Arden University

BA (Hons) Business Management

Digital Skills and Professional Development-BUS4009

Portfolio of Professional Skill Development & Short Report on Digital Skills within the
Workplace

STU142405

2651

1
Table of Contents

Introduction: ...................................................................................................................................3

LO 1..................................................................................................................................................3

Section 1.1- The innovation of Business Automation technology..............................................3/4

Section 1.2- Digital skills to demonstrate professional competence in an organization along with

examples of industries and modern workplaces: ...........................................................................5/6

LO 2, 3 & 4.......................................................................................................................................6

Section 2- Self-reflection on management and leadership skills: ..................................................6/7

Section 3- Personal Development: ………………………………………………………………………………………….….8/9

Management and Leadership: .......................................................................................................8/9

SWOT Analysis: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10/11

Conclusion:.....................................................................................................................................11

References: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12/13

Appendix: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13/16

2
INTRODUCTION

The Digital Development Global Practice works with governments in innovating and developing
countries to lay the foundation for inclusive and responsible digital transformation, including
transitions to digital economies, governments, and societies.

Digital technologies are at the forefront of development, offering countries unique opportunities to
accelerate economic growth and connect citizens to services and jobs In times of crisis, from natural
disasters to pandemics like the one the world experienced with his COVID-19, digital technology
connects people, governments, and businesses. They enable innovative solutions to complex
development challenges and support the delivery of digital banking and telemedicine services

LO 1 Section 1.1- The advancement of Business Automation technology.

What are digital skills?

Digital skills, which range from elementary web search and email to advanced programming and
development, are typically referred to as the abilities needed to "use digital devices,
communications apps, and networks to obtain and manage information."
What is business automation?
Business automation uses technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to
automate methods. It provides reliable data that companies of all sizes can analyse and make
informed decisions to improve their business.
Business automation is the process by which companies use technology to enable their employees
to perform and complete competitive tasks, and through proper supervision, controlled production,
and effective service delivery, Employees can be effectively assigned to other positions within the
company. Every day, common technologies are being replaced by new technologies for business
automation, and as a result, employees who depend on this technology to work need to develop
digital skills to keep up with technological advances. In some cases, this may mean relying on
paperless and computerized statistics, but in other cases, cloud computing and machine learning
apply.
In the early stages of the pandemic, the entire industry faced a significant drop in
Let’s not ignore the impact that Covid-19 affected on small and big businesses all around the world
and how companies chose to use digital skills to keep them productive and up-to-date with their

3
clients during the pandemic.
All industries faced a huge collapse of employees, production, and sales, crippling its income. The
effective production and exchange of services have become benevolent to them, thanks to advances
in automation knowledge that help the industry sustain digital and good communication with
employees and clients. The pandemic has additional forced several industries to alteration their
business methods and plans to familiarise to online and digital methods, unknowingly driving growth
in the market According to McKinsey (2022), 76% of current leaders consider using and properly
implementing digital automation to ensure employee effectiveness. According to another report,
digital automation technologies and their strategic implementation and practices have increased six
years in pre-pandemic calculations and are considered the digital accelerators of the decade (Twilio,
2020).
With the rapid adoption of business automation software, Gartner predicts that “hyper-automation”
will push the global automation technology market from $481.6 billion in 2020 to $596.6 billion in
2022. Given the numerous uses of business automation, this is not surprising.
Business automation, including:

 Customer aid
 Lead developing
 Data management
 Sales orders
 Product launches
 Employee recruitment and onboarding
 Payroll
 Invoice processing
 Employee training and development
 Monitoring and reporting
 Cash flow management
Four types of business automation: FIGURE 1

 Marketing automation
 HR automation
 Accounting automation
 Business process automation

4
 Section 1.2- Digital skills to prove professional competence in an
organization along with examples of industries and modern workplaces

A person's competencies, skills, its data, and characteristics that confirm an applicant’s
competence are determined by companies, professional groups, and other forms relevant to
subsequent professional life and characterize their professional competence. It has the
following four functions:
1. Cognitive function: Acquiring the necessary abilities and knowledge also applying them in
our personal and professional lives is its CF
2. Relational Function: Through appropriate interaction and communication with coworkers
and other business divisions, provide consumers with efficient and high-quality service.
3. Integrative Function: identifying and ensuring appropriate management using various
social and other types of data is its IF
4. Affective and Moral Function: Having tolerance while usage of the developed skills in the
workplace and performing the work virtuously and successfully.
The applicant's activity, strong authority, understanding, and interest indicate the applicant's
general tendencies.

