Introduction

The purpose of the business capstone assessment is to reflect on my past experiences and analyze those experiences with the learning obtained through the course of MBA. I would like to highlight on my business idea with the help of learning from university and life experiences. The main purpose of the capstone assessment was to emphasis on the concepts of Entrepreneurship and how the idea of becoming an entrepreneur will be put into practice. The business model and technology utilized by the business idea helps to understand the impact on our life and allows a connection between people based on their honesty and reliability. The projects on Business Capstone have been quite exploratory in nature and it demanded the core analysis of the company which brought in the curiosity of acknowledging the company through various perspectives. The business idea has been framed with the help of researching on various journals and business plans of successful companies. Consequently, the projects on the business capstone demanded an acknowledgement of the company through the multiple aspects and this has been carrying the motive of enhancing the analysis part. Therefore, the assessment will describe, prepare an analysis and reflect on the mentioned points.

Previous Experience

I would like to introduce the assessment by providing certain details about my personal and professional life. From my initial stages of learning, I was an average student but understood the importance of studies that allowed me to remain curious and learn about different subject matters. As a result, I was able to utilize my learning in my professional career ahead. Apart from the educational learning, my greatest learning was to enhance my inner self and reflect those through my character. This clarity helped me to concentrate sincerely on my studies and my professional career ahead. In the professional field, it became easier for me to understand the complexities of working in an organization, with a team and external people associated with the organization. Although I made certain mistakes but I took them as stepping steps to achieve my organizational goals. I actively participated in team discussions in order make myself vocal and provide opinions as per my knowledge. I consider myself as a team player and someone who has the ability to resolve conflicts with meaningful solutions. I have been an avid follower of business leaders who have paved their own paths to success. The reason behind choosing the course of MBA was to enhance my academic knowledge in the field of business and utilize them effectively to gain better experience in my career ahead.

Capstone Learning     

The business capstone project has been quite insightful and therefore, the foremost action of choosing the relevant company for the analysis was done through regressive analysis of various companies and this has been quite exploring in nature. On acknowledging Apple Inc. it has been identified that the big organisations has been working hard for sustaining at the high positions and this creates on pressure on the employees and the staffs of the company. I chose Apple Inc. for the analysis as it has been an old company and the success of the company has been on high scale too, which provided wide scope of analysis and the exploration was also interesting as the fluctuations were observed. The fluctuations in the company working conditions along with the employees motivation, has provided me with wide knowledge and information which helped in making the project much diverse. The project was to be done in two parts, the report part and the presentation which together brought in the two aspects of the company. The concerned company has been observed to be quite hard working but it has been creating pressure on its employees too and the employees has been observed to be demotivated. The project has provided me with a perception that the big companies are built up through the hard work and the unity that the employees of the company execute. On assessing the concerned company it has been identified that though the company provided various facilities and perks to its employees but the work pressure has been impacting the motivational aspect and thus, this would affect the company in the near future (Kasseanet al. 2015). It made me realized that the big companies need to work more than the other medium sized companies as sustaining in the market is much tougher than creating the initial impression. The maintenance of quality of work and products has to be done accurately as these are the factors which impacts the people and the customers at large.

The motivational issue in Apple Inc. has been of high intensity and I realized that the analysis that I carried on has provided me with the facts and steps which could be taken by the concerned company in mitigating the impact of the high work pressures. The de-motivational actions or the factors could be reduced through taking up the various leadership theories and motivational theories. I have explored the multiple leadership and motivational theories which could be applied in the concerned company and it has been cross checked as per the requirements of the company too. The role that leadership plays in an organisation has been explored well and I have provided the possibilities or the advantages that the Apple Inc. could gain through taking the leadership aspect in the workings of the company. I have even provided on the relationship aspect that needs to be maintained in the company as this would help the company in building or framing the relationships within the employees, employee and employer, etc. The relationship of the employee and the employer has been focused on in the project as this is the most vital aspect of relationship for an organisation. It could be stated that I have contributed hugely in the recommendations for the company to opt for in order to maintain a balance in the world load and this could actually be productive if applied with accuracy. The relationship management of the employees and the employers has to be done through motivating the employees and maintaining the interest of the employees. I have rightly explored the human resource management of the company and the laws and the policies of the employment has been assessed in order to understand the loopholes. It is rightly stated that the de-motivational factors exist when the human resource management is not able to manage the employees in the most effective manner. The employment laws needs to be renewed and rechecked at regular intervals in order to meet the expectations of the employees and the changing perceptions of the employees needs to be included in the laws (Reynolds& Vince, 2017). This aspect has been realized through assessing the company and the issues that it has been facing. The framework of the employment legislation required to be accurate that was known to me but the renewal and the inclusion of new terms and conditions in the legislation, could impact the employees to such extent was never known to me. The exploration has provided me with some fruitful and new ideas which has been the mixture of known facts and unknown facts. The strategic human resource management has been the tool of Apple Inc. for managing its employee’s retention and attraction. The strategic human resource management has been the vital tool of Apple Inc. and it has provided the company with some productive results too.

