In this essay, the reflection of five activities which were being conducted during the five lectures is provided. After attending every activity, everyone was being asked to participate in one activity. Therefore, I made record of all activities on the provided reflection sheet. I tried to be critical and precise while developing the reflection entries for all activities. Though, there were many activities in all lectures, I selected those activities which I found more relevant an interesting as per my career goals. To write reflection entries was a new experience for me and I was quite excited when I came to know that we have to undertake this activity. I actually started this activity with enthusiasm. Firstly, I took part in stress management assessment questionnaire through which I identified how I am in terms of stress management. Secondly, I took part in the break out activity in which I analysed which skills need to be developed as per my career goals. In this activity I also planned that how these skills could be developed. Thirdly, I took part in balance life activities which told me how I am managing various life activities.  Fourthly, I conducted the training need analysis for myself which helped me to identify those areas which needs development. Lastly, I participated in diversity reflection where I observed how can we work in an effective manner if we appreciate diversity.

Entry 1: Stress Management Assessment Questionnaire

In the first lecture of this course, I learnt about the self-awareness, interacting with others, interacting in a team and how can I be proved helpful for business effectiveness. I could become able to learn the critical management skills which will be proved quite helpful for me in my professional life. The activity of this lecture was quite shocking for me. I always believed that I can manage my stress in a good way. I was confident to work in a stressful environment. When we were being asked to  take part in the stress management assessment questionnaire, I came to know that my stress taking index was quite high. Though, there many important factors which are important for organisational success, but the role of management skills is critical. Though, there are various competencies, including technical, business and human and personal traits. However, I found that there are certain core competencies which are important for every situation and stress and time management is one of those skills which are critical. After taking part in this self assessment related to stress, I came to know that I need to work on stress management. The total score of this assessment was not good enough. During the lecture, I came to know that there were few skills which I do not have like stress management. I was worried but then I realised that I also learned about five step learning model for self development. I am certain that this five step model will prove helpful for me to learn all those management skills, which I do not possess. Previously, I never knew this but now I know the importance of self-awareness. Moreover, the activities of this lecture has helped in understanding how self awareness is important for personal and professional development. Whenever, I will start my career, this knowledge and understanding about self awareness, social awareness and relationship management will make me able to work with my colleagues in a better way. moreover, after identifying that I am bad in stress management I learned how could I improve this skill. The last half of the lecture was about stress management. I learnt many new ways to manage the stress. I could say that now I know how to balance life activities. Moreover, the recommended material has proved quite useful for me. I believe this will be very helpful for me.

Entry 2 – Break Out Activity

This activity is about reflecting on the skill identification and select four skills which must be developed in your personality. In a small group, I had to discuss the plan that I had to develop. It was also discussed that how these skills could be developed and how these skills will prove helpful for me. In this activity, I identified that I need to work on my communication, managing conflict, motivating others and goal setting skills. These skills were identified after doing a discussion with the group members. The importance of communication skills cannot be denied in any sphere of life. I realised that this is the area where I am lacking. After discussing with group members, I came to know that our university conduct many seminars of improving the communication skills. therefore, I have an opportunity to improve my communication skills by attending those seminars. In this lecture, I found that to motivate other is critical for managers. Unless you do not know how to motivate and influence others, you cannot become a good manager. I never realised the importance of this skill before attending the second lecture. Though, all motivational theories are quite interesting, but I found that motivational theory of Maslow is more relatable for me. I am inspired by the idea that we should start from the basic needs then we should move towards higher end needs. For improving this skill, I would be needing mentoring of someone who is very influential. One of my teachers from previous institution can help me in this. I will start taking his mentoring for developing this. This skill will help me to become a good manager. Moreover, I need to develop the skill of conflict management. This is an important skill for all managers. the previous lecture where I learned about social awareness and relationship management can prove quite useful for this skill. I have the opportunity to improve my conflict management skills by applying the concepts I learned in previous lecture. Goal setting is combination of science and art. When I had to develop SMART goals for myself, I realised my goals were not SMART. Actually, I was unable to set realistic goals for myself. I can improve this skill by watching few videos on YouTube. This will prove helpful for my personal and professional development.

