Student Workbook

2nd Edition
Manage personal work priorities

and professional development
BSBWOR501A
Student Workbook
Student Workbook
BSBWOR501A Manage personal work

priorities and professional development
2nd Edition 2010
Part of a suite of support materials for the
BSB07 Business Services Training Package
Acknowledgment
Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council (IBSA) would like to acknowledge
The Indigenous Lead Centre for their assistance with the development of this
resource.
Writers: George Somerville, Jeff Golding, Paulette Threadingham
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Published by: Innovation and Business

Industry Skills Council Ltd
Level 11
176 Wellington Pde
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: +61 3 9815 7000
Fax: +61 3 9815 7001
e-mail: reception@ibsa.org.au
www.ibsa.org.au
ISBN: 978-1-921788-58-1
Stock code: BSBWOR501A2CL
First published: February 2010

2nd edition version: 1.0
Release date: June 2010
Printed by: Fineline Printing
130 Browns Road,
Noble Park VIC 3174
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
Features of the training program ..................................................................... 1
Structure of the training program .................................................................... 1
Recommended reading .................................................................................... 2
Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals .......................................................... 3
What skills will you need? ................................................................................ 3
Positive role-modelling...................................................................................... 3
Setting personal work goals ............................................................................. 7
Measuring personal performance ................................................................. 20
Section summary ............................................................................................ 22
Further reading................................................................................................ 22
Section checklist ............................................................................................. 22
Section 2 Set and Meet Work Priorities ........................................................... 23
What skills will you need? .............................................................................. 24
Prioritising competing demands .................................................................... 25
Managing work priorities and commitments ................................................ 30
Maintain appropriate work-life balance......................................................... 35
Section summary ............................................................................................ 41
Further reading................................................................................................ 41
Section 3 Develop and Maintain Professional Competence .......................... 42
What skills will you need? .............................................................................. 43
Determining development needs................................................................... 43
Making the most of feedback ........................................................................ 48
Learning your way ........................................................................................... 50
Networking....................................................................................................... 53
The competitive edge ..................................................................................... 58
Section summary ............................................................................................ 61
Further reading................................................................................................ 61
Glossary ................................................................................................................. 62
Appendices ............................................................................................................ 63
Appendix 1 Personal SWOT analysis worksheet........................................ 63
Appendix 2 Time log .................................................................................... 64
Appendix 3 Indicators of stress .................................................................. 65
Appendix 4 Personal development plan .................................................... 66
Appendix 5 Ten-year gap analysis .............................................................. 71
Appendix 6 Answers to select learning activities ...................................... 72
Student Workbook
Introduction
Introduction
This unit looks at the demands that are placed on you as a frontline manager, and
the strategies needed to find a comfortable balance between the competing
demands of work and life.
Features of the training program

The key features of this program are:
Student Workbook (SW) Self-paced learning activities to help you to

understand key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken
down into several sections.
Facilitator-led sessions (FLS) Challenging and interesting learning

activities that can be completed in the classroom or by distance learning
that will help you consolidate and apply what you have learned in the
Student Workbook.
Assessment Tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your

new skills and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and
problems.
Innovation & Business Skills Australia has licensed the use of over 200 video
vignettes from the Channel 9 television program, Your Business Success. The
videos have been carefully selected and embedded into relevant learning and
assessment resources in order to assist education providers and students in the
learning process.
Each video is accompanied by a learning activity. Videos can be found on IBSAs
YouTube channel at <http://www.youtube.com/ibsachannel>.
Structure of the training program

This training program introduces you to the concept of a personal stock-take.
Specifically, you will develop the skills and knowledge in the following topic areas:
1. Establish personal work goals (SW Section 1 Session 1).
2. Set and meet work priorities (SW Section 2 Session 2).
3. Develop and maintain professional competence (SW Section 3 Session 3).
Note: the Student Workbook sections and session numbers are listed next to the
topics above.
Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some
cases, this training program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in
others, as many as eight sessions.
BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Page 1 of 72
Introduction
Student Workbook
Recommended reading
Some recommended reading for this unit includes:
Cole, K. 2010, Management: Theory and Practice, 4th edn, Prentice Hall,
Pearson Publishing, Australia.
Robbins, S, Bergman R, Stagg I, and Coulter M. 2008, Management, 5th

edn, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.
Robbins, S, Millett, B, Cacioppe, R, and Waters-Marsh T. 2008,

Organisational Behaviour: Leading and Managing in Australia and New
Zealand, 5th edn, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.
General websites of interest
Businessballs free resources including career help, business training and

organisational development: <http://www.businessballs.com>.
About: management basic information about management

<http://www.management.about.com/>.
Free management library provides free, comprehensive resources about

personal and business management: <http://www.managementhelp.org>.
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Student Workbook
Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals
Section 1 Establish Personal Work

Goals
As a frontline manager you will need to establish clear personal work goals, so
that you remain organised, focussed and skilled. This will enable you to effectively
manage the work of others and act as a positive role model in the workplace.
Effective goal setting is achieved by measuring your performance in your work and
aligning your personal goals with the plans of your organisation and the
responsibilities of your role.
What skills will you need?

In order to work effectively as a frontline manager, you must be able to:
serve as a positive role model in the workplace through personal work
planning and organisation
ensure personal work goals, plans and activities reflect the organisations
plans, and own responsibilities and accountabilities
measure and maintain personal performance in varying work conditions,
work contexts and contingencies.
Positive role-modelling
Role models
The ability to be a positive role model in the workplace is an essential quality for a
manager. Role models have a profound effect, modelling appropriate behaviour,
offering advice, projecting a positive image and encouraging others.
Inexperienced workers look to role models to see how things are done; for cues on
acceptable behaviour. They look to managers and more experienced workers to
show the way. These role models strongly shape their workplace performance.
The scenario below provides an example of a manager acting as a negative role
model. If you were Shirley, would you feel motivated to work hard and improve?
Can you identify the negative behaviours Mary is displaying? How should she have
behaved to act as a positive role model?
Scenario: Marys situation
Mary is a team leader in a busy call centre. She has been working for the
organisation for several years and has become cynical after being overlooked
for promotion several times.
A month ago, Mary was instructed to carry out performance appraisals with her
team by the floor manager, Sean. The process is supposed to involve both Mary
and her employee completing forms to review the employees work, and then an
interview where areas and strategies for improvement are identified.
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Shirley is a member of Marys team. She has been working at the call centre for
six months and has not been through the appraisal procedure before. Last week
Mary gave her an appraisal form to complete and arranged for Shirleys
interview to be held at 3.30pm next Wednesday.
After spending half a day completing her form, Shirley is looking forward to
some feedback on her performance and the opportunity to identify some areas
in which she can improve.
When Mary arrives for the interview, she is fifteen minutes late. Shirley can also
see that Marys review form hasnt been completed. Mary tells Shirley she is
keen to get the interview over with and is about to start talking when her mobile
phone rings. Mary makes no attempt to excuse herself, turns her back to Shirley
and proceeds to discuss a personal problem with a friend for the next five
minutes, while Shirley waits patiently
Once the call is over, Mary tells Shirley to just leave her form and that she
hasnt got time to do the interview. Mary complains to Shirley that the appraisal
process is an unwanted distraction, and that it is just a hoop she has to jump
through because she has been told to by that Mr Bean look-a-like, Sean.
Shirley is angry when she leaves. She decides she will not put much effort in
next time and decides it is not worth striving to better herself in her work role if
she is not going to receive support from her manager.
Being a role model is not about acting like a saint at all times. Sharing your life
experiences, both good and bad, can help other workers learn the best practices
and avoid the pitfalls that you have already encountered.
Making a list of your personal role models can help clarify your own approach to
life and work. Your role model may be famous, or just someone whose values and
behaviour inspired you at some time in your life. Often it is the memory of the little
things that someone did that stays the longest.
The following activity will give you an opportunity to reflect on the significant
people in your past.
Learning activity 1.1: Role models
Take a minute to think about who's inspired you. Write down their names, what
you admire about them, and how you can incorporate more of those traits into
your daily life.
Non-work role models:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Student Workbook
Work role models:

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Coaching and mentoring are two techniques that can be used to develop
individual workers or teams. These approaches help to motivate employees, and
ultimately, can positively impact on the bottom-line of business.
Mentoring
Coaching
Isaneffectivesolutionwherethereare
specifictaskstobemasteredorskill
setstodevelop.Mentoringisa
hierarchicalrelationshipwherethe
senior(experienced)personinan
organisationacceptstheresponsibility
ofpassingonknowledgeandskillstoa
morejunior(lessexperienced)
individual.Thementorisoftenthe
employeesboss.Anapprenticeshipis
anexampleofaformallycontracted
mentoringrelationship.
Focusesonimprovingawiderrangeof
workandlifeskills,withtheemphasis
onmonitoringanindividualsoverall
progress.Itisacontinualprocessthat
isbasedonprovidinginstruction,
supportandobjectivefeedback.
Coachingismosteffectiveinresponse
toaperformanceissue,orwhenthere
isaneedforamoreholisticpersonal
development,asopposedtothe
learningoftasksandskills.A
workplacecoachhelpsworkersto
achieveshort andlongtermgoalsand
provideopportunitiestoempower
stafftorealisetheirpotential.
In each instance, the driving force is the relationship between the two people
involved in the process. The dynamics and the quality of this relationship must be
based on mutual trust, respect and open communication. A sense of ownership,
pride, and loyalty are among the many positive outcomes that result from this
approach to personal management. Additionally, a worker with a positive outlook
is in a better position to deal with new challenges.

