MG408 The Graduate Challenge: Skills, Challenges, and Action Plan

This report explores various business challenges, including apprentice, presentation, and T-shirt challenges, and the essential skills required to overcome them. It emphasizes the importance of communication, teamwork, time management, meeting skills, and business competencies in addressing these challenges. The report also includes an action plan for personal development, focusing on acquiring and improving these crucial skills. Case studies like Tesco are used to illustrate real-world applications. This document is available on Desklib, where students can find more solved assignments and resources.

THE GRADUATE CHALLENGE
Student Name
LSST ID NO
BNU NO
Subject Name MG408 The Graduate Challenge
Project Name CW2
Submission Date

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
Apprentice Challenge 3
Presentation Challenge 4
T-shirt challenge 5
Action Plan to learn skills 5
CONCLUSION 7
REFERENCES 8

INTRODUCTION
Business challenges refers to the issues or barriers that are face by the organisation to achieve the
common goal (Gurca and et.al., 2021). Requirement of skills essential for the employees or
person to solve the challenges in the most effective manner. This report will discuss abut the
different challenges faced by the organisation and the skills that will be helpful in order to solve
the challenges. Demonstration of the skills will be discussed that will help me for the personal
development. This report will also shed light on the action plan for the achievement of the goal
related to the development of skills.
Apprentice Challenge
Different types of challenges were learnt during the module that a business has to face in
terms of finance, branding and operations. Following are the major three challenges:
Apprentice Challenge: It refers to the challenges related to the barriers of innovation, marketing
plan and branding in the team work of the organisation (Schedlitzki, 2019). The measurement of
the challenges are done with the help of SWOT analysis of the organisation. SWOT analysis
helps the business in the evaluation of strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. Apprentice
Challenge are solved by the improvement in the team in order to eliminate or reduce the threats
and weakness of the organization. New product is identified and introduced in the most effective
manner by the conclusion of the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the business.
Marketing communication and approaches to reach the market are developed to meet the desire
and to increase the growth of the organization. This learning from the module developed various
skills that helped in the personal development.
Skill Required
Communication Skills
Communication skills is essential in order to the effective operational activities in the
organisation. Effective communication lead to the reduction of the major barriers. Challenges
such as presentation and Apprentice were solved with the help of effective communication
(Khan and et.al., 2017). This skill plays an important role in the organisation it leads to the
personal development and create a positive impact on others. It helps the person to know about

the emotions along with the information. Effective communication eliminates the
misunderstanding in the group and creates a better environment. From the module I learnt that
the effective communication is necessary in order to reduce the common challenges in the
academic and professional life.
Teamwork
Team work refers to the collaborative effort of the people in the team. Collaborative
skills are required for the effective management in the team work. Module of Apprentice
challenges it was learned that the effective team management is essential in order to solve the
issues. The team management plays an important role in the organization as it helps in the
effective operational activities. It helps in the person various ways such as it share ideas and
responsibilities in order to solve the issue or challenges. It also helps in the decrease if the stress
in the group and allow the team members to share their experience and lead to meet the goal
quickly.
Presentation Challenge
It refers to the challenges in the presentation of the information in the organisation. The
module was to prepare presentation on the current trends of Tesco along with current financial
performance of its competitors (Palazzo and Ferri, 2020). Different challenges were faced in the
presentation. The most common include lack of focus, starting poorly, failing to engage the
audience emotionally and taking too much time. These challenges are faced by organisations too
in the presentation of their reports. This module helped me to overcome these challenges by the
effective skills such as better communication and team management. Presentation of the Tesco
also lead to the improvement of the skills related to the use of Ms Excel and Harvard references
system.
Skills Required
Time management and meeting skills
Learning from the module lead to the demonstration of the time management and
meeting skills. Management of time is necessary in order to complete the task within a certain
time. Management of time creates a major improvement in the personal development as it create
an ability to complete the task in certain limit or given time limit (Wang, 2018). Presentation
challenges in the module helped me in the demonstration of the time management skills and its
importance in the academic and professional life. Meeting skills should also improve by the

