HND in Business

Unit: Research Project

Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022

Note 10 Date: /10/2022

Reflection
Reflection is a process of exploring and examining ourselves, our perspectives,
attributes, experiences and actions / interactions. It helps us gain insight and see
how to move forward

When we reflect, we consider deeply something that we might not otherwise have
Student Notes given much thought to. This helps us to learn. Reflection is concerned with
consciously looking at and thinking about our experiences, actions, feelings, and
responses, and then interpreting or analyzing them in order to learn from them
(Atkins and Murphy, 1994; Boud et al., 1994). Typically, we do this by asking
ourselves questions about what we did, how we did it, and what we learnt from
doing it.

Elements of Gibbs’ cycle:

The process is essentially a cycle or loop, containing the following six elements:

Description: This element

requires a factual
description of the incident.
At this stage, no conclusion
is drawn, the focus is on
the information; that too
which is relevant. Some
prompt questions are:
What happened? How did
it happen? Where? When?
Who else was there? Did
someone react? How did
they react? Why were you there? What did you do? What happened at the end? This
builds up the background and a better understanding of the incident.

Feelings: Here any emotion felt during the incident is discussed. Questions like,
what did you feel before the incident? During it? After it was all over? What do you
think other people felt? What do you feel about the incident now? What do you think
others feel about it now? helps answer this part accurately. Evaluation: Objectively
evaluate the situation. What went well? What did not? What were the negatives and
the positives of the situation? How did you and the others contribute to it (positively
or negatively). For writers, this is a good part to add in theories and references as
they evaluate and judge the incident.

Analysis: Think about what might have hindered or helped the situation. This part
can be improved by referencing to a literary article (for writers) or a previous
experience, if needed to. Link the theory and experience together.

Conclusion: Consider what did you learn from the situation. What else could you
have done in that situation? What skills will help you cope with it better next time?
How differently would you react if you face a similar situation again? If the outcomes
were negative, how would you avoid that? If the outcomes were positive, how could
you improve it for you and everyone else?
1 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo
HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022
Action plan: This area deals with the plan of
how to effectively handle and improve the situation next time. Any training, skill, or
habit that can equip you with handling the situation better if it occurs again? Is there
something more to be learned for a better outcome? Work out the areas that need
work and thrive to improve in them.

Reflection in research
Writing a reflective essay on the research process is an opportunity for you to think
back on what you have learned, to recognize your achievements and to identify the
Student Notes challenges that you faced

A 3-Step Process To Improve With Self-Reflection

1. Reflect on your experience. Think about what you did, thought, and felt at the
time. ..
2. Reflect on your learning. Analyze your experience and compare to the models or
principles that you want to follow. ...
3. Apply to your practice. Apply your learning to your practice.

Guide as you reflect on and write about your research experience.

Research Topic
 Why did you choose your research topic, and how did your topic become an
argument? Why did you think this was an important topic or argument for
research?
 Describe the interaction of your research and your developing argument.  For
example, where did the main ideas of the argument come from? How did you use
those ideas in unusual or original ways? Did your argument change as you
researched and, if so, how?
 Who is the audience for your research?  Why?  How does this essay appeal to the
intended audience(s)?

Research Resources
 What criteria did you use to evaluate the authority, validity, and accuracy of
sources?
 How did you determine which sources addressed your research question most
effectively?
 Describe your strategies for effectively and consistently incorporating and
attributing your sources.

Research Strategies
 Describe your initial research strategy.  How did it change or evolve over time?
 What challenges, frustrations, successes, or highlights did you experience and
how did you respond to each?
 How would you use what you learned during this process when conducting
research in the future?

2 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo

HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022

Personal Reflection Sample: preparing a Research Report for ACCA

 By John Dudovskiy

The completion of the Research Report as a part of degree requirements has

involved my engagement in a highly challenging and motivating research
experience. The following texts represent the skill and learning statement that
reflect the implications of the research experience on my personal and
professional development.
Student Notes
The skill and learning statement includes the implications of interactions with
mentor, an analysis of the extent to which research questions have been
answered, a brief analysis of interpersonal and communication skills and their
relevance to the research, as well as the contribution of the research experience
to my professional and personal development.

