Skills Developmentfor Business and Management Students

Kevin GallagherB

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Detailed contents

Setting the Scene: Personal, Academic, and Workplace Skills xxWorkplace application of skills xxAcademic skills xxiiPersonal skills xxiiReconciling workplace, academic, and personal skillsa tripartite framework xxiiThe importance of feeling xxiiiThe importance of context xxiiiSkills development frameworks at degree level xxivOnline resource centre xxv

Acknowledgements xxvi

1 Developing Skills for Business andManagement Students 1Chapter Guide 11.1 Introducing the concept of skills 2

1.1.1 Definition 21.1.2 The partnership between skills and knowledge 31.1.3 Competence and levels of skill 5

1.2 The learning process occurs when you ... 51.3 Skills for business and management students 61.4 Transferability of skills . 71.5 Skills development and multiple intelligence 71.6 Skills development and emotional intelligence 10

1.6.1 The concept of emotional intelligence 101.6.2 Managing your emotions 13

1.7 Learning to learn 14Chapter summary 15End of chapter exercises 15Further reading 17

2 Foundations for Personal Development 19Chapter Guide 192.1 Introducing personal development plans 202.2 The importance of reflection 212.3 Experiential learning 212.4 Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles 26

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2.5 Reflectingusing learning journals 272.5.1 Why keep a learning journal? 272.5.2 Thoughts on the learning journal format 28

2.6 Albert Bandura: Confidence and self-efficacy 292.7 Cognitive apprenticeships 31

2.7.1 Learning from others 312.7.2 Levels of learning 31

2.8 Mentors 332.8.1 Need for guidance 332.8.2 Conscious and unconscious competence 34

Chapter summary 35End of chapter exercises 36Further reading 37

3 Personal Development in Action 38Chapter Guide 383.1 Time management 39

3.1.1 Do you need to improve your time management? 393.1.2 Plan the semester/termdiaries and schedules 413.1.3 Plan the day 413.1.4 Don't wait for the mood! 42

3.2 Personal development planning 433.2.1 Initial assessment of self 433.2.2 Next stagethe plan 443.2.3 Goal setting / 453.2.4 Format of the plan 49

3.3 Important subheadings for the plan 51Chapter summary 53End of chapter exercises 54Further reading 54

4 Communication Skills 55Chapter Guide 554.1 A basic model of communication 564.2 Verbal versus non-verbal communication 584.3 Communication and its use in persuasion 61

4.3.1 Communication purposes 614.3.2 Using logic to persuade 614.3.3 Using emotions to persuade 624.3.4 Using an ethical approach to persuade 63

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4.4 Barriers to communication4.4.1 Physical barriers4.4.2 Language and semantic barriers4.4.3 Message ambiguity4.4.4 Barriers: Feelings and emotions4.4.5 Barriers: The impact of culture4.4.6 IT barriers4.4.7 Other barriers to communication

Chapter summaryEnd of chapter exercisesFurther reading

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5 Reading SkillsChapter Guide5.1 Why read?5.2 Read more5.3 Read smart5.4 Surveying

5.4.1 The art of surveying5.4.2 Reading lists and textbooks5.4.3 Abstracts5.4.4 Order of reading

5.5 Questioning5.6 Reading

5.6.1 Reading techniques5.6.2 Skimming5.6.3 Reading more than once

5.7 Recalling5.7.1 Benefits of note-taking5.7.2 Requirements of your note-taking system

5.8 Reviewing5.9 Creating ideal conditionsChapter summaryEnd of chapter exercisesFurther reading

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6 Writing Essentials: Preparation,Layout and StructureChapter Guide6.1 Writing skills

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6.1.1 Preparation for writing 966.1.2 General layout: Guidelines 1006.1.3 Organizing your writing 1036.1.4 Specific structural guidelines for various types of writing 1076.1.5 Essays 1086.1.6 Short reports 1096.1.7 Long reports 112

6.2 Email skills 113Chapter summary 116End of chapter exercises 116Further reading 118

7 Presentation Skills 120Chapter Guide 1207.1 Anyone can read the news ... can't they? 1217.2 Presentation design 122

7.2.1 Words versus images 1237.2.2 Be clear about your presentation's purpose 1247.2.3 Capture your audience's interest 1247.2.4 Think about beginnings and endings 1267.2.5 ; Create maximum impact with your slides 1287.2.6 To use or not: Dress, props, handouts, and humour 1327.2.7 Get useful feedback 1347.2.8 Equipment and room layout 134

