Enterprise In Action: Reflective Summary

Gibbs Reflective Title

To effectively satisfy the agenda of the report, Gibbs Reflective cycle model is used which was created in 1988 by Professor Graham Gibbs. This model is used effectively to assist individuals to explore the situations faced during their research and reflect upon it (Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, 2019).

Description

It is a very complex yet effective task to work on a module and successfully carry out research which serves its agenda in an appropriate manner. Working in a group of individuals has always been quite fruitful experience for me and being an equal member contributing in the teamwork is a very learning experience. I was supposed to carry out effective research that could help the other members of the group to successfully accomplish the goals of this module. During the initial stages, I expected myself to work with utmost dedication and passion to cover almost all the aspect it required to bring in information which is necessary. Since its a very complex activity, I decided to approach my tutors who could guide me through each step of the module and help me gain a better understanding of the factors and aspects needed to carry out this research. In my opinion, my tutors play an effective and outstanding role in facilitating my learning as they helped me to broaden my understanding about various concepts which I didn't have much knowledge about. Initially, it was learnt that working for a real-estate firm it is very crucial for an entrepreneur to know their customers (Eraker and et. al., 2015).

There are various ways in which this could be done. Some of the methods I learnt was that entrepreneurs must maintain an effective customer life-cycle and could also personally acquire data highlighting their preferences and expectations. After few weeks, I learnt various factors that how Brexit is affecting the country's business and how big is this impact on real state. For instance, Investors are abandoning real estate businesses as there is high uncertainty about the interest rates as well as office values and house prices ('Safe as houses'? Brexit looms over UK real estate market, 2019). Later during this period, I analysed how this could be overcome and what steps could entrepreneurs take to effectively manage their enterprise during this Post-Brexit market. In addition it came to my knowledge as to how customers choose between competing offers and what are the needs that are yet unmet. This according to me is one of the major challenges of entrepreneurship in the country.

Feelings

Throughout this module, there were several days when I thought quite confident about the information I was gathering. There were various sources on the internet and various newspaper articles that helped me gain a keen knowledge about Brexit and the likely effects it could have on the businesses across the nations. However, the information I gathered had quite loopholes which made made me nervous as during the initial weeks of the module. Post-Brexit, the situation of the market completely changed and there were new information every day which caused a feeling of uncertainty and lack of confidence in each of us team members. However, there were various journal articles throughout these modules that helped us gain an inside-out view over the impact of this event on organisations.

Various aspects and situations had an impact on our thought processes and how the group members felt about the information and the research approaches used to develop a better view on our findings and could be as accurate as possible. There are various research approaches used to find certain information are divided into data collection approaches as well as data analysing approaches. For the module, almost all the approaches were applied to conduct research and all the group members, including me started feeling quite confident of the information that was being acquired using different approaches for various different purposes.

Whilst working on this module, there were various problems that were faced by all the team members together as well as on an individual level. The feeling and thought process of each of us started to become somewhat negative. My approach towards problem-solving as always been quite cautious. I just dip in briefly into the situation and analyse how aspects around me develop. Such cautious learning of things and various factors help me to carry out my research stepwise which, according to me is quite efficient for time and effort.

Personally, I felt I received quite valuable input from my peers in the iteration. My peer members were quite keen to help me with my problems and evaluated my study to help me grasp the most relevant information from the various sources. This was quite beneficial for the module and helped all of us to regain the confidence and feel optimistic about the information as well as the way this project was being shaped-up.

Evaluation

During my time working on this module, the experience I gained from the work would be very advantageous for me as well as my team members in the future. Gaining knowledge about various aspects related to entrepreneurship and business scenario post-Brexit helped all of us to shape the research in a systematic way. There were various things that went well while some of the aspects negatively contributed to this module. However, all these things set a strong base for learning and developing approaches for future iterations.

During the module, the most important task for all the team members was to acquire and present relevant and authentic information. What went right was that the information gathered by me was quite effective and authenticate. My approach was to refer to various journals and internet websites that are known to give authenticate data about various multiple aspects. Through my sources, I got various information about the challenges that are being faced by the entrepreneurs and how well could they still attract investors for their real-estate business. My sources gave me a clear indication of the irregular business environment scenario in the country. The changing value of money and uncertain market conditions are quite harmful for the profits and business plans of entrepreneurs working in real estate in the UK (Bouoiyour and Selmi, 2018). My sources also gave me an insight on how these entrepreneurs and real-estate firms could thrive their business enterprises despite the impacts of Brexit. Its negotiations have caused evident drawback in the real-estate market but still, there is a chance for entrepreneurs to recover themselves from its impact. I acquired various information about how entrepreneurs could be better than their competitors in the market event though the economic condition of the country is uncertain. I was quite appreciated for information I gathered about the module.

