Reference no: EM131446006

Learning Plan Assignment

Overview

The Learning Plan is part of the academic programme of work you are required to complete for Co-operative Education.

It is designed to ensure that you have goals and objectives planned for what you want to achieve from your Co-operative Education Placement and to provide you with a solid foundation for the rest of the academic programme.

Please note that throughout your Learning Plan you must:

• apply concepts, models, frameworks, theories and/or technical competencies from your major, and other areas of study
• use authoritative sources
• provide in-text references in APA (6th ed.)
• include a Reference List with the full reference (APA 6th ed.)

Throughout Co-operative Education you will be focusing on how you are achieving the BBus Learning Goals set out below:

Learning Goal 1: Be self-directed, reflective learners
Learning Goal 2: Be knowledgeable in their major field(s) of study
Learning Goal 3: Be critical enquirers and creative problem solvers
Learning Goal 4: Be able to make business decisions that take into account social, ethical, environmental and global dimensions
Learning Goal 5: Be able to work effectively with others
Learning Goal 6: Be effective communicators
Learning Goal 7: Be connected to business

The Learning Plan is the first stage of the assessment programme that culminates in an Oral Brief and Final Report. In the Co-operative Education assessments you will critically reflect on, analyse and evaluate your development throughout the Co-operative Education Placement and work on a topic which will form the basis of your Co-operative Education Final Report.

Instructions for completing this document

You are required to address all of the points in each of the sections. You may either answer each point individually or you may choose to respond to all points in the one discussion using paragraphs with appropriate headings and sub-headings.

Note: Do not delete any of the information or instructions from the template

Co-operative Education Learning Plan Checklist

- Completed each section.
- APA referencing and in-text citations.
- Job description attached.
- Research topic is focused towards the use of authoritative secondary resources.
- Theories, concepts, frameworks introduced throughout.
- Two personal goals included.
- Personality test completed.
- Personal SWOT completed.
- Spellchecked and proof read document.

A. Your Co-operative Education Role: being knowledgeable in your major field(s) of study by demonstrating the application of knowledge from your major(s) to your Co-operative Education Placement

The aim of Section A is as follows:

• To introduce the reader to your placement organisation as well as the specific role you will have
• To examine how the role and tasks you will be doing might draw on theory and concepts covered in your major
• To explore how you personally, and your role, might add value to the organisation.

In this Learning Plan you will explain how your in-depth knowledge from your major(s) might apply to your tasks and discuss the value of your role.

You are required to address all of the points below and attach a copy of your job description as Appendix 1.

You may include further comments or discussion that is relevant.

You must integrate relevant concepts, models, frameworks, theories and/or technical competencies (use in text references) to support your discussion.

THE TASK:

1. Provide a brief overview of

• your Co-operative Education Placement Organisation
• your role

My placement will be at Almajdouie Holding Group. This is a Saudi Company that was established in 1965 as a land-transport company. It then became a group of companies offering a variety of services in different industries, including automotive and other manufacturing, education, logistics, real estate and investment. They are the official dealer of Hyundai motors in the eastern and northern regions of Saudi Arabia. I will be working at the Hyundai showroom in Dammam in the sales and marketing department. My role will be as an accounts receivable clerk, and there will be 17 people working with me in the same department (Al-Majdouie Group, n.d.).

2. Linking knowledge from your major to your tasks: For each key task that relates to your major(s) outlined in your job description (attach

- Appendix 1), identify and discuss how a range of theories, concepts, models, frameworks and/or technical competencies from your major(s) might apply.

Accounts receivable is part of the billing process, which is one of the main activities of the revenue cycle. The revenue cycle is defined as "a recruiting set of business activities and related information processing operations associated with providing goods and services to customers and collecting cash in payment for those sales" (Sinclair, 2013, p. 333).

As an accounts receivable clerk, my role will be to use the information on the invoice to debit the customer accounts and then to credit the accounts when we receive the payment. There are two methods to control the accounts receivable: the open-invoice method and the balance-forward method. The open-invoice method is when a customer receives the goods with the invoice attached and pays for it immediately, either by returning money with the invoice or by an online payment. By contrast, in the balance-forward method, the customer receives a monthly statement that contains the outstanding balance (Sinclair, 2013).

