Study & Employment Skills Audit Report: A Detailed Analysis

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STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT SKILLS AUDIT REPORT
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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 3
2.0 Audit and Evaluation of Key Skills...........................................................................................4
3.0 Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 11
Reference List..............................................................................................................................12
Bibliography................................................................................................................................. 13
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1.0 Introduction
At present, every organization operates on intricate functional departments, which requires them
to form different teams so that the operational flow remains agile. Due to this reason, corporate
enterprises are acknowledging an implementing teamwork so that they can be more productive.
Therefore, be able to work in a team is an effective employability skill that a proficient employee
must possess. In this context, the main aim of the report is to shed light on allocation of teams
for effectual teamwork and explore several approaches pertinent to team work. The report
further focuses on individual experience of an extended group exercise.
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2.0 Audit and Evaluation of Key Skills
2.1 Examine and evaluate the development of your skills
Being a part of a group exercise, I have comprehended that I have certain potential and pitfalls.
As per my understanding, my strengths includes, problem solving, decision making,
research and planning and team work. However, I need to develop in the areas of time
management, communications. At several instances, I have discovered that I am quite
comfortable working in a team as I am inclined to learnt a lot from my peers. In addition, given a
scenario, where it required me to make a decision for the team I could always make the correct
decision. Nevertheless, due to poor communication skills I have failed at conveying my point of
view to my peers thus I encountered certain flaks from them. Moreover, I believe that I need to
improve my time management skills as well so that I can improve the work flow of my team.
2.2 Assess your individual contribution and the overall team performance
As stated above, my skills involve making good decision, solving problems and working
effectively in a team. Therefore with the help of my competencies I have been able to contribute
in improving the overall team performance. There have been instances when our seniors
assigned us with critical task that involved a lot of research and planning and based on which
certain important decisions had to be made. In all those situations I had to execute extensive
research and then make necessary decisions. Based on this research and decision different
activities were planned and assigned. Following this work protocol helped the team to be more
productive and provide excellent deliverables.
Furthermore, at times when my team encountered with any issue be it major or minor I always
tried to get to the root cause of it and them mitigate with appropriate strategies. When a crisis
aroused, I always consulted with my seniors and then executed a root cause analysis so that
get to know about the issue right from its inception. This always helped me to combat the
challenges once and for all. In this manner, I could ensure smooth functioning of my group. It is
obvious that with less number of issues present in the group, the propensity of high
performance was high. Therefore it is understood that the productivity of the entire team was
influenced by my problem solving skills. Along with this, my ability to work in a team has also
improved the overall team performance as I was always inclined to acknowledge the view points
of others before taking any step.
2.3 Demonstrate your development with specific examples and evidence
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Along with my potentials I have certain pitfalls that required my attention so that I could improve
in those areas. As mentioned earlier, I lack the capability of managing time and communicating
properly with my peers. At times I have observed due to my habit of procrastinating I have failed
to deliver my assigned tasks on time which have strained the work flow of the entire team.
Therefore I focused on improving my time management skills with the help of certain tactics. I
aimed at gradual progress therefore I planned my development strategically. Therefore, I
followed the ‘POSEC’ approach to time management. Following this approach, at first I
prioritised all my tasks and then organised all the tasks as per their delivery. Thereafter, I
streamlined the activities so that I have a clear understanding of them and complete then with
ease. Following this, I economize the tasks so that the tasks are completed with efficiency.
Following this approach I tried to contribute in my group exercise (MacCann, et al., 2012 ).
Figure 1: POSEC Time Management Approach
(Source: Created by Author)
In order to do so, I always took part in the critical aspect of the group exercise, which helped me
to keep myself on toe. Taking up critical assignments helped to start my day with a clear focus
that I need to submit the task on time. Thereafter I prepared a dynamic task list so that I learn
the art of multi tasking. Moreover, out of all the tasks I focused more on activities which are high
values, implying to task prioritising. I contemplated on reducing my habit of procrastinating so
that I can submit the tasks on time. I focused on eliminating distractions and did not allow
insignificant information deviate me from accomplishing the assigned tasks.