Another thing that went right was that all the information gathered by me was acquired within the allotted time which helped us save a lot of resources and time for other major activities required by the module. The research approaches used by me have proved quite well for my module which also had quite a great impact on my knowledge and ways of working in future iterations. The support I got from my team members throughout this module contributed to the timely accomplishment and successful completion of this project. Teamwork, if used in an effective manner, is quite useful for problem-solving as well as for accurate accomplishment of tasks (O’NEIL, 2017).

However, there were various situations that enhanced the problem that were faced by us. The information acquired by others during sometimes were in complete contradiction to what I had sometimes. This was one of the major challenges faced by us. Each group member assembled various useful information. There were times, however, where the members presented informations that were either irrelevant to the research or were inauthentic. This once resulted in conflict which shaped into a heating argument. Conflicts are the main reasons by which many tasks fail to accomplish successfully (Tjosvold, Wong and Feng Chen, 2014). Both the facts presented in the argument were theoretically correct, but authentication of information when applied practically was utmost important. It takes a great deal of effort and time to evaluate such facts and make it certain that only authentic information is used.

When the conflict came to an end, information segregated by me was ultimately used. The biggest problem which rose throughout the project was that although I am familiar with the methods of carrying out research to acquire effective and authenticated data, my input on the methods used by my group members could really have given them a clearer idea on how to carry out the research.

Another problem faced by us were the uncertainty of the Brexit situation. With much changes in the policies and regulations ongoing in the country, it was very difficult to determine the exact impact that it could have on real-estate. With Brexit debate still ongoing, it is still uncertain to determine the magnitude of the problem. Initially, it landed us in a situation where no clear choice could have been opted by us in regards with the issues. For a group study, it is imperative that decision-making power lies equally with everyone for smooth completion of activities (Kaner, 2014.). Such aspects didn't go well and presented us with various challenges requirements of some of which are still unmet.

Analysis

The various situations that have possibly led to ineffectiveness during the module were quite severe as per the requirements of the project. Any of the mentioned scenarios could have led to incompletion of the project. As for the situation where conflicts are concerned, these aspects are inevitable and could be quite demotivating for the team. Better understanding and tea, efforts could have led to reduction of the conflict about the information. It happened because each team member employed their own methods of conducting researches, which satisfied them on theoretical basis but not practically.  These conflicts were the result of using various different approach to satisfy a single agenda. The biggest challenge faced by me during the conflict was to prove my point and authentication of my information without causing disharmony within the team. As for my team members, it was also quite hectic to restore the pace in the iteration after the conflict.

Another thing which challenged me most was to examine the information presented by my teammates for authentication. Such analysis required me to effectively go through various sources from which information was collected. Some of these resources were quite difficult for me to find.

As for information on Brexit, I analysed that the biggest challenge was not to carry out authenticate information, but to review and revise that information regularly to check its validity as per the present situation.  In addition to this, it was also imperative for all of us to pick out newspapers and journals that are updated with the local news and current political and economical scenarios. In addition, with such extreme changes and Brexit negotiations, it was very hard for me to acquire the exact impact of all of this scenario on real-estate business.

A more extensive research could have really contributed in enhancing the effectiveness of    the module (Spector and et. al., 2014). Various real-estate agents and entrepreneurs might have provided us with a more valuable data on how Brexit is becoming a challenge for them and for their business operations.

Conclusion

The module have been quite contributing in enhancing my learning about various concepts and general aspects of how best to carry out research. It enhanced my effectiveness and alertness towards the ongoing scenario in the country. In addition to this, it broadened my spectrum about the sources and research approaches that could be used to effectively collect and analyse different data.

From the positive aspects, such as effective teamwork, peer support and timely acquisition of information, I learnt that it gets very much convenient to utilise resources available while working with a group. Different tasks carry out by each individual within the team contributes effectively towards the success of a module. In addition to this, research approaches also support the accomplishment of tasks in an efficient and effective manner. I learnt in my experience working on this module, that it is imperative that effective type of research approach is necessary to acquire a certain kind of information. Approaches such as qualitative, quantitative, inductive and deductive serve various respective agendas within the research (Bernard, 2017).

