Capstone Management Reflective Essay: A Self-Reflection On Learnings
Question
Task:
You are required to reflect on the learning’s gained from undertaking the capstone subject and assessments by writing a 2500 word capstone management reflective essay.
Answer
Introduction to Capstone Management Reflective Essay
In today’s world, learning relies on persistent changes that have occurred as a result of various interactions and experiences (The National Press, 2018). Thus, based on the concept of learning, reflective learning refers to the process of stepping back from all the experiences that have been gathered so that a proper reflection can be done on the evolvement of mindset, skills, behaviours, and attitudes. The concept of reflective management consists of practices in which leaders and managers use their individual awareness, interactions, and behaviours as an integral learning source (Business Balls, 2019). It has enabled the facilitation of leaders and managers in terms of adapting to the demands of the present situation. Reflective learning plays a vital role in terms of clarifying the approaches towards the emerging challenges that can potentially be responsible for generating a better acquirement of skills and attributes.
The following is a reflective essay that is intended to reflect on the subject of capstone strategy by briefly discussing the value of reflective practices for leaders and managers. The concept of reflective practices holds tremendous value in terms of enabling individuals to generate a better understanding of the acquired attributes and skills. In addition to this reflective essay will reflect on the knowledge gained from the consultancy research process and capstone subject. There will also be an individual reflection on the skills that have been acquired during the MBA tenure. Lastly, there will be an individual reflection on how the developed or acquired skills during the MBA tenure can potentially assist in professional prospect of future endeavours.
Discussion on the value of reflective practice for leaders and managers
It has been observed that most of the leaders and managers who excel at managing projects generally do not possess the title of project manager (Larson and Gray, 2020). The concept of reflective practices equips a leader or a manager with the skills that assist in managing personnel efficiently along with developing innovative solutions and informing the development of the organization (Wichert, 2018). In addition to that reflective practices effectively reduce gaps or conflict in terms of data or knowledge along with successfully steering away from the basis of a problematic blame culture. For example, the approach of learning is responsive in terms of project management and thus it informs the employees and customers of an organization about the direction of choices instead of the personal agenda. If the team management is ineffective then it results in lowering of team morale and performance along with promoting internal struggles within teams. It has been observed that a reflective leader or a manager outperforms non-reflective leaders or managers along with leading the way of being a role model as compared to micromanagement. Since the concept of reflective practices is based on the approach of several methods that are relatively simple to use, so the investment returns successfully outweigh the adoption and adjustments that are required for the new techniques. Several types of research in the past have demonstrated the fact that leaders who emphasize taking out time to reflect on past events tends to stand out in terms of the ability to test assumptions along with making connections between the events that seem unrelated (de Lacerda, 2015). Thus, reflective practices are crucial for success in the uncertain business world of today.
It has also been observed that reflective leaders tend to set up goals by providing feedback along with encouraging, inspiring, and promoting self-monitoring. Reflective managers or leaders successfully utilize their individual strengths along with indulging in various approaches for accomplishing their work and they also continuously extend or clarifies ideas that put the problems into several perspectives. The role of reflective practice is enormous because of its ability to increase self-awareness, which is a crucial component of emotional intelligence (Gill, 2014). Reflective practices also develop a better understanding of others and this allows the development of creative thinking skills that encourages active engagement in the process of workflow. Leaders or managers who indulge in reflective practices tend to successfully develop a capable and skilful team that can continuously be a better version of themselves. Overall, the concept of leadership practices provides several benefits such as faster learning in terms of adapting to new situations rapidly. In addition to that, it also ensures that the managers or leaders do not repeat the same mistakes along with being prepared for dealing with circumstances that are unfamiliar based on recognitions of the connections that seem unrelated to the situations (Alosaimi, 2018). Lastly, reflective practices also provide benefits to managers and leaders by continuously questioning their assumptions along with assisting in better decision-making. Therefore, all these factors indicate that reflective practice holds significant value managers and leaders.
