SG7003 Assignment Sample – Business Simulation with Professional Development 2022
Report Summary
The undertaken reflective report aims to explore my learning experience of working in a team for developing business simulation projects. In addition, the reflection covers the research into the two events that occurred in my simulation team that primarily focus on group work, effective decision making, analysis of leadership, and their implication on personal development. The first identified event includes working in a team in order to create or develop a concrete project plan regarding the development of business simulation.
As it is derived from the first identified event I was the team leader in this case. Being a leader of a team, it is extremely important to motivate, influence, inspire your team and workforce (Gardner et al. 2020). I have learnt how to manage the resilience power and adapt with the new changes that is coming forth to your team a constant basis. In case of project management on managing any other task, it is important for a leader to cope up with the new changes that is constantly flowing towards the team and its members.
A team leader has several duties to self for the team members, which are not only leads to motivation and inspiration however; it also leads to solving the issues that are constantly flowing with the workforce team.
The second identified event includes getting approval from the teachers and the competent authorities for the successful business simulation implementation. The Gibbs Reflective Theory helps to reflect learning experiences through six effective steps (Fam et al. 2018). In addition, it helped to understand the two events in an effective way.
The review of the applied theory is beneficial for suggesting the strengths and weaknesses of teamwork. This reflective study reflects on the successful implementation of my knowledge gained in the course work of MBA. The knowledge gained from the course has been instrumental for my work in the business simulation project. Additionally, various skills have been identified and suggested for self-development.
In the second identified event it was a time to get the right amount of approval and appreciation from the teachers therefore, I have reflected on the learning experiences that my team and I have gathered from the last class notes. In order to achieve a self-development it is essential to develop certain amount of knowledge and skills within the team leaders as well as the team members.
Introduction and Identified events
Working in a group with a team of people is beneficial for the achievement of a common goal in the most effective and efficient way. The main purpose of working in a group is that it provides an effective framework that increases the capability of the members of the group for participating in the process of planning, finding solutions to a problem (Vveinhardt and Banikonytė, 2017).
MBA is a field of study that prepares the students for understanding the various aspects of business operations. This also helps the students by imparting knowledge on how to manage a business by working in a group. In addition, it develops the students into the next leaders and helps them face the various challenges associated with the changing situations of current world business (Caena and Redecke, 2019).
The present report aims to reflect on the learning experience of working in a group for a project and understanding the performance of the companies in the industry of mobile phones. In addition, this report will reflect on the difference between the knowledge I have gathered in my MBA course and working in a project simulation team. In order to prepare this report, I have taken into two events from my simulation team. In this respect, the focus is on group dynamics, decision making.
The first identified event is, working in a group in order to create or develop a project plan regarding the development of business simulation. I have regained knowledge regarding companies in the mobile phone market. As a student of MBA, I have gained knowledge regarding the management of the business and also learnt about the various key skills development and personal development such as leadership and decision-making.
Being a part of the simulation team, I have learnt various things which helped me to grow and develop myself immensely. My experience of working in a group has helped me to understand the pros and cons of group work. Besides, with the helpful implementation of the learning outcomes gained from the course MBA I have learnt about the dynamics of group work.
In the first event I was selected as a team leader and manage a project during the given period. Leadership is a key skill that I have learnt from the class notes and especially when I was selected as a leader I learnt it in the utmost level. In order to achieve a sustainable and durable success in the business and in case of managing a project the leaders have the utmost responsibility within the team (Apsorn et al. 2019).
Besides motivation inspiration and influence, the team members it is extremely needed for the team leaders to take a positive sides of the team members and understands their issues or any existing ongoing problems. Being a team leader I have manage the project successfully efficiently and balances the right amount of harmony within the team members.
The second identified event is getting approval from the teachers and the competent authorities for the successful implementation of the business simulation. In order to develop a project, I worked in a group, and later on, we required approval from the teachers and the competent authorities in order to run or implement the business simulation.
In the second event, the teachers identified certain shortcomings related to the project. Initially, the teachers and the competent authorities reviewed the business simulation and imparted their valuable suggestions on how the simulation can be improved. Teachers and the competent authorities were responsible for guiding us and who helped me and my group to carry on with our work. They identified and highlighted the areas of improvement and also gave us motivation for our work.
The teachers and the competent authorities gave their suggestions on how to bring innovation to make the project on business simulation. It is after their approval the project got implemented. In the second identified event I have to collect the approval and the right amount of judgement from the higher authority or teacher’s which I have completed successfully.
