Critical Reflection on Marketing Professional Identity - Report

This report delves into the application of critical reflective practice within the field of marketing, specifically focusing on the development of a professional identity aligned with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) framework. The introduction highlights the significance of reflective practice in self-assessment and career development, emphasizing the importance of understanding the behaviors and qualities expected of marketing professionals. The main body of the report examines the research aims, literature review, and reflection on research methods, including self-reflective consciousness. The report analyzes how the CIM framework can aid in identifying strengths and weaknesses and making informed decisions about professional development, with a focus on the author's personal aspirations within the marketing field. The report concludes with a reflection on the research process and its implications for the author's career goals. The document emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and continuous improvement in achieving professional success in the marketing industry.

Applying Critical
Reflective Practice
Research
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Reflective practice revolves around examining self and past occurrences to critically
analyse oneself and use the results for making positive direction in one’s life. On the other hand
critical reflective research utilizes critical analysis of an individual completed through critical
reflection to conduct investigation on different areas of the investigation including personal and
professional subjects. In context of the area of research selected for this report, the area is of
professional development in the field of marketing. Particularly the professional identity as per
the definition chartered institute of marketing because of inclination towards venturing into the
marketing field. In addition to this, a reflection on the investigation is also provided in this
report. Finally reflection practitioner storyboard is provided relating to the past knowledge,
current knowledge and future view of own circumstance about the topic.
Part A: Research Aims and Literature Review
Career development in any field involves developing an understanding of the
characteristics which are considered essential for meetings professional standards of the industry.
It is for this reason that the focus of this investigation is “the professional identity in field of
marketing as per the characteristics defined under the methodology of chartered institute of
marketing”. The aim of this investigation will be to increase knowledge about the various
elements and characteristics which supported the methodology of own employee identity and
professionalism. The chartered institute of marketing offers a methodology which provides
definite list of behaviour and working habits which need to be present in marketing employee so
as to achieve professional status and work effectively. This research examines the methodology
provided by the chartered institute of marketing and understand the basic capabilities associated
with a marketer.
This reflective research is being conducted to support own knowledge development about
marketing profession so that skills and capabilities can be reviewed and improved. The reason
for selecting this specific area of methodology used by chartered institute of marketing is
personal interest in the field of marketing and the professional goal of gaining leading position in
the marketing department of a reputed firm. The marketing field is ever changing yet essential
part of businesses. This is because it helps the company achieve its primary goal of securing sale
through promotion, brand development, brand extension, consumer relationship management and
many other internal and external activities. It is an ever changing fired because development and
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expansion of new technology such as social media and digital technology directly affects the
marketing function as sales and promotion channels are expanded. Despite its evolving nature
certain expectations are made from marketing employees about their conduct and qualities which
make them professional marketer.
Studying and investigating methodology of chartered institute of marketing can provide
detailed information about the capabilities and knowledge which is anticipated from the
employees in the marketing field. In this way the knowledge of behaviour, conduct and
capabilities can support better understand of ‘where I was, where I am and where I want to be’.
This means creation of a clear pathway from the past to the future to attain professional
development aims in the field of marketing. Developing a professional identity is essential for
growing in any professional field because it helps individuals adopt skills, principles and
attributes which supports their long-term career goal attainment and helps the build positive
professional perception among peers and supervisors. It helps increases the knowledge of the
field to support better professional mobility water it is getting promotions or supporting
professional networking to get better employment opportunities.
The concept of critical reflection plays an important role in attaining professional
objectives of individuals and improving professional identity. This is because critical reflection
opens up the understanding and self-awareness level of an individual so that they are able to
understand their own strengths and faults. In this way critical reflection can be used by
individuals to compare and review their current skills and capabilities to the competencies
expected by employers in their specific field. For this particular investigation to concept of
critical reflection will be applied so as to get better understanding of professional marketing
behaviour and make decisions on what needs to be done in the resent to achieve the future
professional goal related to the marketing field. Here the idea of a reflexive practitioner is also
added because it requires individuals to examine their current and past level of knowledge in
order to reach accurate conclusion about their reflective standing, In my case this involves
analysing the area of professional identity and methodology of chartered institute of marketing in
a detailed manner.
