Business Сommunication

This is a report which tells us what transferable skills means and its types. It also tells us what types of skills a graduate student normally has and what skills are required in a job high level management job . It also shows us where a particular student , me would like to work after completing this course and the current employment opportunities available to me. The Belbin Questionnaire is also given in this report with my results.

The organisation

The organisation I would like to work for is Marks and Spencer’s. Marks & Spencer is one of UK’s leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, serving 10 million customers a week in over 300 UK stores. The Company is a worldwide known brand and trades in 30 countries worldwide, and has a Group turnover in excess of 8 billion. (Taken from M&S online ). Marks and Spencers are primarily retailers, particularly targeting women and children for their excellent clothes lines. Marks and Spencers food is also known to be of better quality than other supermarkets and is generally regarded as the supplier of best quality food. It was one of Britain’s earliest supermarkets.The vision of the company is to be THE standard against which all others are measured. The mission , to make aspirational quality accessible to all. The values of the company are quality , value, service , innovation and trust. Marks and Spencer is one of the oldest stores in the Uk and has continually offered excelent services to its customers. Although the company has been in some financial difficulties for the past 5 years , steps have been taking to safe-guard the groups future.

Job Description

Currently, as I donot yet have a degree , marks and spencer would only offer me a job as a checkout teller. Right now, I have just completed my schooling and hold no other diplomas or degrees. Even for a job as a checkout teller, I would need to exceed in transferable skills. Transfferable skills are skills which you have acquired during any activity in your life — jobs, classes, projects, parenting, hobbies, sports, virtually anything — that are transferable and applicable to what you want to do in your next job. (Taken from Quintcareers online) I would need Interpersonal skills such as networking , team working , oral communication ,etc as I would be interacting with customers and would need the help of my colleagues to keep up-to-date with the current prices of goods. Communicating skills would also be required as I would have to communicate both with the customer and a computer. Self-management skills would be tested as I would have to be reliable, flexible , self sufficient and able to manage pressure adequately to keep my job. Lastly , Intellectual skills would also be required as I would have to learn the prices of goods every day and be able to solve problems very fast and learn quicky.

Skills Audit

Eventually, after I graduate I would of course like a job in the management of marks and Spencer, preferably in London. Most employers generally look for communication , teamwork and a willingness to learn in a prospective employee but surveys don’t always give importance to the skills which a particular employer expects to rate highly (for eg IT skills). (Taken from DMU online). I am already quite familiar with the accounts of marks and spencers since I have made a project on it for accounts subject. I have also done a job in India in a company called Bakemans Ltd as a trainee for 6 months last year. I had learnt how accounts of the company are made and had also worked in the finance division of the company.

Therefore I do have some skills which I have learnt from this experience such as communicating through technology , writing , self-sufficient , problem solving as I have shown below in the table, (from handbook P29) etc.Therefore I wolid say I can fit perfectly in a job as a teller for M&S. Other skills required in a job in the management of M&S would include applying , critical, analytical, synthesising, problem-solving skills, working independently, taking initiative, time-management, working with or motivating others, flexibility/adaptability , etc. (Taken from M&S online ). As I have already stated , I have quite a few of these required skills and hope to further enhance my capabilities in this course im presently doing. In the Belbin questionnaire , I have secured the most as Chairperson and Shaper , further enhancing the fact that I am ‘management material’. Given below are the skills that I feel that a already have.

Interpersonal

Communicating

Self-Management

Intellectual

People Skills Motivating others

OralCommunication

Communicate with technology

Outgoing

Good Manners

Working independently

Problem solving

Conclusion

Skills portfolio makes up just part of the overall career profile but, along with my experience, interests, aptitudes and personality/personal style, will play a central part in determining my career decisions and my success in the application process. These skills are not just essential for securing my first graduate job. As I progress in my career ,my skill-sets will change as you take on new challenges and responsibilities, applying old skills in new ways and learning new skills in order to maintain my position in a competetive working environment.

Appendices

1) Skills Profile

‘Your skills are the abilities that you have gained by practice or by knowledge. Talent refers to your natural abilities; skills refer to your learned abilities.’ (Information from University Of Cambridge Website Online)

The two main types of skills:

* Transferable skills – these are skills that you have been developing throughout your life and that you would use in a wide variety of situations.

* Job-related skills – also called technical skills, these are skills that are used in a particular job or cluster of jobs.

Transferable Skills can be further divided into:

a) Intellectual Skills : Coursework requires mental gymnastics. Our studies have taught us to integrate large quantities of information, to read between the lines, and to grasp complex problems. We can use these same upper-level thinking skills to find and implement solutions in the workplace (e.g. critical, analytical, synthesising, problem-solving skills.)

b) Communication skills : To succeed in your courses or on the job, you must be able

to communicate what you know, either orally or in writing. (e.g. written and oral)

(Taken from student affairs division of Carnegie Mellon Online )

c) Self management :Think about the skills you have used to organize and coordinate people, projects and events (e.g. working independently, taking initiative, time-management)

d) Interpersonal Skills : or “people skills,” are some of the most valued skills in the workplace because these skills not only help people overcome their differences, they help them make the most of their diverse opinions and interests. (e.g. working with or motivating others, flexibility/adaptability)

e) Research Skills

f) Numeracy (e.g. statistical skills, data handling)

g) Computer Literacy

h) Foreign Language Skills

2) Belbin Questionnaire: Here are my answers

Company Worker

Chairperson

Shaper

Plant

Resource Investigator

Monitor / Evaluator

Team Worker

Completer / Finisher

Which Position Should I Hold In A Company ?

As we can see , I have scored the highest in Chairperson and Plant categories, with 10 each.

A chairperson has the following features: calm , self-confident and controlled person which I would say I normally am. A chairpeson’s positive qualities are a capacity for treating and welcoming all potential contributions on their merits, without prejudice. He should also have a strong feel of objectives. His weeknesess are that a chairperson does not have any special attributes in terms intellect or creative ability.

As I have scored the same number in Plant as well , here are its features individualistic , serious minded , unorthodox. Its advantages are that a shaper is normally a genius , imaginitive , intellectual and has lots of knowledge. Ofcourse a Plant also has its weaknesses as they are up in the clouds , i.e they think of ideas or results which are not possible. They are also not inclined to practice detail or protocol.

Reference List:

1) Marks and Spencers , The company (2002) (Online) , Available from

(http://www2.marksandspencer.com/thecompany/whoweare/index.shtml )

(Accessed on 7/12/02)

2) Quint careers , transferable skills (2002) , (Online) Available from

(http://www.quintcareers.com/transferable_skills.html ) Accessed 7/12/02

3)University of Cambridge , Administrative section (2001), Transferable Skills

for Undergraduate Students (Online). Available from(http://www.admin.cam.

ac.uk /offices/education/skills/definitions.html ) (Accessed 7/12/02)

4) De Montford University , Key skills (2002) , (Online) Available from

(http://www.dmu.ac.uk/services/student_services/careers/corplecnote1212skill

sissue.jsp?ComponentID=7641&SourcePageID=7656#1) Accessed 7/12/02

5) Marks and Spencers , (2002) Jobs (Online) Availabe from

(http://www.marksandspencer.com/jobs/index.html ) Accessed 7/12/02

6) Business Communication Handbook , by Peter McHardy (2002) Transferable

skills profile chart (P29)

7) Carnegie Mellon , student affairs division , (2002) Available from

(http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/CareerBriefs/transkills.html )