7.3 Delivering your presentation 1357.3.1 Practice ' 1367.3.2 Voice tips 1367.3.3 Body language 136

7.4 Building confidence in presentations 1377.4.1 Anxiety in presentationsunhelpful behaviour 1377.4.2 Anxiety in presentationshelpful behaviour 139

Chapter summary 144End of chapter exercises 144Further reading/work 145

8 Quantitative Data Presentation 146Chapter Guide 1468.1 Key stages in presenting data 1508.2 Collecting the data 153

8.2.1 Sources 153

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8.2.2 Types of data 1538.2.3 Averages 156

8.3 The basic tools for presenting data 1608.4 Examples of data presentationthe good, the bad, and the ugly 163Chapter summary 172End of chapter exercises 173Further reading 174

9 Sharpening your Search, Reference,and Assignment Skills 175Chapter Guide 1759.1 Search smart 177

9.1.1 Before you do anything, makesure you fully understand your assignment brief 177

9.1.2 Initial, readily available information 1779.1.3 Library sources of information 1799.1.4 Electronic databases as sources of information 181

9.2 Search techniques 1839.3 Further pointers to the credibility of source information 1869.4 Referencing your information sources 188

9.4.1 Introduction 1889.4.2 In-text citations 1889.4.3 Reference list 1889.4.4 Following the same principles 1899.4.5 Examples.of referencing 1899.4.6 When do I need to reference page numbers in my in-text citations? 1909.4.7 Articles accessed from Internet sites, journals published online,

and books available online 1919.5 Plagiarism 192

9.5.1 What is plagiarism? 1929.5.2 Tips to help you avoid plagiarism 193

9.6 Assignment improvement and support 1949.6.1 Feedback from tutors 1949.6.2 The critical writing approach 196

Chapter summary 198End of chapter exercises 198Further reading 199

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10 Teamwork Skills 200Chapter Guide 20010.1 What is a team? Why work in teams at university? 20210.2 Team skills development 20310.3 Group assignments: Developing subject knowledge and skills 20510.4 Developing social skills in teams 212

10.4.1 Tackling problem areas 21210.4.2 Learning as a "Community of Practice' 215

10.5 Developing self-concept through teams 21510.6 Developing coping skills through teams 21810.7 Conflict resolution 220

10.7.1 Why consider conflict? 22010.7.2 What do we mean by 'conflict' in teams? 22010.7.3 Is conflict always destructive? 22110.7.4 Conflict resolution styles: Win-win, compromise, and win-lose 22110.7.5 Other strategiesagreeing to disagree, giving ground, arbitration 22210.7.6 Individual conflict competences to develop in teams 22210.7.7 Team behaviours to adopt 223

10.8 Cultural issues 22410.8.1 Working with others 22410.8.2 The teacher is always right? 22510.8.3 Attitude towards time 22610.8.4 G>oup versus individual 22610.8.5 Level of risk taking 227

Chapter summary 227End of chapter exercises 227Further reading 228

11 Creativity and Innovation Skills 229Chapter Guide 22911.1 Student, university and employer viewpoints on creativity 231

11.1.1 How can developing creativity skills benefit you as a student? 23111.1.2 University lecturers' perspectives on creativity 23111.1.3 Employers' perspectives, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs 232

11.2 Creativity: a more detailed understanding 23511.2.1 Personality, product, process, usefulness 23511.2.2 The influence of context 23511.2.3 A more precise definition of creativity 235

11.3 Improving your personal creativity 23611.3.1 Four techniques 23611.3.2 Brain storming 236

DETAILED CONTENTS X I X

11.3.3 Mind mapping 23711.3.4 Use of metaphors 23911.3.5 Attribute listing 24011.3.6 General ways to improve your creativity 242

11.4 Creativity contextorganizational barriers and helpers 24311.4.1 The climate for creativity 24411.4.2 Using critical incidents for developing your own creativity 246

Chapter summary 248End of chapter exercises 248Further reading 249

12 Carrying Your Skills Forward 250Chapter Guide 25012.1 Graduates' employability skills 25112.2 Developing skills in your first job after university 25412.3 Carrying personal development skills forward 255

12.3.1 Induction training 25512.3.2 Planned development versus self-directed learning in the workplace 25712.3.3 Ongoing appraisals and personal development 259

12.4 Carrying communication skills forward: Networking 25912.5 Carrying reading skills forward 26012.6 Carrying writ ing skills forward 26112.7 Carrying presentational skills forward 26312.8 Carrying cr i t ical research skills forward 26312.9 Carrying quantitative skills forward 26312.10 Carrying team skills forward ' 26412.11 Carrying creativity skills forward 266Chapter summary 267Further reading 268

References and Bibliography 269Index 277