Personal reflection the learning gained from the consultancy research process and capstone subject
The subject of capstone has emphasized the development of the learning and capabilities from the framework of objectives that consists of reflective skills, theoretical skills, practical skills, and applied skills. All the acquired skills from the capstone subject have been extremely effective in terms of creating a strategic mindset along with being able to better understand the bigger picture of organizational goals. After analyzing the learning gained from the subject, I have developed the distinct skills of enhancing competitive growth in my professional career. I have also understood that based on the capability of my reflection regarding the learning outcomes on a relevant platform, I can successfully analyze my potential of improving my decision-making and problem-solving skills as a response to complex problems. I have learned that the proper accomplishment of any work requires a systematic approach so that the objectives of the firm are achieved. The capstone subject has enabled me to enhance my skills and knowledge that are required to be continuously evolved based on the modern-day prospects of the professional environment that demands extensive management capability of professional life. It has been further understood that coping up with complex situations and ensuring timely delivery of tasks needs efficient utilization of the skills that adhere to flexibility in terms of professional work. The knowledge gained from the capstone subject is enhanced by the ability to obtain knowledge from diverse phenomenon in regard to professional work. I have been able to systematically complete my tasks with emphasis on good feedback and this approach has been extremely effective in terms of completing my assessments that have also helped in achieving my degree. In the professional life where I will require practical knowledge, the capstone subject has evolved my creative thinking based on several innovative ideas that also provide recognition to the tasks being completed. Overall, in terms of the capstone subject, I have learned that strategic approaches follow adherence to reliable theories that successfully provide complimentary statements regarding professional recognition.
The process of consultancy research on the other hand has made the concepts of quantitative and qualitative research align with my intellectual growth in regards to various topics that are relevant for optimizing professional life (Austin and Sutton, 2014). I have also learned that the application of proper resources can help me in ensuring value to the quality researches based on a chosen topic of interest. I addition to that, I have also learned that the main factor behind gaining knowledge is research as it helps individual perspectives to gain recognition. The consultancy research process that comprises the qualitative research helped in learning the benefits that can be achieved in terms of working in a team environment that also reduces the complexity of the research process. Therefore, the consultancy research process has shaped my overall learning experiences in the professional field, which is majorly based on my perseverance and hard work related to quality practice.
Personal reflection on skills that have been developed over the MBA
The degree of MBA is extremely valuable for professional growth as this completely adheres to the business perspectives. In addition to that, by pursuing the MBA course I have been able to enhance various skills along with improvising on my potential in terms of managing business processes even in complex situations. The first skill that I have developed during the tenure of the MBA course is leadership skills that have allowed me to efficiently organize and manage people based on the acquired knowledge. The leadership skill has enabled me to understand the importance of meeting the requirements of every individual that are associated with the accomplishment of specific tasks. The outcome of the developed leadership skill has significantly helped me in managing my professional career that is related to resource management within the business operation. The next skill that I have developed by pursuing the MBA course is team working skills as the modern-day professional environment comprises people from various backgrounds. I have learned the significance of team working that helps in understanding the contribution of every team member, which also plays a vital role in terms of accomplishing the specified tasks. The team working skill has proven to be extremely beneficial for me in terms of adapting to different ideas that help in analyzing the best potential path required for accomplishing specific tasks. The next skill that has been developed by me during my time of pursuing the MBA course is analytical skills and based on this skill I have been able to gain decision-making and problem-solving skills. This skill has developed an analytical road map for the purpose of solving the most complex problems. The main benefit of the developed analytical skill is that it has assisted me in developing the capability of statistical data representation regarding specific tasks.
