How Self Inspiration Affects Individual and Group Performance - Example

Report on Individual and Group Task Name: Professor: Insertion: Course: Date: Executive Summary The objective of this report is to help the learner analyze the experiences gained from doing an individual work and group work. This will help the learner establish those areas that proved difficult during the performance task and perhaps those areas that learner exhibited high level of competency in managing and presenting course assignments. In order to realize this objective, the author had used both observation and participation in gathering relevant data and information with regard to course task and group task. These two methods were considered to be the most appropriate since they gave the author the opportunity to collect first hand information on the experience about course work and group task. The process was very important since it created a humble opportunity for the learner to relate the theories gained in class through practice. Important skills such as teamwork, communication, collection and interpretation of data were gained during the exercise. However, the exercise had proved to be a more cost in terms of time and finances used for searching for information. Finally, the report has provided the important lessons learnt from the exercise and some of the recommendations that can be use for improvement in the future. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 1.2 The scope of the report 5 2.0 Background 5 3.0 Approach to methodology 6 4.0 Findings 6 4.1 Personal experiences 6 4.2 Lessons learnt 7 4.3 Lessons learnt from group work 8 4.5 Strategies developed 9 5.0 Theoretical perspectives 10 7.0 Conclusions 11 8.0 Recommendations 11 References 13 1.0 Introduction In a learning environment, reflective report is used as device to find out what the students have managed to learn from a given phenomenon. The primary role of the reflective report as used in different learning institutions is to ascertain whether learning has taken place or not. And probably identify those areas that need improvement in the future. The report is also used give the students an opportunity to reflect on their prior experience especially from class and how it affects their skills when put into actual practice. In addition, the report is to identify different skills that have been learnt by the student from a particular encounter. According to Burns and Bulman (2000), a reflective report can also be used to evaluate how a particular situation has affected the development of knowledge and understanding on different theories learned in class. More importantly, this report will be used to discuss my encounters during course and group works as a student and if my prior knowledge and skills had a role to play in the way I handled and presented my individual and group works. This report will further consider discussing how personal experiences influenced the process and how different experiences affected my learning process. Finally, the author will discuss the role of teamwork in doing and presenting assignments and the important conclusions made from the exercise. 1.1 The objective of the report The primary objective of this report is to help the learner analyze the experiences gained from doing an individual work and group work. This will help the learner establish those areas that proved difficult during the performance task and perhaps those areas that learner exhibited high level of competency in managing and presenting course assignments. 1.2 The scope of the report The report will particularly pay attention to course work and group work. The report will entail how well the learner managed his work as an individual and as a member of a group and the lessons learnt throughout the process. 2.0 Background The task involved the study of four different products namely Airline Travel, Aspirin, Hurmburgers and LIardo. The area for consideration was founded on the future prospects and growth of the four products. The Airline is a mode of transport, while Humburgers is an American food. On the other hand Aspirin is a kind of medicine while LIardo is a romantic porcelain figurine. The task entailed the study of these four products in order to determine their respective rates of growth since 1995 and the expected performance in the nest 15 years. The four products are very common in Europe and Asian markets. The four products have certain similarities and differences. The similarities include lack of a particular niche. The four products are also market leaders and use the best technology in their operations. The differences are founded in utility and tangibility. The four products also have different future prospects and life cycles. 3.0 Approach to methodology This part of the report describes the method the author used to gather information as pertains to the report objectives. Observation and participation methods were used by the author to gather his findings. Through observation, the author was able to gather first information with regard to this study. This method was easy to use even though it was possible sometimes that the author of the report could easily forget some of the important observations made. This is because the ability to retain the information greatly depended on the individual mental capability to memorize the observations made (Sherpa 2000). On the other participation was a very important tool in establishing the group dynamic and learning was affected by group participation. Unlike the observation method, participation proved easy for the learner to conceptualize ideas since learning was done through individual participation. 4.0 Findings 4.1 Personal experiences Based on my past experience, I considered course work and group works as just a mere academic process and thus impacting negatively on my willingness and desire to work on different projects more especially those that involve research. This perception has hindered me from taking part in various academic activities that are organized outside class environment. Managing my course work as an individual proved to be very challenging more especially when I was expected to search for materials that were needed in completing my assignments. This situation forced me to learn how to peruse through different sources of information as an individual. However, this did not seem to a major problem when working with a group (Webb and D'Souza 1995). In a group, a large piece of work could be different parts which are manageable among the group members. This strategy seemed to be crucial especially in managing time. Working with a group it was easy to learn how data and any other important material could be extracted from different sources. 4.2 Lessons learnt Based on my personal judgment, it is very important to note that this process provided a very important forum for enhancing individual learning process. This is because, the context itself enabled to put into practice what I had gained in class. As a matter of fact, course work entails a lot. This means that the practical part of is used to actualize the skills and knowledge that have been imparted to the learner throughout his career (Johns 2000). This kind of learning helped me know how to source for different information and data for realizing the course objectives. Analysis and interpretation of data is one of the important skills I learned even though it proved to be challenging task when learning it just as a theory. Group work is a very important tool that is used in managing a research process. It enables the team members to develop different ideas and concepts. Consultation, communication and interpersonal skills are developed during group work activities. The process of interaction is enhanced through teamwork. From the economic perspective, working as a group is cost effective by contributing towards buying course materials and other costs such as internet surfing and typing of the assignment. Through group work, it is easy to uplift those students who may be weak in some areas. This is because group work takes place in an open environment and therefore it is easy to learn from colleagues whom they share same groups (Crowe and Pemberton 2000). Good time management skills are developed. This is because individuals have to complete the outlined activities within the required framework. This is because for all activities to be completed within the reasonable time, one has to plan himself very well especially with the aspect of time. During the process, I came to realize that time is of essence. This is because enough time was required to search for relevant literatures from different sources. In some occasions lack of information posed a very big challenged to completing the assignment. Even when there was information, some parts could be accessed because of Copy Rights Policy which denied access. The other sources of information that were confidential were also very difficult to access. 