Evaluation of Strength And Weakness

1.1 Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives:

Related to my own responsibilities I will mention my Personal and professional growth of a plan.

In order to grow and to raise own skills in the long run it is important that continuous work on own capabilities is done. 

(PDP) is “a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development”. PDP is an important concept through which an individual can grow and learn to perform better in the long run.

SMART objective is an effective concept through which it becomes easy to achieve the targets and goals of the firm. There are distinct elements of same which are pre-determined in advance so that accordingly vision and mission of the enterprise is carried out.

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
• Achievable (agreed, attainable).
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
• Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

My plan for the next coming years is to reach a higher level on the business side and on the educational study process ending my HND course. I want to be close to my family to achieve our goals which involve a new house and a better life for my children.

For the above mentioned, I will talk first regarding my HND courses. The activities will require attendance in class, study work, keeping learning notes, writing assignments and submitting on time, and follow the feedback from tutors when necessary.

Regarding business side, this will require a lot of involvement which include participating to exhibitions, taking part on meetings with project managers, being involved in site work process, making sure that the guys follow the business plan and keep the quality of installation to a high level, at the end signing the contract site with the client this being a success in this process.

For all above specified, I will enumerate my own responsibilities and performance objectives:

• Planning and organizational skills - this will help me to achieve my goals with the knowledge aquiered at Mont Rose College during these 2 years of study, especially in my business which is building up at this very moment towards a dedicated high level in the market.
• Excellent in managerial skills - already in my business I have applied my knowledge and skills mentioned above bringing the company to a higher level, working with the best players in the market in London achieving excellent results all these due to a healthy management.
• Good leadership skills - being a team leader in my business I am willing to say that I am leading the guys together as a true team where all of us have the same goal, I am motivating the team towards success.
• Time management skills - having worked in 3 different countries I have met many people trying to improve their time management skills. Becoming productive with your own time is all about seeking to make constant and never ending improvements to help you achieving better results. In my domain the time is crucial due to engaged contracts where we must stay on schedule no matter what, otherwise consequences will be met.
• Problem-solving skill - My motto is sort the problem, don't point it! The problems must be detected from early time and act against to make it work!
• Self-management skill - Self-management teaches me to be productive, no matter what the circumstances are. That’s the ideal situation. Practically speaking, it gives managers, and even employees, the discipline to progress in their career. 
• Power point and IT skills - this is helping me in both study and professional areas. I am working in different programs and software, for example word, power point, excel spreadsheet, Autocad and couple more design programs.

1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives

According to my Personal Development Plan in 2017 March, it will be mentioned the strength and weaknesses as an outcome from my actual position.

STRENGTH I am a good listener this will help me during learning process. I have enough ability to manage a team in an effective manner. Another strength is good catching, therefore I am capable to easily observe things. Good planner- I am a person which pays attention to all details in such way that I am using all advantages to reach the goal. Confident –I am a very confident person in all my undertaken activities I am an active person, I am involved in many projects and I enjoy every single challenge.

WEAKNESSES Lack of communication on which I have started to work. Due to lack of corporate experience, my team management skills are also not good. Focusing on details too much- sometimes I am lost into details and this is not really necessary. Impatience- I have not enough patience to pay when unexperienced people reach my business areas. Expecting too much from colleagues- I am willing to get best results from my work colleagues. Too critical of other people’s work- I am a perfectionist in what I am involved and I am expecting maximum results from people.

On the above table I have mentioned my strength and weaknesses with more regards to by business side, of course into this matter my HND courses helped me and guided me through the whole process to improve where was necessary. There probably should be mentioned that as a result of being involved in too many work projects one of my weaknesses is sometimes a lack of punctuality not being able to attend to all my classes.

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I am working hard on my time management to cover all aspects and to improve my position, therefore the above critical analysis it was a real pock into my shoulders.

Below I will enumerate the opportunities and threats in regards to my weaknesses and strengths.

Opportunities	Threats
Considerable growth of my business Improved financial situation Achieved knowledge in Business Marketing	Sometimes the lack of financial resources is a real threat Very competitive market

During the two years of my HND study I have improved many aspects of weakness as listed below:

• Writing skills
• Presentation skills
• Language skills
• Self confidence
• Creativity in my work
• Team work
• Learning skills
• Planning and organising skills
• Communication skills
• Prioritising

1.3 Make recommendations for improvement

Below is listed the updated table of my development plan:

