Evaluation and Reflection - Work Based Learning

EVALUATION AND REFLECTION-WORK BASED LEARNING
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Executive Summary
This study deals with presenting a detailed view regarding the use of reflection for effective
learning. These learning processes are effective for both personal and professional development.
The personal skills that need to be developed have been presented in details. It was found that the
main issue was a lack in persuasion skills that led to major losses for the organisation. These
losses occurred due to the fact that a lack of persuasion has negative impacts on the retention of
employees. Additionally, various professionalism based issues have also been presented in the
study and an action plan has been developed. The study also consists of the use of reflective
models and theories such as the Gibbs Reflective Cycle and the Kolb’s Exponential learning
cycle. A set of smart goals have also been presented in detail within this study.
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Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Task 1a.............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Event or incident reflected on..........................................................................................................3
Significance of the incident.............................................................................................................4
Utilising the Gibbs Reflective Cycle...............................................................................................4
Change in reflections in case of use of a different model/technique...............................................7
Effectiveness of learning through reflection and changes in action or attitude...............................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Task 1b.............................................................................................................................................8
Introduction......................................................................................................................................8
Importance of learning through reflection and values in professional development.......................8
Selection of reflective model and justification................................................................................9
Application of reflective model.......................................................................................................9
Differences from previous areas of knowledge.............................................................................12
Value in knowledge gained in the application of selected model.................................................12
Impact of the new knowledge on own practice.............................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................13
Task 2a Personal Analysis.............................................................................................................13
2b. Setting Smart Goals.................................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................16
Appendices....................................................................................................................................19
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Task 1
Task 1a
Introduction
Reflecting on past experiences within various social and organisational situations has significant
positive impacts on learning new methods for dealing with these situations. This study deals with
the various methods that can be used in order to reflect and learn from various organisational
situations relating to the use of Human Resource Management skills. This process of self-
development can have positive impacts on the mindsets of people and thus they will not be
disheartened by significant failures that they may face. The study also presents a personal
analysis and an action plan for various skills and knowledge that needs to be developed.
Event or incident reflected on
The reflection process has been conducted based on a situation I faced while retaining
employees. As an HR manager, I need proper knowledge and skills in recruiting skilled
employees and retaining experienced employees. I realised that I am not able to persuade skilled
and experienced employees to stay. Some experienced employees did not want to stay with the
brand due to better opportunities and I was not able to convince them to stay. As influenced by
Lu and Gursoy (2016), offering an increased salary did not work due to the fact that the
employee feels that the brand does not have a proper working environment. Therefore, it is
highly important for me to develop new methods for ensuring improved team performances and
to connect with employees emotionally. As per Erskine and Georgiou (2017), developing
emotional connections with the use of persuasion and empathy can have positive effects on
preventing major turnover issues for the brand.
While learning to develop proper personal skills, I experienced a new situation. This situation
included the fact that a new member joined our group during the development process. This
member was selected as the group leader and was tasked to help and guide other members within
the group including me. While I was highly motivated and open to learning and improving my
skills, some of the members at the group meeting were engaged in the use of their phones. The
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use of phones during the meeting indicates a negative view towards the group leader and also can
be stated as a bad behaviour.
Significance of the incident
The incident is significant due to the fact that it helped me learn about my weaknesses that lead
to negative effects on my organisation. As influenced by Garnett et al. (2016), the incident has
also helped me to develop a clear understanding regarding all the various skills that I need to
develop both for personal development and organisational growth.
Based on the incident in my group, it can be stated that the other members have low regards for
the development of skills and are not interested in the ideas that the group leader is trying to
present. This incident is important as it helps to me analyse negative behaviours and take
necessary actions for preventing my own behaviors from being perceived as negative.
Utilising the Gibbs Reflective Cycle
The Gibbs Reflective cycle is effective in providing a detailed reflection regarding a certain
incident. According to the view of Tanaka et al. (2018), real-life experiences and situations are
the best opportunities for learning. These situations provide insights into the outcomes and
various methods that could have been used in order to deal with these situations (Bassot, 2016).
The situation taken into account has been evaluated with the use of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle
below.
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Figure 1: Gibbs reflective cycle
(Source: Sekarwinahyu et al. 2019)
Description
The description phase deals with describing the event that occurred which identified the major
flaws (Göker, and Bozkuş, 2017). The event includes the fact that I was unable to prevent long-
term skilled and experienced employees from leaving the company. The financial crisis due to
turnovers has contributed to low salary values being provided to employees within the venture
(Fowler, 2016). Additionally, the work environment was negative due to major discrimination
issues between people of diverse cultures and races. I realised that I needed effective persuasion
skills and empathy in order to ensure that the employees stay. However, my lack of empathy and
persuasion skills led to the loss of skilled workforce. Over the next few months, my organisation
faced a major decrease in performances due to this issue.
Additionally, while being involved in a group for developing proper personal skills, a new
member joined our group. This member was designated as a group leader and was highly
friendly, understanding and provided a large amount of help. However I found that some of the
members at the group meeting were more involved in using their phones rather than trying to
develop their personal skills.
Feelings
My inability to persuade skilled and experienced employees to stay had significant negative
effects on my mindsets. Being unable to utilise proper skills also had a lasting negative effect on
me psychologically. According to Artinger and Powell (2016), these psychological effects
include a decrease in confidence and low self-worth. As stated by Burke and Noumair (2015),
growth and development is a learning process which involves both positive and negative
situations. While working in a group for developing my personal skills I realised that only a few
people are focused on developing their best self. The use of phones during the meeting indicates
a negative behaviour. These behaviours helped me to understand the feelings of the group leader.
I experienced the same feelings which include feeling disrespected, disgusted and ignored.
Evaluation
The evaluation phase deals with evaluating the prime causes due to which the situation occurred
(Sewell, 2017). Based on the situation, it can be stated that I was unable to persuade the
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