Reflective Paper

Reflective report

Introduction

Devoted to plentiful projects and presentations, group owns or individually, this year of university has proved to be a big stage for me to attain progress and enrich my experiences.

Before taking this module, I was a fresh undergraduate, finishing finance studying and wishing to be engrossed in the world of business management. In my personal development plan, I hoped I can achieve certain academic goals and find the path to becoming a great business consultant in my future career. To be a good consultant, besides systematic and diverse knowledge, you also need to possess the ability to adjust yourself in high-pressure society, stay creative and keep learning from each other. Thus, to achieve my design, I always regard time management, critical thinking, and good teamwork as the most important skills and competencies.

A Process of Improvement

Straight off, it’s time for me to state why I cherish these three skills and share my experience about how they were improved during this year of study and some regrets I had.

Time management is important because it has always been a proper way for me to face stress and overwhelming tasks. In fact, for college students, time management can be used as an effective way to reduce academic stress (Misra, Ranjita; McKean, Michelle, 2000). Similarly, when we enter the workplace, the skill of good time management can also enable us to function under strict deadlines and carry out business plans successfully.

To be honest, before taking this module, I was used to procrastinate and tend to set forth the work while the deadline is approaching. This is unquestionably not a good idea, because the stress which is meant to be spread into 10 to 15 days, concentrating to 2 to 3 days now. The consequences are sometimes poor organised essays and even more worse, resulting in physical illness, like acne breakouts and this is what our classmates are suffering now.

I am so glad I have changed a lot within this year. Two reasons are contributing to this shift. First, the unusual workload I might say, because there were three deadlines for assignments continuously at the final stage of last semester, which means it is impossible for me to finish them one by one in three days. This tough situation forced me to prepare an early plan for them. In addition, our academic tutor as well as the tutor from soft skill training sessions, both emphasised the importance of time management over and over again. As a result, every time when I was distracted by video or games and tried to turn away from the word file with nothing added, these voices shouted around me, then I was forced again to obey the plan I have made. The marvellous thing is when this forced behaviour becomes a kind of self-discipline, you would see you can take everything in stride. I truly appreciated this unusual experience.

But, the regrets are I only applied it to my academic study. It would be more beneficial if I had arranged more spare time engaging in some sports activities and involved in more campus campaigns.

As for critical thinking, which has been considered as an essential skill for surviving in the changing world (Paul, Binker, and University, 1990), is particularly significant to business students. We can benefit from critical thinking by using scepticism and doubts constructively, and proposing your own mind in a more accurate way (Cottrell, 2011). As for me, who want to be a brilliant business consultant in the hereafter, a critical thinking mind can help me to release more comprehensive analysis and be more creative.

From my own experience, I know I am not well at critical thinking all the time. In pursuit of efficiency in coursework and paperwork, I am always satisfied with standard answers and to be a routineer sometimes. To be fair, at the beginning of this module, I was a little afraid of working with others in a group, especially when my group members are coming from English speaking countries. They can state their ideas so smoothly and comment on the case even though they didn’t read it at all. However, I, on the other side, am ashamed to share my analysis, and I considered it as a language barrier. I was desperate during that time and unable to find my place in a group.

Gradually, I found that every time when I had some original ideas, right or wrong, it would arouse notice from other group members. I think this signifies a lot because it is not only a good answer, but also a way for me to build my confidence. After that, I really enjoyed every moment in a group meeting. Undoubtedly, the critical thinking can help you to show others who you are and exposure others your specialities.            

If there is a chance for me to originate it all over again, I think I need to double check those critical ideas and try my best to keep it to be a valuable suggestion rather than a distraction. The critical thinking should be based on wide-ranged reading and rigorous learning process.

Lastly, the importance of good teamwork, according to Glassop (2002), for companies in the 21st century, team working has been an increasingly important mechanism to achieve organisational goals with more diverse staffs and complex challenges. So basically, the reason I cherish teamwork is two folded. On the one hand, it is the fundamental working mechanism when you tread into your careers. On the other hand, for personal growth, it is also a good way for you to obtain expertise and skills from other team members.