LEARNING OBJECTIVE/GOAL	CURRENT PROFICIENCY	TARGET PROFICIENCY	DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES	CRITERIA FOR JUDGING SUCCESS	TIME SCALE	EVIDENCE
1	HND	2 semester 6 modules completed	Completing all 16 modules in 2 year time I am nearly there, just couple more submissions to be completed	Attending class regularly, study and research, submitting assignments on time.	Progressing and successfully complete all modules in each semester	Finishing April 2018	Achieve HND Certificate
2	Finishing the construction of my house started in May 2016.	Saving money each month	For the moment I have £15.000, I need to save another £40.000 by October 2017 to reach my plan for this year. Fortunately I have done 70% of the project, we are doing the interiors at this very moment	Research on market to get the cheapest materials but still maintaining the quality requested by project. Buying flight tickets from early time for each month to check the progress of construction, as the house is overseas and the tickets are usually expensive.	Following the project to the smallest detail given by the architect. Successfully call for the engineer responsible with the work and the chief architect to submit all documents towards council to be stamped proving that everything was done according to project.	Finishing inside to a stage where anyone can move inside to live by December 2017 This has been extended to Dec 2018	Finishing the façade so it will look like in the random pictures Not yet done as the process has been extended
3	Bringing my business to a higher level	Working in Construction Industry, installing high-end kitchens in new projects.	Finding a job that suits more to our requests where I and my team can prove what we are capable in terms of quality installation, where definitely we can separate from the crowd. New contracts signed with prestigious companies for 2018	Prepare a better Website, search for new opportunities, online research, advertising the business. Still in progress	Facing important meetings, discuss about new projects that are about to start, improving the situation by bringing new ideas where possible. Last year was considered a real success to my business as there were applied all my achieved knowledge to reach the goal.	At the beginning of April we are about to sign a massive contract with one of the top players on market.	Signing the contract and bring all my fitters to start the job.

The updates are highlighted in red colour.

Time management has a real saying in my above-listed development plan and changes taken place as we can see. The development plan will be finalised using the techniques learned in this module.

1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality performance

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: this theory defines that an individual joins the organization to satisfy his needs. If the of demand of them are fulfilled, they help the Sainsbury's to achieve the targets in an efficient manner. This theory has defined of necessity which the company has to fulfill so as to motivate the employees (Phillips and Gully, 2011).

This Maslow theory of motivation states that in order to improve the working and effectiveness of an enterprise it is important that the work force is provided with the different things which starts with the basic requirements that includes the food shelter and other necessities which are important for the survival of a person.

This concept says that though the basic requirements are of great importance but in case when the they are fulfilled the user reaches to the next level and then it becomes their actual need. Than the employee wants to get that particular wish to be accomplished so that he can do maximum contribution in the growth of business. At once other (and “higher”) needs emerge and these, rather than physiological hungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, again new (and still “higher”) needs emerge and so on. This shows that the needs of an individual are arranged in a particular order which is hierarchical in nature. (Maslow, 1943, p. 375).

In related with my HND studying the needs are:

• Belongings are identified by the achieved acknowledge during these 2 years of study at Mont Rose College where I interacted with tutors, colleagues, new contacts and opportunities.
• Psychological needs like food and water, a house where to live. Due to received student finance I was able to over all expenses in regards to my psychological needs.
• Esteem needs - all sixteen modules covers this and it makes me more self-confident having an HND diploma.
• Safety needs and security – Mont Rose College cover these by having secure software and programs to protect our personal data, excellent study conditions with very well prepared tutors.
• Self-actualization - By far this HND diploma will increase my opportunities and open doors for a better life.

This is one of the most effective theory of motivating the work foerce which was introduced in 1959. According to this there are two distinct factors that has their influence on the working of an individual in which one is the influencing factors and the other is hygine factors. Both of these needs to be maintained at equal level as it has a same influence on how an employee work in the organisation. (see diagram below). Choose the best assignment help with quality content from experts.

According to my experience I can say that the hygiene is not a luxury but a real necessity in our society and the managers should not just provide it but they must motivate employees so the outcome will be inevitable a success.

My self-reflection it tells me that a better paid job will bring more satisfactions on professional plan and will motivate the people to pay more attention to their involvements.

Task 2

2.1 Solutions to work based problems

Generally speaking, the employers must pay attention to problem solving skills when a job is given to a fresh candidate.

Problem solving skills are related to many other skills and applied will generate positive results, I will list couple below:

People many a time get frustrated and depressed when faced with challenges. There are ways to sort out the problem. First one is conflict arising and the other one is conflict resolving. These two methods help make a man conflict-friendly and conflict-competent. (Hicks, 1999)

Work-based problems

• u Conflicts among colleagues
• u Non supportive
• u Role responsibilities
• u Individualism and too much competitivity

Problem-solving:

In my case, at my work place, here are steps to be followed in resolving problem:

• Identifying the factors
• Realising interest of all
• Listing and discuss the available solutions
• Evaluation of options available
• Selecting best suited option so far
• Agreeing inverse situation, monitoring and cross check

2.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels

The Communication Process

A message or communication is sent by the sender through a communication channel to a receiver, or to multiple receivers.

