Reflective Journal: Professional Capabilities, Learning Experiences, Self-awareness, Feedback, And Meetings

The reflective journal is to provide an opportunity for students to think critically about their research/project.

The reflective journal should include:

i) Critically reflect on the professional capabilities / skills acquired from the project (minimum three).

ii) Evaluate critical learning experiences that you experienced while working on the project through the application of theory to a practical environment, i.e. how did you connect the theory into practice.

iii) Indicate strong evidence of your self-awareness of the issues affecting your personal growth, areas for self-development and personal achievements, challenges or failures – provide examples.

iiii) Include reflections regarding the feedbacks and support you received from your supervisor.

vi) Evidence of the meetings with your supervisor, business partner and student project coordinator.

Reflection on the professional capability

By conducting the research on ‘issues faced by cleaning company’ I evaluated several new capabilities, skills, and knowledge. These capabilities and skill will support me in my future development as a professional or an employee of an organization.  The successful research was undertaken by me on the subject, ‘to identify issues that are faced by the management of crest cleaning corporation’. I determine the ways through which corporation can provide a high quality of services and facilities to its customers. By this research three professional capabilities such as analytical and research skill, communication skill, ability of making the decision and solving problem and time management skill were acquired by me. I undertook several activities and tasks for conducting the research successfully.

Activities such as data collection, interaction with people, reading journals and books, analyze the company performance, taking the decision, solving an issue by implement strategy etc. were undertaken to attain successful and reliable results for the analysis. All these tasks and actions helped me in developing my professional capabilities and skills. By interaction with different people, I improved my communication and interpersonal skills as I understood views of different people along with their opinion and suggestion regarding the subject. Furthermore, my communication skill also developed my interaction with various respondents and team workers. Overall, from this research study has helped me in improving my personality and professionalism.  By undertaking several activities and tasks for the investigation my current knowledge and experience on undertaking research developed while creating a significant impact my development and professional understanding. These capabilities and skills will support me in enhancing my employability and attributes for effective and successful performance. By effective communication skill, I will able to influence people at workplace and decision making skill will support me in taking reliable and effective decisions for business.

In order to accomplish the research study, I have used both types of data collection that is primary and secondary. For primary data collection, a systematic questionnaire was prepared by me and I interacted with the respondents to gather information and attain their perception towards the issue and business problem. During this task, my communication and interaction skill effectively improved because I interacted with numbers of respondents. I designed a structured questionnaire and distributed it to respondents for primary data collection. I analysed that the stated measure was effective to attain the fresh and personal perception on the issue however the task was time consuming as it demanded interaction with all the respondents for providing the overview about the task. By interacting with large number I developed my confidence level to communicate and explain the task. It also helped me in developing my interpersonal skills which created a significant impact on my personality. I have analyzed that communication is very significant ability in individual personality that helps the individual in performing excellent manner. As per the individual difference theory, every human is a different entity and two humans cannot same and behave alike. The individual responds to communication differently because they differ on the basis of biological makeup, family background, education, and gender, social and environmental factor (Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell, 2013).  Furthermore, I learnt that by collecting information from respondents and assessing their different views, opinion, suggestion regarding subject my analytical skill has improved.

Evaluation of critical learning experience

This activity has helped me in improving my attribute towards understating individual perception and personality on the basis of their behaviour and response. Moreover, I could efficiently develop a positive analysis of business issue based on the response attained.  The overall primary data collection helped me in developing my decision making skill as well. On the basis of rational actor model of decision making, a rational man decides to pursue a particular process which thinks in his judgment rational and which will ensure maximum utility (Elliott and et.al., 2015). I have applied and understood this theory of decision making into my practices. It is usually referred to the procedure of activities involving the phases of problem recognition, search data and select one alternative out of many. Thus, I can say that this skill has been improved by summarising all collected information in the survey during an investigation. I also undertook the secondary data collection by writing a literature review. In this task, the information was collected from books, journals, online blogs, articles, the internet, YouTube by me etc. This secondary data collection task improved my research skill as well as analytical skill. This research skill supported me in  developing my knowledge and understating on the subject I handled several kinds of activities and task in a single time period such as designing research aim and objective, write the literature review, data collection, prepare the questionnaire, conduct survey, summarise result, interpretation, application of research methodology techniques etc. These all task were completed successfully in the stipulated time frame which helped me  in learning and developing the time management skills.

From the entire research, It has been analyzed that my knowledge regarding the cleaning organization industry has been significantly improved. I have assessed that a lack of professional planning is the major issue behind the poor performance of commercial cleaning corporation. I have learned about several methods and strategy through which organization can improve its productivity, performance, and quality of services. The knowledge regarding research methodology and its significance within the research investigation has also acquired by me. I have analyzed that by implement several research methodologies techniques, individual can find out an effective solution of research issue. My theoretical knowledge has successfully applied into the practical manner by use of this research methodology. This research will help me my future for conduct research study on another subject. This entire research study has helped me in improving my theoretical knowledge into the practical aspect through which my personality significantly improved.

