People and Organisational Management - Essay Example

People and Organisational Management 1. Introduction A Personal Development Plan (PDP) aims at improving the general skills, knowledge and achievements that a student gains from his or her stint at the University. There are three tests that have been carried out in order to externally challenge this development process. Personal Development Planning or PDP enables an individual to properly evaluate himself as well as plan for further is mean through which a learner thinks, not only about the past experiences of learning but also plans for future learning experiences. The PDP offers vast opportunities for an individual that have been previously ignored. Basically, there are so many things that tend to catch the attention of different people that sometimes it just cannot be helped that people get caught up on the day to day problems. However, it is this tendency to be very busy with the short term activities that inevitably forces long term planning and improvement into the back seat. As mentioned, it is important to avoid being mired too much in day to day activities. Hence, Drew and Bingham (2001) brought forward the need for an individual to reflect every now and then. Reflection is a natural process where we pull together different thoughts and ideas in order to make sense of it for a specific Purpose. Drew & Bingham (2001) defined reflection as “looking back on an experience and making sense of it to identify what to do in the future”. Main Body Planning for improvement Hence, it goes to show that reflecting on oneself enable an individual to be prepared to develop his or her own PDP. In turn this helps the individual decide what he/she wants to achieve in the near future and how to plan accordingly by setting the goals. More importantly, PDP enables a person to develop the things needed to enable him to achieve the things that he wants to achieve (PDP Loughborough University). Selling a sellable self It is important to be able to have a clear idea of yourself in developing your own PDF. It is no surprise then that knowing oneself is the primary requirement when preparing a PDF. This can be done by getting data that pertains to oneself. Being able to do this may take a lifetime since a person’s growth naturally adds up to a person’s trove of experiences. This is very important since a self-motivated individual must seek a challenging environment. Likewise, improvement and personal innovation has really become key traits nowadays for an individual to be able to cope with the fast changing environment at work. Likewise, it is also key to exude a certain degree of professionalism at all times. In crafting a resume’, it is important to remember that the one making his or her resume knows the product more than anybody because he or she is selling himself/herself (MIT Career Development Centre). Self Assessment It is important to be able to have a clear idea of yourself in developing your own PDF. It is no wonder that this is the initial step towards a successful plan for self-development. Hence, after a quick review, I have come to realize certain key points about myself such as my strong work ethic and my being dependable and resposible. I believe that this is further strengthened by my postive attitude as well as the character that i am particularly proud of. However, i do recognize that the capabilities that I have are also influenced by certain expectancies that I believe have significantly impacted my positivity (Erez and Isen 2002). Furthermore, I take pleasure in some of my hobbies such as travelling, sight-seeing, gym, sports, watching movies and listening to songs. Critical analysis of theories 3.1 The Expectancy theory The cut throat competition can really drain a person physically and mentally. Likewise, it necessitates that a person be on top of a situation and is able to handle the working environment that can be very stressful and even depressing. Hence, business owners and managers focus on the Expectancy theory of motivation. Knowledge of this motivating factor enables decision makers and leaders to boost morale and drive employees forward towards the attainment of fruitful results (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). Vroom (1964) has significantly supported this by his theory that a person’s behaviour stems from certain choices that he makes. It is a conscious effort to behave the way he does and this is guided by a simple logic of minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure. Likewise, a person’s performance stems from that individual’s knowledge, personality, experience, skills and abilities. Hence, this may have been instrumental in my choice of hobbies and the traits that I have developed through the years. Efforts put in are guided by three beliefs namely expectancy of effort leading to performance, instrumentality bridging performance with outcomes and valence that puts values on achieved outcomes and valence beliefs forces the employees to question the value and validity of the performance in accordance to the effort taken. Porter & Lawyer (1968) argued that the lack of any of these three beliefs will adversely affect the effort and disrupt the process of selecting the course of action. If the employees lack the expectancy beliefs they will find the effort fruitless. Many view the expectancy theory as extremely calculative (Staw 1984). However, it seems that most of the things that I do stems from certain expectations that I have prior to beginning the things that I am going to do. In developing this PDP, I hope to gain a better understanding of myself to plan for my self-improvement so that I may be able to have a better chance of achieving my goals as well as having a certain preparation for myself for more challenges that are sure to come later in my life. Personal Test Vark Test To further aid in developing my PDP took on a VARK test which has its pillars visual, auditory, reading and writing