Assignment Sample on Personal and Professional Development

Introduction

The report aims at analysing the personal skills and abilities developed by me along with identifying my weaknesses and strengths. The first step is to construct a personal review statement for monitoring the strengths and weaknesses. It will be followed by developing a personal development plan to work on my weaknesses and implementing appropriate actions. After that, reflective data entries of PDP and review statements will be made. In the last section of the report, a professional development essay is prepared to identify the professional and ethical behaviour of engineers.

Task 1: A Personal Review Statement

A personal review statement helps an individual in analysing their strengths and weaknesses and plan for improving them to achieve future goals (DeMott, 2018). It enables a great option for the path to be selected for achieving future goals and objectives. Being a professional engineer is not easy as an individual has to cross numerous milestones for achieving success. I have learned about various programming languages for running diverse applications and developing them personally. An individual has to go through many phases and choosing a career option can be difficult to some extent. Looking at the scenario, the personal review statement will help me in monitoring my weakness and strengths along with planning for working on my weaknesses.

Strengths: I possess various skills that can be helpful for me in achieving future goals and meeting my career objectives. Looking at the very basic skill, I have analysed that I am good at communicating and collaborating with others and it can be beneficial for me as professional engineers mostly work in a team to develop any application or product (Bourn, 2018). Working in a team requires effective communication skills so opinions and ideas can be shared freely and openly. It also helps in improving my knowledge by listening to others’ ideas and opinions patiently. Technical knowledge is the primary skill required by individuals planning to pursue their careers as engineers. It is essential to have strong educational background along with extra knowledge from outside the books. In today’s developing era technologies are increasing rapidly and it is must to have technical knowledge for pursuing career goals. Looking at this aspect, I have observed that my technical knowledge is good but I think it requires constant development.

Furthermore, I am good at bringing creativity and innovation to any products and services and it could be my major strength for achieving success (Capretz and Ahmed, 2018). I am good at different engineering courses and capable of developing minor projects individually but I require a collective environment while working on major projects as I think team diversification can enhance the probability of achieving success. For this purpose, I have good knowledge of teamwork and can work collaboratively.

Weaknesses: Being in the field of professional engineer I have noticed that knowing coding and programming languages is not enough an individual must have analytical ability and logical thinking (Widiyatmoko et. al. 2020). Engineers need to think analytically so they can define a problem adequately and find an effective solution best suitable for the problem. I am good at coding and developing new products but finding errors and solving a problem is not my cup of tea. From this reflective statement, I have depicted that I need to work on developing my analytical thinking. Other than that, I am weak at thinking logically; working in an engineering field requires great knowledge of the system an individual is working on so they can fix the problem if anything goes wrong. Other than that, I am looking at developing leadership skills to achieve greater success in the future.

Task 2: Personal development action plan

Personal development planning is described as the process of developing an action plan as per values, awareness, reflection, goals, and future objectives (Lejeune et. al. 2018). Developing an appropriate plan will help in mapping out the way for achieving success and enables greater decision-making as per the strengths and weaknesses. Six significant steps need to be followed before writing a personal development plan. These phases are described below:

Set goals: The first step is to identify the strengths and weaknesses and measure the areas that need improvement. With the help of a personal review statement, I have analysed my weaknesses and I will try to work on them. Looking at my weaknesses, I decided to work on enhancing my logical thinking and analytical skills. After developing these abilities, I will work on improving my leadership abilities.

Prioritise these goals: After deciding and setting the goals, it is must to organise them sequentially to achieve greater success as per future objectives. The goals must be listed by the urgency of achieving aspirations. Looking at my weaknesses, I have identified that developing analytical ability and skills is must before moving forward. It is needed because there can be identified numerous errors and problems in any program so it is mandatory to identify them and solve them. After that, I will focus on improving my logical thinking and work on developing my leadership abilities.

Setting deadline: I would work on these skills till I will feel expertise in a particular ability. Other than that, continuous learning is must for professional engineers so even after gaining a great amount of knowledge I will work on enhancing that and gaining more skills. I have decided to give 2 months for working on my weaknesses.

Recognise threats and opportunities: Several opportunities are thereafter working on developing these skills. For instance, I would develop my analytical thinking and could be able to solve problems more effectively and appropriately (Bukharina, 2018). After that, logical thinking will make me creative and innovative that is must in the modern changing environment. In modern competitiveness it is must cope up with the changes otherwise it can become a serious threat to achieving the aspirations.

