Reflective Analysis has gained a high level of recognition in higher education, it is now used to structure students learning ability, Reflective Analysis as helped me to be able to analyse and assess current and past events, situation and experience.
Ann Mathews (2007) state that “ it is a way whereby an individual turn out to be self independent so as to be able to solve problems” the purpose of reflection depends on hypothesis, this deals with putting into practice all the achieved knowledge from academic and organisational environment, its also deals with the skills and ability that an individual has to pass these achieved information to someone else with the aim that the person with hit upon the information judiciously.
Kolb (1975) state that “ when an individual comes up with ideas and re-assess old knowledge into learning however it also deals with turning or re-cycling old and new experience learnt into knowledge so as to use them for future purposes” this is an important aspect when writing a report in higher education because it helps students to come up with new and old ideas on how problems are solved.
These are what I attained while writing my applied management project:
1) Reflective learning helped me while writing my applied management project because I was able to come up with past and present experience and this aspect helped me in analysing all the necessary concepts on how to get and compile information’s so as to achieve my aims and objective.
2) Reflective learning as also helped in turning my experience to learning, these has helped me to assess seriously all the process of learning and as also improve my learning experience academically.
RECOLLECTION OF EXPERIENCE
Now that the induction week is over, it is now time for me to commence with my dissertation, the induction week lasted for 1 week and it started on the 8th of February 2010 which was on a Monday although we were divided into two cohort and I was lucky to be part of cohort B, the first day of the induction was generally about the introduction to the unit which was given by Vincent Org and Peter Patrick, the second day was more interesting because Alan Bullimore and Peter Patrick talked about how to source for information’s and referencing, on that same day we were all asked to form a group of seven to eight member and topics where given out to each group accordingly, on that same day Steve Briggs and Prof Brain Mathew talked about writing a report, Plagiarism and TurnitinUK, During this lecture we were told that the rest of the week will be a group discussion and we will be able to ask necessary questions about the topic from how tutors and we where also told that after the ends of these induction week no one will be able to receive any help or assistance from any tutor.
After the end of the induction week I realised that it was time for me to commence with my chosen topic although I came across a lot of challenges, this gave me a lot of concern because I was the only person in my group so I had to no one to exchange ideas with, I had to draw up a strategy to monitor my progress while I was busy writing on my chosen topic, I knew I had to start searching for relevant journals and articles which helped me a lot to understand what the topic was all about, I had no choice than to build up courage more over this is the finally stage that will determine if I would be awarded a master degree in Logistics Business and Management. Even though this is my second attempt, I knew I had to prove a point by making sure that I don’t make that same mistake I made while I was writing my first chosen topic, while writing on my chosen topic I noticed some shortcomings which I realised that I had no choice than to tackle or find a solution to them. The follow were my shortcomings
SHORTCOMINGS
1) Insufficient Fund: – while I was writing on my chosen topic, I came across some relevant articles and journal online which were for sale and very expensive to purchase, this particular weakness was heartbreaking because at that particular moment I was not financially stable to purchase all the relevant journal and articles online.
2) Lack of understanding: – Understanding the chosen topic was another challenge I faced while I was writing on my chosen topic, at first I had less idea about how to come up with relevant and necessary information and particularly the kind of information I need to include in the headings and sub-headings, I spent a lot of time on these before I figured out things.
CORRECTION MADE
1) With the help of the learning resources centre, I was able to get more journals, articles, magazines, books and newspapers relating to my chosen topic, corporate social responsibility.
2) I had to call my sponsor about my present financial situation, I was given all the necessary support I needed, this really helped me because I had more opportunity to assess more journal, articles and books online.
GROUP FORMATION
On the 9th of February 2010, Vicent Org and Peter Patrick asked everybody in each department to form a group of seven to eight members, unfortunately I am just the only person in my group because this is my second attempt, there was no-one to relate or exchange ideas with, I had to some up courage within myself so that I would be able to accomplish my aims and objectives of coming to the university of Bedfordshire to study, I drew up a strategy which I used to check my progress while I was writing my chosen topic, I gave myself a target which I had to meet up with at the end of each day.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Although this is my second attempt that I am writing this same module (Applied Management Project), I have gained a lot of experiences both from my first and second attempt, writing a dissertation is a huge challenge so I had to apply all the necessary skills learnt from both past and present knowledge. These are the lessons learnt while writing on my chosen topic:
1) I have learnt how to be efficient and effective in problem solving and also produce a quality outcome.
2) I am capable of handle my own learning and career process efficiently and effectively.
3) I have learnt how to be self motivated and this as also improved my decision making skills, I can now work on my own without getting assistance from group members.
4) I have learnt how to manage my own time set a realistic target and monitor my progress while working on my chosen topic.
5) With the help of Alan Bullimore and Peter Godwin I have learnt how to search and retrieve important and relevant information from recognised sources.
