BPP Business School

Coursework Cover Sheet

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Module Name Personal Effectiveness

Program Name MSc Management

Student Reference Number

Assessment Title Developing the Personal Effectiveness

Please complete the yellow sections in the below declaration:

Declaration of Original Work:

I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that
this is my original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance
with the requirements of BPP School of Business and Technology.

The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is 2493 words.
Student Reference Number: _ Date:
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.......................................................................................................................................................3
Reflective Practice...................................................................................................................................3
Strengths and Weaknesses.......................................................................................................................4
Skills in My Career..................................................................................................................................5
Task 2..........................................................................................................................................................5
Skills of the Business Leader with Your Own.........................................................................................6
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................................7
Action Plan for Communication and Collaboration.................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References...................................................................................................................................................9
Introduction
Personal Effectiveness means to be effective in both your job and personal life in order to grow
and succeed. It means having the right skills and qualities to handle problems, achieve goals, and
keep improving (Mone, London and Mone, 2018). The aim of this report is to learn more about
self-consciousness, finding various ways to keep improving, as well as identifying the right skills
for advancement in careers. In light of this, the report will examine the ideas of personal
effectiveness by implementing the reflective models as well as the perception of the CEO of
Genome Project. Also, the report will reflect on the personal abilities, figuring out merits and
demerits. Moreover, it will critically analyze a business leader to see what skills they have. The
aim of this report is to find out how someone can improve oneself. In addition, the report will
create a short-term plan that focuses on specific actions to help the person be more effective.
TASK 1
Reflective Practice
I had to work with a group on a project for my university class on Global Strategy and
Sustainability about how companies can plan for the future and take care of the environment.
We had to study a real-life situation and come up with ways for a large company to align its
plans with sustainable practices. There were five people in our group, and we all came from
different places and had different thoughts. First, we all searched for information about the case
study by ourselves. Next, we divided the tasks and attempted to include sustainable ideas into the
company's plan. Finally, a thorough report and a group presentation were created together to
share our ideas for making the global strategy of the company sustainable. I really wanted our
group to come up with good ideas for making the big plan more sustainable. The project made
me feel contented, infuriated, and pleased at the same time. I felt joyous because I got to solve a
real problem, but it was hard sometimes because we did not always agree as a group. I was
interested but a little nervous before we began the project. After we were done, I felt happy about
our work, but I also knew we could have done some things better. While we were working on it,
I thought a lot about putting together different ideas, keeping the team united, and producing a
good final result. Looking back on it, I can see both favorable and unfavorable elements. The
project made me improve on important skills, but we also faced some problems as a team. We
learned important things, improved our teamwork skills, and completed the project. We had
some disagreements in the group and that was not good. One good thing about the group was that
we could mix different ideas, do thorough research, and make a report that made sense.
Disagreements about how important sustainability should be in the global strategy caused some
conflicts. We had trouble communicating, which made it harder for us to work together
effectively. I added value by joining in discussions, doing good research, and being open to
different ideas. However, sometimes the group had problems because they didn't communicate
well nor had different opinions. Jimenez et al. (2017) said that working well together in a group,
and fixing problems can help make future projects better. I learned how important it is to accept
and people from different backgrounds in a group. In addition, Dineva, Breitsohl and Garrod
(2017) evaluated that establishing clearer communication channels and facilitating proactive
conflict resolution could have improved the overall experience for everyone. Enhancing my
conflict resolution skills and refining my ability to navigate differing opinions within a group are