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Learning activity 1.2: Workplace mentoring and coaching

How is mentoring and coaching used in your current (and past) organisations?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Brainstorm some of the skills and qualities that are required to be a successful
workplace coach:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
You may have identified some of the following skills and qualities that make an
effective coach:
enjoys helping others
is genuinely interested in people and believes in their potential
has good listening skills (active/attentive listening) and can ask the right
questions
can develop trust and confidence
boosts confidence -- encourages workers to take responsibility for their

own learning and development
maintains high expectations
can identify and adapt coaching to preferred learning styles
matches workers needs to performance targets
follows workplace health and safety policies and procedures
can clarify the organisations policies and procedures.
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Student Workbook
Setting personal work goals

Goals and plans
These two concepts are a horse and cart. Goals are the outcomes that
individuals, teams and organisations would like to achieve. Plans are the
documents that outline the physical, human and financial resources that are
required in order to achieve the goal within a prescribed timeframe.
The scenario below illustrates a manager identifying his organisations plans and
his workplace responsibilities and reflecting on these as he establishes his
personal work goals.
Scenario: Maxs personal work goals
Max has just begun work as the floor manager in a seafood restaurant. He has
had no previous experience in restaurants, but has managed teams in business.
He has made the shift because he has always dreamed about owning a
restaurant one day.
Max knows that to effectively lead his team he needs to be organised, focussed
and skilled. To help him achieve this, he decides to establish short, mediumand long-term personal work goals for himself.
To help him establish his goals, Max reviews the restaurants business plan and
vision statement and his position description. He identifies that the restaurant
aims to be at the cutting edge of Australian innovative cuisine and fashionable
eating. He also identifies that he is to manage a team of friendly staff that are
passionate, are highly knowledgeable about the food and wine they are serving
and where it is from, and are able to make recommendations.
With this information in mind, Max sets himself a short-term goal of knowing all
about the food the restaurant serves, a medium-term goal to find out about the
latest innovations in world cuisine and a long-term goal to receive training or
mentoring in general restaurant management.
Identify the goal
There are a few things to consider before you launch head-first into the pursuit of
a goal. The brain needs to be trained in how to identify a goal. It can then help you
to gather the necessary resources.

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Student Workbook
Goal identifiers are:
Isitpositive?
Iwillgetajobinthebankingindustrywithinthenexttwelvemonths.
Avoidtheuseofnegativewordslike;dont,wont,lose,stop.State
whatyouwant;clearlyandinpositiveterms.Iwilleathealthyfood
anddrinkplentyoffreshwaterisfarbetterthanIwillstopeating
friedfoodandloseweight.
Isitmine?
Thegoalmustbesomethingyouwant,notwhatsomeoneelse
expectsofyou.Anexampleofagoalthatisnotmeaningfulis:Iwill
workinmyfamilybusinessbecausemyfatherwantsmeto.
Isitachievable?
Thegoalmustbeachievablegiventheresourcesavailabletoyou.I
willbuyawaterfronthouseonSydneyHarbourmaynotberealistic.
Stepuptobiggoalsbysettingsmalleronesintherightdirection.
Isitspecific?
Canyousee,touch,taste,smellandhearwhatitisliketohaveyour
goal?Iwouldlikeanewhouse,betterjobandmoremoneyisjust
wishing.Specify,infinedetail,exactlywhatthegoalwillbelikeonceit
isachieved.Inbusinessplanning,thesespecificsformthekeyresult
indicators.
Isittimed?
Setaspecificdateforwhenthegoalistobeachieved,otherwiseit
maybeforeverinthefutureandnotmakeitswaytothepresent
moment.
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Learning activity 1.3: Satisfaction circle

Draw a spider graph of your life at the moment. This is your satisfaction circle
and will help you identify some areas for goal setting. Where the lines meet is 0
and the outside is 10. Place a dot on each line to represent a score from 0 to
10, and then join the dots together to form a spiders web.
You may wish to add other lines to the graph, such as study or sport. The areas
where your spiders web is closest to the middle are areas in which you might set
some goals:
10 Work
10 Close
Relationships
10
lth
10 Friends
10 Fitness
10 Spirit
10 Finances
10 Achievements
Learning activity 1.4: Goal statements

Look back on your satisfaction circle and brainstorm some goal statements
below. Make sure they meet the criteria for goal-setting as on pages 9 10:
Short-term goals (next three months):
At work:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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Away from work:

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Medium-term goals (threetwelve months):
At work:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Away from work:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Long-term goals (more than twelve months):
At work:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Away from work:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Resources
You cannot 'do' a goal. Instead you must acquire the things that enable it to
happen. Resources are the things that need to be in place to enable a goal
outcome to be achieved. They can be:
Personal resources:
strength
skill
courage
knowledge
self belief
qualifications.
determination
Physical resources:
tools
phone
equipment
vehicle
any object that helped from a pencil

to a bus.
computer
Financial resources:
all sources of funding.
Human resources:
all the people who helped in some way.
Learning activity 1.5: Resources

Recall a time when you performed well at a task. Reflect on what happened by
working through the following questions:
a. What was the task you performed well?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
b. Write one or more words to describe how you felt?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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c. What were the important resources in your success?

Personal resources:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Physical resources:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Financial resources:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Human resources:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Learning activity 1.6: Resources for work goals

Look back over the goal statements you prepared on page 9. Identify the
resources you think you will need for each goal:
Short-term work goal
Identify your goal.
Set a time frame for achieving your goal.
List the resources you will need to achieve the

goal.
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Student Workbook
Medium-term work goal

Identify your goal.

goal.
Long-term work goal

Identify your goal.

goal.
Organisational goals
You must take into account the values and the goals of your organisation when
you establish your personal work goals.
The traditional model of company goal-setting starts at the top, with executive
management deciding the future course of the company. To help steer the
company in the desired direction the management establishes a corporate
strategy. This strategy establishes the principles on which the company will
proceed. These principles take the form of: a set of values, a vision statement and
a mission statement.
Corporate values: each organisation has a set of values which describes the way it
wants to do business. It states what the company holds important and establishes
the behaviour it expects from its workers. The values statement identifies the
territory in which the company operates and provides a road-map for workers if
they are unsure of what the company stands for.
Vision statement: this document sets out what the company wants to achieve. It is
a simple yet powerful statement of the companys intentions and is designed to
immediately identify its goals to the workers, the customer and the public. It is a
small paragraph that provides a positive image of the future. A well written vision
statement is both memorable, inspirational and meant to be durable over time.
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Mission statement: this is a statement of how the companys vision is to be

implemented. It describes a set of specific behaviours that set the companys
standards in the areas of:
customer service
reliability and quality control
employee relations
products and services
profitability and shareholder

responsibility.
These statements form the backbone of the companys operations. They send a
clear message to staff, customers, shareholders and the community as to the
aims and aspirations of the organisation. Good managers will ensure that all their
workers are aware of the corporate strategy and their personal role in the process.
Learning activity 1.7: Corporate strategy
Identify and read an organisations goals (your own, your trainers, another) by
accessing the documents listed above.
Provide some thoughts on what you discover:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Organisational plans
Planning is simply the formal documentation of the goal setting process. Once the
direction and goals of a company have been established a set of plans is
prepared. Plans are constantly monitored to ensure that changes in the operating
environment are responded to effectively and efficiently.
Business plans: organisations of every size are required to have a business plan.
The business plan outlines the strategies required to achieve the companys
vision and mission. In some older traditional industries, the business plan may
have a strategic outlook of several years. In other organisations, the planning
process can change rapidly in response to changing business conditions and
technologies. Cole (2010) identifies four key areas of business plan development:
1. Who are we? It is important to include all employees in the development of
the companys vision and mission.
2. Where are we now? This involves a detailed analysis of products, services,
employees, customers and competitors.
3. Where do we want to be? The business plan establishes goals and
objectives that include measurable outcomes and key indicators of
success.
4. How will we get there? What are the actions and strategies that are
required to achieve the desired outcomes?
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The business plan is a tool that provides strategies for bridging the gap between
the companys current situation and its vision of where it wants to be.
Learning activity 1.8: Business plans
Find an organisations business plan (your own, your trainers, or another). What
are some of the strategies it outlines for achieving the organisations vision and
mission statements?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Operational plans: each section manager is responsible for contributing to the
overall business plan. Operational plans address the specific projects that will
contribute to the overall outcomes. They are specific e.g. to expand the customer
car park. They have a shorter and specified time frame e.g. by 31st October. They
clearly identify who has responsibility for each action.
In operational planning, think: how, when, why, what, who and where. Operational
plans will also clearly specify the financial, human and physical resources that are
required for each project, contributing to budgeting and supply planning
elsewhere in the organisation.
Ethical plans: commercial companies aim to make money, service agencies aim
to help people and change agencies aim for things to be done differently. These
are called the bottom lines.
However, focussing solely on the bottom line can stop us from seeing the larger
picture. No company operates in a vacuum; we are all a part of a bigger corporate,
social and physical environment. Organisations are becoming increasingly aware
of their role as a corporate citizen. Business planning now takes in account a wide
range of factors including:
1. Social: how does the company engage the local and wider community as a
corporate citizen? Do they give back to the community in some way?
2. Cultural: do the companys operations take into account the cultural
heritage of the area it interacts with? Does it have a management plan
that considers all stakeholders in the project?
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3. Ethical: is the company upholding the ethical expectations and standards

of the community? Will its operations inflict any harm on another person?
4. Environmental: will the company cause harm to the environment? Is there
a plan for sustainable use of resources; waste and pollution management
and site restoration?
5. Legal: does the companys project meet the requirements of governing
legislation and organisational standards?
Learning activity 1.9: Ethical planning
Search the internet for a company that strongly promotes wider community
values within its planning strategies. Note down what you find:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Briefly describe how the company meets its obligations to the following planning
considerations:
Social:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Cultural:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Ethical:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Environmental:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Legal:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Planning and people
The key resource in any business plan is the human resource. No amount of
money and physical resources will achieve the company vision without people. It
is critical to the overall outcome that employees are managed well and cared for
responsibly. To do this, each company establishes a set of policies and
procedures and ensures that employees are aware of their individual
responsibilities and accountabilities.
Policies: a variety of policies are developed and monitored. These include:
conditions of employment including the industrial award and job security
recruitment, training and career development
health safety and welfare
equal opportunity, affirmative action and anti-harassment
promotion, transfer and retirement terms
discipline and grievance
worker consultation.

