Action Plan for Business Development

This assignment presents a detailed action plan designed to enhance the author's personal and professional skills relevant to business. The plan incorporates daily journaling, weekly brainstorming for unconventional innovations, and a six-month goal of mastering big data analysis tools. Each activity aims to contribute to the author's growth as an entrepreneur by improving customer relationships, increasing business efficiency, and fostering creative problem-solving.

Running head: MANAGEMENT DESIGN 1
Management Design
Name
Institution

MANAGEMENT DESIGN 2
Abstract
This is a reflective report that contains the activities that were carried out in the learning process
to bring about development in individual personal and professional skills relating to business
activities. It is in reference to blog entries that were made every week during the term. It also
contains an analysis of strengths and weaknesses which were determined in relation to the topics
taught as well as an action plan for the next six months that will aid in personal development.

MANAGEMENT DESIGN 3
Management Design It
The weekly blog has been of utmost use to my studies all through the term. Going
through the entries of every week aided in giving me a new perspective of what was learnt as
well as in the identification of areas that require development.
The first lesson learnt in this unit was an introduction to design thinking in
entrepreneurship. During this introduction class (blog entry on 30th July 2017) I learnt that there
is a difference between innovations and inventions and we performed an activity where the
different groups in class shared their individual ideas. In entrepreneurship innovation refers to
the process in which someone makes significant changes to an already existing product and
improves its functionality. Conversely, invention refers to the process in which a process or
product is introduced for the very first time (Dube, 2012). Businesses should continually
innovate and invent various products and processes in order to remain competitive and keep
making profits.
Regardless of the need for continual innovation and invention, majority of new business
ideas do not reach the market. Research indicates that only fifteen percent of new ideas end up
being incorporated into business functions. This challenged me because I am very creative and
over the years I have come up with numerous ideas that can be incorporated in business.
However, I have not applied any one of them. This made me make a decision that I would not be
part of the majority who did not bring their ideas to life. Therefore, I am currently working to
improve my current idea and commence using it in business.
It is important to view the design process from a peripheral point of view. The blog post
on July 30, 2017 contains information about making observations like a designer. The activity
here involved analysis of different businesses to find what went wrong or right in terms of how

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their business ideas were implemented. This exercise contributed to my personal development
because I learnt that to succeed in business one must have the proper mindset and follow their
core values. There are people who choose making profits over being ethical in their business
dealings. However, it is very important for business people to be ethical because in the long run
showing corporate social responsibility is proving to be more advantageous (McWilliams &
Siegel, 2017).
Reasoning is a very important skill that everyone should possess and continually develop.
In my August 16th blog post, I learnt how to create the desired value by reasoning, loop learning,
and co-creation. In most businesses, when the management is solving different problems they
fail to use all three skills together hence they end up making decisions that are not very effective.
I learnt that there are four mental states that are involved in design thinking. These include;
divergent thinking which involves creating choices, convergent thinking which involves making
a choice, analysis which means coming up with patterns from which to draw conclusions, and
synthesis which means to reassemble the patterns (Brown, 2009).
Another important concept learnt was about loop learning. Single loop involves
comprehending and following existing rules. Double loop means learning about the rules and
then changing them. Finally, triple loop learning means to learn about learning (Tossey, 2012).
This information aided in my professional development as a future business owner because
business requires one to think of any activity in the basis of the client. Incidentally, one should
think of what value their business is adding to the clients’ life. it is important to reason in the
context of what is in it for the client (Agogué, Lundqvist & Middleton, 2014). As a result, one
should collect information and analyze it to know how to best carry out business activities.
Consequently, this will ensure that the product satisfies certain customers’ needs and improves

