Tools and concepts to construct your personal career strategy

Tools and concepts to construct your personal career strategy Random House Dictionary defines success to be the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. The ambiguity in this definition may be attributed to the fact that there is no universal meaning for the word success. The meaning of the term depends entirely on the dreams and aspirations of the individual. Most people are given the opportunity to choose their own path, and use their choices to determine their idea of success. My life is a little bit different in that my idea of success has determined my career path. After much contemplation, I have realized that my personal definition of success is to make my fathers company internationally competitive. Stella Cortells book describes several issues related to personality development, and outlines activities and reflections on topics such as: identifying how you perform your best, improving your performance, task-management, assertiveness, giving and receiving constructive criticism, among others. I have considered the results of these activities in the crafting of my career development plan. The self-awareness of an individual should be taken into consideration when he or she is in search of a career. It should also be applied to enhance in the performance of ones job or profession. According to Goleman, the most important variables in ones career decisions are the level of self awareness and self-efficiency. (1996) Self-awareness will enable individuals to make the correct career decisions. In order to achieve my personal career goal, I must strive to become a more self-aware individual. Garavan defined self-awareness as the individuals ability to assess others evaluations of the self and to incorporate these assessments into ones self-evaluation. (1999) In developing my personal career strategy, I first considered my career goal, and the skills and qualifications needed to realize it. Afterward, I considered results of my MBTI model and Johari Window Model. I then integrated my self-realizations and the opinions of my peers and family members as a basis for my career development plan. I first identified how I perform the best. As a child, my favourite sport was football. I played on both community and school teams, and would frequently volunteer to help my coaches organise transportation to and from games. When I reached high school, my football skills were not honed enough to qualify me to play for the team, but out of love for the game, I stayed on as a manager. During my tenure as team manager, I designed several activities for the team and fundraised more money for my schools soccer program than any other manager before. This money was used to purchase new training equipment and uniforms for the team. That year, we beat our rival school for the first time in 5 years. Looking back at this experience, I was able to realize how much I truly enjoyed being in a managerial position. Curious, I consulted my old report cards to see if any of my past teachers had mentioned my leadership skills. Much to my surprise, several of them had mentioned that I was quiet, yet I had the natural ability to lead my classmates in group activities. In the future, I will inherit my fathers company. When the day comes for my to assume a managerial position, my leadership skills will definitely be useful. Despite this, my surprise at the discovery of my teachers comments shows me that I have several blindspots. Based on the comments of my friends and past teachers, I have come to realize that one of my personality traits that has the potential to negatively impact my future career plans is the fact that I am a shy person. While this shyness is not quite a liability, my fear of public speaking, and my reluctance to assert myself may serve to be a serious disadvantage when I assume a managerial position. In order to improve my performance as a manager, I have added relevant steps to my career development plan that will train me enhance my speaking skills and will teach me to be more assertive. I have also added steps and goals in my career development plan in an effort to expand my current knowledge and talents, and thereby improve my performance. According to Monster.com, Many employers are looking for candidates with a strong sense of self-awareness. Monster evens offers a quiz on their website to help determine how self aware you are now as you are looking for a job. (Christie) These skills will help an individual choose the right career and make the appropriate decisions in managerial development. Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of self-awareness, and as such, they are also looking to hire employees who possess these qualities. In order to become more self-aware, I examined my ability to manage and complete tasks. Through personal reflections and feedback from peers and academic advisors, I observed that many of my peers perceive me to be organised and responsive. As a result of this observation, I have realized that I am reasonably efficient in the management of my personal tasks. Because of this, I have designed my career development plan to include a several activities. This will enable me to maximize my time. I took the MBTI test to further my level of self-awareness. The results show that my personality is the ENFP (Extroversion, Intuition, Thinking and Perceiving). People with ENFP personalities tend to lead by creating a vision, and helping people see their potential. ENFP personalities also tend to influence by listening to and incorporating the ideas of others. Finally, ENFP personalities tend to focus on exploring all the possibilities. This personality type describes many characteristics that are in line with the steps I have outlined in my career development plan. One of the steps in my action plan is to obtain a Masters Degree in Business Administration. I hope my studies will supplement my personality and provide me with formal training to enable me to help people see their potential. This skill will be invaluable when I become a manager. I have also used the results of my Johari Window model in