Skills and Learning Statement - Assignment Example

1. What did you learn from the meetings with your Project Mentor, including the presentation that you gave to your Project Mentor? The first time I met with my project mentor regarding the Research and Analysis Project (RAP) I was clear about the project area on which I will do my research paper. Initially I had chosen the London borough of Islington as I was part of the team that implemented E-accounts for the borough however; I was unable to gather more information needed to complete the RAP. After discussing the limitations with my project mentor I decided to choose the Indian banking sector for my RAP as the Indian banking industry is currently going through an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution in its operations. With further discussions, I chose HDFC (Housing Development and Finance Corporation) India as the bank on which my RAP will be focused. The bank had currently undergone an ICT innovation initiative for improving its performance and increasing its customer’s base (Rajan, 2010). My objective was to evaluate the bank’s performance before and after the introduction of the integrated multichannel in its operations. In the meeting with my project mentor, we discussed my strengths and weaknesses. I discovered that I was technically strong in literature writing however I was worried about the project analysis .With the help of my mentor, I outlined the structure of the project and he suggested ways to acquire information about the research project. According to him, the RAP should have a suitable structure, illustrative, conciseness, clarity with factual accuracy. Before my second meeting with my mentor, I was prepared with the draft of my project. My project was almost over and I was just left with the conclusion and recommendation part. After going through the draft of my RAP, my mentor identified some errors on the referencing and Part one of the RAP. According to my mentor, the drafted RAP does not fully explain the reasons for choosing my project topic area and neither provided him with an understanding of the overall framework. He guided me with more information and asked me to make amendments but assured me that the overall approach of the project was satisfactory. He assured me the timetable I have been following is good enough to meet my project deadline. The reassurance and encouragement that the project approach is going on the right direction, helped my confidence. In third meeting with my mentor, I gave a presentation of my project. Before this meeting I had already provided my mentor with the draft of my RAP. This meeting included a 15 minutes presentation. The presentation helped overcome my fear of speaking in public and enhanced my oratory skill. I am an introvert and often stay behind in company’s meetings. I was overcome with fear during the presentation to my mentor and his partner. In the presentation, my mentor recommended some changes. He advised me to keep the language totally business-oriented without use of colloquial terms. The language had to be lucid as well as professional. My mentor commented on my nervousness. There were certain changes he recommended for example, the colour combination, referencing, structure, evidences and outcomes. He mentioned that timing is an important factor to consider in presentations. The presentation enhanced my communication skills and made me learn how to conduct while presenting a project- one should be aware of the right gesture, facial expression and stances. The presentation enabled me to exercise introspection and I am now confident that I can take a lead in office meetings. 2. How well do you think that you have answered your research question(s)? While doing the RAP I had proposed four research questions. Research questions are very important, as they determine the formal aim of the study. The research questions formulated by me clearly stated what the study is going to investigate and efforts had been made by me to address the questions properly. The first proposed research question is “How well has the company been able to manage its customer base after the introduction of Multichannel integration in its operations?” After the introduction of the integrated multichannel, the HDFC bank has been able to generate a greater customer base. The working and the services provided by the bank became more efficient and effective, which attracted more customers. The integrated multichannel also provided the chance to interact with the customer, which was not possible previously (Rajan 2010). The second proposed research question is “How successful the company has been in achieving its estimated target?” From my understanding of the bank’s condition and the analysis done, there was an alarming increase in the conversion rates and in generating leads (Rajan 2010). The problem the bank was facing due to the Reserve Bank of India’s policy of free Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services was justly met. The Bank was paying more “interchange fees” as the customer could access any other bank’s ATM. But with a faster ATM services the bank could retain its customers and at the same time attract other bank customers to use the faster ATM thereby earning the interchange fees from other banks (Rajan 2010). The third proposed research question is “How the customer has reacted to this change of operations taken up by the bank?” The faster ATM services provided by the bank could retain its customers to use its own bank ATMs and at the same time it attracts the other bank customers to use the faster ATM to withdraw cash thereby earning the interchange fees from other banks. The integrated channel also enabled the cross selling of the financial products as the campaigns could be done in regional languages (Rajan 2010). The following diagrams may show the acceptance of customers towards this change: (Rajan 2010) The fourth proposed question was “What was the impact of the introduction of Multichannel integration on the company and its customer as a whole?” The customers were satisfied with the overall process and the company was at an advantage from the integrated multichannel, which made the company undergo a huge investment. It has been seen from the analysis part that an investment which incurs a heavy cost, takes time in generating result, however there is a mid- term and the long term gain on such investments. The initial achievement of the banks in cross selling its products and expanding throughout the country are an indicator of the better result in the future. The diagrams above show the improvement in the bank’s position in this respect. Since this has been a recent change therefore it can be expected that the future holds bright for this investment made by the bank. 3. The aim of presentation IS to communicate the key concepts and outcomes within a 15 minutes time frame. 4. How has undertaking the RAP helped you in your accountancy studies and/or current employment role? While doing this project I had to calculate the financial ratios of HDFC bank in order to know whether the company is having a healthy growth. As I am already working in the field of business and accounting the project helped me in reviewing and evaluating my work experiences in the accounting field. The project helped me acquiring confidence, writing, numeracy, communication skills and self-reflection, which is an important academic and professional skill and thereby enhanced it. In the process I learnt that ratio analysis is an important aspect of analysing the company’s growth and it enabled me to conduct a quantitative analysis of the financial statements of the company. This is one of the most significant components in the fundamental analysis procedure. For the RAP, I used my knowledge from ACCA financial management course (F9) to calculate the Return on the capital invested ratio (ROCE), the profitability ratios and the profit and loss ratios of the company. The profit and loss ratio enabled me to refer to the amount of the average profit in comparison with the amount of average loss per trade. I am currently working as a voluntary accountant at Uthman Kay Chartered Certified Accountants where I have to deal with Audit, VAT, Payroll and general book keeping; hence using the business techniques to do the RAP has enhanced my knowledge and confidence in handling application based work with ratio analysis. While doing the financial ratio analysis of the company I learnt a lot of things like, which ratio is important in assessing the company’s growth and which ratios are to be considered if we want to invest in the company. The accounting ratios give an insight of the company by understanding its earning capacity and to also acquire knowledge about the company’s financial position. The RAP exposed me to new techniques in analySing the financial position and to relate the strategic changes and implementations of technology with the developments in the financial statement. While carrying out my bookkeeping work I am now more able to understand the reasons behind the records and any changes thereafter. Recently, I was asked by my manager to write a business plan for a small internet company with a deadline for completion. I was able to analyse the business and its environment. I carried out research about its competitors and recommended ways to increase their profitability. Finally I was asked to do a presentation and discuss my findings with the partners in the firm before its passed on to the client. I received a positive feedback and it wouldn’t have been possible if I had not undertaken the RAP which exposed me to research and presentation techniques. Reference Rajan, P. (2010), HDFC Bank: Multichannel Integration [Online]. USFT Celent. Retrieved from: http://www.usfst.com/media/white%20papers/HRMUS/MultichannelHDFCBank.pdf (Accessed April 30, 2011) Read More