Individual Report: Graduate Challenge Skills and Challenges Analysis

This individual report provides a self-reflection on the Graduate Challenge, analyzing skills, strengths, and weaknesses identified through the Apprentice Challenge, Presentation Challenge, and T-shirt Challenge. The report delves into learnings related to branding, operations, and finance, highlighting the importance of branding in business, operational efficiencies, and financial stability. It also assesses communication skills, emotional intelligence, and teamwork, drawing on the stages of group development and team roles. The report culminates in an action plan for skill improvement, focusing on presentation skills and time management, with the goal of enhancing professional development and addressing identified shortcomings. The student reflects on the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and the strategies employed to navigate the group challenges, offering insights into personal growth and future goals.

Individual Report
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Executive Summary
This report is aimed at discussing self-reflection over the skills set, strength and weakness
identified during the challenges that had to be done in the group – apprentice challenge,
presentation challenge and T-shirt challenge. All challenges were aimed at different learnings
and this report focuses on analysing those challenges, reflecting on observations on learnings and
skills identified during those challenges. In the end, an action plan has been drawn to improve
shotcomings.
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Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................4
Analysis of the challenges...........................................................................................................4
Reflection from learnings............................................................................................................5
Reflection on skills......................................................................................................................6
Action Plan..................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
There are various skills that are innate in a person and various skills that a person
develops over their life due to situational requirements and professional conditions (Cegielski
and Jones‐Farmer, 2016). Below mentioned challenges were aimed at assessing presence of such
skills in the person. This report is aimed at self-reflection over the assessment of own skills set,
strength and weaknesses identified and observed during these challenges.
Main Body
Analysis of the challenges
Apprentice Challenge: This challenge was a presentation challenge in which SWOT
analysis of a brand had been done to identify internal and external key drivers of the brand. This
challenged presented a theoretical apprenticeship opportunity by asking to develop a new
product based on SWOT analysis that will be enable brand to grow further. Targeted customers
for the new product had to be identified and a marketing communication plan had been
developed to reach them. This challenge has presented a wholesome opportunity to learn
analysing factors influencing a business, new product development and promotion and all the
challenges related to them.
Supermarket Presentation Challenge: This challenge was a presentation challenge
which included identifying current trends in supermarket sector and analysing financial
performance of companies like Tesco, Aldi and Lidl. Internal and external analysis of Tesco
using SWOT and PESTEL had been determined to provide recommendations as to how
company can improve its financial performance and regain lost customer base and market share.
This challenge not only helped us analysing financial performance of companies in supermarket
factors but also factors that present challenge to their good performance, so that we learn
analytical and advisory skills while developing recommendations.
T-shirt Challenge: This challenge was to design deliverables and their costing. It
included designing a logo that had to be printed on a newly launched range of T-shirts and
sweatshirts. Target market of these products had been identified and an estimated profit and loss
statement had also been prepared aimed at discussing utilisation of £200 budget and ordering
number of each products. This challenge was aimed at developing knowledge about production
process and marketing process (Kiss and et.al., 2015). It also aimed at developing costing and
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budgeting skills. It helped us learning how businesses and their departments manage funds
available to them, constraints they face and methods they employ to get out of financial
complications of over and under funding.
Reflection from learnings
Branding - This challenge helped me learn a lot about business processes and one such
learning was about branding process and its importance in business. Branding refers to creating a
logo, symbol or design that become identity of the product or company. I learned during the
challenges that branding is important for a company to create and uphold as it is the face of the
company or product in the eyes of customers (Sousa and Rocha, 2019). Apprentice challenge
provided a learning that branding increases business value and that a company with already
established brand finds it easier in launching their new products in market in comparison with a
new company with not so established brand in the eyes of the customers. T-shirt challenge made
me realise that branding is a tool for promoting the products in itself as it attracts the customers
towards the product while during supermarket presentation challenge, I realised that branding
helps a company in developing stable operations and creating a trust for the company and its
products in marketplace, which helps it retain and improve its market share.
Operation - Operations management refers to managing inner working or behind-the-
scenes routine work of the business. These challenges made me realised that it is not easy to
handle operations for both small and large businesses. While doing supermarket presentation
challenge, I realised that every business organisation faces their own set of challenges in
operations however, large companies have more resources and market credibility at their
disposal than small businesses and therefore, are more equipped to face complications. Every
organisation strives to achieve highest level of operational efficiency and technology has played
a supporting role in achieving that objective. I observed during all challenges that all types of
organisations use technologies with different objectives such as using software in their product
planning and development process, production and inventory management process, customer
relationship and supply chain management process, risk management process, etc. (Bhagra and
Sharma, 2018) Digital technology helps in improving communication with customers that
enables selling more products and earning more revenue. More revenue helps in improving profit
and stabilising operations of the business.
