Essay using gibbs reflective cycle

Strategic Management and Responsible Leadership

Individual Assessment: some handy tips

1. The task

ICA 50% (Individual) – 3,000 word reflective essay - demonstration of your own learning over the course of the module and specifically as part of the group. Students will be expected to include in their reflective essay evidence of leadership and explore critically how this relates to the theory presented as part of the module. Challenges should be presented along with how the individual, or team overcame these challenges. This assessment relates to learning outcomes 3,4,5.

2. How should I approach this?

· This essay covers a number of issues: your relationship with the learning materials; your group work – specifically the problem you have identified and how you worked together as a group, how the module has changed your view of the world e.g. was there a moment in the conference that inspired you to find out more and change your outlook?

· Remember this is reflective writing and relates to your own learning – therefore it is acceptable to write in the first person throughout;

· Select an appropriate reflective model to stimulate and underpin your reflection e.g. Gibbs. Be clear to state you are using this particular model and refer to it periodically throughout.

· Refer back to the two-day conference to stimulate your thinking. Remember, this was the vehicle to introduce you to contemporary learning materials and real world insights from the business community… This will prompt reflection and connection to the academic materials on the Blackboard site and of course, other readings/research you will need to independently source;

· Think about your group work so far. How did you come together (hint think about the session Jeanette did at the conference), how have you worked as a group and how did you overcome challenges?;

· Refer to the live group challenge you are working on and discuss the problem you have identified e.g. poverty, homelessness;

· Don’t forget to refer to the 17 SDGs in this piece;

· As you reflect ensure that you are linking to relevant theory and practice – e.g. look at the learning materials on Blackboard viz. strategy and models of leadership;

· Important areas of theory to examine are: responsible leadership, the role of business in society, and do remember that you have been asked to provide strategic ideas in response to the brief and so you should demonstrate engagement with relevant strategic management literature;

· Whilst the marking criterion is a useful tool to assist structure, don’t let it inhibit you. We are looking for evidence of what it contains throughout. So, for example, we would expect to see critical discussion throughout, we would expect to see reference to theory and references in the introduction and scope etc.

3. What should I avoid?

· Merely providing a descriptive narrative of chronological events. It’s ok to mix things up and refer to something more than once (BUT AVOID DUPLICATION). E.g. you may refer to Terri-Anne’s speech in a number of different contexts;

· Not referring to theory or adding references;

· Not using a model of reflection to underpin the essay;

· Incorrect referencing;

· Trying to cover everything – be selective!

4. So, how do I write in the first person and critique theory?

This is a skill, but not an impossible one. I’ve included a short passage of my own work, which adopts this approach and hopefully you’ll get a feel for it.

Autoethnography first appeared in the mid-1970s, emerging with the increase in identity politics. Since then, autoethnography has has grown in popularity as a research method, despite its criticisms, which I will briefly touch on later in this chapter. There are a number of definitions of autoethnography. Ellis &Bochner (2000) define autoethnography as ‘autobiographies that self-consciously explore the interplay of the introspective, personally engaged self with cultural descriptions mediated through language, history, and ethnographic explanation (P.742). Another useful definition by Adams et al., (2015) states that ‘autoethnography is a qualitative method – it offers nuanced complex, and specific knowledge about particular lives, experiences and relationships rather than general info about large groups of people’ (2015:21).

Both definitions are broadly similar, but I concur with Chang (2008) that the definition posited by Ellis and Bochner leans too far towards the autobiographical than the ethnographic end (P.2). Both definitions, though, share similarity in that they connect the personal to the cultural, which is a key facet of autoenthography (Chang, 2008:2). According to de Munk (2000) culture and people have a symbiotic relationship and therefore culture would cease to exist without the individuals who make it up.

Building on the words of de Munk, I have chosen autoethnography as my theoretical lens because it is a method of inquiry that will allow me to draw upon my personal and professional experience to explore my practice; it will allow me to critically reflect upon the relationships I have with people in the communities of practice I am active within (for example life as a musician and my work as a management educator) and, importantly, autoethnography requires deep and careful self-reflection (reflexivity), in order to interrogate the intersections between self and society (Adams et al., 2015:2). The latter point is an important one, in that this context statement is indeed a reflective account on my critical engagement with my public works. I am at the centre of my practice, embracing the roles of jazz musician and management educator, using my experience in these roles to contribute to two bodies of knowledge (e.g. jazz informing strategic marketing practice).

The SMRL Module Team