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Procedures: the number of individual company procedures can be extensive and

cover areas such as:
operational guidelines
storage and use of equipment
managing and sharing information
communication systems and protocols
staff selection and placement
implementation of governing legislation

o occupational health and safety
o equal opportunity
o cultural heritage
o environmental protection
o physical and sexual harassment.
Learning activity 1.10: Policies and procedures

Identify and summarise two policies and two procedures that play a key role in
helping you to manage your priorities and professional development.
Employee responsibilities and accountabilities
Cole (2010) provides the following definitions:
Responsibility: the obligation that an employee has to management to do the job
that has been assigned.
Accountability: being held answerable for the work for which you are responsible.
In other words, an employee is hired by a company to:
1. Do a job.
2. Ensure the jobs output meets standards.
A bridge builder is responsible for making the bridge and accountable for the
quality of the finished product.
To assist employees to fulfil these obligations, governments and organisations
issue supportive documents. These include:
industry awards
codes of conduct for industries and individuals
position descriptions
performance appraisals
personal development plans.
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Learning activity 1.11: Responsibility and accountability

Describe how your personal goal setting reflects the responsibilities and
accountabilities of your job role. Refer to the following documents:
Industry award:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Code/s of conduct:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Position descriptions:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Performance appraisal:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Personal development plan:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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Measuring personal performance

Frontline managers work in a variety of work conditions and contexts and need to
measure their personal performance across these settings when establishing
their work goals.
Once performance in varying settings is measured, areas for attention can be
identified, and goals set that enable managers to be organised, focussed and
skilled so that they can maintain their performance across the settings in which
they work.
There are two questions that relate to the measuring of your personal
performance:
1. How effective am I? Effectiveness is commonly referred to as doing the
right things. Ask yourself throughout the day: Is the task I am doing right
now the very best thing that I could be doing?
2. How efficient am I? Efficiency is referred to as doing things right. It
involves getting the greatest outcome from the least amount of energy.
A well-established and simple way to analyse your personal performance in any
work context is called a personal SWOT analysis. Many managers use this tool to
determine the effectiveness and competitiveness of their company, yet neglect its
value in analysing people and their performance.
Personal SWOT analysis
Success in any endeavour involves maximising the use of your talents and
minimising the effect of any limitations. A SWOT analysis is a useful technique
that helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. It also analyses the
opportunities and threats that arise from them. Identifying your strengths can help
you discover unseen opportunities, whilst managing your weaknesses can help to
reduce any threats to your personal development.
The SWOT analysis is a simple yet powerful tool, best approached with an open
mind and the use of expansive thinking and brainstorming. You may even get
family, friends and colleagues to contribute ideas.
How to use the tool
To perform a personal SWOT analysis, print off the personal SWOT worksheet in
appendix 1 of this Student Workbook. Brainstorm some ideas from each of the
areas below. Be as objective as you can.
Strengths
what advantages do you have: skills, qualifications, experience, networks?
what do you do really well?
what personal resources can you access?
what do others see as your strengths?
which of your achievements are you most proud of?
what are your core values?
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Weaknesses
what tasks do you usually avoid?
what do others see as your weaknesses?
do you have the required education and skills training?
what are your negative work habits?
do you have personality traits that hold you back?
Opportunities
what new technology can help you?
is your industry growing?
do you have a network of strategic contacts?
what trends do you see in your company?
is there a need in your company or industry that no one is filling?
Threats
what obstacles do you currently face at work?
are any of your colleagues competing with you for projects or roles?
is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing?
does changing technology threaten your position?
could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?
Performing this analysis can provide crucial information. It can point out what
needs to be done and put perceived flaws into perspective. Look at your strengths
to see if these can open up any opportunities. Then consider your weaknesses
and what opportunities you could open up by reducing or eliminating them.
Learning activity 1.12: Personal SWOT
Use chart paper and crayons to complete a poster-sized personal SWOT
analysis. Use plenty of colours and draw illustrations, particularly of your
strengths. Summarise the outcome of this exercise:

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Section summary
You should now understand how to define a set of clear goals that take in to
account a wide range of work and personal considerations. You should also be
able to measure your personal performance and identify opportunities for
personal development.
Further reading
Cole, K. 2010, Management: Theory and Practice, 4th Ed, Prentice Hall,

Ed, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.

Zealand, 5th Ed, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.
Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:
serve as a positive role model in the workplace through personal work
planning and organisation
ensure personal work goals, plans and activities reflect the
organisations plans, and own responsibilities and accountabilities
measure and maintain personal performance in varying work conditions,
work contexts and contingencies.
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Section 2 Set and Meet Work Priorities

Frontline mangers need to develop a range of strategies to help them effectively
prioritise work tasks and maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Modern trends in management are moving towards increased flexibility.
Organisations adopting flexible management practices, such as flexible work
hours, are discovering that happy staff are productive staff.
The scenario below demonstrates how left field flexible management techniques
have helped a business thrive.
Scenario: the seven day weekend and Ricardo Semler
Can you imagine a company that allows you to:
set your own days, hours and place of work
negotiate your own salary
hire and fire your own boss
choose which projects you will work on
lie down in a hammock if you feel tired?
In this company there are:
no business plans
no organisational charts
no mission statements
no standards, procedures or reports.
At the age of 21, Ricardo Semler took over the reins of his fathers traditionallyrun, Brazilian manufacturing business, SEMCO, in 1980. Semler believed there
was a better way to run a workplace. He threw out the procedures manual and
went on to create one of the most controversial management styles in the
history of business. Semler gave his employees the freedom to blend their work
life and personal life with enthusiasm and creativity.
Semler challenges us to think of better ways to do our job. Given an open mind
to job design and some research into modern technology, most managers can
move towards a more flexible approach to work and life.1
Wikipedia, 2010, Ricardo Semler, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Semler>.

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Learning activity 2.1: The seven day weekend

Use the internet to research other companies that promote unconventional
approaches to job-design and workplace culture. Write some dot-points on what
you discover. Space is provided on the next page.
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take initiative to prioritise and facilitate competing demands to achieve
personal, team and organisational goals and objectives
use technology efficiently and effectively to manage work priorities and
commitments
maintain appropriate work-life balance, and ensure stress is effectively
managed and health is attended to.
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Prioritising competing demands

Life in a medieval village
Imagine waking up in your medieval cottage and thinking whats on today? The
answer probably included:
eat breakfast
grow some crops
have lunch
catch some fish
eat dinner
go to bed.
Life in a modern village

Think of the possible answers to the same question in modern life:
eat breakfast
chair weekly team meeting
have lunch
take part in a teleconference
eat dinner
go to bed.
Modern life is fast, exciting and full of options that did not exist even 20 years
ago. Our medieval friend probably had no thought of ever leaving the village.
Today you can access almost unlimited information from your desk, instantly
communicate with people and businesses worldwide and buy and sell products
while flying from one continent to another.
The choices you have now are almost endless. Even choosing what breakfast
cereal to buy at the supermarket can be challenging, given the row upon row of
different products staring back at you from the shelves. How do you make
decisions when faced with a mind-boggling array of choices?
There is no doubt we are stronger and healthier and live longer than our medieval
ancestors, yet many believe we are less healthy at the mental, emotional and
spiritual levels.
Develop a personal strategy
One of the key challenges of our modern world is to develop a personal strategy
for dealing with choices. This strategy must involve you taking the initiative and
having a sound method to enable you to control the process. You need to be the
dog, not the dogs tail!
In the management literature there are a hundreds of formalised processes for
prioritising, decision-making, action planning and so on. One of the more useful
strategies is called the urgent-important matrix:

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urgent
important
1 -- DO NOW
2 -- PLAN TO DO
emergencies, complaints
and crisis issues
planning, preparation,
scheduling
demands from superiors or

customers
research, investigation,
designing, testing
planned tasks or project

work now due
networking relationship
building
meetings and appointments
reports and other

submissions
thinking, creating,
modelling, designing
systems and process

development
anticipation and
prevention.
staff issues or needs
problem resolution, firefighting, fixes.
3 -- REJECT AND EXPLAIN
not important
not urgent
trivial requests from others
apparent emergencies
ad-hoc interruptions and

distractions
misunderstandings
appearing as complaints
pointless routines or
activities
accumulated unresolved
trivia
boss's whims or tantrums.
4 -- RESIST AND CEASE
'comfort' activities,
computer games, net
surfing, excessive cigarette
breaks
chat, gossip, social

communications
daydreaming, doodling,
over-long breaks
reading nonsense or
irrelevant material
embellishment and overproduction.
Learning activity 2.2: The urgent-important matrix

In your job, estimate how much time you spend in each category
1. Urgent-important: DO NOW
.%
2. Not urgent-important: PLAN TO DO
.%
3. Urgent-not important: REJECT AND EXPLAIN
.%
4. Not urgentnot important: RESIST AND CEASE
.%
Total 100 %
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Sort your daily work activities into the four categories:

1. Urgent-important:
Do now
2. Not urgent-important:
Plan to do
3. Urgent-not important:
Reject and explain
4. Not urgentnot important:

Resist and cease
Concentrate on results, not on being busy

The stages of action in the urgent-important matrix are in the reverse order of the
numbers:
1. Start with group 4. Take immediate action to eliminate unproductive
behaviours from your day. These activities have no positive outcomes and
are de-motivating.
2. Move on the group 3. Where possible, reject these activities immediately
and explain why you cannot do these tasks. Negotiate with the originator to
find another way of achieving the outcome.
3. The activities in group 2 are important yet often overlooked. They include
strategic thinking, planning and deciding the direction of future projects.
Break large tasks down into sensible stages and plan timeframes for each
stage.
4. Having cleared the deck you can now focus on group 1. These tasks need
doing now. Prioritise activities according to their urgency. Create to-do lists
and action plans and direct your energy to task completion. Have as few
half-done tasks as possible.

