Self reflection is referred to as the process of looking into a mirror and describing in details what is being seen in the mirror (Ramdass & Zimmerman, 2008). Thus, it can be said that self reflection is the process of assessing oneself in context the way things have been done and the ways in which one tend to look upon the different aspects. So, reflection proves to be beneficial in developing the skills and reviewing the effectiveness rather than simply continuing doing the things as one used to do in the past (Loyens et al., 2008). So, it facilitates an individual with the opportunity of questioning in a positive manner what is being done, why it is being done and then taking decisions in context to whether the things can be done in a better and efficient manner in the future.
Thus, taking into consideration the above importance of individual reflection, I shall emphasize upon reflecting upon my learning experience in context to the research proposal in context to social networks and business management.
Opinion about Learning Experience
Learning experience can be defined as a credit bearing activity that comprises of the specific combinations of the learning resources the tools and activities that are guided by the pedagogical models with the help of which an individual can clearly identify what has been learnt. Thus, learning experiences can be categorized into direct experience and indirect experience. Direct learning experience is referred to as the first hand experience that is gained by an individual through his or her sense of organs and these experiences are generally expressed by making an effective use of the symbolic words (Gino et al., 2010).
For example, direct experiences include learning through charts, models, experiments and others. On the other hand indirect learning experiences are defined as the second hand experiences. Again, in case of indirect experiences, sense organ is involved; however in this this type of learning, one does not get the direct experience of the events or the objects that are being studied. For, example, direct experience include reading descriptions in the magazines, newspapers and journals and observing through the models, charts and maps and listening to the lectures.
Moreover, as per the seduces conducted by Bennett et al., (2012), it is observed that most of the times, it is not possible on the part of an individual to clearly distinguish between the direct and indirect learning experiences since most of the times, the learning experience is result of an effective combination of both the direct and indirect learning experiences. This can be illustrated with the help of an example like in context to the preparation of a chart, one is facilitated with direct experience of leaning the skills that is required for preparing the chart and the skills learning in context to the observing the chart is considered as the indirect experience, however it demand direct observation (Bennett et al., 2012).
Thus, in context to the assignment of formulating an effective research proposal in which I was actively involved, I was involved in both direct and indirect learning since where at one hand, I had to write the proposal on my own that is considered as direct experience, on the other hand, I had to read several journals, articles and research papers and collect knowledge from y tutors that is considered as indirect learning experience in successfully accomplishing the project.
Transferring or Applying new Knowledge and Insights in the Future
In future, my short term goal is successfully complete my business management course and my long term goal is to see myself in the middle management of retail organizations like Woolworth. So, in order to complete my course, I shall have to be acquire research skills, knowledge and experience to accomplish several research projects in the completion of my course. Thus, the present skills, knowledge and experience that I gained by accomplishing the research project on social networks and business management helped in acquiring the skills, knowledge and experience that is typically required for accomplishing the research projects (Cormier & Hagman, 2014).
Moreover, my tutor and mentor also helped in acquiring the research skills and gain insights into how to approach while accomplishing a research proposal that would prove to be beneficial in accomplishing similar research projects and proposals in the completion of my course.
On the other hand, while working in retail organizations, I shall be exposed to more complex challenges of managing the business that is highly competitive in nature and thus would have to conduct market research to remain updated in context to the market trends and the buying habits of the consumers and strategies of the competitors. Thus, it would demand high level of research skills, knowledge and experience and so the research skills and knowledge and insights gained from the present proposal on social networks and business management would help in accomplishing my future complex tasks while working in business organizations.
Happenings in the Learning Process
The research proposal was an overall learning experience on my part. The research is conducted with the aim of making significant contributions in some way or the other to the existing knowledge in a particular field. Thus, in this context, I emphasized upon conducting the research to make significant contributions in the existing knowledge in the area of social networks and business management (Saunders & Lewis, 2012). Moreover, in the process of conducting the research, I emphasized upon researching what is already known in the particular field and then efficiently identified the need for future research and then the process of research involves making claims on the basis of the findings of the study.
