Lecture - 1

Personal and career development

Prepared & Presented by Hasa R
27 May 2009 Luhana 1
General Intro
• To be successful in the current rapidly-
changing world, we need to maximize the
productivity of all of our resources --
physical, financial, information, and human.
• How are we doing?

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Physical resources:
• We've made major investments in updating
our physical equipment, so we can compete
with state-of-the-art production tools and
facilities

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Financial resources:
• Sure, we're really capital intensive. But that's
the nature of our production businesses. The
money will follow our ideas, our successes,
and our productivity

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Information and knowledge resources:
• We have our work cut out for us -- to
continue attracting capital in competition with
other industries, we need to be as good as
they are in accessing the new world of
information.
• It's time to join the Internet.

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Human resources:
• This is the leverage point! Here's where we
can make significant differences in our lives,
our careers, and our organizations
• Soft Approach
• Hard Approach
• Various Approaches

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Human resource Development: a
• A definition of HRD is
• "organized learning activities arranged within
an organization in order to improve
performance and/or personal growth for the
purpose of improving the job, the individual,
and/or the organization"

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Human resource Development: b
HRD includes the areas of:
• training and development,
• career development, and
• organization development.
This is related to Human Resource
Management - a field which includes HR research
& information systems, union/labor relations,
employee assistance, compensation/benefits,
selection and staffing, performance management
systems, HR planning, and organization/job design
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The times they require changes: a
• Are they ever! And our organizations and
jobs will never be the same.
• Changes are based on the global economy,
on changing technology, on our changing
work force, on cultural and demographic
changes, and on the changing nature of
work itself. The changes are different this
time. They are permanent, and will
permanently affect the way our work and our
lives are structured.
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The times they require changes: b
• We need to learn new skills and develop
new abilities, to respond to these changes in
our lives, our careers, and our organizations.
We can deal with these constructively, using
change for our competitive advantage and
as opportunities for personal and
organizational growth, or we can be
overwhelmed by them

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Who is affected by change:
• You are!
• With all the downsizing, outsourcing and
team building, responsibility and
accountability are being downloaded to
individuals. So everyone is now a manager.
Everyone will need to acquire and/or
increase their skills, knowledge and abilities
to perform their jobs (and now, to perform
other people's jobs too!)

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The goal of HRD:
• The goal of HRD is to improve the
performance of our organizations by
maximizing the efficiency and performance
of our people. We are going to develop our
knowledge and skills, our actions and
standards, our motivation, incentives,
attitudes and work environment

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Is training the answer?
• Yes, partly, sometimes, but certainly not
always.
• We have often thought training was what
was needed (or not needed).
• But there are other answers too - the
solution may lie with organization
development, career development, or a
combination of these or other strategies.

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Personal & career development: a
• There is an increasing need for individuals to
take charge of the development of their own
learning and careers for a variety of reasons:
• There is increasing rate of change of our
organizations and in the knowledge and
skills we need to perform our jobs.

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Personal & career development: b
• Career ladders are rapidly shrinking or
disappearing as reorganizations lead to
flatter structures.
• There is an ever-increasing need for us to
keep learning to keep up with the rapid
growth in knowledge and the rate of change
of our workplace environments. And,
involvement in one's own development
fosters greater commitment to the process
than other-directed activities
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Learning is now our responsibility:
• Career development (CD) is now the primary
responsibility of individuals in organizations.
• The responsibility for learning and for the
development of career paths has been
downloaded to the individual employees

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Steps to develop & implement an individual
development plan: a
• The standard forms to help the learners
follow a systematic process to prepare their
learning contracts, individual development
plans, or learning project management
strategies. Here is what should be included
in a personal learning plan:

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Steps: b
• Assessment. First, identify your current
skills, knowledge, abilities, and interests
• Goals. Identify the new skills, knowledge,
and experiences you would like to acquire
and have. Do these goals match your
personal and career interests? Are your
goals in agreement with your organization's
goals, mission and vision?

