FBL5010: DIEP framework - Most Important Elements Being Evaluation and Planning - Reflective Journal Assessment Answers

Assessment 2 – Reflective Journal Assignment

The aim of this assessment is to demonstrate that you are able to reflect critically on your own learning using a set framework. You need to reflect on the unit content including the text, blackboard material, group discussions, activities and assessments. You will be asked to submit reflective journals outlining what you have learnt and how this learning will impact on your future management and goals.

The initial journal (Part 1) will consist of a single entry about week 1. Part 2 will include five journal entries about individual, different sessions from weeks 2-10. Each entry should be between 350-400 words (please indicate the word count on the first page of your assignment) and focus on a specific aspect of your learning. The quality of the reflections and the adherence to the DIEP model will impact on marks. This assignment is in two parts: an initial journal entry will be handed in during week 2 and then you will submit 5 new entries (Part 2) in week 11 (see details below). Marking guide:

You must follow the DIEP framework when writing your journal (i.e. answer each question). Your journal entries will be assessed against the DIEP framework, with the most important elements being evaluation and planning. There will also be marks allocated to the overall presentation of the reflective journal. See rubric on Blackboard for how marks will be allocated. The DIEP framework can be found on Blackboard under Assessments.

NOTE: There is no safe level of similarity score when submitting through TURNITIN.

Submission information

Time Midnight on due date

Place Blackboard via Plagiarism

Learning Outcome/s and Graduate Attributes Completing this assignment will help you:

• evaluate organisational processes that can enhance organisational performance;
• Articulate their own managerial knowledge, skills and abilities;
• Develop strategies and competencies, including indigenous cultural competence, for effective managerial behaviourIt will help you develop the ECU Graduate Attributes:

• ability to communicate
• ability to generate ideas
• critical appraisal skills.

1.0 Leadership

1.1 Description

For any organization to succeed its leadership should be flawless, and there should be a link between the management and the employees in that particular organization. As such, the kind of leadership that exists in an organization contributes greatly towards determining the success of the organization. As a result, this lesson was basically meant to examine the kind of leadership that could lead to the success of an organization (Benson, 2008). It was through this lesson that a number of leadership issues relating to an organization were discussed in details.

1.2 Interpretation

Before attending this class, I was not in a position to distinguish between leadership and management. As such, the lesson started by distinguishing between leadership and management and how the two affects the running of an organization. The definitions of the two terms were given in this class, and this gave a good understanding of the two terms. After discussing these terms, the lesson went ahead and discussed the existing leadership theories that have been in existence over the last number of years (Milam, Spitzmueller, & Penney, 2009). All the theories were better discussed, and this gave the learners an opportunity to learn how the available theories are applied, and they help to run the organizations effectively and efficiently.

1.3 Evaluation

From this lesson, I learned that leadership is not easy and that every leader needs to have some special skills that will with no doubt help them in making their judgments right. All leaders need to know their workers, better for effective running of the organization. Learning about the theories of leadership from this course acted as a catalyst for the kind of knowledge that I was concerned the different topics that I came across. This added some knowledge to me and I was in a position to make more informed decisions concerning the topics that I came across in the course.

The lesson gave me the acceptable leadership traits that placed me in a better position to identify a leader better and easily without having to go into details about the character in question. Additionally, the course helped in the process of explaining the levels of hierarchy in the management practices and how these affect the leadership roles of those who are in power in a certain organization (Benson, 2008). The lesson concluded by explaining what ethical leadership was and how it should be practiced in a given organization.

1.4 Plan

From the whole course I learned the right knowledge that helped me to be in a position to distinguish effective leaders better. Thus, my plan is to continue with studies that will help me understand leadership issues better by engaging in activities like interacting with different leaders from different organizations. Since I learned a lot of leadership skills in this coarse, am planning to apply all the skills and knowledge that I learned in my future jobs and try as much as I can to act as a leader. Since leadership learned, am also planning to attend as many leadership conferences and forums as possible to continue acquiring some important insights on leadership while exchanging what I have already learned in class with the other people who I will meet. Finally, am planning to extend my knowledge by advancing my leadership studies through the attendance of more leadership classes.

2.0 Motivation

2.1 Description

Motivation is usually defined as the process of making an individual act in a given way. Motivating employees in an organization, thus act to be one of the best things that people need to engage in for effective operations in their organizations. The objective of this lesson was to help understand the whole process of employee motivation by defining the motivation process and letting people know what exactly it means by being motivated. Some of the important theories that were discussed in this course include the Maslow theory, theory X, process and behavioural theories in that helps in improving the productivity of any given organization.

