BSBWOR501 Manage Personal Priorities and professional development

Assessment 2: Personal Work Goals

Ritika Singh

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TAFE Queensland

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Identify a positive role model that aspires you (be sure to name the role model) analyse how
the actions or reputation of that person can influence your personal development or learning.

A positive role model that aspires me is my husband, Robert McGeorge. He is an entrepreneur

now and running his air-conditioning company. It is worthy to note that a “role model” is not a
person with the best job title or being wealthy, rather anyone can inspire someone to achieve
potential in life through his/her unique abilities and qualities (Price-Mitchell, 2010). Some most
important qualities which my husband possess and that ultimately influence my personal
development and learning includes his passion and ability to inspire, a clear set of values,
acceptance and selflessness of others, commitment to the community, and the ability to overcome
obstacles. A research was conducted by Kahne and Sporte (2008) in which the authors found that
these set of abilities have the potential of influencing the personal development of another person
in a positive manner. The authors also focused on other abilities including compassion, listening
skills and fearlessness but the aforementioned skills were the highly appraised ones. Lockwood,
Jordan and Kunda (2002) in their study found that significant amount of academic scholars have
advocated that the learning of human is through modelling others. The authors argued that such
experiences tend to accumulate through adolescence and the individual then decides what is
deemed appropriate for ‘social behaviour’. Individuals also learn various strategies which help
them in achieving their future goals (Dweck, 2006). My motivation is also boosted by my husband
through modelling a guide for achieving personal goals that work as an “enhancer” for my personal
development and learning. This guide is developed through the comprehension of aforementioned
skills and their applicability in one’s personal life (Bush, Martin and Clark, 2001). Lastly, I would
like to present the quote of Denzel Washington about role model and learning who said, “I think a
role model is a mentor – someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them”.

Discuss why personal work goals and professional development should reflect organisational
or work goals?

Individuals working within organisations are motivated to work towards such organisational goals
which result in promotion, increased compensation and peer recognition. An organisation and it's
various should share the same means of achievements, targets and goals in order for them to be
successful in this dynamic and competitive environment. If that is not the case, an organisation’s
effectiveness can decrease significantly and the ability to achieve its targets will be seriously

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affected. The Business School of Harvard University invested their 30 years in research regarding
alignment and found that in order for an organisation to be effective, the different parts must be in
harmony and this is also considered to be a “competitive advantage” for an organisation
(Ivancevich, et al. 2013). The number of academic scholars has placed increased emphasis on the
necessity of aligning personal work goals and organisational goals in the literature of management.
The idea of alignment between these two factors is evident in almost all theories of management
in which the theorists and scholars believe that the success of an organisation is highly dependent
upon the coordination of these two factors – personal work goals should reflect organisational
work goals. Simply, it can be said that the more reflection of personal work goals in the
organisational goals, the organisation can gain more competence to attain success in this dynamic
environment (Harsey, Blanchard and Johnson, 2012). On the other hand, professional development
is regarded as the ongoing provision of various opportunities for improving knowledge,
competencies and skills (Skinner, et al. 2005). Professional development of individuals should be
carried out in a way that can help in the achievement of organisational work goals as a number of
studies have advocated that if professional development is targeted towards the achievement of
organisation’s vision and mission, the performance of the individuals (employees) is increased
along with the increase in the reputation and success of the organisation (Phillips, et al. 2016).

Discuss how you prioritise and facilitate competing for demands to achieve personal, team and
organisational goals (at least 2 methods must be discussed).

The prioritisation and achievement of goals, whether it be personal, team or organisational, is

highly dependent upon the way through which the goals are defined. In other words, it can be said
that the methods of achieving goals are the effective and evidence-based method of setting goals
(Williams, 2012). This philosophy of achieving goals is argued since the ancient times and date
back to Aristotle and Plato who suggested that “purpose can incite action” (Lawlor and Hornyak,
2012). One of such methods is setting SMART goals. SMART goals are developed following a
specific guidelines: 1 – Specific: the individual should exactly define what is to be pursued, 2 –
Measurable: the goal must contain a number for tracking its completion, 3 – Attainable: the goal
should be achievable, 4 – Realistic: the goal should be doable from the perspective of a business,
and 5 – Timely: there must be a reasonable amount of time for the completion of the task
(Williams, 2012). Williams (2012) further argue that this method of setting goals significantly

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assists in the achievement of goals while enhancing the performance of the business/individual.
The other method is to develop an effective “action plan” which entails the precise steps one has
formulated for the achievement of SMART goals. The action plan method helps in setting a
schedule for each goal that also assists in the prioritisation of the goal. Successful and effective
action plans also contain the potential barriers that may cause hindrance in achieving the goals
identified along with the steps necessary to be taken in order to overcome the barriers. Other than
that, the resources required for the achievement of goals are also highlighted under this method
(Team FME, 2013).

Research and discuss how you use technology to manage your priorities and commitments (at least 2
methods must be discussed).