In order to develop the project and accomplish the work or manages Taskbar it is extremely essential for the leaders to cope up with the improvement area in team members. Resilience is one of the biggest quality or skills that a leader should adapt in order to accomplish the work and simultaneously maintain the right relationship management to within the workforce team or team members (Apsorn et al. 2019).
Application of theory
Use theory to understand the two events
In order to understand the two identified events better, I have chosen to use the Gibbs reflective theory to present my reflection on my experience of working in a group for simulation. The theoretical framework of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle was propounded by Graham Gibbs in the year 1988 (Adeani et al. 2020). The reflective theory of Gibbs is helpful in the structuring of the experiences gained from the learning. The theory of reflection comprises six stages that explore the experiences and includes- description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan.
Figure 1: Gibbs Reflective Theory
(Source: Adeaniet al. 2020)
Description: The first stage of Gibbs Reflective theory is the description (Dhaliwal et al. 2018). With the helpful utilization of the description stage, I intend to describe the two events. The first event was, working with a group of people in order to develop a project plan for the development of business simulation. For the business simulation, my group of six people and I determined to split the various assignments between us in order to research a single topic each.
However, there were many times that we sat together to resolve problems arising from the project planning. The second event was, getting approval from the teachers and the competent authorities to implement the business simulation. The teachers and the authorities first reviewed and evaluated our project and then gave their opinions to make certain changes.
According to Gibb’s reflective story it is important to understand the first stage of descriptions which comprises the development and determine the issues within the project (Torres et al. 2019). As a team leader first I have develop the project by identifying the ongoing or existing risks then I have create the right group for business simulation. We have chosen one project and get approved by the teachers and the authority that whether it is right to accomplish and developed the project or not. After getting the approval we have derived the project successfully with the help of teachers and authorities opinion and right amount of knowledge.
Feelings: Before the first event-related project planning regarding the development of business simulation we were all excited. However, as we started working on the planning, we faced certain difficulties regarding group coordination and effective communication with the group members. This made me frustrated regarding the project planning on business simulation. I felt that there was a lack of motivation also among the members of the group.
However, when the plan was successfully implemented my group and I became extremely happy. Communication is one of the key that leaders should have to accomplish the project and maintains the right amount of balance within the employee relationship (Aldianto et al. 2021). As a team leader in case of the second stage of Gibbs reflective theory I have accomplished the project with maintaining the right communication level with team members and authority.
The authority should get all the details of the working process and if any issues occurs with the team members then the authority should know with the help of a team leader. in this case the team leader is the communicating Bridge that maintain a right balance in relationship with the employees of the workforce team and with the operational management.
During the second event, my team and I were a little nervous regarding the approval of the teachers. Initially, when the plan was submitted to the teachers and the competent authorities it was rejected and we felt very demotivated. However, the helpful guidance and suggestion received from the teachers helped us to rectify the issues and we made some positive changes. After that when we submitted it the teachers not only approved it but also praised us for our hard work. This made me and my team very happy and motivated.
Evaluation: Evaluation of work helps to reflect on the positive as well as on the negative side of any situation (Dereudre, 2019). I have learnt that a group or team is more successful in implementing effective leadership strategies to achieve success. By evaluating the second event I can say that getting criticism from the teachers can demotivate people.
However, there is a positive side also as it helped us to identify our faults and rectify them. Evaluating or analysing a project in the right way is the best time when it has any understanding about the issues or problem areas that occurs within the project. Planning is one of the essential key that primarily needed in case of a business project. Along with the analysing or evaluating it is also essential to accumulated and gathered all the valid data and information about the group members and their positive nature.
Analysis: Analysis is helpful in understanding the situation better and focuses on making sense of the happenings. I think that our group became successful because each member knew exactly what is required to be done. For example, before planning we were required to search literature on business simulation of the mobile phone industry.
Each member gathered information that helped me understand the work more effectively. As the project was about the mobile phone industry and business simulation, therefore I have gathered all valid data and information then evaluated all the information with the help of the teachers and authority before making any further progress. this evaluation or analysis help the team members to know them better and accomplish the work more efficiently.
Conclusion: I learnt that before taking up any research work, I must research first and then conduct the research. In addition, I also learnt that often it is important to question the decisions of the group members to ensure the maintenance of the quality of the project. In order to conclude by saying that I have learnt a massive research work and adopted several qualities that primarily needed within the leaders. In order to accomplish the project work and maintain the right amount of quality of the complex to work it is needed to develop certain leadership skills and knowing the team members in a well manner are important.