Usually, medium- and large-sized companies use the balance-forward method because they deal with many customers and suppliers, and this method makes the billing process more efficient as it is not necessary to check individual invoices. The open-invoice method has both advantages and disadvantages. One of its advantages is that it encourages customers to pay the outstanding balance faster by offering a discount if they pay within a certain period, and this benefits the company by maintaining a regular cash flow. However, this method can have complications associated with reviewing individual invoices for each customer (Sinclair, 2013).

3. Discuss the value that your role and personal attributes may bring to your Organisation.

My role at the organisation is as an accounts receivable clerk. Therefore, part of my role is to maintain reliable and accurate accounting records and to produce reports to the A/R supervisor. As a result, it is important to be a very reliable employee, maintaining honesty and punctuality in delivering the information. My role also involves providing advice on accounting issues to division heads and staff, as required. Thus, I should be creative and open-minded and keen to help and take tasks without being asked. Another aspect of my role is to take part in the preparations of the annual budget and to generate a cash flow forecast against budget projections to assist in decision making. Therefore, I need to be a friendly, culturally aware team player who is confident and aware of the surrounding environment so that I can communicate with my team. The organisation requires me to be excellent in computer skills, such as MS Office; therefore, I have taking an Excel diploma in order to save time while working on tasks and to help others if needed.

A. Your Professional Identity: communicate effectively in professional settings, working effectively with others including intercultural perspectives

The aim of Section B is as follows:

• To develop an understanding of your personal qualities through completion of a series of self-assessment tools
• To propose two SMART goals for self-development during your work placement
• To strategise how these two goals might be developed during the placement

In this section you will develop TWO goals for your professional development to work on during your placement. These will relate to

1. working effectively with others to make constructive contributions
2. working with one's own and other cultures and diverse perspectives in professional settings

These goals will relate to either further developing a strength and/or addressing a weakness. Your goals should relate to the development of generic professional skills or capabilities in the two areas above that could be transferred to other roles and workplaces in the future.

Your goals should not relate to job-specific technical skills. If you are in a permanent role you may choose different aspects particular to your work situation and career development (discuss with your Workshop Supervisor).

THE TASK: PREPARATION

In order to prepare for this, you must:

1. Complete Jung's personality test identify and discuss your personality type and the implications for you and your role as a professional.
My personality type is ESTP (The Doer) according to the personality test we've done in class

2. Complete your personal SWOT analysis below: (for further information refer to the materials on Blackboard and the Workshop handouts)
S:

1: Full of vitality, intelligent and liked by everyone.
2: Excellent and very creative in dealing with emergency situations.
3: Excellent at remembering details.
4: Good ability to detect problems and find quick solutions. W:
1: Good in the management of financial matters but take risks from time to time.
2: Difficulty in planning for the future.
3: Sometimes ignore the problem instead of fixing it.
4: Get bored very quickly.

1: Able to read what people want by noticing their behaviours; I can guarantee customer satisfaction because I will know what customers want and so save them time and money.

2: High ability to recall the precise details of my surroundings at any moment; therefore, when attending meetings with my supervisor or working with a team, I can remind them of the small details that they may have forgotten.

T:
1: When things become difficult, I may not want to continue to work on something that requires commitment; therefore, I may fail in my mission.

2: May become obsessed with competition and achieve victories; hence, I may forget about my family and myself.

SWOT analysis reference: (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2012)
My personality information from ("ESTP Personality Types In-Depth," 2017)

THE TASK: GOAL ONE

Goal ONE: Working productively with others to make constructive contributions

1. Clearly identify one specific aspect relating to the area above (for further information please refer to materials on Blackboard and Workshop handout) and comment on why this particular aspect is significant in developing your ability to work effectively with others to make constructive contributions

I am very much aiming to develop a range of professional skills, particularly in building effective working relationships. This is because I will be working in many teams during my placement (there are more than 10 people in the department that I will be working in). Therefore, it is essential to know my team members, respect them and listen to their points of view rather than being selfish in my decisions.