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their lives. I therefore learnt that in business one should not accept things as they are but should
continually change them to bring in improvements and therefore increase their competitive
abilities.
It is vital in life and in business to identify where there are problems and then carry out
actions to solve these problems. I learnt that design thinking is not just about solving existing
problems but finding the problems as well (see blog post on 25th August 2017). The activity
conducted when learning this concept involved studying a picture to see how the identified
problems can be solved. This showed the importance of thinking outside conventional lines
which is brought about by brainstorming.
Brainstorming aided in my personal development because I used to follow the given rules
and not try to think of better ways of doing things (Dube, 2012). I was afraid of failure and what
people might think about my ideas which seemed different from the normal way of doing things.
However, I learnt that it is people who think different from others who end up succeeding in life.
Therefore, I learnt to; not judge other people’s ideas, come up with as many ideas as possible,
and if need be, I should get ‘stupid’ to think from a different perspective.
To brainstorm effectively, there is need to have the right mindset that is to be positive and
believe in oneself. When brainstorming, I learnt that one can also make use of visualization
which enables one to create possibilities and bring them to life (Adel Al-khatib, 2012).
Moreover, one should keep the process simple to generate the best results.
Journey mapping and mind mapping are important activities that should be carried out
when deciding what to provide to customers and how to improve the value chain (see blog post
on August 27, 2017). I learnt that as a business professional, one should not simply create a value
chain without having an understanding of how customers will react to it. Journey mapping is a

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representation of the customer experience during interaction with a service provider represented
graphically. The activity performed in this workshop involved mapping of the master’s program
journey. Conversely, mind mapping involves the use of pictures to extract meaningful insights.
This is one very important concept that I learnt which will be used professionally.
Innovation is very important for any business that wishes to maintain long term success
in its operations. However, research has proved that not all innovation activities work to benefit
the company. Some innovation activities have proved detrimental and have reduced revenue
earned (David J, 2010). We studied a case study of Coca Cola Company where they brought
about innovative changes that made their beverage to fail (as seen in blog entry on 29th July
2017). Initially, I thought all innovation brings success to the companies but this showed me that
that is not the case. I therefore learnt that research and development are two very important
activities that any company should undertake before incorporating new innovations into their
business activities.
I also learnt how the design process should take place in order to ensure maximum results
for the company (see blog entry on August 6, 2017). There are five steps that should be followed
which include; empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and implementation. The empathy stage
involves a research to develop knowledge on consumer opinions (Coulon & Baltar, 2013). This
enables the company to identify their needs and preferences and find ways to provide for them.
The define stage involves identification of the problems that customers have, from which
customer needs are generated.
The third phase involves generation of as many creative ideas as possible. The ideas are
presented to the team members who aid in correcting them and in the end the best idea is chosen.
The next step involves the creation of a prototype to ensure that the idea will work. This step

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involves experimentation on the impact versus feasibility of ideas from the feedback received on
the prototypes. The text phase involves repeated simulation of the prototype to obtain the most
favorable result. Finally, the design is implemented (Agogué, Lundqvist & Middleton, 2014).
Reflection is an activity that I have found to be very useful throughout the course of this
unit. It is important in my personal life as well as in business (see blog post on August 13, 2017).
Throughout my life, I have not been reflecting on my activities to see if they are in line with my
personal goals. However, since I began using this tool my life has improved greatly and I have
been able to hold myself accountable for every activity that I do. Consequently, my grades have
improved and I have learnt a lot more.
When people are in business, there are various challenges that arise and they require a
hands on approach in resolving them. However, some solutions may add on to the problem as
opposed to solving it. This is where finding the optimal solution comes in (see blog entry on
August 20, 2017). To come up with the solutions that will maximize returns requires one to
explore the problem and find why it occurred, envision what would be the best outcome or the
business, make choices in this regard, and take action. This involves brainstorming and
creativity.
The business management should also be able to visualize different occurrences ahead of
the customer to remedy them before they become a problem (see blog entry on September 3,
2017). I have learnt that in business there are very many different ways of achieving the same
solution and one needs to choose the most favorable method based on the existing constraints
(Luo, 2014).

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SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 One of my main strengths is the
ability to be creative. I have learnt in
this unit that for a business too remain
competitive in the long run it needs
innovation and invention.
 I have also been ethical and believe in
doing things in the right way as I
strive to get the best results. This was
enforced on me when we were taught
that we should keep our core values
even when doing business and not just
aim towards short term profits.
 I possess great interpersonal skills.
This enables me to interact very well
with people some of whom I do not
know. This skill is very important
when running a business because it is
very important to interact with
customers to receive feedback on their
wants, needs, and preferences. This
will turn ensure that the products
 Though I am creative, I have been
afraid of going against conventional
ways. However, this unit taught me to
think outside the box and even go to
the extent of being ‘stupid’ to be able
to think differently from other people.
(see blog entry on 30th July 2017).
 Another area that I need to improve on
is proper reasoning. This is because
for one to reason properly, there is a
need to look at a situation from
different points of view (Dowden,
2017). I have always looked at my
own perspective without being
empathetic about the other party’s
point of view and this has made my
decisions inefficient.
 In the past, I have not been taking time
to reflect on my actions. This is an
area that I need to improve on because
I have seen that reflecting on one’s