However, in case of a research proposal, it is the overall proposal of the ideas regarding what is being proposed to be done in the actual research. It provides clear explanation of the area of research, title of research on the basis of the gaps that exist in the existing research thereby providing a clear explanation in context why the research has been adopted and what is being expected to achieve. The proposal has again been justified in the light of the available literature and insights were derived regarding what the literature states about the knowledge in the chosen research field and this process is generally referred to as the ‘Gap’ that exist in the knowledge.
Thus, once the gap has been identified, I was involved into providing a description in context to how the research is going to be conducted. So, this was the main reason why I emphasized upon the fact that the research proposal should be designed in a manner that clearly reflect the aspects in context what I am going to research, why I am going to research the particular area, what is the significance of the research in the particular area and the how the research is going to be conducted (Zikmund et al, 2013). Moreover, my tutor and supervisor played the role of an invaluable source of advice and support since extended their guidance and enhanced support in accomplishment of the proposal.
Again, the major differences among the research proposals are dictated by the kind of the research that is being undertaken i.e. whether one is undertaking a primary research or a secondary research. So, in this context, I emphasized conducting an effective mix of both the primary and secondary research where secondary has been collated from the peer reviewed articles and journals and published online and the early researches in the particular field that have been published online (Blumberg et al., 2014).
On the other hand, it has been planned that the primary data would be collected with the help of the questionnaire survey targeted towards a sample size of 100 people working in a corporate and uses social networking sites. After the sample has been decided upon, I also emphasized upon setting a specific time frame where the process started from 11the of May 2017 and continued till 5th June 2017 and the total time frame was presented with the help of the Gantt Chart.
The entire process facilitated me with a whole lot of learning experience where I learnt regarding how to search for a research topic, how to identify the gap in the existing knowledge, analytical skills, problem identification skills, searching skills offline and online, primary data collection skills i.e. questionnaire preparation skills and communication skills, influencing skills, skills to conduct a survey, listening skills where I took feedback from my supervisors and implementing the same to my proposal.
So, in the process of evaluation my learning from the proposal, I would like to focus upon the aspects that the proposal helped in gaining the knowledge and skills. It helped my problem solving skills since I was involved in identifying the research problem and planning the solution for the identified research problem with the help of the research proposal. Moreover, while conducting the research proposal I had to be constantly in touch with my supervisor and incorporate the changes in the proposal as per their feedback and thus it enhanced my listening skills and seeking feedback skills. The proposal also enhanced my internet research skills since most of the secondary data was collected online from the journals and articles and early researches that were published online.
I learned how to conduct search with the help of the keyword themes. I also learnt planning and project management skills since the proposal involved a lot planning in context to data collection planning, type of research planning and planning the activities as per the deadline stipulated by the college (Hair, 2015). The timeline for the project was presented with the help of Gantt Chart designed with the help of project management tools. So, the proposal proved to be beneficial in adding value to my existing skills since I got the opportunity to not only enhance my existing skills but also acquire several new skills that would prove to be beneficial in my future.
Benefit of Business research for Research Learning Process
The business research proposal was conducted in the field of social networks and business management and in the process of designing the proposal, I was involved in analyzing and reading various peer reviewed articles, journals and early researches that were published online. These readings proved to be beneficial on my part to enhance and update my knowledge in the field of social networks and business management.
I cam across various topics like role of social media in business development, role of social media in enhancing customer engagement and others that enhanced my knowledge and information within the particular research field. Moreover, research learning process is an ongoing study and it is important in this aspect to apply the theories learnt and so the business research proposal that was developed by me was practical exposure for me to apply the theories and concepts learnt in the classroom teaching to a real life research. So, it was beneficial in effective transfer of learning.
Reason for Doing Assignment 1 and Assignment 2
The assignment 1 was done by me taking into consideration the structure of the research proposal that has been proposed by my supervisor. The proposal was developed to provide a detailed overview of the plans in which the actual research would be conducted and so the assignment can be looked upon to be a base upon which the actual research can be conducted. On the other hand assignment 2 is based upon providing a detailed illustration of the context in which the indentified problem has been raised and providing a detailed overview of the available theories, concepts and historical and current research that has been put forward in the research area that has been considered for the study. So, it can be said that both the assignments 1 and 2 has been done to form a solid base upon which the actual research can be conducted.
