Enterprise in Action Reflective Summary

This report is a reflective summary of a higher education module focused on 'Enterprise in Action'. It analyzes the author's experience with independent learning, team work, and the challenges of understanding innovation and entrepreneurship concepts. The report also highlights the role of critical thinking, feedback, and the seminar tutor in enhancing learning capabilities.

Enterprise in Action:
Reflective Summary

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
My engagement and contribution in self study groups ...................................................................1
Benefits of independent learning ...............................................................................................1
Understanding of team work concept ........................................................................................2
Self evaluation: analysing strengths and weakness ....................................................................2
Process of enhancing research skills ...............................................................................................3
Skill to develop suitable research question ................................................................................3
Action research and understanding or research methods ...........................................................4
Role of critical thinking and feedback based evaluation ...........................................................4
Learnings and experience from different module areas .............................................................4
Role of seminar tutor ..................................................................................................................5
Enhancing my learning capabilities and understanding of entrepreneurship .................................5
Challenges involved in learning innovation and entrepreneurship concepts .............................5
Experienced gained from analysing various approaches to respond challenges ........................6
Achievements and development areas .......................................................................................6
Difference between expected and gained learning outcomes ....................................................7
Towards self-directing learning .................................................................................................7
Psychological impact .................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Reflective practices are defined as the ability or skills to reflect upon one's experiences or
actions for encouraging continuous learning. The reflection enables to critically analyse and
evaluate the theories which regulate or inform the routine actions. Thus reflection can be
considered as a great way to explore the innovative skills and to review the self efficiency. This
learning approach develops judgement and perceptions on the basis of past events or the
experience insights (Gould and Taylor, 2017). The essay will discuss the reflection on learning
the different concepts of enterprise action through the module. It will also discuss that how
reflective practices can play significant role in improving research skills and abilities as well as
to develop more detailed understanding of the subject.
My engagement and contribution in self study groups
The critical reflection has helped me to understand that without concepts of independent
and self direct learning I cannot achieve my skill development objectives. For instance during
selection of my research question I realised that how I can integrate my personal interest with my
academic learning and real world phenomenon. The entire module also helped me to understand
that by exploring the ways and subject I cannot meet the desired objectives instead the proper
support in terms of team work and guidance from the experts is mandatory at this level of
learning. In order to evaluate my participation in learning and impact of team on my performance
and learning it is necessary to use reflection. This approach has helped me to practically apply
the entrepreneur actions into my learning practice.
Benefits of independent learning
My first perspective regarding this module was not very positive. I considered it very
difficult to pursue and think on the module areas without seeking much involvement from the
tutors. However when I started learning the subject area and terms such as innovations and the
latest topic which can be used as my research area then I realised that it is not as complex as I
thought earlier. Though there were several challenges but the various attempts to resolve them as
well as to proceed as per the instructions of tutor helped me to encourage my efficiency.
One of the most important area which influence me is that with the concept of
independent learning I was not limited to follow a particular model or theory. Instead I had an
opportunity to explore the wide range of theories which can be practically implemented to the
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relocation of migrant labours due to Brexit. For independent learning I was required to highly
motivated and confident with my skills as well as research area.
The learnings from module independently allowed me to be aware of the research
limitations as well as my ability to handle them. When I explored the module through
independent learning then it gave me a valuable knowledge that how I would have deal with the
same situation if I was also a part of the automotive industry or the migrant labours. This
conceptualisation is vital for the broad understanding of the module (Knott and Scragg, 2016).
Understanding of team work concept
The feedback has been an essential part of the improvement process as well as to evaluate
the accuracy of the functions. To make my work more effective the support of self study group
was vital for me. The individual members in the groups had different perspective and opinion on
every issue. Thus whenever I received any kind of feedback from them it was very valuable,
realistic and mixed. On certain aspects such as research questions or methodology there were
difficulty in making the common agreement because every team member believed their opinion
as more precise.
However such limitations of group work were resolved by discussion. It gave me a
valuable lesson in problem solving approach and effect of collective work. Since our subject is
very wide thus various team members explored different areas. For instance some members were
in examination of Brexit impact on automotive industry while some were analysing its impact
on immigrant labours (Dhingra, Sampson and Thomas, 2018). I believe that sometimes it make
process very time consuming and complex but whenever I got any difficulty in applying model
then the support from the team members was valuable. I am greatly inspired that how a
collective effort can result in huge number of innovative ideas and concepts.
Self evaluation: analysing strengths and weakness
The team working and approach of independent learning has provided me the best
evaluation of my skills. I am not good at critical thinking and research techniques. Whenever I
work in teams I feel uncomfortable with the thought that may be my ideas will not be
appreciated by the others or I may not accept their feedback comments. However when I worked
in team I realised that I am good at analytical skills. I am good at interpreting and applying the
theories to practical situations. These skills are good for my academic excellence. I believe that
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in order to achieve my long term success goals I must improve my team work skills and
tendency to accept feedbacks in positive way.
