Developing Personal Goals for Career Development

Developing Personal Goals for Career Development Abstract Planning goals is one step towards the development of a career. To achieve a goal, one must plan on how to make this happen. You just dont wake up one day and decide that this is what I want to achieve without first of all considering the ways and means of achieving that and the possible hindrances on the way. It is important to break down your goals because it is through this that that you are setting reasonable goals as well as creating a long term plan. It is also important to make a plan to achieve the goals that you have set. A goal that has been set but does not have a plan remains just that. A goal. That is why people have visions, dreams, ideas and intentions but these never happen because they have not been planned. Goal planning helps when you want to advance your career and a good goal should not necessarily be time bound. One needs to select an area of specialization as a target to your goals. In this case I have chosen Nurse Consultant as my area of specialization. This is the role which I will focus during my masters degree in a nursing program. I have expounded on the areas that I am competent in, and the potential areas that are of interest to me. I have chosen to specialize in nurse consultancy because this is a new field that is not heavily crowded. Hence there is a greater chance of getting employment and if not, I can still employ myself by opening a nurse consultancy. Introduction There is a need for people to set their own goals in life. The first step is usually setting goals that are not too high but which all in all present a challenge. This means that goals must be reasonable, attainable and achievable. One must then develop a plan on how to achieve the set goals because goals with no plans are simply fantasies. Also the goals that one sets must have a challenge. This is because what you have already achieved does not pose a challenge at all. SMAART planning methods are a necessary guide to achieving goals. SMAART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Action Oriented, Results oriented and Time-phased. This means that you should say what you want to achieve clearly and concisely, you should have a unit of measure for your goals hence they should be objective rather than subjective, should be realistic, should be written in an active rather than a passive voice, one should focus on end results and at least one should set a deadline to achieve the stat ed goals. My main goal in life is to be a fully qualified and successful nurse and work with the best institution in the country so as to help all the people regardless of their backgrounds. I plan to achieve this by completing my BSN and then after attaining a MSN. Career goal. My goal in life is to be a senior nurse in the best institutions in this country. I want to be a highly qualified nurse with an MSN.This I want to achieve by obtaining a masters degree from a nursing institution. I am aiming to attain this after completing my BSN which I will this year on June. After this I want to get a good highly paying job at the best institution in this country and it is after this that I will consider myself successful. I am a registered nurse with the National Health Service (NHS). I am currently working two jobs one as a Childrens nurse and the other one as a tutor in a small business college. Professional short term goal My professional short term goals is to better my career by attaining the BSN. When I achieve this, my career will have improved in terms of services that I will offer because I will have improved my scope of knowledge Professional long term goal. My professional long-term goal is to be the head nurse of a National hospital. This I can achieve after attaining my MSN. Personal short term goal My personal short term goal is to work just one job that is well paying because taking two jobs is becoming cumbersome on my part. Personal long term goal I want to earn more money and change my lifestyle want to have a good life and a nice car. I also want to buy a better house in a more posh and safer neighborhood also want to move away from my current home which I have rented and into a new home that I own. Needed skills The skills needed to achieve the goals I have set for myself include personal skills, social skills, and professional skills, educational and thinking skills Personal skills I need Self awareness in order to identify my own needs, attitudes, feelings, strengths and weaknesses in order to achieve my goals. I will also actively identify and utilize a wide range of all the available resources and seek other viewpoints and opinions. I will consider actively the implications of my studies on my daily activities and my job. That is why I have come up with a well developed but dynamic plan. I will consistently motivate myself and assure myself that I can make it no matter what. I will listen to other peoples opinion share with them and ask their support whenever I need it. I will work closely with my colleagues both in campus and at the job. I will make sure that I achieve my MSN so that my long term goals can be achieved. Management of time. I will need to routinely use time well and ensure that I have not wasted any time on unnecessary activities. When I enroll for my masters, I will drop one job so that may concentrate more on my studies. Milestones for achieving the goals. Short term goals After completing my BSN degree. when I start working one well paying job Long-term goals when I become the head nurse of a National hospital When I build my own house. When I move out of my neighborhood into a better high class neighborhood. Hindrances Fear-this is one of the barriers that may prevent me from achieving the goals. This may be fear of not fairing well in my BSN which may inurn inhibit me from enrolling for my MSN. I am also afraid that my application for masters may be declined. I plan to work hard to ensure that such an occurrence will not happen. Unsupportive people-I have many friends and relatives who do not have the level of education that I have. They usually discourage me a lot and tell me to stop harassing myself with books and that I have two jobs. I plan to keep them off and to those that I cannot; I will simply ignore and /or assume them. Conclusion Personal commitment and dedication will be required to achieve the above goals. I will have to work with other people closely to achieve my long term and short term goals. This is because no man is an island. I will avoid negative thinking completely and work on being optimistic and motivated. I must have a strong drive and belief that I will achieve these goals. Though I have not stated a particular deadline, I plan to attain these goals in stages and to finally achieve my long term goals within the next 5years.i will also trust in God and pray unto him to make my plans come into fulfillment. Recommendations A personal goal plan should be realistic and attainable. There is need for each and every person to write up a personal goal plan. This will help one know what he is aiming in life and also what one has achieved so far. Goals may change and therefore one need to critically think what he/she wants in life before listing down the goals. Even after there is a change in goals one should not see him/herself as a failure. In that case, one should write up new goals and aim to achieve them. Change of short term goals does not necessarily mean a change in the long-term goals.   References Chapman, A. (2007). Goal Planning Templates for Personal and Organizational Aims. Retrieved February 09 http://www.businessballs.com/goal_planning.htm Mind tools ltd (2010).Essential Skills For an Excellent Career. Retrieved 09 February http://www.mindtools.com/ Peterson, D. (2008). How To Write SMAART Goals and Objectives. Retrieved February 09 http://adulted.about.com/od/personaldevelopment/ht/smaartgoals.htm Johansen, K. (1996). The Business Focus of HRD Leaders. Paper presented at the 1996 Academy of Human Resource Development Conference held in Minneapolis in February, 1996. Legge, M. Career tools retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.coaching-life.co.uk/career/index.html Rouda, H. Kusy, M. (1995) Career Development.Tappi Journal.