the development of my career plan. I noticed that I do not consider myself, nor do others consider me, to possess certain characteristics that I believe are essential to good leadership. For example, I do not consider myself, nor was I described to be articulate. I believe that the ability to communicate with others effectively is an extremely important aspect of management. Considering this, I have modified my career development plan to develop my public speaking skills. It was also interesting to note that I had an empty quadrant in the results of my Johari Window model. This quadrant was the hidden one, which represents the things that the subject knows about his or her self but other people do not know at all (Luft and Ingham 1955). This panel contains all the information that the subject has not divulged to anyone or to the person with whom the interaction is taking place. It is during this step that the process of self-disclosure takes place (Luft and Ingham 1955). Over time, as people begin to trust each other more and reveal more information about them, the items that are contained in the hidden quadrant are moved to the open quadrant. While I would like to believe that I am transparent to the point that there is nothing hidden about me, logically, I know this is impossible. The empty quadrant can likely be attributed to my reluctance to admit that I prefer to keep some things to myself. While this observation did not translate into a step in my career development plan, my awareness of this aspect of my personality will make me more conscious of such behaviour in the future. Another thing I learned through the application of an activity performed during this class, is that I sometimes have difficulty receiving and giving constructive criticism. As I tend to be a very reserved person who tries to see the best in everyone, I have realized that I am not very good at criticizing my peers as I have a tendency to be too nice. This realization came as a shock. Because I consider myself to be a very honest person, I had previously assumed that I was able to provide candid evaluations. My self-awareness of this limitation will definitely help me in my future career. One of the fundamental parts of being a manager is the need to provide employees with constructive criticism. Managers who are unable to do so will be extremely ineffective. As such, I have realized that I need to train myself to be less afraid of what people think, and more concerned with providing helpful evaluations. My awareness of my inability to provide constructive criticism further convinced m e of the need to obtain a Masters Degree, which is a step on my career development plan. I hope that my study of Business Administration will teach me to be a more candid evaluator. A similar activity taught me that I also have difficulty receiving constructive criticism. I attribute this personality deficiency to the fact that I have set a very high standard for myself, and because I am proud of my personal achievements. As such, criticism often embarrasses me. My awareness of this facet of my personality will not only help me in my future career, but I believe it will help me become a better person. In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to advance as an individual without the criticism of others. A person must be able to learn from his or her errors; otherwise he or she will probably continue to repeat the same mistakes. In order to be an effective manager, I will undoubtedly need the advice and guidance of my father, and those who have extensive experience in the field. If I am unable to receive criticism with an open mind, I will be greatly limiting myself. Although my awareness of this personal limitation cannot be translated into a phase on my career de velopment plan, but I will always remember that this is something I need to work on. Conclusion The various concepts and theories in this course have allowed me to become a more self-aware individual. They have enabled me to discover of my personal strengths, weakness and personality tendencies. There are several aspects of my personality and a few character traits of which I was previously unaware. Before being made of aware of these, I already had a career development plan, but it was very vague and general. Much of what I learned about my shortcomings and myself has translated into a phase in my career development plan. Some of the other things I learned about myself cannot be explicitly seen on the plan. Despite this, I will strive to remember these positive characteristics and use them to my advantage. With regard to my negative qualities, I am certain that my awareness of them will help me to ensure that they will not limit my careers progress. Unlike most individuals who are able to use their self-awareness to select their career path, my professional future was determined at birth. As such, I have used my improved sense of self-awareness to identify what needs to be done in order for me to achieve my career goals. Thus, my present plan is much more direct, and focuses on skills and qualifications I need to attain in order to become a better manager. Critically evaluate the role that your self-awareness will play in making your career a success A manager who is unaware of his or her blind spots or of how he or she impacts others is a walking disaster in the workplace, a leader who may lead the troops over the cliff. (Koonce, Richard) My lack of self-awareness could be a liability in the near future. As such, I will strive to be more aware of my blindspots, so as to be informed as to my strengths and weaknesses. This awareness will allow me improve my performance as a manager, as I will be able to better prevent my blindspots from negatively affecting those under my management. By being more self aware, I will be able to use my strengths and personality to create a more work conducive environment. I aspire to be able to use my self awareness to become a better leader, and a more efficient manager. When trying to enhance leadership skills it is imperative for leaders to understand that their behaviour is interpreted differently according to a subordinates