Business Capstone: Reflective Journal Report on MBA Learning

This reflective journal analyzes a student's experience with a business capstone project, focusing on the application of MBA learning to real-world scenarios. The assignment explores the student's past experiences and professional development, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and continuou...Read More

Business Capstone: Assignment 3
Reflective Journal

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Previous Experience...................................................................................................................3
Capstone Learning.....................................................................................................................4
Forethought, what comes after the MBA...................................................................................6
Final Reflection..........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
The purpose of the business capstone assessment is to reflect on my past experiences and
analyze those experiences with the learning obtained through the course of MBA. I would
like to highlight on my business idea with the help of learning from university and life
experiences. The main purpose of the capstone assessment was to emphasis on the concepts
of Entrepreneurship and how the idea of becoming an entrepreneur will be put into practice.
The business model and technology utilized by the business idea helps to understand the
impact on our life and allows a connection between people based on their honesty and
reliability. The projects on Business Capstone have been quite exploratory in nature and it
demanded the core analysis of the company which brought in the curiosity of acknowledging
the company through various perspectives. The business idea has been framed with the help
of researching on various journals and business plans of successful companies. Consequently,
the projects on the business capstone demanded an acknowledgement of the company
through the multiple aspects and this has been carrying the motive of enhancing the analysis
part. Therefore, the assessment will describe, prepare an analysis and reflect on the
mentioned points.
Previous Experience
I would like to introduce the assessment by providing certain details about my personal and
professional life. From my initial stages of learning, I was an average student but understood
the importance of studies that allowed me to remain curious and learn about different subject
matters. As a result, I was able to utilize my learning in my professional career ahead. Apart
from the educational learning, my greatest learning was to enhance my inner self and reflect
those through my character. This clarity helped me to concentrate sincerely on my studies
and my professional career ahead. In the professional field, it became easier for me to
understand the complexities of working in an organization, with a team and external people
associated with the organization. Although I made certain mistakes but I took them as
stepping steps to achieve my organizational goals. I actively participated in team discussions
in order make myself vocal and provide opinions as per my knowledge. I consider myself as
a team player and someone who has the ability to resolve conflicts with meaningful solutions.
I have been an avid follower of business leaders who have paved their own paths to success.

The reason behind choosing the course of MBA was to enhance my academic knowledge in
the field of business and utilize them effectively to gain better experience in my career ahead.
Capstone Learning
The business capstone project has been quite insightful and therefore, the foremost action of
choosing the relevant company for the analysis was done through regressive analysis of
various companies and this has been quite exploring in nature. On acknowledging Apple Inc.
it has been identified that the big organisations has been working hard for sustaining at the
high positions and this creates on pressure on the employees and the staffs of the company. I
chose Apple Inc. for the analysis as it has been an old company and the success of the
company has been on high scale too, which provided wide scope of analysis and the
exploration was also interesting as the fluctuations were observed. The fluctuations in the
company working conditions along with the employees motivation, has provided me with
wide knowledge and information which helped in making the project much diverse. The
project was to be done in two parts, the report part and the presentation which together
brought in the two aspects of the company. The concerned company has been observed to be
quite hard working but it has been creating pressure on its employees too and the employees
has been observed to be demotivated. The project has provided me with a perception that the
big companies are built up through the hard work and the unity that the employees of the
company execute. On assessing the concerned company it has been identified that though the
company provided various facilities and perks to its employees but the work pressure has
been impacting the motivational aspect and thus, this would affect the company in the near
future (Kasseanet al. 2015). It made me realized that the big companies need to work more
than the other medium sized companies as sustaining in the market is much tougher than
creating the initial impression. The maintenance of quality of work and products has to be
done accurately as these are the factors which impacts the people and the customers at large.
The motivational issue in Apple Inc. has been of high intensity and I realized that the analysis
that I carried on has provided me with the facts and steps which could be taken by the
concerned company in mitigating the impact of the high work pressures. The de-motivational
actions or the factors could be reduced through taking up the various leadership theories and
motivational theories. I have explored the multiple leadership and motivational theories
which could be applied in the concerned company and it has been cross checked as per the
requirements of the company too. The role that leadership plays in an organisation has been

