University MBA600 Capstone: Workshop Reflection and Analysis Report

This report is a comprehensive reflection on the learnings and activities undertaken throughout an MBA Capstone course, focusing on various workshop sessions. The student delves into the application of theoretical, applied, practical, and reflective skills acquired during the workshops. The repor...Read More

Running Head: WORKSHOP REFLECTION
Workshop Reflection
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The purpose of this assignment is to consolidate and explore the knowledge gathered
throughout the subject. It is an accumulation of the learnings and activities in class. The activities
have been completed in the workshop sessions. The first part is regarding the coverage of
activities from every week. The second part consists of self –reflection and criticism on every
activity along with the learning outcomes. Notably, the third part is on the self-reflection and
commentary and criticism regarding the learning outcome while working in a team.
Workshop 1:
Activity 1:
The first workshop 1 was all about the essential MBA capstone abilities such as the
theoretical skills, the applied skills., the practical skills and the reflective skills. It has
demonstrated that it can be done by developing the mastery of essential skills and KNOWING
DOING BEING as found from Forbes.com (2019). These are the skills required for becoming
better managers depicted in Imd.org (2019). In the first activity I have gone through the
suggested readings and conducted an audit on the required skills. In the activity of Domino’s
case study, I have been asked to develop a list of questions to engage more deeply in the
technical, practical and critical reflection. Through this workshop, I have known that the most
essential competence is the ability to resolve poorly structured problems, issues in a complex
environment.

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I have further gathered knowledge about the theoretical, applied, practical and reflective
skills. After going through the workshops, I have understood that these skills need to be
implemented in the business decision making. The theoretical skills are the most intellectual and
bookish of the all four skills as commented by Hill (2017). The applied and practical skills will
be beneficial for me to solve real life problems in future. Whereas, the knowledge of the
reflective skills has helped me to get empowered in finding answers and become an effective
manager in future. As per the views of Belton (2017), the teamwork in this workshop has helped
me to strengthen my communication skills and interacting abilities.
Workshop 2:
Activity 2:
The workshop 2 was about building the strategic knowledge for gaining the competitive
advantage. The activities and the entire workshop demonstrated how to become effective leaders
and the future problem solvers in future depicted in Ufhrd.co.uk (2019). It delineated the seven

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bad habits of ineffective leaders. It emphasized more on the theoretical skills in understanding
the strategic problems after adopting various theoretical skills. I have also known about
improving the performance and creating the competitive advantage. Through this workshop I
have come to know about the three main types of memory storage such as the sensor memory,
the short –term memory and the long –term memory. The aim of the theoretical knowledge is to
be stored and simply recovered from the long term memory.
The activity for this workshop was the Case study of Fair Work Commission which had
recently cut the penalty rates in many industries that consequently affected the wages of 700,000
workers of Australia. After going through the workshop I have learnt that an extra ordinary
manger is the person who can create the competitive advantage in the firm to enhance the
performance. The coursework has enabled me to understand that is a distinctive set of
capabilities which can help to attain the competitive advantage when seen from the perspectives

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of Laursen and Thorlund (2016). I am blessed to have worked with such a collaborative team
which has enriched me with thousands of viewpoints.
Workshop 3:
Activity 3:
The workshop 3 reviews the marketing knowledge in order to ensure that readiness is
there for practice and applied analysis. This particular workshop also reviews the marketing at
the strategic level. The activity of this workshop was related to the strategic marketing and its
various components.
I receive the opportunity to describe the marketing strategies such as the portfolio,
branding, product, positioning, disruptive, differentiation and many others. I have understood
that without the correct marketing strategy, a firm cannot develop fast. The product/service a
company is providing must be tailored to the demands of the customers and in order to know

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their preferences, the markets research especially through the online surveys and campaigns are
necessary. The strategy of product differentiation has caught my interest the most. It creates an
environment of innovation and I have received in-depth knowledge regarding this particular area
of study. In learning the primary focus of this activity in group I have learnt about how to work
and learn in a collaborative and al-inclusive way. Although there were some communication
issues initially but it was reduced with time. As commented by Laursen and Thorlund (2016), the
teamwork has enabled me to incorporate better ideas with efficiency. The mutual support was
most necessary and I have received hat from every member. I have also attained greater sense of
accomplishment after completion of each activity.
Workshop 4:
Activity 4:
The topic of workshop 4 was gaining the competitive advantage through growth and
innovation. At the beginning of the workshop I have learnt that growth can be achieved
structurally through acquisition and people. It can also be achieved through greater share in the
market and the sales. . As commented by Laursen and Thorlund (2016), a company can also
grow through innovation and new products, ways of doing business and expert people. It has
taught me that a company can gain the competitive advantage by the people and the HR. The
activity of this workshop we were asked to imagine that we actually work for a business which is
struggling in terms of revenues.

