Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Region I
LUNA COLLEGES, INC.
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Tayug, Pangasinan

Name: Razhimae Khyle A. Tangalin Date: September 16, 2022

Course: EdM 213 Professor: Jeger Paragas

REFLECTION NO. 1

1. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Conversely, if we do prepare, then we are setting ourselves up for success. So, do not take

away your chance before it is given by forgetting to prepare for reasonable circumstances.

Sad to say, but, this is one of the habits that are very common to Filipino people the what

they called Manyana Habit. If it wasn’t for deadlines nothing would get done. I remember

my junior high school days, as a young learner, I don’t have anything to think about but my

grades. I’m very mindful of the quality of my outputs and their deadline. Because I want to

maintain my rank in our class. I was so happy at that time because I was able to maintain it

for two consecutive quarters and of course, it is because of my mindset of submitting my

projects, and activities on or before the deadline. So, I became comfortable that I can

continue it for the rest quarters. I joined the dance troupe then, and we were preparing for a

specific program or event in our school. We were practicing every after class and Saturday.

At the same time, I have assignments and take-home activities to accomplish. I was blinded

by my confidence that I can still finish it at the last minute, So, I exhausted and occupied

myself by just practicing our dance. The night before the deadline, I rushed myself to start

and at the same time finish all of my assignments and homework activities. I just focused on

finishing it without thinking if I’m still doing it right. The thing that was on my mind at that

time, is just to have something to submit. When I submitted it to my teacher, he was shocked

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and asked me what happened to me. Maybe, he’s not used to seeing me with that kind of

output. It turned out that I didn’t follow his instructions. What I did to my assignment is

wrong. I was really disappointed in myself, I should know what to do if I take the time to

prepare for this. This moment in my life is very related to the quotation of Benjamin

Franklin. Obviously, I didn’t do anything to prepare for my outputs the reason why it leads

me to failure. Most people fail, not because they lack talent, money, or opportunity; they fail

because they never really planned to succeed. Plan your future because you have to live

there!

2. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening

the axe.”- ABRAHAM LINCOLN

‘Give me six hours to chop down a tree’, simply means the preparation that you must need to

achieve what you want in life. The second half of the statement says, ‘I will spend the first

four sharpening the axe’, which means that among the six hours of the allotted time, he

would spend four hours just sharpening the axe. This indicates the level of preparation that he

has thought of.

Preparation is the most important factor, analyze it, prepare for it and then execute. This

quote explains the importance of planning and preparation. There are no magic pills or

overnight success, it’s a result of preparation and hard work. The more you work towards

sharpening your skills the better results you would get. Planning is also one of the most

important factors, and execution without planning may not lead to success. If you have

something to accomplish, it is better to plan it well first to prepare for the better or best

outcomes. For example, if you want to score a good grade in your exams then you have to

start studying from today not during review days only. Toppers don’t study a day before the

exam, instead, they prepare and practice during the whole semester.

The concept is quite similar to the way we reap the harvest, or rather farmers do it. They

spend a lot of time finding the right time, the right kind of soil, the right season, and finding

the best quality of seeds. Again, they invest in feeding those plants with the best fertilizers

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and ensuring that they receive the right amount of sunlight and water. Once all these things

are settled, they can actually expect a good return from the harvest.

Sure, there will be times when you need to act quickly, and decisive action is required. But,

in most cases, taking a step back and being thoughtful about your approach will pay off in the

long run. Make sure to spend time honing your skills. It just might be the key to your

success. The risks of not sharpening your axe with a coach or mentor could be costly and

mean the difference between success and failure. Not being prepared is a recipe for disaster.

3. “The more you spend contemplating what you should have done ... you lose valuable

time planning what you can do and will do.” – Lil Wayne

Here, in the Philippines, the saying “Nasa huli ang pag sisisi”, is one of the most relatable

and suitable sayings at all times. It is always applicable to all people undergoing life-hard

situations, and to those who believe that there’s room for improvement.

