Developing Negotiation, Time Management, and Teamwork Skills

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Understanding Self and Others
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Table of Contents
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 1..............................................................................................3
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 2..............................................................................................5
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 3..............................................................................................7
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 4..............................................................................................9
Summary and Action Plan..............................................................................................11
Personal Development Plan...........................................................................................12
Reference List................................................................................................................ 15
Appendix........................................................................................................................ 17
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 1
What is the core skill?
The core skill of focus in this section is negotiation. Negotiation skill includes the
discussion or argument among more than one person on a matter of disagreement. In a
negotiation, each member brings forward his point of view on the topic and a mutual
agreement comprising of each one’s interest is extracted. The person who derives the
maximum benefit from the conclusion of negotiation, intentionally, is said to possess
excellent negotiation skills (Cordell, 2018). The development of negotiation skill is very
beneficial in every field.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
theories and concepts to support your answer)
The negotiation skill is important to extract a mutual agreement among the people involved
in the discussion. The wants and aims of people vary from one another and thus negotiation
is essential to cover the diverse interests of all the associated individuals. Negotiation skills
is beneficial in providing long term solutions to an existing disagreement among people and
helps in avoiding future conflicts arising out of disagreement (Ting-Toomey, 2015). It also
helps in the prevention of adverse human relations due to varied aims, rather provides a
mutual channel of agreement without affecting the relationship between people. The chaos
theory in context of negotiation skills is very beneficial in the development of the skill. It
helps in analyzing the ways to influence negotiation discussions before a group of bright
and reasonable people (Davies, 2018). I want to develop this skill to influence the
discussions in achieving favorable outcomes.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers and your
tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to answer
this question)
I have developed this skill with moderate efficiency. The reflection of my skill in practical
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situations has displayed my potential in this skill. In the earlier stage of skill development, I
believed to possess an excellent negotiation skill to dominate the discussions and
arguments. However, in practical cases, I lack the true potential to empower the discussion.
My tutors have provided me with valuable feedbacks on the areas of development and the
lack of elements in my skill. My peers have supported me with voluntary participation in
negotiations to assess my skill and the potential that I possess. They have stated that my
skills in negotiation require structure and organization to lay an effect on the other members.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is there
a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
Mu tutors, peers and the practical demonstration of negotiations were major players in the
analysis of my negotiation skill. They hold the view that I lack potential in the organization of
my matter. This review has no contradictions with my belief of a lack of structure in my
matter. I also believe that I lack the clarity in the implementation of my views while delivering
the speech in a negotiation. Similar are the views of my peers in this issue.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your argument)
The negotiation skill will be very beneficial for my future. In every field, there is the presence
of a large number of p0eople with different wants and diverse ways of doing things. In this
case, the negotiation skills will help me from making sacrifices or work without a say in
things. Efficient negotiation skills will also help me in turning the decision of a discussion
towards my advantage. It would further enhance the level of confidence.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 2
What is the core skill?
Time management refers to the appropriate allocation of time for a certain activity or
parts of an activity with an intention to complete the task within the stipulated time.
Time management is considered as a skill because its implementation requires
knowledge about the work and the time required to complete the parts of work.
Improper time management may lead to confusion, elaborated time in one activity
and time lagging in another (Starkey, 2017). Thus, time management is an essential
skill to be developed in the division of time indifferent areas of work.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
The time management skills are very essential in all aspects. It enables a person to
cover more work with increased efficiency in a less amount of time me. Th4e
awareness of time management is beneficiary to all individuals in the faster
attainment of goals. The development of the skill is important to provide a structure to
the execution of activities and stick by it. I have reflected on this skill to induce a habit
of punctuality, time effectiveness, reduce work pressure and boost my confidence in
the performance of my work (lifehack.org, 2019). The ABC theory developed by
Alan Lakein demonstrates the prioritization of work in to three categories. The
effectiveness of time management can be achieved with the application of this theory
with A being the urgent activities, B being the matter of low urgency and C being the
activities with a scope of postponement (Revans, 2017).
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviors to answer this question)
The development of time management skills has not efficiently reflected on me. I
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believed that with this skill development I would be able to manage time appropriately
for different activities. However, I fall short of time to complete all my activities within
the stipulated time. My peers have helped me in allocating time for my work and have
assessed the efficiency in my time management skills. It is evident that I fall short of
time. My tutor has also reviewed that I end the activities with a rush and leave few of
them incomplete.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
There are no contradictions to my analysis on the time management skills that I
possess with the analysis of my peers. It is evident from my implementation of the
skill in the performance of activities. Mu tutors have stated an inappropriate use of
these skills in the practical situations. My peers have too received the low efficiency
of the developed skill in the actual performance of activities. I completely agree with
them in my analysis of the skill.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
This time management skill is very essential in everyone’s life in every field. This skill
would help me avoid the adverse effect of unpunctuality in my reputation. This
problem becomes a habit and acts as a barrier in the execution of activities. Time
management skills will help in increasing my efficiency and productivity of my work. I
will be able to function for longer periods, smoothly. Time management will be
essential in the allocation and division of activities in my work place to deliver a
greater performance.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 3
What is the core skill?
The third skill that I wish to develop within me is team working. Teamwork is one of
the most important aspects as it is required in many fields of work. It is the
collaborative working of different individuals in the attainment of a common goal. The
essential feature of teamwork is communication and integration (Driskell et al., 2018).
