Reflection Report: Learning and Growth During Internship Placement

This reflection report provides a detailed account of a student's internship experience at Haya Water, focusing on professional development and learning. The report covers various aspects, including communication skills, time management, and teamwork, highlighting the achievement of goals and areas for improvement. It also analyzes intercultural situations, offering insights into conflict resolution and the importance of cultural sensitivity in the workplace. The student evaluates the project, discusses unplanned learning outcomes such as critical thinking and leadership, and provides recommendations for future professional practice. The report references relevant literature on professional development and reflection practices, offering a comprehensive overview of the student's growth during the internship.

Reflective report

TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFLECTION REPORT ................................................................................................................1
Learning's during placement........................................................................................................1
Goal achievement.........................................................................................................................1
Project evaluation ........................................................................................................................2
Description of intercultural situations .........................................................................................2
Recommendations for future .......................................................................................................3
Unplanned learning outcomes .....................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

REFLECTION REPORT
Reflection practices are known as the ability to integrate own thinking process and
experience for enhancing learning (Voogt and et.al., 2015). The reflection process helps an
individual to assess their strength and weakness so that better understanding can be developed
and learning complexity can be reduced.
Learning's during placement
The placement proved to be highly effective in promoting the learning. During my work
as marketing intern in Haya water the first thing which I learned was communication skills. Oral
communication was integral part of my work and thus the skill improved greatly. Along with the
communication skills I also learned to accomplish task on time. There were instances when I
required to manage multiple tasks in the given time period so I learned to manage even complex
tasks in a way such that goals can be accomplished on time. In the placements individuals are
required to be highly sensitive and proactive so that they can take better decisions (Choy and
Chua, 2019). Initially I felt several difficulties in forming an opinion on any situation and then to
take initiative on it.
However, gradually by observing other colleagues and learning from my own practices I
learned these skills. Through the placements I also got the opportunity to work in teams and to
follow the professional competencies which are mandatory in the completion of professional and
personal goals. I also analysed that various professional ethics such as integrity, confidentiality
and significance of time frames in the work front. It not only helped me to give excellent
performance in placements but to also gain significant skills for my future professional growth.
Goal achievement
In context to the goals described in my PDP I succeeded in achieving my goals but I
think I could have demonstrated more excellence. For example in the placements my first
priority was to complete given tasks in time. In order to achieve this goal I always established a
balance between quality and my work. However, still I do not have confidence in completing
tasks in more structured way. Contrary to this, I did not achieve my goal of becoming
thoughtfulness in developing opinion as expected. As per the assessment of my supervisor, I was
average in this skill. In my opinion also I fail to analyse the different perspectives of the issue
and the actual cause of the problem. It slower my goal achievement process and its effectiveness.
I am highly satisfied with the integrity and sensitivity as I successfully achieved these goals.
1

In addition to these skills I think I could have achieved my goals of learning skill with
better abilities. Though I was good at working on suggestions and feedbacks but I tried very less
on learning innovative concepts or the knowledge. There were instances when I got the
opportunity to learn some technical skills and foreign languages which could have added to my
professional efficiencies but I did not grab such opportunities. So in future I will try to include
such aspects as well in my goals
Project evaluation
The tasks went well in the placements and provided variety of learning opportunities
challenges. Several tasks were very complex and it was not less than impossible to complete
them in given time period. However, with efficient team work and application of knowledge
such challenges were effectively addressed. I was also required to handle customer records and
thus to maintain the privacy and confidentiality was also necessary part of my work. On several
instances conflicts between team members and lack of coordination influenced my decision
making but I tried to properly utilise my opinion forming skills to analyse the situation for
accurate decision making.
During the project all tasks were performed in structured way so that errors can be
avoided and goals can be achieved within deadlines. I feel that majority of things went beyond
my expectations. For instance developing opinions and enhancing sensitivity can have so much
importance in my professional context was not expected by me but these skills were needed and
developed by me in the course of my placement. In addition to this different types of tasks
helped me to learn various skills and knowledge for the accomplishment of projects in
diversified work culture and environment.
Description of intercultural situations
Working in an organisation cannot be accomplished without experiencing cultural
diversity. In my placements also there were several situations which taught me skills to deal with
the critical situations of intercultural conflicts or team work.
At once some team members were not agreed with the decision taken by team member
because they were favouring one particular individual on the basis of personal and emotional
relationship. In such situation I was against such decisions which were based upon personal
preferences instead of project goals. However, in such situation leader assure that as per
Hofstede cultural theory power must be divided uniformly for higher power index. Thus, all team
2

