Practical Application Report: Reflective Journals & Portfolio Analysis

This report delves into the practical application of business concepts, utilizing reflective journals and portfolio analysis to evaluate organizational performance and strategic implementation. The first section focuses on reflective writing, employing the Gibbs Model to analyze personal experiences in a healthcare setting, highlighting the importance of ethical conduct and immediate action in critical situations. The second part of the report examines Sainsbury's, analyzing its business strategy, customer focus, and operational practices. It explores Sainsbury's market position, employee engagement, and product offerings, providing a comprehensive overview of the company's approach to the retail sector. The report aims to provide a detailed understanding of practical business applications and strategies, offering insights into real-world scenarios and their implications.

Practi
cal

Applic
ation

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
Reflective Journals...........................................................................................................................2
Portfolio...........................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
In an organization, there are several applications or methods which required applying
practically in the business operations in order to maximise firms or employee’s productivity as
well as profitability(Altaee, Cunningham and Gillie, 2019). Practical implementation is the use
of anything else to a practical function. An example of realistic use is using any technique
to improve production level or minimise the overall cost of products. This assignment classified
into two parts where first one is about reflective essay that is used to evaluate the personal
experience at the time of completing their task. Another part of this report evaluates the
organizational performance which required analysing for further decision making process.
MAIN BODY
Reflective Journals
Reflective writing seems to be an intellectual process where the writer depicts a situation,
occurrence, experience, passing thought, or memory that is physical or emotional and adds a self
reflection on its significance (Haddout, 2018). Many reflective authors are aware of questions
like "What did I notice?," "How did this affect me?" or "What maybe I should have done?" while
reflecting. Reflective writing has the function of helping you learn from a specific realistic
experience.
This can help to link between what theory teaches you and what you have to do in reality.
You are thinking, so you can know. They may reflect in many ways, e.g. in a diary or private
log, for many reasons. But we are involved in the sort of writing they do for evaluation here. You
are also asked to have a list of what you've done, plus a summary of how you've done it and how
you're using what you're learned in your lessons, and any practical knowledge you gain to do it.
Students can reflect their personal experience during completion any task with the help of
Gibbs Model. It is developed by Graham Gibbs' in 1988 to give structure to learning from
experiences. It provides a structure for the analysis of interactions and, despite its cyclic nature, it
lends itself especially well to recurring encounters, helping you to understand and prepare events
that went well enough and didn't. It includes six stages which are as follow:
Description: During working in an organization through placement from my collage, my
mentor gives me task where I have to visit hospital and observe the entire environment and
further report my mentor (Ma, Wong and Zhao, 2019). I worked under the guidance of my
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advisor, looking for a gentleman of seventy-two years; Mr Khan who had underwent intestinal
procedure. I had been told to remove his wound dressing to be checked by the physician on the
hospital round.
Under my mentor's instruction, I have to see how doctors cleaned the dressing, by
using non-touch technique and washed the wound, as the doctor had requested. At this point my
trainer was called to the next case, so I stayed with Mr Khan at her demand as we waited for the
doctor to come and see him.
The physician had been treating the injury of another client and I found that they actually
came to Mr Khan to check his cut, either without washing her hands or first using alcohol gel. I
also realized she was carrying a long-sleeved shirt and i've been concerned that perhaps the
sleeves could become dirty. I was thinking for a second on what to do or say, but I felt it was too
late when I had gathered enough guts to say anything while she was still questioning Mr Khan.
From the entire incident, it was concluded that doctors are always in hurry; this is not good
because it can infect the other patient. After evaluating that environment, I have to prepare a
report which required submitting to get final scores.
Feelings: I was shocked at this, because I wanted the physician to wash their hands or use
alcohol gel until Mr. Khan was examined. Nonetheless, I felt threatened because I felt the
physician was more seasoned than me and I won't want to offend her. I also didn't wish to alarm
Mr Khan by questioning the doctor across from him. Then I thought about the event with my
counsellor. She said we speak to the doctor about that together (Oster and Deakins, 2018). My
advisor took that doctor aside and told if she had washed her hands since Mr. Khan was
examined. She looked absolutely stunned. She said she was really distracted and didn't even
think about it. My mentor spoke with her about the significance of hand washing and the doctor
ensured her she will wash her hands until examining any sufferer in the future. Wash their hand
regularly or before handling any patient is very essential and everyone need to remember this to
maintain hygiene for themselves as well as for others because it can generate risk for individual’s
life.