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Steps: c
• Learning purpose. Identify the gap between the
current situation and the desired outcome. This will
produce a statement of purpose that should clarify
why you want to learn something, and what
specific skills, knowledge and abilities you wish to
develop.
• Learning objective(s). Identify what skills,
knowledge, and abilities are to be acquired or
enhanced. Remember that this is only a plan, not a
rigid promise; your plan can and should be revised
as your goals change and as learning occurs

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For each objective, identify the following:1
• Target date. Identify when you plan to complete
the work for this part of your learning plan.
• Learning strategies. Describe how you plan to do
it, and what process you plan to follow to
accomplish your objective. For example, strategies
could include: reading and study, interviews and
discussions with appropriate people, mill trials,
networking and communication, reflecting on your
own experiences, classroom study, literature
review, synthesizing and writing.

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For each objective, identify the following:2
• Learning resources. Identify what resources you
plan to use to help you with this learning process.
These resources might include, for example:
literature, mentors, co- workers, other
professionals for networking, vendors or suppliers,
classes, technical conferences, professional
association involvement, equipment manuals,
laboratory trials, production workers, teachers and
instructors, field experience, your supervisors, and
a variety of learning technologies including
computers, and the Internet

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For each objective, identify the following:3
• Outcomes and products. List the evidence
you will develop to show the
accomplishment of your objectives. What
deliverables will you have produced by this
process? What objects can be used to
validate your learning experience? This
could include, for example, a log or journal of
your studies or observations, a literature
review and bibliography, written and oral
reports, lists of questions, obtaining specific
career objectives, and more

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For each objective, identify the following:4
• Evaluation plan. Describe the method you
will use to validate your deliverables and to
evaluate the success of your learning
project. In other words, what criteria and
means will you use to determine if you were
successful in reaching your learning goals?

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For each objective, identify the following:5
• Initial feedback and revision. Before starting to
carry-out your individual development plan, confer
with your supervisor (instructor, mentor, or HRD-
manager if available) for feedback, for another
view of your learning needs and strategies. This
will help insure that your learning will not only be
based on your personal needs but will also be
relevant to your organization's goals, results, and
profitability. The more independent sources you
can use, the better -- seek additional feedback
from your co-workers, colleagues, family and
friends.
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For each objective, identify the following:6
• Summary of results. After completing the
projects in your individual plan, you should
evaluate the success of these activities.
What insights have you gained? What new
understandings do you have? What new
skills, abilities and knowledge have you
acquired? What experiences did you have,
and what did you learn from them? How do
you feel about this process?

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For each objective, identify the following:7
• Next steps. You should review the
accomplishments and successes of this
project with your supervisor (and others, as
appropriate). Then update your learning plan
for the next cycle. Remember that learning
and growth are processes that may, and
should, continue indefinitely

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Where are you currently?: Assessment-1
• Self assessment and analysis will enable
you to build an effective foundation upon
which the
• goals and objectives of your CD can be
developed.
• It will assist you in defining the following:
• Your areas of expertise and core skills
• Areas for improvement and skill gaps
• Future learning opportunities
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Self-assessment / appraisal:-2
• Self-appraisal means finding out where you are
up to and what you have going for you before you
plan to go any further -
• Have you ever had an ambition – something which
fires your imagination and gets you motivated ?
• Some people discover early on in life what they
most want to do.
• Others come to things they enjoy without
apparently too much planning.
• Still others find out too late what they would have
liked to have been and done.
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Self-assessment / appraisal:-3
• Carrying out simple exercises such as a Job
Role Checklist, a Self Audit or a SWOT
analysis
• will help you to identify strengths and
weaknesses. It can help to create a profile of
your
• abilities as a starting point. You’ll find
examples of how these frameworks can be
used over the
• next few pages, and some blanks at the
back of the resource.
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Self-assessment / appraisal:-4
The following skill areas could also be taken into
consideration for Self Appraisal:
• Basic oral communication
• Presentation skills
• Written communication
• Teamwork ability
• Negotiation / Assertiveness
• Leadership / Initiative skills
• Prioritising and Time Management
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• IT knowledge
• Numerical skills
• Career Management
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The Job Role Checklist:-
• The Job Role Checklist is a convenient way to start
thinking about your PD. It will help you to think
about your competence and skill in the context of
your current role. Using the framework will involve
identifying the tasks and activities that make up
your job, and the skills and knowledge needed to
perform each activity successfully. If there is a job
and person specification for your role they will help
you, but they are only snapshots.
• Appraisal and job review documentation will also
be useful. Think about your skills and knowledge in
terms of specialist or technical, commercial /
business and personal. Bring in ideas from
colleagues, managers and others to help you