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Finance - Finance is lifeline of a business and it is important for any business to have
stability in finances to have smooth operations. During challenges, I realised it is not easy to
arrange and distribute funds. During apprentice challenge, I learned developing marketing
communication plan, wherein I learned that businesses choose their marketing tools and
mediums according to the availability of funds with them and even then, they need to create a
reserve to deal with contingencies. During supermarket presentation challenge, I learned that
finances of both large and small organisations are impacted by internal and external drivers of
business (Bleicher and et.al., 2019). Company needs to arrange their finances so that they are
able to arrange and manage resources as and when they want. While during T-shirt challenge, we
learned all the factors that act as aid or constraints while preparing budgets, how new companies
manage in a limited budget to make it big and how even large companies need to check on their
finances, why they create several reserves and provisions and maintain retained earnings. We
learned preparing budgets, final accounts of profit & loss account, balance Sheet and cash flow
statement in spreadsheet.
Reflection on skills
Communication skills – These are those skills which enables exchange of information
between people, group and teams. It includes listening, speaking, observing, etc. and can be any
form of exchange – written, oral, symbolic, pictorial, etc. Communication is a two-way process
which begins with a sender sending a message and ends with receiving a feedback from receiver.
These skills have played very important role in completing the challenges by not only facilitating
smooth exchanges during tasks but also between group members. I realised that my one-to-one
communication skills are fairly good and has really helped in researching and preparing reports
and presentation. However, when I was made to speak among all group members together, my
fright for public speaking would kick in.
Emotional intelligence – It refers to the ability of oneself to understand, use and manage
emotions of self in positive ways to develop and maintain social relationships (Candrlic, 2020).
As per Goleman theory, there are four skills of emotional intelligence – self-awareness, self-
management, social awareness and relationship management. I realised during these challenges
that I’m fairly aware of my feelings and is able to keep them under balance so as to not create
discord among group. I’m shy and reserve therefore, even though I observe everything, I keep
within myself and socialise less. However, when I’ve to communicate with others, I interact
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positively and therefore, I usually do not get into conflicts and is able to work towards achieving
a shared goal.
Team work - These are another set of skills which play very important role in both these
challenges and further in professional life. We have to work in a team in an organisation to face
so many challenges, simulation of what we had solved together now (Van Emden and Becker,
2016). Bruce Tuckman had developed stages of group development. Here also we worked in a
group and below mentioned is our demonstration of team skills and my reflection of learnings
through the series of stages suggested by Tuckman:
 Forming stage – It is first stage in which new group formed. We learned about each other,
developed our group targets, rules and boundaries, divided our tasks and responsibilities,
etc. I got to learn so much about working with other but unfortunately, I’m shy and
reserve and therefore, was uncomfortable in adjusting with the group.
 Storming – This is the stage when difference in personalities and working style comes to
the surface and clashes happened. We too had our share our conflicts and tensions. I
learnt that people had problem with my silence and took it as attitude issue while I was
not comfortable with their judging and poking.
 Norming – This stage comes when people start resolving their differences. We too had
this stage when one of our group members took lead and sorted out differences between
everyone. Observing her, I learnt leadership skills, conflict management, problem solving
skills, negotiation skills, influencing and motivating skills.
 Performing stage – Once things sorted out, we worked with full potential, understanding
each other’s boundaries, strengths and weaknesses according to the roles and
responsibility each had been assigned. I performed background research work in
apprentice challenge and presentation challenge and helped preparing profit and loss
account in T-shirt challenge.
 Adjourning Stage – This is the stage when every challenge was completed and group was
naturally disbanded (Van Ginkel and et.al., 2015). However, we have developed close
working relationship with each other by then which continues even after our formal
assignment has ended.
Another team model is the one presented by Dr. Meredith Belbin. This model consists of mix
of nine clusters of behaviour demonstrated by group members in the group – resource
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investigator, team-worker, coordinator, plant, monitor evaluator, specialist, shaper, implementer
and complete finisher. Group members can display combination of behaviours which keeps on
changing. I observed that I display traits of plant and implementer as I’m practical, efficient,
imaginative, free-thinking and knows how to turn ideas into actions. I tend to be so involved in
the process that I often feel forgetful and unable to communicate effectively.