2. Discuss your strength and/or weakness in this specific aspect.

One of my strengths is that I have worked in many teams, especially during my studies at university. For example, I worked in teams during group assignments; in almost every semester, I had one, two or sometimes three group assignments. Most of the time, I took the leadership role in the group because achieving the highest mark was always my aim. I also participated for a year as a financial manager at the SAUDI student club in Palmerston North. I would provide and interpret financial information to the executive members, conducting reviews and evaluations for cost-reduction opportunities. I also made accurate quarterly financial reports using Excel for the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in New Zealand. Moreover, because I was an executive member, I was responsible, along with the other members, for organizing some of the events run by the club (ESTP Personality Types In-Depth, 2017).

However, I sometimes encountered difficulties in dealing with the other members. For example, some people disagree with you for the sake of making you wrong and showing that they are correct. Such people cling to their opinion regardless of its validity. I also sometimes encountered lazy members who relied on others to do the job, which I genuinely disliked (ESTP Personality Types In-Depth, 2017).

3. Set out your goal in this aspect, in a statement that meets the SMART criteria and commences: "By the end of my Co-operative Education Placement, I will ....."

During my Co-Operative Education Placement, my goal is to continue to work in teams in order to achieve the optimal results for my organization. Although I will face many challenges in my new role, by the end of the internship period I will need to prove my abilities in coping with others.

4. Research some models or frameworks and draw on these as a guide to outline a plan including specific actions that you will put in place to achieve your goal. (You must ensure that the specific actions planned are practical and draw on authoritative sources using in-text references)

Professional communication theory is an important method for achieving my goals in the organisation. Communicating with the team members is an important tool for ensuring that the team achieves the company's goals effectively. The most important part of communication is confirming the members' clear understanding of the common goals of the company. We need to develop an effective action plan with all the team members in order to facilitate the success of the tasks. We should not allow conflicts of interest; the company's goals and objectives come first (Mohan, McGregor, Saunders, & Archee, 2008).

5. What evidence and/or measurements might you use to demonstrate that you have achieved your goal?

I will discuss my learning plan with my supervisor at work and show him my SWOT analysis results, and I will ask him to monitor my performance by giving me feedback at the end of each week or at the end of each task.

THE TASK: GOAL TWO

Goal TWO: Work with one's own and other cultures and diverse perspectives in professional settings

1. Clearly identify one specific aspect relating to the area above (for further information please refer to materials on Blackboard and Workshop handout) and comment on why this particular aspect is significant in working with one's own and other cultures and diverse perspectives

Because I will be working with a group and exchanging information with my supervisor, it is important for me to develop my listening skills. Developing my listening skills will help me to be very efficient at work; if my listening skills improve, my understanding of the tasks I am given will be clearer.

2. Discuss your strength and/or weakness in this specific aspect.

A weakness of my personality is that I get bored very quickly, and listening for long hours to my supervisor or any of the team members may not be enjoyable. If I do not overcome this, it could become a serious issue; if I neglect this matter, I may end up doing my tasks incorrectly, which would displease my supervisor (ESTP Personality Types In-Depth, 2017).

3. Set out your goal in this aspect, in a statement that meets the SMART criteria and commences: "By the end of my Co-operative Education Placement, I will ....."

During my Co-Operative Education Placement, my goal is to continue to work on improving my listening skills in order to achieve the desired results for my organization. Although I will face many challenges in my new role, I can show my supervisor and the people I am working with that I can improve my listening skills by the end of the internship period.

4. Research some models or frameworks and draw on these as a guide to outline a plan including specific actions that you will put in place to achieve your goal. (You must ensure that the specific actions planned are practical and draw on authoritative sources using in-text references)

In developing my listening and communication skills, I need to follow procedures such as the following:

1: Sit in a quiet place.
2: Look attentively at the speaker.
3: Avoid all distractions that can make you busy and prevent you listening to others, such as my phone.
4: After a long conversation, write my questions in a note and ask the speaker to clarify the points that I did not understand (Brownell, 2016).

5. What evidence and/or measurements might you use to demonstrate that you have achieved your goal?

I will discuss my learning plan with my supervisor at work and show him my SWOT analysis results. I will ask him to monitor my performance by giving me feedback at the end of each week or at the end of each task. In addition, compliments from my colleagues could be a sign of success.

A. Your Co-operative Education Placement Organisation and the environment it operates in: being critical enquirers and creative problem solvers, being able to make business decisions that take into account social, ethical, environmental and global dimensions and being engaged with business

The aim of Section C is as follows:

• To start compiling a resource of current events and issues relevant to your industry and organisation during your placement period (for use in portfolios)

• To demonstrate knowledge of factors impacting in and on your organisation

• To critically examine the relevant impact of such factors on business operations

During your Placement you will need to keep a log of current events and issues from media sources that are relevant to your Industry and Organisation to use in your Portfolios. A template for your log is attached to each of your Portfolios.