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The Self Audit:-1
• This framework builds on the Job Role
Checklist and helps you to identify current
skill levels, where you need to improve and
where your priorities for action lie. Think
specifically rather than generally about your
skills, and bring in ideas from others to help
you carry out an effective audit: cont…

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The Self Audit:-2
• This framework builds on the Job Role
Checklist and helps you to identify current
skill levels, where you need to improve and
where your priorities for action lie. Think
specifically rather than generally about your
skills, and bring in ideas from others to help
you carry out an effective audit:

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The Self Audit:-3

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Skills:inventory & audit

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Inventory of your skills
Why ?

When you are ready to pursue internships,

jobs, or graduate school, you will be asked
to articulate your skills and how you
gained them .

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Top ten skills employers seek
• Communication Remember –
• Analytical skills these skills can be
strengthened !
• Motivation/Initiative
• Interpersonal skills
How ?
• Work values:
What job do you think will keep you in the classroom, through
happy and satisfied? involvement with club
• Computer skills activities, or through a job
and/or internship.
• Detail-oriented
• Honesty/Integrity
• Flexibility
• Team work

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Types of skills:-1
• Basic Skills-Developed capacities that
facilitate learning or the more rapid
acquisition of knowledge.
• Complex Problem Solving Skills-
Developed capacities used to solve novel, ill-
defined problems in complex, real-world
settings
• Resource Management Skills -Developed
capacities used to allocate resources
efficiently
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Types of skills:2
• Social Skills -Developed capacities used
to work with people to achieve goals
• Systems Skills -Developed capacities
used to understand, monitor, and improve
socio-technical systems
• Technical Skills-Developed capacities
used to design, set-up, operate, and
correct malfunctions involving application
of machines or technological systems

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Basic skills:1
• Active Learning — Understanding the
implications of new information for both
current and future problem-solving and
decision-making.
• Active Listening — Giving full attention to
what other people are saying, taking time to
understand the points being made, asking
questions as appropriate, and not
interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking — Using logic and
reasoning to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of alternative solutions,
conclusions or approaches to problems.
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Basic skills:2
• Learning Strategies — Selecting and using
training/instructional methods and procedures
appropriate for the situation when learning or
teaching new things.
• Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance
of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to
make improvements or take corrective action.
• Reading Comprehension — Understanding
written sentences and paragraphs in work related
documents.
• Speaking — Talking to others to convey
information effectively.
• Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as
appropriate for the needs of the audience.
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Complex Problem Solving Skills
• Complex Problem Solving — Identifying
complex problems and reviewing related
information to develop and evaluate
options and implement solutions.

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Resource Management Skills
• Management of Financial Resources —
Determining how money will be spent to get the
work done, and accounting for these
expenditures.
• Management of Material Resources —
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of
equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do
certain work.
• Management of Personnel Resources —
Motivating, developing, and directing people as
they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Time Management — Managing one's own time
and the time of others.
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Social Skills - Developed capacities used to
work with people to achieve goals:1
• Coordination — Adjusting actions in
relation to others' actions.
• Instructing — Teaching others how to
do something.
• Negotiation — Bringing others together
and trying to reconcile differences.

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Social Skills - Developed capacities used to
work with people to achieve goals:1
• Persuasion — Persuading others to
change their minds or behavior.
• Service Orientation — Actively looking
for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness — Being aware
of others' reactions and understanding
why they react as they do.

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Systems Skills
• Judgment and Decision Making —
Considering the relative costs and benefits of
potential actions to choose the most appropriate
one.
• Systems Analysis — Determining how a
system should work and how changes in
conditions, operations, and the environment will
affect outcomes.
• Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or
indicators of system performance and the
actions needed to improve or correct
performance, relative to the goals of the system.

