Self Evaluation through SWOT Analysis and Experience of Working in a Team - Coursework Example

Self Evaluation through SWOT Analysis and Experience of Working in a Team

• Introduction

Every human being is endowed with certain qualities which help him or her in achieving success in life which can be regarded as his or her strength similarly, weaknesses are also present which can prevent him or her from identifying the opportunities and hence, be a threat to his or her success. We spend almost 20 to 25 years in attaining schooling and other institutional training so that we can be ready to face the challenges in life and overcome them. Every job role demands certain specific qualities to be present in the employee and in order to meet the expectations of a job opportunity an individual needs to be well aware of them and develop them in him or her (Klemash, 2015). In this paper, SWOT analysis has been used for self evaluation to highlight my potentialities and bring the areas of concern to my notice. SWOT is a short form for strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat (Pahl and Richter, 2009). In the first half of this paper SWOT analysis will be used to evaluate the potentiality of my own self.

While working in any organisation, an employee is expected to contribute towards his or her responsibility and participate actively in team work. This calls for certain qualities to be present in the employee like, patience, understanding, cooperative, innovative and detail oriented (Belbin, 2012). Working in a team is both a learning experience as well as a challenge. Proper communication is the key to success in team’s performance, without which there can be confusion and misunderstanding leading to delay in the completion of the task. In the second half of this paper the learning experience from working in a team has been illustrated.

• SWOT Analysis- Self Evaluation
• Strengths

Excellent academic ability- Academic qualification plays a very important role in determining the capability of an individual according to the perspective of the employer (Cottrell, 2013). I have been an achiever in terms of studies which helped me in developing sharp memory with a keen sense of observation. Schooling was my first step in understanding the value of hard work that introduced me to the boundless world of knowledge. My ability in problem solving was again tested in the college when complex topics became a part of the syllabus and obtaining good grades showed my capability in problem solving.

Good communication skill-Good communication is of great importance to any organization without which there can be no coordination eventually leading to collapse of a company (Baker, et al., 2006). Effective and free communication is the thread that binds all the departments in an organization (Hamilton, 2013). My parents are owner of a shop and in my leisure time I lend a hand in running the business. It is for this reason I have to daily communicate with the customers and sometimes have to get the best deals from the suppliers through negotiations. This not only helped me in understanding the needs of a variety of people but also made me good negotiator which can help in working in a team in an organisation. My communication skill will be helpful in making my work environment transparent and will also increase my productivity.

Good organisation skill- Being organised not only helps in finishing any task quickly but also helps in multi-tasking. An organised individual is in a better position to track the progress of the task that has been assigned to him or her. Organisational skill is really helpful in invoking trust while working in a team and reduces unnecessary stress (Whiston, 2012). I had developed this skill during my undergraduate degree when I had to manage a balance among the deadlines of my coursework, a part time job and playing in the University Orchestra. All the tasks demanded time management and in order to perform well, I had to keep the details up-to-date so that they are completed in time without any stress.

• • Weaknesses

Cannot delegate- Delegation is a critical skill. Many people choose not to delegate because they find themselves in a better position to do the task themselves without understanding that they are delaying a particular work unnecessarily. Delegating a particular task is also efficient in terms of time (Harvard Business Review, 2014). I have always done my work without taking anyone’s help; although, it has developed self reliance, yet it made me take the responsibility of the task entirely upon myself. My organisational skill helped me to a great extent to complete the tasks on time; but in order to perform the role of a leader; I need to learn the techniques of delegating my work to increase the quality as well as efficiency of it.

Lacking in confidence- If an employee is lacking in confidence it can lead to dissatisfaction in their job and lessen their productivity which will eventually hamper the quality of the product (Doloi, 2009). I have been strong in dealing with my tasks, but there were times when I could not understand the requirement of the task properly which led to delays and the pressure of the deadlines made me nervous and during presentation, I lacked confidence making me nervous in front of the faculty. I need to improve my ability to handle pressure with confidence which will increase my value to the organisation that will employ me.

