Foundations of Business Knowledge - Essay Example

?BES1100 FOUNDATIONS OF BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE Assessment Participation Reflective Journaling Week From the first lecture, I gained this unit’s basic understanding. I learnt the course’s aim and the structure of the unit with the criteria of assessment. Stepping into this course was challenging for me since it was very different from my previous courses. The economic terminologies of this course seemed confusing. I did not know how I would do all assignments on time. I found the “icebreaker” activity an interesting exercise. In this activity, students were required to write about themselves on the pieces of paper and throw them to one another. This helped the students understand one another’s background and lifestyle in general. I also introduced myself to others and asked them what I wanted to know about them. This activity filled confidence in me so that I could communicate better. I learnt almost all conversation with my team members after this class rather than learning the professional words from the lecture. I learnt how important it was to be good at communication and to be able to engage with teams to get a better understanding of a new field. Since I had not done any prior readings, I did not completely understand this unit’s structure despite the fact that my unit coordinator had clearly explained everything. Besides, I was busy in few advanced professional expressions. I was eager about making a time management plan so that I was clear about the assignment submission due dates, homework requirements and the prior reading required. It would help improve my efficiency and time management skills. Week 2 In week 2, I liked the searching activity in which I had to use the library resources together with my team members. We discovered a lot of information about our studies by accessing the online data available at the ECU website. I found out that this online library tool enabled us to locate a variety of sources. We could easily locate references of a specific year by looking at the sources for its year range. Our team did a referencing exercise including both end-text and in-text referencing following the referencing guide of ECU. We also reviewed our first pieces of reflection and exchanged views upon that with one another. For example, my team members liked my management plan’s format whereas I liked the terminology abbreviation memorizing process proposed by my mate. This activity helped improve our formatting and research skills, and also improved my ability to cooperate with my team. There was also an activity that our team did which was least interesting. It comprised two scenarios with the same set of questions about the ACE theory of Kathleen Reardon. Understanding it with real examples would have been easier than the case study in the book. Since I had done the pre-reading of the chapter “Persuasion”, I knew its importance and features already, along with the strategies needed to make effective persuasions. This part went smoothly. However, I needed to develop competence in the theoretical part of the persuasion along with their relevant terms. The learning I have gained from the online library searching activity will help me in the studies in the future and will also improve my cooperation and communication skills. I have also learnt the strategies of persuasion that I will use in my professional career in the future. Most importantly, I have developed good interpersonal skills. Week 3 Week 3 was about management of stress and time. In this week, we did an activity i.e. Exercise 4B that attracted me because it was very much real; we gave a life stress test that helped us identify our stress conditions by answering different questions about our life events. I calculated my scope by ticking off many boxes of life events that were related to me and that might cause stress. I thought I would score the highest since I thought of myself as a highly stressed person, but I was surprised to learn that I had scored the lowest. I learnt that everybody experiences stress, and that we should be content with and grateful for what we have. Since we had done the time management activity over three times, it did not excite us to do it one more time with my peers. Although planning in time management is important, yet taking action is more essential. On the basis of studies of the third week, I noticed that I could make a very good plan of time management. My plan of time management clearly mentioned the events that were important and urgent to help me establish my priorities and enhance my efficiency at work. However, taking action following the schedule was difficult for me. The stress test dawned upon me that stress is experienced by everyone, so I should be thankful to God for what I have and also take suitable measures to relieve the stress. In addition to that, I need to place more emphasis on taking actions than planning a time management plan so that I can reach my goals. Week 4 This week’s topic was teamwork. My team and I knew this topic quite well since we had been doing it every week before. We did a “truth or false” activity that was based on a story (Exercise 10B). Our team leader divided the team into two groups that would compete with each other. I led my group. I got different answers from my group members to a specific question. Although I did not insist my answer and eventually put forth the answer decided by the group, yet we realized that my answer was right among all. I wished I had stuck to my answer but since I had not, the other group won. I found Microsoft Excel confusing. I did not know the way to calculate the numbers with the Excel’s function. Initially, I tried copying and pasting the Excel table into the Microsoft Word document. However, when I used the online sources and discussed with my team members, I figured the way out. I have learnt the importance of teamwork through all these experiences. I did a good job allocating work to my team members and discussing things with them. Our creative thinking spurred a motivation in me to improve my skills. I should respect my team members’ opinions but should also hold my own opinion strongly. This week, I gained a lot of knowledge. For example, I learnt more of Microsoft programming and learnt such things as making a table and a graph, and using the Excel’s functions to calculate numbers. The functions of Excel can be quite useful in the economic studies that I will undergo in the future. I shall always do teamwork and also stick to my own opinion. Week 5 We had a presentation class in this week in which every student was given an opportunity to share his/her topic with others. I enjoyed learning other students’ topics as it expanded my knowledge and helped me gain from their experiences. However, one thing that confused me was that rather than paying attention toward others’ presentations, everybody was busy preparing his/her own presentation. Before, I underestimated the value of this presentation as I had communicated with other students. However, it turned out to be completely different. I spoke aloud while presenting in an attempt to engage with others. Although I was a bit scared, yet I maintained my confidence. My speech went smooth and finished quickly, though it was not the demonstration of a good communication skill. Another issue was the content of my speech as it lacked examples. Read More