Value of the Learning Experience
In the process of the accomplishment of the research proposal I was involved in lot many activities that helped improve mu skills, knowledge and experience thereby facilitating me with an effective learning experience. So, these learning experiences proved to be beneficial in my overall development by making significant contributions in several areas as follows:
Course
I am enrolled in business management course that demand practical knowledge and skills and so the learning experience that I gained by formulating the research proposal facilitated me with practical knowledge and skills to collate information and data, analyze the viability and the reliability of the secondary data, method of collecting the secondary data and primary data and how secondary data and information is used for developing research aim and objectives. So with progress of course, I shall have to conduct more research and would have to write several proposals and thus, the skills and experience gained from developing the present proposal on social networks and business management would prove to be beneficial in accomplishing the future proposals in the course.
Program
Research program demand the individuals to be proficient in the ability to identify the gap in the available literature to decide upon the research topic, collate secondary data from various sources on the basis of the reliability of the source and viability of the data, formulate specific research aim and objectives and decide upon the methodology to be adopted on the basis of the nature of the study and should also possess the required analysis skills and knowledge of statistical tools and techniques to derive the findings (Bolton, 2010). So, the present learning experience exposed me to several activities that are involved in conducting a research and thus facilitated me with the required skills and knowledge to undertake a research and conduct the research study successfully.
Future Career
I am enrolled in the course of business management and it has been observed that businesses at present are undergoing continuous change due to increasing competition and rapid advancements in technology. So, it has become important on the part of the managers to be proficient in research skills to analyze the trend and identify the opportunities that can be embraced for business success. So, after completing my course when I shall be employed in a business organization, I shall have prior experience and knowledge of the skills and knowledge required for conducting business research (Gray, 2007). So this would add value to my professional skills and proficiency that would help me in achieving success in my future career.
Life Generally
While developing the proposal, I was involved in putting my hard work and effort to decide upon the research topic and then emphasized upon searching for the relevant secondary data and early researches on topics close to mine. Moreover, I was also involved in deciding upon the methodology to be chosen for the study. So, in the initial stage, it was a real challenge on my part that I took and completed the challenge. Thus, the entire learning experience helped in understanding the fact that life is full of hardships; however the hardships can be easily overcome with honest effort, dedication, focus and hard work.
Conclusion
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that the present research proposal has helped in acquiring the required skills and knowledge that would not only assist in accomplishing the present research but would also prove to be beneficial in completing my present course that would involve other researches and also in my future career where I shall be responsible for conducting research in different business areas.
References
Bennett, N., Desforges, C., Cockburn, A., & Wilkinson, B. (2012). Quality of Pupil Learning Experiences (RLE Edu O). Routledge.
Blumberg, B. F., Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods. McGraw-hill education.
Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. Sage publications.
Cormier, S. M., & Hagman, J. D. (Eds.). (2014). Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications. Academic Press.
Gino, F., Argote, L., Miron-Spektor, E., & Todorova, G. (2010). First, get your feet wet: The effects of learning from direct and indirect experience on team creativity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 111(2), 102-115.
Gray, D. E. (2007). Facilitating management learning: Developing critical reflection through reflective tools. Management learning, 38(5), 495-517.
Hair, J. F. (2015). Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe.
Loyens, S. M., Magda, J., & Rikers, R. M. (2008). Self-directed learning in problem-based learning and its relationships with self-regulated learning.Educational Psychology Review, 20(4), 411-427.
Ramdass, D., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Effects of self-correction strategy training on middle school students’ self-efficacy, self-evaluation, and mathematics division learning. Journal of advanced academics, 20(1), 18-41.
Saunders, M. N., & Lewis, P. (2012). Doing research in business & management: An essential guide to planning your project. Pearson.
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods. Cengage Learning.
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