Assignment Sample on Learning for Business Success
Introduction
Employability refers to the potentiality of a person to satisfactorily get and keep work. The labour market has become highly competitive with employers looking for graduates who possesses extensive skills and knowledge. This is referred to as employability skills. According to Fajaryati, et al., (2020), employers both in business and industries are interested in candidates who can show more than just a degree certificate, graduates with demonstrated abilities and knowledge, who are able to contribute at workplace immediately after being recruited. The graduate labour market is experiencing an intense competition due to the expansion in higher education and the recent recession in the economy (Association of Graduate Recruiters, 2009). Reflective writing is therefore important in evaluating personal experience and capabilities that increases my chances of employability. This is done through a process of self-reflection on skills, capabilities and experience.
In this paper I have written about my employability skills, analyzing my strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats in the labour market. I have discussed my graduate skills, employability skills and the changing labour market, and the skills I need to be able to fit in the changing labour market. The paper also includes a discussion of principles of adult learning and continuous professional development.
Teamwork and team management.
Teamwork and team management is one of my core graduate and employability skills. The skills has enabled me to learn on how to work with people of diverse background, abilities and cultures in solving problems and in completion tasks. My undergraduate studies has given granted me opportunity to coordinate teams during coursework and during extracurricular activities, and this has enabled me to learn how to delegate work, which has made us achieve the objectives of the group and successfully complete the assigned tasks. The grading of the course also involve assignments done in groups, therefore we work as a team to ensure we deliver quality in the assigned task, and at the same time learning more on teamwork. According to Mohamad (2015), teamwork is one of the key soft skills that employers consider while screening and recruiting candidates for the job.
Planning and organisational skills.
The assignments, coursework and other undergraduate tasks are supposed to be completed within a given time frame. Therefore time management is important to effectively plan and prioritize on the daily tasks and assignment. Time management is one of the skills I have and I have continued to developed which has enabled me to meet every deadline at the university and in my coursework and life. Balancing between coursework, extracurricular activities and personal activities has been a key tool in managing my time, and this has improved my planning and organizational skills. A report by Suarta, et al., (2017) indicated that effective time management and organisational skills are key employability skills that are required in the current labour market.
Problem Solving.
Problem solving is another employability and academic skills that I possess. My coursework has enabled me to improve on skills such as active listening, creativity, analysis, research and decision making that has been key in improving my skills of problem solving. Most of the assignments and tasks involving critical thinking and research, and it also includes working in groups. This has been important in sharing ideas and to learn from each other. I have developed the attitude of benchmarking any time I am faced with a complex problem in my coursework. I have been able to learn on the key components of problem solving, that has been useful in assessing a situation and coming up with a solution. Sarwar, et al., (2014), conducted a study on employability in business in the current market and they reported that problem solving skills is one of the key skills needed by employers..
Communication Skills.
Communication skills is one of my strengths and it has helped in presentation of term papers and assignments during my coursework. I have developed excellent communication skills both written and oral. Presentation of assignment and teamwork has been key in demonstrating and improving my oral communication skills. I have been able to make presentations before class and different levels within the faculty, and this has been an opportunity that I have used to demonstrate my communication skills.The university also has hierarchy of communication that students are suppose to use to use. This has been important in learning protocols that need to be followed when making communication at each level. Effective communication skills has also been important in interacting with the fellow students and the tutors and management at the university. According to Suarta, et al., (2017), effective communication skills is important if a person is to fit in the current job market.
Technology skills.
Basic IT knowledge is necessary for my course. I have developed an excellent IT knowledge and I am continuing to learn to perfect my IT skills. I also have excellent knowledge in Microsoft such as Spreadsheet, Word and Presentation that are very key in doing assignments and have been been demonstrated in my coursework. I have learnt to use the IT to work with large data, using management and organization tools. The report by Sarwar, et al., (2014) showed that with the current change interaction between technology and business, employers in the current labour market look for graduates with technological skills.
Self-management Skills.
At the end of every term I do an evaluation of my performance and make comparison to my previous performance. Every term I have goals to attain that accumulates to my overall course objective, and I evaluate myself based on these goals every semester. I take responsibility of my personal success and failures in my course and my life. I have learnt to work under pressure to be able to handle the course workload and meet assignment deadlines and of coursework. This has enabled me to develop self-management skills which is one of my strengths and my employability skills. Jackson and Wilton (2016), in their analysis reported that career self-management is key for graduates to be able to compete in the current labour market.
Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats (SWOT) analysis.
Strength.
I have an excellent teamwork skills that has enabled me to work with people from diverse background and culture at the university. I also have a demonstrated leadership skills as one of my strengths (Erni and Suhana, 2015). In all the class groups I have been made a leader, and I always take responsibility to ensure work is completed as per the requirements. I have also developed a strong communication skills. I have developed excellent presentation skills by making presentations during assignments and in my coursework. Working in a team has also made me to develop a skill of active listening that has become my strength.
I have planning and organizational skills that has become one of my strengths. As an undergraduate student I have learnt to prioritize my work and to carry out an in depth research in my course. I have also learnt to effectively manage my time which is key when prioritizing. Problem solving skills has also become one of my strengths. This I have developed as an undergraduate student through research, teamwork, critical thinking, analysis and decision making during coursework, assignment and extracurricular activities.
Weakness.
I have a challenge of adapting quickly to a change in environment or conditions, and I experienced this during the first few weeks at the university. However, through sharing I have learnt to overcome quickly. I have also had a challenge in identifying gaps in skills needed to improve my career.I have been consulting my tutors and professionals in my field to be able to learn more on my career. I also find it a challenge to try new methods in problem solving. During group assignments, I usually try the proposals of the team members to work on this weakness.