personality. Indeed, the same message that a leader is communicating (even if the content is the same) could be interpreted in several different ways depending on the personalities of the subordinates. (Hautala) By being more aware of my behaviour, I will be able to modify my actions according to the personality of my subordinates. Because of this, as a manager, I will be able to communicate effectively with my staff. I believe that effective communication between managers and employees is paramount to the success of a business. The results of my personality test have taught me a lot about myself. Because of the MBTI model, I learned that people who have an ENFP personality tend to influence by listening to and incorporating the ideas of others. As such, I plan to one day use this aspect of my personality in future management practices. I firmly believe that two heads (or more) are better than one. As such, I hope that this side of me will make me more responsive to the changing business conditions. I also learned that ENFP personalities tend to focus on exploring all the possibilities. I have realized that this tendency could be either an asset or a liability. As a future manager, I understand the value of examining all aspects of an issue before making a decision. A thorough consideration of all factors and conditions is more likely to result in a more prudent choice. However, people who are overly concerned with being able to predict the effects of decisions are sometimes unable to make choices quickly, which often results to their disadvantage. My awareness of this side of my personality will enable me to be a better manager, as I will be strive to ensure my desire to consider all possible angles will be an asset, not a liability. Based on the results of my Johari Window model, I have learned that I perceive myself to be kind and shy, while others consider me to be clever, giving, happy, helpful and logical. Today the Johari Window model is especially relevant due to modern emphasis on, and influence of, soft skills, behaviour, empathy, cooperation, inter-group development and interpersonal development. (Businessballs, 2008). This insight into my personality will be useful in my future career. As a manager, the perceptions of the people being management are of utmost importance. Subordinates must perceive their manager to be logical. If they believe otherwise it is unlikely that they will be able to perform their tasks effectively. I hope to maintain the way people view me, as I believe it will be useful in my future career. Self-awareness is necessary to my success as a manager. I truly believe that a deeper understanding of myself will allow me better understand others. Action plan Graduate I am currently a college student I study diligently and manage my tasks efficiently to ensure that I graduate on time Before graduation, I plan to engage in more student activities that will help develop my leadership skills Hone my Public Speaking Skills I am a shy person. Due to the fact that I aspire to be the manager of an internationally competitive company, I need to develop my public speaking skills I will enrol in classes that will train me to become a more articulate and confident speaker Obtain a Masters Degree Further study in the field of Business Administration will be useful in my future career Concurrently, I hope to find a job in company in a similar line of business to my fathers company Work for my fathers company Given my educational training and work experience I hope to study the structure of my fathers company and evaluate its performance and make the necessary changes to make the company internationally competitive

The Greatest Of These Is Love Essay -- Gods Love for Mankind

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) No matter how anointed we are in our preaching, teaching, evangelizing, ministering, etc ... there is no greater evidence of our knowledge of God than how we LOVE one another. Love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows Him. (1 John 4:7) The indwelling of God's love in us perfects our human character. Without it, we have no foundation on which to build our Christian lives. Love is not just an attribute of God's character ... It IS God! (1 John 4:16) It is the very essence of God's being. In John 13:34-35, we are commanded to love one another. This command is not referring to a physical affection or emotion, but a purposeful, voluntary SPIRITUAL affection; an unselfish concern for the well-being of others whether or not we feel they are deserving of our love. Even our enemies are to receive our love despite their attitude, or behavior toward us. (Luke 6:27-28) For despite our unworthiness, God loved us and made the greatest sacrifice to prove it. God's Love for Mankind "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God loves us so intensely that He purposed His Son to be unmercifully tortured, beaten, scorned, scrutinized and murdered ... all in the name of Love. He has bestowed His perfect love upon us, seeking those who are deemed the most wretched and alienated from Him that they may be saved. His is a redeeming love manifested in mercy and grace, for He cares for and help us when we are in need, and He accepts us and loves us even though we don't deserve it. "But be... ...adulthood, our spouses can turn away from us in anger or frustration, our friends and relatives turn away for a multitude of reasons. But we can rejoice in the fact that there is ONE relationship where we will always find love ... our relationship with God. There is nothing that can separate us from God's love -- His love endureth forever! (Psalms 118) Thanking God: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy, grace and above all ... Your love. Without it we have no hope ... we have no future ... we have no life! We thank You for Your ability to look beyond our faults, and see our needs. We rejoice in Your mercy, for it has "made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions"; Your grace, for "it is by grace that we have been saved"; and Your love, for in love You "sent Your one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him."

