Reflective Essay on MBA Course Benefits from Capstone Module

This essay provides a comprehensive reflection on the benefits derived from an MBA capstone course, focusing on the skills and knowledge acquired during the program. The essay details the author's experience at Kaplan Business School, highlighting the practical and theoretical aspects of the curriculum, including strategic management, innovative thinking, and problem-solving. It explores the development of reflective competency, critical thinking, and negotiation skills, emphasizing the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical application. The essay further discusses the importance of theoretical, applied, and practical skills, along with competencies like system thinking, reframing, and reflection. It also covers the lessons learned in leadership, marketing, and finance, along with the development of interpersonal and communication skills. The author reflects on how the MBA program has prepared them for future challenges and career endeavors, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and hard work. The essay concludes by summarizing the key takeaways and the impact of the capstone module on the student's professional growth and career readiness.

Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
Introduction
MBA is masters of business administration. It is one of the most sought after degree in
the business world. There are several business schools that prepare the student for the industries.
Kaplan Business School is one such institute that provides the MBA degree to many such
aspiring students. I have done my MBA course from Kaplan Business School. I have gained
precious knowledge about the subjects related to my working industry. It is a big institute and
many students seek guidance from it. It provides huge range of degree to students from every
corner of the world. It has defined my career more precisely and given my competence to face
the critical world of business. In these days the management studies are very popular among new
generation. As it gives practical as well as theoretical experience on many topics that are used in
day to day life of business professionals (Mathew, A. 2019). The concept of strategic
management and innovative thinking and many such managerial topics were present in the
course. It helped me to develop a strategic mind set and prepared me for the future challenges.
The big picture of what actually a professional world is shown by the capstone classes. The
assistance after the classes was great I was always assisted by the teacher online as well as
offline. The assignments were not only theoretical but practical as well (Aras, and Öztürk, 2017).
The skills Learned
The skills of reflective competency develops an ability to integrate action according to
the understanding of the action. This understanding comes from the learning in the classes these
learning are to be implemented and adapted to the change as and when required. I learned the
ability to solve major business problems those were of high complexity. The competency to
improve the critical thinking, complex strategy making and negotiation are important skills for
the managerial development. The theories of old world are no longer useful. They are less
effective in solving business problems. The new concepts evolved are giving the world the most
famous leaders who are capable of managing the crisis of economy (Van Auken, Chrysler, and
Wells, 2016).
The theory of Knowing, Being and Doing is new formulated concept of MBA. These are
the new methodology in the problem solving strategies. The theory of Knowing talks about the
competency of the knowing about the management theories those are used in all the business.

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
The knowledge that can makes a person capable of sustaining the industrial crisis. To take
correct decision and make a better leader the knowledge is based on all the management
concepts (Roy, and Parsad , 2018).
The competency of Doing is another ability linked with the knowing. It means that after
gaining knowledge how well a can person relate the knowledge to perform a task. It requires
critical analysis of the situation. It talks about how so many business problems were solved with
the competency of doing right at the right situations.
The next important competency is the knowledge of Being. It is a perception of the mind
about what kind of person we are. The competency of Being talks about how one can be
prepared for the coming challenges of the big world. How they use the concepts to enhance the
personal values and not harming the integrity of the work. The personal values that a person
cultivates from the learning process. How good or bad thought shapes the person (Tayur, 2016).
Major skills
Theoretical Skills- A theoretical knowledge about bookish knowledge. What we study and learn
is theoretical knowledge. Theory is taught in all the class those theories should be relevant to
topic of study. A correct knowledge of the subject gives confidence in applying it in practical.
The study made me future ready. It helps in setting the strategies to achieve right goals. To
improve the grapping capacity and to improve the learning we go through the theories. Thus its
important that we are good at what we study. The more we study the concepts of management
the better will our knowledge become (Meyer, Neck, and Meeks, 2017).
The concept of the course was very particular and topic oriented. The books given for
reference were very recent and new. To solve complex question the knowledge of theory is very
essential. There were assignments and test to make the concept clear to us (Trigeorgis, and
Reuer, 2017).
Applied skills- The applied skill is the link between the practical and the theoretical skills. To
have the knowledge of what theory to be applied to what kind of problem is called the applied
skill. Those skills that saves us from making blunders. To judge the scenario correctly so that we
are able to apply the right concept of management to it. Like leadership based issue can only be