These two features are important in the formation of a group work, the absence of
which would affect the result in spite of exceptional individual performance.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
The teamwork skill is beneficiary to all the individuals who have a tendency to
participate in group activities. The teamwork skill improves the interaction among
team members. It also promotes unity among the associated individuals (Guchait et
al., 2016). The awareness and development of this skill is helpful in increasing the
efficiency and productivity of group performance as a whole as well as personal
development. The Tuckman’s theory of forming, storming, norming and performing
covers all the aspects necessary for efficient group activities (Raes et al., 2015). I
have reflected on this skill because it offers vast learning opportunities from all the
members I have ever and will ever enter with in participation.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
I have analyzed the efficiency of my team working skill with the application of the skill
in practical examples. My analysis has determined an excellent performance in group
activities. The teamwork experiences that I have participated in have not fetched
outstanding results. My developments have led me to interact well with others and
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enhance the communication process for accurate exchange of communication for
better team performance. My peers and tutors have assessed my performance in
group activities and provided me with above satisfactory feedbacks. The
developments I had hoped to reflect on this skill were fruitfully instilled in my
efficiency.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
The analysis of my teamwork skills based on my experience is very much similar to
the statements and feedbacks from my tutors and peers. The team members with
whom I performed group activities have commendably stated the efficiency of my
work. Even I have felt myself in a strong position while performing group activities.
Thus, I find no contradictions on my analysis of the development of team working
skills in me with the views of other people who have witnessed my performance.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
Teamwork skills are very important to be developed for my future. The benefits of
development of this skill will reflect in my future studies and career. The universities
and workplace have many group activities to perform in and a great opportunity to
learn and grow. However, to extract this learning and many wide opportunities from
the team works, I have to develop this skill in me with maximum potential that I can
invest. The skill will also increase my interaction with the people that are present in
my environmental range.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 4
What is the core skill?
The fourth skill that is necessary in my development is written communication.
Written communication is the exchange of information between two or more person
in the form of written messages, texts or mails. The most common means to bring
written communication into effect are e-mails, text messages, posts and comments in
social media, reports, journals and memos (Burgoon et al., 2016). The skill is
necessary to be developed in context of better understanding of information towards
the receiver’s end.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
The written communication skill is very beneficial to be developed. It provides wide
opportunities to grow an interaction with effective written communication. The written
communication skills are necessary for everyone to understand the information
exchanged through this process and respond with an effective reply (Holmes et al.,
2019). The awareness of this skill is essential to exchange necessary information
with detailed understanding and usage of fewer words. Johari’s window model
suggests transparency in the exchange of information to use this skill efficiently. This
model suggests viewing the perception of the other person in the communication
process and preparing a relevant and effective feedback to raise the overall
efficiency of the process (Hargie, 2016). I have reflected on this skill to enable better
communication with the desired individual.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
My reflection on my written communication skill has not lived up to my expectations. I
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have managed to be average in the performance of written communication. I believe
there is more skill in me and more room for improvement. I can rarely express all the
information and message in limited words. Further, my thoughts on how the skill
would develop in me were very different as to how I am executing it.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
The comments of other people on the performance of my written skills have grown to
contradict with my analysis of the same. They believe that my skill is potential
enough and there is no more room for development. However, my analysis states an
average performance and a lot more areas to reflect on the development of this skill.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
The written communication skills will be very effective in the performance of my
future activities. The massive exchange of information in the place of studies and the
career after it will require excellent written communication. As I grow older from one
part in my life to another, the requirement of the quality of this skill will raise as well.
The importance of this skill as a reflection on my career will bring me out and
enhance my reputation. I will also have more hold on the information I exchange.
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Summary and Action Plan
Strengths
The above stated journals have helped me in analysing the strengths that I possess as
well as the weaknesses in me. The major strength in me is the teamwork skill. This skill
has efficiently developed in me and is evident in my performance in group activities. I
have analysed my performance and witnessed that I possess excellent communication
skill in the exchange of information about the matter of group activity. The efficiency in
allocating tasks and describing the job role to each member is also well positioned
within me. The Tuckman’s theory of forming, storming, norming and performing has
considerably helped me in the development of this skill. The theory explains the
different stages of group activity, beginning with the formation of the group. Then the job
roles and its explanation is provided to each team members. Further, the mutually
agreeable norms are laid down on which the activity is carried out. Finally, the task is
performed (Siregar et al., 2018). The teamwork skills also helped me in gaining a
number of commendable feedbacks and appreciation from team members. I believe
with my and the analysis of other people that this skill has efficiently developed within
me.
Weaknesses
The above journals have also made me realize the skills in which I hold weaknesses.
The major weaknesses that I possess are in the time management, negotiation and
written communication skills. The negotiation skill developed by me requires a voice
modulation to, firmly, place my point of view before others. It also requires a proper
structure to organise my matter and speak with a well-established content (Gratch et al.,
2015). The time management skill is far from satisfactory. The symmetry between the
allocations of work into different stipulated time is not very well. There is often the case
of falling behind in time or the incompletion of all the activities. Further, the development
of written communication has also not held grasp within me. The choice of words and its
efficient use is rare in my case. The effectiveness of communication could be
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considered average. I believe there is more potency within me for the growth of this
skill.
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