Whenever I am judged by any of the team members or my research findings are not
effective then my moral and self confidence was shattered. Thus the study has helped to analysed
that I must be motivating and should learn to accept failures and feedbacks. This can be
considered as one of my weakness. During study when I analysed different sources related to the
subject then I came to know that I have good understanding of the each and every component of
the business process. If I will try to explore these areas in more depth then I can surely achieve
my desired goals.
Process of enhancing research skills
The research outcomes cannot be considered validate and effective if research skills are
not applied in a correct direction (Redmond, 2017). The use of reflective practices has helped me
to understand my drawbacks and strengths. For choosing research methods it is vital that I must
understand the needs and scope of my research question as well as to know the detailed
knowledge of variety of research methods. As per the research question Brexit has affected both
migrants as well as automotive industries (Rubin, 2017). Thus I cannot put valid conclusions
without analysing both of these aspects. The module learning experience with the feedback based
learning is proven to be one of the most helpful tool for me to accomplish the learning and
project.
Skill to develop suitable research question
For the development of the research question I selected the most discussed topic and
which I found need to be discussed. However the selection of the appropriate question requires
certain skills. For this purpose it is important that an individual must be innovative and must be
able to explore the all possible aspects. For instance when this question came to my mind I first
tried to find the answers such as why this is important and what is and what I can contribute with
the situation and how others can help me. There were several other options as well in my mind
but when I tried to explore their positive or negative side then on the basis of my evaluation and
comparative skills. My decision making skills crucially helped me to choose the final research
question.
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Action research and understanding or research methods
Brexit process is not any theoretical concept which can be found in any previous journals
or books (Bailey, 2017). I tried to employ the more realistic research actions and methods. I
assumed that the study cannot be completed without continuous problem solving approach and
team efforts. Since the study is related with community I tried to use research approach which
involves the others as member of study instead of making actions independently.
I suggested several methods to my team members but some of them were not appreciated
by them and they gave me valid reasons that why I should go for other alternative. At that time I
felt bad that why they are not supporting me but when I explored other methods then I realised
that their suggestion was correct. This event helped me to understand that feedbacks are not bad
they are just for the further improvements. I also used iterative approach to develop decisions so
that more closer results can be achieved with each of the research method and process.
Role of critical thinking and feedback based evaluation
Critical thinking has helped me in analysing facts from the judgement as the topic was
complex but due to critical thinking, I was clear and rational about my judgements. Thinking
critically made me able to interpret, analyse and evaluate ideas and make arguments, critical
thinking has helped me in making interpretation and evaluation of observation, communication
and other sources of information used by me.
By critical think I did not only get ideas and information about the topic but I was able to
process the information and carefully evaluate by looking at various reasons and evidences from
arguments and other sources. I also got feedback peers, colleagues, tutors which even helped me
to get clear with my doubts and made my job easy. Feedback helped me in clearing errors which
I had done and it also me more interested and through feedbacks I was able to increase my
knowledge and information which helped a lot in performing my job.
Learnings and experience from different module areas
Different modules have been highly useful in providing in depth knowledge of the
innovation concepts and entrepreneurial issues. When I linked these concepts with the Brexit
issue then I understand that critical thinking is very essential for the academic learning and
without its implementation academic theories cannot be related with the practical case situations.
The challenges occurred in these modules also helped me to understand that how arguments and
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team work is able to make effective decisions which are not possible with the efforts of an
individual only.
I am very proud and satisfied that I take this independent learning as an opportunity. The
learnings from this module will always remain as inspiration that I can achieve anything with
dedication and hard work. It only requires to be motivated and firm towards dealing with the
challenges (Rubin, 2017). One thing which I believe that this type of module are presented as the
challenging and complex which makes individual nervous. In my opinion in the beginning of the
module role of iterations and reflective learnings must be discussed openly so that the
misconception and fear regarding independent learning can be eliminated.
Role of seminar tutor
My seminar tutor helped a lot and was supportive in nature. I used to contact him when
ever I faced any problem and he never hesitated to help me. As tutor teaches students of higher
education he has got lot of experience, so I used to ask many questions to my tutor to gain more
and more knowledge. The tutor made me familiar with many contemporary issues and have
guided me throughout the task. Learning from my seminar tutor will help me in future and
knowledge gained from him can be useful for my future jobs. My seminar tutor also made
research at individual level in order to help me with the topic which made my knowledge more
specific and accurate, which can help in my growth and development. With the help of my tutor I
was able to develop my in various fields and I have improved my skills and knowledge.
Enhancing my learning capabilities and understanding of entrepreneurship
The concept of innovation and enterprise success are closely associated with each other
as the success of an enterpriser greatly depends upon the innovative methods. However it is quite
challenging to learn both of these concepts (Bailey, 2017). It is essential to overcome these
challenges and to respond them with effective methods so that learning experience can be
improved to a great extent.
Challenges involved in learning innovation and entrepreneurship concepts
According to me the biggest challenge for me was to keep myself motivated for learning
enterprise actions through independent learning. The lack of confidence also made the learning
process more challenging. When I began to start finding research methods it was hard to select
the most appropriate methodology (Husebø, O'Regan and Nestel, 2015). Since I had limited
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experience in the context it was making it challenging to overcome this barrier. With earlier
modules I have been always completely dependent on support from tutors and thus I never
thought that I will have to adopt the approach of independent learning. T
hus to keep myself motivated for the study was no less than challenge for me. On many
instances I found it impossible to link the topic with the module components and theory. To
overcome such situations I seek help from tutor and my self study group. The understanding
issues have been the constant area which affect the quality of learning. I tried to enhance my
learning experience by understanding from different perspectives but decision making situations
made me conscious about my understanding ability.