It is given to do our hundred percent best in all the things that we are doing. Most of us are

very conscious to the point that they’ll even ask someone to check it just to make sure its

quality. One of the reasons why most of our products or even our manpower services are

really enjoyable not just in our country but even to other countries. We’re really kind of

perfectionists to all the things that are assigned to us to accomplish. However, even though

we already put our hundred percent best into it, there were still times when the clients are still

looking for more. They would give their feedback or comments on our output for us to

improve and apply it. And, since we knew that we really checked all the details even the

smallest ones, it will be hard for us to know that there’s still wrong with it. We’ll think of the

feedback we received multiple times, we’ll overthink everything. “I should do this and that to

make the output better.” We’ll lock ourselves in just thinking about it multiple times to the

point that we already wasting our time on it instead of using this feedback to really help

ourselves improve the things that we can do and will do.

This is when your repentance is useless because you’re committing the same mistakes all

over again. You were not able to apply the things that you should learn from your

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experiences because you don’t really take them as a lesson but just feedback to stick with.

Allow yourself to learn, and acquire all new learnings to help you plan things that you can do

and will do in the future. Indeed, time is gold. It’s running fast and we can’t rewind and go

back. Learning is a continuous process, therefore, applying what we learned and about to

learn is continuous also.

4. Discuss each step of the project cycle management and relate these steps in your

workplace to how they are executed.

The project life cycle is a 4-step framework designed to help project managers guide their
projects successfully from start to finish. The purpose of the project life cycle is to create an
easy to follow framework to guide projects.

A project management cycle will help to ease communication between project teams and

stakeholders, to ensure goals are achievable with the available resources, and to help mitigate

risk and keep projects on track.

They are four stages of the project life cycle, the initiation stage, planning stage, execution

stage, and closure stage.

In the first stage, the initiation, this is where we’ll understand the goals, priorities, deadlines,

and risks of the project. During this stage, the aim is to hash out the high-level goals that

must be met for you to consider the project a success. There’s lots of research, and discovery,

but very little detailed planning in this phase. Here, start talking with your stakeholders or

clients to get to know their needs. Try to tease out what’s important to them, what projects

they’ve tried in the past, and what they hope to see in the future. From there, you can move

on to building out the concrete objectives and deliverables that your team will be responsible

for, given the scope of the project and available resources. All of the details that you establish

during the initiation stage should be outlined in a project proposal, the only major deliverable

for this initiation stage. A project proposal is a report that details all of the goals, scope,

requirements, budget, participants, and deadlines of a project.

Secondly, the planning stage. This is where you are going to outline the tasks and timeline

required to execute on the project. Once your project proposal has been approved, it’s time to

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move on to the project planning stage of the project life cycle. This stage is when you’ll

create a comprehensive project plan, which involves translating your proposal into a series of

actionable tasks and scheduling them in a project roadmap, documenting processes or

workflows that your team will use (you could try using a process infographic for this),

creating measurable short-term goals from high-level project goals, and addressing potential

issues that could derail your roadmap. This project plan will be the source of truth for your

team when any questions, conflicts, or issues arise throughout the project. Creating a project

roadmap is one of the more important project management life cycle steps, crucial for

organizing your team and keeping work on track. A project roadmap outlines all of the start

and end dates of every major project tasks. Once your roadmap is in place, the last step is to

assemble your team and hold a project kickoff, launching you into the next stage of the

project life cycle: the execution stage.

The project execution stage is the third project life-cycle framework. It turns your plan into

action and monitors project performance. This is the true start of the project when you carry

out all of the tasks and activities you mapped out in the planning stage. This is where the

majority of the project work takes place, and it requires constant monitoring. Expect to adjust

your goals and roadmap as you get deeper into the project. The main responsibilities of the

project execution stage are monitoring and controlling the execution process, reviewing the

quality of the team’s output, adjusting and updating tasks, goals, and deadlines to meet

changing conditions, and communicating between your team and the project stakeholders.