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We have learnt through this activity, how to apply other innovative HR strategies to attract,
engage and retain the employees without spending money on them. After experiencing the fourth
workshop, I have understood that people are highly important in the innovation of an
organization. Doing this research and workshop, I have understood that first of all, I will have to
grow the innovative thinking process which can help me in my future. Someday in future if I
become the leader, I will have clear knowledge of these basic concepts and I will; be able to
leverage my company with increased production and heightened competitive advantage. The
teamwork in this regard has proved to be beneficial for me as I have learnt to accumulate various
innovative ideas coming out of each member’s mind. I have learnt to listen everyone’s opinion
that is the most essential trait of a true leader.

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Workshop 5:
Activity 5:
In the workshop 5, I have gained knowledge about the business models and the problem
solving. The workshop has clearly described the business model which are the steps in the
ongoing process. It has also focused on the marketing and business planning along with
concentrating on the guaranteed outcomes in business. At the middle of the workshop, I have
known that decision making is the key to success in any business. The business analytics is the
practice, the methodical exploration of an organization that males use of the tools for data
analysis.
In this activity, we were asked to watch a video and discuss hoe the modes of business
analytics can advance the decision making. I believe that this task could not be done separately
and group work has enabled me to understand the decision making process. I have also gained

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knowledge about how to make use of the analytical tools for taking the best decision for a
business. I have also become able to use the business models based on the business context.
Workshop 6:
Activity 6:
In this workshop the man topic was regarding the useful techniques for using the business
models appropriately. It has taught that the tricks are being consistent, using more than one
model and examining divergence in advice. As far as interconnectivity and synergy is concerned
in the analysis, the models described in the workshop shows that the models can be used to
interconnect the data in order to create intelligent advice and decisions too. However, from this
workshop I have learnt that the business models are not the codes of conduct but only the
guidelines for better outcomes.
The
se create the customized strategies founded on the capacities of the organization along with the

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market demand. In this activity the task was to discuss about the names of the models and at the
same time use them according to the context. When seen from the perspectives of Laursen and
Thorlund (2016), this task as a team work was quite difficult but the group members were quite
agile to resolve any kind of confusion among ourselves. The discussion about the business
models was an interesting part of the learning process and we all enjoyed our individual roles in
that.
Workshop 7:
Activity 7:
The workshop 7 was contributory of the lessons regarding the research methods, the data
and the analysis. The workshop solely discussed about the research methods and also synthesize
about the previous discussions. It taught use the basic concepts of using data in order to conduct
any research. It also covered the area of data management in the organization and why is it
important in the firms. It emphasized on the two categories of data such as the primary data and
the secondary data.

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In the group activity, we were asked to categorize the forms of data such as government
reports, the autobiographies, the focus groups, interviews and others that has enabled us to
differentiate among all individually. In the data analysis part, the knowledge of data analysis and
the common mistakes related to data management has been learnt. We were asked to make
differences between the data sources, the data management and the importance of research.
Though this particular workshop, as per the views of Carnall (2018),I have understood that the
use of research methods, data and analysis is extremely important in a research in order to
maintain the authenticity of the results/ outcomes. In future I will be able to play the role of a
marketing manager efficiently. The team work has enabled me to go deep into the research and
know individually about each data form and their significance.

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Workshop 8:
Activity 8:
While workshop 7 talked about the research method, the data md the data analysis the
workshop 8 was completely dedicated to the organizational change and its importance. It has
taught that change is not always regarding a major project, small changes can also create big
impacts. The task was to watch and discus the reasons behind the existing changes. The
organizations should employ the change programs for all the improvements suggest Patten and
Newhart (2017). It is done to keep the stakeholders engaged and committed to the strategy. We
learnt from the workshop that in the change management, people and the process both are
important.

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I have also learnt that there are various leadership styles for managing the change in the
organization. It has enabled me to apply the leadership theories on implementing the change. The
resistance from the part of the members of the organization is evident and closely connected with
the change. However, there are ways by which the resistance can be overcome. In order to
succeed in managing change in the organization, the workshop has taught me to go through
strategies for managing the change in the organization. In the team work, few of the members
were less aware of the concept of change management. As per the views of Ronnie (2019), I
received the opportunity to convey the message to the members and took up a leader’s role in
making the learning process a successful one.
Workshop 9:
Activity 9:
The workshop 9 discussed about the business reporting and presenting the workplace
investigations in an engaging visual form. The reporting to the management is an essential
process which helps to provide the information regarding various levels of management so that
the effectiveness of the investigations is ensured and presented in the correct manner. A type of
business reporting is the Business intelligence and data comments Reason (2016). The traditional
ways of business reporting used to be like determining the objectives, identifying the audience,
organizing and writing the report with proper recommendation and conclusion as per the views
of Ronnie (2019). It taught us about the different types of reports such as the business plans, the
marketing plans, the proposals, inspection reports and many other types. The task in the group
was to identify the reports unheard of before. It asked us to use the smart device in order to learn
more.