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In addition to this, I also focused on improving my communication skills because due to my poor
interpersonal skills I was unable to communicate my messages to my peers. This paved the
way for resentment between me and my peers at times. Therefore, for improving in this aspect, I
took part in a lot of group discussions so that I learn to acknowledge the standpoints of others.
As per my observation with time, I improved my communication skills as my team members
could easily understand what I am trying to convey. This was possible because I focused on
improving my non-verbal communication as in my body language.
I tried to make my body language pleasant and amicable so that my peers do not intimidated
with my communication approach. For example, previously in a situation where I had to make a
decision regarding a matter, I was misunderstood by my peers at that time as they thought I do
not consider their views before making decision. However, it was partially correct as I kept in
view the interest and opinion of each of my team members before making the decision.
Nevertheless, It was my fault I did not communicate the same to them which compelled them to
think that their point of view is not important. However after improving my communication skill I
can could clearly get into a discussion with my team members and then make a decision. In this
way I could work better in a team and contribute in effective team functioning.
2.4 Reflect upon 2-3 experiences in the team project process using a cycle/model of
reflection to support your discussions, e.g. Honey & Mumford
In due course of my participation in the group exercise I have been through certain experiences
that helped me to reflect upon my learning approaches. It is obvious that, every circumstance
provides an opportunity to learn something out of which therefore I too utilised all my
experiences to learn something. In order to reflect better on my learning style, I have utilised the
theoretical framework of Honey & Mumford Learning Cycle.
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Figure 2: Honey & Mumford Learning Cycle
(Source: Manolis, et al., 2013)
As per the theoretical framework of Honey & Mumford learning cycle an individual can be one of
the learners underpinned in the model, which are activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatists
(Manolis, et al., 2013). Based on my experiences of being a part of the group project I have
fathom that I am activist, reflector and pragmatist, which can be explained through various
experiences.
Experience 1
This experience is particularly pertinent to my issue of poor communication skills. As stated
earlier, I initially lacked the ability to communicate well which paved the way for conflicts
between me and my team members. Therefore, it so happened that one day I was asked to
monitor a project and analyse the issues in it and then make necessary decisions.
Nevertheless, I task had an urgent delivery due to which I executed an extensive research and
then reached an inference ad made a decision on behalf of my team. However, some of my
team members got offended from this and argued with me stating that I do not value their
opinion. From this incident, I contemplated on improving my communication so that such fuss
can be avoided. This implies that I am an activist as I am inclined to learn from my experiences
upon it.
Experience 2
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During my participation in the group exercise I was assigned with task that requires a lot of
brainstorming. Therefore, initially I encountered with the issue of time management. I never
wasted time on gossiping or other unproductive activities, however I still failed to deliver the
assigned work on time. It so happened that I was assigned with a task that had an urgent
deadline however I failed to submit it as I kept on focusing on the unimportant things. Therefore,
I observed that my own work and reached an inference that I cannot allocate and utilise time in
an efficient manner which resulted in delay in work delivery. It is then when I decided to focus
on improving my time management skills. Therefore this experience clearly entails that I am
reflector. This is because; at first I observed my working approach and then reflected upon my
exact loopholes so that I can mend them.
Experience 3
In due course of my association with the group exercise I have understood that I always had an
attitude of experimenting and then learnt from it. This clearly indicates that I am pragmatist
learner. At times, under certain situations I took risky measures and implementing, which was
highly doubted by my team members and seniors. Nevertheless, that did not stop me from
experimenting new things. It is obvious that sometimes my plan failed and at times it worked.
However, in both the cases I got to learn something new which underpins my pragmatic
approach of learning.
2.5 Refer to qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the above, e.g. feedback
from peers, team targets (stats)
In order to assess my improvement of the development areas I considered gathering both
qualitative and quantitative evidences. Therefore, in order to congregate qualitative evidence, I
executed a feedback survey among my peers so that I can reflect on their opinions about my
development. In order to gather quantitative evidences, I took help of team targets.