explored well and I have provided the possibilities or the advantages that the Apple Inc. could
gain through taking the leadership aspect in the workings of the company. I have even
provided on the relationship aspect that needs to be maintained in the company as this would
help the company in building or framing the relationships within the employees, employee
and employer, etc. The relationship of the employee and the employer has been focused on in
the project as this is the most vital aspect of relationship for an organisation. It could be stated
that I have contributed hugely in the recommendations for the company to opt for in order to
maintain a balance in the world load and this could actually be productive if applied with
accuracy. The relationship management of the employees and the employers has to be done
through motivating the employees and maintaining the interest of the employees. I have
rightly explored the human resource management of the company and the laws and the
policies of the employment has been assessed in order to understand the loopholes. It is
rightly stated that the de-motivational factors exist when the human resource management is
not able to manage the employees in the most effective manner. The employment laws needs
to be renewed and rechecked at regular intervals in order to meet the expectations of the
employees and the changing perceptions of the employees needs to be included in the laws
(Reynolds& Vince, 2017). This aspect has been realized through assessing the company and
the issues that it has been facing. The framework of the employment legislation required to be
accurate that was known to me but the renewal and the inclusion of new terms and conditions
in the legislation, could impact the employees to such extent was never known to me. The
exploration has provided me with some fruitful and new ideas which has been the mixture of
known facts and unknown facts. The strategic human resource management has been the tool
of Apple Inc. for managing its employee’s retention and attraction. The strategic human
resource management has been the vital tool of Apple Inc. and it has provided the company
with some productive results too.
Apple Inc. has been one of the largest companies and even such companies’ faces issues in
the working area were quite new to my knowledge. I experienced through the exploration that
the large companies need to be accurate in their decisions and the profits that they gain are he
in number no doubt, but when the losses occur it is more than the profits. The analysis
provided me with the experience of understanding the sensitivity that such companies carry
and the accuracy that needs to be maintained. The execution of the projects provided me with
the new experience of acknowledging the motivational factors that works and the employees
get impacted psychologically to work in a more committed manner (Schneideret al. 2017).

The experience of creating and finding something relevant and applicable for the company
has been quite informative as the exploration had to be specific to the issue that the company
faced and the solution required accuracy too. The understanding of the human resource
management and the motivational factors along with the leadership importance, all was
explored and it actually provided me with the fact on how important and impacting these
factors are on the organisation and its employees. The framing up of the presentation
demanded accuracy and presenting the zest of the entire scenario which has been done
through acutely understanding the case and the issue. The framework of the report has been
done explanatorily and it has added on to my writing and expressing skills.
The exploration of the company has been interesting ad it has been quite informative too but
initially, it has been quite confusing as in the identification of the issues, I faced problem. The
identification of the issue with the employees has been quite hectic and it demanded the
exploration of multiple aspects of the company. The issue has been impacting the
productivity and the quality of the company, which could be the consequence of many other
technical issues. The main challenge in the project has been the choice to be made for the
company. Choosing the company has been one of the greatest challenges as I have been
unaware that all the big companies faces these issues. The second challenge that I faced in the
project was to bring out the best suitable solution to the issue of de-motivation. The
exploration had to be wide in nature and the application of the solution has to be apt for the
company too. The company being one of the biggest companies, has been quite experienced
and must have opted for the most suitable solutions, this made me more attentive and the
demand of being accurate with my suggestion increased. These were the two major issues
that I faced in the project. Other than these, there has been minor issues which has been
tackled well through exploring various other projects and cases.
Forethought, what comes after the MBA
The projects of Business Capstone have been quite interesting but it also carried some major
challenges which kept me engaged all the time of the day and night. The understanding of the
impact of motivational actions or programs and the acknowledgement of the social life of the
people has been the crucial challenges. The understanding of the human social behaviour
being impacted by the motivational actions or considerations has been the major concerns.
The research project has been quite challenging as it required some accurate specifications on
the motivational actions which impacts the social behaviour of the employees and of the

