Date: 13^th November 2012

Week 02 : Day 02

What is Research?

It is a process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situation factors. According to the Edison Libraries (2012), “Research is the investigation of a particular topic using a variety of reliable, scholarly resources. The three major goals of research are establishing facts, analyzing information, and reaching new conclusions”. According to Sekaran (2008), "Business research can be described as a systemic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem encountered in the work setting that needs a solution". It is mainly gathering information from various sources which includes reviewing past work done by other researches.

Research should be done accurately because the decision making process and recommendations depend on work gathered. Primary source is that it is available in different sources (public domain) such as interviews, observations and questionnaires. Secondary source is information gathered by other researches about the work being done currently. This data can be inside or outside the organisation.and accessed via internet of published Given below are the two types of research methodology.

• Qualitative data - This is collection of numerical data. This data can only be observed. Qualitative research is useful for studies at the individual level, and to find out, in depth, the ways in which people think or feel. E.g. case studies. (McLeod S. A ,2008)
• Quantitative data - Non-numerical data and conduction in natural settings which is with less control. Data here is being measured.

Scientific method of conducting a good research

1. Identifying the problem (problem statement)
2. Formulating a hypothesis (prediction of the research outcome)
3. Developing a research plan
4. Collecting and analyzing the data
5. Interpreting results and forming conclusions

Referred books/websites  
Sekaran, (2008) Research Methods For Business. 4th ed. Delhi: John Wiley and sons, p.5

Edison (2012) Research skills: What is research

[Online] Available from: http://www.edison.edu/library/researchskills/Unit1/1whatIsResearch.php
LifeHack (2012) 20 quick tips for better time management

[Online] Available  from: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/20-quick-tips-for-better-time-management.html

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Qualitative Quantitative.
[Online] Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html

Date: 12^th November 2012

Week 02 : Day 01

Time Management

According to Sasson (2008), “It is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and systems that help you use your time to accomplish what you want”. It is important to use time effectively as time is used and cannot be retrieved. 

Having a plan to achieve goals with a time constraint helps to accomplish them faster with less effort. The 4 D’s is a time management tool and it represents Delete, Delay, Delegate and Diminish. It gives a person four alternatives if a task cannot be completed on time.

Delete: If an activity is not done on time, it does not mean that it needs to be done in the future and if it is not worth it one should not delay it and waste time in completing it. Instead get rid of them.
Delay: According to Morgenstern (2012),"Consciously deferring lower-priority tasks isn't procrastination  it's triage". "Procrastination is avoiding making decisions on when or if to do something, where "later" becomes default by definition".
Delegate: Get help with work from others. This saves time rather than doing work alone. According to Hooper (2007), “you need to be clear about desired outcomes and the consequences for the individual in doing the work”.
Diminish: These are the tasks that is kept to be done at a certain time in the future.

The table is to be filled by the students to see how much time they have left to spend on studying and how much time is set aside for co curricular activities. Adding up the total number of hours spent doing activities for the week the result was 124 hours. To find the percentage of activity time the total allocated hours was divided by 168 which is 74% so the remaining time left for studies is 44 hours. 

Figure 02: Time management exercise

Source: Lecture handout (2012)

Given below is a model, time management matrix in other words known as Covey's quadrants. The next activity given was to categorize the above set of activities done by the student into four groups which are Urgent and Important, Urgent and not important, Important and not urgent, not important and not urgent.

Figure 03: Time management matrix

Source: Lecture handout (2012)

The first grid shows activities with high priority and that must be completed immediately and is called as'firefighting'. The second grid is labelled as 'Quality Time'. Activities have high priority but there is no rush in order to complete it. According to Covey (2012), "As a result, they can be scheduled when they can be given quality thought to them".

The third box are the activities with less priority but must be completed on time and it is labelled as 'distractions' ."For example, when a person answers an unwanted phone call, -he/she has had to interrupt whatever he/she is doing to answer it". The last box represents activities that have no urgency or priority at all. An example for these kind of activities are driving time and time spent on social networking sites.

