Developing Strategic Knowledge For International Business Management Essay.

A portfolio is a collection of documents, images, and reflections that you assemble in order to demonstrate what you have learnt. You need to show your creativity in constructing your portfolio and the document needs to be professional in appearance. Your portfolio should include a minimum of 12 activities, a reflection from each workshop topic, at least 1 activity from that topic and an overall personal reflection on what you learnt.

You should also reflect on what you learnt from the team interactions/participation. You should include images and figures in your portfolio. The portfolio assignment consists of several parts.

In the first week, the four Capstone skills were conveyed to the students. Followed by this, a strategic management session was carried out which demonstrated the implementation of the skills learned to a real life scenario. The specialisation skills that were taught during the first week helped us to develop business action plans for real life scenarios experienced by business organisations. This weekly session have been conveyed from the end of the university to make the students develop essential business, academic as well as cultural skills that are of utmost requirement in the context of international business management. During this week, emphasis have been given on both- strategic leadership as well as strategic management and also aimed at including the prospect of critical thinking. Critical thinking have been taught to the students by making analysis an assessment of the strategic plans implemented by the companies. Based on the organisational contexts of the students, this weekly activity requires each student to develop a plan for personal development. The activities in the first week have been prepared, based on the following objectives:

• Demonstrate how the students have understood and are able to use their skills of strategic leadership and are able to deal with the real life challenges in the workplaces.
• Demonstrate the level of understanding of the elements of a strategic plan and its impact in context to how well critical thinking have been implemented in the strategic planning
• Create a business plan that makes proper demonstration of the skills of strategic thinking in the context of the major problems faced by an organisation.
• The final outcome is: prepare, assess and deliver a professional strategic plan

In the next week, the topic chosen was development of competitive advantage through strategic knowledge. In this context, how information management contributes to competitive advantage was described in detail and the models on competitive advantage like Porter’s model for cost differentiation, cost leadership as well as focus strategic was described to us. In the following stage the lecturer conveyed to us the strengths and limitations of the above described models (Palinkas et al. 2015). The students were also taught the various aspects regarding how to make the competitive advantage sustainable.

The activities of the third were aimed at developing strategic Knowledge regarding Operations and Marketing. In this context, the Resource based theory of marketing was critically discussed in the session. The lecturer through various day to day activities made us understand how the firms use the methodology of this theory to exploit the full competitive potential of their inherent capabilities (Bhatt et al. 2015). We were also made acquainted with the theoretical as well as the empirical insights in to the relative impacts of the multiple market based resources regarding the performance across various marketing contexts.

The fourth week focused on development of strategic knowledge regarding innovation as well as growth. In this context we learned the theory of business model renewal and ambidexterity as well as the Disruptive Machine model. The best learning outcome in this context have been the concept of technological disruptions versus business model disruptions (Zerfass et al. 2018). The complexities as well as uncertainties in these business contexts have been highlighted by the instructor in this context.

The next week focuses on problem solving and the related business models. In this context, it is essential to know that whether the focused business problem is a real business problem or not. In a real context, it might so happen that a company is losing out in terms of sales volume (Valentine, Nembhard and Edmondson 2015). However, it is possible that the actual problem is different from that. There can be much deeper problems in the internal contexts of the company that is giving rise to these business problems in the superficial level of the company.

Competitive Advantage

The next week had been the study week. This week incorporated the practical learning outcomes so far and as an outcome of this the personal development progress of the students were mapped. We were made to indulge in practical activities to map the advancement we had achieved in this context.

The next activity in week 7 was a very critical point of research. The various methodologies of research analysis were conveyed. We learned critical pathways of data collection from various primary as well as secondary sources and also learned the behaviour of various analytical tools.

The next week’s activities were focused at leadership and communication. The avenues in which proper communication compliments effective leadership were conveywd (Fleuren et al. 2018). Again, in this regard, the theory of communicative leadership also helped us to understand how an efficient leader engages the employees in informal and formal dialogues, sharing and seeking active feedback and also open and involving forums (Terek et al. 2015).

The next week that is week 9 was dedicated to development of understanding among the students regarding making and parallely enhancing the business report presenting skills of the students. We got to clearly understand what a business report is and also gained ideas regarding how a business report is created. At first I gained ideas regarding which are the main components of a business report (Jackson 2015). In this context, a sales report example was provided for our understanding. The major inclusions of a sales report are up to date sales reporting, forecast of future sales and also analysing the past sales trends.

The activities of the week 10 were mainly focused at detection and fulfilment of the key performance indicators of the company. In this context, it is necessary to understand the sustainability factors that are really crucial for determining the KPIs of the company (Quinlan et al. 2019).

The activities of week 11 were primarily focused at making us understand the key concepts related to employability. Employability is related to key concepts regarding initial employment, maintaining the employment and obtaining new employment if it is required in some way. Employability requires a set of subtle attributes also (Wang, Pauleen and Zhang 2016).

