BUS113: You have been hired as a consultant to offer specialist advice to an organisation in the industry: Crafting Your Future: Professional Practice and Research Assignment, ICTM, UK

Scenario

You have been hired as a consultant to offer specialist advice to an organization in the industry of your choice in which you wish to enter in terms of its direction and opportunities and develop your career in, your specialized skillset and its place in relation to opportunities.

You are required carry out secondary research on the industry using research tools and techniques necessary to develop your critical thinking, and research and analytical skills. The research should relate to the following:

1. A brief background and context of the industry/sector/market being researched and analysed;

2. Provide a brief literature review by critically analysing the industry’s competitive environment, changes and trends in that environment using the appropriate tools.

3. From the above analysis, discuss and critically evaluate:

a. how the chosen industry you wish to enter in terms of its direction and opportunities to develop your career in, requires specialised skillset and its place in relation to opportunities;

b. what creative and ethical leadership skills are required in the chosen industry.

Element 2 – Digital showcase of self-reflection

You are required to reflect upon and evaluate your experiences, skills and associated feelings (evidencing key achievements) to celebrate everything that you have done that will be useful for your chosen career path.

You are required to digitally showcase, analyze and evaluate your experiences you are expected to reflect upon what you have learnt and how you propose to transfer this learning into future thinking and behaving.

For the purposes of self-reflection, you are required to enquire, reflect on, articulate your thoughts, feelings and discuss the following (Knott and Scraggs, 2016) structure for reflective writing:

• Analysis of your journey:

o What happened?
o What assumptions did you make?
o What does this show about yourself and your skills?
o What are the alternative ways of looking at the problem/process?

• Action

o What action would you take to improve?
o How can you learn from what has happened?
o How would you respond if this happened again?

Element 3 – Personal Development Plan (30%)

‘Personal development Planning (PDP) is a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance, and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development (QAA, 2001b). In this personal development plan, you will appraise your strengths and weaknesses, reflect upon and benchmark where you are now and what you need to develop in order to continue your journey towards your career goals linked to

Element 1 of the portfolio (how you can further develop your strengths and rectify your weaknesses). You will also set realistic goals that you should visit and revise on a regular basis for the rest of your student life at ICON College of Technology and Management and beyond. Applying the SOAR (Self, Opportunity, Aspirations, Results) to the creation of your career and personal development plan will provide the theoretical base to focused planning. The essentials of the SOAR model