Authors Reflection on their learning experiences

Authors Reflection on their breeding experiencesThis text is a watching of the in markation experiences of the author, fibericularly with regard to the acquirement experience of the MBA intact time computer political platform. The primary objective is to reflect on the education experiences and to give away how the Knowledge aims, skills, attitudes, perceptions and values were altered during the process. In an essence it is an attempt to pick up the education experience in to a formal structure, which at clock has been informal, at sub- cognizant levels and haphazard.The reflections of the learning experiences will lead to an evaluation of the individuals current billet in both aspects relating managerial effectiveness, which will in-turn, facilitate the identification and prioritisation of ingest(prenominal) breeding needs. The end result is a concise, detail, and measurable and time jump-start ain education final cause.Initially the theory and importance of reflection in personal enlargement is re flocked, which is followed by the reflections on several key learning experiences. The next phase of the report is a amateural evaluation of the contrastive leading ardours, which will include an exploration of the historical origins and evolution of polar leading styles. The third phase is an attempt to bridge the reflections on learning experiences and evaluation of leadership styles, deriving a personal phylogeny designing to enhance managerial effectiveness.2.0 Importance of reflectionA laymans definition of reflection would be to ponder nearly a past activity or series of activities, for an example a m opposite might think ab prohibited how she does the weekly shopping for her family. As removed as the academic stage setting is concerned, the approach towards reflection is based on reasonable, Moon (2006 p37) provides a earthysense view on reflection as Reflection is a form of affable processing-like a form of thinking-t hat we use to fulfil a mean or to achieve some anticipated outcome or we whitethorn be simply be reflective and then an outcome bottom of the inning be unexpected. save reflection has a deeper meaning in an educational context than the mundane activity that the commonsense based view suggests. In the education and academic context reflection has an overriding purpose and enjoin towards a specific outcome. Moon (2006 P37) extends the commonsense based view as Reflection/reflective learning or reflective writing in the academic context is also likely to involve a conscious and stated purpose for the reflection, with an outcome specified in terms of learning action or clarification. In this case the outcome is the personal development plan.The bene deceases of reflections atomic number 18 trig it provides a structure for the haphazard process of learning facilitates the evaluation and provides directions for further development. Reflections aides the uncovering and dispelling of d eep lying misconceptions and financial aids the bump off of skills, for example the reflecting on the activity of doing the weekly shopping may help in maintaining stocks in small grocery or restaurants.3.0 MBA Learning transitThe MBA programme provides a liberalr spectrum of learning experiences, from class room sessions to enhance supposititious fellowship to real consultancy opportunities, aimed at enhancing the managerial effectiveness. The move around so far has taken me through many contrasting learning experiences. barely it seems that the angel starting point for the reflection process is the egotism, or the exploration of self aw beness.3.1 Self Awareness-Know ThyselfIn laymans definition for self awareness is knowing unrivaleds self, nevertheless Williams points out that self-awareness includes many aspects Key areas of self-awareness include our personality traits, personal values, habits, emotions and mental needs that drive our behaviours (Self-awareness and personal development Online) . Self awareness is the tail of personal development and managerial effectiveness.I considered myself to be very self-aware. I strongly taked that I had an accurate picture of myself, being very clear on my strengths, considered myself to be an analytical, logarithmical, emotionally mature and prided on my communication and show skills. I never considered myself to be creative, a part from that I invariably struggled to identify my weaknesses. The moreover other weakness that propped out in my stage time and time again was the poor time perplexity. I believe in e tonicity and fairness, strongly favour meritocracy and have non-negotiable key values. except it was at the applied learning experiences (ALEs) of the MBA programme that I first had the prob faculty to test my level of self awareness through several models and practice.3.2 The utilise Learning Experience (ALE)The first applied learning experience of the MBA programme was held in a l ocation in Ware, Hertfordshire. The first activity of the programme was to fill a questionnaire designed to identify the each participants role in Belbins Theory.3.2.1 Belbins Team Roles- the Monitor EvaluatorMeredith Belbins team role provides a material to canvasss ones position deep d witness a team. The results of the questionnaire stated that I will be a Monitor Evaluator in a team. Belbin (1981 cited in Mullins, 2007, p332) states that the monitor evaluators are Sober strategic and discerning, sees all options, judges accurately, the allowable weaknesses are lacks drive and ability to inspire others (Belbin, 1981 cited in Mullins, 2007, p332). Initially this evaluation seemed to fit well with my sense of self-awareness and I was eager to play my role within the teams maximising my strength and being conscious intimately my weaknesses.The programme consisted of tailfin main activities, out which in one my team was very successful, partly success full in one and failed mi serably in trinity activities. Each activity was followed by a feedback session allowing the participants to reflect on the successes and failures of each activity. The initial reflections seemed to validate my understanding of my role as a monitor evaluator, I played my strengths well and failed to mitigate my