Professional Development Plan

A professional development plan (PDP) is delineated as an official way in which a person sets out the goals and objectives, approaches, tactics, and results of learning and training. What is more, this is in placement and orientation with the professional programme of study and is more often than not created to satisfy requirements from supervisory or statutory entities around ongoing professional development and re-substantiation to sustain a warrant to practice, remain on a professional catalogue and make evident professional position. In other words, a professional development plan outlines the objectives, necessitates skill and proficiency development, and goals that an individual will necessitate to achieve and realize so as to support incessant enhancement and career development. The main objective of this professional development plan will be to conduct a reflection upon the experiences felt since the creation of professional development goals. The PDP will further develop these goals, by delineating a statement of every goal and an elucidation of the motivation to endeavoring to accomplish the goals and how it relations to my personal values. It will also encompass a succinct depiction of the phases intended to take to achieve the goals and any pertinent tools, approaches, or resources together with an explanation on how to plan as well as utilize social media or technology for the promotion of the completion of the stated goal. Moreover, the plan will explain the manner in which these phases mirror consideration of personal strong suits and flaws pertinent to the goals and finally provide an timeline on completing the goal.

Goal 1: Pursuing Doctoral Degree
Achieving a doctoral degree is part and parcel of my longstanding professional grpwth and development.
Goal Narrative
My goal is to accomplish a doctoral degree in management. The key purpose as to why I purpose to accomplish this objective is to gain deeper knowledge and understanding into the application of management theory into every day practical aspects. The doctoral business administration degree will enable me to pursue research into the manner in which management theory is applied in reality, which befits my enduring interest and zeal in applied theory. The doctoral degree signifies the subsequent phase in my academic journey, which I expect go even beyond the doctoral academic level. I consider myself to be a lifelong scholar, an individual that has been able to sustain current and up-to-date information regarding the prevailing business theory and erudition. The key motivation of pursuing this doctoral degree is to steer me towards the path of a professional career in either academia or in business journalism with one of the renowned business publications. Furthermore, having a comprehensive understanding in business not only theoretically but also practically is an essential competency that I need to attain, and doctoral studies will help me in not only realizing this, but also have the ability to form a distinctive area of focus for which I can become a specialist in the subject matter.
There are different steps that I will take to accomplish this goal encompassing pertinent tools, strategies as well as resources. To begin with, I will ensure that I am proficient in writing a funding proposal. This is largely for the reason that the funding proposal will grant me the chance to fund my research whilst working on my doctorate degree and also be a prospect of attaining a good job. A second step that I intend to take includes finding a strong mentor. I know a number of individuals that have gone through the PhD journey and therefore I plan to interact with these individuals to give me insight on how to evade obstacles that may slow down my progress. In addition, I believe that these individuals will offer me key aspects which comprise of understanding and incessant feedback. What is more, I intend to focus my course research projects or self-determining study for credit in the course towards my doctoral dissertation. In order to improve my accomplishment of this goal, I will capitalize on external resources such as graduate research settings, professional organizations that facilitate graduate research presentations, peers in my area of research and also other paths. I believe through this step, I may be able to gain job prospects in the process (Rohde, 2013).
In this journey, I intend to make use of both technology and social media to facilitate the completion of my goal. In the contemporary, digital technologies constitute an important aspect of the university student experience pursuing higher education (Gouseti, 2017). I intend to use these tools to achieve a form of connectedness not only with peers but also with the university faculty in addition to utilizing social media to facilitate peer interaction outside of the class setting. Wen-oriented technologies like Facebook, Twitter as well as Skype will help me in interacting with fellow doctoral peers in discussing the subject matter being studied (Rockinson-Szapkiw, Heuvelman-Hutchinson, and Spaulding, 2014). These steps mirror consideration of my personal strengths and weaknesses pertinent to the goal. The lack of practical experience is one of my key shortcomings and I believe that through the attendance of seminars and forums, working with a mentor and also bouncing off ideas against peers and colleagues will make it possible to deal with this weakness and turn it into strength. I expect to accomplish this goal over the next five years augmenting my level of knowledge and understanding in the field.
Goal 2: Making excellent contributions to research
A doctorate degree involves extensive research and understanding. My goal is to make excellent contributions to research
Goal Narrative
Another key goal that is part of my professional development plan is making excellent and pertinent contributions to research in my area of study. I feel that there are a lot of opportunities for me in pursuing a doctoral degree. First and foremost there is the opportunity to learn and to contribute to the body of business research. Unlike many other fields, business is a field where many of the brightest minds practice, rather than engage in advanced study. There is always a need for bright minds to work in academia and contribute to the business world at that level. To succeed at that level opens up many opportunities in academia, in publishing and in consulting, but first things first. I would need to earn it by making exceptional contributions to research. There are different steps that I purpose to undertake to realize my goals including pertinent tools, tactics as well as resources. I plan to attend as many business research presentations as possible at the university settings and organizational forums. I will also ensure that I build a set of collaborators that I can work in tandem in achieving my research objectives. I will also ensure that my scholarly agenda is in alignment with my practical work agenda. Conducting research is pivotal for accomplishing a PhD. In this regard, the most ideal way in which I will accomplish this is by sustaining an open communication with my advisor, my fellow peers in the course and also the broader community. I believe this is important for the reason that conducting dialogue on results and discussing ideas with different people can give rise to new insights and positive feedback. Moreover, by presenting my research and findings more often than not will facilitate gauging the reaction of others in my research field and also make adjustments to my focus as necessitated. Technology together with social media will play an imperative part in accomplishing this role. Imperatively, web-based educational sources, journals, academic databases and websites will be imperative in obtaining sufficient data and information to further my research to heights that will pivot me to achieving my doctorate degree in five years’ time. In addition, I believe that social media platforms can ease the ability oh sharing and bouncing off ideas against peers and colleagues regarding the research undertaken.
Conclusion
The main purpose of this professional development plan is to comprehensively set out my goals and objective, strategies and approaches employed and also tools to facilitate learning, growth and development. My main goal is to pursue a doctorate degree. I believe I can achieve this goal in a span of five years and it will enable me to gain a wider ranging knowledge and understanding into theoretical aspects of management and how they can be applied practically in the real world. My second goal is to make excellent contributions to research in the field of practice. This is essential owing to the reason that research not only increases insight into the field but also makes it possible to bridge any existent gaps in literature. The main way in which I intend to accomplish this is by working in tandem with peers and advisors as well as working with mentors. Technology and social media will also play a pivotal role in the attainment of these goals owing to the fact that they make it possible to have a sense of collaboration, better interactions and increased academic resources for research.

References
Gouseti, A. (2017). Exploring doctoral students’ use of digital technologies: what do they use them for and why?. Educational Review, 69(5), 638-654.
Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. J., Heuvelman-Hutchinson, L., & Spaulding, L. (2014). Connecting Online: Can Social Networking and Other Technology Support Doctoral Connectedness?. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 11(3), 4.
Rohde, R. E. (2013). 10 tips to finishing your PhD faster: What they don’t always tell you before you sign up for graduate school. Elsevier. Retrieved from: https://www.elsevier.com/connect/10-tips-to-finishing-your-phd-faster