Competence, on the other hand, professional competencies require skills and competencies
that allow the development of standards and effectiveness in context, and the ability to
demonstrate commitment to the company. Demonstrating this competency requires
mastering the necessary digital skills in the context of your area of expertise.
Advanced DS:
 User experience design
 Coding
 Programming, web, and app development
 SEO, SEM, and content creation
 Data analysis

Programming, Web, and App development - Programs are written according to different
kinds of languages. Languages known as coding languages are some of the most famous on
the market today. Bootstrap, Angular, JavaScript, etc.

5
Social Media- Today, there are around 4.2 billion social media users worldwide, with 4.15
billion mobile phone activity. It is gradually increasing at a pace of roughly 13% every day,
with no signs of stopping or pausing. As a result, having trustworthy and fluent skills in using
social media to attract users and further analysing how to promote their service for
worldwide appeal is a must nowadays.

Data Analytics- Based on analysis and recommendation-based algorithms, data-driven

precision marketing displays customised adverts to users across many platforms. It is critical
to the performance of the organisation for marketing managers. Early in the epidemic,
marketers abandoned data-driven mass communication techniques, resulting in a major
market decrease. The application of appropriate algorithms to obtained data can predict the
Users can anticipate prospective and current trending demands and select production
demand-wise, resulting in more effective product waste and profit. Data analytics is a highly
sought-after marketing skill.

Content marketing - Any type of media information, including social media posts, blog
entries, and podcasts, is included. Marketers can easily advertise across several platforms by
utilising keywords and eye-catching content. People are drawn to quality information
regardless of their demands or interests in any business or product. Creative content
developers are in high demand.

Mobile Marketing- 97% of the world's population uses a mobile phone, with 96% utilising it
with a proper network connection, safeguarding 64% of the total web traffic, surpassing
desktop traffic. Google migrated from PCs to mobile phones to rank and index websites and
apps (Datareportal, 2021).

Cybersecurity- Refers to the practise of defending internet-connected systems, including

hardware, software, and data, from threats originating from other parts of the network. In
this day and age, when information and technology are so intertwined, it is absolutely
essential to safeguard any data that is obtained in order to retain long-term viability and
ensure marketing success. As a result of this, individuals and a variety of businesses are
adopting the technique of cyber security in order to safeguard themselves against any kind
of unwanted access to the data that is held on different other computerised systems.
According to Sarker and colleagues' (2020) research, the end aim of cyber security is data-

6
driven, data-informed, rational decision-making based on security data for smart answers.
Therefore, it may be beneficial to have the appropriate abilities in such fields to compete in
the present market.

Search Engine Marketing- (SEM) is another prominent field that marketers can rely on. SEM
stands for "search engine marketing." One company that exemplifies this perfectly is Google.
Approximately 81% of users rely on search engines while they are seeking for a product to
buy or sell; out of those individuals, Google is maintaining approximately 70% of those
records to assist them in the upcoming market. If a person has a high level of expertise in
search engine optimization (SEM), they can expand the reach of their website in this highly
competitive field of SEM through openness, appeal, and the appropriate advertisement on
useful platforms. During the pandemic, there was a considerable increase in users'
consumption of SEM content. As a result of there being no slowdowns caused by COVID, the
number of people who visited online shopping sites increased to 22 billion in June, up from
16 billion in January (Statista, 2020).