employers, or it could be said the impact on the human nature (Ntoumaniset al. 2018). This
demanded the understanding and exploration of the human psychology which has been out of
concern but as the exploration was done, the research gradually revealed multiple factors.
The concept on the socialising behaviour became clear as the motivational theories were
explored and on acknowledging them, the human psychology has also been understood to
some extent. These findings has been quite challenging and it even kept me awake for few
nights as getting into the minds of the human or of the employees conceptions has been the
major concerns. I never a carried a character of acknowledging people’s behaviour or their
actions, and has been quite casual with it, this added on to the challenge of understanding the
mind-set of the employees and of the employer and calculating their reactions or decisions as
per the situations. The motivational theories has been the source of information for
understanding the behavioural changes and each of the theories has been presenting different
aspects of human nature. The motivational theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need,
Herzberg’s two factor Theory, McClelland’s’ Theory of Needs and many more are there
which in a way reflects the need of the employees and the steps that could be taken in order
to make them satisfied and keep committed to the organisation. The exploration of the
motivational theories has provided me with the description of employee’s nature which in a
way reflects the human nature. It has been quite difficult for me to understand the application
and the practical knowledge of employee’s perceptions or demands, and it has been done or
gained through closely and accurately exploring the concepts or theories. The projects have
provided me with some challenging experiences and some productive outcomes which have
added on to my knowledge and experiences.
Final Reflection
The entire project of Business Capstone has been quite productive for me and it has been a
great experience too. The framing up of each of the assignments demanded some or the other
additional requirements which in return has added on to my knowledge and experience which
is expected to provide me with some productive results in future too. The assignments
demanded some highly sensitive outlooks and close understanding which was quite hectic
and stressful but on completing them, the experience has been quite informative. The
exploration of Apple Inc. through various perspectives and acknowledging its case study all
has been demanding some or the other additional qualities, which I have been building it up
through assessing the information’s available. The motivational factors could have such

major impacts on the humans, was never known to me. The explorations and the analysis of
the company and motivational theories along with the human resource management all has
provided me with some productive acknowledgements. The motivational theories provided
me with the fact that the employees need to be provided with some perks and attractions in
order to sustain them in the organisation, no mate what is the size of the organisation.
Secondly the human resource management exploration added on to my knowledge on the
management skills and leadership skills, which plays a vital role in the organisation and an
organisation works well and smoothly if it has accurate leaders and human resource
managers. Though the perspectives of the employees has been quite selfish in nature as the
people could also carry a perspective of providing or innovating something new without
expecting anything in return as this would show the dedication and the actual outlook of the
people. The research assignment, the report and the presentation all has been three different
aspects of presenting the information and it has been done through understanding the role or
the perspective it would convey. Though the assignments could have been made simpler
through keeping it alike but the different modes of assignment has provided a diversity to my
knowledge as what impacts the presentation of the information through different aspects has
on the audience. The overall project has been quite innovative for me and it has added on to
my personality through providing information on the human psychology and various other
aspects of working conditions and the impact that the employers action has on the employee’s
actions. The overall project has added on to my information’s and knowledge which would
help me in gaining some identification in the future career as well as it has provided me with
the conceptions and perspectives that the employer’s hold which needs to be assessed well in
order to gain as an employee. The assignments has provided me with the two faced facts as it
revealed the aspects that the employers hold and the perspective that the employees hold both
could be utilised in future. I have really enjoyed the project and the project has provided me
with some long lasting information and experiences. The actual face and the requirements of
running an organisation and steps for taking them to the sustaining level has also been
identified.
Conclusion
The experience of writing the business capstone assessment has been immensely insightful in
terms of understanding about Entrepreneurship and its application in real life. According to
my understanding and knowledge, I could identify employee motivation as an important

factor for Apple to retaining its employees. However, this pioneer company has been facing
troubles of motivating its employees which indicates that employees are the most important
assets and therefore, their needs and wants must be considered to run the company
successfully. Therefore, it can be concluded that this case study has been a steppingstone for
me to enhance my theoretical knowledge from MBA and apply them in later future to gain
better practical experience.

References
Kassean, H., Vanevenhoven, J., Liguori, E., &Winkel, D. E. (2015). Entrepreneurship
education: a need for reflection, real-world experience and action. International Journal of
Entrepreneurial Behavior& Research, 21(5), 690-708.
Ntoumanis, N., Quested, E., Reeve, J., &Cheon, S. H. (2018). Need supportive
communication: Implications for motivation in sport, exercise, and physical
activity. Persuasion and communication in sport, exercise, and physical activity, 155-169.
Reynolds, M., & Vince, R. (2017). Organizing reflection: An introduction. In Organizing
reflection (pp. 15-28). Routledge.
Schneider, B., González-Romá, V., Ostroff, C., & West, M. A. (2017). Organizational
climate and culture: Reflections on the history of the constructs in the Journal of Applied
Psychology. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 468.