SCHOOL OF Business

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

STUDENT DETAILS

Student name: Keosovannreach Sokha Student ID number: 20279484

UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS

Unit name: Contemporary Management Issues Unit number: 200568

Tutorial group: Friday Tutorial day and time: Fri, 9am-12pm
Lecturer or Tutor name: Pauline Ross

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Title: Reflection
Length: 1,200 words Due date: 26/05/2024 Date submitted: 26/05/2024
Home campus (where you are enrolled): Parramatta city campus

DECLARATION

I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged.

X
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other student’s work or from
X any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another (previous or
X current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission from the Lecturer /
Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
No part of the assignment/product has been written/produced for me by any other person except where
X collaboration has been authorised by the Lecturer / Tutor /Unit Coordinator concerned.
I am aware that this work will be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for the
X purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism
checking).

Student’s signature: Sokha Keosovannreach

Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been
signed.
Reflection week 6: Benchmarking report

After completing my first assessment on the benchmarking report, I realized how deeply this
particular assessment interested me and prompted me to reflect on my past experiences, particularly
those from the class activities in Weeks 2 to 4 tutorials. During this period, our tutor provided two
sample matrices to help us collect research data more efficiently. Additionally, we were tasked with
benchmarking the client, Blue Mountain City Council, against nine other councils, using 10 to 14
measurements to identify the most suitable two councils for final benchmarking. This exercise was
designed to help us grasp the entire benchmarking process and understand its application in real-world
business management practices. From this activity, I learned crucial aspects such as conducting
project research around sustainable business development, effectively using matrices to collect and
organize research data, and learning from comparative analysis between similar entities to assess
overall performance. However, benchmarking the Blue Mountain City Council presented significant
challenges, especially in finding and collecting the right data.
The data collection process was arduous, requiring extensive effort to identify the relevant targets,
initiatives, and goals for accurate comparison. Despite these difficulties, the experience was incredibly
rewarding. I now appreciate the importance of benchmarking and understand its critical role in
evaluating and enhancing business practices. Moving forward, I recognize the need to improve my
research skills to overcome the challenges I faced. Attending research skills workshops offered by
WSU will be essential to enhance my abilities. Benchmarking will undoubtedly be a valuable tool in
my future professional practice, enabling me to identify strengths and weaknesses within my
workplace, especially if my employer aims to expand and compete in the market. This reflection
underscores the importance of continuous learning and development in professional growth.

Reflection week 10 : Culture and diversity

We had a really relaxing and educational experience when we visited the Blue Mountains during
research week. My team and I were from different regions of the world, but we still had a great time
together whether we were working or just having fun. This trip highlighted the importance of cultural
diversity in our organization. As I thought back on our group project and Zoom sessions, I saw how
important it is to have a diverse team in terms of culture. Our team different experiences and points of
view were a great advantage that help enhance the project's methodology and allowed for more
effective communication. Every team member provided different points of view and concepts that
help improved our group's understanding.
The zoom meetings have taught me that working with other people from different cultures and
different background might help make more creative ideas and perspectives that I might not have
thought. Our teamwork and idea and thought sharing help improve our understanding. But I also
realized that differences in culture might sometimes result in miscommunication and
misunderstandings, which could have an impact on the result and task completion. To increase
productivity in the future, it will be important to respect other people points of view and give them the
time and consideration that they require. A welcoming workplace where everyone feels comfortable
engaging and participating with each other is very important for effectively managing cultural
diversity.
Establishing a conversation and listening area among team members is crucial to improving
communication and clearing up misunderstandings. As an upcoming manager, I want to foster an
environment where team members respect cultural diversity by encouraging open communication and
understanding. According to Green et al. (2002), ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to speak
and be heard, as well as creating a safe space for team members to talk, are essential to effective
communication and clearing up misunderstandings.

Reflection week 11: Developing a Presentation

It is the preparation week for our presentation, and everyone on my team is a bit nervous because our
final video will not only be viewed by our tutor but also by our client, the Blue Mountains Council.
This was a very stressful week as we had to combine the data we collected during our visit to
Springwood.
One more challenge we had was scheduling; we were unable to find a suitable time for everyone to
collaborate on the presentation. This was a big problem, but we came up with a clever way to
overcome it: we recorded our sections separately and then mixed them. This approach worked well
since it cut down on the amount of time needed for rehearsals and decreased the need to start again
when mistakes were made a task that would have taken longer if done in a group. We persevered in
the end and were happy with the outcome of our presentation, which we gave to our tutor for feedback
before to the final presentation.

After giving the situation some thought, I realized how crucial flexibility and original problem-
solving are to team project management. One of the most important abilities for effective management
is the capacity to come up with new ideas when things get tight. Reflecting on events and drawing
lessons from them is crucial for both professional and personal development, according to Kolb's
experiential learning theory (Kolb, 1984). This initiative made it easier for me to see how important it
is for managers to be adaptable and flexible in order to overcome unanticipated challenges.
This event highlighted the importance of teamwork and effective communication. We maintained
active and ensured that everyone understood the project's objectives despite the difficulties caused by
our different schedules. It's important to future managers to establish an atmosphere where team
members feel free to share their solutions and ideas. The "performing" stage of team development,
when teams work well together to accomplish their goals, is crucial, according to Tuckman (1965). By
creating a strategy that played to each person's skills, our team was able to fulfill deadlines and
provide an excellent presentation, which got us to this point.

Reflection week 12: Wrapping up

Week 12 near the end of the semester, and we had to be ready to give our tutor our final presentation.
We stuck to the strategy we used in Week 11, working on each element of the presentation separately
before putting them together. We also took into consideration our tutor's feedback of the draft
presentation that we sent in during Week 11. We appreciated the feedback very much, which helped us
to improve our presentation and make it more organized and informative.
I made records of all my class and class related experiences on my laptop, even though I didn't turn
them in every week. I was able to go back and look at my reflection because of this. I made sure I
could learn the lessons from my experiences by employing this strategy throughout the course.
Writing reflections was never a habit of mine, and I struggled hard to identify learning experiences
from past workshops and connect them to my future professional practice. However, through
consistent reflection, I was able to find valuable insights, such as the importance of being responsible
and prepared in my learning journey.
One of the main challenges I faced was changing my learning habits. I learned that incorporating
reflection into my daily routine is crucial for future managers in professional management practices.
Actively participating in class activities and workshops also helped me identify interesting topics for
my weekly entries. This process has significantly improved my ability to see the practical application
of my learning experiences to my future professional work.
In my future professional practice, I understand that being highly responsible and well-prepared can
enhance my management skills, particularly in effectively managing workloads and time
management. These qualities are essential for completing work tasks on time and ensuring successful
outcomes. Green et al. (2002) emphasizes the importance of creating a safe space for team members
to communicate, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to speak and listen. This approach is vital for
effective communication and resolving misunderstandings, which is something I aim to implement in
my future professional practice.

References

Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.
Prentice Hall.

Tuckman, B.W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6),
pp.384-399.

Green, K.A., López, M., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (2002). Diversity in the workplace: benefits,
challenges and the required management tools. University of Florida, 1(4).