2.2 Interpretation

The course helped the learners to learn the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the real cause of motivation in an organization that I lacked before attending the class (Milam, Spitzmueller, & Penney, 2009). The differences between these two were discussed very clearly and effectively, thus bringing light to what applies where in all the organizations. The benefits of motivating employees were also clearly discussed during the course, and this led to the learners getting it very clear why all managers in an organization should motivate their employees for effective production (Low, 2013). After discussing the term motivation and what should be done for effectiveness in the motivation process, the course went ahead and discussed different theories that relate to employee motivation in a given organization.

2.3 Evaluation

During the whole class period, I was privileged to learn about the most effective job designs that are geared towards motivating different employees in a given organization. The lesson could not have been complete without learning the various emerging strategies that can be appropriately applied to improving the motivation of the employees in that particular organization (Benson, 2008).

As a conclusion, the lesson gave to the learners the best knowledge on motivation and how important it is to motivate the employees in an organization based on the kind of jobs that they engage in. All the motivations are doing to make some improvements in the organization, and they are done at different levels in different organizations. Therefore, the course can be termed as one of the best that was carried out in that particular class as its information was very important in helping the learners to have the required knowledge regarding business motivation and all that what pertains to it.

2.4 Plan

Now that I understand all relating to motivation better, I plan to exercise everything that I learned from this class extensively in all the areas that I will interact with people at different levels. I also plan to educate the other leaders in matters pertaining to employee motivation. I also plan to participate in forums that place their focus on improving the morale of their employees through various motivation methods. To start practicing on how to motivate people, I plan to start by motivating my siblings to improve their school performance. The learning process of motivation will be practical and it will entail a number of lessons being passed to the learners. I also plan to start my own motivation classes to share the knowledge that I have acquired through this class. Am also planning to strive as much as possible to understand all that, what pertains motivation by reading as many books as possible that will improve my motivation capabilities.

3.0 Communication in Organization’s

3.1 Description

The main aim of this reflective paper is to highlight more about the decision-making process that is achieved within different groups through the process of communication to solve different problems. This reflective paper also talks about the process of identifying socialization, the rules of communication, identification and power that greatly influences the development of a team, and the training process for individual persons. The paper will discuss the knowledge that was achieved during the course period by displaying my personal understanding as well as explaining the real application of the knowledge that was obtained via Communication in Organizations.

3.2 Interpretation

A great number of individuals have gone through the process of communicating within groups, yet the process of group communication is a type of communication that is understood as well as being discovered through studying as a process. Humans have to make social interactions for purposes of growing individually (Müller, & Kieser, 2003). As such, it was important to learn the process of communicating while in a group since communication happened to be a very important subject just before joining any form of a group. The lesson highlighted on the different types of communication channels that are most effective in a group setting, thus making the most effective modes of an organization (Dessein, 2002).

The course also taught more about the different errors that are experienced during the learning process. I learned through the several errors and the different ways in which a person can overcome the errors, thus making it easy to communicate effectively while in a group. Additionally, communication by symbols was also discussed during the course were different symbols that are used in the communication process were made, including rituals, logos and clothing and how effective they happen to be in the education process (Müller, & Kieser, 2003).

3.3 Evaluation

It was through the lesson that active learning skills were learned with a comparison being made between the effectiveness of a dialogue and a discussion. Effective communication was also seen to be a product of exchange between the person offering, giving information and the recipients of the information who at times offer feedback according to the way that they receive the information being communicated (Dessein, 2002). The barriers to effective communication were also discussed and the different processes through which these barriers could also be avoided discussing. To conclude, the lesson was very effective in making the learners understand the effectiveness of the communication process and the reason why communication in an organization is important and how effectiveness can be achieved in a given organization.

3.4 PlanCommunication is very important in the effective running of an organization. My plan after learning all this is to make applying what I learned in this class in all the interactions that I will do in an organization. I will apply the knowledge in teaching my friends on how to communicate in different instances. I am also planning to give people lessons on how to communicate both verbally and non-verbally based on the circumstance that an individual is faced with. Through the course, I learned the various modes of non-verbal communication, and this made it easy to know the best ways to convince people within a group while communicating. As such, am planning to pass all this knowledge to my colleagues so that they also benefit from the class and be in a position to communicate effectively while in a group.