Qualitative Evidence: Peer’s Feedback
Developmental
Areas
Peer 1 Peer 2 Peer 3
Time Management
Skills
“I believe you were
clumsy at the
beginning always
struggling with
“When you started
you remained
perplexed about when
to start, how to start
“I remember you
procrastinating tasks
because you often got
distracted by
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different kinds of
tasks. Nevertheless,
You have come a
long way and
improved in managing
tasks and submitting
them on time.
Therefore I would rate
your communication
skill as 4/5. ”
and when to finish.
This has reduced to a
great extent, however
you still have room for
improvement, and you
can do better. Hence,
I would rate your time
management skill
3.5/5. ”
unimportant
information. However,
you could overcome
this and thus you
have improved a lot. I
would rate your time
management 4/5.”
Communication Skills “You were extremely
introvert who never
spoke that much to
anybody always busy
completing tasks. I
thought you to be
snooty however you
have improved. I
would communication
skills as 3.5/4. ”
“I think your non-
verbal communication
was weak since your
body language gave a
cue that you were too
stern. Nevertheless,
you have proved
yourself to be quite
amicable and
approaching. I would
rate your
communication skills
as 3.5/4. ”
“You always
maintained a serious
face that gave wrong
cue to me. I wronged
you to be extremely
snobbish. However,
later you improved
both your verbal and
non-verbal
communication to a
great extent. You are
doing great. I would
rate your
communication skills
as 4/5. ”
Table 1: Peer’s Feedback
(Source: Created by Author)
The afore-mentioned table helps in understanding that out of both my development areas time
management and communication skills, I have improved a lot on the firmer, the latter needs
more attention. This is because out of three peers, 2 rated my time management skill as 4/5.
However, in case of communication skills I still have scope of improvement as it has been rated
3.5/5 by two of the peers.
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Quantitative Evidence: Team Target
Expected Outcome Measures Success Rate (out of 10)
Team coordination  Good rapport with
the team members
 Everybody has
knowledge about
the key
responsibility areas
(KRAs) of other
members and
acknowledge them.
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Improved team decision
making skills
 A great analysis of
the ‘best fit’ and
‘best practice’
approach while
making a decision
on a critical
situation.
 Quality
deliverables
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Submission of
Assignments on time
 All the task are
executed following
an effectual
operational flow
 No task are
procrastinated
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Table 2: Team’s Target
(Source: Created by Author)
The table helps in comprehending that the overall team performance has improved with
individual improvement of their employment skills. Due to this reason, the team targets of having
a effective team coordination, enhanced team decision making skills and timely submission of
assignments has been fulfilled to a great extent
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3.0 Conclusion
The discussion has helped in reaching an inference that team working, team coordination and
team management are significant employment skills. This is because the team dynamics have a
great deal of impact on the functioning of a project. Executing the formative exercise has helped
in identifying own potentials and pitfalls. Therefore, different approaches involved in the
formative exercise have helped in improving the development areas. In addition to this, utilizing
the theoretical framework of Honey & Mumford learning cycle, individual typology of learning
has been comprehended. Furthermore, collecting both qualitative evidence (peer’s feedback)
and quantitative evidence (team target) has helped reflecting on the improved individual and
team performance.
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Reference List
MacCann, C., Fogarty, G.J. and Roberts, R.D., 2012. Strategies for success in education: Time
management is more important for part-time than full-time community college
students. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(5), pp.618-623.
Manolis, C., Burns, D.J., Assudani, R. and Chinta, R., 2013. Assessing experiential learning
styles: A methodological reconstruction and validation of the Kolb Learning Style
Inventory. Learning and individual differences, 23, pp.44-52.
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Bibliography
Husain, M.Y., Mokhtar, S.B., Ahmad, A.A. and Mustapha, R., 2010. Importance of employability
skills from employers’ perspective. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7, pp.430-438.
Smith III, H., Smarkusky, D. and Corrigall, E., 2008. Defining Projects to Integrate Evolving
Team Fundamentals and Project Management Skills. Journal of Information Systems
Education, 19(1).
Wickramasinghe, V. and Perera, L., 2010. Graduates', university lecturers' and employers'
perceptions towards employability skills. Education+ Training, 52(3), pp.226-244.
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