Apple Inc. has been one of the largest companies and even such companies’ faces issues in the working area were quite new to my knowledge. I experienced through the exploration that the large companies need to be accurate in their decisions and the profits that they gain are he in number no doubt, but when the losses occur it is more than the profits. The analysis provided me with the experience of understanding the sensitivity that such companies carry and the accuracy that needs to be maintained. The execution of the projects provided me with the new experience of acknowledging the motivational factors that works and the employees get impacted psychologically to work in a more committed manner (Schneideret al. 2017). The experience of creating and finding something relevant and applicable for the company has been quite informative as the exploration had to be specific to the issue that the company faced and the solution required accuracy too. The understanding of the human resource management and the motivational factors along with the leadership importance, all was explored and it actually provided me with the fact on how important and impacting these factors are on the organisation and its employees. The framing up of the presentation demanded accuracy and presenting the zest of the entire scenario which has been done through acutely understanding the case and the issue. The framework of the report has been done explanatorily and it has added on to my writing and expressing skills.

The exploration of the company has been interesting ad it has been quite informative too but initially, it has been quite confusing as in the identification of the issues, I faced problem. The identification of the issue with the employees has been quite hectic and it demanded the exploration of multiple aspects of the company. The issue has been impacting the productivity and the quality of the company, which could be the consequence of many other technical issues. The main challenge in the project has been the choice to be made for the company. Choosing the company has been one of the greatest challenges as I have been unaware that all the big companies faces these issues. The second challenge that I faced in the project was to bring out the best suitable solution to the issue of de-motivation. The exploration had to be wide in nature and the application of the solution has to be apt for the company too. The company being one of the biggest companies, has been quite experienced and must have opted for the most suitable solutions, this made me more attentive and the demand of being accurate with my suggestion increased. These were the two major issues that I faced in the project. Other than these, there has been minor issues which has been tackled well through exploring various other projects and cases.

Forethought, what comes after the MBA

The projects of Business Capstone have been quite interesting but it also carried some major challenges which kept me engaged all the time of the day and night. The understanding of the impact of motivational actions or programs and the acknowledgement of the social life of the people has been the crucial challenges. The understanding of the human social behaviour being impacted by the motivational actions or considerations has been the major concerns. The research project has been quite challenging as it required some accurate specifications on the motivational actions which impacts the social behaviour of the employees and of the employers, or it could be said the impact on the human nature (Ntoumaniset al. 2018). This demanded the understanding and exploration of the human psychology which has been out of concern but as the exploration was done, the research gradually revealed multiple factors. The concept on the socialising behaviour became clear as the motivational theories were explored and on acknowledging them, the human psychology has also been understood to some extent. These findings has been quite challenging and it even kept me awake for few nights as getting into the minds of the human or of the employees conceptions has been the major concerns. I never a carried a character of acknowledging people’s behaviour or their actions, and has been quite casual with it, this added on to the challenge of understanding the mind-set of the employees and of the employer and calculating their reactions or decisions as per the situations. The motivational theories has been the source of information for understanding the behavioural changes and each of the theories has been presenting different aspects of human nature. The motivational theories such as Malsow’s Hierarchy of Need, Herzberg’s two factor Theory, McCLellands’ Theory of Needs and many more are there which in a way reflects the need of the employees and the steps that could be taken in order to make them satisfied and keep committed to the organisation. The exploration of the motivational theories has provided me with the description of employee’s nature which in a way reflects the human nature. It has been quite difficult for me to understand the application and the practical knowledge of employee’s perceptions or demands, and it has been done or gained through closely and accurately exploring the concepts or theories. The projects have provided me with some challenging experiences and some productive outcomes which have added on to my knowledge and experiences.