The sender must encode the message (the information being conveyed) into a form that is appropriate to the communication channel, and the receiver(s) then decodes the message to understand its meaning and significance.

As director at Primavera Mobili Limited, I used the following this types of communication methods:

In the above diagram are listed several types of communication.

For example:

• Verbal communication means that 2 parts are direct involved, it can be face-to-face, interviews, meetings, over the phone.
• Non-verbal communication means that are used different ways like body language, clothing, eye contact, gestures, etc..
• Written communication- can be done by emails, letters, brochures.
• Visual communication is the transmission of information and ideas using symbols and imagery. Visual communication is believed to be the type that people rely on most, and it includes signs, graphic designs, films, typography, etc.

In the 2 years of study at Mont Rose College , I have applied all above communication channels, as well for my business side.

2.3 Evaluate and use effective time management strategies

What Is Time Management?

The modern concept of time management - the act of planning the amount of time you spend on which activities really began with Frederick Taylor's scientific management techniques. His goal was to increase worker productivity. To do this, he conducted time and motion studies and began to focus on the best ways for jobs to be performed to maximize the work completed in a given amount of time.

In my experience I can say that productivity and business efficiency is strict related with time management.

3.1 Explain the role that people play in a team and how they can work together to achieve shared goals.

Belbin team role management

As we can observe above, there are three different groups implemented, Thinking Oriented roles, People Oriented and Action Oriented roles.

Belbin identified nine team roles, each team roles are associated with interpersonal and behavioural strengths.

Resource Investigator

Uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team. 

Strengths: Outgoing, enthusiastic. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.

Allowable weaknesses: Might be over-optimistic, and can lose interest once the initial enthusiasm has passed.

Don't be surprised to find that: They might forget to follow up on a lead.

Teamworker

Helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team.

Strengths: Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be indecisive in crunch situations and tends to avoid confrontation.

Don't be surprised to find that: They might be hesitant to make unpopular decisions.

Co-ordinator

Needed to focus on the team's objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately.

Strengths: Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be seen as manipulative and might offload their own share of the work.

Don't be surprised to find that: They might over-delegate, leaving themselves little work to do.

Plant

Tends to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways.

Strengths: Creative, imaginative, free-thinking, generates ideas and solves difficult problems.

Allowable weaknesses: Might ignore incidentals, and may be too preoccupied to communicate effectively.

Don't be surprised to find that: They could be absent-minded or forgetful.

Evaluator Monitor

Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and weighs up the team's options in a dispassionate way.

Strengths: Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately.

Allowable weaknesses: Sometimes lacks the drive and ability to inspire others and can be overly critical.

Don't be surprised to find that: They could be slow to come to decisions.

Specialist

Brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team.

Strengths: Single-minded, self-starting and dedicated. They provide specialist knowledge and skills.

Allowable weaknesses: Tends to contribute on a narrow front and can dwell on the technicalities.

Don't be surprised to find that: They overload you with information.

Shaper

Provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum.

Strengths: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be prone to provocation, and may sometimes offend people's feelings.

Don't be surprised to find that: They could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done.

Implementer

Needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible.

Strengths: Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organises work that needs to be done.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be a bit inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities.

Don't be surprised to find that: They might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes.

Completer Finisher

Most effectively used at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinise the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control.

Strengths: Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be inclined to worry unduly, and reluctant to delegate.

Don't be surprised to find that: They could be accused of taking their perfectionism to extreme

In all situations where success is achieved and many people are involved into this, it means that each member of team has a responsibility, and the outcome came as a good performance.

During the 2 years of study, we formed many times different teams so we can do group presentations, we realised that each member must work at its own task so the group can perform as an entity, not individualistic.

3.2 Analyse team dynamics

Nature of groups are mainly of two types – formal and informal groups.

Former are formed naturally with the common interest of the employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization (Tuckman and Kennedy, 2011). These groups are mainly formed by the top management to meet the targets of the company. In this, every employee is defined with its authority and responsibility. There are specific rules and procedures which are outlined prior to the forming of the groups. They are deliberately created to attain the objectives of the organization. Formal groups in Sainsbury's are mainly formed on a permanent basis and do not change or destroy with the wish of an individual or group of persons. Moreover, some are formed just to complete certain projects.

Informal groups are the result of fulfilling the social needs of the employees. When the member of the organization is under stress or burden he requires someone who can listen and console him. To meet this kind of social needs, one or more persons forms group. It is not confined to fixed rules and regulations (Yang, Huang and Wu, 2011). Everyone is free to share their views and can ask for suggestions to solve their problems. There is no leader in these types of groups. No specific channel of communication is defined in these groups. It is not deliberately created, rather it is the result of mutual relationships and tastes.