Evaluation: For me the event has been highly difficult. I apologize that, before she tested
Mr Khan, I won't act to question the physician's practice. Nevertheless, I am glad the doctor
reacted so favourably to my trainer's suggestions and I found that as a result of the accident, she
has now modified her approach. I, too, benefited from the accident, because it showed me the
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value of behaving aggressively with co-workers, in a respectful manner to preserve well-being of
patients. During the incident, i am stuck in a dilemma that i should interrupt her or not because it
was quite embracing movement for doctor in front of others. In addition, Mr. Khan who is a
pertinent looses the trust from the organization which further impacts their reputation as well.
Analysis: The Royal College notes that the most effective practice to avoid cross-infection
is hand washing and pointed out that other healthcare workers may not disinfect their hands as
much as they can (Salameh and Darawsheh, 2018). Recent guidance provided by the Department
of Health highlights the risk of infection transmission through uniforms through workers, with
the need to review workers dress policies. The Professional states that as a physician 'you have to
act to recognise and reduce patients and clients' risks. This also refers to my own profession as a
student and other nurse caring for Mr Khan within my trainer's guidance. The entire healthcare
practices should be performing as per the guidelines otherwise it becomes risky for everyone.
Doctor not wash her hands but after Mr. Khan Treatment he was not infected that was good
otherwise it create very big issues or affect the person.
Conclusion: Thinking back at such an event, I could see that I am supposed to have acted
earlier and I have been supposed to have checked that the doctor washes his hands until testing
Mr Khan. Now I can see how my silence in this accident puts the health of Mr Khan at risk.
After talking to my mentor, I understand that I have to create trust to question colleagues'
practice, placing clients' well-being at a centre of my mind. I know I have to help colleagues,
recognize the stresses they may be under, but make sure their behaviour doesn't put consumers at
risk. From the overall situation, i learn that whenever i find something not good or not according
to the procedure, I have to speak and need less time to think or take action immediately. It could
be improve more through conducting training for each staff members (Shannon And et.al.,
2018). They need to develop several skills such as individual should have attentive or follow
each and every rules & regulations because it is one of the most important things which required
considering. I need to be quick response when I see something like that for the next time. I have
to react on the spot whenever it will see such kind of situations.
Action plan: For the future, while working with co-workers, I would continue to improve
my assertive skills and ensure that the well-being of patients is protected. I should consider this a
training objective in my next assignment and explore it with my coach to hammer out ideas for
how to accomplish this. This could be the result of a massive learning process but this is the start
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of your growth as a practitioner in which your trust and confidence could have a direct effect on
a well-being of a client. This time, they continue with a plan of action. How's that working out?
What will happen next time you find yourself in a similar situation? The reflective process of
Gibbs will continue to be used to monitor the continuing learning and growth.
Thinking about one's own experience in the future can help better perform or do things
differently. These interactions needn't be positive, as the other shows; negative experiences are
still useful (Tracy and Donovan, 2018). Every time a similar problem happens you will know
that it is easier to handle the problem in a different manner. It induces you to think very carefully
about the next time, how to use the things better. It is the essence of the Gibbs Reflective
Process. Individuals are not only trying to better understand such situations, they are also trying
to assess how to approach the very same situation in the future in various ways.
Portfolio
Overview of the Sainsbury’s:
J Sainsbury plc operating as Sainsbury's is the UK's 2nd largest retail chain with a
16 percent share of a retail business. Established in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a store in
Drury Lane, London, in 1922 the business became the largest grocery retailer. In 1995, Tesco
surpassed Sainsbury's becoming the market leader and Asda was the second-largest in 2003,
downgrading Sainsbury's third position for much of the intervening span until January 2014,
when Sainsbury reclaimed second place. Although awaiting merger with Asda in April 2019,
Sainsbury's was once again relegated to third place as their competitor placed second.