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
solved by applying the related concept. Here the concept of applied skill works. Sometimes to
solve one industrial problem we have to apply many management theories (Ethiraj, Gambardella,
and Helfat, 2016).
Practical skills- To use the theoretical knowledge in the right direction is called the practical
skill. It’s a skill so we have to learn it with proper training. Capstone gave us practical
assignments to develop this skill. A proper training and guidance can only bring the best leaders
in action. A practical knowledge is all about doing right things. To be prepared to face the real
life task. It is said a best manager is one who has hands on experience in the practical application
of the theories that he has studied (Roberts, 2016).
Reflective skills- To integrate the new information that we have already gained from the studies
and to imagine it before and after application is reflective skill. To bring out the similarity
between the gained knowledge and the coming situation. how to form the best result when the
two meet for the great example of management.
Competencies
System thinking – The best way to develop a better strategic mindset we need a good systems
thinking. It is a method of understanding the relation between Interaction, relation and
dependence. To understand it proper we went through many assignments and practical
workshops. To be strategic thinker one needs to interact with the team, relate to the problem and
depend on the resources. Many business problems like Coca cola and Indian farmer case when
the company was blamed for the distress in the farmers due to the company’s water mis use in
some of the areas of the countries. The managers of the company made proper strategies with the
help of the system thing and pulled the company out of the consequences. System thinking
makes the possibility of which strategy to be applied to what problems (Brenner, and
Uebernickel, 2016).
Reframing- To reframe a situation to gain different solutions. To not only get one but many
solutions for the same problem to achieve the same end result every time. We were taught by
theoretical but also practical method to form different paradigm, framework and models for same

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
problem in different ways. Many new business concepts of today are actually a reframe model of
the old one (Reilly, 2015).
Reflection- Before applying a solution it’s important we imagine it in practicality. Reflection is
all about how we think a solution to the problem will work. We were taught to use our won
assumptions of my own against the already existing. Reflection is also divides in 3 types like the
technical reflection. It focuses on the technicality of the system how one deal with it. Practical
reflection and the critical reflection. Practical deal with the practicality of the problem and the
solution. The other one deals with the critical analysis and the situational outcome. How critical
it is and what kind of reflection is needed for the correct solution (Hernandez, 2018).
Lessons Learned
Teaching the professors empowered us with many of the management knowledge that
helped us in understanding the industry better. A degree in Management makes us qualified for
the future challenges of the business world. We learned about people, process, product and many
more. The leadership skill is made up of many small skills. A leader is made when they have the
right insight of all the situations. Thus the leadership skill topics and assignment made me
perfect with the skills. A product is best sold when the 7 p’s of marketing is analyzed perfectly.
The lesson on marketing mix and product placement. With the lessons on distressed business
made the field of marketing even stronger. Innovation thinking system is the new concept which
talks about method to improve the already exiting operational system. It works with practically
reforming the whole system. There were assignments and also tests to keep the student updated
with the subject. The faculty was very supportive every time. They were ready to assist us any
time. The online and offline teaching helped is solve the problems of our assignment. The course
material was every selective and included only essential topics and not unnecessary bookish
learning. I learned about the importance of the change strategy. These change strategies keeps
the company happy by engaging the stakeholders time to time in different activities like price
change, supply payment date change. We had to attend the workshops to get the practical
knowledge of the topics. Method of data analysis and the difference of the primary and
secondary data was there. The education at Kaplan Business School made us innovative thinker.