Final Reflection 

The entire project of Business Capstone has been quite productive for me and it has been a great experience too. The framing up of each of the assignments demanded some or the other additional requirements which in return has added on to my knowledge and experience which is expected to provide me with some productive results in future too. The assignments demanded some highly sensitive outlooks and close understanding which was quite hectic and stressful but on completing them, the experience has been quite informative. The exploration of Apple Inc. through various perspectives and acknowledging its case study all has been demanding some or the other additional qualities, which I have been building it up through assessing the information’s available. The motivational factors could have such major impacts on the humans, was never known to me. The explorations and the analysis of the company and motivational theories along with the human resource management all has provided me with some productive acknowledgements. The motivational theories provided me with the fact that the employees need to be provided with some perks and attractions in order to sustain them in the organisation, no mate what is the size of the organisation. Secondly the human resource management exploration added on to my knowledge on the management skills and leadership skills, which plays a vital role in the organisation and an organisation works well and smoothly if it has accurate leaders and human resource managers. Though the perspectives of the employees has been quite selfish in nature as the people could also carry a perspective of providing or innovating something new without expecting anything in return as this would show the dedication and the actual outlook of the people. The research assignment, the report and the presentation all has been three different aspects of presenting the information and it has been done through understanding the role or the perspective it would convey. Though the assignments could have been made simpler through keeping it alike but the different modes of assignment has provided a diversity to my knowledge as what impacts the presentation of the information through different aspects has on the audience. The overall project has been quite innovative for me and it has added on to my personality through providing information on the human psychology and various other aspects of working conditions and the impact that the employers action has on the employee’s actions. The overall project has added on to my information’s and knowledge which would help me in gaining some identification in the future career as well as it has provided me with the conceptions and perspectives that the employer’s hold which needs to be assessed well in order to gain as an employee. The assignments has provided me with the two faced facts as it revealed the aspects that the employers hold and the perspective that the employees hold both could be utilised in future. I have really enjoyed the project and the project has provided me with some long lasting information and experiences. The actual face and the requirements of running an organisation and steps for taking them to the sustaining level has also been identified.

References

Kassean, H., Vanevenhoven, J., Liguori, E., &Winkel, D. E. (2015). Entrepreneurship education: a need for reflection, real-world experience and action. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior& Research, 21(5), 690-708.

Ntoumanis, N., Quested, E., Reeve, J., &Cheon, S. H. (2018). Need supportive communication: Implications for motivation in sport, exercise, and physical activity. Persuasion and communication in sport, exercise, and physical activity, 155-169.

Reynolds, M., & Vince, R. (2017). Organizing reflection: An introduction. In Organizing reflection (pp. 15-28). Routledge.

Schneider, B., González-Romá, V., Ostroff, C., & West, M. A. (2017). Organizational climate and culture: Reflections on the history of the constructs in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 468.

Reflective Journal

Introduction

The content of the following assessment relates to the concepts of Entrepreneurship and how it allows people to broaden their creative minds. This topic is relevant to me since the time I have inculcated the understanding of the business world within me. The importance of the topic can be analyzed by looking around the creativity and innovation budding around the business world. As innovation and creativity are two very different yet interrelated concepts, it allows entrepreneurs to opine their ideas to the world to innovate something new either for the benefit of the society or gain a competitive position in the world. A person can gain knowledge from their academic career and utilizing them in their professional career ahead. However, learning the concepts in-depth was my primary motive so that I would be able to utilize my creative thinking to leverage my entrepreneurial career. As per my experience in the professional field, it was an insightful experience as I came across different complexities and concepts used in a business. The idea was to gain understanding of the motivational and driving forces of a business to survive in the long run. So far, I have learnt that entrepreneurs must always make use of opportunities appropriating their value. It allowed me to gain courage and ability to take risks, enhance my leadership qualities, keep an open mentality, and gain confidence to make right decision at the right time.

1. Reflections on Module 1

Entrepreneurship is a well-known concept in the world of business that enables people with creative ideas to lead the way of innovation. According to Burns (2016), the concepts of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are nothing new to businesses. Business owners understand the part that without creativity and innovation, a business might not form or survive in the long run. Entrepreneurs succeed by thinking and doing new things or doing old things in new ways. However, innovation and creativity is not the same thing. Creativity refers to thinking new things and the ability to develop and discover new methods and new materials. Whereas, innovation refers to the ability to apply the methods and ideas either to form new things or enrich society. Many times, the person who brings out the creativity is the inventor too and this person can be an entrepreneur as he or she utilizes the ideas to gain commercial benefit. As opined by Tidd & Bessant (2018), in today’s corporate world, there has been rising the competition and the demand for more creative ideas and innovations have spiked with time. According to mu understanding, entrepreneurship is often the result of innovation and creativity with a purposeful action attached to it. The globalization of the world’s economy has enabled several industries for market development but also it creates better opportunities for jobs, growth and wealth. The topic is relevant to me in terms of understanding the concepts and importance of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship. I learnt that big businesses are pulling out of developed economies to initiate enhanced opportunities for developing economies and entrepreneurs to experiment with new business ideas. Therefore, for the continuous stability and growth of the economy, innovative entrepreneurial businesses are highly essential.