as well as kinesthetic aspects. I have found out that I exhibit a multimodal learning experience which is prevalent in about 60% of people. Vark then gave me the idea that as a multimodal person, I am inclined to approach things contextually or with a whole sense or yet I may tend to do sequencing which may all play a key role in my PDP. However, my strongest inclination seems to point me into a whole-sense approach as I usually use a number of modes in combination during decision making and to learn. I mentioned above that I am self motivated and I usually gather some of the ideas from the tutor’s explanations, through books I read or even from the internet. Global Personality Test According to Global Personality Test Results my Stability results were medium which means that I am somewhere in between being calm and resilient and being anxious and reactive. On the other hand, my Orderliness results were moderately high, which suggests that I am reliable, neat and hard working but has a tendency to be overly organised. It further explains that my work of approach is flexible, efficient and pleasant. The Extraversion results were moderately high that is because sometimes I am overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing my own individual interests and internally based identity. Sometimes work is just like a play for employees (Daniels, Barry and Papa 1997). As they are self-motivated and committed so they will direct themselves in accordance with business objective sand goals. They are good at creative problem solving and enjoy using their imaginations and creativity during decision making process in order to solve any problem. Theory Y suggest that given the right conditions, employees will want to perform better by exercising self control and accepting responsibility and job satisfaction is one of the main driving factor for them. I think with the tests that I have taken as well as my own personal assessment, it seems that I fit in perfectly with the Theory Y. SWOT Analysis Strength My strengs are that i have strong communication skills and that i am well versed with plannning and research. I am also a natural problem solver and i take pride in my creativity. Also, i am very motivated as well as with strong human relations and social capabilities and that I strive well under pressure. Although I am already self-motivated, I believe in that what Grant (2008) puts forward regarding the importance of reward for performance and that this will dramatically complement the strengths that I have enumerated. Weakness However, i admity to having a general lack of experience which i hope to develop as I go about through life. Therefore i wish to include in my PDP further studies and trainings. Also, i am yet to articulate my goals in life and has still very little job knowledge whereas my technical skills are still weak. However, as Esenberger (1992) states, it is possible to minimize the negativity of these weaknesses through learned industriousness wherein putting in certain incentives throughout my PDP can motivate me further to truly imporve myself. Opportunities I am quite optimistic that achieving a masters degree would open a host of opportunities for further career advancement. This will then lead to professional development not to mention the numerous contacts from networks. Moving forward and achieving the milestones that I will set in my PDP can help me maximize the opportunities that further studies and maybe even trainings can provide me. In addition, my further studieas and trainings can be reagrded as a reward in itself In any case, the opportunity for further learneing can boost my PDP as I regard my performance as reward (McClelland, 1961). Threats Despite the positive impact of such an opportunity, it is undeniable that these do not come cheap. Hence, the cost can greatly undermine my efforts making failure bith painful and costly. However, this is where my docility will be tested as I set out in my PDP. It is therefore important to include in the plan certain reminders of how significant the task that I will be undertaking really is. In that way, I can stay motivated to be able to prod on when the going gets tough (Grant 2008b). Conclusion Based on the foregoing, it can be concluded that goals should be expressed positively so that aside from having a guiding beacon, these will likewise motivate a person through his Personal Development Plan. Positivity allows a person to strive harder and usually small battles that are won provide much needed morale boost to handle more difficult tasks ahead. As I go on, I would also set milestones, both as a testimony for my success and a challenge to do more. It seems important that the PDP has an internal reward system that I can aim for so that I can be further motivated (Mitchell & Daniels, 2003). It is imperative that I am able to proactively handle the challenges that may come along the way as well as to be able to marshal my resources to further increase my capabilities and value. As mentioned, it is important that one knows himself in the preparation of the PDP. As one examines himself, it is important that just like in preparing a resume, one must be able to sell a sellable self and selling oneself must be anchored in the knowledge of oneself (MIT Career Development Centre). This is very important since one should know the product better than anyone else. The PDP Action Plan Hence, based from the conclusion I plan to start my PDP with a detailed analysis of myself. This will then pave the way for me to lay down certain targets that I must achieve as I go on wherein I hope to further strengthen my innate positive attitude through positive reinforcements throughout my PDP (Erez and Isen 2002). I will follow this up by integrating some affective components into the expectancy theory which will have positive effects increasing the beliefs of expectancy, instrumentality and valence (Seo, Barrett, & Bartunek 2004). My main target for now is to