Personal Development

Question

Don’t write an introduction or conclusion. Just focus on the two bullet points below:  The essay: 1. A specific academic example (with reasons for your choice and its link to employability skills) (words 850) 2. A specific vocational example (with reasons for your choice and its link to employability skills) (words 850)  —————————————————————————————- comments from me  1. I chose Global Business Management as a pathway last year at Regents university because the business world interests me. You can write about a course that I took last semester called “Sustainability in Global Business” and how that affected me by how unsustainable our world is today. And because of that I really want to make a change and to link that to employability skills. 2. Just make something up (relating to the details I’ve provided above) 3. Here are some key points about me so you will get an idea: -I care a lot about people -I’m confused about which career path to choose -I’m ethical -I’m responsible  -I need to have more faith in myself -kind -I’m not a leader person, but not shy either Let me know if you have any questions! -Lastly, you need to talk about Gibbs Reflective Cycle somewhere in the essay

Answer

Course

Professor’s Name

Regents University

City (State)

22 April 2016.

A specific Academic Example: Sustainability in Global Business

As a student at Regent University, I decided to pursue Global Business Management as a career choice following my interest and passion for business affairs at large. In particular, I undertook Sustainability in Global Business as a course last semester with the aim of understanding the key areas that need to be addressed to elevate a business to the status of self-sustenance while meeting its objective of profit-making. In writing this reflection I will adhere to Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle model created by Professor Graham Gibbs, which provides a theoretical framework for writing self-reflective essays. It incorporates various stages from the description of the idea, feelings, evaluations, analysis, and plan of action depending on future aspirations (Gibbs 1988). It enhances self-assessment and improvement in addition to exploring different approaches from various perspectives.

ORDER A PAPER LIKE THIS NOW

Sustainability in business is majorly concerned with activities that ensure all procedures, processes and production activities effectively address environmental issues while maintaining a stable inflow of profits to the organization. It tries to establish a coherent link between meeting present needs and ensuring that future needs of upcoming generations are not jeopardized. According to Anderson (2006), the whole concept of sustainability is founded on the process and perception of entrepreneurs of making innovative products that exploit market gaps and prevailing situations with the sole aim of providing quality to consumers while realizing profits in the long run. In essence, sustainability in global business especially for profit-making corporations focuses on the effects on a global scale of development strategies and consequently how the organizations interact to foster healthy relationships that concur with sustainable economic development.

There are quite a number of reasons as to why I chose to pursue this course. To begin with, it has provided me with numerous networking opportunities. Studying this course accords one the benefit of coming across myriad opportunities with other business professionals in the industry. Consequently, this may ultimately result to the creation of new meaningful partnerships with other experts in the industry. Hackman and Johnson (2009) argue that businessmen and entrepreneurs alike have the responsibility to form relations and extend partnerships to all, thereby increasing performance of the organization. Such efforts promote mentorship and access to expert advice on world business affairs. Getting such exposure is pivotal in that it enables one to be well-versed with business matters and similarly, to become proficient on what happens in the industry. This trait is crucial to anyone who seeks to be employed by any firm.

Secondly, the stated course fosters credibility in a significant way. It is quite evident that embarking on this subject is a beneficial decision particularly for a person who is interested in pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree. As such, most graduates from top universities are highly sought after by large and well-known companies to take up prestigious positions such as senior management. This skill goes a long way in building the reputation of any firm and ultimately leads to securing finances from banks and other private investors at ease. As a result of the benefits derived from hiring credible staff, this skill is crucial and is considered by many employers during recruitment. As such, pursuing this course grants me a chance to build to on my credibility as an aspiring entrepreneur.

In addition to these observations, I should point out that I possess great interpersonal skills. My ability to relate well with others around me compelled me to choose this course. Excellent communication skills and interpersonal skills are crucial in any organization that aims to achieve its goal. This statement is best supported by Kurtz’s (2011) assertion that interpersonal skills largely comprise of the ability to communicate and motivate others and thus, are of great importance to achieving success.  My strong urge to try and make a positive impact on people’s lives proved instrumental in boosting my people skills which are quite important in terms of employability.

Moreover, the course triggered a strong desire to expand my business skills. The knowledge obtained equipped me with relevant skills and adequate knowledge on many areas and perspectives in the business industry. As a course, sustainability has allowed me to be innovative in managing people and handling global problems using more appealing and desirable approaches. Miller (1983) argues that entrepreneurial behavior should ideally encompass both innovation and risk-taking. In this context, I have improved my ability to analyze data, improve financial decisions, and make realistic predictions on future outcomes using efficient modeling techniques.

Additionally, sustainability as a course provides useful models and techniques that aim at maximizing productivity while reducing cost, and this is the primary reason that I decided to undertake it. Modern businesses, both large and small, are constantly faced with the challenge of high operating costs while realizing smaller yields in terms of output. The drive to make an impact on peoples’ lives by helping them solve problems propelled me to take seek knowledge that could best be provided by the sustainability course. For instance, I learned that designing models that are more sustainable increases efficiency in operations and leads to optimal utilization of available resources and decreasing subsequent costs. Since this is the primary goal of any firm and as such, there is a strong positive correlation between possessing such skills and employability.