Ways for improving skills: For improving analytical ability it is mandatory to gain market knowledge as it helps in making more efficient decisions. On the other hand, I will work on playing brain games like solving puzzles to find ways for understanding the problem and thinking for a solution. I would also work on reading more programming codes with errors to find an error and solve them.

Measure the progress: For measuring my progress I would develop new codes and programs and compile them to find errors it will help me in identifying problems effectively. Other than that, I will take feedback from my peers and colleagues to reflect on my learning.

PDP action plan

*Skills to be developed*	*Actions to be taken*	*Deadline*	*Progress outcomes*
Activity 1: Analytical ability	Start on finding errors and problems from different programs and try to spend more time in learning new things for improving my knowledge.	2-4 week	I will be able to analyse and identify the problems appropriately and it will improve my skills of finding an effective solution.
Activity 2: Logical thinking	I will work on becoming more creative and innovative by gaining knowledge about latest market trends and focus on socialising with other members to increase my ability.	2-4week	It would help me in gaining more market knowledge and enhance my innovative and creative skills.
Activity 3: Leadership	I will involve myself in different group task and ask them to allow me to lead the team. After developing analytical and logical ability my problem solving skill will be developed a step towards great leadership.	4 week	Leading a team will help me in improving my leadership abilities and help me in achieving my future goals and objectives.

Task 3: Reflective diary entries

Log 1

*Day 1*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 1*	Selection and evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses	Personal review statement helped me in analysing my strengths and weaknesses as per my future goals and objectives. It would also help in identifying the weakness that needs improvement otherwise it can become threat in my future success (Gaus, 2017).

Log 2

*Day 2*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 2*	Determination of aims and objectives of the personal development plan	Determining aims and objectives helps me in identifying the necessity of setting objectives and goals for future. It also makes the research process easy and flexible.

Log 3

*Day 3*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 3*	Analysing the significant objectives of this study	It helped me in providing clear path of future and work on improving my abilities effectively.

Log 4

*Day 4*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 4*	Identifying the scope of current study and how it can be beneficial	It made me feel that the chosen topic is reliable and essential for achieving future growth and improving abilities as per market competitiveness.

Log 5

*Day 5*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 5*	Framing the weaknesses that needs to be reduced	Working on organising my weaknesses sequentially so I can work on them effectively and improve them adequately. It would also help me in enhancing my abilities and skills that will help me in achieving the objectives.

Log 6

*Day 6*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 6*	Examining and arranging them in sequence as per their priority	In examining and arranging my weaknesses in sequence helped me in assigning them in priority as per the improvement required. It would help me in developing skills and enhance my innovation and creativity.

Log 7

*Day 7*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 7*	Analyse the time taken for improving the skills.	While identifying the task and time required for improvement helped me in understanding the essentiality of time management. Other than that, I have organised my work accordingly so I can gain more knowledge along with meeting the deadlines.

Log 8

*Day 8*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 8*	Selection of adequate activities to work on improving the weaknesses	After identifying the weaknesses in sequence as per their priority I have decided to search for activities that can help in improving my skills and abilities.

Log 9

*Day 9*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 9*	Analysing the progress and success	While analysing the outcomes and success I have achieved in improving the skills helped me in identifying the gaps in my learning and I decided to work on that further. Other than that, taking constant feedbacks from my peers also enabled a great understanding of my learning (Banton, 2020).

Log 10

*Day 10*	*Task attempted*	*Learning outcome*
*Day 10*	Focusing on continuous learning	From the entire personal development plan I have recognised that becoming a successful and professional engineer require constant and continuous learning and cope up with the trending technical knowledge.

Task 4: Professional development essay

Behaving professionally is essential to achieve future growth and success, for many people professional behaviour is defined as the way of behaving respectfully and effectively. Professional behaviour starts with having an effective knowledge of communication. It is depicted that communicating and collaborating using respectful language describes ethical and professional behaviour (Pelletreau et. al. 2018). Behaving unprofessionally and disrespecting peers is identified as highly unprofessional. Other than that, professional behaviour also helps individuals in keeping a thin line between their personal and professional life. In simple terms, a judge can’t have a personal conversation with the defendant or plaintiff. An individual must develop professional behaviour so they can achieve greater market success and develop the professional image in their organisation or at the workplace.