Entry 3 – Balancing Life Activities

In this activity, we are basically required to show the scores of individuals on each dimension which are given on ‘Wheel of Life’. In this activity, I made my wheel of life where I ranked various dimensions on the score of 1 and 10 where 1 showed least time given to that particular activity while 10 is given to that activity which is given most time. The results are depicted in below figure.

The results are clearly demonstrating that I do not manage my time in an effective manner. Time management is a critical skill for all managers. This skill is needed in all managers as without this, nothing could be done in an effective manner. I found that I am overemphasising fun and money in my life. On the other hand, many other important aspects like learning/growth, health/fitness and family / friends / social relationship are somehow neglected. This demonstrates one of the weaknesses of my personality. This activity was very helpful for me as I could actually realise that how much time I am giving to important things of my life. I also found that I am unable to manage stress and perhaps ineffective time management adds to the bad stress management skills. without time and stress management, emotional intelligence could never be developed. I was unable to manage many things previously. In the respective lecture in which this activity took place, I also learned techniques to manage the time and stress. I personally feel that both time and stress management are interlinked. Unless I do not work on my time management skills, it would not be possible for me to improve the stress management index. After taking part in this activity of balancing life activities, I can shed light on how to manage the life in an effective manner. Many things have become clear. I can do manage the time by developing SMART goals where every life activity should be given time and importance as per goals. Once, there will be a balance among all life activities, I am certain that I could succeed in my professional life. Moreover, this will also help me in my personal development. Even before starting my career, it will help me in performing good in my studies. So in future I will be able to manage the personal time in more effective manner.

Entry 4 -  Conducting a training need analysis

In this activity, we were being asked to conduct a need analysis. Hence, I conducted the need analysis to know the areas where I am lacking. Firstly, I specified my personal career goal and identified the broader area which needs professional development. Then I identified the qualities which are required for achieving the career goal. After this, I identified the gap to know what are the areas which need training or improvement. My personal career goal is to start my career as a manager of a small and medium organisation. After gaining some experience, I will take a move to multinational corporations. Being a potential manager, there are certain skills which are also known as critical management skills are mandatory. Therefore I rated myself on these skills. though, information about the required skill level for managers was not available, therefore, an estimate was made and rating is done for different management skills. The results are shown in below table. Here, 10 stands for excellent while 1 stands for poor.

From the above table results, it became clearer that I need training in communication, time and stress management, delegation and self-awareness. This activity has proved helpful as it has actually helped me in self-awareness. I became able to know where I do stand now and what I have to do to achieve my career goal. There is a need for training on communication, time and stress management and self-awareness. This activity has proved helpful for me as now I know that how to actually conduct the training need analysis. I did for myself and I am also able to do it for organisation, task or person training need analysis. This exercise will prove helpful for my career. If ever I have to do this activity again, I will try to ensure that I possess enough information that which level of scores is needed for each managerial skills. Currently, I used estimated figures. In future, I will try to improve this thing.

