Please see attached the guidelines for BUSI1496 (Professional Practice 2) , all based on

experience

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Reflective Report which is up to 2,500 words is a summary of learning from work experience. It

should reflect and be structured around the four MBAIB Key Managerial skills.
MBAIB Key Managerial Skills
o

Negotiating skills

Leadership

Problem solving

Change management

In order to prepare your Reflective Report (see below) you will need to develop, summarise and reflect
on your experience at work and relate it to identified skills and theories. The structure of each section
is for you to decide this is Postgraduate study but students in the past have found the following
template helpful. Remember to focus on your learning in relation to a particular skill which might have
developed through several different but related experiences. Do NOT try and catalogue all, or even the
most important, experiences you have had during your Internship this usually results in a fail.
Structure of a Reflective Report
(Word length guides are indicative only of the maximum length that each section should NORMALLY
be. You may vary these at your own discretion but remember that marks are earned for analytical work
rather than description)
Introduction (guide 200 words)
Who you are; what are the key skills and abilities you bring to the Internship post; any relevant past
experiences?
What does your Internship job involve? Your Job description and person specification (if available) will
be key documents here. They may be included as Appendices and should not be included in the Word
Count.

Are you on a management training scheme?

Does your organisation have an Appraisal system? Describe it; is it a good one? (What does the
literature suggest a good appraisal system should look like for an organisation like the one you work
for? How does yours compare? Do you agree with the literature or not?) Have you had an Appraisal?
What did you learn from the exercise?
What opportunities does the Internship offer for you to develop and demonstrate:o

Leadership skills

Negotiating skills

Problem solving skills

Change management skills

Your internship should allow you to develop and demonstrate the four key managerial skills listed
above in order to achieve the learning outcomes of the Professional Practice Course.
Each of the skills is open to wide interpretation and your analysis below should relate to your
experience of each of the skills in the context of your Internship. Marks will be awarded for depth of
understanding (breadth of reading); ability to synthesize models of good practice; ability to analyse
your own performance in relation to your model of good practice; ability to draw valid conclusions from
your analysis; and make appropriate recommendations for your own and your organisations
development. Description should be kept to the minimum necessary to support your analysis.
Leadership (guide 350 words)
In this and the following four sections you must:9. Develop a model of Leadership appropriate to your position in your organisation.

This will involve you in the use of a wide range of sources from the literature. It is usually best to start
with the classics (usually books) which cover the skill generally and then work through recently
published books, refereed journals and web sources to look for literature which discusses the latest
developments; particularly in relation to the circumstances and/or industry you are working in.
Your mark (see marking criteria below) will depend on the breadth of reading covered and your ability
to work logically, critically and demonstrate originality in deriving a model to analyse your own
leadership skills or lack of them in your internship.
o

Analyse your performance in comparison to that suggested by the model you have derived

from the literature.

Use whatever evidence you have your own perceptions of your performance, Appraisal Reports,
comments from colleagues, managers, and clients etc to work out your strengths and weaknesses;
how you have developed; and what you still need to work on. It is the quality of your analysis (your
ability to be a reflective learner) rather than evidence of good performance that will earn you marks!
3. Comment on the usefulness of the model and its appropriateness for you and your
organizations circumstances.
Demonstrate originality and insight by suggesting possible improvements and/or developments for you,
your organisation and the model i.e. what research needs to be done to further improve our
understanding of this area of managerial practice in this type of organisation.
Negotiating skills (guide 350 words)
As for leadership above but with reference to Negotiating Skills.
Problem solving skills (guide 350 words)
As for leadership above but with reference to Problem Solving Skills.
Change management skills (guide 350 words)
As for leadership above but with reference to Change Management Skills.
Reflective Practice (guide 300 words)
What does reflective learning mean to you? Look at the literature on Reflective Learning and derive a
model of good practice that you (should) have followed through your Internship. Did you follow it? Did
it work for you? Did some features of the model work better than others? If so comment on those that
worked well and those that you think did not? (You should aim to look at at least three authors writings
on Reflective Learning; their supporters and their critics. All should be properly cited and included in
your bibliography. Obviously the more sources you look at the better your work is likely to be. You
should aim to do this reading early in your Internship so that you can put your model into practice.
Cross refer to your Blog assessment on reflective learning.)
Evaluate the model of reflective learning you have produced in the light of your own experience. How
would you improve it?
Conclusion (guide 200 words)
Summarize your reflections on your learning and development through your internship.

Recommendations (guide 150 words )

Make between 2 and 5 practical and implementable recommendations that derive from and link to your
previous text.

What is your thinking?

-Vicknesh Thevendran