1. Experiences of interactions with mentor

I had chances of meeting my project mentor three times and obtained practical
support regarding various aspects of the work during these meetings. Our first
meeting was mainly dedicated to clarifying our expectations from the research
experience and the discussions took place related to the issues of selection of
the research approach and formulation of research questions and objectives.

By the time I had a meeting with my mentor for the second time Introduction and
Information gathering chapters of the work have been completed and I received
detailed feedback for these chapters of the research. Also, discussions were held
about data analysis and presentation associated with the project.

During the final meeting with my mentor the overall work has been scrutinised
and a set of specific points have been mentioned by my mentor. Specifically, my
mentor raised a point that my discussions of research findings lacked depth and
scale. Then, these points have been addressed and the final draft of the
Research Report was completed.

I found advices given by my mentor very helpful in terms of increasing the quality
of my Research Report and equipping me with knowledge of effectively
conducting similar studies in the future in general. Moreover, my Project Mentor
was not only highlighting the shortages that were associated with my project, but
also was giving detailed explanations why these changes were desirable in a
passionate manner.

Furthermore, I found these three sessions with my mentor to be highly

motivational and informative experience because they have increased the level of
my personal interest in conducting businesses studies. Prior to conducting the
Research Report and having discussions with my mentor I was assuming
conducting analytical business studies to be a rather boring experience.

However, thanks to my mentor I learned to appreciate the importance of

analysing a business case in terms of identifying a current strategic and financial
position of a business, and formulating the ways of identifying further strategic
options available to the business.

3 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo

HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022
2.The extent to which research questions
have been answered
Answering the research questions in my Research Report were directly related to
the quality of secondary data, and the choice of methodology. Therefore, these
issues were approached effectively by critically assessing the validity of the
sources of secondary data and assessing alternative choices of methodology.
Moreover, my first meeting with my Project mentor was mainly devoted to the
discussion of the same issues.

As a result of comprehensive analysis the most reliable sources of secondary

Student Notes data in order to be used in Research Report were found to include published
financial statements and annual reports, textbooks on financial and business
analysis, information published in official company website, information available
from ACCA website, as well as, various business journals an newspapers.

The choice of methods for conducting the study, on the other hand, was guided
by the reliability of the data analysis methods and their relevance to the research
issues. After spending additional amount of time for the choice of appropriate
methodology and taking into account advises of my mentor, financial ratios and
analytic tools have been chosen to be employed in my Research Report.

Purposely, financial and accounting ratios that were used in the study include
profitability, liquidity, financial position and investor ratios, whereas, the choice of
analytic tools consist of SWOT, PESTLE, and Porter’s five forces analysis.

To summarise this part, it is fair to state that all of the research questions in my
Research Report have been effectively addressed, because the secondary data
have been obtained from reliable sources, relevant methodology has been used
to conduct the study, and the research findings have been critically discussed.

3. Interpersonal and communication skills and their relevance to the

research
I have demonstrated my interpersonal and communication skills at various stages
of doing Research Report and preparing for and making the presentation.
Moreover, without my interpersonal and communication skills completing the
Research Report and doing the presentation would have proved to be highly
challenging.

For example, my listening skills have proved to be highly valuable in terms of

understanding vital information given by my mentor about increasing the quality
of my Research Report, because these advises were fully understood and
implemented into the practice.

My interpersonal skills have also played a positive role when I asked some of my
trusted colleagues to be an audience when I was rehearsing my presentation. I
was making presentations in front of my colleagues and was asking for their
opinions about the quality of my presentation. This practice took place many
times in different settings and I believe that following this strategy has enhanced
the quality of my presentation and my marks.

However, my communication skills have played a crucial role in terms of

succeeding in making the presentation effectively. I have learned from my
experiences within and outside of academic settings that communication skills
play the most crucial role in terms of succeeding in personal and professional
lives.

4 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo

HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022
For instance, an individual may possess a
deep knowledge about a certain area. However, if the individual lacks
competency of communicating his or her ideas, knowledge and feelings in an
effective manner, the overall competency of the individual and the level of his or
her contribution to the organisation will always remain compromised.

Therefore, in my opinion, regardless of the field, industry or type of organisation,

communication skills can be specified as a compulsory attribute for an employee
in order to be considered an a competent. In my case in particular, my advanced
level of communication skills have enabled me to do my Research Report
Student Notes presentation effectively which has resulted in positive acclaim from my peers and
mentor.

