MBA 545 Reflection Assignment In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to learn from one’s experience is critical (Seibert, 1996). In order to learn from experience, it is necessary to reflect on and attribute meaning to experiences. Reflection “involves deciding what is happening in an experience, what it means, and what to do about it. This includes reflecting about oneself as well as others and their needs” (Seibert, 1996). You will write a paper analyzing your experiences in the MBA Program, and more specifically, in working on self-directed teams/groups. For this paper: 1. Take a thoughtful look at your experiences working in various groups over the course of the MBA program and reflect on the knowledge you have gained from completing the projects as a group. Some questions to consider as you reflect include: a. What situations highlighted patterns and origins of error in team decision making? b. What was the value of providing practice in team and group writing and collaboration? c. How did group work impact your ability to connect business theories to practices? d. What experiences improved individual team member self-awareness? e. What situations showcased successful and/or unsuccessful team dynamics? 2. In the article “The Brand Called You”, Peters discusses how we live in a “project based world” and that we have to “think, breathe, act, and work in projects” (Peters, 1997). The MBA Program mirrors the world, in this respect. Select and analyze one group project over the course of your MBA journey, that you have found most interesting and helpful as you think about working in any organization. In doing so, include the following: a. Briefly describe the project. b. Identify the reason you selected this project as the one that stood out as the most interesting and helpful (as you think about working in any organization). c. Provide specific examples from your own life to illustrate how this project was helpful in your professional pursuits. 3. During the past five weeks of this course, you had an opportunity to complete one last group project engage in a simulation. In doing so, for the first time, you had to directly compete against other groups. Reflect on this experience and compare it with the experience you had in the project you selected to analyze for this paper. In doing so, consider the following: a) Did this new element, competition, change the dynamic of the group processes (i.e. how decisions are made, how conflict is resolved, how tasks are delegated, level of commitment of the group and cohesiveness of the group)? b) What was different about your personal learning, contribution, behavior, etc. as a result of this added element? Guidelines for Learning from Reflection: Reflection can be a powerful learning tool. To get the full benefit of it, follow these guidelines:     Be honest. Try to avoid the trap of figuring out how you ‘should” answer each question to be politically or socially correct. Answer what you really think or feel or do. Look for unusual, unexpected outcomes from previous experiences. Only paying attention to the results that support your current self-image won’t teach you much. Go back to situations with surprising results and try to determine why you behaved as you did. This will guide you in determining where you need to improve and possibly some ways to do so. When you find any area for improvement, put some serious thought into ways that you could improve. Make concrete plans for how to improve the identified area. Do not wait until the last minute to write your paper - you won’t have the time to think about the results, to investigate their causes and to plan how to improve. Seibert, K. (1996). Experience is the best teacher, if you can learn from it, in Hall, D.T. and Associates, The Career is Dead, Long Live the Career. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. Peters, T. (1997). The Brand Called You. Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html MBA 545 Reflection Assignment In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to learn from one’s experience is critical (Seibert, 1996). In order to learn from experience, it is necessary to reflect on and attribute meaning to experiences. Reflection “involves deciding what is happening in an experience, what it means, and what to do about it. This includes reflecting about oneself as well as others and their needs” (Seibert, 1996). You will write a paper analyzing your experiences in the MBA Program, and more specifically, in working on self-directed teams/groups. For this paper: 1. Take a thoughtful look at your experiences working in various groups over the course of the MBA program and reflect on the knowledge you have gained from completing the projects as a group. Some questions to consider as you reflect include: a. What situations highlighted patterns and origins of error in team decision making? b. What was the value of providing practice in team and group writing and collaboration? c. How did group work impact your ability to connect business theories to practices? d. What experiences improved individual team member self-awareness? e. What situations showcased successful and/or unsuccessful team dynamics? 2. In the article “The Brand Called You”, Peters discusses how we live in a “project based world” and that we have to “think, breathe, act, and work in projects” (Peters, 1997). The MBA Program mirrors the world, in this respect. Select and analyze one group project over the course of your MBA journey, that you have found most interesting and helpful as you think about working in any organization. In doing so, include the following: a. Briefly describe the project. b. Identify the reason you selected this project as the one that stood out as the most interesting and helpful (as you think about working in any organization). c. Provide specific examples from your own life to illustrate how this project was helpful in your professional pursuits. 3. During the past five weeks of this course, you had an opportunity to complete one last group project engage in a simulation. In doing so, for the first time, you had to directly compete against other groups. Reflect on this experience and compare it with the experience you had in the project you selected to analyze for this paper. In doing so, consider the following: a) Did this new element, competition, change the dynamic of the group processes (i.e. how decisions are made, how conflict is resolved, how tasks are delegated, level of commitment of the group and cohesiveness of the group)? b) What was different about your personal learning, contribution, behavior, etc. as a result of this added element? Guidelines for Learning from Reflection: Reflection can be a powerful learning tool. To get the full benefit of it, follow these guidelines:     Be honest. Try to avoid the trap of figuring out how you ‘should” answer each question to be politically or socially correct. Answer what you really think or feel or do. Look for unusual, unexpected outcomes from previous experiences. Only paying attention to the results that support your current self-image won’t teach you much. Go back to situations with surprising results and try to determine why you behaved as you did. This will guide you in determining where you need to improve and possibly some ways to do so. When you find any area for improvement, put some serious thought into ways that you could improve. Make concrete plans for how to improve the identified area. Do not wait until the last minute to write your paper - you won’t have the time to think about the results, to investigate their causes and to plan how to improve. Seibert, K. (1996). Experience is the best teacher, if you can learn from it, in Hall, D.T. and Associates, The Career is Dead, Long Live the Career. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. Peters, T. (1997). The Brand Called You. Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html
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