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Scheduling work
Now that you have a clear idea of what to discard and what to work on, it is time
to organise a schedule that concentrates on achieving your overall work goals.
Sometimes it is hard to know when to start, especially when deciding where to
focus effort and resources. An interesting approach to resource allocation is the
Pareto principle.
Pareto principle
The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule. It suggests that 80% of
output is produced by 20% of input. It can be applied to many aspects of
business; for example, 80% of income comes from 20% of customers. From the
perspective of personal organisation, it provides the comforting thought that:
80% of outcomes can be achieved in 20% of our time.
How can you organise your day to have 20% of its available time allocated to the
achievement of quality outcomes?
1. Find your best two hours. Decide when you are at your best in any day.
Some people are early birds and might function best first thing in the
morning. Others might have their strongest energy at mid-morning or in the
evening. Work out your best two hours.
2. Make an appointment with yourself. Put yourself into your dairy for your
best two hours each day. Try to keep this non-negotiable.
3. Eliminate interruptions. Have a closed-door policy for these two hours.
Make it clear that you are unavailable during this time.
4. Complete the urgent-important items. The urgent important items must be
done. It makes sense for you to get the most important tasks done during
the productive 20 % time slot.
Learning activity 2.3: The Pareto principle
Think about how the 80-20 rule affects areas of your work life. What 20% of
issues take up 80% of your energy? (Think about staff, customers, interruptions,
returned products etc.).
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Measuring performance
Time log: Keeping an accurate record of completed tasks, even for one week, is
an effective way of measuring how well you are achieving your outcomes.
Learning activity 2.4: Urgent/important time log
An example of a time log is set out below. For each half hour, write down what
activity you performed, then place a tick in columns 3 and 4 if the task was
urgent and/or important:
Time
Activity
Urgent
Important
7.30
8.00
etc
For one week, fill out the time log (a template is at appendix 2 of this Student
Workbook), work out the percentages below, and then compare the results to
your estimates on page 26:
How much time do you spend in each category
1. Urgent-important: DO NOW
.%
2. Not urgent-important: PLAN TO DO
.%
3. Urgent-not important: REJECT AND EXPLAIN
.%
4. Not urgentnot important: RESIST AND CEASE
.%
Total 100 %
Reflection: looking back over your weeks work, brainstorm some ideas that
might help you to organise your time in a more productive manner:
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The scenario below illustrates how Tamara, a manager experiencing difficulties,

measures her performance across her work, prioritises her competing demands
and implements strategies to help her achieve her personal, team and
organisational goals and objectives.
Scenario: Tamara prioritises her workload
Tamara works for a cosmetics company managing their new home-based sales
program. The program is very popular and Tamara is struggling with the
workload. The volume of competing demands she is juggling mean that she is
constantly being distracted from the task in hand.
After referring to her network for support, Tamara decides to measure her
performance across her work, to help her identify means to manage her
workload and maintain her performance.
Tamara keeps a diary of her work life and categorises the tasks she undertakes
using an urgent/important matrix. She make a number of discoveries:
many of the demands for her time that she is experiencing are urgentnot important
the volume of urgent tasks increases in the late morning and early
afternoon
she regularly has to cancel and reschedule her team meetings, which are
supposed to be on Fridays at 1pm
she can never find uninterrupted time to complete not urgent-important

tasks like her paperwork, plan and develop schedules.
Tamara decides to implement a few simple changes to her work practices:
she feels that she is a morning person, so she decides to come into
work an hour earlier and dedicate that time to completing her not
urgent-important paperwork, planning and scheduling tasks
she identifies common urgent-not important distractions, and plans to

reject them, offer explanations and negotiate other ways of achieving
them
she reschedules her team meetings for Tuesdays at 4pm, when her
workload is normally reduced.
Managing work priorities and commitments

Business practices are changing at the fastest rate in history because of the
impact of technology, and especially computers and the internet. As a manager,
you will gain a huge advantage if you are able stay current with the latest
technologies on offer and are prepared to embrace and adapt to change.
In the last 15 years, almost every aspect of business has been revolutionised by
technologies that have speeded up, improved efficiency and increased options.
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These enable users to more efficiently and effectively manage their work priorities
and commitments:
communication
research
payroll
networking
word processing
banking
advertising
accounting
training
scheduling
data management
etc.
Scenario: technology in the workplace

Alexis manages the warehouse for an organisation that buys and sells electrical
components. The business is rapidly expanding and the warehouse has a
constant workload.
A large consignment is coming in from a supplier this morning, which will need
to be checked and stacked before orders are packed and dispatched this
afternoon.
When the consignment arrives, Alexis asks two of his team to open the boxes
and check the contents and then use the bar-coding machine to scan the order,
automatically adding it to the stock-list database.
Alexis Blackberry sounds. Hes received an email from one of the sales staff.
Her client in Auckland has just received an order and is claiming that they have
only received 1000 LEDs but had ordered and been invoiced for 10,000. Alexis
sets a reminder in his Outlook calendar to investigate the claim this afternoon.
He is too busy to do it now; he has a teleconference scheduled with the
managing director.
The scenario illustrates how a range of technologies have been integrated into
every aspect of the business. Alexis and his team work in an area in which you
might not expect to find much reliance on technology and computers, but as you
can see, they play a vital role in managing priorities and commitments.
Some of the technologies most widely used to efficiently and effectively manage
work priorities and commitments include:
1. Email: electronic mail allows users to instantly send and receive
messages and attach digital files (documents, photos, receipts, invoices,
resumes, adverts, payslips, etc), between individuals, groups,
organisations and mailing lists.
2. Electronic diaries/calendars/Outlook: these tools enable users to keep
diaries and set automatic reminders and maintain contact lists.
Outlook is an application developed by Microsoft that comes as standard
with their Windows operating system. It is widely used in business and
comprises an email tool, an address book and a calendar.
3. Facebook/Bebo/MySpace: these are all different social networking sites.
You create a profile in which you enter details and files: photos, images,
sound files, video streaming clips, etc.

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Other users can then search and find your profile and ask to join your
friends list, and you can search and find theirs, so that networks are
created. You can update your profile as often as you like, enabling your
network to keep current on your latest activities.
Profiles can be created for individuals, interest groups, organisations,
clubs, etc. As an organisation, having a profile on social networking sites
enables you to expand you network globally to those you dont know as
those with an interest find your profile.
4. Personal digital assistants (PDAs): Blackberries/smartphones/i-Phones:
these are mobile phones with internet capacity and personal organisers.
As well as making and receiving phone calls, you can access the internet
and your email, organise your schedule, set automatic reminders in your
calendar, maintain an address book, etc.
5. Blogs/wikis/chat rooms: these are web pages on which you and others
who have similar interests or goals can collaborate and share information
and digital files.
6. Skype/web conferencing: these tools (with the addition of a webcam,
microphone and speakers), enable you to use the internet to speak to and
see others in real-time. They enable meetings to be conducted between
parties in several different locations, without the need for travel.
7. Instant messenger/MSN: these are tools that enable you to send and
receive messages instantly between computers. These are like email, but
you are instantly alerted when you receive a message, and they tend to be
used for shorter and more informal messaging.
8. Twitter: this tool enables you to create a site and write short text updates
so that others (either everyone, or, a restricted list decided by you) can
read about what youre up to.
9. YouTube: this website hosts video streaming clips. You can post clips for
others to view and search and find clips posted by others. There are a
huge number of clips on this site covering a wide range of topics.
Learning activity 2.5: Technology hunt
Identify one of the above technologies that you are least familiar with. Use the
internet to find out how it could help you to manage your work priorities and
commitments.
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Most organisations are completely reliant on technologies to conduct their

business, and while technologies can assist organisations to manage their work
priorities and commitments more efficiently, they can also create problems:
incompatible technologies
maintaining currency
internet speed/bandwidth
security issues
faulty hardware
confidentiality
faulty software
network restrictions
inappropriate communication
file sizes
staff skills
etc.
Learning activity 2.6: Technology pitfalls

Scenarios:
Shawnie has just arrived at a clients business to give an important

presentation. She has created a PowerPoint using Office 2000 to
demonstrate her companys new product, but when she tries to play it on
the clients laptop, it is not compatible with their version of Office 2007.
She is unable to give the presentation and client chooses another
supplier.
Michael has had several complaints made about him. He sent an email
to his mailing list without blind carbon copying them. Now everyones
email address has been captured by a phishing company and they are
receiving huge quantities of spam mail. He had never heard of blind
carbon copying.
Sapphire is running a training course in a customers business which

relies on the learners ability to perform Google searches. Unfortunately,
they only have dial-up internet and it is taking too long for webpages to
load, the course has to be abandoned and everyone feels frustrated.
Omar is getting angry that his customer hasnt paid their bill. He saved
their invoice as a .pdf file and attached it to an email. He has re-sent it
and the customer is still claiming he cant read the invoice. Omar doesnt
understand that his customer needs a .pdf reader on their computer to
view it.
Identify solutions that you as a manager could implement in your workplace to

avoid each situation occurring again, in the future.
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Learning activity 2.7: Personal reflection

Technology is completely integrated into almost all workplaces.
1. Can you think of an example of when a technology has helped you, or
someone you know, to better manage your work priorities and commitments?
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2. Can you think of an example of when a technology has created an issue that
has resulted in work priorities and commitments not being met?
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Maintain appropriate work-life balance

