Self-reflective Essay: Personal Experiences using Capsim Business Simulation

Question

Task: You are required to reflect upon your experiences and outcomes using the Capsim Business Simulation. You will do this by preparing an Executive Reflection culminating in a 4,000-word essay. The self-reflective essay will be underpinned by Gibbs’ Reflection Cycle provided below. Your essay will be marked using the Reflective Practice Rubric.

Writing a Reflection requires synthesising information about the company, your performance in it and the theory you have learnt. Reflection requires both observation of the present state of your company's performance as well as lessons you have learnt from the theory. Being able to reflect on your decisions, and learn from your mistakes/successes, is one way to advance your career and ensure growth in your division or functional area.

Reflection Structure:
Description - What decisions did you make in each year (round) of the simulation and what were the outcomes? Summarise.

Feelings - Describe your reaction when succeeding or failing to reach your profitably goals.

Evaluation - How successful was your company overall or specifically (provide some examples) at the end of the 8 competitive rounds? How were your actions successful or unsuccessful? Your analysis should be grouped by each of the four functional areas of your company:

1) Research and Development (R&D)
2) Marketing
3) Production
4) Finance

Answer

Introduction

Figure: Gibbs’ Reflective cycle
Source: (Bhasin, 2021).

The practice of reflection as presented in the self-reflective essay allows a person to look back at their past activities that helps them to make planning and strategy for a better future. Reflection requires a conscious endeavour to recall past events and enhance awareness of them. The below report has discussed my personal experiences of dealing with failure and success while working in an organization. To reflect on my experiences, I have chosen Gibb's reflective model to provide a clear understanding of my experiences. Furthermore, I have provided an action plan which will assist my Company and me in achieving success in the future.

Description
The Company makes every decision based on its previous performance and tries to change its business management programs. In 2020, the Company made certain effective decisions, such as in 2019, the Company faced a net income loss of over $5,748. Therefore, to mitigate the loss, I made specific plant improvements, made progress in cash flows and operating activities, and thus increased the retained earnings (Capsim Management Simulations, Inc., 2021). In 2021, I looked at every program and training in detail, which brought progress to our business. The net cash flow was zero, and total current assets in cash, inventory, and accounts receivable were increasing. The Capsim brings education to the management teams of the multi-millionaire company to achieve success or increase market share. I made a particular decision in 2022; I am looking to change R&D programs by 1.9%, and the total variables in the management programs cost by 76.1%. In 2023, I intend to improve the management programs and product development by bringing some innovations. The expected cost of the net plant improvements in the year is $3,640. In 2023, I improved the management programs and product development and brought some innovations to my overall programs.

Due to the changes, the net plant improvements cost was $3,640. In 2024, the Company has planned to make changes in the cash flow and management operations. The expected net plant improvements cost in the year is $216 and is expected to increase the business sales. I made some effective plans in management operations, R&D programs, and the marketing levels. In 2025, I made some effective plans, and the expected loss in net income is $1,932 and in the net cash flow activities. I took new initiatives to improve overall business sales by educating the team members about business marketing, increasing sales and financial spreadsheets (celemiproject, 2021). In 2026, the Company has looked to bring changes in R&D by the expected rise of 2.2%, salesand promotions by 5%. I also made a practical decision in the manufacturing programs and the product development by bringing innovation. In 2027, the Company has expected to cut the cash flow by $34,923 than the previous expected year due to some modifications in the management plans and R&D programs. Feelings: The failure I experienced in the company was entirely unexpected, and because of this, I went through several challenges within our functional activities. I felt terrible during the situation because what I get after enormous hard work was not worth it. I as a part of team was worth achieving good success because every team member in our company works hard to fulfill the objectives of the company. Before implementing the plan in our strategy, I was excited and was ready to achieve fruitful outcomes, but it just went wrong, and the result was unexpected that demotivates many of our employees. Along with me, the other teammates felt the same way about the outcome and were not satisfied with what just happened. But now I feel good for what just happened because it gave me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes since not every single individual is perfect, and I need to accept failure along with success to achieve a targeted goal in our life. I feel good about the situation now because I handled it, and I got the opportunity to know the team members better since every person was helpful and supportive during the time of need.