earn my master’s degree which will open up a host of possibilities. Despite the threat of costs, it is imperative that I am able to push forward with this plan even if the monetary rewards do not come right away. To hurdle this I turn to Esenberger’s theory (1992) of learned industriousness wherein putting in certain incentives throughout my PDP can motivate me further to truly imporve myself. Most important of these will be the fact that the opportunity for further learneing can boost my PDP and that my performance in that endeavor is a reward in itself (McClelland 1961). It is then easy to have certain markers and milestones as every semester that I hurdle is a milestone in itself. Also, since plans are not static, it is important that I assess my progress as well as the forces affecting my SWOT to determine if revisions or adjustments are needed in the PDP that I have put forward for myself. REFERENCES: Career Services (2009) Quiz – Work Values. Available at: http://www2.careers.govt.nz/quiz_work_values.html [Accessed 30 May 2011] Eisenberger, R. (1992) ‘Learned industriousness’. Psychological Review, vol. 99, pp. 248–267. Daniels, T., Spiker, B., & Papa, M. (1997) Perspectives on Organisational Communication. (4th ed). Boston: McGraw Hill. Drew, S. and Bingham, R. (2010) The Guide to Learning and Study Skills. Grower Publishing, Ltd. Erez, A. and Isen, A.M. (2002) ‘The influence of positive effects on the component of expectancy motivation’. Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 87, 1055-1067 Hackman, J.R. and Oldham, G.R. (1976) ‘Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory’, Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, 16, 250-279 Grant, AM 2008b ‘The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms and boundary conditions’ Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 93, pp. 108-124. McClelland, D.C. (1961) The Achieving Society. New York, Van Nostrom Reinhold Mitchell T. R., & Daniels, D. (2003) Motivation. In W. Borman, D. Ilgen, & R. Klimoski (Eds). Handbook of Psychology, pp. 225–254. New York: Wiley. MIT Career Development Center (2011) ‘Resume Tips: Make Your Resume POP’, Available at: http://www.mit.edu/~career/guide/resumes.html [Accessed 30 May 2011] Personal Development Planning (PDP) (2011) Loughborough University. Available at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/skills/Advice/PDP.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2011] Porter, L. W., & Lawler, E. E. III. (1968) Managerial Attitudes and Performance. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press. Self Improvement Mentor (2008) Quality Personal Development Plan Template. Available at: http://www.self-improvement-mentor.com/personal-development-plan-template.html Accessed [24/4/2011] Seo, M., Barrett, L. F., & Bartunek, J. M. (2004) ‘The role of affective experience in work motivation’ Academy of Management Review, vol. 29, pp. 423-439. Staw, B. M. (1984) ‘Organisational behaviour: A review and reformulation of the field’s outcome variables’ Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 35, pp. 627-66. The Top Ten Work Values Employers Look For. About.com (2011) Available at: http://internships.about.com/od/internshipsuccess/a/workvalues_2.htm [Accessed 30 May 2011] Vark Learn (2009) The Vark Questionnaire. Available at: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire [Accessed 30 May 2011] Vroom, V. H. (1964) Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley. Appendix Global Personality Test Results Available at: http://similarminds.com/cgi-bin/global5.pl Global Personality Test Results Stability |||||||||||| 46% Orderliness |||||||||||||| 56% Extraversion |||||||||||||| 56% Stability results were medium which suggests you average somewhere in between being calm and resilient and being anxious and reactive. Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organised, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun. Extraversion results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity. Trait snapshot: Changeable, in the middle, suspicious, somewhat traditional, dislikes chaos, down to earth, group oriented, practical... you scored in the middle on the overall factors of this test. 2. VARK TEST Your scores were: Visual: 3 Aural: 7 Read/Write: 6 Kinesthetic: 9 You have a multimodal (ARK) learning preference. Available at: http://www2.careers.govt.nz/tools/work-values/ 3. Quiz - Work values Values are the principles or beliefs that give meaning to your life. This quiz can help you work out what values are important to you in a job. Very important Status - Being in a position that gains respect from others Creativity - Thinking of new or different ways of doing things Expert - Being known as having special knowledge, skills or understanding Helping others - Helping others, individually or in groups Learning - Being able to gain new knowledge, skills or understanding Money - Earning lots of money to support a high standard of living Variety and change - Having different things to do or working in different places Achievement - Wanting to achieve results that are valued by myself and others Leadership - Guiding or motivating others to achieve goals Competition - Being in a job with the opportunity to perform better than others Community - Being an active part of a community or group Time freedom - Having flexibility in how and when I work Time for family and self - Being able to balance my work, family and personal needs Making a difference - Doing work which brings about positive change for others Somewhat important Working with people - Having a lot of contact with people at work Independence - Working without close supervision Precision - Doing work that must be done in an exact, accurate manner Making decisions - Being responsible for deciding the way things are done Travel - Having the opportunity to travel in my job Not important Physical challenge - Having a job where I have to physically work hard Read More