Many business organisations also have their formal code of professional conduct and many do not have it and it is essential to follow the rules set by the organisation to look professional. On the other hand, while going for an interview session it is depicted that wearing formal is necessary as it will look attractive and creates a gentle gesture (Attebury, 2017). After that, communicating effectively and answering their asked question with clear explanations also puts a great expression on them. In this way, professional behaviour can be defined. Engineering is described as an essential and learned profession and members of this behaviour need to be complying with the highest standards of integrity and honesty. It is seen that engineering directly affects the lives of people as they are the source behind any new development and innovation. Looking at this scenario, it is expected that engineers must have impartiality, equity, honesty, and fairness and they must be dedicated to the protection of public safety, health, and welfare. Professional engineers must perform following the standard of professional behaviour that needs obedience to the highest principle of ethical conduct.

Furthermore, engineers have to practice all the areas of competence and must follow diligent and careful ways so they can obediently follow all the laws, standards, codes, rules, and regulations applicable to engineering practice (Bukharina, 2018). Om the other hand, the project, and actions implemented and developed by engineers must be examined with environmental and societal impact so the environmental concern can be decreased. They have to follow these rules and make informed decisions and recommendations. It is the responsibility of engineers to make things better and develop greater solutions associated with the issues and problems. Looking at the innovation and creativity developed by engineers including transportation, generated various ways of energy consumption and implemented communications network, and many more.

The study of ethics is highly concerned with developing good life and it can be seen that most of the ethical beliefs and codes were developed traditionally and now they are creating them as per compliances and market trends. It is the responsibility of engineers to comply with the code of ethics so their development follows the code of ethics. On the other hand, ethics vary from region to region and individual to individual. Hence, when it is applied to the engineering profession, ethics are straightforward (Armstrong, 2020). Ethics in terms of engineers can be applied in two major ways including honesty and safety. The aspect of safety is essential as small mistakes can be harmful and cause damage to people. Various reasons are there showing that following ethics is essential for the engineering field. It includes engineering projects that directly impact the safety of people, for instance, developing electrical, infrastructure, digital engineering, and many other projects that affect the lives of people in a better way. Any small error in the project can damage the life of individuals severely.

All engineers must know that they should work to provide their best making sure that they respectful with the highest standards. Following ethics will enhance their work performance along with managing their work professionally. Various ethical considerations are highlighting on the propriety, privacy, and safety of individuals. Many engineers dropped and don’t follow ethics in the urge of achieving increased profit, productivity and this kind of decision significantly come from upper management and engineers have to follow them (Vandenberghe 2018). For instance, in constructing a building the approval is given to construct three floors but for getting more profitability they construct more floors. It can be dangerous to the health and safety of humans. Looking at this scenario, engineers must follow a code of ethics to ensure the compliance of safety and well-being of human beings. Another example of unethical behaviour was done by Google, Facebook, and Volkswagen companies that have come under fire.

Following the engineering code of ethics and rules, it can be depicted that following them is essential to act professionally and have a respectful image among the organisation. To achieve professional status, I have decided to follow every ethical rule and regulation so no single law can be violated. It would also help me in achieving great gestures among peers and colleagues (Becker et. al. 2018). Looking at this scenario, I have decided to learn and develop my knowledge about the ethical codes so I can follow them adequately while taking any decision. For example, before developing any product and application I will ensure that it is healthy and safe for people and individual using that. Other than that, I have monitored that it is mandatory to act honestly and with high integrity is must for enhancing the organisation’s status and brand reputation. I will try to be honest and comply with all the rules and regulations formulated by organisation to enhance my performance in organisation.

For acting professionally, I will make sure that my client is aware of our professional concerns as per the projects and actions so the demands of clients can be addressed adequately. In today’s developing world, it is seen that engineers and companies are trying to adopt projects that can be beneficial for them instead of making them valuable for individuals. Looking at this concern, I would try to look for actions and projects that make my organisation customer-centric along with generating effective and great profit margins. It would be beneficial for achieving growth as well as customer loyalty and trust.

The Equality act 2010: The equality act primarily focuses on protecting people from discrimination in the organisation or society. It responsibly replaces all the different anti-discrimination laws using the single act, making it essential for people to understand the law in the diverse situation (de Jong PhD and van de Mieroop PhD, 2019). It ensures that every employee is treated equally in the workplace despite their race, sex, belief, religion, marriage, caste, and many more. Being an engineer, I would try to treat every people, customer, employee, and peers equally to keep myself following this law. Other than that, I would focus on providing health and safety concerns equally to every human being keeping their profession aside. I have observed that many engineers try to take the property of poor as they have less power to raise voice against them. Following this law, I will try to treat every individual equally.