Lastly, the project closure stage. Where analyzing results, summarizing key learnings, and

planning the next steps are focused. Once you’ve achieved your project goals and the results

have been signed off on by your stakeholders, it’s time for the project closure stage. In the

project closure stage of the project management process, you will hand off deliverables,

release team members and project resources, and analyze project performance in a project

retrospective. A project retrospective is a much about reviewing the success of the project as

it is about extracting learnings that can apply to future projects.

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5. Why objectives and timeframe are important in planning a certain
program/project?

Objectives operationally support goals and are measurable, verifiable statements of

intermediate tasks that must be accomplished for goal attainment. Objectives help define
goals, identify conflicting activities, guide elements of the decision-making process, and
ensure the accountability of personnel within an organization. Without clearly defined goals
and supporting objectives, goal displacement often occurs. Goal- and objective-setting are
influenced by values. Setting objectives requires making tough choices and addressing
realities. Once you have decided what you want the business to look like, you can draw a
roadmap and start setting objectives. Objectives are the mileposts to guide you and your
employees on the way to building the business.

Objectives are important because they convert visions into clear-cut measurable targets.
Employees are very clear as to what they are expected to achieve and when.

The following are the importance of objectives in planning a certain program. Create
direction and guidance: Every business needs guidelines. Objectives direct the company's
activities toward achieving the goals and visions of the owners.

Motivate employees: Employees become more enthusiastic and spirited in their work when
they know what is expected of them. Their work is more directed with less wasted time. They
get particularly interested when they learn about the rewards for meeting and exceeding their
objectives. If employees don't have the skills for their jobs, they are inspired to learn more
and find ways to improve their performance.

Establish standards to evaluate performance: Objectives establish standards of performance.

They are measuring sticks to identify the successes and failures of an organization and its
employees. Performance reporting helps managers identify non-performing areas and to take
corrective actions.

Form the basis to set budgets: Once the path for the company's development has been
defined, objectives help allocate the funds needed to achieve the goals. Budgets set specific
dollar amounts for departments that employees can use for guidance. Financial reports give
the owner the information to make sure that everything stays on the road.

Develop the structure of project plans: Objectives form the structure for project development
and measurement of performance along the way. Applying objectives to a project defines the
timeline of activities needed to complete the plan.

Time has a starring role in the success of any project. When you properly plan your project
with a timeline, you get to understand how damaging a delay can be. When you have an

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overall view of the progress in front of you, it's easier to avoid working mindlessly on tasks.
Instead, your team will focus each week on what needs to get done.

6. Discuss the organizational structure of your school and describe how each member
works harmoniously.

The organizational structure of a school often involves members of the administration,

licensed and unlicensed support staff, and teachers. The administration often includes a
principal who is responsible for the entire school and one or more assistant principals.

The school where I’m currently teaching at right now is actually a college institution that just
acquire the senior high school or K-12 curriculum. There are a lot of program heads or deans
from the college department, but, I will be just discussing the organization that we have in
the senior high school department.

We are headed by our principal, who decides whether the student is guilty of a disciplinary
infraction and what penalty she should enforce. An effective principal always documents
discipline issues, makes fair decisions, and informs parents when necessary. Our principal is
the one who also set the rules to implement and follow by the students and the faculty
members. The principal is the one also who’s responsible for securing the quality of the
education.

Next to the principal, we have our assistant principal. Literally, the task is assisting the
principal with their administrative or academic tasks.

Next to them are the teaching faculty members. In our school, the senior high school
department is actually composed of a few numbers of teachers. We are two in the English
department, two in Science, 1 in Filipino and Character Formation, two in Mathematics, and
three in Aviation subjects. Since our school is focused on aviation that’s why we only have
two strands, STEM and ABM.

The senior high school department in our school will not be effective if this organization is
incomplete. Without the presence of one here, it cannot be survived. That’s how important
organization and teamwork are at the same time in the success of implementing the plan.

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