LO 2, 3 & 4 Section 2- Self-reflection on management and leadership

skills
Model for self-reflection on management and leadership abilities. It is a model for guided
personal and situational examination in order to identify dominant skills. The Gibbs cycle can
be used to analyse and remark on skills, particularly management and leadership, as well as
to make recommendations for improvement.

Description - The description of an event includes all its details. During management and
leadership, a person meets many job scenarios and difficulties connected to his abilities,
skills, interaction style, etc. First-step reflection involves detailing such instances.

Feelings - This stage considers an individual's emotional condition throughout any event,
good or negative or stressful, where he needs to exhibit his management and leadership
talents in the workplace. This level might also consider determination to work and self-
satisfaction after completion.

7
Evaluation - Involves assessing the work description's effectiveness, pros and disadvantages,
and associated sentiments. One must be as fair, honest, and objective as possible when
judging himself, taking the event’s bad and positive aspects into account.

Analysis - Is determining the nature of a complex or non-complex situation or occurrence in

the workplace, highlighting its basics, and taking both bad and positive possibilities into
account.

Conclusion - After thorough analysis, concluding the outcomes and techniques to figure out
its efficacy or avoid failure and pointing out where one may improve falls under the process
titled conclusion. This section summarises the learning outcomes and one's state, including
dos and don'ts, improvement areas, etc. After this phase, one can readily summarise what
he learned from previous steps.

Action plan - After reviewing and concluding recent occurrences, mapping out the
processes, and determining future aims and targets falls under the action plan. Personal and
professional soft and hard skills can help you succeed. The final step of self-reflection is
setting goals and reminders to ensure development. Sometimes merely realising something
is enough to improve workplace management and leadership.

Section 3- Personal Development Plan Management and Leadership

A personal development plan helps an individual recognize his existing talents, necessary
skills, and ways to acquire them through systematic planning and application of specific
tasks. A personal development plan has crucial steps. Here's how:

Define - This phase distinguishes a fantastic leader and management

specialist. Making a list of the necessary abilities, skills, and knowledge to
demonstrate such leadership and management attributes, as well as dos
and don'ts, so that a person can identify himself as a holder of such
characteristics.
Self-assessment – This is the process of analysing or evaluating oneself or one's actions to FIGURE 2

discover one's essential traits and those he already possesses against those he needs to
acquire soon. These assessments indicate a person's personality.
Identifying core values - Core values are a person or organization's highest goals, firmly held

8
beliefs, core, fundamental driving factors, and work ethics. This stage identifies such
attributes. These essential beliefs guide a person's job and personal actions by weighing
every choice. Core values include courage, creativity, balance, and wealth.
Personal vision statement - Personal Vision Statements are a terrific method to identify
long-term career goals, help you achieve short-term goals, and assist you as you pursue new
work possibilities and professional experiences. It's a physical reminder of your past,
present, and future goals in life.

Digital Skills: Digital skills are the abilities required to operate and function any digital
equipment and communication software, as well as to have proper network access and
handle the information obtained through it. Examples include:
1. Internet Literacy: Using the internet in the workplace can be a very useful tool for getting
certain tasks completed. Because using the internet will be a part of everyone's role in the
modern era, having the basic skills to use it efficiently and safely is required.
2. Storing and Managing Data: Businesses gather data every time we contact with them, and
the implementation of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) has made safe data
collection and storage more crucial than ever, making it critical that personnel accessing
data files understand how to do so correctly.

Non-digital skills, Soft skills, or qualities related to one's method of functioning, are
characteristics that show how one interacts with people. Soft skills, such as personal habits
and mannerisms, are indicative of how one works alone or in a group.. Some examples of
such abilities are:

1. Communication: Skills that enable a person to communicate information and demand

fresh information about a given issue are referred to as knowledge. Employees must contact
face to face, online, via SMS or video conference, and so on in order to exchange vital
information and thoughts at work. Such skills are essential to ensure career longevity.

2. Teamwork: The capability to perform in a group is referred to as teamwork. It enables

benefits such as fewer conflicts and people's attention, as well as attracting prospective
employees, which is essential for the smooth operation of a business organisation. Thinking
of the mindset that one can do well alone instead of in a team is a sure way to fail.