You are required to address all of the points below. You may include further comments or discussion that is relevant. You must integrate relevant concepts, models, frameworks, theories and/or technical competencies (use in text references) from secondary research and other business disciplines you have studied e.g. Management, to support your discussion.

THE TASK:

1. Include a copy of, or produce, an organisational chart of your organisation, showing your role and briefly discuss where your role fits in the organisation. Drawing on relevant management theory, comment on the advantages and disadvantages of the structure of your organisation.

My role will be in the Almajdouie Automotive department, in the Motor Sales and Marketing section.

Almajdouie Holding Group implements a divisional structure, with six different divisions (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2012). A divisional structure is an organisational structure that is based on related departments that have a similar output. There are several reasons why a divisional structure is one of the main structures that large enterprises use:

1: It has flexibility and clarity.
2: It leads to speed in decision-making processes.
3: It establishes the concept of decentralisation, which means that each level of managers has considerable autonomy over their expenses, according to their budget.
4: It leads to customer satisfaction because customers deal with one department, which means that coordination is generally high among the employees (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2012).

However, a divisional structure also has certain disadvantages:

1: It may retain some central departments, such as human resources management.
2: It may lead to poor communication with the other departments (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2012).

("Al-Majdouie Group Organization Chart," n.d.)

2. Identify the following:

Name of Organisation:
Almajdouie Holding Group.
Organisation's core business:
Logistics and supply chain.
Industry sector to which they belong:

Almajdouie is a group of companies which offer a variety of services in different industries such as, manufacturing, education, logistic, real estates and investment and automotive. They are the official dealer of Hyundai motors in the eastern & northern region of Saudi ("Al-Majdouie Group | Overview," n.d.)

3. Identify three key facts for each of the following to demonstrate your understanding of your organisation and industry sector:

a. Your Organisation, and

1: It has eight divisions or departments.
2: Family owned company.
3: Its 52 years old.
("Al-Majdouie Group | Overview," n.d.)

b. Its industry sector (e.g. size, competitors)

1: Large company more then 5000 employees.

2: Its competitors in the automotive industry are Toyota,Nissan, Kia and Mazda.

3: It's automotive department won several awards during the last 10 years, an example of this awards is "Global Distributor of the Year 2014 for HYUNDAI Car" ("AlMajdouie Motors Sales," n.d.).

c. Discuss the relevance of this knowledge to an employee

It is important for employees to know about their organization for several reasons:

1: It gives them a better understanding of their field and how it relates to the overall organization.

2: It gives them an understanding of the performance of their organization and whether they should continue to work for them or look for another position.

4. Identify one current event/ issue relating to your organisation and/or industry and discuss what you think the implications of this are for your organisation and/or industry sector.

In March 2017, Almajdouie Motors, dealers of Hyundai cars in the eastern and northern regions of Saudi Arabia, opened the Almajdouie Hyundai Academy for Training and Technology (Almajdouie Motors launches training academy for Saudis, 2017).

The goal of this academy is to help the community by offering training courses in Hyundai mechanics to Saudi youth that will help to them find a job after graduation or even to start their own business (e.g., a car garage). In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Korean cars (e.g., Hyundai and KIA) have a bad reputation. We believe that Japanese cars (e.g., Toyota) are the best in all aspects. However, Hyundai is now competing aggressively with not only Japanese cars but also European cars (e.g., Audi and Mercedes-Benz). Hyundai recently introduced its luxury brand, Genesis, in order to compete with Lexus, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. In the meantime, Almajdouie is helping Hyundai with its success, and it has opened this academy to train Hyundai mechanics who can repair Hyundai cars. When customers see this initiative from Almajdouie, they feel comfortable in buying Hyundai cars because they know for certain that there are well-trained car mechanics to work on their cars (Almajdouie Motors launches training academy for Saudis, 2017).

In addition, since 2009, Almajdouie has won awards for delivering the best service for its Hyundai customers. Since 2000, it has also won awards for both its sales and parts divisions (AlMajdouie Motors Sales, n.d.).