weakness, or thats how it seemed. I tried to learn from the mistakes in one activity and play a better role in the next. However the next activity demanded an all different mindset and I couldnt help feeling frustrated, cheated and even lumpish at generation.In the final feedback session I was shocked to be perceived by the other team members as Creative, comes out with out of the box solutions, not clear in communication and at times unenthusiastic. This was somewhat a bitter pill to swallow, particularly because I prided in my communication skills. However I delivered the final presentation on behalf of our team. using Obama style rapid question and answer techniques ( fired up? ready to go?) managed to energize the audience and end with emphasising the importance of self awareness.Though the feedback seemed misconceived at that point, reflection helped me to deduce the pieces of the puzzle. Im cracking in articulating a point to a willing and arguingening audience, in time fails and loose enthusiasm when challenged or when it seems the others are uninterested in my opinion. For an example one of the tasks demand a amply sense of mathematical temperament usually found among physics students and software product code writers, I had a plan which included the delegation of specific tasks to particular members whom I thought had the required skills, however I failed to sway others and the task ended up in failure.The reflections on ALEs helped me to gain a more than accurate understanding of myself, and propelled persuading skills and time management on to the outdo of my development need.3.3 MBTI ModelMyers -Briggs Type indicator (MBTI) is an other model which I employ during the learning journey of MBA. It is developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers in 1920s, its used as a self -report instrument that guides individuals in knowing about themselves (Handout, Nov 2009). My MBTI position was ENFP which indicates that the person is extrovert, daring and development oriented, a position common among entrepreneurs. The corresponding role in Belbins nine team roles is the Plant. This was a solemn revelation for me since I thought I was the complete opposite of an entrepreneur. However in retrospect it made me think deeper on creativeness, and altered my view on my own creative thinking.3.4 Creativity- Myths DispelledDuring the learning journey of the MBA, I had the opportunity to analyse my own creativity through several questionnaire designed to assess an individuals creativity and contrast the logical and creative aspects of ones thinking. Though I always seemed to be more of a logical person I scored above my own expectations on creativity. This led me to reflect deeply on my own level of creativity, and helped me to uncover and dispel a misconception which was deeply rooted in me. I primarily considered creativity, as artistic creativity, this narrow view created a mental block and I perceived myself as less creative. However Mullins (2007 P192) states that creativity is the application of imaginative thought which results in innovative solutions to many problems. The television set on IDEO Company, an American firm specialising in new product development altered my view on creativity on reflection the caller seems to have a fairly logical and structured approach towards creativity, though at first it may not be very apparent.These experiences diversify my horizons on creativity and thereby my development needs.3.5 Learning appearances- ReflectorAs far as the learning styles are concerned Im a reflector, however reflecting on learning styles lead to a clearer understanding of experiment al learning. I developed IT skills primarily through experimental learning. The reflection and understanding helped me to keep down many mental barriers like fear of failure, which pr issuings us from experimenting with things and learning from the experience.3.6 MBA- Alumni EveningsI view these events as an opportunity for networking. After every such event I reflect on the event to gather the learning or other benefits gained. However the list rarely goes beyond inspiration with just now any progress in the networking aspect, which has the potential to facilitate mentoring. Thus enhancing networking skills is a personal development priority.3.7 Life and Career formulationNaylor (2004 cited in Mullins, 2007, P720) explains breeding and travel grooming as people are encouraged to develop and express personal goals with strategies for integrating goals with those of the organisation. The life and life planning is pertainred to as a technique, in the wider context of organizat ional development.I always treasured to be a knowledge worker or a specialist, my sublime life story was to be a market researcher specialising in soft research. However the due to circumstances I embarked on a career in totally different sector. At first the prospects seemed promising, but my career and life priorities were in conflict with my role, thus what once seemed as a career gradually evolved to a job. Thus integrating personal goals with the career didnt seem to be an option.Hence the route to career life planning or career life congruence seems to be to enhance skills and knowledge through education and to re-align the career with life priorities. The MBA learning journey has broadened my horizons and the personal development activities are ultimately directed at the career-life priorities.4.0 LeadershipThe list of definitions of leadership is very long, however Mullins (2007 P363) captures the essence of leadership is a alliance through which one person enchant the behaviour of other people. The emphasis on resemblanceship and influence is authorized. This means that the leadership is inseparably conjugate to the group or team concerned.The leadership may occur at different contexts for example in organizational, national or global contexts. It may occur at different levels not necessarily at the sort out of a hierarchy thus Belbin (1997, cited in Mullins, 2007, P363) states there is clear consequence that leadership is not part of the job but a quality that can be brought to a job Useems(2001 ed, Pickford. J, Cited in Mullins, 2007, P363) view of leadership is Leadership