Entry 5 – Diversity Reflection

In this activity, we had to work in a group to understand how diversity can have an influence on our work. In our group, there were five members and they were of different gender, race and culture and religion. The members from a different nationality was also part of our group. When we started to work as a group, there were many difficulties which we had to face. One of us was not good in speaking English because this was not his first language. As it was not his first language, sometimes, it was difficult for us to comprehend what he is saying. One of the group members made his fun as well which demotivate that group member to participate frequently. Likewise, we had a one person who is from different nationality, and it is associated with that nation [I will not mention the name] that they are less intelligent. Therefore, whenever he wanted to suggest something, group leader did not give importance to his suggestion, considering that he is less intelligent than others. Though, it was only a stereotype. Due to this, there were many conflicts which were occurring in the group. I also faced the difficulty due to the diversity. My academic background is different from others, likewise, my family background is not that good in terms of academic qualifications. Therefore, one of the group members treated me as an inferior.  When I was discussing about the topic, he made fun of my point of view saying that I can never understand this. Though, it was quite demotivating for me, but I did not stop participating in group discussions. Initially when the group work started, we could not realise the consequences of such stereotypes. After realising the drawbacks of these stereotypes, the group members started to realise that we should not do so with each other. We even realised that when people from different background start working together, the ultimate result is better. The suggestion for dealing with the diversity challenges is the awareness. Everyone should understand that we can work better when we work with such people who are different from us. For managing the diversity we must recognise, understand and appreciate the differences of each other. This activity has proved helpful for me, as now I know how should I work in my professional career with people who are diverse in background.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that this exercise of reflecting all learning experiences has proved quite helpful for me. It allowed me to keep record of the learning from each activity. Moreover, I also became able to develop a link between my learning experience from the activity and its link with the theories which we studied in each lecture.  From the first activity, I found that I need to work on my stress management skills. Previously, I used to think that I can manage the stress well, but after taking part in the stress management self assessment, I became aware of this fact that I need further development in stress management. This activity proved helpful for self-awareness as I know that I need to develop myself on managing stressful situations. The second activity helped me to identify those areas which needs further development. From this, I also planned how can I improve these areas. The third activity allowed me to investigate how I am managing the life activities. I came to know that I need to manage the life activities in a more better manner. This could be done by prioritising different activities. The next activity was about training need analysis which helped me to identify the gap between required and actual skill level. The last activity was about diversity which has helped to understand the importance of working with people who are different from us. In conclusion, this exercise of doing reflection has proved quite helpful for my personal and professional development. It has enabled me to direct my attention towards those areas which can develop me in terms of professional and personal development.

Appendices

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In this essay, the reflection of five activities which were being conducted during the five lectures is provided. After attending every activity, everyone was being asked to participate in one activity. Therefore, I made record of all activities on the provided reflection sheet. I tried to be critical and precise while developing the reflection entries for all activities. Though, there were many activities in all lectures, I selected those activities which I found more relevant an interesting as per my career goals. To write reflection entries was a new experience for me and I was quite excited when I came to know that we have to undertake this activity. I actually started this activity with enthusiasm. Firstly, I took part in stress management assessment questionnaire through which I identified how I am in terms of stress management. Secondly, I took part in the break out activity in which I analysed which skills need to be developed as per my career goals. In this activity I also planned that how these skills could be developed. Thirdly, I took part in balance life activities which told me how I am managing various life activities.  Fourthly, I conducted the training need analysis for myself which helped me to identify those areas which needs development. Lastly, I participated in diversity reflection where I observed how can we work in an effective manner if we appreciate diversity.

Entry 1: Stress Management Assessment Questionnaire

In the first lecture of this course, I learnt about the self-awareness, interacting with others, interacting in a team and how can I be proved helpful for business effectiveness. I could become able to learn the critical management skills which will be proved quite helpful for me in my professional life. The activity of this lecture was quite shocking for me. I always believed that I can manage my stress in a good way. I was confident to work in a stressful environment. When we were being asked to  take part in the stress management assessment questionnaire, I came to know that my stress taking index was quite high. Though, there many important factors which are important for organisational success, but the role of management skills is critical. Though, there are various competencies, including technical, business and human and personal traits. However, I found that there are certain core competencies which are important for every situation and stress and time management is one of those skills which are critical. After taking part in this self assessment related to stress, I came to know that I need to work on stress management. The total score of this assessment was not good enough. During the lecture, I came to know that there were few skills which I do not have like stress management. I was worried but then I realised that I also learned about five step learning model for self development. I am certain that this five step model will prove helpful for me to learn all those management skills, which I do not possess. Previously, I never knew this but now I know the importance of self-awareness. Moreover, the activities of this lecture has helped in understanding how self awareness is important for personal and professional development. Whenever, I will start my career, this knowledge and understanding about self awareness, social awareness and relationship management will make me able to work with my colleagues in a better way. moreover, after identifying that I am bad in stress management I learned how could I improve this skill. The last half of the lecture was about stress management. I learnt many new ways to manage the stress. I could say that now I know how to balance life activities. Moreover, the recommended material has proved quite useful for me. I believe this will be very helpful for me.

