Individual Reflection on a Group Project - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the past few days, my group members and I worked together on a presentation group project on Burberry. We dedicated much time in the organization of our session and related the content to the topic to make our presentation successful. The performance did not only equip us with excellent research skills but also prepared us to have excellent content delivery. This reflection paper will evaluate our group project analyzing the kind of work we delivered as a group, how the team members contributed during preparation and highlight the necessary improvements for the next presentation.

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Reflection of the Work We Delivered as a Team

I think our group has actively researched about Burberry and provided an extensive overview of the company. We discussed its history from the humble beginnings, its brands, advertising strategies, and challenges it experiences to remain competitive in the market. I feel that by our class activities and presentations we helped our classmates understand how Burberry Company began and what has kept it in the market. I think that the presentation trained us to become more experienced in sharing our knowledge with others as well as preparing us to be good researchers' effective researchers deliver quality content during a study (Kapferer, J.N., and Bastien, V, 2009, 120). The project had various tasks such as choosing reading materials, researching, preparing classroom content, designing power points, and making the actual classroom presentation. What we gained from this project is not only expertise in research but also content delivery.

We were able to complete the project successfully by sharing tasks equally among our team members. Even though the work seemed tedious at first, the regular reviews from our group leadership ensured that all members were researching the same pace. The group leader motivated us through constant encouragement whenever we got stuck. An effective leader motivates those around his scope of work (Klarsfeld, A, 2010, 88). Our leader demonstrated the participative leadership style by taking into consideration all the views of all group members before making a decision. Participative leadership engages all members in decision making (Lussier, R.N. and Achua, C.F, 2015, 76) all the team members felt relevant and committed themselves to ensure the production of a whole -designed project.

Reflection of How I Contributed as a Team Member

I am happy to cooperate with my group members in our project. My team members are great companions who always invigorated my mind and polished my creativity during our group work. A good team supports each other during execution of tasks (Nawaz Nand Khan I, 2016, 120). We agreed that I should do the presentation with the help of one group member. Our presentation was organized into 19 slides, and I took over the first part of the presentation. I had done exhaustive preparations for our performances but shortly before we started presenting I skimmed through the work. I could sometimes lack explanations for some points during the presentations. I was unable to balance the speech speed and my posture. In the future, I should be attentive to the position, voice speed, non-verbal cues, and interaction with the audience.

How I Interacted with My Peers

The first time I saw the list of my team members I was uneasy since I had not been familiar with them initially. We knew each other from a distance, but we never interacted in project work. Moreover, I had little knowledge about research. Then I kept asking myself how I would discuss with others something I was not confident researching. I read papers and discussed my findings with others. Moreover, I searched online about the history and advertising strategies of Burberry Company. We conducted round table discussions with my team and exchanged our knowledge about Burberry Corporation.

What I Learned From My Colleagues and Myself

I discovered that people have a vast amount of knowledge about different subjects. When given an opportunity to share their knowledge, they can enlighten each other. Reading can help one have a deep understanding of terms and discussions can assist expand one's knowledge (Belbin, R, 2010 123.). The more one shares their knowledge with others the better it sticks in mind to become memorable. After the studies and discussions, my prior understanding of Burberry advertising methods has been overturned. For instance, in the past, I considered that Burberry uses only traditional methods such as billboards in advertising and promoting their brands. I understood that the Burberry uses techniques such as adds to reach their target market effectively. During the project, I recognized the significance of group work and collaboration. Collaboration can multiply the effectiveness of group work (Laal, M. and Ghodsi, S.M.2012, 488). Moreover learned that when reading various scholarly papers, I should not accept their views but think critically.

What Worked Well During the Project with the Team?

I think our project team was one of the best among the present groups. We had a very robust team that had the interest of the group at heart. Additionally, our group leader steered us optimally, and thus each of us was able to deliver as expected. Good leadership precludes an effective project (Anderson et al.2017, 256). There was genuine teamwork, and each member participated actively to ensure no one lagged. Some team members that were not able to deliver the content within the agreed timelines got assistance from the rest. Our leader always inspired us and gave us a desire to keep on with our work. Additionally, learning materials were available from the school library and online databases.

Challenges

In the group project, we explored various related scholarly papers, but I always felt very hard to pick up findings from my team members. The research process was problematic since it was not easy to choose appropriate reading materials which could help our team members have a brief overview of the main concepts under study. For example, we read many papers about visual identity; however, some of them discussed the outer look and design from a narrow perspective. Additionally, it was hard to distinguish the right papers that would give specific information about Burberry since many papers seemed related. Also, the initial stages of the project were hard since members had not interacted with each other to enable them to get along well. Project work is difficult if strangers are paired together (Maughan, C, and Webb, J, 2001, 50). The project was majorly a group task. Thus it emphasized mostly on group work instead of individual work.

What I Could Do Better Next Time

The project activities were distributed equally among the team members. However, if I would be given another project, I would emphasize more on individual work as opposed to group work. Individual effort contributes a significant percentage towards a successful group project (Parker, G, 2011, 67). Also, I would increase the number of learning materials to improve research work. To increase cohesiveness and cooperation during group discussions, I would encourage group members to socialize during the initial days of the project. Leader and team socialization create a conducive environment for project work (Lussier, R, and Achua, C, 2015, 89). Moreover, I would first identify the different strengths and weaknesses of my team members before assigning project tasks to them.

Conclusion

I have found that discussions help one to be knowledgeable about different subjects. Group work is a very educational experience as it teaches one to work well with a team (North use, P, 2018, 77). I have been enlightened particularly about the history and advertising plans of Burberry. I want to improve my confidence when making a presentation which will enable me to share my knowledge with others. Confidence will help me to become a good speaker in my professional life.

References

Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P., 2015. A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-14.

Anderson, H.J., Baur, J.E., Griffith, J.A. and Buckley, M.R., 2017. What works for you may not work for (Gen) Me: Limitations of present leadership theories for the new generation. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), pp.245-260.

Kapferer, J.N. and Bastien, V., 2009. The specificity of luxury management: Turning marketing upside down. Journal of Brand Management, 16(5-6), pp.311-322.

Lussier, R.N. and Achua, C.F., 2015. Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development. Nelson Education.

Laal, M. and Ghodsi, S.M., 2012. Benefits of collaborative learning. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 31, pp.486-490.

Nawaz, Z.A.K.D.A. and Khan_ PhD, I., 2016. Leadership theories and styles: A literature review. Leadership, 16, pp.1-7.

Maughan, C. and Webb, J., 2001. Small group learning and assessment. Retrieved August, 1(2007), pp.43-52.

Belbin, R.M., 2010. Management teams. Routledge.

Klarsfeld, A., 2010. Perspectives from 16 countries on diversity and equal treatment at work: an overview and transverse questions. An Introduction to the International Handbook on Diversity Management at Work. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, Northampton, pp.1-10.

Parker, G.M., 2011. Team players and teamwork: New strategies for developing successful collaboration. John Wiley & Sons.

Northouse, P.G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.