9
3. Problem-Solving: Problem-solving is the process of determining results to a variety of of
problems in our personal and career lives. Having creative abilities can make problem-
solving in one's lifetime or career much easier. Other important characteristics of an
efficient problem solver contain determination, logical reasoning, lateral thinking, reflection,
dedication, and so on.

SWOT ANALYSES
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique developed at Stanford in the 1970s. SWOT
stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and it is a structured planning
method for evaluating those four elements of an organisation, project, or business venture.
A SWOT analysis is a simple but effective framework for leveraging an organization's
strengths, improving weaknesses, minimising threats, and capitalising on opportunities.

Strengths: Personal characteristics that give you an advantage over others.

Weaknesses: Characteristics that put you at a disadvantage in comparison to others.

Opportunities: What technologies or trends can you use to gain a competitive advantage?

Threats: Obstacles to your professional advancement.

10
 MY SWOT ANALYSIS

FIGURE 3

After my SWOT analysis I can identify my weaknesses and what I need to improve on. Using
my SWOT results, I know the perfect plan to turn my weakness into a strength that I need to
have for my future job.
My action plan – My plan is to try to attend all the lessons and talk in the mirror to exercise
my body language and facial expressions. Also, I will start to talk in front of my friends so I
can overcome my emotions when I am in front of people.

In conclusion
By gaining and honing the talents, one can prosper and smoothen the development of his
profession by demonstrating an elevated level of effective management and leadership
qualities. It is also an important phase in the continued development of an organisation in
the market. A decision-making procedure should be created to pick them; otherwise, one
risks losing funds and being unemployed in the near future (Djumalieva & Sleeman, 2018).

11
REFERENCES

1. GlobeNewswire, (2020), The Worlds Digital Transformation Industry 2020-2025 Trends

Opportunities and Competitive Landscape, [online] Available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/08/14/2078517/0/en/The-World-s-
DigitalTransformation-Industry-2020-2025-Trends-Opportunities-and-Competitive-
Landscape.html, [Accessed on: 4th November, 2022].

2. Future Learn, (2020), Explore the Digital Industry, [online] Available at:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/explore-the-digital-industry.html, [Accessed on: 4th
November, 2022].

3. McKinsey, (2022), Covid-19: Implications for business, [online] Available at:

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/covid-19-
implications-for-business.html, [Accessed on: 4th November, 2022].

4. Twilio, (2020), COVID-19 Digital Engagement Report, [online] Available at:

https://www.twilio.com/covid-19-digital-engagement-report.html, [Accessed on: 4th
November, 2022]

5. Statista, (2020), Covid-19 impact retail e-commerce site traffic global, [online] Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1112595/covid-19-impact-retail-e-commerce-site-
trafficglobal/, [Accessed on: 4th November, 2022].

6. Datareportal, (2021), Digital 2021: Global Overview Report, [online] Available at:
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-global-overview-report.htlm, [Accessed on:
4th November, 2022]

7. Sarker, I.H., Kayes, A.S.M., Badsha, S., Alqahtani, H., Watters, P. and Ng, A., 2020.
Cybersecurity data science: an overview from machine learning perspective. Journal of Big
data, 7(1), pp.1-29.

12
8. Djumalieva, J. and Sleeman, C., 2018. Which digital skills do you need?. London.
Recuperado de https://www. nesta. org. uk/report/which-digital-skills-do-you-really-need.

9. Peterdy, K. (2022). SWOT Analysis. [online] Corporate Finance Institute. Available at:
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/swot-analysis/.

10. Department for Education (2018). Essential digital skills framework. [online] GOV.UK.
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/essential-digital-skills-
framework/essential-digital-skills-framework.

11. No Longer Optional: Employer Demand for Digital Skills Burning Glass Technologies No
Longer Optional: Employer Demand for Digital Skills. (2019). [online] Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/807830/No_Longer_Optional_Employer_Demand_f

13
Appendix

14
15
16
17