Issues affecting personal growth

During this research study, I faced several kinds of challenges such as limited knowledge on the subject, lack of experience, low exposure to approach people for primary data collection, inefficient research and analytical skills, personal growth requirements and so on. I analyzed that at the time of implementing theoretical knowledge into practical aspect I faced significant issues because I did not have required practical knowledge on the subject. I had effective theoretical knowledge regarding research methodology and its associated techniques such as research design, data collection, research philosophy, and approach but did not have the knowledge to apply these techniques and methods in the practical aspect. This issue was of major concern which posed the challenge for me in my personal growth and development. However, the support of my teacher, tutor, and my senior colleagues helped me in successfully accomplishing the task through timely guidance. Furthermore, I have also analyzed that I had lack of confidence and self-motivation which affected my personal growth and development. During interaction with other people in data gathering, I have assessed that my confidence level was too low. In addition to this, at the time of taking the final decision, my confidence and self-motivation have hampered my performance. Thus, I assessed that in order to improve personal development and growth, my lack of confidence, ineffective body language and lack of self-motivation needed to be developed to create a positive impact on people. In order to improve my weakness and challenges during the research study, I involved in self-practices and self-assessment task. This self-awareness, self-analysis, and self-practice helped me in improving my personality and professionalism in an effective and efficient manner. In order to improve my self-awareness, I met my senior member and taking feedback from colleagues.

During the research study, my tutor, teacher, the senior member provided me great support for successful accomplishment of all the tasks and activities. I analyzed that my tutor gave me effective guideline and direction through which each activity, such as data collection, literature review, data analysis, interpretation, and the conclusion was successfully accomplished in an effective and efficient manner. While I accomplished all the tasks within investigation I got a feedback from my teacher and senior on my work. I was informed that I have effective professional capability and skills through which I achieved the target and objective of investigation in an excellent manner. They observed my performance and skill and gave me positive feedback. However, they suggested me to improve my self-confidence and self-motivation due to which some area of my personal growth negatively affected. My senior member provided me effective training to improve my weaknesses towards overall personality development and personal growth. On the basis of my senior member and supervisor comments and feedback, my personality has developed while enhancing the professional capability. I analyzed that on the basis of their feedback on this study, I attained a significant platform for personal growth and development to create a well defined impact on my career enhancing opportunities and my employability as well.

Reflection on feedback and support from supervisor

Following are evidence of the meeting with the supervisor-

1 Have you addressed research Objective?

Answer: Yes, I have successfully addressed the research objective that is to identify the issue that faced by the management of Crest Company and determine ways to improve the quality of services.

2What areas in your professional growth have developed?

Answer: By the help of this research study I have successfully improved my professional capabilities such as communication and interaction skill decision making and problem-solving skill, Analytical and research skill, time management skill etc. My overall personality and professionalism have been successfully improved by this research investigation.

3 How these researches study helpful for your personal growth and development?

Answer: Yes this research study has helped me in improving my growth and development in an effective manner. However, I have faced several challenges and personal growth issue such as lack of confidence, lack of self-motivation etc but by self-practices and self-assessment I have successfully accomplished all task and improved my professional capabilities.

Following are evidence of the meeting with business partner-

1 what  information you need on our business entity?

Answer: Sir, my main objective to conduct this meeting with you for taking permission regarding conduct survey from employees of your organisation. I am conducting research for identify the issue that facing management in the Crest Cleaning company so I need your permission to collect information regarding business operation and management with your  company’s personnel’s.

2 How many employees you need to survey and from which functional department ?

Answer: Sir I needed 50 participants of your organisation in different functional departments so as I can collect information regarding each functional department working and its associated issues.

Following are evidence of meeting with student project coordinator-

1.Have you appropriate idea to apply theoretical knowledge of research methodology in practical manner?

Answer: Yes, I have effective knowledge of research methodology and with support of my supervisor and coordinator I have successfully applied this theatrical knowledge into practical manner.

2 Have you meet the deadline of research project?

Answer: Yes I have successfully accomplished all task and activities of research with help of systematic planning, time scale and schedule.

References:

Books&Journal

Hopkinson, C., 2014. Personal and professional development. Becoming a Nurse: A Textbook for Professional Practice. pp.383.

Calderhead, J., 2012. The contribution of research on teachers' thinking to the professional development of teachers. Research on teacher thinking: understanding professional development. London. pp.11-18.

Buxton, E.C., Burns, E.C. and De Muth, J.E., 2012. Professional development webinars for pharmacists. American journal of pharmaceutical education. 76(8 ). pp.155.

St?Jean, E., 2012. Mentoring as professional development for novice entrepreneurs: maximizing the learning1. International Journal of Training and Development. 16(3 ). pp.200-216.

Grohmann, A. and Kauffeld, S., 2013. Evaluating training programs: Development and correlates of the questionnaire for professional training evaluation. International Journal of Training and Development. 17(2 ). pp.135-155.

Gibbs, R.J., 2012. Principles of urban retail planning and development. John Wiley & Sons.

Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T., 2013. A Manager's Guide to Self-development. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Elliott, M. and et.al., 2015. Professional Development: Designing Initiatives to Meet the Needs of Online Faculty. Journal of Educators Online. 12(1). pp.n1.