Reflective Report: Economic Principles and Decision Making Assignments

This reflective report critically analyzes two assignments completed on the subject of Economic Principles and Decision Making, using the Gibbs model of reflection. The first assignment evaluated the macroeconomic performance of Australia, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 and comparing the economic policies of Australia and India. The second assignment involved analyzing housing schemes, specifically the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) and First Home Plus (FHP), assessing the role of supply and demand, and evaluating the impact of stamp duties. The report details the challenges faced, including extensive research requirements and time management issues, while also highlighting the significant learning experiences and increased confidence gained from completing these complex projects. The author reflects on skill development, identifying areas for improvement in research, analytical skills, and time management, and outlines a plan for future professional growth.

Reflective Journal

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Reflective reports summarise an individual’s critical understanding of a subject.
Reflective report gives an individual opportunity to reflect on their own learning experiences and
opinions in an academic environment (Sekarwinahyu and et.al., (2019, February)). This report
applies the Gibbs model of Reflection to critically reflect on past assignments undertaken on the
subject of Economic Principles and Decision Making.
MAIN BODY
I previously was assigned two assignments from my superiors, both pertaining to the
subject Economic Principles and Decision Making. The assignments were to be completed by me
alone though I was allowed to ask for help and guidance from my peers and superiors for the
satisfactory completion of the projects as I had no inclination about the kind of research that I
would have to undertake or where I would be able to find the relevant data that was needed to
complete the assigned projects, as I had never done projects of this kind or complexity prior to
undertaking the two assignments. For the first assignment I had to evaluate the macro economic
performance of Australia’s economy on the basis of macro-economic indicators by selecting one
particular social issue. For this, I selected COVID-19 as a social issue on the basis of the
immense impact it has had on Australia’s economy. In addition, I was also tasked with analysing
how Australia and India had applied various macro-economic policies and measure with the
intention to mitigate the negative economic impact that COVID-19 has had on their economic
performance in 2020 (Markkanen and et.al., (2020)). Though at first I had no inkling on how to
even begin such a complex project, on the advice and guidance of my superiors, who pointed out
to me the sources where I could get the relevant information needed for the project, I started to
make the project. To effectively conduct the required research, I made use of several online
journals and peer review papers in order to get sufficient knowledge of the macro-economic
indicators that have an impact on the Australian economy. I also had to conduct extensive
research through the internet on the macro economic policies and measures that both Australia
and India have undertaken in order to minimise and mitigate the immensely negative impact
COVID 19 has had on their respective economies. This research proved to be quite an arduous

task, as I found conflicting information on the internet and had to check the validity of various
sources in order to understand which informational research was applicable and relevant to my
prescribed project. For my second assignment, I had to analyse, contrast and compare the
eligibility criteria of housing schemes First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) and First Home Plus
(FHP). As part of this project I was also tasked with assessing how the demand and supply
parameters play an active and essential role in enabling individuals to purchase houses under a
reasonable priced structure. In addition, the project also required me to identify and evaluate the
current market structure of FHOG and how current market structure directly affects FHOG’s
pricing strategies for the future. Finally, to effectively complete my second project, I was tasked
with evaluating the importance of stamp duties on housing policies which directly affect the
pricing decision and the positive impact that removal of stamp duties can have on the customer’s
purchasing decisions so that they can procure effective housing grants, innovative services and
facilities (Tawanwongsri & Phenwan, (2019)). Undertaking the second project was much more
difficult for me, not simply because of the increased scope of the project and the necessary
research to be conducted, but also because much of the research that was required for me to
effectively complete the project up to my standards was hard to find and even harder to check its
validity, with the intention to assess whether the researched data and information could be relied
upon and applied to my own project. Though at first I didn’t think I would be able to complete
both projects by myself, as I had to conduct immense research all on my own, something I had
not done previously, based on the guidance and support of my superiors I was able to
successfully complete the projects within the prescribed deadlines and submit it to the concerned
authorities.
When I was assigned the two projects, I was immensely nervous and scared as not only
had I never undertaken such a complex sets of assignments which required extensive research
that was needed to complete the two projects, I was also tasked with completing the two projects
all by myself, which filled me with great doubt over my own personal capabilities to successfully
undertake and complete such complex assignments. This doubt was evident to my superiors who
were extremely helpful to me and guided and assured me that I would be able to complete the
required projects in addition to pointing me in the right direction as to the sources and journals I
would need to procure the relevant information from (Snowdon, (2018)). This guidance and
support from my superiors helped calm my doubts and urged me on to start the project. When I