Threats.
Currently I have no work experience in my career field, and with the increased competition in the job market, this becomes a threat (Erni, 2018). Working with very strict deadlines has been a challenge which may be a threat to my future work. However, I usually develop schedule of every work to ensure I am able to meet every deadline in my coursework. Lack of experience may also be a challenge in identifying my weakness and gaps in my skills that are key to be able to effectively compete in the labour market.
Opportunities.
Extracurricular activities at the university and other competition within the university is an opportunity to be able to demonstrate my skills. I have been participating in these activities and the competitions within the university. The university has a well established online library and a stable internet. This is important in research in my coursework and in my career field. Taking part time courses to learn latest technological skills is an opportunity of developing employability skills (Schroeder, 2010). Currently I am learning a new software that is mostly used in my career.
Personal Development plan (PDP).
PDP aims at finding answers to basic questions such as, where am I now? Where do I want to be? And how do I get there? (Beausaert, et al., 2011). In this paper, my personal development plan is to be equipped with both the soft and hard skills that I need to be able to fit in the labour market. This also includes what I am suppose to do as an undergraduate student that will add to my employability skills. This will enable me to be able to land my dream job when I graduate from the university. My PDP are as follows;
- To review my areas of weakness in my coursework that may impact my overall academic performance. This is important in scoring excellently in my course, that is first step in competing in the labour market.
- Taking short courses and developing technological skills needed for my career. This is important in learning the changes in labour market trend in my career field.
- To register with the relevant professional body.
- To take apprenticeship course or training in one of the companies to gain experience. This is to be done during the coursework and after graduation to build on my work experience.
Conclusion.
Employability skills are key in getting and keeping a job. Recruitment process involves screening, a process where employers consider employability skills more. Some of the employability skills that I have developed include teamwork, planning and organizational skills, communication skills. These employability skills have become my strength, however, in skills such as flexibility and organizational skills there are still challenges that has become point of weakness. Lack of experience is my biggest threat, and in my personal development plan I am suppose to take a training program in one of the companies in order to build on my experience. The opportunities available is that I currently have time to take short course that will enable me to develop and improve my employability skills. The university also offers opportunity where I can gain work experience in my career.
Appendices.
Appendix A.
Evidence of self-audit activities.
| Skills | Summary | Confidence
(1-10) |
Example | Transferability | Need of improvement |
| Team work | I can work with students from diverse background | 10- Very confident | Group assignments | Human interaction, for example marketing | No |
| Time management | I schedule my class work and personal life. | 7- confident | Coursework assignment and extracurricular activities. | Fast paced workplace environment | Yes |
| Leadership skills | Allocating work during group assignment | 6- confident | Leading class group in assignment and presentation | Supervisory role or any workplace that involve team work | Yes |
| Communication skills | Can confidently make presentation during class assignment | 10-very confident | Presentation during coursework assignment | Workplace that involves teamwork, or a supervisory role. | No |
| Technological skills | Excellent in use of Microsoft office. Currently learning new technology in business | 6-confident | Taking computer courses and IT short courses. | Workplace involving data analysis and record management. Self employment | Yes |
Appendix B.
SWOT analysis.
| Strength
l Leadership skills l Excellent team work l Strong communication skills l Strong problem solving skills |
Opportunities
l Taking short courses related to my career. l Participating in activities at the university. |
| Weakness
l Slow in adaptability l Slow in identify gaps in my employability skills l Not ready to try new ideas in problem solving l Lack of experience |
Threats.
l No work experience. l High competition in my career field. |
Appendix C.
Personal development plan (PDP)
| Goal | How to achieve it |
| Improve on my adaptability | Take online classes on how to be flexible. Improve my socialization skills and consult from the experts. |
| Gaining work experience | Apply for apprenticeship or training program |
| Adapting new ideas in problem solving | Try new ideas proposed by fellow students during group assignments. |
References.
Association of Graduate Recruiters (2009). AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey- 2009 Summer review. Retrieved from www.agr.org.uk, [accessed June 26, 2009]
Beausaert, S. A., Mien, S. R. & Wim, H. G. (2011). Using a personal development plan for difference purposes: its influence on undertaking learning activities and job performance. Vocation and learning. Vol. 4, pp. 231-252. [accessed June 08, 2011]
Erni, T. (2018). Employability skils- A study on the perception of business students graduate and employers in Malaysia. Asia Pacific Journal of Research in Business Management, Vol. 9, Issue 1. pp. 85-89.
Erni, T. & Suhana, (2015). A study on factors contributing to work readiness of new entrance in the workforce. Asia Pacific Journal of Research in Business Management.
Fajaryati, N., Budiyono & Muhammad, A. (2020). The employability skills needed to face the demands of work in the future: Systematic literature reviews (online). De Gruyter, Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2020-0072
Jackson, D. & Wilton, N. (2016). Perceived employability among undergraduate and the importance of career self-management, work experience and individual characteristics. Higher Education Research and Development, 36(4), pp.1-16. Retrieved from DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2016.1229270, [accessed September 2016]
Mohamad, H. M. (2015). The practice of employability skills. International Journal for Research Vocational Education and Training. 1(1), pp. 16-21. Retrieved from, DOI: 10.11648/j.ijvetr.20150102.11 [accessed August 2015].
Sarwar, A., Aftab, H. & Arshad, A. (2014). A study to examine the level of employability skills among business students. European Journal of Scientific Research. Vol. 117(1), pp. 110-115.
Schroeder, A. (2010). The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of using social software in higher and further education teaching and learning. Journal of computer assisted learning. Vol. 26, pp.159-174.
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