Data protection act 2018: The data protection act 2018 helps in putting control over the personal information shared by users, businesses, and the government. Every individual using personal data needs to follow strict rules and regulations implemented by data protection principles. Engineers must follow this rule as they are given with majority of private data and the personal information of clients (Shaw and Act, 2018). They have to follow this law and did not misuse the data illegally. I would try my best to keep the data and information shared by clients and customers to comply with this law. Following this rule will help me in following professional and ethical behaviour at the workplace.

Bribery act 2010: The bribery act is differentiated based on four different offenses include offering, promising five bribes to another person, receiving the bribe, or bribing a foreign public official. It can be exemplified by looking at the scenario of companies urging to earn more profits by harming other people (Thiel, 2019). For instance, taking a bribe from one person and doing something favourable to them. I will focus on performing a task that is favourable for every individual not only for one and will never accept any kind of bribe from others.

Conclusion

It has been concluded in the report that every professional engineer must follow ethics and professional behaviour so they can create a gentle gesture in the organisation. Engineers work for innovating and developing new solutions to old problems and issues. While developing the solutions they must focus on providing and offering solutions that are safe and secure for human lives. From the entire report, I have learned that engineers have to follow various rules and regulations as the health and safety of people are highly their concern. Many examples are given in the report to prove the essentiality of ethics and professionalism an engineer must adopt in their behaviour.

References

Books and Journals

Armstrong, J., (2020). The development and use of codes of practice for professional engineers. In Values in Professional Practice: lessons for health, social care and other professionals (pp. 123-136). Routledge.

Attebury, R.I., (2017). Professional development: A qualitative study of high impact characteristics affecting meaningful and transformational learning. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(3), pp.232-241.

Banton, T., (2020). Basic Elements of a Reflective Essay. Available at SSRN.

Becker, K., Gero, J.S., Pourmohamadi, M., Abdellahi, S., Almeida, L. and Luo, Y., (2018). Quantifying differences between professional expert engineers and engineering students designing: Empirical foundations for improved engineering education. In ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, Utah: ASEE2018 Paper ID (Vol. 21338).

Bourn, D., (2018). The global engineer. In Understanding global skills for 21st century professions (pp. 201-219). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Bukharina, A.Y., (2018). Personal development plan (PDP) in practice and technology of introducing mentoring in organizations. Social Psychology and Society, 9(1), pp.162-176.

Capretz, L.F. and Ahmed, F., (2018). A call to promote soft skills in software engineering. arXiv preprint arXiv:1901.01819.

de Jong PhD, J.C. and van de Mieroop PhD, D., (2019). Why teaching rhetoric to engineers? An empirical basis for training exordial and perorational skills.

DeMott, R., (2018). Fifty Years Gone: A Personal Statement. Steinbeck Review, 15(2), pp.116-121.

Gaus, N., (2017). Selecting research approaches and research designs: A reflective essay. Qualitative Research Journal.

Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I., (2018). The impact on employees’ job performance of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan practice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp.1-27.

Pelletreau, K.N., Knight, J.K., Lemons, P.P., McCourt, J.S., Merrill, J.E., Nehm, R.H., Prevost, L.B., Urban-Lurain, M. and Smith, M.K., (2018). A faculty professional development model that improves student learning, encourages active-learning instructional practices, and works for faculty at multiple institutions. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(2), p.es5.

Shaw, J. and Act, P., (2018). Data Protection Policy City Learning Trust.

Thiel, D.V., (2019). Advanced ethics for engineers. In WEC2019: World Engineers Convention 2019 (p. 1430). Engineers Australia.

Vandenberghe, J., (2018). How professional engineers can contribute to attraction and retention of minority groups into the engineering profession through equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization efforts. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering.

Widiyatmoko, A., Dewi, N.R. and Yanitama, A., (2020). The Implementation of Innovative Thematic Module to Improve Students’ Logical Thinking Ability. Unnes Science Education Journal, 9(3), pp.151-158.

Online

Bairaktarova. D. (2017). Engineering Student’s Ethical Awareness and Behaviour. [Online]. Accessed through: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-016-9814-x>

Personal development planning. (2020). [Online]. Accessed through: <https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/personal-development-planning/>