first identified the immense volume of information and data that I would have to research and
critically analyse to complete the project, I again became immensely nervous and scared, having
never previously analysed data of this scope and subject. While I was initially scared of
performing such extensive research and analysis, having already started the project, I persevered
and came over my own fears and doubts to effective conduct all the necessary research and
analysis that the projects required and complete the projects. After I had successfully completed
and submitted by project I felt immense relief and felt my confidence in my own abilities and
skills to increase dramatically, as prior to undertaking the assigned projects, I had never done
research and analysis of this scope and magnitude and having completed it all by myself, made
me feel immensely happy and confident in my own skills and problem solving capabilities.
During my work on the two projects, I found my research and analytical skills to be
average as I had quite a lot of issues while conducting research for the two projects and
analysing the researched data and information. I also found my time management skills to be
quite bad, as I was barely able to complete the projects on time within the prescribed deadlines,
not leaving me any additional room to review my projects at the end (Dhaliwal, Singh & Singh,
(2017)). On the other hand, I found my writing and communication skills to be adequate as I was
able to satisfactorily articulate my point in the projects and come to the desired conclusions.
Though as I made the entire two projects by myself, I can expect some shortcoming which I can
work on for my future personal and professional development.
From the two projects I ended up learning a lot and gained ample experience in how
projects of such great scope and magnitude have to be conducted. From my first project I learned
a lot about the macro economic factors of Australia and India and how COVID 19 has impacted
them. I also learned a great deal about the actions the governments of these two nations have
taken to reduce the negative impact of COVID 19, which was a great experience and also quelled
some personal doubts. From my second project I also learned a lot about the housing schemes of
Victoria region and the eligibility criteria of both FHOG and FHP (Cherkis, & Rosciano,
(2018)). I also learned a lot about effect demand and supply has on the pricing structure of
houses in Victoria in addition to gaining complete understanding of the FHOG market structure.
I also gained knowledge about the positive effect removal of stamp duties can have.

If I was to undertake the projects now, after having gained such extensive knowledge on
the required subjects, I can definitely say that the quality of my resulting report would be much
better than the one I submitted due to the immense knowledge and experience I ended up gaining
from the past projects, not just about the academic subjects, but also in how to conduct and
analyse relevant research for the projects.
For all of my future projects to be significantly better, I need to work on and develop my
research and analytical skills. I also need to put significance on my time management skills
which would allow me additional time to review my projects and increase their overall quantity
and eliminate any errors in them which was not possible for my previous two projects. I can
practise to improve my research, analytical and time managements skills on all the projects that I
am assigned in the future. Doing this will effectively allow to grow and develop both personally
and professionally.
CONCLUSION
Based on the reflection in the report, it can be concluded that the learning experience of
undertaking the past assignments was an immensely positive one for me and contributed a lot
towards my personal and professional growth as I learned about various new topics and acquired
first-hand experience on how to write professional reports using relevant sources and data.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cherkis, F., & Rosciano, A. (2018). Reflective practice: Implementation across curriculums.
International Journal of Nursing Research Health Care. 7.
Dhaliwal, U., Singh, S., & Singh, N. (2017). Reflective student narratives: honing
professionalism and empathy. Indian J Med Ethics. 3(1). 9-15.
Markkanen, P. and et.al., (2020). A reflective cycle: Understanding challenging situations in a
school setting. Educational Research, 1-17.
Sekarwinahyu, M. and et.al., (2019, February). Development of problem based learning for
online tutorial program in plant development using Gibbs’ reflective cycle and e-
portfolio to enhance reflective thinking skills. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series
(Vol. 1157, No. 2, p. 022099). IOP Publishing.
Snowdon, K. (2018). Humour in reflective practice. Journal of Paramedic Practice. 10(4). 144-
146.
Tawanwongsri, W., & Phenwan, T. (2019). Reflective and feedback performances on Thai
medical students’ patient history-taking skills. BMC medical education. 19(1). 141.