Graduate Challenge: Skills Reflection, E-Portfolio, and Challenges

This report presents a skills reflection on a graduate challenge, analyzing experiences from a presentation, a t-shirt design, and a debate. The presentation challenge focuses on operational business understanding, communication, and teamwork, using Tesco as a case study. The t-shirt challenge involves logo design and financial modeling, emphasizing branding and time management. The debate challenge explores Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a marketing tool, highlighting communication and teamwork skills. The report details the skills demonstrated, areas for improvement, and strategies for skill development, including teamwork, communication, and time management, with references to relevant academic sources. The student reflects on how each challenge contributed to their skill set, providing insights into their learning process and professional development.

THE GRADUATE CHALLENGE E-
PORTFOLIO AND SKILLS
REFLECTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Presentation Challenge................................................................................................................1
2. T-shirt Challenge.........................................................................................................................2
3. Debate Challenge.........................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

1. Presentation Challenge
The presentation challenge helped me in understanding different aspects of presentation that
are required to be focused on for delivering an excellent presentation. This challenge majorly
focused on operational business angle as in order to understand operations of a business in an
appropriate manner as well as present it in front of others. This presentation challenged also
helped me in gaining understanding about overall business of Tesco and gain an overview about
their history, cultural trend in super market etc. Skills that were required to demonstrated by me
during this presentation challenge were communication skills, team work, business skills and
competencies such as presentation skills. All the three skills were important to fulfil presentation
skills. Other than this there were few other kinds of skills that were demonstrated during this
challenge those were research skills and observation skills. Research skills helped in collecting
and segregating content that was required to be included in the presentation. Observation skills
helped in analysing all the information collected so that presentation can be developed in an
appropriate manner. Communications skills not only helped in giving the presentation but was
also useful in listening and viewing other presentation as well (Sala, Foley and Gobet, 2017).
Lastly presentation skills were the most important kind of skills that were used develop a
presentation such that it includes all the required content and is presentable as well. I can
improve these skills various ways. Team work skills can be improved by participating more and
more in team development activities, teamwork skills can be improved. These development
activities helps in understanding the way in which we can fulfil our roles and responsibilities
while working appropriately in a team. Team work skill is important to be developed as it is
important and required in many activities or tasks (Appelbaum and et.al., 2017). It is important
in presentation as roles and responsibilities of all the team members are divided. Other than this I
also need to develop communication skills because it is used to deliver a presentation or listen to
others presentation communication skills are important to be developed. I can develop or
improve this skills by Practising more and more delivery of presentation can help in improving
one’s own communication skills. Other than this training sessions can also be attended so that
improvement within oral communication can be brought. Both of the above skills will help me in
developing my presentation skills as it is one of the most important skill which is required to be
developed as without these skills a presentation cannot be completed. I will further work on my
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presentation skills to improve it in a better manner by Attending others presentation can help in
bringing improvement within one’s own presentation.
2. T-shirt Challenge
The t-shirt challenge helped me in determining the way in which logo for a t-shirt brand
can be identified or developed for their target market. For this challenge t-shirt logo of an All-
star Alistair company was designed. Logo of this brand consist of a flower symbol which helps
in representing natural things and nature which helps the target market in understanding that
company focuses on building quality t-shirts with environmentally sustained method. In this
challenge financial statement modelling have also been done in order to understand cost
associated with the company t-shirt printing and production. Overall budget of the company has
been explained with fixed and variable cost segregation. This challenge majorly focuses on the
business angle of branding and financing. Branding as developing an appropriate logo for the
company according to their target audience will help the organization on their brand name and
financial statement helped in focusing on finance angle of the business through which
identification and segregation of both fixed and variable cost became easy. Skills that were
demonstrated during the t-shirt challenge are: team work, time management skills. In order to