Cannot say no- It is important to say ‘no’ at the right time and also at the right place but should become a habit of making excuses (Viñals, et al., 2010). I try to be pleasing because of the fear of being abandoned. I was also afraid that me saying ‘no’ can hurt someone’s feelings and make them angry, make them disappointed, or represent me as impolite or unkind. During my undergraduate course, I was assigned a group project where each of the team members was responsible for a part of the project and i had limited proficiency in the part which was assigned to me but I was not able to say ‘no’ for it which may have enabled me to choose any other portion resulting in poor quality of work. Hence, I need to learn to say ‘no’ so that there is no extra burden upon me and I can contribute to the task with positivity.

• • Opportunities

Accesses to professional help-There are many institutions which provide trainings to develop new skills and improve the existing ones so that the employees can find themselves suitable for their desired job role. Nowadays, division of labour is a common practice in the business organisations which has created different departments and when an individual wishes to enter the corporate world, there are specific trainings available for developing skills required by departments, like marketing, sales, finance etc. These specialisations help an individual to deal with problems in their respective field in a better way. Sometimes large organisations have their own training wings to train their new employees (Fullan, 2014).

Networks-Networking in the industry can be very beneficial in searching desired job roles. If an individual is well connected to the hiring manager of a particular firm, then he or she can be the first person to come to know about any unadvertised position and can get a lead to apply for the concerned position. In the present competing world, having the right contact through proper networking can help in landing in the suitable job. In order to build successful network strategising, positive attitude and ability to communicate come in handy (Hoye, et al., 2009).

Student societies- Student societies are effective medium of developing personal skills and can be used for attracting employer’s attention. There are subject based societies like, cultural societies, drama clubs, educational societies, etc. which can help in gaining more knowledge (Hong, 2006). If a candidate has been a part of any society that has done some constructive work either in personal skill development or has been beneficial to the society, then he or she will have a better chance of getting noticed by the employers since all the achievements will be clearly mentioned in their bio-data. These societies also from time-to-time organise campaigns and job fares which may bring lots of opportunities for the fresher’s.

• • Threats

Other graduates- An University consists of many students in the same discipline which can be seen as developing increased competition, every other graduate is competition to one another as they will flock for the same job in the industry (Marginson, 2006). Not only my friends in my University are my competitors but also the entire population of fresh graduates contribute to this competition.

Economic downturn- It causes curtailing of production since entrepreneurs are not ready to invest (Coile and Levine, 2007). Economic downturns lead to shrinkage of the job market as the labour demand of the economy is reduced. It has been observed that fresh graduates are at the greatest loss as there is no job creation while experienced employees find it hard to maintain their jobs (Brunelloa, 2009).

No time for ECA due to part time job-Individuals often get engaged in part time jobs to earn something extra leaving no scope for ECA sliming their chance of getting a suitable job according to their qualification.

In future, I would like to use my strengths in overcoming my weaknesses. My communication skill will help me during the interview rounds to get myself noticed to the hiring management of the companies. My academic success will help me to remain at the top of the preference list of the candidates applying for a certain job. I would like to take help from my seniors in the Universities to guide me through the process of overcoming my weaknesses like how to delegate work and not to be nervous during the interviews. My organisation skill will ensure all the important points are in place so that nothing is missed out. The experience of my professors will help me get the required help to overcome my weaknesses.

• Reflective essay

I was assigned a group project where we were asked to identify the opportunities and problems of a newly merged company from its management point of view and I was assigned for the part of detecting opportunities. I was supposed to get the detailed information of the different departments of the company like, IT, the product/manufacturing processes, Human Resources (e.g. skill mix, contracts, training), marketing and sales, sustainability and the environment. It was a learning experience specially in terms of understanding the functions of various departments in an organisation and their importance. Opportunities in every department are created through efficient working styles and proper information sharing.

We were able to propose the points which will guide us in completing the project, my organisation skill helped in formulating the parts that require more attention than the others and how the entire project will be executed. It was because of our co-ordination that each part assigned to the members was carried out with utmost efficiency. Understanding among us helped us to built mutual trust as it is very important without which we would not have been able reach any particular decision for the benefit of the project. We used to meet thrice a week to discuss the progress of the project which eliminated any doubts regarding the progress of the project and also helped us get clarification on the points where anyone had any confusion. In these meetings, every member of the group was given equal representation and was free to voice their suggestions. These sessions helped in removing stale ideas which might have crept in if we had been working alone. We included all the members and if any member was facing difficulties in his or her part, help from other members of the team was provided. We tried to incorporate most of the points suggested by our group members after listening to their justification regarding the same.