5. Why do you think that as an employee of an organisation it is important that you have this knowledge about the external environment of your organisation and/or industry?

It is essential for an employee to know about the external environment because that gives him or her an excellent understanding of how the organization works and who the competitors are. If an employee knows what the competitors are doing, he or she might come up with an idea to beat the competitors.

6. For each of the following provide an authoritative definition of the term. Demonstrate your understanding of these terms by discussing current business examples of these terms in practice:

a. Corporate social responsibility:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to when a corporation or company donates some of its profits to charitable purposes. However, some argue that social responsibility is not about the size of financial contributions; rather, it is about disbursements for social programmes and sustainable projects that meet the community's needs (Rangan, 2015).

A good example of CSR in New Zealand is the Westpac Rescue Helicopters programme. This programme is responsible for many issues, including rescuing people involved in motor vehicle accidents on highways (What we do | Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, 2013).

b. Ethics & business:

It is hard to define ethics because each person has their own ethical understanding. Nonetheless, each business has its own code of ethics that every new employee must read and follow in order to protect the interests of both parties (the employer and the employee) (Frias & Fajardo, 2008).

c. Sustainability:

Sustainability is a wide topic that covers different areas (e.g., economic sustainability and environmental sustainability). All of these areas are important to business, but the most important type is sustainable development, which is defined as development that meets the needs of humans in the present without compromising the needs of the coming generations (Sustainability begins at home, 2006).

d. Globalisation:

Globalisation is about opening up the world so that there is increased cultural, economic, political and technological movement. All people today deal with a world where geographical and political boundaries have faded. We have capital movements without restrictions, and the information flow is unimpeded. There are globally influential organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the specialised agencies of the United Nations that affect, to one degree or another, the economies and currencies of countries as well as the living conditions of people across the world (Gangopadhyay & Chatterji, 2005).

Because of globalisation, there are trends that can affect the businesses. For example, Almajdouie is the official importer of the Korean car manufacturer Hyundai in east and north Saudi Arabia. Therefore, currency differences and the exchange rate can affect the price of the cars, which can affect consumers' decisions on whether to buy a Hyundai (Gangopadhyay & Chatterji, 2005).

Note: for all questions in section C use a range of relevant theoretical concepts, models, framework, theories, technical competencies and/or secondary research (use in text references) to support your answers.

A. Your Topic: developing your skills as a critical enquirer and creative problem solver, being knowledgeable in your major field of study by demonstrating the application of knowledge from your major(s) to your Co-operative Education role, or placement, or industry

The aim of Section D is as follows:

• To introduce the reader to a relevant topic/current issue related to your Co-operative Education major affecting your role and/or organisation and/or industry

• To demonstrate the relevance of this topic/issue

• To (later, in your final report) critically examine the issue in depth, reflecting on its application to either to your role and/or your organisation and/or industry sector

Throughout Co-operative Education you will be working on an area of focus arising out of an organisational or industry practice, linked to your major and developing a critical enquiry approach. This MUST be applied either to your role and/or your organisation and/or industry sector.

In the Final Report you will be required to critically analyse and evaluate your chosen topic from your discipline perspective. This topic should

develop your discipline knowledge beyond that acquired in your role and your skills as a critical enquirer and creative problem solver. Your Final Report must demonstrate comprehensive understanding of this topic through research and be applied to your role and/or industry and/or organisation.

Your approach could include:

• Making some recommendations to solve a current business challenge related to your industry based on research

• Analysing opportunities and challenges and making a judgement about the feasibility of a new or alternate idea relating to your organisation or industry

• Investigating a current business challenge or situation from a fresh perspective and generating novel solutions

All topics must draw on academic and business literature

The topic will be researched using academic literature and secondary data.

• You must not disclose any confidential information from your organisation or complete any primary research
• Your work must not have been previously submitted by yourself or another person.
• All researched information has been acknowledged by in-text references in APA 6th ed.

You will make regular submissions in your portfolios to develop your thinking and receive feedback on your progress:

In this Learning Plan you must list 2-3 ideas for a topic in an area of focus from your discipline perspective and provide a rationale including how this could be applied either to your role and/or your organisation and/or industry. You may choose to outline your topic as a question.

