University MBA600 Capstone Assessment Three: Reflective Essay

This reflective essay, a capstone assessment for an MBA program, explores the development of essential employability skills and key learnings from the Capstone module. The essay details the application of strategic frameworks, industry analysis, and competitive advantage strategies, specifically referencing the Lufthansa Group. It highlights the development of analytical, theoretical, applied, and practical skills, along with the enhancement of critical thinking and research abilities. The author reflects on the interconnectedness of various MBA modules and their practical application, emphasizing the importance of communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills. The essay also discusses the usefulness of these skills in future professional development, focusing on oral and written communication, and strategic analysis frameworks to identify and solve business problems.

MBA600 – CAPSTONE
ASSESSMENT THREE – REFLECTIVE ESSAY
INTRODUCTION
Developing skills required for professional advancement, regardless of the careers, requires
keen emphasis on self-reflective practices and application of the skills gained through
professional courses (Cottrell, 2017). Modules such as Capstone provides students with a
unique opportunity to showcase the learnings gained from reflective practices as well as
academic rigour throughout the MBA program. In this report, the summary of key reflective
practices, skills gained from the Capstone subject and the learning from pursuing MBA is
included (Hawkins, 2015). A specific emphasis was directed towards usefulness of the key
employability skills gained from MBA program and capstone module in particular, in the
future endeavours as a part of my professional journey in the future.
SUMMARY OF REFLECTIVE CAPABILITY AND LEARNING
The development of essential employability is one of the important aims of pursuing MBA
program in prestigious international universities (Aaker, 2014). With the help of several
modules that I undertook during the program, I was able to enhance my knowledge and
understanding in several key areas. I will consider the opportunity to undertake capstone
subject as the culmination of knowledge acquired through several modules and a chance to
demonstrate the key skills gained through the program. I have developed theoretical skills
while studying for capstone program as I had to go through several strategic frameworks for
organisational strategy, industry analysis of the airline industry, sources of competitive
advantage for the selected organisation Lufthansa Group and approaches to enhance value
offered to the customers (Henderson, 2016). From the capstone module, I have experienced
that the seemingly unrelated subjects covered during the MBA program made sense while
using them together. For any business organisation, it is important to adapt strategies for
marketing, leadership, CSR, project management, operations and people management. The
capstone module helped me to gain better understanding of how all the strategies related
to various aspects of the business help the organisations to improve their overall
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performance when used together. The interconnectedness between these theories is well
understood by me with the help of this module (Cascio, 2014).
The selection of appropriate frameworks by managers to resolve strategic issues is one of
the important critical success factors of any business. From this module, I understood that
the business managers can choose from wide range of strategies, approaches and
frameworks that suit their business needs (Hawkins, 2015). From the review of the
strategies adapted by chosen organisation Lufthansa Group such as differentiation strategy
to achieve competitive advantage, I gained keen insights on various aspects related to
building competitive advantage and the overall approaches that businesses can use to
achieve their goals. Hence the applied skills and the practical skills were further
strengthened with the help of this module. One of the challenges that I faced during this
module is to select the right strategies to apply in order to conduct an effective industry
analysis and strategic analysis of the chosen organisation. I had to reflect upon my learning
acquired through several modules and apply it in the capstone module which further
improved confidence (Griggs et al, 2018). I have developed a strategic mindset with the help
of this program by improving competencies of knowing, doing and being by gaining
knowledge and applying it to practical business scenarios.
PERSONAL REFLECTION ON LEARNINGS FROM CAPSTONE SUBJECT
One of the important takeaways from the capstone subject during the fag end of the course
is the opportunity of me to exhibit my critical thinking skills and how I have been able to
apply my learning from previous modules (Cameron, 2016). It not only prepared me for
future course of learning but also enhanced my knowledge and reinforced my confidence in
the skills and knowledge I have acquired from the past few years. Personally, I feel that
undertaking the capstone project helped me prepare for the challenges that I am likely to
face after going into the real business world. As this opportunity helped me to apply key
theories and learning to analyse business strategies of global companies such as Lufthansa
Group, I gained significant insights about various key aspects including competitive
advantage, industry analysis and dynamic capabilities for sustainability (Bassot, 2015).
