Reflective Paper

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Even though I am aware of the importance of a good teamwork, I still lacked practical experiences. During my undergraduate, the assessment methods are 100% paper exams, which resulted that I am employed to working individually.

However, this year in the University of Manchester, from the academic lectures to all kinds of training sessions, the basic formation of them is the group working. I really appreciated the way of teams organising in the last semester. We are assigned into different groups by directors, and there is a broad diversity within each team. So basically, I might be a team leader in one group, but maybe a listener in another. As I stated before, I built my confidence through critical thinking, but this can be only one approach to be a good team member. There are other approaches like hardworking, thoughtful thinking and so along. I think I obtained a lot from teamwork. Overall, they are better academic results, fancier social relationships, and richer experience.

But there is still one case I wish I could do better. There was a group assignment for the module: Business Models, while one of our colleagues was responsible for the business model analysis, and others for internal analysis, external analysis, and recommendation so forth. So, the routine should be the business model came out firstly, and other analysis would come after this model. However, the business model analysis showed up on the daytime before the deadline. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the comment of this assignment is “Separately, the business model part and the following analysis was reasonably good, but obviously, there is a break between these two parts”.

I think everyone wants to be as more friendly as possible, but sometimes, for team working, there should be someone to act the harsh things. If this could be started over, I would be the harsh man, and organised more communication within a team.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this program ranging from teaching lessons to career services, served as a great platform for me to develop my personal skills, encouraging and teaching me to better know myself. Accomplishing all kinds of projects, the skills of time management, critical thinking and teamwork are greatly developed, and it has led me to my personal plan closer. I feel so happy with my progress, but I nonetheless know the space for improvement is endless. When looked back, we are always finding that we could do better. This is not a criticism of the past, but can be an inspiration to serve better.

References

Misra R, McKean M. (2000) College students’ academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction. Am J Health Stud. 16 :41–51.

Cottrell, S. (2011) Critical thinking skills: Developing effective analysis and argument (Palgrave study skills). 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Glassop, L.I. (2002) ‘The organizational benefits of teams’, Human Relations, 55(2), pp. 225–249.

Paul, R.W., Binker, A.J.A. and University, S.S. (1990) Critical thinking: What every person needs to survive in a rapidly changing world. Rohnert Park, CA: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique, Sonoma State University.