint
2016 Essential
Training and
Power
Shortcuts.
Other work
priorities may
arise. If that should
happen, the
completion
timeline may need
to be discussed and
adjusted.
Complete the first
semester with 4
Distinctions.
This means able to
successfully complete the 1st
semester at Esoft with
excellence while having 4
distinctions in all the subjects.
Complete the 1st
semester in HND
by end of June.
Will get the results
by end of July.
Esoft staff,
teachers, friends
and specially
teachers and sirs
in the staff
room.
Other people might
talk back on me.
Might be caught in
other activities.
These are some of the goals, which the author has in his mind to achieve in a specific time.
Like this, the reader can also make a goal-setting sheet and work it around to achieve a
specific goal in a given time effectively.
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Table 11 - Goal Setting Table

5.5 Evidence Criteria
5.5.1 Performance Appraisals
Performance appraisal may be defined as a structured formal interaction between a
subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview (annual or
semiannual), in which the work performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed,
with a view to identifying weakness and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement
and skills development (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
The above figure shows the objectives of performance appraisals. In the figure, the reader can
clearly see that according to a given scenario there is always two parts such as Employee and
Organization. Relevant to those sectors performance appraisals have been divided.
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Figure 12 - Performance Appraisals
Figure 13 - Use of Performance Appraisals

5.5.2 Salary Levels
Performance appraisal plays a role in making decision about salary increase. Normally salary
increase of an employee depends upon on how he is performing his job.
There is continuous Evolution of his performance either formally or informally. This may
disclose how well an employee is performing and how much he should be compensated by
way of salary increase (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
5.5.3 Promotions
Performance appraisal plays significant role where promotion is based on merit and seniority.
Performance appraisal discloses how an employee is working in his present job and what his
strong and weak points are. In the light of these, it can be decided whether he can be
promoted to the next higher position (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
5.5.4 Training and Development
Performance appraisal tries to identify the strengths and weakness of an employee on his
present job. This information can be used for devising training and development programs
appropriate for overcoming weakness of employees (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
5.5.5 Feedback
Performance appraisal provides feedback to employees about their performance.
A person works better when he knows how he is working. This works in two ways, firstly, the
person gets feedback about his performance (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
Secondly, when the person gets feedback about his performance, he can relate his work to the
organizational objectives (Managementstudyguide.com, 2018).
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6. Conclusion
Professional Practice is a remarkably accurate barometer of a person’s career. It also has a
profoundly positive effect upon the amorphous beast we call "Team morale". From this report
the reader will gain a lot of information about professional development and problem-solving
skills. In addition, the reader can gain a vast knowledge about teamwork and inter personal
skills.
The author has vividly illustrated how to use the effective communication as well as how to
work as a team in a given context. In this given context, the author has executed his skills and
wellbeing’s in an effective manner as his team came victorious several times because of his
work ethics. Surely, the author has gained a lot of experience through this training event
because for him this was his first ever-organized training event. Even though he had prior
experience in organization, he had never organized something like this. However, this was a
huge elevation for his future career and hopefully he will use these experiences and work
ethics in his future working career.
This report is a very important factor for an inexperienced reader who is willing to start his /
her career. The working ethics, working methods, working tools and most importantly inter
personal skills will have a lot effect on the readers’. However, the author has vividly
described so many aspects of professional practice which any reader can gain some
knowledge.
The readers can always have an image based and colorful idea about the above aspects where
he or she can refer to the above figures and tables. Even by watching and understating those
figures and pictures, readers can have a vivid idea about Professional Practice and Continuing
Professional Practice.
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8. Annexures
Annexures 1 – Training Event.
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Annexures 2 – The Professional Schedule.
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Annexures 3 – Interpersonal Skills.
Annexures 4
– Working
within a
team.
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Annexures 5 – Analyzing team dynamics
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Annexures 6 – Problem solving Skills (Broken Squares)
Broken Squares
Goals
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• To analyze certain aspects of cooperation in solving a group problem.
• To sensitize the participants to some of their own behaviors, which may contribute toward, or
obstruct, the solving of a group problem.
Group Size Any number of groups of six participants each. There will be five participants and an
observer/judge.
Time Required Fifteen minutes for the exercise and fifteen minutes for discussion.
Materials Used
• Chalkboard, chalk, eraser, or flipchart and markers.
• Tables that will seat five participants each.
• One set of instructions for each group of five participants and one for the observer/judge.
• One set of broken squares for each group of five participants.
Physical Setting Tables should be spaced far enough apart so that the various groups cannot observe
the activities of other groups.
Process The facilitator may wish to begin with a discussion of the meaning of cooperation; this
should lead to suggestions by the groups of what is essential in successful group cooperation. These
may be listed on the board, and the facilitator may introduce the exercise by indicating that the groups
will conduct an experiment to test their suggestions.
Basic suggestions that the facilitator may want to bring out of the groups are as follows:
1. Each individual must understand the total problem.
2. Each individual should understand how he/she could contribute toward solving the problem.
3. Each individual should be aware of the potential contributions of other individuals.
4. There is a need to recognize the problems of other individuals, in order to aid them in making their
maximum contribution.
Instructions are as follows:
1. When the preliminary discussion is finished, the facilitator chooses an observer/judge for each
group of five participants. These observers are each given a copy of their instructions. The facilitator
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then asks each group to distribute the envelopes from the prepared packets. The envelopes are to
remain unopened until the signal to work is given.
2. The facilitator distributes a copy of the instructions to each group.
3. The facilitator then reads the instructions to the group, calling for questions or questioning groups
as to their understanding of the instructions. It will be necessary for the facilitator or his/her assistants
to monitor the tables during the exercise to enforce the rules that have been established in the
instructions.
4. When all the groups have completed the task, the facilitator will engage the groups in a discussion
of the experience. Discussion should focus on feelings more than merely relating experiences and
general observations. Observations are solicited from the observer/ judges. The facilitator may want
the groups to relate this experience with their "back home" situations.
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Directions for Making the Squares for the Broken Square Exercise One set should be provided for
each group of five persons.
A set consists of five envelopes containing pieces of cardboard that have been cut into different
patterns and, when properly arranged, will form 5 squares of equal size. To prepare a set, cut 5
cardboard squares of equal size, 6" x 6". Place the squares in a row and mark them as below, penciling
the letters a, b, c, and so on lightly so they can later be erased.
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The lines should be so drawn that when cut out, all pieces marked A will be of exactly the same size,
all pieces marked C of the same size, and so on.
By using multiples of 3 inches, several combinations will be possible that will enable participants to
form one or two squares, but only one combination is possible that will form 5 squares 6 x 6 inches.
After drawing the lines on the 6" x 6" squares and labeling them with lower-case letters, cut each
square as marked into smaller pieces to make the parts of the puzzle.
Mark each of five envelopes A, B, C, D, and E. Distribute the cardboard pieces in the 5 envelopes as
follows:
Envelope A has pieces I, H, E Envelope B has pieces A, A, A, C Envelope C has pieces A, J Envelope
D has pieces D, F Envelope E has pieces G, B, F, C.
Erase the penciled letter from each piece and write, instead, the appropriate envelope letter, as
Envelope A, Envelope B, and so on. This will make it easy to return the pieces to the proper envelope
for subsequent use.
This was another method, which used when solving a problem inside the group.
Annexures 7 – Critical Path Analysis
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