Capstone Reflection

Our team operated and managed the Littlefield Technologies facility over the span of 1268 simulated days. Our team finished the simulation in 3rd place, posting $2,234,639 in cash at the end of the game. We did intuitive analysis initially and came up the strategy at the beginning of the game. And then we applied the knowledge we learned in the class, did process analysis and modified our strategies according to the performance results dynamically. We have reinforced many of the concepts and lessons learned in class and had a better understanding of the operation of the Littlefield Technologies facility and how certain modifications would affect the throughput and lead time.

This piece of reflection will focus on my experiences whilst on practice placement; I will be using the (Gibbs 1988, cited in Jasper 2003) model of reflection. Gibbs cycle is set out in order of categories made up of different headings (See appendix 1). By using this cycle it allows

A challenge that we faced with our coffee shop was making the staffing decisions. We struggled with trying to figure out a sufficient number of managers and servers to hire and an appropriate pay for them. Around the beginning of the simulation, we had a nice amount of servers which resulted in us receiving an award for best staff. After we extended hours, things seemed to go downhill with our staff. As a result, this had an effect on the overall service of the workers. They were not as happy or productive as we had hoped. Our managers were becoming stressed out and our servers were being overworked and even a couple of our servers quit.

H Company finished the simulation in the second to last position. I believe that is a strong indicator that my competitive intelligence level was low for this simulation. H Company’s Earnings Per Share report increases for year 12 and 13 followed by decreases for years 14-18. My ability to predict the competition was below par. In fact, because I spent more money on the private label brand, I may have ended up putting myself in a worse position. My ability to predict my competitions next move was not good. Every year D Company was able to achieve more market share, while H Company gained less, and less.

[1] How do I . . . Write a Reflection? [Online] Available from: http://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/documents/Reflectivewriting.pdf [12/01/15]

This reflection learning log and essay guide is a helpful learning tool for you to access when you are completing your learning log and also your reflection essay. It provides you with an introduction to the purpose for setting a reflective piece of work and the benefits this produces for you. It provides activities to help you along the way (see separate guide “ACCG 399 Developing a Reflective Capacity Guidance”) and clearly sets out the requirements that are expected of you, including what you will need to hand in at the end of the semester.

Reflection is described as a way of reviewing experiences from practice so that it can be described and analysed and used to change future practice (Bulman and Schutz, 2004).

Effective reflection helps the practitioner to see the situation from an outsider's perspective, so that they can develop a better way to respond to a similar scenario in the future. Reflection is meant to achieve a change in practice, rather than simply repeating the same mistakes (Schon, 1983). Many different models exist for structuring the reflective process. Regardless of the framework used, the reflection models are meant to accomplish three things. They are supposed to promote reflecting on events, self-evaluation and analysis, and a plan to change actions in the future. This Reflective essay will utilize Driscoll's 'The What?' model as its structure (Driscoll, 1994). This model has three components"

This reflection was done using the Gibbs reflective cycle. It has six steps including Description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and finally the action plan. The description section is an introduction to the contents of the reflection, ensuring the reader gets a foundational understanding of the materials. In the Feelings section, I can discuss how I felt about an incident/activity that occurred. The evaluation section allows me to assess the positives/negatives of the way I handled the situation. Then the analysis section is for me to consider steps I could take starting from now that allow me to improve. The conclusion section is for me to bring all the elements of the reflection together. Finally, the Action Plan section is there for me to decide what I would like to do in the future.

A good Reflection Paper will show that you have thought about the spiritual aid, its place and significance in its original context (in the Religion with which it is associated), and how you might adapt it to your own spiritual life. Your reflections should show whether or not you found it a help to your present spiritual growth, and any insights you had with regard to its use by yourself or others

Reflection should become integral to these sessions. Concrete Experience Concerned with something that has happened to you or that you have done. Concerned with adopting your new ideas into practice.

The strategy I chose for the simulation is “Niche Cost Leader." First, with the key focus being value, this strategy will challenge me to keep costs at a minimum and force me to streamline overall costs to produce a valuable commodity that, in turn, will generate financial success that can be shared with internal and external stakeholders. Second, as the success of this strategy primarily relies on the existing product line being prosperous, I will be able to practice and hone my forecasting skills based on one product. Though I eventually will produce more than one product, most of the simulation will be conducting under making the primary product as successful as it can be, and reliable forecasts are

My assessment of the performance of our team (ACC-Baldwin) in Phase One is that we performed decently in terms of strategy, but we have a lot of room for improvement in terms of implementation of strategy in the simulation exercise.

Sometimes failure can really be the best teacher. This was the case with the Lakeview Regional Hospital Simulation Exercise. During the simulation, I learned a lot about working with a team, knowing when to stand firm and when to compromise. I have been a part of plenty of projects, but sometimes I can be a little lost when it comes to the healthcare aspects of things. It was during these times that I looked to my teammates to assist with filling in some valuable blanks about the healthcare environment. I do have a lot of experience with introducing technology, training and media relations. It was during these parts of the simulation that I could really lend a helping hand. The simulation illustrated the importance of buy-in amongst the implementation team as well as other members of the entire organizations. It showed that there will always be some inherent resistance, but that doesn’t mean that change is impossible as long as there is some flexibility.

Learning faster than our competitors definitely contributed to our general competitive advantageous standing in the industry. Our firm’s ability to overcome the learning curve applied not only to the simulation system itself, but also how to apply product changes, fine tuning marketing mix, and respond to competitor changes. Had we not adapted to changes quickly, we would have probably fallen to the bottom in terms of sales volume and team performance.