Maryland Science Assessments :: Essays Papers

Maryland Science Assessments Within the discipline of science there are facts, principles, skills, and processes of five classified standards: earth/space, biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science. In the State of Maryland, the main assessment tool is the MSPAP (Maryland State Performance Assessment Program). Also, an individual teacher has to do assessment of his/her students throughout the school year. A teacher needs to know what to assess and how. Through an interview, a teacher of Bodkin Elementary has given her opinion about the state assessment test MSPAP. Maryland State has one major test that brings up many opinions of professionals in the education field. With state and classroom assessments Maryland’s intention is to measure their school improvement within the discipline of science as well as mathematics, reading, writing, language usage, and social studies. The Maryland State Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is "an assessment or testing program whose primary purpose is to provide information that can be used to improve instruction in schools"(MSDE, 1999). Students in third, fifth, and eighth grades take the MSPAP assessment each May. The assessment was created to be able to test the how well the students could solve problems both individually and with others, to see if they can use background knowledge to solve real world problems and to see if students can use knowledge from one subject into another. Students normally work in groups to complete the task they are given for each subject. Students are required to write extensively unlike other forms of assessment or testing where students fill out bubble forms such as scantron. The MSPAP assessment takes five days with 105 minutes spent each day on the assessment. Sample problems are given to teachers to help their students prepare for they type of activities and writing assignments they will be given on the task. One example task for eighth grade science students is to look at scientific data on the solar system and to write at least three questions that they can ask after looking at the data(Carr, 2000). After students have asked the questions they then need to "describe three repeating patterns of astronomical change that occur in the sky above us"(Carr, 2000) The MSPAP was created in May, 1990 by many teachers and administrators after the State Board of Education came up with learning goals that they wanted to reach by the year 2000. The MSPAP has six sections: reading, writing, language use, mathematics, science, and social studies.