THE TASK:

1. Outline your topic ideas and rationale:

Following a meeting, my supervisor, Dr Roger Su, agreed to my topic: The adoption of IFRS in Saudi Arabia and its related issues. I will do my placement in Saudi Arabia where IFRS has been adopted recently, and I know that in Saudi Arabia there have been problems with the adoption process. In Saudi Arabia, we have a different kind of tax system, and this could be one reason for making it more difficult in the adoption process.

2. Discuss how your topics could be applied either to your role and/or your organisation and/or industry:

My topic will be mainly focused on the Saudi financial system. However, after I start my placement, I will know clearly how the adoption of IFRS has affected my organisation and what issues the finance department has faced in beginning to adopt IFRS.

3. Outline your research steps that you will follow to investigate your topics:

I will divide up the research on my topic. I will begin with literature searches on "IFRS in Saudi Arabia" and "IFRS adoption issues". I will first outline the issues and then see if I can find links between the general issues and the adoption issues in Saudi Arabia. I will also read about the Saudi tax system. I may compare some aspects of Saudi IFRS with New Zealand IFRS. I will include theories and views relating to the adoption, perhaps examining some of its advantages and disadvantages.

I will use Google Scholar, the library databases, and Saudi news articles to locate the research materials.

4. Provide a list of key words you will use for an electronic search:

IFRS, IFRS in Saudi Arabia, Adoption of IFRS, Adoption of IFRS in Saudi, Saudi TAX system, Advantages of IFRS, Disadvantages if IFRS, Theories of IFRS, concepts of IFRS,

New Zealand IFRS and Issues of IFRS.

References:

Refer to AUT Library on APA 6th: https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA6th

Al-Majdouie Group (n.d.). Overview. Retrieved from https://www.almajdouie.com/en/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

Almajdouie Motors launches training academy for Saudis. (2017, March). ARAB NEWS. Retrieved from https://www.arabnews.com/node/1064821/corporate-news#

AlMajdouie Group (n.d.). Motors Sales. Retrieved from https://www.almajdouie.com/en/BusinessSectors/Automotive/AlMajdouieMotorsSalesMarketing.aspx

Brownell, J. (2016). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

ESTP Personality Types In-Depth. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/personality/types/estp/overview/

Frias, S. A., & Fajardo, C. L. (2008). Textbook in Auditing Theory (4th ed.). Quezon City, Philippine: Katha.

Gangopadhyay, P., & Chatterji, M. (2005). Economics of globalisation. Aldershot, etc.: Ashgate.

Mohan, T., Mcgregor, H., Saunders, S., & Archee, R. (2008). Communicating as professionals (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Thomson.

Rangan, V. K. (2015). The truth about CSR. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-truth-about-csr

Samson, D., Catley, B., Cathro, V., & Daft, R. L. (2012). Management in New Zealand (1st ed.). China: Cengage.

Sinclair, R. (2013). Accounting systems. Australia: Pearson.

Sustainability begins at home. (2006). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/sustainability-begins-at-home/?_r=0

What we do (2013). Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust. Retrieved from https://rescuehelicopter.org.nz/what-we-do

Teacher feedback:

(Please find attached feedback from your Intake 1 2017 Learning Plan. The feedback includes comments inserted into the Learning Plan and the Learning Plan Marking Criteria. You will have been given specific feedback - this should be your primary guide in preparing your Portfolio 1 and 2. When you download and start working on the Portfolio templates you need to respond to this feedback as directed. You should now be documenting concrete examples and experiences to provide a record of your CP and a foundation for your critical reflection. You must continue to find, read and analyse relevant literature for your chosen research topic as this is a key part of Portfolio 1, this should not be left until the last minute! In the section "Your Professional Skills" you should make sure that you:

• try and focus on one strength and one weakness in each
• clearly define your strengths and weaknesses and link these to the aspect you have chosen
• have action steps that are simple, clear and practical
• answer the question "did these steps actually help me improve?" in the section on progress LG5.

If you find that steps you have identified are not working you can change them - that is part of the reflection process If you wish to apply for a Reconsideration of Grade, you must do so by 5pm, Thursday 30 March 2017 using the form that you will find on Blackboard in the Course Information folder, see page 13 of the Study Guide. Please email your application to [email protected] Your Portfolio 1 is due 9am, Monday 10 April 2017. Thank you)