Entry 2 – Break Out Activity

This activity is about reflecting on the skill identification and select four skills which must be developed in your personality. In a small group, I had to discuss the plan that I had to develop. It was also discussed that how these skills could be developed and how these skills will prove helpful for me. In this activity, I identified that I need to work on my communication, managing conflict, motivating others and goal setting skills. These skills were identified after doing a discussion with the group members. The importance of communication skills cannot be denied in any sphere of life. I realised that this is the area where I am lacking. After discussing with group members, I came to know that our university conduct many seminars of improving the communication skills. therefore, I have an opportunity to improve my communication skills by attending those seminars. In this lecture, I found that to motivate other is critical for managers. Unless you do not know how to motivate and influence others, you cannot become a good manager. I never realised the importance of this skill before attending the second lecture. Though, all motivational theories are quite interesting, but I found that motivational theory of Maslow is more relatable for me. I am inspired by the idea that we should start from the basic needs then we should move towards higher end needs. For improving this skill, I would be needing mentoring of someone who is very influential. One of my teachers from previous institution can help me in this. I will start taking his mentoring for developing this. This skill will help me to become a good manager. Moreover, I need to develop the skill of conflict management. This is an important skill for all managers. the previous lecture where I learned about social awareness and relationship management can prove quite useful for this skill. I have the opportunity to improve my conflict management skills by applying the concepts I learned in previous lecture. Goal setting is combination of science and art. When I had to develop SMART goals for myself, I realised my goals were not SMART. Actually, I was unable to set realistic goals for myself. I can improve this skill by watching few videos on YouTube. This will prove helpful for my personal and professional development.

Entry 3 – Balancing Life Activities

In this activity, we are basically required to show the scores of individuals on each dimension which are given on ‘Wheel of Life’. In this activity, I made my wheel of life where I ranked various dimensions on the score of 1 and 10 where 1 showed least time given to that particular activity while 10 is given to that activity which is given most time. The results are depicted in below figure.

The results are clearly demonstrating that I do not manage my time in an effective manner. time management is a critical skill for all managers. This skill is needed in all managers as without this, nothing could be done in an effective manner. I found that I am overemphasising fun and money in my life. On the other hand, many other important aspects like learning/growth, health/fitness and family / friends / social relationship are somehow neglected. This demonstrates one of the weaknesses of my personality. This activity was very helpful for me as I could actually realise that how much time I am giving to important things of my life. I also found that I am unable to manage stress and perhaps ineffective time management adds to the bad stress management skills. without time and stress management, emotional intelligence could never be developed. I was unable to manage many things previously. In the respective lecture in which this activity took place, I also learned techniques to manage the time and stress. I personally feel that both time and stress management are interlinked. Unless I do not work on my time management skills, it would not be possible for me to improve the stress management index. After taking part in this activity of balancing life activities, I can shed light on how to manage the life in an effective manner. Many things have become clear. I can do manage the time by developing SMART goals where every life activity should be given time and importance as per goals. Once, there will be a balance among all life activities, I am certain that I could succeed in my professional life. Moreover, this will also help me in my personal development. Even before starting my career, it will help me in performing good in my studies. So in future I will be able to manage the personal time in more effective manner.