The last week that is week 12 was focused upon think tank and the decision review process in an organisation. The design thinking process of an organisation allows space for undertaking innovative strategies so that the business promotional activities of the company could flourish.

Outcomes.

• Week 1

Lecture facilitated me in attaining learning regarding the ways in which strategic thinking can be developed by me through which I can support people in my future career in thinking, assessing, viewing and creating entire critical skills set. I have also attained increased learning regarding the ways in which I can ensure practical implementation of my expertise in real situations (Miller and Hadwin 2015).

• Week 2

Lecture has increased my learning on developing the ability of recalling knowledge that I have attained in the past along with developing the capability to solve problems through implementing several theoretical concepts. The lecture also increased my knowledge regarding enhancing my ability to use qualitative and quantitative information in problem solving process.

• Week 3

Operations and Marketing

Lecture has enhanced my learning on RBT that can serve as an approach through which I can attain competitive advantages through its proper implementation in my future career (Helyer 2015). Moreover, I have also attained an increased understanding regarding the ways I can obtain a “resource based view of a company”, company resources and sustained competitive advantage. I have also relied that I can identify more than one competitive advantage in my future organization so that I can match core competencies with opportunities.

• Week 4

Lecture has attained an increased learning on the ways in which horizontal and vertical integration strategies are implemented by companies so that they can attain competitive advantages (Fook 2016). Métier, I have also attained an increased understanding regarding amalgamation, joint venture and innovation strategies implemented by businesses in ensuring competitive sustainability. 

• Week 5

Lecture has increased my understanding on the implication of business intelligence process through which I can use relevant data in making better business decisions (van den Heuvel, Demerouti and Peeters 2015). I can also implement the business intelligence technology in my future career in which I will include analytics that can act as a non-technical process of attaining better competitive advantages.

• Week 6

The study week have been a reflective session on our part to recommend what learning outcomes we had achieved so far. As an outcome of accomplishing this task, the assessors could have a clear idea regarding up to what extent we have learned the key concepts in the weekly sessions.

• Week 7

Owing to the activities of this week, we got to learn what data sources can be used to make a business report most relevant. We had a fair idea regarding what primary data or secondary data is. Primary data is actually first hand evidence regarding an event, object, or any personality. Before accomplishing this weekly activity I had very less idea regarding what sources of primary data we can use regarding creation of business reports. Besides, the process to determine a research problem was also not clear to me before attending this week’s activities.

• Week 8

The activities of week 7 have been most helpful for me. The concept of change management had always been a matter of great concern for me. Nevertheless, I not only had a clear understanding of the process of change management but also clearly understood the role of message dissemination in change management after attending this week’s activities.

• Week 9

Business reporting seemed to be a less complicated process to me before I conducted the weekly activities. However, after the week 9, I have gained fair idea regarding Business audit and feasibility study. However I still need in depth study about interim reporting and visual analytics

• Week 10

The week 10 have been very crucial for me in the context that I had no idea regarding the Business metrics which are a crucial part of the KPIs.

• Week 11

The difference between hard and soft skill had not been clear to me before this week. However after attending this week the concepts like disruptive economy and labour displacement, which are directly related to employability, are now clear to me.

Innovation and Growth

I have obtained a detailed learning on all the weekly lectures through working in team. In completing the cause several weekly lectures on certain subjects have been carried out in which my project team was the one that was capable to collaborate efficiently along with maintaining suitable communication (Carmeli, Dutton and Hardin 2015). In working within my team I also faced certain challenges in the learning process that was related to time management and increased distractions. However, my team was also able to maintain their strongest characteristics along with maintaining interdependence upon one another to deal with such issues and complete the task. Through working in a team I have attained an increased learning on the ways in which I have been able to deal with the issues related within the transition process that includes mission analysis of planning (Easterby-Smith and Cunliffe 2017). In carrying out team work within the learning process I have attained increased knowledge on the ways in which individual strengths and weaknesses can be enhanced by all the team members to attain constructive research knowledge on the subject of developing strategic mindset. Moreover working in a team facilitated me in analyzing the ways in which we can attain practical and reflective skills along with developing a strategic mindset in accomplishing any course based activity through working in collaboration.

From carrying out all the activities in the weekly lecture activities I have attained an increased learning on maintaining an engaging teamwork. This has also facilitated me in developing effective teamwork skills along with developing my communication skills. In the learning course, team work has facilitated all of us in explaining our ideas on each week topic and developing listening skills that has facilitated us in feeling the ways in which others feel on the non-verbal communication (Hitt and González-Martín 2015). Moreover, my weekly learning course in a team work can facilitate me in initiating conversations regarding group process in which we faced sense attention brewing. I have also learned knowledge regarding maintaining an open communication in which the group members shared their ideas, thoughts along with feelings for maintaining a successful group work. Attaining the weekly learning course activities through teamwork has facilitated me in developing sense of cohesion along with developing certain skills such as openness, self-disclosure and trust, support and respect for my fellow team members.