develop an appropriate logo and print t-shirts, team work plays a vital role in completion of these
tasks working properly and effectively in a team helps in completing a task properly and on time.
Another skill that was demonstrated by me during this challenge was time management. It is
another important skill which is required to be developed in order to complete or fulfil a
challenge. In order to complete all the three challenges with daily routing on time and in a better
manner as compared to others time management was important. One of the most important skill
required for this to be improved is time management. I will work on this skill such that in future
it can be improved in a better manner. It is important to be develop loped because it is not only
helpful at college level but it is also helpful at professional level (Callanan, Perri and
Tomkowicz, 2017). Time management helps an individual to complete all the task on time as
well as also helps the individual to take out time for other activities as well. Can attend time
management training or seminars so that I can work on myself in order to develop time
management skills. Other than this monthly statistical analysis can be done so that we can
understand the areas where improvement is required can be identified and improvement can be
brought. Other than this, for this team work is also important and we have already discussed that
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team work is important to be developed as it is useful in many other activities such as
presentation, debate etc. (Noddings, 2015). I will try to attend various seminar so that points that
are required to be improved can be improved
3. Debate Challenge
This debate challenge focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR). This debate will
focus on explaining that is CSR is increasingly becoming more of a marketing tool. With the
help of this debate challenge analysis I was able to understood that CSR is continuously
becoming a marketing tool instead of focusing on sustainability. From this challenge it was
observed that in order to run a business successfully it was important to focus on all the three-
social, environmental and economic impact of an organization. This helps in employee
development, improve working standards as well as conditions. There are various stakeholders
involved or associated with a business who can influence a business and its actions in many
ways. It has been analysed that there are three main stakeholders that are associated with a
business that can influence its actions as well as functions. First stakeholders who can influence
actions of a business are consumers. Second stakeholders who can influence a business are
suppliers as they can affect safety, health as well as environmental practises of a business and
last type of stakeholders that can affect a business activity are: communities. Skills that were
demonstrated during the debate challenge are: communication skills and team work. Both the
skills helped me to complete the debate challenge in an appropriate manner. Communication
skills helped me to communicate with others as well as also helped me in expressing my own
ideas as well as expressions with others in a clear and concise manner. I was also able to keep
calm and listen to the point of view of others without interrupting them. Team work was one of
the most essential skill required to be developed or demonstrated while participating in a debate
(Grissom, Loeb and Mitani, 2015). Team work helped to complete the debate challenge on time
and in an appropriate manner. As some of them were on positive side and some off them debated
about negative side of the topic. These skills such as oral skills and listening skills not only for
debate, communication skills are one of the most common skill which is required by an
individual in many ways. In order to develop communication skills following actions will be
taken in order to improve these skills. In order to develop communication skills I would
participate more and more in debates so that listening to others will help in bringing
improvement within my oral communication and will also help me in improving listening skills
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as well. I can participate in a debate or attend a debate every week or every month so that these
skills can be improved. Observation skills are also important to be developed as it helps in
analysing and observing more information that can be used to understand the topic in a clearer
manner. It is a daily task as it requires more patience, observation and less reaction.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Appelbaum, S.H., and et.al., 2017. The challenges of organizational agility (part 1). Industrial
and Commercial Training. 49(1). pp.6-14.
Callanan, G.A., Perri, D.F. and Tomkowicz, S.M., 2017. Career management in uncertain times:
challenges and opportunities. The Career Development Quarterly. 65(4). pp.353-365.
Grissom, J.A., Loeb, S. and Mitani, H., 2015. Principal time management skills: Explaining
patterns in principals’ time use, job stress, and perceived effectiveness. Journal of
Educational Administration. 53(6). pp.773-793.
Noddings, N., 2015. The challenge to care in schools, 2nd Editon. Teachers College Press.
Sala, G., Foley, J.P. and Gobet, F., 2017. The effects of chess instruction on pupils' cognitive and
academic skills: state of the art and theoretical challenges. Frontiers in psychology. 8.
p.238.
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