MANAGEMENT DESIGN 9
being provided are aligned to their
needs and are therefore profitable.
 My problem solving skills and
interpersonal skills coupled with
proper communication skills will
enable me to identify problems that
exist in the business from interacting
with other stakeholders and correct
them. These skills will also enable me
to be a good marketer and therefore
increase demands for the products
being sold.
actions makes one to hold themselves
accountable for every decision they
make and therefore improves
performance. This skill is also
important in business and aids in the
identification of areas that require to
be improved on.
 The skill of brainstorming has been
quite difficult for me to use. However,
I have learnt that this skill works best
when one empathizes with others and
tries to view a situation from different
perspectives (see blog post on 25th
August, 2017).
Opportunities Threats
 I will continually make use of the
different school programs and
activities that will enable me to
improve my skills by participating in
real life activities.
 I will also seek internship
opportunities where I can practice
what I have learnt in a business
 I am often overworked with different
responsibilities which could reduce
the time left for me to pursue the
different activities that will help me
develop my personal and business
skills. However, I will try my best to
find the time in order to achieve great
results.

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setting.
Action Plan for the next six months
Action Objective Frequency of review
Join a business as an intern. This is to aid in my practical
application of the various
skills that I have learnt. These
include; being innovative,
solving problems, journey
mapping for customers,
researching on customer
wants, needs, and preferences
among others.
Monthly
Analyze different situations
to come up with different
solutions and then choose the
best solution.
This is to aid in the
development of my reasoning
skills. Proper reasoning is a
skill that I need to develop
and to so, I need to be
empathetic and view
situations from different
perspectives.
Weekly
Learn how to use business This has a very essential skill After six months

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intelligence and analyze big
data.
in business today. I need to
understand how to use the
different tools for analyzing
big data and be able to come
up with actionable insights
that can help guide the
business in the right path
(Kortzfleisch & Mokanis,
2012).
Come up with unconventional
innovations.
The best innovations come
from ideas that were not
expected to succeed (Adel
Al-khatib, 2012). This
activity will help me think
outside the box and come up
with useful ideas.
Weekly
Start making use of a diary
every day to document my
actions and the repercussions.
I have learnt that reflective
learning is very important.
Therefore, I will document all
my activities at the end of
each day in order to vie them
and see which activities bring
in the best reward.
Daily

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This action plan is very important and it will assist me in ensuring that I develop my personal
and professional skills in relation to business. The skills gained will help me when I start my
business in knowing how to relate with my customers and how to increase business efficiency.
As a result of this exercise, I will be able to capitalize on my strengths and improve on my
weaknesses to continually improve my business and personal skills.
References

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Al-khatib, B. (2012). The Effect of Using Brainstorming Strategy in Developing Creative
Problem Solving Skills among Female Students in Princess Alia University College. American
International Journal Of Contemporary Research.
Agogué, M., Lundqvist, m., & Middleton, W. (2014). TEACHING DESIGN THEORY TO
ENTREPRENEURS: AN EFFECTUAL USE OF DESIGN.
Brown, T. (2009). How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires
Innovation. change by design. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from
https://www.scribd.com/document/340582139/change-by-design-brown-e-1-pdf
Coulon, S., & Baltar, F. (2013). UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMIC OF THE
ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS: THE INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEUR AND THE
STRATEGIC DECISIONS. GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND FINANCE
PROCEEDINGS, 8.
David J, D. (2010). Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation. Long Range Planning.
Dowden, B. (2017). Logical Reasoning (2nd ed.).
Dube, W. (2012). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Research At RIT.
Kortzfleisch, H., & Mokanis, I. (2012). Introducing Entrepeneurial Design Thinking.
Luo, J. (2014). The United Innovation Process: Integrating Science, Design and
Entrepreneurship as Sub-Processes.
McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility: a Theory of the Firm
Perspective. Amr.aom.org. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from
http://amr.aom.org/content/26/1/117.short

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Tossey, P. (2012). The origins and conceptualisations of `triple-loop’ learning: a critical
review. Tripple-Loop Learning.