Professional Management Skills

Personal Development Plan
This PDP should be 2500 words in length, and will make up 80 per cent of your overall mark. Please submit this via Turnitin on Aula.

WHAT IS A PERSONAL DEVELOP PLAN (PDP)?
The Personal Development Plan (PDP) student portfolio is a practical tool to help you reflect on your learning, performance and achievements. This process is important for all MBA students and it will help you organise your personal, educational and career development. When you graduate from university, you will have a good understanding of your subject discipline (pathway). Although this is very desirable, it is only part of the story... Doing an MBA provides opportunities for you to mix with a wide range of people, to learn and develop skills, to take part in new activities, to manage positions of responsibility and to broaden your outlook on life. Many of these possibilities lie outside the curriculum. The PDP portfolio encourages you adopt a broad-based approach to the MBA experience and to use your time and opportunities in positive and imaginative ways.

The PDP is a very useful portfolio for placements, internships and employment - and has other uses too which will be outlined in class. Completion of this counts towards 80% of your final grade.

The process of personal development planning usually includes the following elements:
THINKING: about where you stand now, where your interests lie, what your strengths and weaknesses are and the improvements you would like to achieve.
PLANNING: where you want to go, what skills and knowledge you need to get there and how you might acquire them, make sure you include a timeframe for getting there.
ACTION: setting yourself goals and specific targets and monitoring your progress towards them.
REFLECTING: reviewing your academic achievements and deciding on further areas for personal, academic and career development.
You need to include in your reflection:
How am I improving my Critical Thinking skills?
How can I improve my Time Management skills?
How do I deal with stress and what can I do to make it easier for myself?
Which learning cycle can I apply to my development? (Gibb's Learning Cycle or Kolb's Learning Cycle?)

• WELCOME (Section A)
Introduction to who you are with text, pictures, etc.
You might like to include a recent employment history, academic background, any forms of specialist knowledge you might hold.

• GOALS and AIMS (Section B)
Your long-term vision (specify a longer time frame for achievement)
Your short-term goals (specify a shorter time frame for achievement)
Your extra-curricular activities (clubs? societies? internships? professional networks?)

• PERSONAL/INTERPERSONAL SKILLS (SECTION C)
Identify and reflect on Your Basic Learning Style (draw on Gibb's Learning Cycle or Kolb's Learning Cycle)
Reflect on your Self-Management Skills (time, stress, planning)
Identify and reflect on your interpersonal skills and how to move forward
Reflect on Leadership skills & team building (illustrate this with your work experiences)
Do you have an example of using your Emotional Intelligence at work?
What is your personal brand? Ensure you relate to the course materials and readings where appropriate (personal brand, emotional intelligence, social capital, leadership qualities etc.).

• ACADEMIC SKILLS (SECTION D)
Identify and reflect on your Study Habits
Reflect on your Critical Thinking Skills
Reflect on your Essay Writing, Oral Presentation and Exam-taking Skills
Create a workable plan with time limits for your personal development goals
Include a diagram that explains the steps of a PDP and relate it to your aims