4.0 Culture and ethics

4.1 Description

There is always a link between culture and ethics. Understanding this linkage calls for an individual to have a better understanding of the meaning of culture and ethics and learning to link the two while looking at the factors that affect them. In this reflective essay, the linkage between culture and ethics will be discussed based on the knowledge that was learned in school. To start with, the lesson started by describing the meaning of culture which was defined as the different ways in which different people or a group of individuals behave, believe in and the different symbols that they these individuals accept (Smith, & Hume, 2005). The beliefs of the people are passed from one generation to the other through various modes of communication. The course also defined ethics as that branch of philosophy that entails the process of systematizing, defending, as well as recommending different concepts of what can be defined as right or even wrong conduct. After defining the two times, the different principles that could be used in the process of making ethical decisions were learned, and this helped in learning more about the link that exists between culture and ethics (Langevoort, 2010).

4.2 Interpretation

After learning the two concepts better and understanding how they relate to one another, the lesson went ahead and defined organizational culture and the different factors that affect the whole process of organizational culture. The different levels of organizational culture were also learned, and this helped the learners to understand the linkage between the two terms better and efficiently (Smith, & Hume, 2005).

4.3 Evaluation

The knowledge that I personally acquired from this class will play a key role in making me understand better the relationships between the two concepts ad how they affect the operations of an organization if not well handled (Langevoort, 2010). Culture may overpower ethics on incidences where people from one particular culture dominate and organization. The class also discussed the various principles of ethics and how they are affected by the cultural practices of different people in a common organization. To conclude, the class contributed greatly towards understanding how culture affects ethics and how ethics affects culture in an organization. A better understanding of cultural variations in an organization that affects the ethics of the people working in that particular organization were also learned as well the values that the different values that people need to adopt for purposes of balancing between culture and ethics.

4.4 Plan

Since I have learned a lot in this, I plan to place my focus on applying the knowledge in trying to bring harmony in the organizations that I will be working in. I will also pass the knowledge to the other people who work in organizations with diverse employees. I plan to effectively teach all those in an organization to relate better despite their cultural backgrounds and keep their cultural differences apart for effectiveness in the organization. In the future, I am planning to start my own class and a consultancy to deal with people who are faced with problems that relate to culture and ethics. Through the knowledge that I acquired in this class, I am planning to mobilize resources and carry out awareness campaigns that will help people in different organizations to cope with the cultural differences that they have and maintain the ethics of the organization. I plan to raise this awareness through a privately sponsored program that will force me interact with employees from different backgrounds in different organization and come up with the best solutions for the problems that they face.

5.0 Individual differences in workplace

5.1 Description

As a result of different people converging in a single organization, different behaviours experience in an organization, and this calls for the management in that particular organization to take appropriate measures to cope with the differences. As a result of this, the lesson was basically teaching the class on how managers should learn to cope with the different attitudes brought about by people from different backgrounds, how to deal with different personality, emotional intelligence, perception and the different learning styles that should be adopted in an organization for effectiveness (Lucas, & Friedrich, 2005).

5.2 Interpretation

The lesson brought forth facts about the character of different people in an organization, the problems that they usually face as a result of the differences that they experience and come across while working in these organizations and the conflicting values that are brought about by the differences in an organization. The class did not leave out the concept of emotional intelligence and how managers, as well as employees in an organization, employ this concept of mutual existence of the organization. Additionally, it was the lesson that the Goleman’s six leadership styles were learned, and this helped in understanding the best ways in which people in an organization should relate with one another. The whole experience while taking this course was awesome as I learned new things about the unit that I had no idea about. The end result of the lesson was that I learned how to interact with people from different backgrounds with different cultural know how.

5.3 Evaluation

It was through this class that we learned that it is always very important to accept differences in an organization, and people should learn how to live comfortably with one another without displaying their characters that will definitely lead to them misunderstanding one another (Lucas, & Friedrich, 2005). Through accepting the differences, people are said to be in a position to avoid the stress that is linked to the differences that come out in an organization as a result of people having different backgrounds. As such, this lesson was very useful in helping me learn how to relate to different people. Finally, the lesson could not have been complete without introducing and learning the different learning styles that should be used in an organization to make people understand one another better. The lesson also discussed in details the Kolb’s learning styles and how they could affect how different people understand one another in an organization.

5.4 Plan

Now that I understand individual differences better, I will work tirelessly to bring this knowledge to the people who happen to lack the knowledge of dealing with the differences. I plan to diversify my skills and knowledge on how to deal with the differences that arise in organizations with employees from different cultures. I also plan to understand the different personalities of people in an organization based on the knowledge that I acquired from this class. Understanding the personalities will help me as an individual to know how to interact with these people effectively without having to conflict in any way. Additionally, I am planning to acquire more knowledge that will help me to make effective interactions with different people from different backgrounds. I am also planning to add my knowledge on how to make effective decisions while working with people who have differences to help reduce the risk of making decisions that will be seen as having favoured one of the participants in the organization.