Experienced gained from analysing various approaches to respond challenges
In order to overcome the challenges I used various approaches such as assistance from
study groups, tutor and in depth analysis of facts through research and reflective learning. These
approaches provided me valuable experiences. For instance the feedback from study group
taught me that it is not harmful to gain knowledge from the perspective of others. Instead the
discussion and effective communication can make it easy to improve problem solving and
decision making capabilities (Dhingra, Sampson and Thomas, 2018). I also learned that self
confidence and motivation can make it possible to achieve any task with ease and efficiency. The
most important learning from this unit is that for applying the concept of innovation it is required
that one should be capable to explore the surrounding situations and their various aspects.
Achievements and development areas
As per my analysis my confidence level, decision making ability and team work skills
have been improved by the module. It has also helped me to understand he research methods and
skills which are mandatory for a successful entrepreneur. Some aspects such as problem solving
skills, innovative skills requires additional improvement. In this module whenever I faced any
difficulty the support from other team members helped me to resolve the issue and to take the
study ahead. For instance on many occasions I found that iterative processes and feedback
evaluation are making learning and goal achievement process and slow and less effective.
Certain processes such as questionnaire development for interview, interpretation of the results
or findings are still a big challenge for me. However I believe that with time when I will improve
and make critical development to these aspects.
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Difference between expected and gained learning outcomes
In the initial few phases I had several expectations from this unit. As the name of the
module suggest the association between innovation and enterprise actions I was very uncertain
that how innovations can be found in every individual. Innovations are highly creative and it is
not possible for everyone to bring them (Dhingra, Sampson and Van Reenen, 2016). Contrary to
this when I directed myself towards self learning then I understood that innovations are not any
sudden even it is just an ordinary process which can be accomplished easily when we try to
explore every event around us and its critical evaluation.
Initially I was not expecting that this unit will give me so much confidence and
knowledge but today I can feel a significant change in my personality and thinking ability. Now
when I have used an entire module to answer my research question of Brexit I am sure that in
future as well I will find it easy to apply my reflective knowledge into my professional and
academic success.
Towards self-directing learning
The detailed studies in specific subject area cannot be accomplished without
understanding own perspective and knowledge on various situations (Schön, 2017). In this entire
module I tried to apply concepts on Brexit and relocation process of labours so that I can
complete this unit with practical implementation. From my perspective I have not completely
learned the self directive learning because in every stage of the learning I was confused that if I
am using correct approach or not. It can be the result of my fear or lack of experience in the same
field.
However after completion of the unit when I look backward I feel that I had great
experience and my nervousness was irrelevant. I think that my readiness and motivation to
accomplish study helped me to become self directed learner. It has also gave me a new level of
confidence that in future as well I can explore the new development areas and skills without
getting fear of failure.
Psychological impact
Initially I was worried that how I will complete the module independently but gradually
when I proceeded I realised that it is quite challenging and interesting. I believe that the taught
module enhances my learning and understanding capabilities but this type of module are
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effective to explore or furnish my critical thinking and decision making abilities. Initially when I
began the research process then due to difficulty in framing questions I was again anxious that
how I will do this but then I motivated my self that it is essential to develop enterprise skills.
This self motivation encouraged me to focus on only productivity through feedbacks, team work
and self evaluation through reflective practices.
CONCLUSION
From the above description it can be concluded that the reflective practices can be highly
beneficial from learning perspective. These practices allows individuals to reflect and evaluate
their own actions so that drawbacks and strengths can be analysed. It has been also analysed
from the report that the greatest benefit of reflective practices is in dealing with the challenges
which occurs during learning process. Whenever there are difficulties in accomplishing certain
goals then the evaluation of experience can help to quickly and effectively overcome the barriers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bailey, D., 2017. Brexit, the UK Auto Industry and Industrial Policy. Regions Magazine. 306(1).
pp.4-5.
Dhingra, S., Sampson, T. and Thomas, C., 2018. UK trade and FDI: A post‐Brexit
perspective. Papers in Regional Science. 97(1). pp.9-24.
Dhingra, S., Sampson, T. and Van Reenen, J., 2016. The impact of Brexit on foreign investment
in the UK. BREXIT 2016. 24.
Gould, N. and Taylor, I., 2017. Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
Husebø, S. E., O'Regan, S. and Nestel, D., 2015. Reflective practice and its role in
simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. 11(8). pp.368-375.
Knott, C. and Scragg, T. eds., 2016. Reflective practice in social work. Learning Matters.
Redmond, B., 2017. Reflection in action: Developing reflective practice in health and social
services. Routledge.
Rubin, J., 2017. How Has Canadian Manufacturing Fared under NAFTA? A Look at the Auto
Assembly and Parts Industry.
Schön, D. A., 2017. The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge.
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