A jugglers guide to life
You may have heard this famous quote from Bryan Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola
Enterprises from 1959-1994:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name
them -- work, family, health, friends, and spirit -- and you're keeping all of these in
the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will
bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends, and spirit are made
of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked,
damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand
that and strive for balance in your life.2
In addition to the number of decisions that you make in any one day is the
number of requests and demands made upon you. A few years ago you could
leave the office for some peace of mind, confident that no-one could ring you or
find you for a while. Now there is nowhere to hide. Even if you turn your mobile
phone off, the other person simply leaves a message or sends an email, adding to
the pile of tasks that you just took a break from.
With the abundance of PDAs, mobile phones, emails and other technologies, we
often have little escape from the constant stream of intrusions. People expect us
to be available at a moments notice. For many, the technologies that were meant
to make our lives easier have only made us more stressed.
There is a famous old story about life balance called:
Rocks in the bucket
Start with a bucket, enough big rocks to fill it, some small stones, some sand and
water. The only way they can all fit in together is by prioritising:
start with the big rocks
put the small stones in around the big rocks
add the sand and give it a shake
pour the water in. Now it's full.
The message is clear. To find a balance in your life, start with the big things and
get them done well. Then you can move on to the smaller issues, making sure you
dont dismiss them as trivial. Finally, remember that there is an essential element
that surrounds all that we do. Many people see the rocks and sand as the tasks
that we need to complete and the water as the values, beliefs and attitudes with
which we approach the tasks.
Dyson, B., 2009, Life, Life rocks, viewed June 2010,

<http://amoalsale.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/life-by-bryan-dyson/>.
2

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Learning activity 2.8: Rocks in the bucket

Brainstorm the components of your work-life balance.
Big rocks:
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Small rocks:
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Sand:
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Water:
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Optimum stress levels

It is normal to be stressed. The best athletes and performers attempt to find the
zone, an optimum stress level that produces the peak performance.
Optimum
level
Diminished
performance
Performance
Stress
The problems arise when you work beyond the optimum level for extended
periods of time. You can then find your performance diminishing quite rapidly; for
some it is like going over a waterfall. As well as diminished performance you can
suffer all sorts of physical, emotional and psychological reactions.
In your car you have a temperature gauge that shows its optimum operating
temperature. If you notice your cars temperature is too high, you pull over and
find out what the problem is. To keep driving is to risk serious and possibly
permanent damage to the cars engine. Yet how often do we push our health into
the red zone and just keep on driving?
How do you know when you are operating at too high a temperature? Unlike your
car there is no gauge to let you know when you are in the red zone.
Learning activity 2.9: The balance of positive and negative stress
Watch the video BSBWOR501A: The balance of positive and negative stress on
IBSAs YouTube channel at <http://www.youtube.com/ibsachannel>.
What are the leadership trainers from O2C trying to achieve with their business?
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What skills can staff learn from visiting O2C?

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Indicators of stress
Julie Sorensen has identified 20 mental and 20 physical indicators of stress
overload.3
Learning activity 2.10: Indicators of stress
Complete the stress indicators worksheet at appendix 3 of this Student
Workbook.
How many mental indicators did you score? ../20
How many physical indicators did you score? ../20
At what temperature do you operate on any given work day? (circle)
cool
warm
medium
hot
very hot
boiling
Parkinsons Law
Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909 -- 1993) < was a British historian and author of
some sixty books. In 1955 he wrote a satirical essay on the inevitable expansion
of bureaucracy which included the law, for which he is most remembered,
Parkinsons Law. Incidentally, as early as the 1930s, Parkinson had successfully
predicted that the Royal Navy would eventually have more admirals than ships.4
Parkinsons Law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its
completion.
Time
Add more
Work
Expands
Sorenson, J., 2008, Twenty indicators of stress, Ezine articles, viewed June 2010, <
http://ezinearticles.com/?Twenty-Indicators-of-Stress&id=1238500>.
Wikipedia, 2010, C. Northcote Parkinson, Wikipedia, viewed June 2010,

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ C._Northcote_Parkinson>.
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Many workers, especially managers and self-employed business owners find that
there are not enough hours in the week. The strategy they choose to overcome
this problem is to add some more of their own. For example, if you find that you
still have a full in-tray at the end of the day, it is tempting to stay back and work
an extra hour. You may decide to work through your lunch break. Then you find
yourself taking work home.
Before you know it, you may have added fifteen or more unpaid hours to your
week. Here is the rub: Parkinsons Law dictates that the work will also expand and
you will still have a hefty in-tray at the end of the week. It can come as a shock to
find that you are working sixty hours a week and, seemingly, not achieving any
more than when you worked forty hours a week.
If you are too busy, the strategy to add more hours to your day rarely works
Learning activity 2.11: Parkinsons Law
To what extent have you been affected by Parkinsons Law in the past? What
has been the outcome of adding more hours to a busy week?
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Strategies for dealing with stress overload.
Many of us realise when something is wrong, yet are not sure what to do. It will
probably go away on its own is a common strategy thought. You feel the
symptoms, lack the energy and behaviours start breaking down. The first step to a
successful outcome is to admit when things are off track and commit to doing
something about it. It is far easier when you decide to be the one to do something.
Its a simpler process to influence the direction of a bus when you are the driver,
rather than a passenger. A bus driver can:
check the gauges for optimum engine performance
scan ahead to catch sight of hazards
avoid bumps and potholes
stop when necessary
take the bus to places that he or she chooses
enjoy the feeling of being in control.

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What can you do to reduce stress?

The basics
eat well
drink plenty of fresh water
get quality sleep (see <http://helpguide.org/life/sleep_tips.htm>)
exercise daily
moderate your intake of alcohol and caffeine
get lots of fresh air.
Sounds easy! In fact our medieval friend would wonder what all the fuss is about.
Modern life, however, has placed so many demands on us that it takes discipline
and commitment to integrate these behaviours into our daily regime. Many
companies are now realising the benefits of a healthy workforce and are
introducing these basic health concepts into their corporate culture.
Learning activity 2.12: Healthy workplaces
Use the web to search for information on companies that promote a healthy
workplace in their core values. Summarise your findings:
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Stress management tips
1. Get organised: review the urgent-important section of this Workbook.
2. Arrive ten minutes early: get yourself off to a relaxed start.
3. Have regular breaks: there is a lot of research that indicates a daily regime
of 50 minutes on and 10 minutes off is more productive than full hours
worked end to end. See
<http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpress/category/50-minutes/>
4. Break tasks down into smaller manageable steps.
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5. Tidy up a bit: having things filed and looking like they are in order can
provide motivation. The Chinese have a saying: if business is bad, paint
the front fence. If nothing else you it can make you feel better.
6. Seek out cheerful people: seriousness can become a habit. It is better to
find some fun and laughter in each day.
7. Build allies: having people you can trust and rely on to share the load can
make a difference when the heat is on.
The ability to control stress in the workplace can make a huge difference to your
productivity and quality of life. Your emotional state can be contagious, and the
way you handle stress can affect the quality of your relationships. The better you
are at handling pressure, the more you'll positively affect those around you.
Section summary
You should now understand how to develop strategies to deal the sheer number
of competing demands and decisions that you encounter on a daily basis.
Further reading
Cole, K. 2010, Management: Theory and Practice, 4th Ed, Prentice Hall,

Ed, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.

Zealand, 5th Ed, Prentice Hall, Pearson Publishing, Australia.
Section checklist
take initiative to prioritise and facilitate competing demands to achieve
personal, team and organisational goals and objectives
use technology efficiently and effectively to manage work priorities and
commitments
maintain appropriate work-life balance, and ensure stress is effectively
managed and health is attended to.

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Section 3 Develop and Maintain Professional Competence
Student Workbook
Section 3 Develop and Maintain

Professional Competence
As a manager working in modern day dynamic workplaces, you should be
constantly looking for ways to develop professionally so that you keep yourself
organised, focussed and skilled. As such, it is important that you are able to
identify, evaluate and select appropriate professional development opportunities.
Maintaining a personal development plan will help you to ensure that you are
addressing your personal work goals while ensuring they are consistent with your
organisations needs, and the skills and knowledge needed to perform in your
role.
Knowledge of development opportunities and how to assess yourself against
competency standards will enable you to select appropriate professional
development.
Scenario: Shunjis personal development
Shunji works for a mining company and has just been asked to lead a team of
community liaison officers who are going to be negotiating with several
Indigenous communities.
Shunji refers to his position description, the organisations operational plans
and the relevant legislation in order to find out more about the work he is going
to be undertaking. He reads about his teams two current identified priorities:
securing local workers, so that his company meets their 20% quota for
Indigenous staff, which is mandatory requirement under Indigenous
employment policy
engaging cultural heritage officers who can operate within the

parameters of the cultural heritage act and the national guidelines for
writing cultural heritage plans, to identify areas of special significance
that might be disturbed by the companys activities.
As Shunji is new and inexperienced in his role, he decides to add to his personal
development plan, so that he can identify and prioritise his new professional
development needs.
Shunji consults with colleagues and his new team to help him prioritise his
needs. He decides his immediate priorities are to increase his cultural
awareness in order to communicate effectively and build working relationships
and networks with Indigenous community members, and to build his personal
knowledge of the policies and legislation that will guide his work.
Shunji finds an accredited cultural awareness course, run by a local training
organisation and accesses the unit of competency on which it is based. He
decides it is appropriate for his needs. He reads the policies and legislation
himself and introduces an action learning program, so that he can meet with his
team regularly to reflect on their work.
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assess personal knowledge and skills against competency standards to
determine developments needs, priorities and plans
seek feedback from employers, clients and colleagues and use this
information to identify and develop ways to improve competence
identify, evaluate, select and use development opportunities suitable to
personal learning style/s to develop competence
participate in networks to enhance personal knowledge, skills and work
relationships
identify and develop new skills to achieve and maintain a competitive
edge.
Determining development needs

All professionals should develop and maintain personal development plans
(PDPs) to help them manage and plan their short-, medium- and long-term
employment.
The first step in personal development planning is to assess your personal
knowledge and skills and determine your professional development needs and
priorities.
Competency standards are nationally used benchmarks for identifying the level of
skills and knowledge that you need to perform in a role. You should use
competency standards to ensure that the professional development you plan to
undertake is suited to your ability levels and the requirements of the role.
Personal development planning
A PDP should be a living document that you take personal responsibility for
maintaining over the course of your working life.
In many organisations and institutions, having a PDP is a mandatory requirement
for employees and members. Maintaining a PDP ensures that evidence of
professional development is kept and can be used to demonstrate adherence to
the principles of continuous improvement.
Templates to help you develop and maintain a PDP can be found in a variety of
places: your organisation, the internet, etc. A sample template is included in
Appendix 4 of this workbook.