LESSON FOR FUTURE PROJECT
1) Time Management: – Time management is an organised use of common sense tactic and planning, when writing or embarking on a project or dissertation, one should be cautious about time management because it basically deals with how and when to meet up with targets if it is used effectively and efficiently, time should be made for errors and corrections, I now see time management as a continuous process in life in other to achieve aim goals and objectives.
2) Self Management: – Self Management is the actual process of utilizing time marginally and making a technical decision so as to achieve ones aims and objectives, before embarking on a project one as to have the following attributes: self confident, self reliance and self control, these qualities are very important while writing a project or before embarking on a project because they help during and after the research process.
3) Measuring Performance: – When writing a dissertation, it is advisable for students to set up a realistic tactic or strategy which will be used to measure their progress while writing on their chosen topic, this lets students know if he or she is working as scheduled, these aspect helps to achieve the major aim of writing this project which is handing in the project or dissertation before deadline.
4) Risk Management: – Risk Management is a process of minimizing risk not actually eradicating the risk but counting the loss before the situation occurs, while writing on my chosen topic I had to create the risk of set backs in my target so as to accomplish my mission or else I might have encountered obstacles which might cause delay or set back in my project.
5) Loss of work and Plagiarism: – When writing a report or dissertation, it is necessary that all the vital information’s and data’s gathered are saved in a safe and secured place to avoid damage, furthermore while writing on my chosen topic I was careful about coping directly from authors, inaccurate referencing and chunking because It is a serious academic offence.
PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
The applied management project is a formidable tax; it has being a terrible experience for me because I had to write this particular module all over again, although the module as facilitated me in gaining more knowledge and also applying these gained knowledge to real life situations.
I came across several complications while writing on my chosen topic, the first problem I came across was how to analyse and evaluate my chosen topic; since I was the only person in my group I had no one to exchange ideas and relevant information’s with, I had to build up courage so as to achieve my aim and objective which is handing in a good report and rounding up the report two weeks before deadline so as pass my report to my brother to proof read so that necessary corrections can be made, furthermore other difficulties were sourcing for relevant journals, articles, newspapers and books but following all the information’s gathered from the induction weeks I was able to draw up strategies on how to tackle this problems and to the best of my knowledge my strategies worked out fine.
WRITING THE INTRODUCTION
This is a very important part when writing a report or dissertation, I found it really difficult to start writing the introduction because it took awhile before I could apprehend what my chosen topic was all about, I had to go into a serious research so as to have a full idea about the topic, because I wanted a good and perfect report I came up with a strategy to guide me through the process of writing on my chosen topic, this strategy was really helpful since i used it to monitor my progress while writing on my chosen topic, it took me up to two weeks to round up this part, moreover because of my kind of topic I had a lot of information’s to discuss on, despite the fact that I was struggling to round up this part I realized that I had some distractions which resulted to me relocating from Luton to Merseyside so as to achieve my key aim and objective of coming to the university of Bedfordshire to study.
WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
This is the most complex part when writing a report or dissertation, I had to take my time to compile and gather information’s since the literature review determines one’s strengths and weakness on the chosen topic, furthermore this part of the report requires me to prove to the reader the kind of knowledge, facts and ideas that I have set up on the chosen topic, this part is a channel concept which consist of problems, issues and basically argumentative theories, according to my laid down strategy it took me up to a month to round up this part because I was checking and scrutinizing my work so that I don’t get myself involve in plagiarism and chunking.
WRITING THE ANALYSES AND DISCUSSION
This part is another difficult aspect when writing a report, it entails evaluating, analysing and discussing all the relevant information’s in the previous chapters, it took me one week to round up this part because it requires careful interpretation and discussion of each headings and sub-headings furthermore I make sure that all my arguments were logical and reasonable. Although this part was not really taxing because I was self-assured that I was on the right track.
Although I came across challenges while writing the analyses and discussion but I was able to tackle it with the help of my laid down strategy and previous experience.
WRITING THE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Coming up with a reasonable and logical recommendation and conclusion was another taxing experience because it requires proper concise, clarity, consistency, accurate and objectivity, I spent a lot of time trying to round up this part so as to make my report interesting and attractive, I had to lay emphasis on all the literatures I studied and also explain how they justify or contradict each other, with the help of my laid down strategy it took me up to four weeks to round-up this part.
CONCLUSION
The process of writing this dissertation as been a great experience and achievement for me, even though this is my second attempt I have been able to motivate myself morally and academically on how to be efficient and effective in whatever I encounter in life, This module (Applied Project Management) is a vital aspect during the process of a master’s degree programme, I have learnt all the necessary requirements, process, methods and structures of writing a standard and professional detailed report.
In addition, through out my learning process at the University of Bedfordshire I have being able to develop my presentation skills, analyse and evaluate academic write-up, business issues and finally gaining a deep understanding about my course (Logistic’s and Business Management).
Finally Applied Project Management is basically about the development of academic skill and ability.
