Individual Task: Reflective Journal Analysis of Diwali Event (THT3119)

This report is a reflective journal analyzing a Diwali event organized on a college campus, expected to attract 20,000 people. The journal assesses the event's success factors, including planning, marketing, design, and resource availability. It reflects on the appropriateness of the plan, execution, and staging, considering factors like timing and venue. The analysis covers the nature, range, and process of event organization, as well as the impact of the event, including learning experiences and networking opportunities. The report suggests improvements such as vendor negotiation and contingency plans and emphasizes the importance of team dynamics, communication, and innovation. The conclusion highlights the collaborative effort of the team and the successful execution of the event, emphasizing key learnings in event management.

Running Head: Assessment Task No 4 (Reflective Journal): Individual Task
ASSESSMENT TASK NO 4 (REFLECTIVE JOURNAL):
INDIVIDUAL TASK

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Assessment Task No 4 (Reflective Journal): Individual Task
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Reflecting on the success factors of the event............................................................................3
Reflecting on the appropriateness of the plan, execution, and staging......................................4
Reflecting on different factors of the event................................................................................5
Reflecting on team dynamics and its need.................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Reference list..............................................................................................................................8

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Assessment Task No 4 (Reflective Journal): Individual Task
Introduction
The event is based on Diwali in this case and about 20000 people are expected in this
event. Promotion of this event has been done in the college and people from any community
joined this event. In this study, reflection on the staged event is done based on the core
themes associated with this project.
Reflecting on the success factors of the event
Proper planning is one of the key success factors of an event. As mentioned by
Penn, Farnes& Rahmani (2017), organizers of events usually plan for the budget, facilities
required for managing expected people, way of controlling the event and list of invitees. I
think, creation of the timeline for this event has been done successfully, which has helped to
complete all tasks synchronously. The location if the staged event was AAPOLY and all the
tasks of this event have been distributed among group members based on their ability. During
the planning, a budget has been set and the comprehensive design brief has been made
successfully. In my opinion, it has helped to use available resources.
Developing the appropriate strategies for marketing is another success factor of an
event. The poster has been created including all the information about this event in detail. As
mentioned by Jones (2017), displaying posters is an effective way of attracting people
towards the event. Additionally, I have promoted this event through my social media profiles
to attract different communities to join this Diwali event. I think these marketing strategies
have successfully attracted maximum people towards this event.
Making the design of the event effectively is another key success factor. I have
understood that it helps to make a good impression on the attendees. Our event has
successfully portrayed the values of our organization. Our concept of this Diwali event has
been defined clearly through the design. Lei, Waller, Hagen & Kaplan (2016) have
mentioned that setting and conveying clear goals and objectives of an event to all the

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stakeholders is an important factor that helps to make the event successful. We have
successfully determined our goals and objectives of this event. After that, we have conveyed
these facts through effective promotional methods. It has helped us to attract 20000 people
towards this event and all the tasks associated with this event have been completed by
concerned team members successfully. The availability of resources is another success
factor of events. Our organization has supported us financially to complete this event. It has
helped us to look after all the attendees of this Diwali event.
Reflecting on the appropriateness of the plan, execution, and staging
The plan for this event had been done after researching several facts that may affect
its success. For example, at the time of Diwali, various similar events take place. So, we fixed
date, on which no such events were being staged. As a result, we have successfully gathered
our expected number of attendees. Schecter, Pilny, Leung, Poole & Contractor (2018) have
mentioned that setting the time of the event is an essential part of designing an event. The
time of this event was suitable for all age groups of attendees and it has ensured success. It
was not a very long or very short program. An average duration had been set for this event. I
think the venue for this event was appropriate as we got enough space for staging this event.
AAPOLY has its own space and we were allowed to use that space. Enough space was there
for parking cars of guests as well.
I was responsible for hosting this event and I have done my job with honesty and
dedication. Before this event, I have reviewed similar past events to understand the
appropriate approach and behavior of a good host. This research has helped me to get the
attention of attendees throughout the event. According to Nunkoo et al. (2018), in this kind of
event, guests must get food and beverages during the event and this aspect gives them a
positive experience. In these events, attendees got food and drinks from our end and it has
made them energetic through the entire event. We have successfully given them a good

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experience and it can influence them in the future to come to our other events. It can be said
that planning this event has helped us to comply with the reputation of our institute. Team
members have completed all the tasks within the predetermined deadline. Coordination
between the team members has helped to stage this event successfully and all the attendees
have enjoyed it a lot.
Reflecting on different factors of the event
● Analysis of nature, range, and process of organizing the event
The event that was organized on the college campus can be categorized as a live
event. I think that the nature of this event was objective oriented because it has a target of
attracting 20000 people irrespective of their community. The range of this event was large as
in this event approximately 20000 people were expected. To fulfill this objective, a planned
process was adopted. This includes the formation of groups, collection of resources,
conducting promotion through posters and other channels. As stated by Mallen & Adams
(2017), promotion is an essential part of the process during the organization of events that
helps to achieve desired event objectives.
● Analysis of the impact of the event
The organization of this event can help to gain benefits in many ways, which includes
a wide scope of learning in the field of event management. I have learned different activities
if event management such as managing teams, setting goals and promotional activities.
Moreover, Collins, Gonda, Dumaliang, Leathrum Jr & Mielke (2017) stated that organizing
events helps to set up a strong professional network. I have worked with different
professionals like performers, suppliers, which have improved my professional network that
can be utilized further. Moreover, different skills like communication and interpersonal.
Detrimental impact includes an increase of stress because the process of event management is
very demanding and deadlines are too specific.