How Globalization Can Affect International Business Essay

In today’s ever globalizing economy, global managers must utilize specific skills in order to navigate and overcome the cross-cultural situations which affect international business practices. Dependant upon the situation, both native and expatriate managers can be qualified to handle these cross-cultural challenges. There are a plethora of cultural differences that can have an affect on how business is done internationally. These differences can be any number of actions that we take for granted when interacting in one’s own culture. Every culture has deep structures built upon religious, social and ethical values which will influence the way in which another will reason and react as well as how they will listen or what they will expect from us (Burnam 1998). An example of a cultural difference that could affect international business is the misinterpretation of hand gestures. In the United States the â€Å"thumbs up† hand gesture is a common sign relaying a positive meaning usually meant to convey the message â€Å"good† or â€Å"OK†. This is different than in the Arab culture where the same hand signal is the equivalent to one of our more negative hand gestures here in the United States. Therefore using this signal with someone from an Arab culture would most certainly not produce the desired positive effect but rather a negative one. One skill a manager could develop to combat the ignorance of another culture with whom he is doing business with is to immerse himself into that culture and learn their customs through observation and interaction, becoming aware of how to adapt to the situation. This developed ability to observe and adapt would no doubt aid a manager in future cross-culture settings. This type of adaptation is evident in Cassandra Hayes’ article â€Å"The Intrigue of International Assignments†. One of Hayes’ subjects in the article, J. Eric Wright, describes how by immersing himself into the South African culture, he was able to learn through observation one of the local customs concerning respect for elders, which was detrimental to his success while there (Hayes 1996). This communication hurdle is better suited for a native manager as they already possess the knowledge of the local customs, traditions and social norms. They would be better equipped to handle challenges in which  proper and appropriate communication are paramount to an organizations success. Another example of a cross-cultural conflict is the overstepping of boundaries involving another culture’s code of etiquette. The social interactions we take for granted in our own culture may be considered rude or out of line in another culture. Hayes’ article also touches upon a situation relevant to this. Another of Hayes’ subjects, Belinda Miller, received a shocking reaction from an employee after giving advice. Miller was transplanted in China and received a first class education in cross-cultural differences and how they could affect working with someone from another culture. After greatly upsetting her employee by offering criticism in a direct manner, Miller learned that this situation was very different than dealing with an American employee and that advice or criticism must be subtly given in this culture. Having awareness and being culturally sensitive are extremely pertinent to an overseas assignment (Hayes 1996). Again in this situation it seems that a native manager would be much more prepared and able in preventing cross-cultural conflicts such as this, the reason being that they are already engrained into the culture and possess a working knowledge of social and professional do’s and don’ts. One more example of how a cross-cultural difference can affect how an organization’s success internationally is the improper translation of language. In an example cited in the Touro University International’s College of Business Administration MGT 501 CD-ROM mistranslation is demonstrated. The Intercultural Communication page states that, â€Å"One American airline operating in Brazil advertised that it had plush â€Å"rendezvous lounges† on its jets, unaware that in Portuguese (the language of Brazil) â€Å"rendezvous† implies a special room for having sex.† (Intercultural Communication). It is Obvious to see the fundamental lapse in meaning, which could be interpreted quite inappropriately. Skills that a good manager could develop in an attempt to prevent these type of mistake is to develop good habits of researching another culture and its language translation as well as always possessing the awareness of the message being conveyed. Proficiency in another foreign language would be an important  critical skill a global manager could add to their improvement. Yet again this looks to be another cross-cultural situation in which the native manager is favored as a result of his already being fully aware of the cultures norms and language. The native manager would possess the knowledge to identify the misinterpretation before it was too late. Cross-cultural differences can affect doing business internationally in a number of ways. Through misunderstanding, misinterpretation and being unaware, cross-cultural differences can affect organizations business across borders by causing a deal not to be finished, accomplishing an agreement without establishing a long-term relationship and by causing an escalation in tension or confrontation while negotiating. It is evident that in today’s world, globalization demands cultural awareness and the ability to adapt in the international business world. This can be perfectly summed up in a saying used by Josephine Song in her article â€Å"Transcending Borders†. It says, â€Å"If you are going to do business with people who are in different parts of the world, you had better understand and speak their language†. A better understanding of these cultural differences can be reached with the aid of the Hofstede Model. The Hofstede Model helps to explain some of the discrepancies inherent when comparing respective culture values to one another. Four of these variables are masculinity/femininity, tolerance or avoidance of uncertainty, power distance and individualism versus collectivism (Louis). Masculinity and femininity deal with the values of achievement, material possessions or wealth and aggression as opposed to relationships, compassion and quality of life. Tolerance or avoidance of uncertainty is the extent to which people must have certainty in order to feel secure. The less tolerance a culture has for uncertainty the more likely they are to have and maintain a rigid structure of rules establishing a code of conduct. Power distance is the level of acceptance that a culture has for its social, economic and political separation and power distribution. Individualism versus collectivism is exactly what it sounds like, the extent to which a culture is concerned with individual achievements or collective success (Beebe, Beebe and Redmond 1996). Through the juxtaposition of these different degrees of values in international  business, inefficiency is created which must be bridged by cultural awareness and adaptation in order to achieve success. There are many specific skills that global managers could utilize in order to address these differences. Cultural awareness training could be the most relevant and most helpful aid to global managers in overcoming cultural divides through the development of pertinent skills. A program like this could help global managers train for specific scenarios and common pitfalls met in cross-cultural situations (Burnam 1998). Foreign language proficiency is definitely a skill that would greatly benefit global managers, allowing them to better communicate with their counterparts and help to avoid awkward misinterpretations or misunderstandings that could make or break a business relationship. A high tolerance for the unknown and curiosity to learn is detrimental to a global manager’s growth as a professional in the international business community as they will no doubt encounter many new customs and situations. This will enable a global manager to use patience to understand and adapt to his surroundings. This can be associated with the extremely important skills of being generally aware and having keen observation. A global manager could avoid awkward or potentially relationship ending situations solely by picking up on them beforehand. Perhaps the most important skills for a global manager to possess are the abilities to be both flexible and adaptive. As the global manager is continually introduced to new experiences they will be able to overcome cross-cultural differences in order to cement a new relationship or deal. Although in the three specific examples of cross-cultural differences cited above native managers were favored, it is probably more important than ever that organizations send expatriate managers out across borders to gain experience and knowledge. This is truly the most effective way to secure the globalization of an organization. Expatriated managers can return to train other members of the organization. This in turn will allow an organization to utilize loyal employees who most likely bear greater allegiance to them rather than a native homeland (Burnam 1998). The organization would also have a manager with a better knowledge and understanding of the organization embedded in the culture. An organization that could train the majority of  its managerial workforce to become more aware and sensitive toward other cultures would be heavily prepared for the continual evolvement of globalization as well increasing its effectiveness in the global market. Both native and expatriate managers are well equipped to handle an organization’s international business. Whether native or expatriate managers are more qualified or better equipped depends on the situation and an organization’s goal. By utilizing specific skills which pertain to enhancing cultural awareness and communication barriers, today’s global managers can better prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the many cross-cultural situations in our ever globalizing economy. References: 1. Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (1996). Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 345-365. 2. Burnam, E. â€Å"Managing Cultural Diversity in a Global World†. Workinfo.com, 1998. http://www.workinfo.com/free/downloads/299.htm3. Hayes, C. (1996) â€Å"The Intrigue of International Assignments†. Black Enterprise, (26)10, 98