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Learning activity 3.1: PDP templates

Source a range of PDP templates by referring to appendix 4, your organisations
documents and the internet. Review and compare these; is there one that
would be most suitable for you?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Personal development planning should be actively undertaken, so that you
engage in the process. Day dreaming leads nowhere, so the first thing to do when
creating a PDP is to organise a folder which you can write and include documents
into.
Your folder will help you maintain a record through your career of your
professional development: training, workshops, conferences, projects undertaken,
experience, personal reflections, etc.
Short-term planning
Short-term planning is undertaken by determining your current skills and
knowledge and the requirements of your role. This is done by accessing your
position description, personal documents (previous performance appraisals, etc)
and by collecting feedback from employees, colleagues and clients. This allows
you to reflect on your ability in the various aspects of your role and identify your
strengths and weaknesses.
You should also access other organisational documents and legislation that is
relevant for your position. This will enable you to identify the mandatory training
and registration requirements of your role, for example: workplace health and
safety, first aide, blue card, etc. If you need to undertake mandatory training, it
should be your first priority.
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Medium-/long-term planning
Medium-/long-term planning is undertaken by measuring your current skills and
knowledge against the skills and knowledge required to work in positions that you
aspire to work in. This is done by accessing organisational documents and
position descriptions of organisations and positions you aspire to work in, for
instance: mission statements, corporate strategies, position descriptions. This will
enable you plan to fill in the gaps and build the required skills and knowledge.
If you have difficulty identifying positions that you aspire to work in, you can seek
professional advice from a careers councillor. It is a huge advantage to have goals
to work towards; they help keep you focused and expand your horizons.
Learning activity 3.2: Long-term career goals
Lots of people have general long-term wish lists: Id like to earn lots of money, I
want to retire by the time Im 50, I want to be able to work until Im 80, I want to
make a difference to my community, etc; but no clear plan to achieve them.
If you dont currently have long-term career goals, you can begin to identify them
by making a wish list and then seeking support to identify realistic ways you can
achieve them.
Do you currently have long-term career goals?
if so, are they realistic? Have you planned to develop your skills and
knowledge so you can achieve them?
if not, what is on you wish list? Where can you access support to help you
identify realistic goals?
Competency based training

Nationally accredited training in Australia is founded on competency standards.
Industry skills councils are bodies that develop competency standards for their
particular industry. They collaborate with leaders in their industry to identify skills
and knowledge that workers in various positions need to be competent in their
roles. These are then put into training packages.
Training packages are documents that outline the range of training options that
are available for an industry sector. For example, the course you are undertaking
aligns to competency standards in the business services training package. There
are a wide range of other training packages too, covering industry sectors such as:
automotive manufacturing, music, the Australian meat industry, etc.
In training packages the competency standards are presented as units of
competency. Each unit describes the competency standards (skills and
knowledge) that a person must have in order to complete a particular work
function. For example, the course you currently are undertaking is based on the
unit of competency: BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and
professional development.
Qualifications are made up from combinations of units of competency. For
example, if you are undertaking a Diploma of Management, you need to
complete five core units and three elective units. The course you are currently
undertaking is based on a unit that is one of the core units in the Diploma of
Management. It is also a part of other similar qualifications too.
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Accredited courses are qualifications that are nationally accredited, but that
dont fit directly within any of the training packages. They can be made up from
units of competency from training packages and new units of competency that are
accredited specially.
Determining your competency standards
The Australian qualifications framework (AQF) is the framework that defines the
levels of nationally recognised education and training in Australia: from certificate
I up to doctorate/PhD. Units of competency are written to align with levels in the
AQF. For example, the unit on which this course is based is written at the
diploma level.
Levels in the AQF are split across three sectors: school based, vocational
education and training and higher education. For example, the diploma for which
this course intended is in the vocational education and training sector.
Each level in the AQF provides a guide about the complexity of skill or knowledge
that a competent learner at that level should be able to demonstrate. You should
be familiar with the AQF as you choose training, to ensure it is at suitable level for
your ability and for the role that you are working in, or, are aiming to work in.
Learning activity 3.3: AQF investigation
Access the AQF handbook from:
<http://www.aqf.edu.au/Portals/0/Documents/Handbook/AQF_Handbook_112.pdf>.
Read about the characteristics and distinguishing features of learning
outcomes at different qualification levels, to gain an understanding of the
expectations of learners at each.
The national training information system (NTIS) maintains an online database of
all nationally accredited training in Australia. You can access training packages
and individual units of competency through their site: <http://www.ntis.gov.au>.
You can also access training packages and units of competency directly from the
industry skills councils.
Learning activity 3.4: NTIS search
Access the NTIS website at: <http://www.ntis.gov.au> and search for the unit of
competency which this course is based: BSBWOR501A Manage personal work
priorities and professional development.
1. Read the performance criteria for this unit. These are the individual
skills and knowledge that you will have to demonstrate in order to be
marked competent in this course.
2. Use NTIS to browse a training package that interests you and is relevant
to your current position. Identify a unit of competency that you think is
the appropriate level for you and justify you decision.
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Determining development needs and priorities

The following points summarise the steps you need to take to complete your PDP:
get a folder to develop and maintain your PDP in
refer to your position description and other organisational documents and

legislation to identify the skills and knowledge and mandatory training
needed to perform in your current role
gather feedback from employees, colleagues and clients on your personal

work performance and review previous performance appraisals and
training undertaken to identify own strengths and weaknesses
review organisational documents and position descriptions of jobs you

aspire to work in
review training packages and units of competency, using your knowledge

of the AQF, to identify appropriate training that matches your ability and
the needs of your current role and future aspirations.
The scenario below illustrates how Karen ties it all together.

Scenario: Karens PDP
Karen runs a PCYC and manages a team of four permanent and twelve
temporary staff. She has always kept a PDP and it has helped her plan her
personal development, from a traineeship at the PCYC several years ago, to now
being manager.
Karen has decided to update her PDP. This will allow her to identify her
immediate short-term goals, and refocus on her long-term goal of becoming a
trainer for new childcare workers.
Karen begins by reviewing her organisations policies and procedures. She
realises her blue card for working with children has expired, so she makes her
first priority applying for a new one. Having a current card is a mandatory
requirement for her role.
Karen then reviews her position description. It reminds her that she is
responsible for advertising for, interviewing and appointing new staff. This is
something she identifies as a current weakness. She calls a local training
provider and asks their advice. They inform her they can arrange for her to
undertake a short course, based on the unit of competency: BSBHRM402A
recruit, select and induct staff. Karen uses NTIS to check the unit and thinks it
looks perfect, so she adds it to her PDP as a development activity.
In order to address her longer term goals, Karen seeks career advice from a
professional. He advises her that in order to move into training, she will have to
undertake a certificate IV in training and assessment. Karen uses NTIS to check
the unit and adds it to her PDP as a development activity that she will look to
undertake in the future.

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Making the most of feedback

Feedback from employees, clients and colleagues should be sought to help you to
plan appropriate professional development to improve competence. It is a
valuable source of information about your personal, team and organisational
strengths and weaknesses.
Not all feedback that you receive will be accurate. On some occasions you may be
given feedback that you disagree with and decide to disregard. On others you will
feel feedback is valid and should be responded to. It is important to review all
feedback received, and use your personal judgement to decide its worth.
Some of the most useful feedback you will receive, and some of the hardest for
you to accept, will be negative feedback. If you receive negative feedback, even in
the form of a complaint or criticism, you should try to view it in a positive manner:
as a chance to improve. Try and keep an open mind, do not become defensive or
disregard it until you have had time to review it objectively.
There are a range of means you can employ to gather feedback on your
performance.
1. Meetings are part of most organisations standard operating procedure.
They provide a forum in which the needs of your team and organisation,
and the strengths and weaknesses of your own performance, can be
reflected on and identified.
2. Compliments and complaints: it is useful to review any compliments
and/or complaints you receive. These can help identify areas in which you
need to improve, particularly if you have received more than one complaint
about the same issue.
3. Reviewing work using an action based learning program is a great way to
implement continuous improvement in your work and that of your team.
After every project or major activity you undertake, a session should be
conducted in which you review your decision making, draw up conclusions
and make amendments to your plan for the next time. If this process is
continually undertaken, it allows you to review and improve you work
constantly.
4. Surveys can be particularly useful for gathering feedback from employees
on issues and for obtaining relevant feedback from clients/customers.
5. Performance appraisals are part of most organisations standard operating
procedure. They provide an opportunity to collaborate with senior
management, reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and plan
professional development to reach your short- and long-term career goals.
Unfortunately, the procedure is badly conducted in many organisations.
Some of the most common poor practices include:
a. Staff see no action taken as a result of their appraisals and grow to
feel it is a worthless exercise.
b. Staff feel like they are being criticised unfairly and judged because
their weaknesses are identified, but not addressed.
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Learning activity 3.5: Your workplace