Importance of Beauty Industry and Ethical Issues

Cosmetic improvements can make people feel better about themselves but can also make others that cannot afford or obtain such services feel worse. However, the debate as been raging as to whether or not the billion dollar beauty industry is worthwhile in the modern society. The beauty industry is very diverse and has multiple players.Players involved in this diverse industry include the dealers in the beauty products, the cosmetics, services for improving appearance like exercise machines, nutritional beauty products and above all the end users of all these products (Simms, 1998).Considering the rate at which the beauty industry has been growing, it would be important to analyze whether it impacts the current society positive or not. My analysis will examine the importance of the industry to the players and the society in general. In addition I will look at the various ethical concerns presented by the beauty industry and how possibly they should be solved in order to have the indust ry continue benefiting the society. The highest number of consumers of the beauty products in the current world and in deed over the centuries is undoubtedly women.Women generally adopt the idea of self-grooming at a very tender age (Gillespie, 1996). Unlike men, women have a natural interest in their looks and physical presentation and in most cultures; they believe that good looks and physical attraction is expected of them. Women therefore find it hard to escape such sociocultural norms and as they grow up they internalized the norms such that they simply become unaware of their motivations to seek beauty (Black, 2004). Nevertheless, the modern man has been quite conscious of his looks and physical appearance (Sullivan, 2001).The motivation behind men’s growing interest in physical attraction is a debate for another day; however, the importance of beauty products and services to these users is clear. The users of beauty products and services always want to experience body empowerment, pleasure as well as freedom from appearance (Haiken, 1997). Society associates good looks and great physical attraction to power and therefore those who possess such qualities would avert competition in marriage and other social spheres of life. The pleasure of having a good body elevates one’s esteem.The beauty industry therefore provides an opportunity for those who feel bad about their physical looks to transform it according to one’s own societal ‘standard’ (Morgan, 1992). Apart from the freedom it offers the users to improve their looks; the aesthetic industry is currently a multibillion dollar industry. From the manufacturers of various beauty products, to millions of users across the globe, the beauty industry is considered one of the top revenue earners in various economies around the world and therefore justifies its existence in toady modern world (Hiscock & Lovett, 2004).Despite the importance of the beauty industry to the various p layers and economies, the industry has been receiving criticism for its unethical practices (Brumberg, 1997). There has been a growing public outcry with regards to the industry’s unsustainable business practices especially with respect to the environment. Manufacturers of beauty products have always faced criticism for testing their products on animals, unsustainable sourcing for raw materials as well as for causing chemical pollution.But due to consistent pressure from the media, the consumers and the retailers, aesthetic industry especially the cosmetic companies are shaping up to be counted as good corporate citizens. Many corporate bodies in the aesthetic industry are investing a lot in CSR programs as well as in other sustainability initiatives. For example, the Body Shop has been embarking on ethical sourcing while others like Yves Rocher have been focusing on preservation of biodiversity (Organic Monitor, 2010).A number of beauty companies have opted to take holistic approach to the issue of ethics and sustainable business practices. These companies are now reducing the environmental effects of their products by opting to greener formulations, decreasing packaging of most of their products and also reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as water and energy consumption. In addition, they are also considering the social dimension of their businesses and operations. These include ethical supply from their supplies and social responsibilities through corporate philanthropy.In its recent strategic report, Organic Monitor (2010) found that most companies are investing in greener formulations and sustainable packaging in order to reduce the environmental footprint caused by the various cosmetic products. The report suggests that packaging is getting high interest because most companies in the aesthetic industry have realized the high environmental impact most of their cosmetic products have had on the environment. As a result companies are now looki ng for biodegradable plastics, recyclable materials as well as other innovative ways to lower environmental degradation (Brandweek, n. d).ConclusionThe beauty industry has more to offer to the modern society in terms of monetary value and desired body image. Although, some may not be able to access or afford the most expensive cosmetic products like plastic surgery, the benefits far outweighs the concerns of the minority who would have to contend with their natural looks. But even as the industry remains relevant and beneficial to the current society, it has to treat the ethical