Characteristics Of The Methodological Approach And Data...

3.1 Chapter Overview In order to test the hypotheses and answer the questions of the research, a convenient research methodology was chosen. A description of the characteristics of the methodological approach and data collection technique is provided in this chapter. 3.2 Research Design Burns and Grove (2003) define a research design as a blueprint for conducting a study with maximum control over factors that may interfere with the validity of the findings. Depending on the objectives of research, research projects can be grouped into three types: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. Exploratory research tends to tackle new problems on which little or no previous research has been done (Brown, 2006). Descriptive research is used to justify current practices and identify factors that hinder or enhance practice as one gets a whole picture from the informants (Burns Grove, 2003). Explanatory research attempts to go above and beyond what exploratory and descriptive research to identify the actual reasons a phenomenon occurs, it attempts to â€Å"connect the dots† in research, by identifying causal factors and outcomes of the target phenomenon (Bhattacherjee, 2012). This thesis attempts to contribute towards developing a framework that will eventually be useful to increase the competencies of project management in the construction sector. In order to reach this purpose, an exploratory research inquiry was used to identify and analyze best practices related to innovation inShow MoreRelatedSharing The True Stories : Improving Communication Between Aboriginal Patients And Healthcare Workers Essay1592 Words   |  7 Pagessetting or practice. Sociologists using these methods typically reject positivism and adopt a form of interpretive sociology (Parkinson Drislane,2011). It involves the research using data that do not indicate ordinal values. 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