person in order to have an effective impression and professional life with minimum challenges
skills related to the meeting include having a clear objective, being aware all the time and always
be on time.
T-shirt challenge
As nowadays, the competition is so vast that companies have to introduce innovations and
creativity in order to survive the competition. The t-shirt challenge is a part of a marketing
campaign which represents the value of marketing and presentation of products for customers.
The challenge was created by a business on a social media network where everyone was asked to
join the challenge through sharing their pictures and videos (Rizkiyah, Istikomah and
Nurdyansyah, 2020). The campaign derived huge customer engagement, by which the brand
gained worldwide awareness and recognition. It represents the value of innovation and creativity
which is needed in business. It focus on how the product reaches audience and how audience
interpret and understand the product.it is majorly concerned with the branding and marketing
function of companies. Through the t-shirt challenge I have learned how the company can
branded and market their products in order to enhance the sales.
It refers to the issues arise in the designing a loo for T-shirt and formulation of production and
marketing plan. In order to increase the product development, marketing and sales various
strategies were formed to increase the brand image of the organisation (Hosen and et.al.,2020).
Creation of the brand logo describe element of brand personality. Different approaches were
prepared to reduce the T-shirt challenges during the module such as designing a brand logo for
the organization, identification of potential target market, preparation of excel print out of the
profit and loss along with the preparation of the budget for the organisation. This challenges
were resolved with use of skills such as excel, creating logo and budget plan with the effective
communication in the team.
Skill Required
Business skills and competencies
Business skills refers to the skills that are essential for the effective management of the
business. Learning from the module helped me to identify the business skills as its importance in
smooth running of business and development of the organisational image (Wolters, Won and
Hussain, 2017). T-shirt challenges from the module helped me to learn the importance of the
business skills such as use of excel, presentation skills. These skills are very useful in the

preparation of the informative report to evaluate the current position of the organisation. Skills of
critical thinking is also important as it helps the organisation to take the effective decision. Such
skills are very useful to take necessary decision in the life that decide the future. I will learn these
business skill for the personal development.
Branding:
As per Swaminathan and et.al., (2020), Branding refers to the creation of a unique feature or
entity for the product which is related to its promotion. Branding helps the companies to create a
unique recognition of the product in market.
Target market: The target market for the current project will involve the Young and adult men
and women in Demographic –age segment of the customer segmentation.
Pricing strategy: The pricing strategy for the t-shirt challenge will involve the value market
penetration strategy. Through this strategy the t-shirts will be sold at very low rates through
which the company will attempt to attain a number of customers.
Action Plan to learn skills
Action plan refers to the preparation of the plan that outline the goal and the direction to
reach the goal. I will prepare the action plan for the personal development. The goal to learn the
skills that were used in the module to overcome the challenges. Following is the action plan of
me that will help me to reach the goal of personal development.
Required Skills Method Outcome Time frame
Communication Skills Listing is the major
and most important
part of the effective
communicator skills. I
will try to listen and
understand the person
for the appropriate
reaction and it also
make the person more
comfortable. It will
The outcome of
effective
communication will
provide me to have an
appropriate answer in
the communication. It
will be able to
convince the person. It
will also help me in
effective personality
2 years.

also work on the body
language that include
keeping eye contact
and not providing
wrong sign with the
movement of the
figures.
that will encourage
other to improve their
communication skills.
Teamwork Skills Method will be used
such as aiming the
objective, positive
mindset towards the
team, exercise with the
team and listing and
sharing the ideas with
the team members
The outcome will be
that I will be work
collaborative with the
team with the effective
management and it
will also help to have
an appropriate guide
from the team leader.
The effectiveness in
the team will lead to
the achievement of the
goal quickly.
1 year 6 months
Time management and
meeting skills
Methods will be used
such as starting task
early, set limit for the
acceptance of the task
in a specific period,
scheduling deadline
for every practice, it
will also include
learning patterns for
the productivity.
The outcome of time
management skills will
help me to create an
effective work
environment and lead
to the decrease in the
stress and also lead to
the time saving that
will help in different
productivity exercise.
1 year
Business skills and In order to learn the It will lead to the 6 months

competencies business skills I will
join the classes of
learning of digital
tools and computer
basics such as MS
excel, and
presentation.
improvement in the
technological
knowledge and
provide an advantage
in the professional life.
CONCLUSION
From the discussion in the report, it can be concluded that different challenges were faced
by the organisation that affected the major activities in the business such as finance, branding
and operations. The challenges were learnt from the module that include apprentice, presentation
and t-shirt challenges. Discussion in the challenges lead to the demonstration of various skills
such as communication skills, teamwork, time management and meeting skills and business
skills. Action plan was also created to achieve these skills in order to develop ability ot face the
challenges in future effectively.

APPENDIX

 Established in 1919 by Jack Cohen
 Countr of operation UK,Ireland and Europe
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• Established in 1919 by Jack Cohen
• Countr of operation UK,Ireland and Europe
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Tesco is one of the leading retailer with over 6000 stores and employing more than 400,000
employees serving over 80 million customers.
Pretax loss
Property decline in value
• Increase in sales
• Digital market sales
• Club loyalty
• Return on investment
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