Chapter 1 mgt538

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

 Define personal development.
 Describe the four core concepts of personal
development.
 Identify the superior qualities of influential role models.
 Discuss personal development from the perspective of
religion, and the social and psychological point of view.
 Develop meaningful goals through the S.M.A.R.T goals
concept and goal programme.
Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

© Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd. (008974-T), 2015 1– 2
CHAPTER
‘The happiest of people don’t necessarily have

the best of everything; they just make the
most of everything that comes along the way.
The brightest future will always be based on a
forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until
you let go of your past failures and
heartaches.’
Unknown (Edwards, 2009)

Understanding Personal
Development and Ethics
The Egg, The Carrot and The Coffee

Bean—which one are you?

Definitions of Personal
Development
 Carillo (2002) − ‘Personal development is the building

block (or better still, the living cell) of all knowledge-based
(k-based) organizational and social development.’
 Imhonopi and Urim (2010) − ‘Personal development is

aimed at all-round development which affects one’s
character, leadership abilities, goals and aspirations, and
lifestyle through the reading of books, attendance of
seminars and workshops, education, keeping the right
associations, and developing a never-give-up attitude in
the face of discouragement and failures until set goals are
achieved.’
 The Webster Dictionary defines ‘Personal Development’
as ‘the process of personal change, growth, progress,
advancement, and improvement.’
 Syed Imtiaz Ahmad (2013) defines ‘Personal

Development’ as ‘the notion of enhancement of one’s
capabilities and potential. It implies a forward
movement from a given position to a position of greater
achievement, opportunity and benefit.’

Core Concepts of Personal
Development

Intrapersonal Skills
Attitude and self-concept

 Your attitude towards life begins from your thoughts.
 Your attitude is shaped by your beliefs and determines
how you feel and act.
 People with positive attitude are optimistic. They see
beauty and wonders in life.
 How you see yourself, your self-worth, your self-esteem
and your confidence are very important because they
are all part of your attitude.

Motivation and perseverance
 Motivation is a driving force that pushes you
towards accomplishing your dream. It starts with
a burning passion, a motive so strong that urges
you to do anything for the sake of gaining your
dream.
 Faith and patience - When the two are
combined, they produce perseverance.

Self-management
 Self-management refers to your ability to apply
behaviour-change tactics that forges you ahead into your
desired behaviour.
 ‘If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in
the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not
expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your
health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your
death.’
(Bukhari, 76:425)

Interpersonal skills
Effective communication
 Effective communication is part of the winning personality
and the mastery of relationships.
 Communication can make or break a relationship.
 Yoshiki Yamasaki of Mazda − ‘You may have the best
projects in the world, or the most sophisticated
equipment, but without good employees you have
nothing.’

Professionalism
Importance of thinking
 Among the highly demanded competence today is the
ability to think because thinking creates new
knowledge, unveils the mysteries of tomorrow and
develops new pathways into the unknown.
 A vital and essential aspect of you as a human being
is how and what you think.
 Humans have been bestowed with the ability to think
both critically and creatively.

Ethics and Sustainability
Spiritual perspective
 Personal development is about achieving your
highest potential in life in this world and in the
hereafter.
 Each of our behaviour has an ethical dimension; it
has a connotation of good or evil in reference to
values or criteria of judgement.

Influential People as Role
Models

Superior Qualities of Role
Models

Superior qualities of role models
 Ethical and moral principles − the ethics of our decisions
and actions is defined as a society, not as individuals.
 Spiritual outlook or values − the spiritual person is one
who is close to God, loves God, always thinks of God,
puts God first, or who tries to do God’s will.
 Human conduct − social scientists, James Q. Wilson &
George L. Kelling and their famous ‘broken window
theory’.

Different Perspectives of
Personal Development
Islamic perspective
 Personal development is the innate dignity
conferred by God on every Man.
 Man will be held accountable for observing the moral
system of Islam in three dimensions of his behaviour.
They are his responsibility towards God, towards the self
and towards society.
 ‘And indeed we have honoured the Children of Adam, and
We have carried them on land and sea, and have
preferred them above many of those whom We have
created with a marked preference.’ The Quran (17:70)
Christian Perspective
 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.’
(Proverbs 9:10)
 ‘Christians are transformed (changed) by

renewing their minds.’
(Romans 12:1, 2)

Hinduism perspective
 Personal development according to Hinduism,
as in most other religions, begins with the mind.
 ‘You are what your deep, driving desire is. As
your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so
is your deed. As your deed is, so is your
destiny.’
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Buddhism perspective
 Buddhism does not revolve around the belief in Gods.
 Buddhists believe that they are responsible for their own
deeds, happiness and misery; they build their own hells
and create their own heavens. They are the architects of
their own fate.
 ‘Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man,
gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.’
(Dhammapada, 122)

Western Psychological and
Sociological Perspectives
 Erik Erikson believed that personality continued to
change over time and was never truly finished.
 Jean Piaget said that development of self evolved
through a negotiation between the worlds as it exists in
one’s mind and the world that exists as it experienced
socially
 Charles Cooley asserted that the individual person’s self
grows out of society’s interpersonal interactions and the
perceptions of others.
 George Herbert Mead described that a person’s distinct
identity is developed through social interaction.
Developing Personal Goals
‘We begin by making habits, and end

by habits making us.’ It is easy to let
our lives and our work fall into a rut
and let our actions become mechanical
and thoughtless, like caterpillars.
The caterpillar story – the blind
leading the blind

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Developing a Goal Programme
STEPS ACTIVITIES
1. Write down your plans Allow your mind to wander and dream. Write
all your goals
2.Set a date to reach the goal Add a deadline i.e. month, year, semester or
lifetime
3. Identify obstacles that will need to be Break goals into smaller pieces and list
overcome respective obstacles and possible solutions
4. Identify the people or groups you will Make a list of people who can help or inspire
need to work with you
5. Determine what you need to know List ability, skills or knowledge needed to
accomplish your goals
6. Determine ‘What’s in it for me’ List benefits upon reaching your goals as
motivation
7. Create a plan of action Schedule your activities

Feeling on Top of the World
Whatever the challenge that confronts you, always look to

the hill or mountain top, because in doing so, you are in fact
looking to greatness


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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

‘The happiest of people don’t necessarily have

Unknown (Edwards, 2009)

The Egg, The Carrot and The Coffee

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

 Carillo (2002) − ‘Personal development is the building

 Imhonopi and Urim (2010) − ‘Personal development is

 Syed Imtiaz Ahmad (2013) defines ‘Personal

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Attitude and self-concept

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

 ‘Christians are transformed (changed) by

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

‘We begin by making habits, and end

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

Whatever the challenge that confronts you, always look to

Personal Development and Ethics All Rights Reserved

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