Analysis of My Experience - Essay Example

Introduction

I gained tremendous insights in this course. Broadly, I was able learn about some of the important concepts such as planning, operational processes and the management aspect related to the strategic operations. I was able to learn that the development of the operational strategies requires companies to examine and implement the effective and efficient systems for the utilization of the resources, personnel and the work process. Undeniably, the service-oriented companies also utilize the basic operational strategies to relate both the long-term and short-term corporate decisions, and establish and effective management team.

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There was a major focus by the course modules on the significance of the active research, which entails the use of a wide range of the analytical methods for effective decision-making. The learners were asked to select one of the personal skill they wanted to enhance in their learning of the module, as well as their reflective analysis regarding how their skills improved. In relation to my current professional duties, I decided to develop my collaboration skills with the specific focus to teamwork. I recognise the fact that working in a team can be challenging at times. In most cases, however, it is a great opportunity to uncover creative ideas, share different perspectives and experiences, in addition to the enhancing once own skills.

Group Projects

In the past, I have been widely involved in a number of group projects. However, I have not always treated such groups as learning experience which can foster more productive environment. Therefore, my desire to learn and the willingness to explore new approaches is the reason for selecting this skill. I recently established a partnership with a friend and our company is involved provision of a wide range of manufactured goods to different clients. Gaining more skills on in collaboration will help me oversee different organizational function that serves to enhance effective service and product provision. I have faced serious challenges previously when dealing with teams. My inability to demonstrate proper collaborative skills and practices through human interaction has greatly affected my duties, responsibilities and positions. The choice of this skill will enable me to improve my skills within this context. I desire to have an extremely useful in relationship building proper understanding among the team members and the department company and its critical external business partners. It is undeniable that communication skills are essential in helping me to achieve many extensive assignments effectively

Background and Context

I found the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) tremendously important for this course. I was able to gain and develop my understanding in relation to the strategic management and ideas. My involvement in the virtual learning and my professional experiences helped me determine the kind of skills that I wanted to develop. Collaboration forms an integral component of any teamwork. Sadly, I have always wanted to dominate myself by having the final say, and manage the workload independently away from other people. Additionally, I have always wanted to ignore particular standards and aspects of intercultural communication. However, all these do not allow me to bring people together for the benefits of the company. The lack of coordination skills has made me realize that I cannot succeed even in my communication and entirely in professional. Several theories have offered a discussion of coordination. Ideally, it is described as a vital management function that can help harmonize different departments' activities within an organization.

All functions of the business depend on one another. Thus, coordination helps manage these dependencies between the tasks and activities performed by each management level. While it is evident that the current studies have focused on how these activities can be coordinated, my primary goal is to learn the overall coordination theme. Coordination involves effective communication, effective time management, critical thinking, leadership and delegation, and organization. Within this reflective work, coordination involves the departments' practical organization, structured information sharing, planning, administration, and delegation of decision-making.

Effective Teamwork

Therefore, effective teamwork within an organization depends on the level of coordination between the departments. In the same way, the coordination itself cannot enhance collaboration (Evan, 2016). Still, it must go hand in hand with effective communication, confidence, compatibility, and commitment towards its overall goals. The most common problems that is faced by a geographically dispersed team is the difference in the culture. Other factors in this case include the lack of knowledge transfer, isolation and lack to communication. Poor handling of the teams may lead to the disintegration of the teams apart. In order to ensure that the team’s operations are efficient, the operations managers must therefore avail and organize the right tools to achieve this objectives, as well as those of his company.

Studies have shown that the underperformance in teams are contributed by poor definition of goals or lack of clear communication of goals. In this sense, it becomes extremely difficult for the team to establish a strong team to work. Thus, the operations manager or the team leader mandated to handle the well-being of the team must create a clear roadmap (Demir, Wennberg, and McKelvie, 2017). The clear roadmap will enhance the productivity of the team and provide the team with the proper direction towards completing their targets within the set or established time. Therefore, a good operations manager will also need to communicate clearly about the expectations and the team targets in a more clear and emphatic manner. Based on the fact that the staff morale is a critical factor that determine the strength and success of the team, is critical to have the proper employee approach that will offer a quick way through which their well-being will be solved.

Learning Goals and Expectations

At the beginning of this course, I expected to learn and discover different theories and discussions related to an organization's operational coordination. I am a program coordinator and a future business person who is willing and ready to lead a group of people (Lebcir & Roy, 2020). This leadership will also depend on the coordination of all the interdepartmental and partnership activities. However, I am tremendously weak in my coordination skills, especially where it involves information sharing and meeting the administration. In this sense, therefore, my learning aim, in this case, is to enhance my coordination skills with a focus on communication. Specifically, I aim to improve the vital management behaviors such as obtaining and sharing information with the team, planning and managing the events with partners, task sharing depending on the individual team's experience, and talent and delegation of assignments to motivate them.

Coordination

Through the inspiration of Stevenson (2015), I carried out a discussion with my peers on various self-managed platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. This was aimed at improving the performance and cohesion of the team. There was also an intercultural diversity, which was achieved because all the group members came from different backgrounds. In this sense, I led the group in a more efficient way to achieve its goals. We got the opportunity to discuss various areas, shared our perspectives, and shared resources to understand communication skills better. The role plays ineffective coordination. Through the group's knowledge that I was working on my coordination skills, I was made the coordinator and given its entire responsibilities. In this sense, therefore, I made several rules that would guide the discussion time and its organization.

This was a first and fundamental step for me towards the enhancement of my coordination role. Undeniably, this role was extremely critical as it enabled me to establish a relationship, critical thinking, and guide and control discussions towards the already set objectives. Although this discussion came when we had our assignments other than this, I could use the little time available to organize for the debate within the self-managed platforms. This was important because an opportunity to understand the whole course availed itself. Frequent consultation was also critical as it helped improve my communication skills. This was a pure demonstration of the success that was ahead of me. I would apply the skills gained in the discussion in the future. At this point, I understood the departments within organizations need to coordinate their activities to achieve their individual goals and those of other organizations. I consider sharing with other peers and getting their perspectives essential (Akrani, 2011).

Reflective Learning Approaches

Throughout the learning process, I observed the criticality of the reflective practice of learning. Such an approach complemented the comments and advice I received from the instructor. My primary focus was mainly on becoming efficient in whatever I do, such as during communication. I selected several scenarios through this approach and attempted to coordinate through communication through phone calls, conversations, and verbal interactions. Undeniably, this move was instrumental in reflecting on different people's critical personalities and consequently appreciate their planning decisions and processes that resulted in a change of new organizational behaviors. I must acknowledge that my reflective moment was extremely productive because I was able to internalize how I could enhance my coordination through the use of the vernal, non-verbal, and written communication across the teams.

Conclusion

Studies have shown that theoretical and practical knowledge about a given concept or context is critical if anybody wants to succeed. In this case, the knowledge gained must be practically applied to ascertain whether they are appropriate (Hoegl et al., 2004). After reflecting on the best practices in coordination, I attempted to use my learning in the work environment as the lead coordinator within the agency I was working for. I found communication a very vital element that creates a significant relationship between people and organizations. For example, I noted that several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were involved in the same programs, and their efforts towards improvement of the people's livelihoods were significantly duplicated. The lack of communication further contributed to this. In this sense, I used the knowledge gained throughout my learning process to address this issue. My first step was to convene a meeting among all the involved stakeholders, share the initial objective, and then establish an opportunity for dialogue.