What experiences have you had of the performance appraisal procedure in the
past?
1. In your experience has it been a positive or negative experience?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What changes could you implement to the way it is conducted in your
current workplace?
___________________________________________________________________
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Peer review and 360 feedback
A popular trend in performance appraisals is to undertake peer reviews. This
involves gathering feedback on the personal performance of individuals within a
team from other team members, against a number of key criteria.
A 360 feedback review goes even further. In this process, a wide range of
relevant parties are asked to contribute to an individuals performance appraisal:
the individual
suppliers
team members
customers
clients
other colleagues
These parties are asked for anonymous contributions against a range of criteria,
on which the individual who is the centre of the review can reflect.
As with all performance appraisals, the 360O feedback review process needs
careful management so that the individual being appraised doesnt feel as though
it is just an opportunity for others to criticise them. The process should be framed
in terms of providing the individual with the chance to see how their performance
is perceived by others and areas for improvement.
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In the scenario below you can see how Jasminas human resources manager
implements a 360 feedback review procedure.
Scenario: Jasminas 360O feedback review
Jasmina is a project manager at a busy multimedia company. Her team have
several large and complex projects that they are working on with local, national
and international clients.
Jasminas performance appraisal is coming up and her human resources
manager, Bob, conducts a 360O feedback review of Jasminas performance.
Bob asks the following parties to complete a survey about Jasminas
performance: the organisations chief executive officer, three of Jasminas team,
a member of the organisations sales staff, a member of their administration
staff, two contacts with clients she is coordinating projects for and an
instructional designer and editor who work for the company as subcontractors.
Bob customises the organisations existing survey, so that it is appropriate for
someone at Jasminas frontline management level. Questions on the survey are
designed to determine Jasminas performance in demonstrating interpersonal
skills, customer focus, innovation, leadership, team support, developing
relationships/networks, meeting deadlines, and quality assurance.
Bob briefs Jasmina on the process, being careful to stress that it is a common
procedure within the organisation and that it is not going to result in her being
fired or demoted. He assures her that its purpose is just so that she can gain
insight into her strengths and weaknesses.
After a week, Bob arranges a meeting with Jasmina. Together, they review the
feedback he has collected, identify three areas for Jasmina to target and
discuss ways they can be improved.
Learning activity 3.6: 360 feedback review

Research the 360O feedback review process.
1. Write a summary, identifying the strengths of Bobs 360O feedback
review process.
2. Write a summary about the ways in which Bob needs to improve the
360O feedback review process, to ensure it is properly implemented and
that all parties engage with, and benefit from it.
Learning your way

Different professional development opportunities are suited to different people.
For example:
some people like working in groups, while others prefer independent study
some people learn best when they are working from books while others
prefer engaging in discussions.
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You should reflect on the learning styles that suit you when you are planning
professional development.
Learning activity 3.7: Your learning experiences
Can you think of a time when you have had a learning experience that was very
profound?
1. What were the main activities undertaken during the learning experience:
reading, writing, group discussion, investigation, watching, participating?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Were you learning individually or as part of a group?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What was the environment like in which the learning experience occurred:
classroom, workplace, other?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. To what extent do you think that the factors above made the experience
profound?
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
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Several academics have identified and created models that differentiate ways in
which individuals learn. These include the following influential theories:
Kolbs model
Honey and Mumfords model
Anthony Gregorc's model
Fleming's VARK model.

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It is valuable to consider your personal learning style within the context of these
frameworks, before planning professional development. This will help you to
identify, evaluate and select professional development opportunities that are
suited to your personal learning style.
Learning activity 3.8: Personal learning styles
You are going to investigate one of the models above and prepare a
presentation for the rest of the group.
Divide the models above (and any others that people know about and think are
relevant) amongst your group.
1. Research your model, starting here at the Wikipedia page learning
styles.
2. Prepare a short (five to ten minute) summary of the model to present to
the rest of the group.
3. Prepare a one page flier about your model to circulate to other group
members.
4. After reviewing the presentations, consider: what are my personal
learning styles?
Most people have access to a wide range of different professional development
opportunities, which may include:
accredited training
action learning
informal training
workshops
mentoring
reading
coaching
research
conferences
experiences.
online
Learning activity 3.9: Professional development opportunities

What experience have you had of the above professional development
opportunities?
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Which have been positive and which have been negative?

___________________________________________________________________
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Do your positive experiences match those that you would expect to suit
someone with your identified learning style?
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Networking
As a frontline manager, building and maintaining networks and relationships is
crucial to the success of your role.
Networks are the range of contacts that you have, in which both parties refer to
each other for support. As a manager, a wide ranging network will enable you to
increase the benefits that you bring to your team and organisation.
The phrase: its not what you know, its who you know is popular and is especially
pertinent when it comes to work. If you are able to refer to experts for help in your
work, it will save you time and energy and result in a high quality outcome.
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Informal networks
Informal networks are those that you build through conversations, social events,
meetings and group activities. These can be a great source of current information.
People talk about what is new; there is nothing staler than yesterdays news.
Maintaining an informal network is a valuable tool in your personal development.
They are an excellent source of ideas, encouragement and support.
Formal networks
Formal networks are those relationships that are more structured and
documented. As a manager, you may be a member of a range of bodies, including
industry associations, skills councils and chambers of commerce. You may attend
formal meetings and conferences and discuss current and future strategic
directions of the organisation and the industry. Some of the benefits of formal
networks include developing strategic alliances, access to resources, contacts,
technical assistance, business and funding opportunities.
e-Networks
Maintaining networks through internet technology is known as e-networking. If
you had used terms like Facebook and Twitter two years ago, many people
would have given you funny looks, but these networking tools are now fully
integrated into peoples personal and work lives.
We are in the middle of a global technology revolution? This technology is being
used by more and more people daily to develop and maintain networks; locally,
nationally and globally. If your communication network does not include the use of
at least some of the latest technology, you risk being left behind. Life in 2015 will
be revolutionised by the growing effect of multidisciplinary technology across all
dimensions of life: social, economic, political, and personal.5
Generation Y live and breathe the latest advances in technology. The older ones
of us are watching from an ever-increasing distance, often scratching our heads
and saying what are they doing? Gen Y is using technological language and tools
that most of us have never heard before, let alone understand.
It is not just the young people who are skipping ahead. China is experiencing a
revolution in information and communications technology (ICT). It has surpassed
the USA as the worlds largest telephone user, and the number of Chinese
internet users is now the largest in the world. China is also the worlds biggest
supplier of ICT products6.
To maintain a sense of currency and to keep yourself in the game, it is vital that
your take every opportunity to develop your technological skills. As a manager, you
will gain an edge if you are able stay current with the latest ICT tools on offer and
use them to form strategic networks.
5
Rand, 2008, The global technology revolution, Rand, viewed June 2010,
<http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1307/MR1307.sum.html#top>.
Zhang, X. and Zheng, Y., 2009, Chinas information and communications technology revolution,
Rountledge, Oxford.
6
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Learning activity 3.10: Your networks

Give yourself a score out of ten for how well you use the following networks.
Give reasons for your score:
Informal networks ../10. Reason:
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Formal networks ../10. Reason:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
e-Networks ../10. Reason:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Personal development plan
Most managers have an understanding of using networks to enhance business
opportunities; an enormous amount of business takes place at the sporting club.
However, networks can also be used to contribute towards your personal
development plan (PDP).
Career-minded people
Seek out people you know in the fields of education and career development.
National training packages and units of competency are constantly being
upgraded and new ones introduced. Having a close contact in this field may well
give you the edge when choosing your next career move. Find out what is moving
and shaking in the training world.
From a formal perspective there are numerous sources of career information. You
can visit local training organisations to discuss a possible training plan. The
internet opens up training opportunities on a global scale. It pays to know what
you are after or you may get lost in cyberspace. It is important to link your

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searches to the training needs identified in your PDP. Make sure the horse is in
front of the cart.
All training organisations have a webpage with search facilities. You can also
expand your options by joining online forums in the fields of education and
training. Many industry groups also provide online forums, for example:
Australian women in agriculture

<http://www.awia.org.au/plugins/html/online.htm>
offshore oil and gas: <http://www.hsronline.com.au/>
youth performing arts: <http://www.lowdown.net.au/About>
There are many career development sites online. Many of these have free
aptitude tests. Some examples are:
Australian government: career advice Australia

<http://www.careeradviceaustralia.gov.au/>.
Australian government: career information

<http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/employment-and-workplace/careerinformation>.
Victorian government: career advice and development

<http://www.vic.gov.au/employment-workplace/careerdevelopment/career-advice-development.html>.
Industry skills councils

There are eleven industry skills councils (ISCs) in Australia. For a full list of, and
links to ISCs, go to <http://www.isc.org.au>. The role of the ISCs is to identify and
respond to the skilling needs of their industries. The industry skills council is your
representative, advocating on your behalf. It is the network for your industry. The
website of your ISC is a great place to start to become involved in the latest
developments in your field of business. An example is shown below:
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Learning activity 3.11: Industry skills councils

Go to the website <http://www.isc.org.au> and find the link to your ISC. Spend
some time getting to know the information and services your ISC provides.
Summarise what you find:
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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The competitive edge