Evaluation
The Company has made effective plans to bear the loss in business and gain profits and improvement in the management programs. Capsim global provides education to the business management to increase sales and profits by making some changes in the management programs and R&D programs. The Company is more interested in bringing innovation in its existing products and working style for more improvement and success. At the end of the eight competitive rounds, the Company is expected to succeed in its business programs and plans. The Company has made certain decisions in the net plant improvements and the marketing styles as well. I looked for every cash flow in the operating activities, which has brought an immense change in the business activities and workflow. The Company intends to make various changes in the business activities and product development as looking in the previous year's performance. For example, in 2019, the net cash flow was $9,999, and in 2020, the net cash flow in operating activities was $3,279. It has brought an immense change in business sales and financial activities. In 2021, the Company's total liabilities were $14,163, and in 2020, the total liabilities were $21,249, which proves the change in the cash flow and improvements in the business activities. The initiatives or measures taken by the Company to improve the business performance were excellent and beneficial. It has increased the business sales and is expected to increase and go as per the plans. The Company has also made certain decisions concerning the management programs and in the business promotions and marketing activities as well.

Bringing changes in the business plans and activities will help companies sustain in the market for a long time and run the business. Businesses need to analyze the current market and the Company's financial activities and make sure effective decisions. It helps them make specific changes in their products and allows them to implement certain beneficial strategies to increase profits in business. The changes that have been made in the business activities and the management operations are expected to take growth in the following years and work according to the plan. The actions as of 2021 are successful and are more expected to gain success in the programs and business operations. I took specific initiatives in various business operations such as business marketing and promotions, bringing innovation in the existing product, and the management operations for the eight competitive rounds. It gives us knowledge and ideas to analyze and implement practical strategies to find better solutions to the identified issues or problems. It helps businesses make adequate plans and decisions for upcoming years and gain a unique name in the competitive market. Every year the business operations cost, which includes the material, labor variable cost, and other resources cost, keeps changing, and there are no specific costs that could be allocated or divided. Therefore, those costs could be maintained by making an effective plan that also gives some knowledge to omit the upcoming problems, which can be very beneficial for the Company. I have made business plans and activities by looking at the previous business performances and looking forward to moving on to the plans I have made for the coming six years. It gives motivation and focuses on the program and the overall business goals and objectives achievement, and provides strengths to be consistent in work.

Analysis
Research and Development
The fact is that I want our products to be smaller but better in performance. I would look at the Industry Report Condition for clients’ requirements for each market segment and accordingly upgrade the team’s products. The low-end segment buyers want low-price products, and the high-end segment clients want the products to be designed with the best technology and improved product outcomes every year. The original low-end product was not upgraded by the company, and this was major source of Net Income for Capsim Global as the production cost of the product was low, and the sales ratio was high. The time required to upgrade sensors or invent new sensors is another significant part. The sensors' specifications are as substantial as the time needed for the sensors. Keeping up with the customers will be challenging in the initial 3-4 rounds, but a module called Total Quality Management will be provided to us in round 3, and this will assist in shortening the research and development cycle time by approximately 30%-40%. The decision taken by the research and development department is vital as it affects the product quality and the overall revenue of the company. While developing a new product, I have kept in mind the buying criteria, and the specifications match the buyers' criteria. The automation and capacity levels are set one year in advance in the production module.