areas for improvement. I could have taken a more proactive role in addressing conflicts as they
arose, ensuring that everyone felt heard and working to find common ground sooner. If I had to
do it again I would prioritize addressing conflicts earlier and fostering a more inclusive
environment for diverse perspectives. I will plan to engage in conflict resolution workshops and
seek feedback from peers to refine my communication and collaboration skills. I will be more
vigilant in recognizing potential conflicts and proactively addressing them to create a more
positive collaborative environment.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Through the reflective analysis, I have identified several strengths and weaknesses within my
skill set. On the positive side, my engagement in discussions, conduct thorough research,
emerged as notable strengths. I effectively contributed to the group's cohesiveness and success
by synthesizing diverse perspectives. However, challenges arose in areas of conflict resolution
and communication. While I demonstrated adaptability, there were instances where proactive
resolution of conflicts and clearer communication channels could have improved the overall
group dynamic. Recognizing these areas for growth, I acknowledge the need to refine my
conflict resolution skills, foster a more inclusive team environment, and enhance my ability to
navigate differing opinions within a group for more effective collaboration in the future.
Skills in My Career
The skills identified through the analysis of my experience with the "Global Strategy and
Sustainability" task hold significant relevance to my chosen career path in business and
management. The collaborative nature of the project emphasized the importance of effective
communication, a skill vital in any professional setting. In my future career, the ability to
articulate ideas clearly, actively engage in discussions, and foster open communication will be
essential for effective teamwork, client interactions, and leadership roles.
Improving how we solve problems when we disagree is really important for the fast-paced and
sometimes tough business world. Conflicts are likely to happen when leading a team or working
with clients. It is important to be able to handle and fix these conflicts quickly (Rahim, 2023).
This will help create a good work environment and maintain strong professional relationships.
Learning how to resolve disagreements will help work well with others and solve problems in a
friendly and cooperative way (Brown and Palincsar, 2018).
Being able to solve problems before they even happen is helpful in business jobs. In order to
thrive in the fast moving business landscape, it is essential to have the skill to identify and
troubleshoot problems. This new skill will help me solve problems better and also make me more
able to deal with changes in the business world (Stewart and Brown, 2019).
Task 2
The Genome Project found that effective CEOs have certain habits like making decisions, being
reliable, engaging with others, and being adaptable. These habits are good standards for
measuring the leadership skills of people such as Elon Musk and Indra Nooyi.
Indra Nooyi, who used to be the CEO of PepsiCo, showed great decisiveness while she was in
charge. She made brave choices, like guiding the company to offer healthier products because
people wanted them (Klenke, 2017). Indra Nooyi’s smart decisions, like buying healthier snack
brands and changing to a more sustainable and socially responsible business model, show that
she can make hard choices that match the company's future plans. Nooyi's quick decisions helped
PepsiCo grow and be flexible in the changing consumer goods market (Gregory, 2018).
Nooyi showed adaptability to make PepsiCo sell healthier products. But some critics think she
should have sold the part of the company that makes drinks earlier to help the company change
faster. The company is not moving fast enough to change their products to meet the new demand
for healthier drinks. This means that even though she was successful at making some changes in
her strategy, she might have had trouble adapting to some changes in the industry (Wu, 2017).
Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX, is known for being a strong and decisive leader
(Trifu, 2021). Musk has made important choices that have changed the way we use electric cars
and explore space. He makes confident decisions, like investing a lot of money in electric cars
even when others do not believe in it. This shows that he is not afraid to take risks. Musk's quick
and impactful decisions have helped Tesla become successful and change the car industry (Wilt,
2020).
Elon Musk sometimes uses Twitter to communicate, and some people admire it while
others criticize. His straightforward way of speaking can get the public and Tesla's fans
interested, but it has also caused problems and changes in Tesla's stock price. Musk’s
engagement is different from what people expect, which has made some people worry about
whether it is the right way to talk to important groups like regulators (Corte, 2020).
Skills of the Business Leader with Your Own
Indra Nooyi and Elon Musk are both really good leaders and they have different ways of leading
that make them successful. Comparing my skills with them helps me see where I need to
improve to do better in my work.
Nooyi's smart choices and focus on the long-term have shown how much she believes in leading
PepsiCo (Nooyi and Govindarajan, 2020). I usually think carefully before making decisions, but
I want to improve my bravery in making strong choices without any doubts, so that I can be
