Reflective Learning Journal: Banking Business Research in Australia

This document presents a student's reflective journal detailing their learning experience during a 10-week research project on the banking business in Australia. The reflection covers the entire research process, from topic selection and planning to data collection, analysis, and the formulation of conclusions and recommendations. The student highlights key learnings each week, including research methodologies, primary and secondary data collection techniques, data analysis using tools like SPSS, and the challenges faced by the Bank of Australia in the contemporary business environment. The reflection emphasizes the development of skills such as time management, communication, interpersonal abilities, and critical thinking. The research concludes that the Bank of Australia needs to adapt to the changing global landscape and enhance customer engagement to remain competitive. The student emphasizes the personal and professional growth achieved through the research process.

[Date]
Business Research
Banking Business in Australia

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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Weekly Review......................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................4
References.............................................................................................................................................6

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Individual Learning Reflection
Introduction
The learning reflection is the document which shows the summary of the learning activities
and knowledge gained during the course of learning (Nash, 2016). This learning reflection is
about the skills gained and learning made during the process of research which was
conducted on the topic ‘Banking business in Australia’. The reflection will include the
learning gained in each week and will show the self-development which took place during
the whole process of the research.
Weekly Review
The whole research process took 10 weeks to complete. It began right from the selection of
topic of research to the planning and data collection. It then followed data analysis and
ended with conclusion and recommendations.
In the first week of the research, I was asked to select a topic for the research. It was not a
tough task but I was very confused regarding this topic selection because I wanted to
choose the task which can provide me various insights which can be used for my betterment
in future be it personally or professionally. That is why I chosen ‘Banking Business in
Australia’ because it will provide me opportunities for pursuing career in banking industry in
future.
The second week of the research process began with the planning of research in which I
planned how I will carry forward my research. A blueprint was made so that each activity
can be completed on time. It took me one week to plan for the whole process. It included
the plans made for data collection and analysis. It also included the plan for cost and time
available so that optimum utilisation can be made for available resources.
Third week of the research was for carrying out the plans which was made in the 2nd week. It
included time management, cost management and approaching the resources from where
data can be collected. It also includes identifying the problem so that the research question
can be developed. Here, the research question is what sort of challenges are faced by the

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Bank of Australia and the challenges in the contemporary business environment. I have
learned about various research methods and how to select a proper research method for
the process. This let me know about in depth information about the approaches of research
which would help me in developing my career in future.
The fourth and fifth week was spent to select the methods of data collection. These two
weeks were spent for collecting data from the primary and secondary sources. I learned the
difference between primary and secondary sources when I actually got to use them. Primary
sources provides the fresh information and data while secondary sources provides the
information which has been used already by someone else (Silverman, 2016). I prepared
questionnaire to derive primary data from the employees of Bank of Australia. This helped
me in gaining new insights about the challenges which are faced by the employees of Bank
of Australia. I have also referred to the secondary sources which includes books, journals,
online sources, newspaper articles and more. This step of the research helped me the most
in gaining knowledge about the topic because here I got to read so much content about the
topic and I tried to understand the actual challenges in the banking industry which are to be
faced by the employees. I learnt effective communication and personal skills because I got
to interact with lot of people and know their responses. I also developed reading habits and
patience as it was required for deriving information from pool of resources. I also learned to
surf internet for meaningful information because till now internet for me was just for
accessing social media. I have learned to understand the opinion of people and how they
react in certain situations. I have also learnt to keep ethics strong while collecting
confidential information from the respondents. I have also learned sampling and its
techniques which helps in getting proper communication from right set of customers.
Sixth week was given to the analysis of data where the data collected from different sources
will be analysed by using various statistical tools. These tools like SPSS are very useful to
analyse the data which will be helpful to me in future too. I had no knowledge about this
earlier but making this research made me learn about these tools which is a good addition
to my skills and knowledge.
In the seventh week, the data collected is analysed by now and now it will be discussed
whether the project objectives have been met or not. The data collected actually meet the

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objectives of the research or not. Data analysis shows that the research project is a very
lengthy process which gets complete only when the actual purpose is solved (Johnston,
2014). I have learned that this research meets its objectives. I have learned about various
concepts which tells about the challenges which have to be faced by the employees of Bank
of Australia.
In the last weeks, conclusions are given and recommendations are provided for future
research. Global economy is becoming diversified and modernised, the pressure on the
companies is increasing and it ultimately goes on the employees (Dunning, 2014). Australia
has one of the biggest banking industry across the world. Banks are very important for the
role and growth of the economy because they determine the flow of money but there are
certain challenges which are to be faced by the banking industry (Claessens and Van Horen,
2012). I have learned that from the whole research it can be concluded that the growth of
new markets is bring changes in the demand patterns of the customers which can be a huge
challenge for the banks. The banks have to indulge themselves in innovation so that they
can provide new and exciting to their customers (Malloy, 2013). The banks have to be
communicative so that they can bring knowledge and awareness among its customers
(Shamsuddin and Xiang, 2012). I have also learnt to read and analyse graphs which says that
Bank of Australia is one of the major bank of the banking industry of Australia and it is facing
issues like lack of efficiency, trust and emergence of online banking system. The bank need
to upgrade its services in order to meet competition in the industry and have to manage the
fluctuation in the rates (Ueda, 2012).
I have finally recommended that the Bank of Australia need to develop themselves as per
the changing global scenario in the industry. For getting better idea about the needs and
demands of the customers, they need to connect worth the customers more closely than
ever before.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the research has been successful in developing me as a researcher.
It made me learn various research techniques, methods and data collection processes. The
learning will help me in getting good marks in my course and program and will also help me
in my future in banking industry or in research and development field. It will also help me

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personally as I have learned time management, confidence and interpersonal skills which
will improve me as a person.

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References
Claessens, S. and Van Horen, N., 2012. Being a foreigner among domestic banks: Asset or
liability?. Journal of Banking & Finance, 36(5), pp.1276-1290.
Dunning, J.H., 2014. The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of the
1990s. Routledge.
Johnston, M. P., 2014. Secondary Data Analysis: A Method of which the Time Has
Come”,Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. pp. 619 –626.
Malloy, M.M.S., 2013. Factors influencing emerging market central banks’ decision to
intervene in foreign exchange markets (No. 13-70). International Monetary Fund.
Nash, C., 2016. Donald Schön: Learning, reflection, and coaching practice. In Learning in
Sports Coaching (pp. 65-76). Routledge.
Shamsuddin, A. and Xiang, D., 2012. Does bank efficiency matter? Market value relevance of
bank efficiency in Australia. Applied Economics, 44(27), pp.3563-3572.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Ueda, K., 2012. Banking globalization and international business cycles: Cross-border
chained credit contracts and financial accelerators. Journal of international
Economics, 86(1), pp.1-16.