It has been examined by many investigators and thinkers that researching on a specific
subject by using critical reflection is effective way of analysing bot the negative and positive
aspects of the topics. It also helps individuals overcome their own biases and prejudices as it
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involves reviewing and examining self, past and current events. It is important to conduct
reflective practice because it can help individuals understand their own knowledge , skills,
competencies, capabilities, attributes, qualities, characteristics, future development potential and
areas which require improvement in a straightforward manner. In this way own understanding
about individual knowledge in context of specific subject can be gained in a detailed manner.
This can guide individuals to overcome their weakness and start on a journey of self-
improvement by looking at the past present and future.
The usage of critical reflection helps individual in understanding the reflective nature of
the topic at and and identify the past basic values which are useful in attaining a specific research
or investigative objective. In context of the current research the topic selected for this
investigation if framework used by the chartered institute of marketing to get the best results in
terms of adopting suitable professional marketing behaviour. Ultimately, by using reflection as a
tool of developing self-awareness, this will help affirm my values, develop my personal skills
and help recognise my personal strengths which are vital for developing a professional identity.
Part A: References
Books and Journals
Anderson, T., 2021. Keeping the workforce healthy and safe during COVID-19 at Woodside.
The APPEA Journal, 61(2). pp.357-361.
Astle, A., Leberman, S. and Watson, G., 2018. Sport Development in Action: Plan, Programme
and Practice. Routledge.
Boyd and et. al., 2018. Use of online media for professional development amongst medical
radiation practitioners in Australia and Canada. Journal of medical imaging and
radiation sciences, 49(2). pp.187-193.
Dinh, J.V. and Salas, E., 2017. Factors that influence teamwork. The Wiley Blackwell handbook
of the psychology of team working and collaborative processes, pp.13-41.
DOGAN, Z. Y. and ALTUN, S., 2018. The Effects of the Research Lesson Study (RLS) Model
on Teachers' Professional Development. International Online Journal of Educational
Sciences, 10(3).
Farrell, T. S., 2020. Professional development through reflective practice for English-medium
instruction (EMI) teachers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and
Bilingualism, 23(3). pp.277-286.
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Part B: Reflection on research methods and data analysis
Self reflective consciousness is defined as a specific characteristic of awareness which is gained
by individuals that includes the areas of thinking and considering about own self in a profound
manner. In simpler words the area of reflective consciousness looks at the inner consciousness of
the mind which helps individuals reflect upon that actions thoughts as well as future activities so
that they can evaluate these subjects without prejudices and biases to generate high level of self-
awareness. The concept of self reflective consciousness plays an important role in self reflective
practice as it helps individuals develop a better understanding of themselves so that they are able
to go on a part of on discovery and are able to view at their life actions and past activities to
develop useful knowledge and give it meaningful analysis
Reflective consciousness is the specific ability of humans to look and review actions and
activities of ourselves on our way which gives individuals self-awareness about their current
events actions position situation and circumstance. It enables the individuals to consider
determine the best alternative make flexible decisions and transformation in daily lives on the
basis of past experiences so that they are able to become better at improving themselves on a
continuous basis. The idea of self consciousness is not recently defined concept but an agent
activity which was considered by leaders of the world to look back at their actions and review
them impartially so that they are able to make best decisions for the future and reflect on their
growth weaknesses success and failures.
It is because of this the importance of increasing self reflective abilities and reflective
consciousness is high. I aim to build high reflective consciousness so that I am able to develop a
better a business of my marketing capabilities skills and competencies. This will not only support
effective completion of my current investigation but will also help me throughout my career to
make better decisions and continuously improve my standing in the marketing field so that I am
able to rise above my prayers as the best professional marketing employ and attain my career
goals. Building a reflective consciousness is challenging for individuals as the systematic manner
of supporting reflective consciousness in an individuals require adoption of specific behaviour
which involves improving research and investigative habits of individuals so that they are able to
harness their awareness in context of their specific professional identity while also allowing them
to seize the opportunity for any kind of future professional development.