Thus, my experience working with almost all these approaches clearly notifies their importance within collection of data and information. I also learnt, that to effectively ease the pressure on yourself and team members, it is very crucial that each activity carried out by the members be completed within the set schedule. This would effectively help to allot time to all the activities required to be carried out by the research.

As for my experience with the negative aspects, I felt that it is quite crucial for a group to minimise the scope of conflicts by implementing practices like mutual understanding and group discussions. I learnt that it is very important to determine the roles and responsibilities equally and to set a fix time schedule to carry out each activity within the certain time period. It came to my knowledge that conflict could decrease the effectiveness of the team and the project. In my situation, instead of clarifying and comparing my information with my teammates, I could have defined the sources through which information could have been carried out. In addition to this, instead of coming into an argument, I could have opted for reasoning to make my teammates understand how information could be segregated to acquire relevant data and what they should do to carry out effective information.

Authentic information is also necessary for successful accomplishment of the project. Irrelevant data could cause loopholes and validity of the project presented. I learnt, that it was necessary for all the members to keep reviewing their information on regular interval to keep those valid as per the current business scenario within the country. In addition to this, Brexit debate is still on a high which could cause further changes in the business scenario.

As for describing a final outcome, my experiences whilst working on this module has been quite beneficial in terms of enhancing my learning abilities, collecting relevant information and working with study group. It helped me gain a broaden mindset about the issue and how best I could deal with the situations that were presented to me and my teammates.

Action Plan

It is imperative for an individual to develop an action plan before arising of any uncertain or negative situation. Action plan is a strategy that could be used to develop various measures required to handle the negative and uncertain situation with more effectiveness and better understanding (W Creswell, 2016). For any of the above situation arising, it is quite important that I take corrective action to either stop them from arising or to reduce the magnitude of these problems. For the situation revolving around conflicts, in future iterations, I would suggest my team mates to follow unanimous research approach and authenticate resources to carry out information that is relevant and serve the research agenda.

In addition to this, weekly group meetings would allow me to discuss the approach took by each member and would allow all of us to review the information of each other. Furthermore, in future, if a similar situation arises, instead of opting out for staging a conflict, I would rather indulge the other member into a creative discussion explaining them areas where the information lacks and how it could cause ambiguity in the module. In relation to this, another manner in which conflict could be reduced by me in the future is to set up guidelines for my team members to follow on how data should be acquired. This would allow each member to gather relevant information regardless of their familiarity with the research project.

As for inconsistent information, in future, my research approach would be in a manner that the information assembled by me is flexible enough to undergo various changes rather than updating the information as per the current standards and validity. In other words, information opted out by me would be satisfactory even if an uncertain future activity occurs. Moreover, to satisfy this aim, I would gain a better understanding on the concepts associated with the module and would effectively go through each of its aspects to present effective information in my project.  

Appendices

Appendix 1

WEEK 1

 

WEEK 2

 

 

WEEK 3

 

 

WEEK 4

 

 

WEEK 5

 

WEEK 6

 

Conclusion

Thus, it is concluded from the above report, that it is imperative for individuals to effectively apply various models in order to present reflective summary on various chosen topics. Gibbs Model used in the report is quite effective and is very useful as it covers all the aspects related to form a reflective summary. It is crucial to identify the problems and challenges faced along with the favourable factors to determine effective learning outcomes from the same. It is of vital importance that each challenge be analysed effectively to determine alternative course of action in case of future happenings. Lastly, action plans must be developed by individuals for future iterations in order to prepare corrective measures that could enhance future effectiveness.

References

• Bernard, H.R., 2017. Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Bouoiyour, J. and Selmi, R., 2018. Are UK industries resilient in dealing with uncertainty? The case of Brexit. The European Journal of Comparative Economics.
• Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.
• Eraker, D., and et. al., 2015. Online marketplace for real estate transactions. U.S. Patent 9,105,061.
• Kaner, S., 2014. Facilitator's guide to participatory decision-making. John Wiley & Sons.
• O’NEIL, H.F., 2017. Measuring Collaborative Problem Solving in Low-Stakes Tasks. In Assessment of problem solving using simulations (pp. 187-210). Routledge.
• Spector, J.M., and et. al., 2014. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 413-424). New York, NY: Springer.
• Tjosvold, D., Wong, A.S. and Feng Chen, N.Y., 2014. Constructively managing conflicts in organizations. Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.. 1(1). pp.545-568.
• W Creswell, J., 2016. Research Design.: Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed Methods Approaches. University Of Nebraska-Lincoln.