issues raised as a matter of urgency.A sustainable business practice would not only benefit the consumers and the society but also ensure a continued operation by the cosmetic companies within a sustainable environment. Although, a few companies have seen this importance of this, more need to be done.ReferencesBlack, P. (2004). The Beauty Industry: Gender, Culture, Pleasure, Routledge: New York. Brandweek, ( n. d). Study: Natural Beauty Products Flooding the Market. Retrieved on August 21, 2010, from http://www. brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaging-and-design/e3id5cad753451dc1bfe073efb89ddb9730 Brumberg, J. (1997).The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. Random House: New York. Gillespie, R. (1996).Women, the Body Brand Extension in Medicine: Cosmetic Surgery and the Paradox of Choice. Women and Health Vol. 24. Haiken, E. (1997).Venus Envy: A History of Cosmetic Surgery. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. Hiscock, J. & Lovett, F. (2004).Beauty Therapy, 2nd Heinemann: London Organic Monitor, (2010, May 19).CSR & Sustainability: How the Beauty Industry Is Cleaning Up. Retrieved on August 21, 2010, from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WvoQqIjRJqcJ:www.npicenter. com/anm/anmviewer.asp%3Fa%3D27277%26z%3D2+Beauty+Industry+Ethics&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ke&client=firefox-a Morgan, K. (1992).Women and the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery and the Colonization of Women's Bodies. Hypatia Vol. 6: 25-53. Simms, J. (1998).A Practical Guide to Beauty Therapy for Nvq Level 2, 2nd edition, Nelson Thomes: New York. Sullivan, D. (2001). Â  

What Is the Normal Approximation to Binomial Distribution

Random variables with a binomial distribution are known to be discrete. This means that there are a countable number of outcomes that can occur in a binomial distribution, with separation between these outcomes. For instance, a binomial variable can take a value of three or four, but not a number in between three and four. With the discrete character of a binomial distribution, it is somewhat surprising that a continuous random variable can be used to approximate a binomial distribution. For many binomial distributions,  we can use a normal distribution to approximate our binomial probabilities. This can be seen when looking at n coin tosses and letting X be the number of heads. In this situation, we have a binomial distribution with probability of success as p 0.5. As we increase the number of tosses, we see that the probability histogram bears greater and greater resemblance to a normal distribution. Statement of the Normal Approximation Every normal distribution is completely defined by two real numbers. These numbers are the mean, which measures the center of the distribution, and the standard deviation, which measures the spread of the distribution. For a given binomial situation we need to be able to determine which normal distribution to use. The selection of the correct normal distribution is determined by the number of trials n in the binomial setting and the constant probability of success p for each of these trials. The normal approximation for our binomial variable is a mean of np and a standard deviation of (np(1 - p)0.5. For example, suppose that we guessed on each of the 100 questions of a multiple-choice test, where each question had one correct answer out of four choices. The number of correct answers X is a binomial random variable with n 100 and p 0.25. Thus this random variable has mean of 100(0.25) 25 and a standard deviation of (100(0.25)(0.75))0.5 4.33. A normal distribution with mean 25 and standard deviation of 4.33 will work to approximate this binomial distribution. When Is the Approximation Appropriate? By using some mathematics it can be shown that there are a few conditions that we need to use a normal approximation to the binomial distribution. The number of observations n must be large enough, and the value of p so that both np and n(1 - p) are greater than or equal to 10. This is a rule of thumb, which is guided by statistical practice. The normal approximation can always be used, but if these conditions are not met then the approximation may not be that good of an approximation. For example, if n 100 and p 0.25 then we are justified in using the normal approximation. This is because np 25 and n(1 - p) 75. Since both of these numbers are greater than 10, the appropriate normal distribution will do a fairly good job of estimating binomial probabilities. Why Use the Approximation? Binomial probabilities are calculated by using a very straightforward formula to find the binomial coefficient. Unfortunately, due to the factorials in the formula, it can be very easy to run into computational difficulties with the binomial formula. The normal approximation allows us to bypass any of these problems by working with a familiar friend, a table of values of a standard normal distribution. Many times the determination of a probability that a binomial random variable falls within a range of values is tedious to calculate. This is because to find the probability that a binomial variable X is greater than 3 and less than 10, we would need to find the probability that X equals 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and then add all of these probabilities together. If the normal approximation can be used, we will instead need to determine the z-scores corresponding to 3 and 10, and then use a z-score table of probabilities for the standard normal distribution.