Advanced Professional Development



Advanced Professional Development

Task 1

SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

Good 'Time Management' is an essential quality for anyone who needs to work efficiently and effectively in an everyday working environment. It is essential if you are to achieve the organizations objectives and indeed the individual's personal objectives. There are many techniques which, when combined, give an individual (or team) the skills required to 'time manage' the task effectively. In a nutshell, time management is all about making the most efficient and effective use of your time. Some examples of these skills and techniques are as follows:

Planning and Organization

Prioritizing

Delegating

Review and Monitoring

PLANNING AND ORGANISATION

Successful planning requires accurate information from which decisions are eventually made. This accurate information is crucial if these decisions are to be' well judged' and implemented successfully. An element of anticipation is also a bonus if you are able to 'best guess' a possible arising which may influence your decision. The planning must also be flexible as not all plans are 'set in concrete' Circumstances change and the overall plan must remain flexible and capable of change as the situation determines.

PRIORTISING

As suggested, planning alone will not necessarily ensure successful objectives are met. Allocated time must also be prioritized in a manner that focuses on the goals set during the planning phase. Many people often spend their day in a frenzy of activity but because they are prioritizing their time correctly, they achieve a lot less output.

DELEGATION

Another important technique of successful 'time management' is the ability to delegate work effectively. Delegation, used wisely, is an essential tool of the successful manager. It can free valuable time to enable the manager to target his or her time more effectively and thereby increasing the chances of a successful outcome. Delegation should be applied using the S.M.A.R.T. principles and not over ambitious. Where:

S ….. Specific

M ….. Measurable

A ….. Achievable

R ….. Realistic

T ….. Time

REVIEW AND MONITOR

As with all good management techniques, it is essential that the task is monitored and reviewed as the work progresses. This review should be ongoing and as before, accurate information is essential for a successful outcome to enable the review to be of value. The planning, delegation and prioritizing all should be subject to this review within successful 'time management'.

Task 2

PERSONAL SKILLS AUDIT

 Skills

Examples and evidence

Score 1 - 5

 (5 highest)

Communication and Literacy skills

Good use of written English gained from producing engineering assignments and written formal management reports during my seven years in the Aeronautical Research and Development. department at Bae Systems.

Oral presentation skills adequate and improving. Many chances to practice them in seminars and presentations. Prefer making individual presentations to group presentations as then I am more in control of the structure and flow etc. In future I intend practicing any presentation that I have to give in front of a small audience of friends a few times in order to check that it has good content, structure and timing.

I am also developing communication skills in a work context. Clear communication between myself and my ...