Time management and meeting skills - These refers to those skills which helps in
managing time and meeting the challenges’ targets (Nguyen and Walker, 2016). It includes skills
like prioritising, decision-making, multi-tasking, scheduling, etc. I’m fairly good in all this and
this has helped me during challenge phase as well. I was able to handle all the research work
simultaneously scheduling them properly. I prioritise things, multi-task to perform and make
decisions and then communicated my findings in a report to my group members. I was doing
secondary research and for preparing profit and loss account, I went into arranging so many
cases with multiple order numbers before arriving on the most complete and satisfactory one.
Presentation skills, Excel etc. – This has two parts – one is Excel skills and another is
presentation skills. My Excel skills are satisfactory however, I learned so much more from my
group member working together with me on Excel. And, presentation skills again refer to two
parts – one preparing the presentation and another presenting it. I’m good at preparing the
presentation but not good at delivering it. My stage fright and fear of being in public eyes kicks
in. I realised that I need to work on my presenting the presentation skills to have a better
professional future (Andrade and Brown, 2016).
Action Plan
Goals Action Timescale
Improving
presentation skill
To improve my skills, I plan to arrive early, practise
presenting before actual presentation, listen to others’
presentations to learn nuances, right way to address
and deal with nervousness. Most importantly, I will try
to keep my outlook positive all the time believing that
I’ll be backed up by my team and that my audience
will understand, if I had to present individually.
6 months
Overcoming
stage fright and
To overcome my stage fright, I plan to adjust to my
surroundings by meeting and greeting as many people
1 year
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public speaking
fear
as I can. I’ll try to speak as much as I can without
thinking about others judging me at every platform,
I’ll get to speak considering it my public speaking
challenge.
Improving my
team skills
I have a shy and reserved personality and therefore, it
is very difficult for me to be comfortable around
strangers. I plan to join internships and jobs to learn
working in a team. I also plan to volunteer with social
groups to learn interacting with others selflessly and
join as many group activities in university that can
help me be comfortable under strangers and working
with them (Cheng and Fox, 2017).
1.5 year
Conclusion
Above mentioned reflection identifies my self-learning about my strengths and weaknesses
identified while working with a group during provided challenges. I got to learn so many things
and has also developed goals to improve on my personality shortcomings so that when I step out
of university as a full-fledged professional, I’ve all the necessary business acumen and skills
with me to be successful.
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References
Books and Journals
Andrade, H. and Brown, G., 2016. Student self-assessment in the classroom. Handbook of
human and social conditions in assessment, pp.319-334.
Bhagra, A. and Sharma, D.K., 2018. Changing paradigm of employability skills in the global
business world: A review. IUP Journal of Soft Skills. 12(2). pp.7-24.
Bleicher, J. and et.al., 2019. Virtual business projects in the classroom: Enhancing intercultural
and business skills of students. In The Palgrave Handbook of Learning and Teaching
International Business and Management (pp. 747-768). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Candrlic, S., 2020, August. Different Perspectives on Students’ Presentation Skills: Teacher,
Peer, Team And Self-Assessment. In 2020 15th International Conference on Computer
Science & Education (ICCSE) (pp. 156-161). IEEE.
Cegielski, C.G. and Jones‐Farmer, L.A., 2016. Knowledge, skills, and abilities for entry‐level
business analytics positions: A multi‐method study. Decision Sciences Journal of
Innovative Education. 14(1). pp.91-118.
Cheng, L. and Fox, J., 2017. Assessment in the language classroom: Teachers supporting student
learning. Palgrave.
Kiss, L. and et.al., 2015, October. Training of business skills in virtual reality. In 2015 6th IEEE
International Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications (CogInfoCom) (pp. 215-
216). IEEE.
Nguyen, T.T. and Walker, M., 2016. Sustainable assessment for lifelong learning. Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education 41(1). pp.97-111.
Sousa, M.J. and Rocha, Á., 2019. Digital learning: Developing skills for digital transformation of
organizations. Future Generation Computer Systems. 91. pp.327-334.
Van Emden, J. and Becker, L., 2016. Presentation skills for students. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Van Ginkel, S. and et.al., 2015. Towards a set of design principles for developing oral
presentation competence: A synthesis of research in higher education. Educational
Research Review. 14. pp.62-80.
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