4.3 Lessons learnt from group work During the group activities individuals in the group were of the view that this was a great opportunity of enhancing their knowledge and skills by putting them into practice. It was a platform for relating theories to realities. When managing the team activities, time management was found to be a very big challenge given that different individuals had to organize their personal commitments in such away to create time for group meetings (Webb 1994). The establishment of the group was used as a tool for ideas and opinions that were geared towards completing the group activities. truly, teamwork played a very major role in making sure that those areas that were hard were solved together. 4.4 Improvement areas As part of my experience, I came to realize that were some areas I as a management student had to work on and improve on them. First, the process of collecting quantitative data was a big challenge. This is because information was expected to be collected from various sources some of which there credibility could be proved and therefore harmonizing this data was very difficult. Further improvement in this area could help complete my assignments on time without many problems. This is important because it helps achieve good results both for the team and the individual. 4.5 Strategies developed The exercise was very vital for my training. This is because it created a good opportunity for enhancing those skills that are useful in tackling individual and group assignments. The process of formulating and developing good objectives helped me come up with ways of managing a task step-by-step. Formulating also helps the user of the articled to understand at advance what the task objectives are and how they will be achieved. Communication and interaction skills alongside team leadership and management skills were also developed. This is group task required that communication take place for easy management of events (Girot 1995) 5.0 Theoretical perspectives The task gave an opportunity to learn that management operations theories that are learned in class are very crucial and can only be enhanced if they are put into practice. Class work gave an overview of what is expected of an individual while managing a real problem. The class work helps one understand different operations management theories used in gathering, analyzing and presenting information. The course task also enables one to learn how to draw good conclusions and at the same time provide recommendations on a situation (Evans 1994). The theoretical understanding is the pillar to building good operations management skills. 6.0 lessons for improvement After critically assessing the learning process, it is very critical that in the future members be encouraged to work together as a team and try as much as possible to boost and motivate the spirit of the team towards success. It was found out during the course work that the team spirit played a very critical role in making the group succeed or fail and therefore in the next tasks, it will be more appropriate if individual is appreciated by all team members (Hanrahan and Isaacs 2001). 7.0 Conclusions In preparing this report, the author has managed to come up with different conclusions about the exercise. They are considered important lessons that need to be improved in future for better performance and they include: Self inspiration greatly affects individual and group performance. Determination comes from self esteem and need to cooperate with the rest of the team members in working out a given problem. Lack of review meetings especially for the group task tended to impact negatively on the performance of the assignment. This is because enough time was not created to revisit the progress of individual work towards completing group task. Lack of consultations and guidance was cited as one of the major challenges the author faced during the course activities. Because of the nature of commitments and lack of adequate time denied the author the opportunity to seek guidance and opinions and ideas from the supervisor and the classmates. Lack of plan of activities during the exercise enhanced the challenges the author faced during individual and course work. This is because it was not easy to have activities move smoothly without delay and other interruptions. 8.0 Recommendations Recommendation Benefits Strategy Timescale Likely barriers Self motivation Inspiration of an individual towards working on individual work and group task. It also enhances the need and the drive to work towards achieving good results Self esteem Recognizing the importance of the work Throughout the course duration. Discouragement from classmates Lack of enough education resources Failure to achieve intended results Scheduling of review meetings Easy follow-up on group tasks Share of ideas and opinions Creation of meeting times by the group members Throughout the course activities Lack of time by group members Consulting and seeking guidance Helpful in sorting out some of the difficulties that am likely to face in future individual task and group task Getting in touch with my supervisor and colleagues Throughout individual and group task Lack of enough time Unavailability of my supervisor and colleagues Plan of events Assists in performing activities within the timeframe Identification of all course activities and personal commitments Should be done at the start of the course Occurrence of an unplanned activities Change of class schedules and activities References Burns, S. & Bulman, C., 2000, Reflective Practice in Nursing, 2Ed, London, Blackwell Science. Clarke, J., 1995, Turning Experience into Academic Learning, Professional Nurse 03, 393 – 396. Crowe, C. & Pemberton, A. 2000, ‘But that’s your job! Peer assessment in collaborative learning projects. Course presented at the Conference on Effective teaching and learning at university. University of Queensland. Evans, N., 1994, Experiential Learning for All, London, Cassell Education. Girot, E., 1995, Preparing the Practitioner for Academic Study: The development of Critical Thinking, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21: 387–94. Hanrahan, S & Isaacs, G. 2001, Assessing self-and peer assessment: the students’ views, Higher Education Research and Development, 21(1), 53-70. Johns, C. 2000, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, London, Blackwell Science. Sherpa, C. 2000, Principles that should underlie all group work assessment. Lincoln University, viewed 8 Feb 2012 from, http://learn.lincoln.ac.nz/groupwork/policy/principles.h tm Retrieved 12 Webb, N. M. 1994, Group collaboration in Assessment: Competing Objectives Processes and Outcomes, Technical Report 386, CRESST/University of California, Los Angeles. Webb, J. & D'Souza, B., 1995, The Value of Critical Incident Analysis as an Educational Tool and its Relationship to Experimental Learning, Management Education Today, 15: 111 – 6. Read More