members irrespective or their choice were allowed to express their view but at the time of
decision making instead of individualism, collectivism was preferred and final decision was
taken on the basis of profitability. The event taught me that a leader must follow the same
approach and instead of favouring any specific person or culture equal priority must be given to
all individuals. From the perspective of Hall theory it can be said that conflict situations must be
managed as per the low context culture in which tasks are more important.
In another event in one of the particular marketing task some team members were very
firm that being a female I and other female members must not be provided significant task. For
such specific tasks masculinity was preferred. However, to me and majority of other females this
perspective was not acceptable from the view point of femininity. Thus, a discussion was held to
understand the perspectives of both group. At last it was learned that due to safety reasons
females were discarded for the task. The situation taught me that different cultures may have
diversity but within organisations it is essential that the rationale behind cultural and
psychological differences must be identified for correct decision making.
Another significant incident occurred when there were communication gap between team
members due to language barriers. In some situations individuals who do not have understanding
of common language can share information through gestures or body language but it can lead to
misunderstanding in the transfer of information (DiPaola and Wagner, 2018). To resolve such
situations a training was provided to team members in which I learned that how language
barriers can be addressed and to balance the cultural differences what steps can be taken by the
individuals.
Recommendations for future
Next time I will incorporate several practices so that my professional efficiency can be
improved. For instance though I complete my work on time but in future I will try to segment my
work on the basis of complexity so that a more structured framework can be used and time can
be optimised to achieve goals. Along with this I also need to emphasis on my opinion skills. For
this purpose I will try to be more critical of the situations so that better analysis can be done and
decision making can be improved. Though I have pro activeness and I often take initiatives but I
think providing more suggestions and innovative ideas can enhance this skill. This improvement
will also help me to analyse and predict the possible impact of decisions taken.
3

To enhance my capabilities and proficiency I will also conduct regular performance
check. This review will assist in identifying the errors and the drawbacks which needs
improvements. The work evaluation can also guide me that how I can make my work better and
more qualitative. The team work and coordination at work place is also one of the critical
element of the professional development (Bush and et.al., 2018). Thus, in future I will try to
incorporate these skills in my professional practice so that quality of my work is not affected by
ineffective teams.
Unplanned learning outcomes
The placement was also helpful in teaching me learning skills which were not planned or
intended for the internship at Haya water. In my opinion team work and conflict management
skills were also learned by me. In the project I used to interact with people from different
cultures and opinion. Initially it was very difficult for me to make mutual agreements with such
diversified teams but gradually I learned to balance the team diversity and long term goals of the
project. I also realised that for achieving any kind of professional goal leadership and
management strategies are vital.
Taking inspiration from the other leaders I also learned various concepts and skills of
leadership. I also learned to understand the role of cultural diversity and multicultural teams
which will help me in my future professional goals. Another unplanned learning outcome gained
by me is critical thinking and ability to work under stress without letting the quality to be
affected. In order to choose suitable marketing strategy and concepts I applied my knowledge
with critical analysis so that project can achieve its goals with minimum failure risks.
4

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bush, T. and et.al., 2018. Mentoring and continuing professional development. In Mentors in
Schools (1996) (pp. 121-143). Routledge.
Choy, W.K. and Chua, P.M., 2019. Professional development. In School Leadership and
Educational Change in Singapore(pp. 69-86). Springer, Cham.
DiPaola, M. and Wagner, C.A., 2018. Improving instruction through supervision, evaluation,
and professional development. IAP.
Voogt, J. and et.al., 2015. Collaborative design as a form of professional
development. Instructional science. 43(2). pp.259-282.
5

6

7

8

9