PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 6
Reflectingon Professional Development Plan
YourName
Driversfor Change in PDO and the Opportunities and Threats the Drivers willCreate Noindividual or organization is capable of avoiding change. Allorganizations have to be able to position themselves higher thantheir competitors. It is the desire of every manager to be able tooutperform the competing companies in the market. Therefore, allorganizations have to endeavor to engage in change. The change isdriven by both internal and external factors. The internal drivers ofchange include the inefficiencies that affect the normal companyoperations. The external drivers include all factors in theenvironment of the organization that affects its financial position.Some of the internal drivers for change that exist within PDO includelow staff motivation, poor delivery, poor communication and highwastage of time and resources. Even though the staff is committed,they are less motivated since they are not consulted during thedecision-making process of the organization. The mechanical structureof PDO does not encourage employee contribution towards the decisionmaking. This is because the organization has a central process ofdecision making. As a result, there is only a one-directional flow ofinformation which is from the executive management down to theemployees. As employees receive only the information about thedecisions that have already been made, they tend to lose their senseof self-worth. They may also end up feeling that they are not valuedby the company. This has an antagonistic effect on their output andperformance. In case changes are made to promote a multidirectionalflow of information within the structure of the organization, thecurrent managers may not like the changes. It will interfere withtheir usual way of doing things (Pagon, Banutai & Bizjak, 2008).
Areasof PDO Operating Practice Requiring Change and Stakeholders to beConsulted Theorganizational structure of the firm requires to change in order topromote a multidirectional flow of information. The system shouldallow for the managers to seek the opinions of the workers concerningindividual policies and decisions. The employees should also be ableto give their feedback concerning the operations of the organization.The top-down approach with which managers are running the company ishindering innovation and creativity among workers. For the company tostay competitive, this system should be redesigned (Pagon, Banutai &Bizjak, 2008). The change cannot be made without firstconsulting the individuals and organizations who have the stake inthe company. The internal stakeholders who would have to be consultedbefore such a change is implemented are the managerial board and theboard of directors. However, it will also be important to seek theopinions of the subordinate staff and the consultants. This can helpin ensuring that the decision is well informed using factualinformation (Pagon, Banutai & Bizjak, 2008). As theproposed change will threaten the normal operation of some of thestakeholders, many of them are expected to resist the change.However, consultants and employees are most likely to support thechange. The 20 member Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team willalso have to be consulted since this change has a direct influence onthe status of the employees. The other key stakeholders toPetroleum Development include the Sultanate of Oman, which has a 60%shares in the business Shell Group holding 34% Total with 2% andPartex with about 2% of all the company`s shares. The Sultanate,Shell Group, Total, and Partex will require detailed information onthe pros and cons of the change. In case the change hampers withtheir stake in the company, they will compete with the change (Pagon,Banutai & Bizjak, 2008).
CoreSkills Required to Cause a Successful Change Organizationsmake changes more and more often and at a faster pace. Tosuccessfully manage or implement change, one must have properleadership skills. There are certain cognitive, functional, andpersonal/social factors that affect the ability of someone to managechange in an organization. The cognitive abilities required includedivergent thinking, critical thinking, problem solving andcreativity. The individual tasked with the duty of implementingchange should also have proper language and communication skills,technological skills as well as a strong drive towards personaldevelopment. The chosen change manager should be able to formulateproper plans for change and communicate successes to all people inthe organization with the aim of making them understand the positiveeffects of the change project. It is only when a change makes bothoperational and financial sense that it will be successful.Therefore, the individual must be able to adequately communicate thefinancial and operational sense of the change. He/she must also beaware of how the change is to affect the structure of theorganization. Charisma, self-direction, interpersonal skills andteamwork skills are also necessary for any person to successfullymanage change (Pagon, Banutai & Bizjak, 2008). Through practice,I have been able to acquire great interpersonal skills and teamworkskills. I have also worked with the organization for about two yearsand have gained a full understanding of the organization and itsoperations. Therefore, I fully understand how the change can affectthe organizational structure. My supervisors have been assigning meduties to plan for some small changes within the department I work inand I have been successful in causing these changes. However, mylanguage and communication skills are not advanced to meet the levelof communication that will be required by this change project.Despite the shortcomings in my skills profile, I believe that withproper redress, I can successfully manage the change.
Whatto be Done to Remedy Shortcomings in the Skills Profile Ihave attained competence in my skills profile with only a fewshortcomings here and there. My major shortcoming is my low score onlanguage and communication skills. Considering the nature andtechnicality of this task, I will have to address every weakness Ihave so that I can be well prepared for the task. My plan forachieving this includes taking some communications skills training,practicing my language and interacting more with successfulleaders. To completely address my communications issues,I will take a month consulting employees and learning to speak tothem. I will also research on some of the most effective ways ofcommunicating. To try and learn how to communicate with the keystakeholders of the company, I will book appointments with the topofficials in a bid to learn their expectations and make adjustmentswhere necessary. Addressing the language issue will need meto practice my language by speaking to my colleagues and otherworkers in forums, preparing presentations and delivering speeches todifferent people. I will then ask them to assess my language andprovide me with proper suggestions. I will carefully consider everyexplanation I will get. Since I understand that change does notcome overnight, I will be patient with myself. I will not try toforce myself to achieve too high goals in a bid to improve my skillprofile. This is because I know this can putting too much pressure onmyself can make me frustrated and stressed up. This can jeopardize myprogress.
References
Pagon,M., Banutai, E. & Bizjak, U. (2008).Leadership Competencies for Successful Change Management.Slovenian Presidency of the EU.