The best decision that has been taken is the upgrading of the sensors to the criteria of the customers but not too much. The company has maintained the balance between the time required and the criteria fulfillment, which has led to the company's success. Capsim makes contributions to its customers' research activities by using both its experience and skills in simulation and various fields involved such as generation systems, electricity grids, control, and instrumentation. Different research and development concepts such as the static current-limiter circuit breaker have been developed by Capsim, which led to the outcome of the patent filing after a mock-up validation and developed a new marine current generator. The decisions that contributed to the company's success are the company's assistance in the research field of clients and helping them develop new products. The clients’ requirements have also been considered by us, which has led to the company's success. The company has faced failures to some extent as Ill, and the reasons behind those are majorly the issue in time management and imbalance between time and product development. Our most tremendous success was the development of new products, and our biggest failure was the problem I faced in managing the time. One mistake that the company has committed was that it did not manage its time efficiently and only focused on developing the new products and meeting customer requirements or criteria.

Marketing
Marketing is one of the vital aspects that contributed to the success of the new product developed by the company. Capsim has developed various marketing strategies to effectively grow their company and make their products reach the customer base. As per the annual report, I can see that the company has always put effort into the marketing department and the ratio of the marketing and promotion of the company has always been maintained. The company has focused on the effective use of the digital marketing area to promote and market its products, which has led to the company's success. The best decision for the company was the promotion of their products through digital marketing sources such as Facebook, Instagram, and others. In current times, digital marketing is one of the best choices, and the company has appropriately utilized the opportunity to make the proper use of digital marketing. The company has effectively marketed its products over digital platforms and has made sure that the product descriptions and benefits are communicated to the customers in a well-structured way. The company has conveyed the brief of their products in a well-defined manner to the customers that have helped the customers to understand the benefits offered by the products efficiently. The company has taken decisions on the marketing and strategy of the products and has executed them efficiently by the use of tactical planning and execution. The company has developed print media campaigns to make their products reach the customers, and also the company has undertaken the decision of television advertisements and campaigns. The marketing campaigns of Capsim were highly creative and subjective. The creativity of the marketing campaigns was maintained, and a systematic approach was developed by the company to effectively deliver the message it wanted to convey to the customers. The company has incorporated various technological tools, structures, and data that consistently provided powerful promotions for the products of the target market. Capsim developed a new strategic mindset that drove traffic, deepened customer engagement, and strengthened customer love and loyalty for the brand. The primary marketing initiative reflected all the strategies mentioned above, and this has enabled the company to achieve success in its marketing and promotion activities (Giménez and Joshi, 2014).

One of the vital mistakes that the company made in its marketing aspect was that it failed to capture repeat customers. The company only focused on gaining the attention of new customers and did not focus on making strategies to repeat customers. It is known that selling to a new client is five times more expensive than selling to an existing client. Thus, the company made a mistake in retaining their current customers and missed out on an opportunity of gaining more profit. Capsim did not focus on gathering customer feedback to know about how their product was doing in the market. As an outcome, the company could not develop strategies for the improvement of its products and retain the customers who are already involved with the company. Capsim has focused only on developing strategies directed to the new customers and missed a significant segment of the market. Retaining current customers is as necessary as attracting new customers. Moreover, retaining current customers is also less expensive than attracting new customers or capturing a new market segment.

Production
In the context of the modern-day business environment, efficient and effective production plays a vital role in terms of ensuring the success of a company (Lewis, 2016). Thus, the function of output holds tremendous significance in terms of determining the overall profit. During my tenure of simulation-based learning, I was able to successfully make certain decisions regarding production that contributed to the Company's success. Firstly, I made the decision to consider the market forecast before initiating the production process, and this proved to be an excellent approach in terms of tackling overproduction. Secondly, I also tried to align the production as per the consumer needs and demands, which again proved to be successful for the Company as there was an adequate supply of those products that were in maximum demand. On the other hand, I also made certain decisions regarding production that contributed to the Company's failures. I made a decision to stop the output during conflict situations for the purpose of solving the issue first and then resume the production. This decision immensely contributed to the loss of productivity, which ultimately hampered the Company's revenue as a whole. In addition to that, I also took the decision of postponing certain products based on the market forecast even though those products were in steady demand. This created a panic situation within the Company's production unit when there were huge orders from customers' end for the products whose production was postponed.