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However, I believe that the traditional reports no longer work and the advanced business reports
are using the dashboard captures, the info graphics, the analytical tools and visual presentation
that is better known as the data visualization. Through this workshop I have gathered knowledge
regarding the business analytics and the use of it. This activity has also made me familiar with
the big data that is used to describe the huge collections of information. The Big data is useful in
making the best business decisions. In the group work we were asked to recognize he five
business decisions which could be advanced as an outcome of the Big data. As an advantage of
working in the team /group, I have received huge collaboration from the members of the team. It
has resulted in an ocean of new ideas and how to implement them in the studies.

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Workshop 10:
Activity 10:
The workshop 10 was dedicated to discussing the metrics and the performance. It also
covered the concern of measuring the effective practice and performing it well (Forbes.com
(2019). It described the concept that there are various types of measurements in the organizations
and every of it is vital for an effective management found from the views of Schön (2017). It
solely focused on the ways of measuring the success and the requirement for the contingency
suggest Patten and Newhart (2017). It taught us to as five questions while selecting the metrics
for the organization. The activity in this particular workshop asked us to assume that we were
working for a particular chain of the retail stores. As a group we were asked to generate a list of
metrics to enforce throughout the organization.

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In this regard, we learnt what productivity means. As commented by Reason (2016), it is rather a
relation between the input and the output and in other words it is the efficiency with which the
outputs are generated by the inputs. We were also asked to identify a set of metrics related to the
effectiveness and efficiency. Some of the metrics were leads, queue times, cost of acquisition,
error rates, market share, return on investment, staffing level and many others. After going
through the workshop, I have learnt about the key performance indicators. Among the six groups
in the class, we were allocated the task of finding our organization’s operational critical success
factors. In group work, we considered the specifics of the organization along with the specific
metrics required to achieve the performance.
Workshop 11:
Activity 11:
The primary theme of the workshop 11 was the employability and trends. This particular
workshop discussed about the trends that are likely to prepare us for the future. It also provided
an introductory clip on the employability skills. The workshop made us aware of the seven
workplace trends such as the design thinking, the rise of teams, the employee engagement, rise in
the gig, people analysis, training and flexibility. In the activity of this workshop, we were

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allocated to the trends and asked to present the findings to the rest of the class. We learnt that the
future trends were grouped into the four specific areas. The areas are the underlying drivers, the
economic structure, the labor displacement and the emerging landscape suggests Boyd et al.
(2017).
In the group work we were asked to decide on which one of the four presents the greatest threat
and which one presents the greatest opportunity regarding the future of the work. It was taught to
understand the disruption and as we researched, and it was found that the root causes of
disruption are the technology, the globalization and demographics as per the views of Carnall
(2018). After emphasizing on the course work along with the group task that we went through, I
have understood that the world is changing at such a pace that in many of the cases, the jobs
students are studying for will not exist in the coming years. Hence, we should work on our soft
skills and skills which are transferable. The soft skills are the communication, creativity,
teamwork which are commonly inherent in the personalities. In a nutshell, I have understood that
some of these skills can be externally learned and some of them are inherent. In the group work
two of us had taken the responsibility of divining the specified tasks among the members. We

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also created time limits and ensured that each member received a chance to speak. Supporting
the views of Anthony and Garner (2016), I believe it has tested my patience and enriched my
leadership qualities to be used in future.
Workshop 12:
Activity 12:
While workshop 11 was about the employability and the trends, the workshop 12 was the
continuation of the activity 11. It described the perceptions of the soft skills. Among the soft
skills, the communication, courtesy, flexibility, integrity, interpersonal skills, positive attitude,
professionalism, responsibility, teamwork and work ethics are the most important (Anthony and
Garner 2016). I learnt about employability that, it is a set of basic skills which are transferable
and represent the essential functional and enabling language. The course work was highly
beneficial as it explained the eight dimensions of employability skills such as the critical thinking
skills, the management skills, the interpersonal skills, the work ethic disposition, the leadership
skills, information technology skills as commented by Belton (2017). Regarding the basic
employability skills, we were provided with the questionnaire. I have understood that the
employability skill is already my strength but requires some trainings too. The employability
activity required to identify the areas of limitations.

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In the teamwork, there were issues regarding tasks not being completed by the deadline little
conflict between the team members. According to Patten and Newhart (2017), it is because each
member was not equally agile about the activities. I tried my best to push them up and found
better outcomes.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, I would like to say that the workshops have been highly beneficial
for me. The overall experience of the modules is great and as a team we really did a god job with
utmost collaboration and support from the team members. Indeed, there were some initial
problems regarding communication, but in the due course everything was resolved along with
strengthening our teamwork capabilities. The workshops and the activities were related to the
theoretical, applied, reflective and practical skills. The self-reflection has enabled me to critically
analyze my own abilities, faults and areas of improvements in future.

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Reference
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multiple pedagogical methods. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 79(3),
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Belton, P., 2017. Competitive Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Macat
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organizations: New business models for environmental leadership. Routledge.
Carnall, C., 2018. Managing change. Routledge.
Forbes.com (2019). Sharpen Your Professional Skills Outside Work With These 15 Tips. [online]
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