Marketing Strategy

ntroduction

I am writing my reflective report to review what I have learnt about developing my knowledge of theory and practical aspects of personal development from my first and second. This is so I can help to relate what I have learnt from personal development and apply it to real life situations in a business.

I have prepared myself to write this reflective report by reading the core text, material provided by my tutors and books from the library. The books that I have used to help me create this reflective report is referenced at the end of the report in the references and bibliography section.

By writing this report I hope to reflect on what I have learnt this year from my personal development tutorials and improve on my skills. By doing this I can therefore relate them to a business environment to help me when I get a job after university and am eventually working in a real business environment.

I am also going to look at three areas of interpersonal skills and social behaviour from my first term and define what they are and compare theories while relating these to real life situations. I am also going to look at the seven areas from my second term while defining and comparing theories, relating these to real life situations. I am also going to evaluate what I have learnt and look at how I have improved through the year and by doing this recognise where my strengths and weaknesses are and where I need to develop my skills.

"Personal development is about fulfilling our potential, expanding our talents and progressing at work and through life with meaning and satisfaction." (Guirdham 2002)

Reflection on Term 1

ASSERTIVENESS

Assertiveness is described as:

"The behaviours that enable an individual to act in his or her best interest, or stand up for him or herself without due anxiety; or to express his or her rights without denying the rights of others." (Guirdham 2002)

There are many different types of behaviour that a person can adapt to including:

 Aggressive behaviour

 Passive Behaviour

 Assertive Behaviour

When a person is acting in an aggressive behaviour they can show this to other individuals in many different ways. Some of these ways include: physical and verbal bullying from one individual to another, having no thought for other peoples opinions on situations and raising your voice (making the other individual feel uncomfortable).

Aggressive behaviour in the real business world would not be a very good behaviour to adapt towards your fellow peers. This is because by acting aggressively this reduces the morale of all the workers and people would not get along as well as they could be, which would reduce productivity and efficiency of the company, therefore leading to loss of profit.

When a person is acting in a passive behaviour they can show this to individuals in many different ways. Some of these ways include: talking quietly amongst others, not making eye contact, being nervous when communicating in groups or with another person.

Passive behaviour in the real business world would not be a very good behaviour to adapt towards your fellow peers. This is because by acting passively this means that, for instance, if somebody had a new idea they would be very nervous when telling other workers about it. This would mean that the other workers would not be very confident about the new idea as well so, therefore losing out on new ideas for the company, reducing sales and profit.

When a person has an assertive behaviour it is very beneficial. They can be assertive by simple ways of communication, for example, standing up for themselves in a real business situation. Therefore assertive behaviour is between aggressive and passive behaviour and so gives a very good way to deal with any workforce in a company. This is because anybody in the business can use assertive behaviour from managers to supervisors to help the company run efficiently and productively in order for the company to increase profit.

NON Ð'- VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non verbal communication is described to indicate:

"Different inner states or qualities of an individual and many can be used for intentional communication as well as unintentional." (Guirdham 2002)

There are many different ways in which somebody can show non- Ð'- verbal communication. Some of these ways include:

 Facial Expressions

 Eye Contact

 Gestures

 Changes in body language

 Postures

 Voice (speed and pitch)

 Proximity

 Head Movements

Non Ð'-verbal communication can be used very effectively within a business to express feelings about current situations without having to adopt aggressive or assertive behaviour. This is very good for the individual showing their feelings through non- Ð'-verbal communication because they can show their feelings without directly telling the person which the other person may find offensive. This therefore is very useful in a business environment because this prevents any tension or bad feelings between workers, so therefore not being able to work as efficiently as they could be. A combination of assertive behaviour and non-verbal communication could be very useful within a situation because the message is getting across to the other person, but not so that the person feels offended in anyway.

LEARNING STYLES AND LISTENING SKILLS

Throughout my personal development course I have learnt a variety of learning styles. These have helped me to take in information and process it more efficiently. The first learning style I looked at was Honey and Mumford's model.

I feel that I am a reflector in Honey and Mumford's model and stand back