The greatest mistake committed by me in terms of production-related decision-making was relying solely on data and ignoring human intelligence for implementing measures on production. I have learned immensely from my mistake of solely relying on data forecasts. To ensure the smooth functioning of the production process, it is essential to consider both data analytics and human intelligence. The concept of data analytics forecasts the market based on the previous trends, but there can be certain factors that influence changes in the market prediction, and this is where human intelligence must be taken into consideration. Thus, the greatest mistake committed to me has also taught me an important lesson that can benefit me in the long run. On the other hand, the tremendous success for me in terms of production was to be able to align then production based upon the customer needs and demands to a large extent. I consider this as a tremendous success in terms of simulation-based learning because this approach can be tremendously effective in my future professional endeavors as well. In terms of Capsim Global, the Company's annual report suggests that the production of the Company has not been up to the mark, and this has led to the constant loss in yearly net income. Therefore, some of the successful decisions that I took while managing a simulated working environment can also help Capsim Global to overcome specific production issues that might also potentially create a positive impact on the net annual income.

Finance
In any business environment, finance is the function that is responsible for acquiring funds, managing funds, and planning the expenditure of the funds. Thus, it is not possible for a firm to survive without proper finance. During my tenure in simulation-based learning, I made some decisions regarding financial aspects that contributed to the Company's success. In the initial stages of managing operations, I decided not to pay the dividends for that financial year and accordingly had a meeting with all the shareholders regarding the same. This decision turned out to be a significant game-changer as it allowed the Company to invest more in other essential areas for generating more revenues in the long run. In addition to that, I also took the decision of indulging in the purchase of common stock that also proved to be successful for the Company by offering a higher earning potential. The investors in the Company were also immensely satisfied based on the decision to purchase common stock, as it might prove to be a great source of return for the investors. It is a well-known fact that stocks offer high potential for larger returns, and thus the decision of purchasing common proved to be successful (Reeves, 2021). However, there were certain decisions being made by me regarding finance, which contributed to the Company's failure. Firstly, I decided not to invest in R&D (research and development), which was a major failure in terms of the Company's business operation. In the contemporary business environment, investing in R&D has become essential to generate significant returns as it is only through innovation customer interest can be increased. I also decided not to consider the unexpected finances as part of financial projections as this contributed to the major failure of the Company by generating unpredictable incomes at various phases of the business operation.

The tremendous success during my simulation-based learning regarding finance was the decision to invest more by stooping dividend payment for that particular financial year. This decision proved to be a major success as the investors, along with all the stakeholders, understood the desire of the Company to gain long-term success rather than emphasize short-term returns. In addition to that, I also experienced the Company shifting towards more financial stability that created a positive working environment within the Company. On the other hand, my greatest mistake was to avoid financial projections before making financial decisions, as it turned out to be disastrous for the Company on certain occasions. It is a well-known fact that financial projections work as a major indicator of organizational future, and thus to avoid such predictions, it can be considered as a major mistake.

Lastly, in terms of Capsim Global, there have been several wrong financial decisions, and this has been reflected in the Company's annual report. Therefore, it is necessary for the Company to indulge in proper financial management by reflecting on all the associated financial aspects, which can turn around the financial difficulties of the Company. Overall, financial decision-making needs to be significantly emphasized upon by companies to prevent massive financial losses.

Conclusion
I learned that before applying any plan and strategies in the operational management in the Company, I need to plan so that I can project the plan precisely as required for the organization. I think our operational plan could be better if I had been analyzed and strategies after having a clear understanding of the market environment. The biggest lesson that I have learned through my experience is the benefits of working as a team. However, I went through a tough time in our management while dealing with several issues; however, the motivation and the encouragement that I gave to each other is the reason behind us still standing after a bad situation in the Company. Also, the case taught us the importance of identifying the strength and weaknesses of each individual with a team and assigning the activities as per their capabilities. I did wrong while giving work to those individuals not specialized in that particular field. Additionally, what I learned is the use of appropriate skills at the time of implementing changes or proceeding with a new strategy in the operational management of the Company. However, I was all focused on our responsibilities, but that was not enough for success. To achieve success and goals for an organization, the skill of communication is a must. In my case, I was engaged with my work; maybe I neglected the process of communication within our team; hence the proper flow of information was not there, which acted as a blockage in my plan.