Group are formed to experience the mutual benefit. The behaviour of an individual affects its behaviour. It also affects every department in the organization. The manager should have the knowledge about the individual as well as group behaviour. It includes both positive as well as negative impact on the organization goals (Bikfalvi, 2011). Former impact refers to when the organizational goals are achieved and for this proper culture should be adopted. Latter includes the implications of the resistance of change, lack of commitment for the goals of the organization etc. which would resist to achieve the targets.

Tuck Man theory for the formation of groups it mainly includes five steps. These are as follows:

• Forming – In this step, management forms different groups. At the start, no one is familiar with each other. It the first platform to start doing the work together (25 Years Professional Event Management, 2016). In this, the team leader plays an important role as the rules and regulations for the groups are decided and also the objectives are defined.
• Storming – In this step, the team starts to address the task suggesting ideas. Relationship between the groups members start to develop. Clarity of achieving the goals increases but at the same time a number of uncertainties persist. The team leader needs to make sure that the focus is on the targets rather distracted by the relationships and emotional issues.
• Norming – In this step, the agreement largely forms among the team and the leader. The roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and accepted by the members (Gallie and et.al., 2012). Delegation to individual or small groups for making decisions regarding the achievement of goals. The team members discusses and develops the processes and the working style for the groups.
• Performing – This is the final step in which the team achieve the tasks. They have a clear vision, targets etc. The team has developed a high degree of autonomy. They are working towards the achievement of goals, and also to maintain relationships and making structure for the groups. The team require the tasks or the projects from the leaders to perform (Cropanzano, Li and Benson, 2011). Members of the group might ask for the assistance from the leader for personal and interpersonal development.

3.3 Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals

Alternative methods are very accurate and is based upon the philosophical ideologies. It is to acknowledge that the team goals could be reached only if the team mates have effective communication and interaction process. If there is any loophole in the communication process them, it is impossible to deal with the conflicts and most importantly the sharing of information could also become highly ineffective. Thus, the alternatives include the establishment of proper communication. Other than this it is also clear that the sense of respect is required to be created among the team mates. It also helps in building the healthy relationship between individuals and team mates (Parker, 2010).

Goal setting must be SMART as shown in below diagram:

In our presentation groups we followed all the above so we can achieve the desired goals, each member of team participated with full involvement ,comunicating with each other to complete the work according to what the tutor requested from us.

4.1 Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problems

Problem-Solving: A Step by Step Approach

1. Identify the problem?

There is no better starting point than defining what it is that needs to be fixed.

It means taking the time to thoroughly review the situation - separating the symptoms from the cause. Making your diagnosis is about understanding what hurts and why. This takes time and might mean doing a bit of research to reveal the underlying issues behind the problem.

2. Determine the Root Causes

Once you have identified what your problem is, you need to figure out why it is.

• What is behind it?
• What is causing it?
• Can it be quantified or qualified.
• What is going on at a core level?

Because as you work towards solving your problem, you are going to want to find a solution that deals with the causes and not just the symptoms, right? So again, take the time to investigate the situation. Collect information, analyze your findings, and refine your diagnosis.

3. Find Multiple Solutions

Being a good problem-solver means thinking innovatively and that means thinking outside the box. Do not settle for the first solution you find. Push the boat out. Find as many alternative solutions as you can. And then find some more.

This might mean looking for solutions in unusual places or from unusual sources – talking to a different set of colleagues, keeping an open mind, or being receptive to the interchange of ideas or perspectives. Whatever if it takes, once you have a set of alternative solutions, subject them all to analysis.

4. Find the Solution that will Work Best

Easier said than done? Not necessarily. Go about it logically. Answer these questions:

• Is it technically viable?
• Is it scale-able?
• Do you have the resources?
• What are the risks? Can they be managed?
• Does your solution benefit as many people as possible?
• Can it be measured? How will you measure it?

5. Plan and Implement Your Solution

Give this part plenty of thought too. Build a really tight plan to execute your solution. You will need to cover who, what, when, and how you will implement your plan.

And just as importantly, you will need to think about how you are going to determine if your solution was a success, which leads us to the final step.

6. Measure the Success of Your Solution

How does it measure against your goals? Have you met your objectives? Have you stayed within budget? Is the work complete? Can you see a measurable outcome? 

Evaluating the success of your solution is a vital – and often neglected step – because it shows you clearly whether your solution is the correct one, or whether you need to go back to step one and start over. Because a key part of problem-solving effectively is about being prepared to get it wrong – and to learn from your mistakes.

Remember that all problems are simply puzzles waiting to be solved. Practice using these six steps to build your problem solving acumen and you will find that your abilities being highly valued.

4.2 develop an appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem & 4.3 evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy

In the above diagram are specified clearly the strategies implemented to sort out the problems.

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