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I aim to improve my reflexive consciousness to a level where I am self aware about my
professional standing in the marketing industry and am able to impartially judge my past actions
current positioning and future available possibilities to ensure that I grabbed the most lucrative
opportunities in the pathway of attaining my career goals and becoming a marketing leader in a
reputed organization. I have understood that reflection consciousness can support individuals in
reaching opposition we are able to improve their creative work aesthetic mastery musical rewind
or even great leadership and relationship. High achievers in any field whether it is business work
science or art are able to rise above their greatest moments in life and overcome limitations even
in challenging environment as they become self forgetful in order to reach the pinnacle of self
fulfilment. In this way the reflective consciousness helps individuals look into their inner self as
a critic an act is a blessing through which they are able to find their way and overcome
challenges.
I have determined that I need to build my capabilities in improving and using self consciousness
to effectively handle challenges in my professional or personal life and specifically built a
marketing professional identity which matches with the charted institute of marketing framework
and helps me rise above and beyond as a marketing professional without being negatively
affected by challenges and barriers along the way. Reflective consciousness is different from
reflective practice or normal reflection as it helps the individual refer to its own activities and
actions which help them gain a heightened sense of awareness about their own self. This practise
needs to be increased in modern professional workers because it helps them attain their ideal self
and reach their highest potential without being distracted all influenced by impartial and
prejudiced thoughts.
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The primary reasoning I have behind increasing my reflexive consciousness to improve self-
awareness in context of Chartered Institute of marketing framework is that it will help me
organize my professional identity. In order to attain this firstly I have taken the decision of
focusing the research methodology for this investigation on reflexivity and reflective
consciousness so that an identity of a professional can be constructed relating to the marketing
field. The concept of reflectivity is defined as the act of an investigator to continuously reflect to
a level where they gain the ability of having an impact on the own research and findings of that
investigation. It is about gaining the acknowledgement of own role in the research El becoming a
more active participant in the investigation by using prior experiences assumption beliefs to
influence the overall research process and make a positive impact on the final result of the
investigation.
Self-awareness diagnostic tools such as the johari window provide feedback and information
about own awareness of personality characteristics and behaviours which in support the present
investigation. The present investigation on self reflection reflexivity which is centred around
Chartered Institute of marketing methodology useful identify professional characteristics and
elements of a marketing employee will be conducted to qualitative data gained from self-
awareness diagnostics such as the johari window which will be supporting enhancement of self
actualization. This will support me in understanding where I was where I am now and the future
path which I wish to take in order to develop all the characteristics skills and capabilities which
helped me align my professional identity with the methodology given in Chartered Institute of
marketing.
Part B: References
Books and Journals
Greasley, K. and Thomas, P., 2020. HR analytics: The onto‐epistemology and politics of
metricised HRM. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(4), pp.494-507.
Guberman, A. and Mcdossi, O., 2019. Israeli teacher educators’ perceptions of their professional
development paths in teaching, research and institutional leadership. European Journal
of Teacher Education, 42(4). pp.507-522.
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Mcdonnell, L. and Sikander, A., 2017. Skills and competencies for the contemporary human
resource practitioner: a synthesis of the academic, industry and employers'
perspectives. The Journal of Developing Areas, 51(1), pp.83-101.
Mohammedain, D. and Omar, M. M., 2021. Employing Simultaneous Interpretation in the
Development of Public Speaking Skills, Cognitive Achievement and Attitudes toward
Speaking in English among Non-specialist Undergraduate Students. Journal of Research
in Curriculum Instruction and Educational Technology, 7(4). pp.73-124.
Muhammadiyeva, H. and Ibrohimova, M., 2020. Collaborative and individual professional
development for english Teachers. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research
(AJMR), 9(5), pp.61-64.
Page-Tickell, R and et. al., 2021. Developing praxis through active blended learning and
authentic assessment. Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management: An
Educator's Handbook.
Tosey, P. and Marshall, J., 2017. The demise of inquiry-based HRD programmes in the UK:
Implications for the field. Human Resource Development International, 20(5), pp.393-
402.
