RECENT ASSIGNMENT

You work as a junior manager in an office. The office has normal business hours.
After analysing your work objectives for the month of April in this year, you determine that you must:
a. Provide a weekly sales report to your manager, who will present it at the senior managers’ meeting on Monday mornings. The report should be as current as possible. Although it will not take long to prepare, your manager would like to review it on the Friday before the meeting.
b. Provide a monthly sales report to your manager, who will present it to the senior managers’ finance meeting held on the 14th day of each month. The report should be as current as possible. It will not take long to prepare and your manager would like to review it on the morning of the meeting.
c. Attend a junior manager’s training session on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.
d. Prepare a form that must be provided to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on or before 27 April. You estimate it will take you three days to complete the form and arrange the supporting documents. The form should be ready the day before it is to be submitted to allow it to be reviewed by a manager.
e. Review documents that must be submitted to the organisation’s lawyer by 14 April. The reviewing process will take you four days in between your other work. Your manager will need two days to review the documents prior to them being sent to the lawyer.
f. Prepare your work group’s draft budget for a meeting that you will attend on the last work day of April. Your involvement should take you one day in between your other work. Although you expect to be waiting on last minute costings from the accounts section, you would like to ensure the draft budget is prepared one day in advance in case amendments have to be made.
Prepare a monthly schedule for the month of April, providing details of the tasks you will complete and when they will be completed.
Explain the relationship between contingency planning and risk management. (50–75 words)
Describe how contingencies can be incorporated into work plans. (75–100 words)
Explain what is meant by actively seeking feedback. (50–75 words)

You work as the accounts manager for a manufacturing organisation.
After analysing your job description, you determine that you are required to:
• accurately monitor, reconcile and prepare monthly financial statements for the organisation’s operating and trust accounts
• prepare and process supplier invoices and arrange payments
• enter data onto organisation’s financial system which utilises Microsoft Office Excel
• compose and type routine correspondence using Microsoft Office Word
• supervise five junior accounting employees
a. Prepare a document which you could use to assess your skills/ knowledge against those required to complete your job effectively and in accordance with organisational requirements.
Create a plan which you could use over the next five years to identify, access, and complete appropriate professional development activities. Describe your goals as well as the activities you hope to undertake. Be specific.
Why is it important to record information relating to any training/ learning qualifications that you obtain? (75–100 words)
Create a detailed portfolio of evidence relating to your activities, achievements and assessments. Your portfolio could be restricted to professional records and documents. It might include evidence of other activities, achievements and results such as those relating to sporting or community activities.
Submit a copy of your portfolio using a negotiated method (fax/ mail/ email/ document scan—do not submit original certificates or documents unless directed to do so by your trainer/ assessor).
Using the table record the behaviours, skills and knowledge that you believe a professional manager should possess.
Self-assess whether your current behaviours, skills and knowledge are at the required level.
For those who believe that they are able to demonstrate the required characteristics, provide details of the circumstances. An example might be that you learnt about corporate governance during a course on Australian corporation legislation and you apply relevant legislation in your role as the organisation’s secretary.
If you are not able to demonstrate a particular characteristic, explain why. It might be because you have not yet developed the required behaviours, skills or knowledge. It could be because you are not employed or do not have a management role. Remember that there are many ways to demonstrate behaviours/ skills/ knowledge. The captain of the netball team is likely to have leadership skills. A parent who is on the school advisory council will know about how to conduct a meeting.

Identify a minimum of two people from whom you can gather feedback about your ability to demonstrate the relevant characteristics. Try to choose people who are likely to have different perspectives. Explain the relationship of the two feedback providers to you.
Obtain feedback using an appropriate method.
Explain the process that you used to obtain the feedback. Include examples of the questions that you asked.
Summarise the feedback that you were given.
Using your management behaviours/ skills/ knowledge list, the self-assessment and the feedback from others, select three characteristics which you will try to improve/ develop over the next four weeks. Prepare an action plan which contains details of any informal and/or formal training or development activities you will undertake in order to improve your competence. Specify how you will know whether or not you have achieved your professional development plans.
Submit the completed activities to your assessor (via a negotiated method: fax/ mail/ email/ document scan).