4.The potential contribution of Research Report to the level of professional

development
Conducting the Research Report and doing the presentation has increased the
level of my professional competency in several ways. First of all, I have to
mention the fact that I have developed a critical mindset towards solving business
issues as a result of conducting the Research Report.

My mentor made it clear that it was important to critically analyse related issues
in Research Report rather than just offering description of the issues and
supplying calculations. The mentor had stressed many times that critical analysis
and discussions are the elements of the work that increase its value. For the
same reason I had to revise my Research Report several times until my mentor
was satisfied with the level of critical analysis the work had included.

Although, such an approach to work seemed to be very challenging and

confusing during the research process, I appreciated the value of critical analysis
once the final work was completed. The skills of critical analysis that I have
developed and applied in Research Report can easily be applied when real
business issues would need to be resolved by me in the future in my professional
capacity.

Completing the Research Report was similar to project management in real

businesses environment in terms of strict deadlines, scarcity of resources,
organising and planning, scheduling meetings, doing presentations etc.
Therefore, the skills I developed during the process of completing Research
Report can be used in order to successfully manage business projects in the
future.

Moreover, my writing skills have also been greatly improved as a result of

engaging in Research Report. Despite the popular opinion that with the
increasing importance of information technology the practice of writing letters and
reports are being replaced by alternative means of business communications, the
importance of writing will always remain significant for business managers.

From this point of view engaging in Research Report was a very beneficial
experience for me on a personal level. Specifically, writing the paper of almost
ten thousand words in total, including this personal reflection, has made me
better prepared to join the full-time workforce once my studies are completed.

Lastly, as a result of preparing the Research Report my professional interest on

the issues associated with corporate strategy has been enhanced. Moreover, I
am planning to continue studying the issues of corporate strategy and that
knowledge would benefit me in the future as a corporate leader.
5 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo
HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022
 

5.Gains derived from conducting Research Report experience on a

personal level
On a personal level I benefited from conducting the Research Report and doing
the presentation in a number of ways. The research experience with Oxford
Brookes has increased the level of my motivation for studying, making bold plans
for my future career and implements necessary measures and initiatives in order
to accomplish these plans. My mentor deserves to be mentioned here specifically
for all encouragements and practical tips that can be applied in various
Student Notes alternative settings apart from academic life.

The level of my self-confidence has also been increased because I could

complete the Research Report in time. Moreover, the presentation experience
has increased the level of my self-confidence dramatically, because I understood
that if I could do a successful presentation in front of my mentor and colleagues,
doing the presentations of multi-million projects in front of top executives was just
a matter of time.

The paramount importance of self-confidence for an individual is an undisputable

matter. Self-confidence allows us to set ambitious plans and utilise all the
available resources efficiently in order to achieve these plans.

My time-management skills have also been improved by the end of the Research
Report. This is because there was a specific deadline for both, the Research
Report and presentation and I had to adopt some principles related to time
management in order to be able to submit my work on time.

These principles included setting specific deadlines for each chapter of the work,
and above all, dramatically cutting the amount of time I used to browse social
networking sites on the internet. I can highlight this fact as one of the most
substantial gains in a personal level. This is because prior to the research
experience I used to spend several hours a day browsing a set of social
networking sites with no real benefit whatsoever. However, once the priority was
given to the Research Project, this bad habit was dealt with effectively and
irreversibly.

6. Conclusions
To summarise, completing the Research Report and making presentation with
Oxford Brookes University following my ACCA course has increased the level of
my preparedness to join the full-time workforce and successfully utilise my
energy and knowledge. In my opinion the biggest benefit I received from enrolling
to this course of study is that the course of study, the Research Report and doing
the presentation have made me to believe in my skills and capabilities and they
have also awoke my desire to approach studying as a lifelong process.

Moreover, I have obtained a set of professional and personal gains as a result of

completing the Research Report and making presentation that include the
development of a critical mindset, improvement my writing and time management
skills and enhancement of the level of my self-confidence.

6 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo

HND in Business
Unit: Research Project
Batch No: 33
Semester: September 2022 – December 2022

Student Notes

7 Assessor: Hiru Nisa Samoo