is at its best when the vision is strategic, the voice persuasive and the results open Useem (2001 ed, Pickford. J, Cited in Mullins, 2007, P363) sees leadership as primarily a matter of fashioning a difference.As Military strategy influenced the early thoughts on vexation strategy, historically leadership was influenced by the command and control structure of the mi litary. However many leadership styles have evolved since, the avocation table captures the key characteristics of the troika main styles of leadership.Leadership StyleCharacteristicsAutocratic StylePower and the finish making authority lies with the manager, thus every aspect of the relationships with subordinates centres near the tillDemocratic StyleA shared leadership style, Manager is part of the group or team subordinates can influence the decision making.Laissez-Faire(Genuine)StyleSubordinates have complete freedom The manager intervenes only on a necessary basis. This shouldnt be mistaken with poor leadership, where managers simply dont careThe justness of each leadership style depends on many factors. The leadership style pick out may depend on the situation. For instance in a crisis situation an experienced leader with autocratic style may be more suitable over a democratic style of leadership, in order to facilitate better and quicker decision making. On the other h and democratic style is more common among project teams and professionals, duration autocratic leadership is more prevalent where there is a wide gap between the knowledge, skills and experience of superior and subordinates. The leadership style adopted is highly influenced by the nature of the business and the organizational culture, for instance militaries around the world adopts autocratic leadership style due to special nature of such institutions.4.1 Leadership and ManagementModern view on leadership is moved away from command and control and emphasis more on inspiring others. This has resulted in the blurring of lines of division between leadership and management. Mullins supports this view (2007,p 363).If leadership is more about inspiring others, it demands a specific set of skills, which enhances the ability to inspire and is an essential ingredient in a development plan aimed at increasing managerial effectiveness.My experiences in the MBA learning journey, particularly with relation to group work and previous work experiences make me believe that labored communication and listening skills are of paramount importance. Listening skills are important to link the disconnected pieces of information or opinions brought in by different members of a team.5.0 Personal discipline PlanThe reflections on the MBA learning journey and exploration on different leadership styles was an attempt to identify my own development needs to enhance managerial effectiveness thereby influence the development of others.As part of the human enterprise module of the MBA, I had the opportunity to carry out a skills canvas on myself. The skills audit itself a cats-paw for identifying development needs, by grading ones perceived level in variety of skills.The skills audit, reflections on MBA Learning journey and the review of leadership styles have presented me with a wide array of development areas. However it is possiblely concentrate on a large number of skills, without compromising on the quality and depth. Thus I have used Brian Mclvors Priority storage-battery grid to prioritise my development needs.Brian Mclvors Priority Grid provides a framework to compare the importance of ten different skills (or development needs) against each other. The skills are compared on a grid against each other and the more important one is circled, finally the skills are ranked according to the score (or number of circles) (Please refer Appendix 1 for the part A and B of the format)When comparing the skills I have considered the relevance of each skill to my career targets and the opportunities for mendment during the MBA Programme. The following table depicts my immediate development needs and the way forward.Skill/ Development areaCurrent StateDesired StateWay beforehandCommunicationGood when unchallengedto a greater extent persuasive,Good under all conditionsPractise before presentationsParaphrasing, in verbal communicationLearning from good communicatorsAna lyticalTakes time to understand the core issueTo be in a position to understand key elements of an issue quicklyDoing more case studies, Focused thinkingListeningLose interest, sometimes hears only what wants to be heardEffective listening, hearing what people really say, submit to prevent from being distractedGiving undivided attentionProviding feedback, and refraining from interruptingPlanningUnrealistic planning, poor writ of executionRealistic plans, better implementationRevisiting plans to retch unimportant elements, to make it more realisticMoving on to implementation at appropriate timeFrequent evaluationTime managementJust on Time, struggle with deadlines, source of stressProcrastinate thingsMore effective time managementMinimise procrastinationActivity log to identify situations of ineffective time managementDetailed to do lists arrangement reasons for postponing,Personal targets, and rewarding for achievementNetworkingRarely goes beyond the initial outward stageNetworki ng as a effective personal learning toolParticipating in more networking eventsBeing more prepared, background carryLearning to build rapport quicker,The learning journey of MBA taught me that personal development isnt an isolated process, its journey that relies on feedback from other. Feedbacks lead to reflections which help to continuously improve the journey. Though formal feedback from all angles (like in a 360 degree feedback process) isnt practical in this case, I would make efforts to receive informal feedbacks, at borderline on the progress.6.0 ConclusionI have critically reflected on my MBA learning Journey, focusing more on weaknesses that needs improvements. Being ones own harshest critic is infinitely beneficial than being the biggest fan. The outcome of the process is the development plan aimed at enhancing management effectiveness. The success of the plan depends on the implementation and feedback from others.