INDEPENDENCE AND REFLECTION: THE INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS

PRESENTED BY

Michelle: -4123596

Munir: -4343622

Tanvir: -4325352

Yvonne: -4160764

Esha: -4095053

DEVELOPING BUSINESS PRACTICE301

Introduction

"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand" – Confucius (Cited by Ryan, 2007:61) Learning is an important aspect to enhance skills, knowledge

and the way of thinking. It is a continuous life long process and human beings learn in

group as well as individually – both of which is crucial. Growth mind-set is essential and learning becomes more

relevant if managed, identified and action plans are drawn. Reflective learning - working with meaning and transformative

learning.

Fayol's Five Elements of Management

PLAN

ORGANIZE

COMMAND

COORDINATE

CONTROL

Fayol regarded the elements of management as the functions of management. He said that management should be viewed as a process consisting of 5 elements

Planning

Examine future

Draw the plan

Organising

Build up the structure, material and resources

Commanding

Maintain activity among the personnel.

Coordination

Bind together, unify and harmonies activity and effort.

Controlling

To see everything occurs in conformity with policy and practice

Fayol's Five Elements of Management

SMART Objective

Specific:objective should specify what they want ti achieve

Measurable: you should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objective or not

Achievabe: Are the objective you set achievable and attainable?

Realistic: can you realistically achieve the objective with the resource you have?

Time: when do you want to achieve the set objective.

Example

Specific: I want to get my overall exam result exceed 65% in this 9 months in Coventry

Measurable: 65% overall result in 9 months that means each month exam targets can be measured against a specific goal.

Achievable: Is the 65% overall result achievable? The university provide good education for us,and i do the revision every week.

Realistic: Is the 65% overall result over a 9 months period realistic or does i need longer? I have skills and resource to achieve this over the time period set

Time: I should take my overall result exceed 65% in this 9 months

Motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedPhysiological needs

Food, shelter, sexual satisfaction i.e. those needs needed for basic survival.

Safety needsThe need to feel safe within your environment. Also refers to emotional and physical safety.

Social NeedsThe need for love, friendship and belongingness

Esteem needsThe need for self respect, status and recognition from others.

Self actualisationThe point of reaching ones full potential. Are you capable at excelling yourself?

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy: Belief in do betterInstrumentality: The thought of an individual performs well, then a valued outcome will come to that individual.

Valence: Valence means "value" and refers to beliefs about outcome desirability (Redmond, 2010). There are individual differences in the level of value associated with any specific outcome.

Tuckman’s Five Stages of Team Development

Forming

• Team building.

• Shaping Individual Roles.

• Developing reliance and communication.

• Build up Norms.

Storming

• Realize difficulty of task.

• Fluctuation of behavior towards the achievement of task.

• Maybe challenging to the task.

• Have poor teamwork.

Performing

• Recognize strengths and weaknesses of other members.

• High level of involvement with the team and be prepare to deliver.

• Obtain confident to resolve conflicts.

Norming

•Individuals start to work more effectively as a team. They are no longer focused on their individual goals, but rather are focused on developing a way of working together (processes and procedures).

Adjourning

• Performance can be low if task get monotonous

• Team desires to reorganize on the changing status.

Advantages and disadvantages of Team Working

Advantages Disadvantages

•Individuals have the opportunity to learn from other for working as a team.

•Some individuals are not compatible with team work.

•Potential exists for greater work force flexibility with cross-training.

•Individuals must be selected accordingly for the team as well as requisite job skills.

•Opportunity provided for synergistic combinations of ideas and abilities.

•Some members may experience less motivating jobs as part of a team.

•Communication and information exchange may be facilitated and increased.

•Conflict may develop among individuals

Mindset

Fixed MindsetPeople believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success —without effort, but that might be harmful in circumstances.

Growth MindsetPeople believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates to be diverted of learning and a flexibility that is essential for a vast achievement.Virtually all great people have had these qualities.

Experience

At University We are researching individually and as a group. We are exchanging information between us Help each others to understand theories better. Planning, organising and implementing our studies and group work. i.e.

we keep communicating with each other to perform our group activity for effectively.

At Work Implementing time management. For example, at work be on time. As I

am doing retail job it is very important. Communicating with my colleagues by email, text, one to one

conversation. Motivating my colleagues from my learning.

Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Experiment:•DBP PresentationExperiment:•DBP Presentation

Experience:•Blackberry presentationExperience:•Blackberry presentation

Theorise:•SWOT•Need rehearse as much as possible.•The skill of making PowerPoint•How to work with colleagues well•Time management

Theorise:•SWOT•Need rehearse as much as possible.•The skill of making PowerPoint•How to work with colleagues well•Time management

Reflect:•Rehearsal•PowerPoint•SWOT•Relationship with colleagues•The duration of the presentation

Reflect:•Rehearsal•PowerPoint•SWOT•Relationship with colleagues•The duration of the presentation

Kolb’s learning cycle gives importance for reflection/self evaluation.Which in fact becomes the basis for other experiences in the future.

Honey and Mumford

Subsequently, Honey and Mumford, building on Kolb's work, identified four learning styles:

Activist (enjoying the experience itself), Reflector (spending much time and effort in reflection), Theorist (good at making connections and abstracting ideas from experience), and Pragmatist (enjoying the planning stage). Here is the model expressed graphically:

JoHari Window Model

Another effective framework that can be used to carry out Self-evaluation is the Jo-hari model. Gathering feedback from peers will help in reducing the blind area as well widening the public area over the Hidden area.Halpern (2009:11)

Cameron Model (Practical Academic Based Reflection on Experiences)

1. How did that go?The International Business Strategy presentation went well, but could have

rehearsed more for better outcomes.2. How do I feel about the experience?

It was a wonderful learning experience, which provided practical knowledge and development of my presentation skills. 3. What did I learn from it? What did I fail to learn from it?

I learnt to conduct group as well as individual research & investigation on different topics. I also learnt to keep up time and complete work before deadlines. I failed to learn numeracy and quantitative skills.4. How might I have learned more effectively?

Should have completed learning each weeks learning outcomes that weekend itself. 5. What will I do differently in the future to help me learn better?

Manage the time properly so that coordination among the group can become more effective. Developing my cognitive skills also will help me in my academic and professional career.

Cameron Model (Practical Work-based reflection on experience)

1. How did that go?

The meeting with clients went well but could have provided clear details regarding the import strategy.

2. How do I feel about the experience?

To positive feedbacks from colleagues was motivating.

3. What did I learn from it? What did I fail to learn from it?

I learnt to co-ordinate with team members so that as a group we could work effectively for the organisation and the client.

I failed to learn time management and personal management skills.

4. How might I have learned more effectively?

Should have used a learning journal to write down my personal experiences/feedbacks so that I could have reflected on them effectively.

5. What will I do differently in the future to help me learn better?

Improve team-working and coordination skills, so as to draw a better strategy for imports from overseas.

Conclusion

Thus it can be concluded that:-

The competitive and dynamic real business world makes individual and group tasks essential for success.

Academic based group activities will definitely improve effectiveness for future situations.

Self-evaluation & reflection is crucial to stay competitive in today’s business scenario.

Feedback from colleagues and peers enhances self-awareness and helps in the holistic development of individuals.

Reflecting on past experiences also helps in developing sense of what went well and what didn’t, and in experimenting new methods to make learning more effective.

References

Carol S. Dweck, PH.D. (2006) 1st edn. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. United States of America: Random House, Ballantine Books.

Expentancy Theory: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/4.+Expectancy+Theory

Fayol's Princle of management: http://dilipchandra12.hubpages.com/hub/General-Principles-of-Management

Fayol's graph: http://vectorstudy.com/management_schools/administrative_management.htm

Halpern, H. (2009), ‘Supervision and the Johari window: a framework for asking questions’, Education for Primary Care, 20, Pg. 10-14

References

Intrinsic and extrinsic: http://mmrg.pbworks.com/f/Ryan,%2BDeci%2B00.pdf

Intrinsic and extrinsic: Pictuer source: http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/about/images/

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: http://www.learnmanagement2.com/maslow.htm

McClelland, The Achieving Society: http://www.strategies-for-managing-change.com/acquired-needs-theory.html

Ryan, N. (2009), International Perspective on teaching and learning in Higher Education, Ireland:NAIRTL

Tuckman, B.W. & Jensen, M.A.C. (1977) Stages of small group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419-427