Figure 04: Time management model

Source: Lecture handout (2012)

Figure 04 helps to identify ourselves to which category each of us belong to. If you are a perfectionist, time manager, slob or a doer. A perfectionist is a person who spend a lot of time prioritizing their work but has less focus on the task that needs to be done. A time managing person saves time and does tasks that need are high in priority and they know which task is more important to be done first.

Slobs are always in disarrays because they do not prioritize the work or focus on the task to be done. Lastly a doer focus on the task but do no prioritize their work properly so because of this they are unable to complete the task.

Looking at the above figure I can categorize myself as a perfectionist because I am more focused on organizing my work than focusing to complete them. So using this information I should try to become a time manager and complete work on schedule. And as a result I am using timetables that will help me to complete work by a specific deadline, using a calender to arrange tasks to be done on specific date and creating a daily plan for all activities.

Referred books/websites  

Sasoon, R. 2008. Importance of Time Management

[Online] Accessed from: http://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/time-management/importance-of-time-management/

Morgenstern, J. 2008. Six Time Management Tools

[Online] Accessed from: http://tools-for-thought.com/2009/02/15/six-time-management-tools-from-julie-morgenstern/
CGG (2012) Soft skills for public managers: Handbook on Time Management Tools 

[Online] Accessed from: http://www.cgg.gov.in/Handbook%20on%20Time%20Management%20Skills.pdf

Nwlink website(2012)

[Online] Accessed from: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/time_management.html

Date: 06^th November 2012

Week 01: Day 01

Introduction

An introduction was given briefly covering the module aims and learning outcomes. The students are to carry out independent learning and produce a portfolio report by recording work done weekly and note down the topics covered, what the student expect to take out from the topic, what has been learnt and referred books and websites.

Another requirement of this module is to create a project proposal that should be implemented in the final year of the degree program. This proposal should contain the problem statement that will be evaluated to implement a solution and it should follow the points given below:

1. Ability to identify a business problem
2. Ability to apply suitable IT solution
3. Ability to design the solution 
4. Ability to implement the solution

Problem solving

A problem is an opportunity for improvement. Ex. Small screens in mobile phones. It is the difference between the current state and the goal state. A problem results from the recognition of a present imperfect and the belief in the possibility of a better future (have you done research?) AS-IS analysis/TO-BE analysis.

By solving a problem the outcome can be categorized into 3 parts.

1. Designing a solution but not sure if it’s successful (identifying problems/preventive measures)
2. Problem implementation process (facing current problems/corrective solution)
3. Implementation fail/system collapse

Figure 01: Problem solving process

Source: Jamie Nord (2012)

______________________________________________________________________

Date: 07^th November 2012

Week 01: Day 02

Professional Development Portfolio

According to Leo Lambert, Stacey LaneTice, & Patricia Featherston (1996), a portfolio is a collection of information and personal goals. “Portfolios can be very useful in encouraging your systematic collection of evidence of professional development over time and in promoting reflection about your professional growth".

The 7 steps to write a proper portfolio report.

1. What was discussed
2. Analysis
3. Research(independent learning)
4. Problem background and problem analysis/research
5. Literature review
6. Research methodology
7. Resource requirements

Why should you use a professional portfolio?

To reflect on your career path:

It helps you to articulate your professional goals and the work you have been doing to achieve them. to record your professional accomplishment. The information you record helps you to have materials ready for a job search.

To pursue a specific job:

Recording information in a portfolio helps to organize personal goals and experience prior to an interview which shows good preparation. It also helps to communicate your professional experience and accomplishments to a potential employer and it expands your one-page resume by providing a fuller, richer portrayal of your scope, abilities and experience.

(Arizona State University, 2012)

 My expectation to take out from this topic is to carry out independent researches and to use different research methods to make the portfolio report. And also to understand the technique of writing a proper literature review for the project proposal and to improve my skills of managing time. 

Referred books/websites

CIDR (2012) Resources: Developing a Professional Portfolio
[Online] Accessed from: http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/Bulletin/ProfessionalPortfolio.html

Jamie Nord. 2012. Judgement and Problem Analysis.
[Online] Accessed from: http://jamienord.efoliomn.com/judgmt-problemanalysis