Part C: The reflective practitioner storyboard
In the present investigation the johari window is utilized for researching on reflexivity
and self-awareness of on self in context of Chartered Institute of marketing methodology The
Johari window is a useful tool which helps individuals gain a better understanding about their
relationship with their own self and others. It is a psychological tool which is popular for self
help practices and supports individuals in analysing themselves to make better decisions about
their own self. The four quadrant of the johari window are open hidden, blind and unknown. The
first quadrant refers to own attitude behaviours motivation values way of life and ideological
stances. The second quadrant refers to the objectives relating to the individuals chosen by the
peers which are either the underwear of all have untruth about them. After this the third quadrant
looks at what others perceive but the subject does not while the 4th quadrant looks at beers and
motives adopted by the subject which are not recognized whether participants because of
collective ignorance or non applicability. Under this investigation this model is utilized to
understand own behaviours and increase self-awareness about own values and actions in context
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of the methodology offered by the Chartered Institute of marketing. The data gathered from
analysis of the results of this diagnostic tool is provided below with detailed examination:
Where I was
Firstly I was able to identify my skill related to the professional marketing competency is
offered by Chartered Institute of marketing which is creativity. I have understood that I am a
highly creative and imaginative person who is able to develop original ideas easily and look for
unique solutions quickly in comparison to peers. This has also helped me out shine my peers by
coming up with unique solutions for various problems which are not considered by others as I
look at the problem with different perspectives and tried to come up with creative ideas which
are also practically applicable.
I’ve understood that my creativity helps me easily find specific solutions for various
problems and also come up with original ideas better than anyone else. This has made me
academic Lee successful in the past and provided me the capabilities for coming up with
innovative ideas and solutions on my own by analysing the specific situation and the factors
affecting the circumstance so that the most practical yet innovative solution can be determined.
It is because of my creative personality that I am able to get inspired by others in their
ideas and I’m always ready to get involved with discussions and debates with others which also
inspires and influences me to review my ideas and come up with original unique and innovative
solutions. I am a good observer which also has supported by creativity and imagination as I
observe others and use my imagination to fill out the gaps and form original and unique ideas
whether they’re artistic ideas or creative ideas or ideas related to specific business an marketing
solution.
Where I am
In context of the Chartered Institute of marketing methodology I have realised that my
current financial literacy level is high. I have good theoretical knowledge of financial
management financial reporting and financial structure. My financial knowledge has helped me
improve my business acumen and is also supported my creativity as I am able to evaluate my
creative ideas on a practical basis by understanding their financial aspects. In this way I am able
to review and eliminate ideas which are not financially feasible and viable. This helps me
overcome challenges related to implementing creative and unique solutions for various problems
whether it is academic or personal or professional life.
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In order to demonstrate my financial literacy and capability I evaluated my financial
planning on a personal level and realise that I am an effective financial planner as I’m able to
prepare strict budgets and follow them too save money for future plans. I have saved quite a bit
of money which has helped me overcome financial struggles and will also support me in my
future professional endeavours as I will have a financial security to fall back upon in case any
mishap happens to my financial situations. In addition to this I have also being able to
successfully invest my money in various stocks and savings policies which is improvement
income sources as well as stabilised my financial situation for quite a long time. I believe that
these investments will not only support me currently an will also help me achieve better
equipped educational opportunities and look for professional pathways in the field of marketing.
Where I wish to be
I have learned that the most important skill for me which needs to be developed
immediately so that I am able to become a professional marketing employee in the future is the
ability to collaborate with others. Although I am quite social and love to debate and discuss
various topics with other people but collaboration is my weak point B cause I’m not able to fully
commit to various activities in a team environment and match by skills with others so that the
coordination improves the team synergy. This showcases the lack of collaborative skills I have
which affects my marketing professional identity. Collaboration is needed for marketing
professionals because it helps them coordinate their skills and capabilities with others to meet
business goals in a timely manner (Professional Marketing Competencies, 2022).
I need to develop my collaboration skills immediately by working on increasing my
knowledge of team working and organisational behaviour so that I am more comfortable in a
team environment. Despite my lack of collaborative skills I have demonstrated that I am an
extrovert which will reduce barriers and challenges in improving collaboration skills as it is an
engaging an extroverted activity. I need to work more on my interpersonal capability so that I’m
able to easily collaborate with others while also maintaining time management and organisation
of my own activities so I make effective contribution to team development and support my entire
team in achieving goals and objectives in a timely manner.
Part C: References
Books and Journals
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Professional Marketing Competencies, 2022. [Online] Available through <
https://www.cim.co.uk/membership/professional-marketing-competencies/>
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REFERNECS
Books and Journals
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