According to 2018, total numbers of employees of Sainsbury’s are 116,400 and it is
Private Sector Company which privately funded and there are several sources of financial to
maintain liquidity in the business.
Business Strategy of Sainsbury’s:
Business strategy is the work plan for the company to fulfil its dream, set priorities,
compete effectively with its business model and maximize financial results (Wehde, 2018). In
context of Sainsbury’s, company reveals their plan for the areas that matter most and how they
make a difference to the daily lives of consumers. The Strategy consists of five elements. We
know our customers better than anyone else. Anywhere and wherever people need us, they will
be there, providing quality goods and services at a reasonable price. Sainsbury's staffs are
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making the difference, beliefs are making us different. Five elements of business strategy are as
follow:
Know their customers better than anyone else: Sainsbury's need to consider what its
customers want for their potential success. Therefore, they take advantage of the opportunity to
speak to them face-to-face, on the mobile and via online conversations. This strategy helps create
trust and adds to our dream. Company sends around 35 million emails to Nectar card holders
throughout the year, using the shopping desires to customize custom deals and coupons. Every
year more than 15 million Nectar card holders transact with Sainsbury's in store, online and
through Sainsbury's Bank. This gives company useful insight and enhances our awareness about
shopping and how our customers communicate with us.
Colleagues making differences: Sainsbury's encourage their employees to develop their
expertise through projects and services such as the tutoring scheme for women staff and our
Bakery College vocational training. Sainsbury's awarded with UK's largest employer from
three consecutive 'Gold' qualifications to grow, support and inspire our employees by Investors
in People.
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Great products & services at affordable price: Sainsbury's concentrate on quality,
origin and sustainability separates from other supermarkets whereas their daily lower price
policy assures consumers that they may have come to the right spot. Acquisition of Argos and
Biodiversity has made the approach speedier. They built a multi-product, multi-channel company
with quick distribution networks, providing complimentary goods and services to the customers
through products they value.
Our value makes us different: Company's values reinforce their relationship with
clients, vendors, employees and they make financial sense (Xing And et.al., 2018).
Sainsbury's ensure that their manufacturers and the world do the right thing and assume
responsibility for the people on their doorstep. It inspires organization to focus on the future and
explore new ways to make life simpler for their customers like less Waste, save more initiative.
There for our customers: Sainsbury's Argos and Habitat are well positioned to easily
and efficiently serve people anywhere and wherever they want to purchase. Consumers are also
expanding the stores, under one roof, providing wider food choice, household goods and clothes.
Company have now opened 60 Argos Digital stores at Sainsbury's supermarkets as part of their
vision to be a multi-product, multi-channel retailer and they expect to launch 200 more. More
than 200 digital locations and seven micro Habitats are open.
Mission Statement:
To provide consumers with high quality service as well as to optimize or provide
stakeholders with good financial returns. Aim of Sainsbury’s is to surpass the customer's
standards of good, nutritious, fresh and delicious food to make their daily lives simpler.
The key goal of Sainsbury is to meet its responsibilities towards the societies and
communities where they work while delivering high quality goods at fair prices and to customize
their goods to fit customer needs. For example, most of its products serve clients of a variety
such as children. Vegans, physically disabled, women who are pregnant and nursing mothers.
While the mission, goals and objectives of J Sainsbury has not changed, they aim to
improve on a daily basis, such as providing better product drives sales, delivering personal
responsibility teams and keeping their vision clear.
Organization’s Vision:
The vision is to become the retailer with the most trust, where customers want to function
and shop. We will do it by keeping our customers at the center of what we do and by engaging in
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our shops, our staff and our platforms to deliver the best buying experience ever. Heart of our
market is our customers and our performance and potential growth is dependent in being able to
predict and then produce everything they need. That is what Mike Coupe said, Chief Executive
of the Sainsbury Chain, says.