ORDER A PAPER LIKE THIS NOW

Finally, having acquired relevant knowledge relating to global business management particularly aspects of sustainability, I now consider myself a good decision-maker. Many employers want to hire skilled employees who are able to make well-calculated decisions that contribute to the overall performance of their businesses. In this environment, one should be able to identify potential, perceived, and anticipated problems and subsequently come up with alternative solutions to address them. According to Ivancevich (2007), decision-making in management incorporates seeking out a problem and implementing viable solutions after careful evaluation of the proposed remedy.

A Specific Vocational Example: Internship Experience at a Local Consultancy Firm

In order to gain some practical experience, I applied for and secured the position of an internship at a local consultancy firm, where I was charged with the responsibility of overseeing effective management of day-to-day affairs alongside my supervisor. This opportunity provided the appropriate forum for me to see how things are actually done and to apply the theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom in a real-life organizational setup. During my period at the firm, I was able to assess its operations and to draw out some of the weaknesses it had which limited optimum performance across the board. Moreover, I was able to establish my strong and weak points through my interaction with the staff particularly my supervisor.  For instance, there was lack of coordination between the workers and the overall management of the firm. According to William and Pride (2008), effective coordination and coherence is achieved when the resources available, whether many or few, are utilized and harmonized to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Lack of a communication between the two components led to constant disruption of work flow and prompted laxity among workers, and this culminated in poor performance of the firm. Because I hold a high regard for work ethics, I sought to resolve the issue by approaching the manager and proposing an approach that involved appointing supervisors at every department in the firm. I also perceived this problem as a weakness on the part of the manager since his function includes supervising the process of harmonizing resources to efficiently manage the firm’s portfolio (Alvarez & Busenitz 2001). Through this experience, I learned the need to continue honing my problem-solving skills to enhance my employability.

The firm also lacked a clear set of well-defined objectives. This problem impacted negatively to a great extent on the firm’s operations since there was a significant drop in the clientele during my first month there. The presence of well laid-down objectives provides employers with a sense of direction and meaning to the firm by showing what exactly it is attempting to achieve both in a short-term and in the long-run (Ivancevich & Duening 2007). As a responsible person, I took it upon myself to come up with meaningful goals based on the firm’s vision and presented the document to the manager who endorsed it immediately. I must admit that he was rather impressed with my work considering that I was a mere intern. Kihlstrom and Laffont (1979) argue that behavioral traits such as taking risks and seeking achievement are crucial human attributes that clearly distinguish entrepreneurs from the rest of the population in society. Accordingly, I learned that being responsible and having the ability to take decisive action are essential employability skills.

Finally, I perceived a weakness at the consultancy firm in terms of planning and strategic issues. The plans that had been put in place by the operations manager were not consistent with the sustainability objectives of the firm. If anything, they would have resulted in losses and poor market performance relative to competitors. Stevenson and Jarillo (1990) claim that strategic management constitutes the bulk of success in any firm, and sound measures should be put in place to maximize the achievement of the desired output.

Meanwhile, I was also able to draw out certain personal strengths and weaknesses while interning at the firm. From my own analysis and that of my supervisor, it emerged that I possessed a high level of competency in innovation, overall management, honesty, planning and commitment. On the other hand, leadership and confidence constituted a greater percentage of my weaknesses. I will strive to improve these grey areas in an attempt to achieve a high level of professionalism in my line of work and improve my career prospects. I have realized that leadership is not just an employability skills but also as one of the greatest determinants of success. Hackman (2009) argues that leadership, career achievement and promotion all contribute to the success of a firm since others will always look up leaders and achievers, thereby creating a favorable working environment. The need to achieve sustainability in global business enterprises has greatly contributed to who and where I am as a person. It is my strong conviction that with the appropriate guidance and utmost commitment to personal development, I will be able to achieve my dream of making a significant impact in the business world.

References List

Alvarez, SB (2001), The entrepreneurship of resource-based theory, Journal of Management, vol. 27, pp. 755-775.

Anderson. DR (2006), The Critical Importance of Sustainability risk Management, Risk Management, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 118-134.

Duening, JM (2007), Business: Principles, Guidelines, and Practices. Atomic Dog Publishing, Mason.

Gibbs, G (1988), Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford Polytechnic Further Education Unit, Oxford.

Hackman, MZ & Johnson, K (2009), Leadership: A communication perspective. Routledge, London.

Kihlstrom, RL (1979), General Equilibrium entrepreneurial theory of firm formation based on risk aversion, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 87, no. 4, pp. 719-748.

Kurtz, DL (2011), Contemporary Business. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.

Miller, D (1983), The Correlates of entrepreneurship in 3 types of firms. Management Science, vol. 29, no. 7, 770-791.

Stevenson, H & Jarillo, B (1990), A paradigm of entrepreneurship-entrepreneurial management, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 11, pp. 17-27.

William, M & Pride, RJ (2008), Business. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.