Any technologically based tool/technique/method which has the potential of improving the
performance of an individual for achieving the organisational goals is included the category of
technology. For an individual to be efficient with the job responsibilities, adequate technology
should be used for meeting commitments, prioritisation and managing the tasks. Out of the two
technological methods, one is the use of project management tools. For professional development
and managing work priorities, project management tools are considered to be an effective way for
the achievement of objectives and goals. Various programs are now developed, including MS
Project and Visio which helps in the development of tools for project management. The primary
argument behind using such tools for managing priorities and commitments is the fact that visual
diagrams are considered to be more appropriate for the process of decision-making. Visual content
includes flow charts, diagrams, mind maps and concept maps which provide the individual with
an ability to use both sides of the brain. The other method for using technology to manage work
priorities and commitment is the use of mobile technology and electronic diaries. These
technological devices are increasingly used so that the businesses or the roles of individuals within
the organisations can run effectively and efficiently. Various records including phone calls,
appointments, meetings, contacts and emails are recorded in these devices for managing
commitments and priorities. The major advantages of using these devices include: data can be
viewed as required, information can be edited easily, information can be searched easily and
reminders can be used for appointments. All of these advantages are crucial when an individual is
willing to manage his/her business commitments and set priorities accordingly. However, the

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individual using these devices should make a consistent and regular back-up of data to avoid any
loss of important information (Cole, 2010; Robbins et al. 2008).

Research and discuss work-life balance and stress, apply your research to your own life identifying
stressors (at least 3) and what work-life balance would be effective for you.

Due to the fact that the “right” work-life balance for every person can differ a lot, a consensus
definition of work-life balance is under debate for a very long time and scientists, theorists and
academic scholars are unable to achieve a unified definition of this term yet. The ways of achieving
balance are different for every individual, some may engage in various exercises and some may
engage in leisure activities. However, it is important to note that when an individual controls the
levels of stress and achieves an adequate work-life balance, his/her efficiency and effectiveness is
significantly increased (Cole, 2010). Managing one’s efficiency and energy is dependent upon the
ways through which the individual reduces stress, whereas, the productivity can be increased if the
stress is lowered and concentration is increased. Nevertheless, work-life balance can be broadly
defined as “a satisfactory level of involvement or ‘fit’ between the multiple roles in a person’s life”
(Beauregard and Henry, 2009, p. 10). On the other hand, stress is widely known as the emotional,
psychological and harmful physical response that take places when an individual is exposed to
“perceived environmental pressures”. The three stressors that I have identified for myself are work
overload (psychological stressors at work), problems with children (personal stressor) and
concerned about investments (personal stressor). In order to reduce the stress of work overload,
the activity of cutting/decreasing out my work tasks and keeping only those which are important I
believe will be the most beneficial in this regards. For both the personal stressors, I will prefer
exercise as a number of psychologists and healthcare professionals believe that getting regular
exercise can significantly help in the management of stress. Under stress, certain chemicals are
released in the body and by exercise, these chemicals are released by the “fight or flight” response
so that they are unable to lower the immune response. However, it should also be noted that
excessive exercise can also contribute towards stress, therefore, moderation is a necessary
component here (Robbins, et al. 2008).

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References

Beauregard, T.A. and Henry, L.C. (2009) ‘Making the link between work-life balance practices
and organizational performance’, Human Resource Management Review, 19(1), pp. 9–22.

Bush, A.J., Martin, C.A. and Clark, P.W. (2001) ‘The effect of role model influence on
adolescents’ materialism and marketplace knowledge’, Journal of Marketing Theory and
Practice, 9(4), pp. 27–36.

Cole, G.A. (2010) Management theory and practice. 4th edn. London: Int. Cengage Business
Press.

Dweck, C.S. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House
Publishing Group.

Hersey, P.H., Blanchard, K.H. and Johnson, D.E. (2012) Management of organizational
behaviour: Leading human resources. 10th edn. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Ivancevich, J.M., Roy, H., Chair, L.C.C., Konopaske, R. and Matteson, M.T. (2013)
Organizational behavior and management. 10th edn. New York, NY, United States:
McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Kahne, J.E. and Sporte, S.E. (2008) ‘Developing citizens: The impact of civic learning
opportunities on students’ commitment to civic participation’, American Educational
Research Journal, 45(3), pp. 738–766.

Lawlor, K.B. and Hornyak, M.J. (2012) ‘SMART Goals: How the application of SMART Goals
can contribute to achievement of student learning outcomes’, Developments in Business
Simulation and Experiential Learning, 39, pp. 259–267.

Lockwood, P., Jordan, C.H. and Kunda, Z. (2002) ‘Motivation by positive or negative role models:
Regulatory focus determines who will best inspire us’, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 83(4), pp. 854–864.

Phillips, J., Gully, S., Griffin, R. and Ivonne, P. (2016) Organizational behavior: Managing people
and organizations. United States: CENGAGE Learning Custom Publishing.
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Price-Mitchell, M. (2010) Civic learning at the edge: Transformative stories of highly engaged
youth. PhD thesis. Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, CA.

Robbins, S.P., Millett, B., Caccioppe, R. and Waters-Marsh, T. (2008) Organisational behaviour:
Leading and managing in Australia and New Zealand - paperback + CD-Rom: Leading
and managing in Australia and New Zealand - paperback + CD-Rom. 5th edn.
Cheltenham, VIC, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.

Skinner, N., Roche, A.M., O’Connor, J., Pollard, Y. and Todd, C. (2005) Workforce development
‘TIPS’ theory into practice strategies a resource kit for the alcohol and other drugs field.
Adelaide: NCETA.

Team FME (2013) Effective Goal Setting: Productivity Skills. FME.

Williams, C. (2012) Management. USA: SouthWestern College Publishing.