We divided the project in such a way that all the members were assigned tasks according to their skills. I was assigned to collect data regarding the opportunities because of my strength in organisation and observational skills so that minute details regarding the working of the different department, like strength of the departments, technology used in running daily business, etc gets captured. Similarly, another member who was good in mathematics and statistics was assigned the part of analysing and evaluating the opportunities and problem. Presentation was assigned to the one with good communication skill. This way not only the project was done within the deadline but was also a product of good quality research and empirical application.

Our weekly meetings ensured that each member was contributing by working on their individual part. We made sure that if anybody got stuck, help is rendered to him or her without much delay so that wastage of time could be kept at a minimum level. In the event of incorporation of any changes everyone in the group were notified so that they can make alterations in their individual part leaving no scope for anomaly. Our project was made though joint effort and involvement of the team members and effective communication among the members made it possible to complete the project on time.

It has been observed that working in a team has its own consequences. We often encountered clash of ideas leading to conflicts and confusion. In order to solve them we allowed each member to discuss his or her idea in front of everyone so that there is less instances of such conflicts. Sometimes, team members use to lack motivation while facing difficulty and then we tried to help and motivate those members so that we can complete that on time. Communication among the team members played a key role in solving any conflict and brought all the members under a common platform so that everybody could express their opinion freely. As I am good in negotiations, I made it possible to bring a truce between members involved in conflict.

Apart from the assigned part, I tried to help my co-workers so that the work is done on time. As I am good in organising, I kept a regular track of the progress of the project and quickly noted the points that were discussed during the interactive sessions. This helped in figuring out the problems that arose while pursuing the project. I was able to grasp the main requirements of the project and thus helped my fellow members to understand the criticalities of the project. My negotiating power came in handy while persuading other members on certain suggestions which reduced unnecessary delays in the project. One of our group members was shy of putting forward her view so I tried to ask for her opinion while discussing any changes, which helped her in getting comfortable with us and provided the required encouragement in exercising 100% of effort.

I am afraid of speaking in public platforms which prevented me from taking part in presenting my portion of the paper, for which we decided that the entire presentation will be done by a single person instead of individual presentation. It caused more pressure on a single person as this required the concerned member to learn the entire project and its technicalities so that there are no mistakes during cross- questioning. In future, I would like to make myself prepare for public speaking and would ask for help not only from my friends as they are the immediate people whom I speak to, but I would also like to take professional help in overcoming my stage fear.

I will consider group project to be one of my strength because it helped me in devising ways to deal with different members. Whenever different individuals form a group it brings an array of ideas to choose from. Working in a group helped in improving my strengths as well. It is very important to direct a team to a particular direction so that the task is done in an efficient manner without wastage of time. I kept a systematic record of the entire project which benefited all the team members to concentrate on those parts which lacked attention. On occasional conflicts, I made sure that the members involved in it can place their viewpoint in front of the group so that the confusion in the ideas can get resolved. These experiences will help me in future while undertaking group projects. In future, if I am assigned to any group project, I will try to help in the empirical part as it will help build my analytical knowledge. I will try to be more assertive.

• Conclusion

First half of the project comprises SWOT analysis evaluating my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities that I can explore and the possible threats that can increase my struggle in this highly competing job market. My strength lies in my academic knowledge, ability to communicate with different people and my organised way of working. All these qualities help in efficient management of time and also to maintain certain quality standard for my tasks. I have stage fear and would really like to work on overcoming it. Working in a team is also one of my strengths which will help in working comfortably in the job opportunities that I will get in future. The second half of the project illustrates the learning experience of working in a group, although there were shortcomings in the form of conflicts among the team members, yet those challenges made us more responsible and detail oriented. I will be encountering challenges in future as well and this experience will guide me to find out the quickest ways of solving them. In future, I would like to undertake more group projects so that I can further polish my skills and overcome my weaknesses.

• Reference List

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