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
The knowledge was never limited to theory but was expanded to the practical world (Lee, and
Anantharaman, 2015).
Skills developed in the MBA class
I learned to be a good leader. With the lessons on leadership and the world. Learned
about the importance of the team work and know how to play well in the team. A good team
player is one who takes everyone together to win the match. The skill of problem solving and
analyzing of how to develop the solutions to the problems of the world and business. The MBA
taught us to take initiative in every action. We were prepared to face the real challenge so it is
very important that we know how to initiate the action plan. MBA also taught me the skill of
adaptability how to be adaptive the situations. How we can be more of a business person and less
of a personal person. We can’t sit with our problems and wait for the change to happen (Lee, and
Anantharaman, 2015).
The inter personal and communication skills were developed very nicely after taking the
classes. The use of social media and digital marketing was taught which made my soft skills
stronger. The knowledge to communicate with everyone at all the levels of the business was
made stronger. MBA taught me that there is no substitute for hard work. If we want to win we
have to work hard. My interest was always in marketing and the topics that it cover under the
marketing subject was very essential. The GE matrix, Strategic implementation, approach to
innovation, the porter model of marketing, competitive advantage, better understanding of the
corporate capabilities. We were given lessons on human resource management also. This is
important to make a better work life balance. The better we understand the human resource of
the company the better we will be able to balance the relation of personal and professional life.
The operational management is also important and it was also include in our course the supply
chain management with the practical knowledge of how everything works in an industry. The
knowledge o finance is so important. We got the lesson on financial analysis to strengthen our
skills of finance. There were difficulty in understanding the it but the support from the teacher
and the videos made everything smooth. It is important that we have knowledge of everything
before we inter the global business world.

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
Benefits of MBA in the Future
MBA is 2 years course across the globe. In MBA there are many topics that are covered
to make the understanding better for everyone. There are many subjects related to the business
world. Like the marketing, human resource and finance or operation. So in the second year to be
more specific one has to take on subject as the specialization (Lee, and Anantharaman, 2015).
Mba teaches us so many it make us a better person but in cultivating good skills in us.
Like leadership, strategic planning, innovative thinking, competency skills. It enhances our
knowledge about the business world. It teaches us how to be in the organization. I learned how to
improve a bad situation by the help of skills learned. Not just theory but practical method works
well with the business world requirement. In Mba we are given not only theoretical but also
practical knowledge. We go to trips, campaigns and also projects in the industry. It prepares us
for the interview and job callings. It helped me to develop my soft skill and make me more
confident for the challenges. The personality development was achieved from the study. The
confidence was improved after doing MBA from here.
Conclusion
MBA is a world renowned subject and millions of bright minds take this lesson to excel
the business world. Kaplan Business School has the best resources to enhance the skills in a
student. My experience with Capstone course was great I was able to learn many new things. The
meet with so many students of different region was amazing as it developed the human
management skills in me. Capstone course prepared and polished my skills to be ready for the
business world.

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
References:
Aras, O. N., and Öztürk, M. 2017. The Relationship Between Human Capital and MBA
Education: The Case of Turkey.
Brenner, W. and Uebernickel, F., 2016. Design thinking for innovation. Research and Practice.
Ethiraj, S.K., Gambardella, A. and Helfat, C.E., 2016. Replication in strategic
management. Strategic Management Journal, 37(11), pp.2191-2192.
Hernandez, N.V., Fuentes, A. and Crown, S., 2018. Innovation Skills for the Self-Transformation
of Underrepresented Engineering Students.
Lee, J. and Anantharaman, S., 2015. MBA STUDENTS'ENGAGEMENT BEHAVIOR AND
ITS IMPLICATIONS ON STUDENT LOYALTY TO ALMA MATER. Academy of Marketing
Studies Journal, 19(2), p.103.
Mathew, A. 2019. An enquiry into the career and specialisation choices of final semester MBA
students of Dublin Business School (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin Business School).
Meyer, G.D., Neck, H.M. and Meeks, M.D., 2017. The entrepreneurship‐strategic management
interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, pp.17-44.
Reilly, P., 2015. Strategies to ensure deep learning occurs in MBA information literacy
workshops. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship, 20(3), pp.172-188.
Roberts, J.P., Fisher, T.R., Trowbridge, M.J. and Bent, C., 2016, March. A design thinking
framework for healthcare management and innovation. In Healthcare (Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 11-14).
Elsevier.
Roy, V., and Parsad, C. 2018. Efficacy of MBA: on the role of network effects in influencing the
selection of elective courses. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(1), 84-95.
Tayur, S. 2016. On Operations Management MBA Teaching in 21st Century Business Schools.
In Cross-Functional Inventory Research (pp. 213-224).

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Essay on Course benefits from Capstone
Trigeorgis, L. and Reuer, J.J., 2017. Real options theory in strategic management. Strategic
Management Journal, 38(1), pp.42-63.
Van Auken, S., Chrysler, E., & Wells, L. G. (2016). Assessing emphasis gaps among MBA
alumni: a model framework. Journal of International Education in Business, 9(1), 31-51.