Moreover, in every operational management of the Company, the Company's management and the team leader must understand every employee as per their capabilities. Unless and until a person doesn't get a perfect job role while working in a team, they won't be able to bring positive outcomes in their plan. As per my experience and learnings, the Belbin team role theory will be appropriate for our Company to handle every situation in our management (Boyd, 2019). This theory makes sure the management of Capsim Global and the other organization align the right employees in the correct position in their business activities. In addition to that, there are other theories that will help our Company to work as per the estimated plan are Reconfigurable manufacturing system theory, Business process redesign theory (BPR), etc. These theories will allow the Company to create a business process flexible enough to change as per the changing demand of the technology as well as customers.

Action plan
In the theory of Gibbs, the reflective cycle action plan plays a crucial part where it provides an individual or the Company knowledge for their future plan and strategies. In my case, whenever I will work again on such kind of project in my Company, I will make sure that my team and I will understand every aspect of the ongoing plan. I will be making a clear understanding of my teammate's strengths and weaknesses so that I will approach the right person in a difficult time during the operation. I will move forward with the Company's plan only after making each clear with the given responsibilities that they are assigned. This approach will clear all the confusion before starting the project; hence there will be no possibilities of disruption in the middle of the project.

For the enhancement of the skills that will be required at the time of implementation of the plan, I will be arranging training and company meeting to work on it. While working in a team again in the future, I am sure that the experience that I have got will make sure to handle the situation at any point in time (Bridges, 2019). I will continue to develop the skills and knowledge required for every kind of plan that will be implemented in our Company. The process of communication will be open for every individual so that I can discuss each detail of our project. The above-mentioned theories and approaches will be enough for addressing the gaps that I have encountered in our previous project. If the management is not able to work on these theories, I will be continuously suggesting and reminding the Company's management to work under the stated hypotheses; thus, it will be enough to deal with the gaps that I have experienced in our previous plan.

Performance
My performance was evaluated as standard quality performance. I have developed various qualities as a part of my performance. I have taken many decisions regarding the operations and functions of the business processes. My performance was a value-added to the business of the company. I performed with utmost honesty, focus, and collaboration. My performance as a group worker was excellent, and my teammates provided me with satisfactory feedbacks.?

References
Bhasin, H. (2021). Gibbs Reflective Cycle and Model from 1988. [online] Marketing91. Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/gibbs-reflective-cycle/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Boyd, K.W. (2019). What Is Operations Management Theory? [Definition + Examples for 2020]. [online] Accounting Institute of Success - CPA Exam Prep. Available at: https://www.ais-cpa.com/what-is-operations-management-theory/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Bridges, J. (2019). How to Make an Action Plan (Example Included) - ProjectManager.com. [online]

ProjectManager.com. Available at: https://www.projectmanager.com/training/make-action-plan [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Capsim Management Simulations, Inc. (2021). Business Simulations. [online] www.capsim.com. Available at: https://www.capsim.com/simulations [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

celemiproject (2021). What is a Business Simulation? [online] Celemi. Available at: https://celemi.com/business-simulations/what-is-a-business-simulation/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Giménez, E. and Joshi, A. (2014). Decision-Driven Marketing. [online] Harvard Business Review. Self-reflective essayAvailable at: https://hbr.org/2014/07/decision-driven-marketing [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Lewis, A. (2016). Importance of Production Management in Business. [online] The Bizmanagement Guide. Available at: https://thebizmanagementguide.com/importance-of-production-management-in-business/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].

Reeves, J. (2021). 8 Monthly Dividend Stocks With High Yields. [online] money.usnews.com. Available at: https://money.usnews.com/investing/stock-market-news/slideshows/monthly-dividend-stocks-with-large-yields [Accessed 15 Nov. 2021].