ASSIGNMENT

Individual Reflective Essay

 

“The primary objective for personal development planning is to improve the capacity of individuals to understand what and how they are learning and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning”. (Quality Assurance Agency (2000) para 29

Engaging in reflective practice is associated with the improvement of the quality of care, stimulating personal and professional growth and closing the gap between theory and practice

 

Format

 

• Individual Essay

• Approx. 1000 (min) -1500 (max) words

 

An ESSAY is defined as:

‘a logical and continuous progression of ideas and thoughts supported by verifiable evidence leading to a measured conclusion’

 

It should therefore be a seamless flow of ideas sensibly divided into paragraphs, NOT headings.

 

It should, however, have

• Title
• Introduction
• Body text
• Conclusion
• References (see later under ‘Harvard Referencing’) if applicable
• NO headings, bullets, diagrams, appendices please

 

‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cheshire Cat.
‘I don’t much care where,’ said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
‘So long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’
Lewis Carroll (1865), p5

BRIEF

 

• Using some theoretical models such as Belbin submit an Individual Reflective Account, examining the range of experiences encountered during this Module and how you feel you have progressed both within yourself and your interaction with other students
• The experiences come from interactions which the student has with lecturers, tutors, group members, and other students. There will also be external influences
• There is no right or wrong way to develop a reflective essay.
•  For some people a free-form approach might work, but some considerations below may offer a useful framework

 

• What did you expect the year to be like, and what did you get out of the course.
• Did your perceptions change as the year progressed
• How it met (or did not meet) your expectations,
• What did you find difficult
• What did you find easy
• What you have learned from it
• How it has helped (if at all) you to move forward and be prepared for your next year
• Has it helped you to prepare you for life after University and if so in what ways
• Has it developed your skills  and if so how
• Has it made you think about your strengths and weaknesses
• You could consider the model below or others to add structure to your reflection?

 

Eg of one theoretical model you could refer to if you wish

 

Figure 1: Belbin’s Team Roles

Action Oriented Roles	Shaper	Challenges the team to improve.
	Implementer	Puts ideas into action.
	Completer Finisher	Ensures thorough, timely completion.
People Oriented Roles	Coordinator	Acts as a chairperson.
	Team Worker	Encourages cooperation.
	Resource Investigator	Explores outside opportunities.
Thought Oriented Roles	Plant	Presents new ideas and approaches.
	Monitor-Evaluator	Analyzes the options.
	Specialist	Provides specialized skills.

 

• The module is about Enterprise and Entrepreneurship

• Belbin Team Role – I am implementer style person

• I found some difficulties because English is my second language (weakness)

• I found easy to work as a team/group with people from the same country as me.

 

• I enjoyed the variety of assignments

ASSIGNMENT

Reflective Essay

Criteria Sheet

 

 

CRITERIA	ANY COMMENTS	MARK
Title Page –          5%
Use of any theoretical Frameworks?       20%
Reflection  of all aspects of the Module: Lectures, Tutorials, Guests, use of Bb, quality of handouts, Assignments etc         20%
Reflection of the author’s development , related to the Module                        20%
A well developed response showing clear ability to interpret and/or apply their thoughts ?                    20%
Correct format  as outlined in module guide; adequate & correct referencing, errors? 10%
Inclusion of Criteria Sheet… ……………………………5%
TOTAL MARKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MODULE RESOURCES

Textbooks and Reading

All of these reading materials will prove valuable for your study and understanding of enterprise and entrepreneurship.

 

Core Texts on which many of the lectures are based

 

David Stokes & Nicholas Wilson (2006) Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship Cengage Learning ISBN-978-1-4080-1799-9  6^th Edition

 

David Stokes, Nicholas Wilson & Marth Mador (2010) Entrepreneurship Cengage Learning ISBN 978-1-4080-0745-7

 

Mike Southern & Chris West (2005) The Beermat Entrepreneur. Pearson Education.

ISBN 0273704540 2^ND Ed

 

Not core but very often referred to!

 

Brian Tracy (2004) Eat That Frog! Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340835044

 

Mike Southern & Chris West (2005) Sales on a Beermat. Random House Business Books. ISBNI-8441-3819-4

 

Mike Southern & Chris West (2006) Finance on a Beermat. Random House .

ISBN 1-9052-1103-1

 

Baderman J & Law J : Everyday Legends. WW Publishing. York

ISBN: 0-9550132-1-6

 

Bridge Rachel: How I Made It. Kogan Page

ISBN: 0-7494-4311-1

 

Bolton, W. and Thompson, B.K. (2^nd edition 2004) Entrepreneurs: Talent,Temperament, Technique. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0750661283

Key Texts and Further Reading:

The ‘A’ Team – Excellent books ALL of which are used and referred to in lectures or tutorials at some time.  Some are quite inexpensive in paperback but if you don’t buy then make sure you dip in and out of some of them in the library!

 

Ashton R. (2004) The Entrepreneurs Book of Checklists. Pearson Education ISBN 0273694391

 

Clifton & Nelson. ‘Soar with Your Strengths’ ISBN 0-440-50564-X

 

Franks Lynne.  (24 Feb 2005) The Seed Handbook.  Piatkus Books. ISBN:1-4019-0642-7

 

Hindle T (1998) Making Presentations. Dorling Kingsley. ISBN 0-7513-0527-8

Some Useful  Journals: (all of which have websites)

• The Week

• Enterprise and Innovation Management Studies: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
• Management Learning: SAGE Publications
• Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development: Emerald Publishing
• International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research: Emerald Publishing

 

Some Newspapers

• Sunday Times and/or Times
• Sunday Telegraph and/or Telegraph
• Guardian
• Financial Times
• Financial Mail