Organization Structure:
Business structure of Sainsbury’s divided into four sections and it mentioned below:
Shops: Sainsbury's manage to take advantage of this opportunity to transform their
infinite in to their own. They launched 19 new retail stores in 2011-2012, 28 additions and 73
grocery stores, amounting to 1.4 million sq feet of total new infinite.
Online: Sainsbury’s online grocery markets and online anti-food sales still keep turning.
In addition to this, launch and pull-out of their Home delivery service, which gives consumers
the freedom to pick up non-food points purchased online at a convenient shop and movie, has
proved to be very popular with consumers.
Finance: In February 1997, Sainsbury's became the first major UK supermarket to open a
branch to get up selling (Yin and Zivanovic, 2018). The bank of Sainsbury offers a variety of
quality products including insurance, credit cards, deposits and mortgages. This blends retail and
shopping experience by giving consumers fantastic goods at currency values alone. Consistently
rewarding customers by analysing consumer’s through shopping.
Energy: Sainsbury's Electricity exploded into the electricity sector in February 2011
under a brand fresh trade name. Through a dedicated squad of energy specialist’s in-store, they
deliver economical and added value solutions with a emphasis on simplifying energy duties and
delivering energy management guidance for customer locations. The prize-winning call center in
Cardiff is a one-stop shop for all consumer queries and provides a high level of service routinely.
Sainsbury's consumers profit from having a relationship with the energy provider in-store, online
and over the phone while rounding up Nectar scores on our product portfolio.
Organization Management:
Martin Scicluna holds power over management team of Sainsbury’s. Martin and his other
Board members are in charge of developing the group's long-term plan. They act on behalf of our
clients, colleagues, consumers and partners, ensuring that our commitments are fulfilled. Chief
Executive of Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe, Chairs our Board of Operations. They focus on the
organization's day to day operations and it is their job to carry out the Board's defined strategy.
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Appraisal:
There are several appraisal techniques which are used by the organizations to evaluate
their employee’s performance. Most appropriate methods used by the Sainsbury’s company and
some of them are as follow:
Straight ranking appraisal: This lists all the workers and rates them from good to the
worst. While it might be simple and see who's a high sweeper and who doesn't make the cut, this
will be tougher to rate everybody in the middle. It also implies everybody is the same, so a
company really needs a combination of different individuals so personalities to succeed.
Grading: This systematic approach helps a manager to easily see the level of an
employee for any specific ability such as teamwork, interaction, attention to detail, etc. They
increasing are scored from A – F or 1 – 5, or even from inappropriate to excellent. This approach
is also analytical and could therefore be considered inaccurate if used alone.
360 Degree Appraisal: This approach requires input from a variety of individuals who
have communication with each employee, holding prejudices firmly at bay (Young, 2019). There
may be many other employees, clients, customers etc. and even the employee himself is expected
to offer their opinion of their role in the team. 360-degree evaluation is recognized as the ideal
approach as it is all-encompassing and can give an employee such a well-rounded view.
From the above mention appraisal techniques, Sainsbury’s follow 360 degree appraisal
method to evaluate their employee’s performance. At the time of appraising their staff, manager
review individual employees through taking peer review, their performance etc. It is one of the
most used technique which followed by the organizations.
Training:
Sainsbury's announced today the launch of a wildly successful new facility in London
that will operate 2,000 training sessions for its management teams in stores in the first year
alone. Employees who obtain the required training are more willing to carry out their duties. The
learning will offer an increased knowledge of the employee's responsibilities within their
position and in turn create trust. Training will confidence should boost their overall performance
and this can only help the organization. Most of the workers will have certain weaknesses in
certain skills at work. Training program enables company to reinforce certain skills every
employee requires to develop. Learning plan takes all workers up to the next level and they can
have different expertise and skills. This tends to will any poor ties within the organization that
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depend on others to accomplish simple work. In future, Sainsbury’s also need conduct some kind
of training and development to enhance their staff skills.
Staffing:
This method of hiring is a systematic effort to execute the human resource program by
interviewing, assessing and choosing suitable candidates for the organization's work positions.