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One of the important learning from the capstone module include sharpening the research
and reasoning skills. After the selection of the case study organisation, I have conducted
extensive review and research using various secondary sources such as books, journals and
articles published on the internet (Henderson, 2016). The annual reports of the Lufthansa
Group are also made use of in order to use the pertinent information and analyse the
strategies adapted by the organisation to gain competitive advantage in the highly
competitive airline industry. After completion of the capstone module, I will feel very
confident in facing interviews and answers questions with confidence as I have acquired
good knowledge of strategic management theories, approaches for competitive advantage
and value creation methods (Aaker, 2014). I will also be able to demonstrate my analytical
skills through my capstone project and I consider this an important opportunity in the MBA
course to start and advance my professional career in the near future.
Apart from the four key skills learned from the Capstone subject such as analytical,
theoretical, applied and practical skills, I managed to improve my knowledge and
understanding of several important elements of an organisation (Cameron, 2016). I have
understood how strategic knowledge is used to attain and sustain competitive advantage by
the business organisations in the real-world environment. Studying various materials to
complete my capstone module helped me improve my learning in the areas such as
innovation and growth and its usefulness in building inimitable competitive assets to
succeed in the highly competitive airline industry (Griggs et al, 2018). By understanding the
business models used by the global organisations such as Lufthansa group, I understood the
nature and complexity of business operations in the regional and the international markets.
Leadership and communication is among the important areas of any business that will help
improve growth and profitability by enhancing overall performance of the organisation.
Through this capstone module, I studied about various leadership styles, their advantages
and limitations and their influence on employee performance and organisational
performance (Hawkins, 2015).
As a part of the capstone module, I studied the competition strategy adapted by the case
study organisation Lufthansa group and understood how sources of competitive advantage
are identified by organisations in the global business environment (Cottrell, 2017). The
importance of constant research and development activities to explore areas of future
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growth is an important learning acquired by me through the capstone module. One of the
specific areas of learning from this module also include balance scorecard. Apart from
knowing what a balance scorecard is, I have also developed a balance scorecard for
Lufthansa Group which helped me explore all the key elements of a balance scorecard
thoroughly. I am confident that after the strategic and competition analysis of real world
business organisations, I will be able to formulate balance scorecards for the businesses and
streamline the performance management processes effectively (Bassot, 2015). As a part of
the capstone module, I made several recommendations to the chosen organisation which
improved my confidence tremendously in the key areas, theories and strategic analysis
frameworks.
SKILLS DEVELOPED OVER THE MBA
Through the MBA program, I was fortunate to gain several key skills with the help of self-
learning as well as from the professors and my batchmates. Analysis skills is one of the most
wanted skills that I managed to learn from the MBA course (Henderson, 2016). Being able to
analyse the situations that businesses are faced with and thinking about possible solutions
helped me improve my analysis skills and distinguish relevant information from irrelevant
information. The review of various secondary sources helped me filter out what is important
what is not important in the context of a business. The MBA course has sharpened by
business acumen and helped me develop strategic analysis skills that will help me in future.
One of another important skill that I gained from the MBA course is the decisiveness. Prior
to this program, being indecisive was one of me key weaknesses. However, I worked on it
throughout this course as I needed to prepare reports and conduct strategic analysis,
marketing and operational strategy analyses (Schon, 2016). Developing new concepts and
ideas as a part of the course helped me gain new perspectives and enhanced my
understanding of business settings in the highly competitive global environments.
A wide range of communication skills are gained by me during this MBA program as I had to
engage in various activities that involved expression of ideas, conveying insights and
listening to what others had to offer (Paul, 2015). Improving oral skills is one of the key
developments of the MBA program as I had to prepare and give video presentations, some
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of them online, as a part of the course. I have thus worked on improving my oral skills
deliberately as it will play an important role in future. Some of the key communication skills
that I also developed during the MBA program include active listening skills, group
discussion skills, presentation skills and team working skills (Wallace, 2016). By participants
in group discussions and preparing for presentations, I often interacted with other members
and exchanged my views on ideas on various aspects that helped me gain confidence in my
communication skills. By studying various subjects, I have developed a good understanding
of the complex business language and how to articulate key points (Schon, 2016).