The next skill being developed by me is financial skills and this has taught me advanced financial tactics and calculations required for analyzing the business' growth. The financial skill developed by me has also helped in estimating the business performance along with guiding the ways to improve financial status. The next skill that has been developed over the MBA course is orientation skills and this has provided me with a platform required for improving the creative knowledge that helps in contributing to the achievement of different people's demands associated with a specific task (Reilly, 2016). Furthermore, demonstration of the innovative design based on the oriental skills' adaptation has been learned by me. The developed orientation skills have been extremely beneficial for me as it enhanced by presentation techniques required for a specific task along with gaining recognition for its successful completion. There are few more skills that I have developed over the MBA skills and they are communication skills, punctuality skills, entrepreneurial skills, and advanced business skills, where all of these skills hold tremendous significance in terms of shaping my professional life.
Personal reflection on how the developed skills over the MBA course will assist in future career endeavours
John Dewey’s theory of personal reflection states that it is possible for an individual to learn more with experimental observations through the application of the acquired or developed skills (Dimova and Kamarska, 2015). This theory resembles the fact that my acquired skills during the MBA course can prove to be extremely beneficial based on the proper compliance required for accomplishing the career goals effectively. In addition to that, I can also assume that all of my educational skills can tremendously add to the accomplishment of my career aims in the near and distant future. I will be able to utilize the skills of leadership in terms of mentoring my human resources that can also effectively guide my human resources in terms of improving the business performance based on the gains and aspects being improved the recognition of the specific organization. I will be further able to exploit the analytical skills that help in data accumulation along with designing strategic responses required for managing different problems properly in business processes. After the application of my entrepreneurial and financial skills, I can efficiently manage the economic status of my organizational process along with improving my efficiency to attract new customers more towards the company with superior services and goods. The skill based on punctuality will help me to guide the management of clients along with accomplishing superior projects within the estimated time frame required for achieving growth in my profession.
The advanced business skill will be useful in terms of applying my career choice as an entrepreneur in the business process, which will also work as an effective guide in terms of business operations in sustainable growth by successfully mitigating the relevant issues respectively (Reynolds, 2019). The advanced business skill will set the platform of advanced business skills and knowledge that can help in anticipation of the increased capability of working for a reputed company. I will also be able to live a successful professional life by practicing fundamental business operations. My future career endeavours will get tremendously benefitted by the advanced business skills, which also provide exclusive knowledge that can help me mentor my juniors along with my team members for living a successful life by practicing certain fundamental operations of a business. The communication skill will be extremely useful in terms of shaping my career success in business operation as this will be extremely useful for establishing good communication with the clients. The overall communication skills developed will help me in interpreting my creative thoughts to various members of the working team in regard to the accomplishment of specific tasks. The communication skill will also benefit my future by developing the ability to demonstrate my ideas effectively in terms of reducing disputes over professional aspects. Overall, I will be able to handle my professional career significantly well based on the skills of decision-making and problem-solving that can also help in interpreting innovative tactics required for mitigating complex problems that occur within an organizational business process.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that this reflective essay has generated vital information regarding my perspectives in terms of the acquired capstone skills. I have also analyzed the fact that capstone skills provide a structural path that is required for improving my potential knowledge along with contributing effectively regarding the engulfed vital information over the process of learning. I have used the learning from the capstone subject for providing me with a strategic path that expresses the outcomes of the learning required for understanding my perception of the capstone subject skills. In addition to that, I have also provided a reflection of my enhanced knowledge and skills in terms of pursuing the MBA course. I have experienced that the MBA course has equipped with adequate knowledge in terms of utilizing it over the professional fields. Overall, this reflective essay has contributed to the management of individual knowledge acquired from the learning outcomes and this has also helped in organizing my overall learning phenomenon. Therefore, this study has focused on my overall learning outcomes from the understanding of the capstone subject, which has played a vital role in the immense growth of skills and knowledge. The reflective capability that has been analysed in this essay is based on my various learning phenomenon that comprises of the capstone skills. Hence, this reflective essay has further evaluated my reflection on the consultancy research process and capstone subject.
References
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