But hiring is also an essential management function, including planning and organization. HR
department of Sainsbury’s should follow proper staffing process to hire suitable candidates for
the right job.
Strength and weakness of Sainsbury’s:
Strength: Operation automation has introduced quality stability to Sainsbury's products and
has allowed the business to scale upwards based on market demand circumstances (Zhang And
et.al., 2018). Company has successful track record of integrate admiring firms through mergers
& acquisition. Over the past couple of years it has integrated a range of technology firms to
optimize its processes and create a secure supply chain. Highly positive approaches for the goods
at “Go To Market”.
Weakness: While Sainsbury's spends on Research and Development above the industry
average, it has not been capable of competing with industry's top players in terms of technology.
Company was unable to address the potential competitors 'problems in the sector and losing
substantial market share throughout the categories of niche markets. Sainsbury's need to develop
internal input channels directly from on the ground sales force to address these obstacles.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it has been observed that each academic activity will go to reflect
with the help of Gibbs reflective model. With the help of reflecting cycle, individual able to
evaluate their performance and experience which they feel that time. Another part of this report
is all about evaluation of organization which includes the several sub sections. Vision, mission,
objectives are essential to formulate because it will provide the direction to perform further task.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Altaee, M., Cunningham, L.S. and Gillie, M., 2019. Practical application of CFRP strengthening
to steel floor beams with web openings: a numerical investigation. Journal of
Constructional Steel Research. 155. pp.395-408.
Cha, H. And et.al., 2018. Issues and Challenges Facing Flexible Lithium‐Ion Batteries for
Practical Application. Small. 14(43). p.1702989.
Foster, J. E. And et.al., 2018. Towards high throughput plasma based water purifiers: design
considerations and the pathway towards practical application. Journal of Physics D:
Applied Physics. 51(29). p.293001.
Gupta, A. K., Versteeg, S. G. and Shear, N. H., 2019. A practical application of onychomycosis
cure–combining patient, physician and regulatory body perspectives. Journal of the
European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. 33(2). pp.281-287.
Haddout, S., 2018. A practical application of the geometrical theory on fibered manifolds to an
autonomous bicycle motion in mechanical system with nonholonomic
constraints. Journal of Geometry and Physics. 123. pp.495-506.
Ma, X., Wong, P. K. and Zhao, J., 2019. Practical multi-objective control for automotive semi-
active suspension system with nonlinear hydraulic adjustable damper. Mechanical
Systems and Signal Processing. 117. pp.667-688.
Oster, C. A. and Deakins, S., 2018. Practical application of high-reliability principles in
healthcare to optimize quality and safety outcomes. JONA: The Journal of Nursing
Administration. 48(1). pp.50-55.
Salameh, M. T. B. and Darawsheh, S. A., 2018. Human rights in the Jordanian constitution:
between theoretical texts and practical application. International Journal of Human
Rights and Constitutional Studies. 6(1). pp.70-88.
Shannon, C. And et.al., 2018. The practical application of hot water to reduce the introduction
and spread of aquatic invasive alien species. Management of Biological Invasions. 9(4).
pp.417-423.
Tracy, S. J. and Donovan, M. C., 2018. Moving from practical application to expert craft practice
in organizational communication: A review of the past and OPPT-ing into the future.
In Transformative Practice and Research in Organizational Communication (pp. 202-
220). IGI Global.
Wehde, M., 2018, June. Practical application of a balanced scorecard as a strategic management
system. In 2018 IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Conference
(TEMSCON) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
Xing, Z. And et.al., 2018. Recent advances in floating TiO2-based photocatalysts for
environmental application. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. 225. pp.452-467.
Yin, H. and Zivanovic, R., 2018. Practical application of collocation method in power flow study
of South Australia grid. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 94,
pp.160-170.
Young, A., 2019. Consistency without inference: Instrumental variables in practical application.
Zhang, W. And et.al., 2018. Practical application of aptamer-based biosensors in detection of
low molecular weight pollutants in water sources. Molecules. 23(2). p.344.
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