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● The suggestion of improvements in staging and managing an event
Improvements Outcomes
Negotiation with vendors Saving budget
Analyzing other events before planning Increase efficiency of planning
Having a backup plan Risk of event failure decreases
Asking regular feedback from other
participants
Gaps can be identified
Table 1: List of improvements and outcomes during event management
Different improvements can be suggested for future event organization, which
includes negotiation with vendors. Negotiating with vendors can help to save a budget that
can be utilized in other activities. On the other hand, Nunkoo, Ribeiro, Sunnassee & Gursoy
(2018) stated that analysis of other successful events needs to be done before planning.
Evaluating identical and successful events can help to collect ideas that can be improvised
during the planning process. It can also be suggested that a contingency plan must be there
that helps to eliminate the risk of event failure. For this purpose, the most essential assets
need to be examined and a backup plan for each of them must be done. The collection of
regular feedback through effective communication can also be done to increase the flow of
ideas and identifying gaps in performance.
Reflecting on team dynamics and its need
Team dynamics is essential for effective event management, which can be achieved
through smart staffing, proper dispute resolution, and proper guidance. As opined by Penn,
Farnes & Rahmani (2017), team dynamics is important because it helps to conduct effective
communication. Communication is very essential for any project. Proper bonding within a
team helps in solving problems comfortably and challenges can be eliminated quickly.
Moreover, constructive feedback can be achieved and information can be shared, which

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reduces the risk of a sluggish environment that inhibits performance. I also think that proper
team dynamics is essential to increase the motivation of a team. Motivate team members are
always excited to contribute to the team. Poor attitude and unmotivated work lead to poor
quality work. Team members can be motivated through the help of recognition and incentives
(Mallen & Adams, 2017).
On the other hand, team dynamics often lead to innovation. While organizing an
event, it is necessary to be creative and innovative. Innovation is a group phenomenon, which
arises from the communication dynamics of the whole team. Innovative thinking can be done
through the sharing of information that helps in the successful organization of any event.
When a difficult problem arises, a proper supportive climate can process out of the box
thinking and creates innovative solutions. This creativity can be obtained through the
successful establishment of team dynamics. Another importance of team dynamics is the
efficiency of the team. Proper team dynamics helps each member to serve in the project in
their best capacity (Collins et al. 2017).
Conclusion
From the entire discussion of this study, it has been found that the event of Diwali has
been planned and staged successfully. All the team members have worked collaboratively
and have staged this beautiful event with full dedication and honesty. This event has
successfully given a good experience to all the attendees and it has been learned that proper
planning, marketing and executing can make an event successful.

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Reference list
Collins, S. C., Gonda, N. D., Dumaliang, L. C., Leathrum Jr, J. F., & Mielke, R. R. (2017,
April). Visualization of event execution in a discrete event system. In Proceedings of
the 50th Annual Simulation Symposium 1-12. Retrieved from:https://www.scs.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/16_Final_Manuscript-1.pdf
Jones, M. L. (2017). Sustainable event management: A practical guide. UK: Routledge.
Lei, Z., Waller, M. J., Hagen, J., & Kaplan, S. (2016). Team adaptiveness in dynamic
contexts: Contextualizing the roles of interaction patterns and in-process planning.
Group & Organization Management, 41(4), 491-525. Retrieved
from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seth_Kaplan/publication/
285384990_Team_Adaptiveness_in_Dynamic_Contexts_Contextualizing_the_Roles_
of_Interaction_Patterns_and_In-Process_Planning/links/
571b881508ae7f552a4813c3/Team-Adaptiveness-in-Dynamic-Contexts-
Contextualizing-the-Roles-of-Interaction-Patterns-and-In-Process-Planning.pdf
Mallen, C., & Adams, L. J. (2017). Event management in sport, recreation and tourism:
theoretical and practical dimensions. UK: Routledge.
Nunkoo, R., Ribeiro, M. A., Sunnassee, V., & Gursoy, D. (2018). Public trust in mega event
planning institutions: The role of knowledge, transparency and corruption. Tourism
Management, 66, 155-166. Retrieved
from:https://www.academia.edu/download/55240715/Nunkoo_TM3.pdf
Penn, C., Farnes, K., & Rahmani, F. (2017). Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) in Event
Planning and Management. EPiC Series in Education Science, 1, 54-61. Retrieved
from:https://login.easychair.org/publications/download/mNrB
Schecter, A., Pilny, A., Leung, A., Poole, M. S., & Contractor, N. (2018). Step by step:
Capturing the dynamics of work team process through relational event sequences.

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Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(9), 1163-1181. Retrieved
from:http://nosh.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Schecter_et_al-2017-
Journal_of_Organizational_Behavior.pdf