Action plan: The next time when I will be working in a group I will communicate with each member and will try to identify their strengths. In addition, I will ask them to chalk out the plan and divide the work among the members. Besides, I will focus on researching the project topic before starting work.
I will also ask for the advice of the teachers and the group members for the project. Besides many positive qualities I have found one of the major issues area in which I think need to work and pay attention more intensively. The most essential thing which needs to have within the leaders is the resilience power or cooking up with the change or occurring issues. I have found that the resilience power is essential to develop in a more certain and assertive way.
Review of applied theories
Reflection is instrumental for the learning that includes simulation-oriented learning experience (THIAGRAJ et al. 2021). In this respect, the theory of Gibbs Reflective Cycle will be beneficial for structuring the reflection on the learning implementation of my MBA course on working in a team for developing a project on gaming application.
In this reflective report on professional development, I have used the reflective theory of Gibbs in order to understand and review the two events I have encountered while working with the team in the simulation project.
The first step of Gibbs’s theory has helped me to describe the situation that occurred due to the two identified events. In the first identified event I was working in a group from there I identified the strengths and weaknesses of those associated with the project. The project group included six people who were responsible for drawing a framework for the project planning.
I was one of the group members who were responsible for maintaining coordination and effective communication in the group. We expected to complete the project before the deadline. For this, we divided the work among us. All the team members worked hard and helped each other in order to successfully complete the project before the deadline. However, I have identified the strengths regarding group understanding.
Each member of the group maintained effective communication among the teammates that helped us to understand the project effectively. In addition, I have also identified the weakness of our group that is starting work before researching the business simulation. This weakness of the group made the project faulty (Costinet al. 2018). Due to this, initially, it was rejected by the teachers and the competent authorities.
I have identified that working in a group has a positive side. Working in a team has helped me to learn about team spirit. All the group members supported and motivated each other. Due to this, I have become able to understand the importance of leadership. The implications of leadership have helped me learn about business simulation which is beneficial for my personal development.
By evaluating the first event I have identified the negative side of the group work. Most often group work leads to chaos and confusion among the teammates regarding certain decisions. The conflict arising in our project was regarding the finalization of the method of the project. Different opinions from group members delayed the completion of the project.
According to me, group work is about utilizing the strength of each member. Another significant aspect I have realized is that groupthink made the group work successful. By implementing groupthink, we became successful in making decisions for the team.
From the conclusion, I became able to identify the weakness of my character. The weakness is regarding my proper planning strategy. For that, I require to research the topic first and then begin the work of research. I also require to make an effective plan after analysing the situation. the other hand, the Gibbs Reflective Theory has made me reflect and understand the need of establishing effective communication with my teammates.
Discussion and recommendations
Review of individual professional development
My experience of working in a group of business simulation projects in the mobile phone industry has helped me grow professionally. I have implemented the learning outcomes that I gained from my MBA course in this group work. While working with the team I have become able to understand various aspects of team management that will help me to implement the knowledge in my future projects.
I have developed practical knowledge of leadership skills while working on the business simulation project. I learnt that leadership in the mobile industry demands competitive aggression. In this respect, a leader requires to be energetic and competitive in identifying the requirements of the customers and making the team understand those requirements.
This quality of leadership is required to be adopted by me in order to grow professionally and become successful in the future. The practical knowledge gained from the business simulation has contributed to enhancing my self-confidence which is necessary for managing a team in the near future.
The business simulation project introduced me to the concept of team collaboration. Team collaboration is an effective approach that includes teamwork, thinking innovatively and the equal participation of the group members in order to achieve group objectives (Claure and Jung, 2021). While working in a group I gained practical knowledge on how a team collaboratively works. I learnt in a collaborative team each member shares their innovative ideas and helps each other. This is a valuable learning that I will use in my future projects and will build a successful and effective team.
Effective time management is another skill that I learnt while working in a group. In the group project meeting deadline is very important. For this, each of the members is required to maintain strong time management skills. While working on the simulation project, I have identified that in order to develop professionally one is required to effectively manage the time.
For this prioritizing the work and focusing on the work is significant. In the list of positive qualities I found that I have the capability to manage the team efficiently as I motivate inspire and influence my team members in a constant basis. The Other positive quality, which a leader needs to have and at the same time I found that I have it in at utmost level, is the communication.