I have also attained a detailed learning on developing the ability of individual accountability and responsibility, constructive feedback and problem solving. I have also attained knowledge regarding designing a group task that can ensure all the team members are accomplishing the learning activates in unity (Jackson 2015). In working within a team, all my group members developed a knowledge regarding being motivated and committed towards group work along with making my expectations very clear to them. In attaining learning through teamwork, we have been able to attain a detailed learning regarding the ways in which my fellow team mates discuss the way in which they can respond to different scenarios on the weekly lectures. Moreover, certain negative scenarios that were dealt by all of us in the teamwork includes absents or late coming group members those were not able to complete their assigned tasks in the weekly learning process. Through team work I have attained an increased capability to work effectively in a team or group that can serve as a necessity for my successful career and can also prove to be helpful for me in providing meaningful contribution to the society (Savery 2015).

Problem-solving

All the team members including me have attained an increased understanding the ways in which a shift from a control oriented management can be maintained in developing facilitative leadership approach. Through studying numerous elements and aspects of the group and team dynamics, I have attained an increased opportunity to attain a detailed insight on team working principles through developing a team and working on the team projects during the semester. In carrying out teamwork for accomplishing weekly learning activities I have attempted in developing a tea charter that facilitated me in realizing abilities of all my team members. Moreover, I was also able to attaining exceptional teamwork performance through realizing our purpose, roles, expectations, goals, group values and norms in developing an effective team (Hitt and González-Martín 2015). 

Reference List and Bibliography

Ahmed, T.M., Bezemer, C.P., Chen, T.H., Hassan, A.E. and Shang, W., 2016, May. Studying the effectiveness of application performance management (APM) tools for detecting performance regressions for web applications: an experience report. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (pp. 1-12). ACM.

Bhatt, Deepak L., Joseph P. Drozda, David M. Shahian, Paul S. Chan, Gregg C. Fonarow, Paul A. Heidenreich, Jeffrey P. Jacobs, Frederick A. Masoudi, Eric D. Peterson, and Karl F. Welke. "ACC/AHA/STS statement on the future of registries and the performance measurement enterprise: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Performance Measures and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons." Journal of the American College of Cardiology 66, no. 20 (2015): 2230-2245.

Carmeli, A., Dutton, J.E. and Hardin, A.E., 2015. Respect as an engine for new ideas: Linking respectful engagement, relational information processing and creativity among employees and teams. Human Relations, 68(6), pp.1021-1047.

Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. Auerbach Publications.

Easterby-Smith, M. and Cunliffe, A.L., 2017. From reflection to practical reflexivity: Experiential learning as lived experience. In Organizing reflection (pp. 44-60). Routledge.

Fleuren, B., Van Amelsvoort, L., De Grip, A., Zijlstra, F. and Kant, I., 2018, July. Time Takes Us All? A Two Wave Study of Age and Time Effects on Sustainable Employability. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 10807). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

Fook, J., 2016. Critical reflection and organizational learning and change: A case study. In Social work, critical reflection and the learning organization (pp. 67-84). Routledge.

Helyer, R., 2015. Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based learning (WBL). Journal of Work-Applied Management, 7(1), pp.15-27.

Hitt, F. and González-Martín, A.S., 2015. Covariation between variables in a modelling process: The ACODESA (collaborative learning, scientific debate and self-reflection) method. Educational studies in mathematics, 88(2), pp.201-219.

Jackson, D., 2015. Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), pp.350-367.

Jackson, D., 2015. Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), pp.350-367.

Miller, M. and Hadwin, A., 2015. Scripting and awareness tools for regulating collaborative learning: Changing the landscape of support in CSCL. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, pp.573-588.

Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K., 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), pp.533-544.

Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019. Business research methods. South Western Cengage.

Savery, J.R., 2015. Overview of problem-based learning: Definitions and distinctions. Essential readings in problem-based learning: Exploring and extending the legacy of Howard S. Barrows, 9, pp.5-15.

Terek, E., Glušac, D., Nikolic, M., Tasic, I. and Gligorovic, B., 2015. The Impact of Leadership on the Communication Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers in Serbia. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(1), pp.73-84.

Valentine, M.A., Nembhard, I.M. and Edmondson, A.C., 2015. Measuring teamwork in health care settings: a review of survey instruments. Medical care, 53(4), pp.e16-e30.

van den Heuvel, M., Demerouti, E. and Peeters, M.C., 2015. The job crafting intervention: Effects on job resources, self?efficacy, and affective well?being. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(3), pp.511-532.

Wang, W.Y., Pauleen, D.J. and Zhang, T., 2016. How social media applications affect B2B communication and improve business performance in SMEs. Industrial Marketing Management, 54, pp.4-14.

Zerfass, A., Tench, R., Verhoeven, P., Vercic, D. and Moreno, A., 2018. European Communication Monitor 2018. Strategic communication and the challenges of fake news, trust, leadership, work stress and job satisfaction. Results of a survey in 48 Countries.