So far you have looked identifying the skills need for your current and near-future
role. Have you thought about what jobs will be like, and what you will be doing ten
years from now and beyond?
The future of jobs
Irvine and Thatcher have analysed the predictions and trends affecting the work,
worker and workplace of the future and ask the question Are you ready? Their
findings make for some sobering thoughts about the future and your role in it:7
Work
The nature of work will remain but the tools required to do the job will be very
different. Technology is likely to be the biggest change that you will need to
accommodate.
we will move from a knowledge economy to a design economy
knowledge will be more shared and less contained
upcoming technologies that will affect our work:

o virtual and interactive
o nanotechnology
o new materials
o automated processes.
global competition will continue to come from areas never considered

before
speed will be critical to be faster and better than competitors.
The worker
Irvine and Thatcher predict the emergence of a new generation the i Generation.
Expect:
the workforce to become more fluid
the arrival of the multi-worker (multi-cultural, multi-linguistic, multi-skilled,

multi-faith)
higher worker turnover, workers will have more options for alternate
employment
workers will choose location as a priority driver
workers choices will focus on clean, safe and green workplaces
workers will value the opportunity of the brain exchange.
Irvine, T. and Thatcher, M., 2010, Work, worker, workplace of the future Are you ready?,
docstoc, viewed June 2010, <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11452400/%D0%B0%D0%B0wwwfuture2020-Work-Worker-Workplace-of-the-Future---Are-You> .
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Student Workbook
The workplace
The work environment of the future will change to meet the needs of the emerging
generation of new worker. Existing workers will need strong leaders to guide them
through this change process. The workplace of the future will include:
movement out of urban centres
work from anywhere
new energy types and new sources for existing types
new materials
green principles: air, land, water and power are all going to be your newest
clients
sustainability as commonplace
carbon credit schemes.
Learning activity 3.12: The future of jobs

Conduct some online research on the future direction of your industry. How do
you see your own industrys work, worker and workplace developing over the
next ten years:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Page 59 of 72
Student Workbook
Learning activity 3.13: Gap analysis

Brainstorm some thoughts on the following questions relating to your level of skill:
1. Where am I now?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Where do I want to be?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. How will I get there?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Using the worksheet at appendix 5 of this Student Workbook, conduct a gap
analysis of the skills you will require over the next ten years and include these in
your PDP.
Reflection
Finally, take some time to reflect on your personal goals that you have developed
for the next ten years. Imagine what your world will; look, sound, feel, smell and
taste like. In fact, a picture tells a thousand words, so they say. Use the final
activity to draw a picture of your world dont hold back!
Learning activity 3.14: My world in ten years
Grab some chart paper, some coloured crayons and draw a picture of your world
in ten years time. Get family, friends and especially children to help you. Include
as many aspects of your life as you can think of. Have fun.
Page 60 of 72

Student Workbook
Section summary
You should now understand how to competency standards, feedback and
networks to create a personal development plan.
Further reading
Mind tools: personal SWAT analysis

<http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05_1.htm>
Goal setting
<http://www.usu.edu/arc/idea_sheets/pdf/goal_setting.pdf>.
Section checklist
assess personal knowledge and skills against competency standards to
determine developments needs, priorities and plans
seek feedback from employers, clients and colleagues and use this
information to identify and develop ways to improve competence
identify, evaluate, select and use development opportunities suitable to
personal learning style/s to develop competence
participate in networks to enhance personal knowledge, skills and work
relationships
identify and develop new skills to achieve and maintain a competitive
edge.

Page 61 of 72
Glossary
Student Workbook
Glossary
Term
Definition
Accredited
Certified.
Bandwidth
Your internet capacity or speed.
Blind carbon
copying
Or bcc. This when you send an email to multiple

recipients so that their email addresses are hidden and
cant be viewed by other recipients.
Coaching
The process whereby a worker is monitored and supported

in all aspects of their role.
Dynamic
Able to adapt to change. Forward thinking and powerful.
Legislation
Documents that detail a particular law: the workplace

health and safety act (1995), for example.
Mentoring
The process whereby a worker is monitored and supported

in a few key areas of their role.
Mind-boggling
Intellectually or emotionally overwhelming, hard to

comprehend, confusing, surprising, or shocking.
Performance
appraisal/ review
A standard procedure in most businesses where workers

meet with their supervisors to identify strengths and
weaknesses and means to develop.
Personal SWOT
analysis
SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Phishing
The fraudulent capturing of anothers personal details via

the internet.
Position
descriptions
Documents created by organisations that describe the

parameters of their workers tasks and duties in their roles.
Spam mail
Unsolicited emails, usually advertising.
Page 62 of 72

Student Workbook
Appendices
Appendices
Appendix 1 Personal SWOT analysis worksheet
Strengths
What advantages do you have)?
What do you do really well?
What personal resources can

you access?
What do others see as your

strengths?
Weaknesses
What tasks do you usually

avoid?
What do others see as your

weaknesses?
What are your negative work

habits?
Do you have unhelpful

personality traits?
Opportunities
Threats
What new technology can help

you?
What obstacles do you currently

face?
Do you have a network of

contacts?
Is anyone competing with you?
Is your job changing?
Does changing technology

threaten you
What trends do you see

emerging?
Is there a need that no one is

filling?

Page 63 of 72
Appendices
Student Workbook
Appendix 2 Time log

An example of a time log is set out below. For each half hour, write down what
activity you performed, then place a tick in columns 3 and 4 if the task was urgent
and/or important:
Time
Activity
Urgent
Important
7.30
8.00
8.30
9.00
9.30
10.00
10.30
11.00
11.30
12.00
12.30
1.00
1.30
2.00
2.30
3.00
3.30
4.00
4.30
5.00
5.30
6.00
Page 64 of 72

Student Workbook
Appendices
Appendix 3 Indicators of stress

Place a tick next to each indicator that you observe in yourself on a regular basis.
Mental Indicators
Tick Physical Indicators
Tick
Problems with memory
Headache
Inability to concentrate
Muscle tension
Poor judgment
Nausea
Racing thoughts
Insomnia
Moodiness
Acne breakout
Agitation
Diarrhoea or constipation
Irritability
Loss of sex drive
Sense of isolation/loneliness
Frequently being sick
Constant worrying
Dizziness
Viewing everything as negative
Weight gain or loss
Restlessness
Change in appetite
Quick temper
Procrastination and neglect
Sense of being overwhelmed
Alcohol, tobacco, or drug use
General unhappiness
Nail biting or pacing
Loss of objectivity
Excessive spending
Always being fearful
Tooth grinding
Anxiousness
Excessive exercise
Indecisiveness
Overreactions
Inability to relax
Sleeping too much or too little
Feeling on edge
Starting fights
Total
Total

Page 65 of 72
Appendices
Student Workbook
Appendix 4 Personal development plan

Name
Date of development
Date to be reviewed
Discussed with mentor/colleague
Discussed with manager
Name:
Name:
Goals
Timeframe
My personal goals are: learning objective/s and

action/s required
My professional goals are:
These should relate to objectives in the individual

performance plan.
These should relate to objectives to maintain

current competence in the job role or future career
paths.
Next 12 months
This will depend on
type of activity
priority/importance
of undertaking it
Page 66 of 72

Student Workbook
Timeframe
Appendices
My personal goals are: learning objective/s and

action/s required
These should relate to objectives in the individual
performance plan.
My professional goals are:

These should relate to objectives to maintain
current competence in the job role or future career
paths.
Next 5 years
This will depend on
type of activity
priority/importance
of undertaking it

Page 67 of 72
Appendices
Student Workbook
Strengths and Weaknesses

Personal
Professional
Required
knowledge/skills
Consider:
required
competencies
job description
service plans and
frameworks
Strengths
Consider:
your views
recent
tests/appraisals
other peoples
views
Page 68 of 72

Student Workbook
Appendices
Personal
Professional
Gaps/barriers/obst
acles and solutions
gaps in
knowledge/skills
changes to
systems/services
requiring new
skills
what will help
you to progress
in your role?

Page 69 of 72
Appendices
Student Workbook
Professional Development Activities

Identified gap
Development activity
Details
(provider, location, etc.)
Objective of
development
activity
Timeframe
Cost
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Page 70 of 72

Student Workbook
Appendices
Appendix 5 Ten-year gap analysis

Required skills
Strategies for skill acquisition

Page 71 of 72
Appendices
Student Workbook
Appendix 6 Answers to select learning activities

Learning activity 2.9: The balance of positive and negative stress
Watch the video BSBWOR501A: The balance of positive and negative stress on
IBSAs YouTube channel at <http://www.youtube.com/ibsachannel>.
What are the leadership trainers from O2C trying to achieve with their business?
They are trying to minimise stress in the workplace and help work teams and
company staff to build resilience for managing stress, and let teams experience
positive stress with team building.
What skills can staff learn from visiting O2C?
Positive and negative stress, managing personal stress, building resilience to
personal stress, cognitive, emotional and physical skills, trust and skills to
handle changes in a fast growing business
Page 72 of 72


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2nd Edition

Manage personal work priorities

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work

Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB07 Business Services Training Package

Published by: Innovation and Business

First published: February 2010

Features of the training program

Student Workbook (SW) Self-paced learning activities to help you to

Facilitator-led sessions (FLS) Challenging and interesting learning

Assessment Tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your

Structure of the training program

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Robbins, S, Bergman R, Stagg I, and Coulter M. 2008, Management, 5th

Robbins, S, Millett, B, Cacioppe, R, and Waters-Marsh T. 2008,

General websites of interest

Businessballs free resources including career help, business training and

About: management basic information about management

Free management library provides free, comprehensive resources about

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Section 1 Establish Personal Work

What skills will you need?

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Work role models:

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Learning activity 1.2: Workplace mentoring and coaching

enjoys helping others

is genuinely interested in people and believes in their potential

can develop trust and confidence

boosts confidence -- encourages workers to take responsibility for their

maintains high expectations

can identify and adapt coaching to preferred learning styles

matches workers needs to performance targets

follows workplace health and safety policies and procedures

can clarify the organisations policies and procedures.

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Setting personal work goals

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Goal identifiers are:

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Learning activity 1.3: Satisfaction circle

Learning activity 1.4: Goal statements

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

Away from work:

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

any object that helped from a pencil

all sources of funding.

all the people who helped in some way.

Learning activity 1.5: Resources

BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development

Section 1 Establish Personal Work Goals

c. What were the important resources in your success?

Learning activity 1.6: Resources for work goals