more like Nooyi. Musk makes quick decisions in fast-changing situations, which makes him
stand out (Teece et al., 2021). I want to be more confident and quick in making decisions, so I
can be more effective, like Musk. Nooyi's promise to always be reliable and do a great job at
PepsiCo helped the company stay strong. I know it is important to be dependable, but I need to
work on doing things well and making sure I always get good results. Musk thinks it is really
important for things to work well, especially when they are new and advanced. This shows how
important it is to be really good at the technical stuff. Doing my best in my job will help me
grow as a person. Nooyi is good at changing her plans at PepsiCo when the market changes.
Copying her proactive way of dealing with changes and trends in the industry would make me
more adaptable, and help me stay effective in a quickly changing professional world. Musk is
really good at keeping up with changes in technology and innovation. This shows how important
it is to stay ahead in the industry. I want to learn how to recognize and react to new trends early
so I can adjust to changes better.
Finding these areas to improve shows that I need to keep getting better at what I do. Improving
how we make decisions, doing things really well, and being able to change with new situations
are really important for growing. I want to learn from Nooyi's plans and Musk's ability to change
quickly, so I can find a good balance that fits my job.
Furthermore, I understand the importance of being decisive, excellent at getting things done, and
able to adapt to different situations as a leader. This motivates me to work on developing these
traits. I want to improve my leadership skills by making smart decisions, working efficiently, and
staying up to date with industry trends. This will help me do better in my job. This comparison
helps me see how I can grow as a person by looking at the ways Nooyi and Musk lead and
making them part of my own leadership style.
TASK 3
Action Plan for Communication and Collaboration
I want to improve how I communicate with a group of people. I will set up a workshop to help us
get better at communicating with each other in a team. This aim of this initiative is to solve the
problems we found in our last reflection, where disagreements and misunderstandings made it
harder for the group to work well together. The goal for this objective is to have more people
taking part, fewer mistakes and better teamwork by the end of next semester.
We will use university workshops and online resources to create a customized training session. I
want to use what I have learned from research to make a fun workshop about talking and
working together. This will involve doing things that help us listen well, express our ideas
clearly, and create a welcoming space where all different points of view are appreciated. By
joining the workshop, group members can learn how to communicate better with each other. This
will help them work together more effectively (Daniels, 2023).
At the same time, I know I need to get better at solving conflicts. This is really important for
working well with others in the future. To do this, I want to take a class on how to solve
problems and go to workshops that will help me. This will take about three months. The goals
are to make the group have less problems with getting along and to solve arguments quicker.
Signing up for an online conflict resolution course gives you an organized way to learn with
different views and help from experts (Rapanta et al., 2020). This method matches the need to
learn about how to solve conflicts using theories. Also, going to seminars, which might be led by
experts in resolving conflicts, gives useful advice and the chance to be involved in real-life
situations. I want to learn both theory and practical skills to help me deal with conflicts better
and make the group work better together.
Improving how you communicate with others is important for being more effective. It is the key
to participate in the university workshop and keep practicing what you learn in your everyday
conversations. Writing down your thoughts about times when you found it hard to communicate
and when you did well can help you remember and get better at it.
In order to address issues, it is essential to apply the methods learned, consult with friends, and
assess the effectiveness of solutions. Also, making sure to stay in touch with people who can
help solve problems can give ongoing help and advice. This could be through encouragement or
more meetings (Le, Janssen and Wubbels, 2018 ; Currie et al., 2020) .
Conclusion
To conclude, this report thoroughly looked at personal effectiveness by reflecting on actions,
analyzing leadership, and planning for the future. The first task helped in self-reflection and what
I am good at and what I need to work on to do better in my job. The second task compared the
skills of Indra Nooyi and Elon Musk using information from the Genome Project's CEO. This
helped find areas where they can get better. The third task ended with a plan for making
improvements in the near future to become more effective. Understanding that personal growth
takes time and happens step by step, this report emphasizes how important it is to keep checking
and improving yourself on purpose. By using self-reflection, following leadership examples, and
using specific strategies, people can improve their professional careers by understanding
themselves better and being more effective. This can lead to continuous improvement and
success in their chosen jobs.
References
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