From the MBA program I have been able to develop my problem-solving skills too. By
studying various problems and challenges faced by business organisations to sustain
competitive advantage and to enhance customer satisfaction in the complex business
environments, I gained a good level of understanding of how to solve the business problems
(Griggs et al, 2018). Some of the important soft skills that I fostered during my MBA program
include critical thinking, interpersonal communication, integrity, flexibility, creativity, team-
work and cross- cultural competency. Some of the other important skills that I managed to
acquire with the help of the MBA program include management skills, ability to take
constructive criticism positively, understanding perspectives of others, collecting and
reviewing wide range of secondary literature on diverse range of business management
topics, motivation to succeed, general business understanding, analytical and quantitative
skills, project management skills and ability to elicit key information and strong listening
skills.
USEFULNESS OF SKILLS GAINED IN FUTURE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The oral communication skills that I developed during the MBA program will play a critical
role in the success of my professional career ahead (Moon, 2004). By being more
communicative and interactive, it is important for professionals to possess excellent oral
communication skills to occupy leadership positions in organisations they work and thus
drive their career forward. The skills that I learnt here during the MBA program helped my
self-confidence and I am confident that these skills will help me deliver my leadership and
management responsibilities effectively in future. The written communication and the
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presentation skills will be of much use for me in my professional career as it is expected of
business management professionals to articulate well and communicate effectively through
the emails (Paul, 2015). Without developing the written formal communication skill, it is
impossible in the contemporary business environment to successfully advance one’s
professional career with ease.
The problem-solving skills are expected by employers in all the industries from the MBA
graduates. These skills that I have learnt from the MBA program will help me identify the
root causes for the problems faced by business organisations and design solutions using
strategic analysis frameworks (Aaker, 2014). The identification of the problems and offering
insights to solve them is one of the important skills that I will make use in future to further
strengthen my professional career. Good problem-solving skills will help me control the
environment in which I work and will help me design a mechanism for identifying key issues
and rectifying them with the help of respective departments. Integrity plays a significant
role in professional development. The MBA program taught the students to develop their
own piece of works and submit them as a part of the curriculum in order to infuse integrity
within the students. Carrying out tasks and responsibilities with integrity will help me in
gaining respect from my colleagues in the organisations that I work in the near future
(Cameron, 2016).
Learning teamworking skills from the MBA program is vital for career progression.
Regardless of the size of the organisations that I could be working for, it is highly essential to
possess excellent team-working skills to contribute effectively towards the collective goals
of the organisations that I may work for (Henderson, 2016). As I worked with other students
during the program in team activities and group discussions, I was able to interact with
members from diverse cultural backgrounds. This experience will help me interact within
cross cultural teams with ease in large scale organisations that are bound to have cross-
cultural workforce in thousands. I feel confident from the skills that I have gained from the
MBA program in terms of time-management, ability to work under stipulated timeframes,
learning to adapt in changing conditions, improving flexibility and self-reflective practise.
Prior to MBA program, I did not know about much about the usefulness of self-reflection.
This module helped me understand its important in constantly developing skills in future for
advancing my professional development (Bassot, 2015).
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Gaining a general business understanding and awareness will help me tremendously in
analysing the business dynamics, areas of improvement, areas that the business is doing
well, impact of internal and external factors on organisational performance and measures
that can be implemented to enhance the situation (Hawkins, 2015). I will also be able to
devise solutions that are tailored to the needs of various situations that might arise within
the organisations with the theoretical and applications skills learned from the capstone
module and the MBA program. Handling diverse information from various authors and
understanding the essence of the arguments before presenting my own during the MBA
program will help me do the same when I deal with situations in business organisations that
I may work for (Schon, 2016). The report writing skills developed during the MBA program
will help me communicate my opinions, ideas and insights in a professional manner to
various levels of employees within the organisations.
CONCLUSION
Learning soft skills and hard skills, through the MBA program in general and capstone
module in particular, is significant in my professional development in the future. As I set out
to take responsible positions in reputed organisations soon after my MBA, the learning,
knowledge and skills will prove invaluable to me in dealing with diverse situations and
develop solutions with my experience during the MBA program (Aaker, 2014). Basic
understanding of change management and the organisational processes that I acquired
during the MBA program will help me improve my confidence while dealing with real-life
business management scenarios (Cottrell, 2017).
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Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
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management”, 8th ed. Harlow: Pearson
Cottrell, S. (2017), Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis, Argument and
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