INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO REFLECTION (Essay Sample)

Individual Portfolio Reflection Name: Institutional Affiliation: Introduction The reflection offers an opportunity for someone to improve his or her personal and professional development skills which are vital to enhancing the employability of individuals. The reflection focuses on the group project that became created for the purpose of improving the individual's ten skills of learning and employment. The group worked diligently to enhance the adoption of the ten skills by the individual team members who also played a big role in achieving the success of the group project. The ten skills that the group became interested in achieving include; 1 Cognitive skills of critical thinking, analysis and synthesis 2 Effective problem-solving and decision-making 3 Effective communication, oral and written 4 Numerical analysis and quantitative skills 5 Effective use of communication and information technology 6 Effective self-management 7 Effective performance within a team environment 8 Interpersonal skills 9 Proficiency in performing research on business and management matters 10 Self-awareness and criticality The achievement of these skills was the main objective behind the launch of the group project so as to enhance the learning and employability of the individuals in the group. These skills of learning and employment were the terms of reference of the group project that we embarked on to enhance the practical approach of the learnt skills. In the group, the members premeditated on some of the viable projects that we could undertake so as to meet the provided terms of references. After a series of deliberations, the group chose to undertake the project in partnership with the Royal Volunteer Services, which is a voluntary charity organization in the UK (Royal Voluntary Services, 2016). The group commenced on this particular project by investing ten Pounds in the organization that could become directed into offering charity for the elderly and needy in the society. The group project would, therefore, involve the inclusion of a viable trade that would result in the creation of the finances to get offered to the Royal Volunteer Services. The group initially suggested the business of providing Arabic hot drinks within the university, which became foregone because of assessment that depicted its lack of viability in the university. The group went ahead and thought of initiating a henna drawing business for the students of the university. The idea was, however, cancelled because the administration of the university found out that henna had medical issues concerning allergies to some of the students in the college. The last idea that became adopted as the core business of the group project was the selling of crisps from Qatar in the university. The Qatar crisps got viewed as a unique product that could not become found in the UK, thus, making it certain that the group would prosper in the new idea. The group managed to identify a suitable stall in the university with the help of the group tutor. The main objective of the group project was to provide revenue that would get channeled to the Royal Volunteer for the purpose of helping the elderly in the society. The other core objective of undertaking the group project was to ensure that the individual members of the group would improve their knowledge regarding the ten skills of learning and employment so as to enhance their personal and professional development. The group also learnt adequately from the values that become practiced by the Royal Volunteer based on its long-term operations in the UK. The individual reflection of the group project shall utilize the Gibb's reflective cycle so as to portray the actions of the individual members of the group, and also show how the individuals managed to benefit in the ten skills of learning and employment (Moon, 2013). The reflective cycle shall also outline the different activities that became undertaken by the group during the administration of the project. The Gibb's reflective cycle provides six stages through which an individual can reflect on their past works and achievements so as to offer the basis for what was learnt and achieved by the individuals in the situation. The reflection shall provide a detailed discussion of every stage of the cycle so as to provide a reflection that improves the personal and professional development of the individual. The six stages of the Gibb's reflective cycle include the description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan (Jonassen & Land, 2012). Description The description section relates to what happened in the project and where it exactly happened. The stage also highlights the various individuals that became pertinent to the group project. This stage has the majority of the issues that relate to the reflection, and as such, it is the longest stage as it highlights various activities performed by the individual and the group. The group project became established by the creation of the group, which I was the leader. The group decided to undertake a project that would involve investing ten Pounds into the Royal Volunteer so as to offer donations that would become significant in offering help for the elderly and needy in the society. The group started the journey of coming up with the business idea that would get performed in the university so as to assist its objective of offering financial donations to the Royal Volunteer. Firstly, the group members discussed the idea of offering Arabic hot drinks to the students of the university. The idea was, consequently, rejected given that it would take a lot of time to materialize, thus, interfering with the planned presentation of the group project. The rejection of this idea paved the way for the decision of initiating a business that would deal in henna drawing for the students of the university. The group had focused this to on being an excellent business, but it got terminated based on the university administration's urge that the business was not medically sound given that some of the university students were allergic to henna. The last business idea that the group members decided to set up became suitable for the university, and it would focus on the sale of Qatar crisps in the university. The group tutor told me that the crisp business would become appropriate in the university. The students discussed that the Qatar crisps could not get found anywhere in the UK, and, hence, it was a great business idea that would provide enough sales for the realization of their objectives. The decision became followed by the booking of a stall in the university with the help of the group tutor. After deciding on the group project, I advertised the business in Instagram so that the project could reach out to the Arabic students in the university. The achievement of the group's business got realized after three meetings with the group members. The meetings, however, became effective in providing various skills to the students. For instance, I became equipped with problem-solving and decision-making skills, critical analysis and synthesis, interpersonal skills, and ability to perform research on business and management issues. The formulation of the business idea was, therefore, helpful in improving our learning and employment skills. In the subsequent meeting, we did organize ourselves on how to sell the crisps in the university. The crisps of the group became sold within one day. I proposed the use of group chats, and I went ahead and created a Whatsapp group chat, which the group members would utilize for easy contact instead of having meetings on minor issues. In our sixth meeting, the group prepared on the presentations that could get presented to the tutor and Royal Volunteers so as to ensure everything was alright. The seventh meeting involved the practice of the presentation before the actual presentation. In our last meeting, we presented the group project to the tutor and Royal volunteers for three minutes. Our tutor was very pleased with the outcome of our project. After the presentation, I prepared a poster that could display the group's project, as well as, the lessons learnt from the execution of the project. Feelings In this section, the reflection highlights how the individual feels regarding the ten skills of learning and employment. The project portfolio became relevant in improving my cognitive critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis. This got achieved through the numerous discussions that we had in the group regarding the business choice. It was also during these discussions that my capability of performing research on business and management issues got realized by the various business considerations that the group undertook. The group project also enhanced my effective communication, both oral and written because I had to engage with the group members for the various deliberations made towards the achievement of the project (Zimmerman, 1998). The utilization of Instagram for the group project also improved our skills of effective use of communication and information technology because we had the ability to communicate using these technology platforms. The group project also enhanced our problem-solving and decision-making skills given that we had to come up with solutions for the business and also make significant decisions that determined the roadmap of the project. As the group leader, I had to improve my skills of effective self-management so as to ensure that the members would also become proficient in self-management. The adoption of the Whatsapp group chat was one approach to improving our effective self-management. The presentation of the group also enhanced my skills of increased performance within the teamwork. The group project also became critical in improving my int...