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Technical Skills:1
• Equipment Maintenance — Performing
routine maintenance on equipment and
determining when and what kind of
maintenance is needed.
• Equipment Selection — Determining the
kind of tools and equipment needed to do a
job.
• Installation — Installing equipment,
machines, wiring, or programs to meet
specifications.
• Operation and Control — Controlling
operations of equipment or systems.
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Technical Skills:
• Operation Monitoring — Watching gauges,
dials, or other indicators to make sure a
machine is working properly.
• Operations Analysis — Analyzing needs
and product requirements to create a design.
• Programming — Writing computer programs
for various purposes.
• Troubleshooting — Determining causes of
operating errors and deciding what to do
about it.

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Skills audit
• A skills audit assesses performance, from
both a task and process management
perspective.

• A range of psychometric tests are

employed which provide a 360° profile of
an individual’s skills base.

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SWOT Analysis:1
• A SWOT Analysis is a well known
business tool, but it is also useful in
thinking about your Professional
Development.
• It is an effective way of identifying your
strengths and weaknesses, and of
examining the opportunities and threats
you face.

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SWOT Analysis:2
• Carrying out an analysis using the SWOT
framework can help you to focus your
activities into areas where you are strong
and where the greatest opportunities lie. It
can also help you to identify areas where
you are weaker, or face a threat, so that
you can decide if you want to take action
to strengthen yourself in these areas.

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SWOT Analysis:3
• Strength - What are the things that you do
well?
• Weaknesses - Where do I need to
improve?
• Opportunities - What possible new
opportunities are there for me?
• Threats - What possible challenges are
there for me?

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SWOT Analysis:4 - Example
• Strength - What are the things that you do
well?
• E.g. Administration, time management

• Weaknesses - Where do I need to

improve?
• E.g. I’m not a great networker

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SWOT Analysis:5 - Example
• Opportunities - What possible new
opportunities are there for me?
• E.g. The company is looking to expand its
customer base. I could use my
adminstrative skills to help them develop
some effective systems.

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SWOT Analysis:6 - Example
• Threats - What possible challenges are
there for me?
• E.g. There are number of companies in
the area offering similar services to
ourselves. Getting new customers is vital
at the moment.

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Try these tests to audit your
skills !

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• Does your test score show some deficiency
in core skills?

• Will you like to improve your

skills ?......How ?

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• By devising a personal development
plan (PDP) !

• Why ?
• to achieve targets and short and long
term objectives with regard to your
career and personal development.

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Planning
• Action Plans

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Planning:1
• Where you need to go?
• Once your learning and development
needs have been identified the next stage
is to prepare a plan to meet the
requirements. A Personal Development
Plan (PDP) will help you to organise your
development. It will structure the
development process linking with your
career plans and deliver through your
CPD.
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Planning:2
• Where you need to go?
• Your PDP will record the process of
identifying training and development
needs and plan how to meet them. The
use of SMART objectives can be of great
benefit in order to set realistic targets for
achieving your training and development
goals.

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SMART Objectives:
• Specific - Define precisely what you need
to learn.
• Measurable - Ensure that learning
objectives can be tested.
• Agreed - Agreed terms of time, cost and
support.
• Realistic - Set relevant and ambitious yet
achievable targets.
• Timed - Set deadlines to meet your goals.

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Other specific questions:1
• In addition to your SMART objectives it
can be useful to ask yourself specific
questions in order to pinpoint key
requirements for your learning
environment.
• Where would be best for me to learn?
• At work? On a course? At home?

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Other specific questions:2
• How do I take in learning best?
• Alone? In groups? Observing? Direct?

• What materials will I need? - Books?

• Audio/Video? CDs? Packs?

• How much know-how will I require?

• Basic? Competent? Expert?

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Evaluation:
• How have you progressed? – Evaluate
PDP

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Reflection:
• Reflecting on your progress is an
important step in the PD. As it enables you
to evaluate and consider whether you
have met your objectives. It also provides
an effective way of identifying further
development needs.

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