Entry 4 -  Conducting a training need analysis

In this activity, we were being asked to conduct a need analysis. hence, I conducted the need analysis to know the areas where I am lacking. Firstly, I specified my personal career goal and identified the broader area which needs professional development. Then I identified the qualities which are required for achieving the career goal. After this, I identified the gap to know what are the areas which need training or improvement. My personal career goal is to start my career as a manager of a small and medium organisation. After gaining some experience, I will take a move to multinational corporations. Being a potential manager, there are certain skills which are also known as critical management skills are mandatory. Therefore I rated myself on these skills. though, information about the required skill level for managers was not available, therefore, an estimate was made and rating is done for different management skills. The results are shown in below table. Here, 10 stands for excellent while 1 stands for poor.

From the above table results, it became clearer that I need training in communication, time and stress management, delegation and self-awareness. This activity has proved helpful as it has actually helped me in self-awareness. I became able to know where I do stand now and what I have to do to achieve my career goal. There is a need for training on communication, time and stress management and self-awareness. This activity has proved helpful for me as now I know that how to actually conduct the training need analysis. I did for myself and I am also able to do it for organisation, task or person training need analysis. This exercise will prove helpful for my career. If ever I have to do this activity again, I will try to ensure that I possess enough information that which level of scores is needed for each managerial skills. Currently, I used estimated figures. In future, I will try to improve this thing.

Entry 5 – Diversity Reflection

In this activity, we had to work in a group to understand how diversity can have an influence on our work. In our group, there were five members and they were of different gender, race and culture and religion. The members from a different nationality was also part of our group. When we started to work as a group, there were many difficulties which we had to face. One of us was not good in speaking English because this was not his first language. As it was not his first language, sometimes, it was difficult for us to comprehend what he is saying. One of the group members made his fun as well which demotivate that group member to participate frequently. Likewise, we had a one person who is from different nationality, and it is associated with that nation [I will not mention the name] that they are less intelligent. Therefore, whenever he wanted to suggest something, group leader did not give importance to his suggestion, considering that he is less intelligent than others. Though, it was only a stereotype. Due to this, there were many conflicts which were occurring in the group. I also faced the difficulty due to the diversity. My academic background is different from others, likewise, my family background is not that good in terms of academic qualifications. Therefore, one of the group members treated me as an inferior.  When I was discussing about the topic, he made fun of my point of view saying that I can never understand this. Though, it was quite demotivating for me, but I did not stop participating in group discussions. Initially when the group work started, we could not realise the consequences of such stereotypes. After realising the drawbacks of these stereotypes, the group members started to realise that we should not do so with each other. We even realised that when people from different background start working together, the ultimate result is better. The suggestion for dealing with the diversity challenges is the awareness. Everyone should understand that we can work better when we work with such people who are different from us. For managing the diversity we must recognise, understand and appreciate the differences of each other. This activity has proved helpful for me, as now I know how should I work in my professional career with people who are diverse in background.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that this exercise of reflecting all learning experiences has proved quite helpful for me. It allowed me to keep record of the learning from each activity. Moreover, I also became able to develop a link between my learning experience from the activity and its link with the theories which we studied in each lecture.  From the first activity, I found that I need to work on my stress management skills. Previously, I used to think that I can manage the stress well, but after taking part in the stress management self assessment, I became aware of this fact that I need further development in stress management. This activity proved helpful for self-awareness as I know that I need to develop myself on managing stressful situations. The second activity helped me to identify those areas which needs further development. From this, I also planned how can I improve these areas. The third activity allowed me to investigate how I am managing the life activities. I came to know that I need to manage the life activities in a more better manner. This could be done by prioritising different activities. The next activity was about training need analysis which helped me to identify the gap between required and actual skill level. The last activity was about diversity which has helped to understand the importance of working with people who are different from us. In conclusion, this exercise of doing reflection has proved quite helpful for my personal and professional development. It has enabled me to direct my attention towards those areas which can develop me in terms of professional and personal development.