However, I found some of the major negative quality that that is the resilience power for coping up with the issues and new changes. In order to develop the resilience powers I have to work on it and put myself within more conflicted, issues area, check my residence powers, and develop the skills.
Research skills are another significant factor in the professional development of the individual. During my project work on business simulation, I was required to research the topic. For this, I read related articles available on the topic. This research work has helped me to acquire much information and also helped me to develop knowledge. The gained knowledge will help me in conducting more research works in the future.
In order to develop professionally, I have learnt the importance of developing communication skills. Effective communication skills are helpful to improve the professional as well as the personal life (Chalkiadaki, 2018). By utilizing good communication skills, I was able to allow the members of my team and myself to recognize the information more easily and accurately.
On the other hand, I learnt the negative impact of poor communication on professional development. Poor or ineffective communication leads to misunderstanding and trust issues among the team members. Therefore, I will focus on the implementation of effective communication in my future projects in order to become successful and efficient.
Recommendations for self-development
In my opinion, the experience that I have gained from working in the business simulation team has enabled me to face future challenges. There, I learnt many positive things and identified my strengths as well. However, the same project has helped me to identify my weaknesses that are required to be identified and addressed for effective professional development.
According to my opinion need to develop motivational skills in order to motivate myself and my teammates. Working in a group is associated with many problematic situations that decrease the motivation of the team members (Kaše et al. 2019). While working in the team, my teammates and I became demotivated when our teachers did not approve of our project plan.
We became frustrated. However, that situation helped me to identify the need to develop motivation to maintain the team spirit and produce quality work. Motivation keeps the spirit of the team intact. In addition, it gives a morale boost to the self and helps to influence others. Moreover, motivation is very much significant in self-development. Therefore, in the future, I will concentrate on developing motivational skills to accomplish my personal goals.
In my opinion, I require to develop strong communication skills for self-development. Effective communication skills include effective listening to what others are saying. In addition, effective communication skills enhance the learning process that is essential for both personal and professional development.
According to my opinion, I am not very much confident about myself. After much analysis, I have discovered that I lack effective communication skills. While addressing a culturally different person I become very conscious and my self-confidence reduces. I found that I need to learn about different cultures and learn the languages of my team members in order to communicate with them effectively. Learning new languages and developing knowledge about different cultures will make me confident while talking with them (Pitts, 2021).
I won’t be nervous and hesitant as well. By adopting sound and effective communication skills I will be able to address the different people in my future more confidently and effectively. As a team leader, I have worked successfully with the help of teachers and authority and my team members.
The subjects that was chosen for the project was business in mobile industry, I have accomplished the project with the help of my team members and their effort successfully. Besides many positive qualities I found some of the major negative qualities within me in which I need to work more intensively for future benefit. As a MBA student, the project helps me immensely to identify my positive and negative quality.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that working in a team is helpful for personal and self-development. With the effective implementation of the knowledge and skills gained from my MBA courses such as leadership, team collaboration, and decision making I have understood that the mobile phone industry is a very competitive industry.
This reflective report discusses with the help of Gibbs Reflective Theory the two events encountered by me while working on the project. The report also includes a short review of the applied theory and analyses the relevance to the chosen events. The section of discussion and recommendations includes an explanation of my professional development. Besides, the recommendations help me to identify areas of self-improvement for future growth and success.
References
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Kaše, R., Saksida, T. and Mihelič, K.K., 2019. Skill development in reverse mentoring: Motivational processes of mentors and learners. Human Resource Management, 58(1), pp.57-69.
Pitts, R.T., 2021. Pinpointing Where to Start: A Reflective Analysis on the Introductory Evaluation Course. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 35(3).
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Appendix
Individual reflection logs
Week 1: In the first week, I met my team members for discussing the business simulation project. Next, we arranged a team meeting in order to understand each other. In the group discussion, we decided about the work that is required to be done and prepared a concrete plan. In addition, each member was given specific topics regarding the business simulation to research before starting the work. Group discussions were organized in the first week to clarify the issues regarding the project.
Week 2: In the second week, my teammates and I monitored the work associated with the project. This week we created the website after researching for one whole week. In order to develop the website, we focused on effective time management by utilizing technical tools.
Week 3: In the third week, my team and I created the draft of the business simulation project. In the same week, we met the teachers for getting their approval on the project.
Week 4: This is the final week of the project. It was the week of proofreading the project for final submission. After proofreading the project was sent to the reviewers. Finally, the project was accomplished successfully and received good reviews.
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