• Reflections on Module 2

In module 2, I understood that tools and frameworks to support innovation. As identified by Raza, Qazi & Shah (2018), the role of an entrepreneur is not limited to coming off with new products and modern methods but also utilize them for further growth and innovation. In order to research this topic, I choose a specific case study which illustrated the example of setting up business in extreme scenarios by way of identifying value proposition designs, appropriate research and lean methodology. The following case study is related to creative entrepreneurship where the speaker identifies opportunity for bringing innovation to benefit the economy and the company. It realized that a company requires different business models in order to make their business a success and their products market-fit. The case study made me understand that entrepreneurs must always make use of opportunities appropriating their value. The effective implementation of ideas has the potential to turn their creativity into innovation.The speaker’s emphasis was on deploying creativity into business rather than making huge financial Investments but by making smart moves and research. I identified that his examples were related to resolving the current issues specifically in the developing nations so that entrepreneurs can market their products in those nations. I topic is relevant to me as it allowed me to understand that in future, I can analyze my own business or that of a competitor. I gained knowledge on the key partners, activities, value propositions, customer segments and relationships, resources, cost, and revenue streams. These concepts will be beneficial to test my assumptions in my workplace or entrepreneurial venture.

• Reflections on Module 3

The projects have been interesting and productive to me, and I understood that the whole idea of starting a new business comes up from a single idea and the idea of being independent. During this module, I came across the concepts of User Centered Design approach which is ideal during the design and implementation phase. Entrepreneurs possess the characteristics of being more passionate about their ideas and goals to be achieved as in the current scenario, majority of entrepreneurs are concerned with uplifting the economy of their respective countries and benefiting their people. It is the creativity that enables them to think and act towards achieving something great and innovative. The company to be set up therefore does not need to be a revolutionary technology but something that has the power to make people think differently. However, as per my past experience, I realized that with simple approaches and engagement techniques, entrepreneurs can improve their customer experience and product development process. In my opinion, becoming an entrepreneur and entering business market is not easy, as having knowledge about marketing and finances becomes the foremost requirement to grow and prosper. I would like to apply this knowledge at my future workplace as this would help improve my presentation and research skills. My concern lies in understanding consumer behavior and act accordingly to map their preferences and needs.

• Reflections on Module 4

Business Plan and the Marketing Plan was one of the most important modules which I came across. During my learnings, I analyzed that even when an entrepreneur has limited resources, their ideas can work for the betterment of the society. However, the culmination of a good business and marketing plan makes the idea more effective. As we know that the simple idea of using water filled clear plastic bottles to utilize as a source of light is not only innovative but also cost-effective and brings a better alternative solution to the problem of electricity in rural areas. I also came across the Interactionist theory which highlights that creativity is the result of complex interaction of situations of organization.It is easy for entrepreneurs to come up with a variety of ideas, but the difficulty lies in actually implementing those concepts. A business concept acts as a bridge between the idea and a business plan. This made me identify the prerequisites converting an idea into business concept. As per my preference, a written concept statement is much more effective and helps in unearthing critical elements of a venture. This always helps in entrepreneur to evaluate the business more effectively to identify any pitfalls or challenges. Many companies and entrepreneurs may succeed without in-depth planning, but on the contrary, there are companies which require this to lay their foundation.In addition to that, I found this topic relevant as a business plan leads you to make financial planning also. I would like to improve my skills that would support my entrepreneurship career in the future.

• Reflections on Module 5

During this module, I came across the art of obtaining capital and other resources to start a venture. I identified the idea of business concept plan to launch a food delivery business through the innovative concept of using a Drone to deliver food. Then, I identified the sources of funding with other resources. As suggested by Laud, Betts &Basu(2015), a business concept is framed to identify a particular problem in the business and provide necessary solutions to it. The business name is Deliverro in Canberra, Australia and delivers fresh foods to customers to any corner of the city. The problem identified is the delay in food delivery due to heavy traffic and technical issues. Here, I analyzed the situation. There can be several issues behind delay in service and that results in a negative brand image thereby disrupting customer satisfaction. I understood that the major concern of this organization lies within its delay in food service. Here, I adopted the first mover advantage in the market as the concept of creativity and innovation comes into place. The idea was to introduce a drone food delivery service which food utilize advanced technology to accomplish the goal. The business concept plan identified technology as a great source of medium for the organization to meet the customer demands within required time. On the organization point of view, this new innovation would not only help in delivering the food faster but also minimize certain expenses diesel costs and manpower. I specifically identified specific business models that would fetch higher revenues from the business idea. Along with that, I had the idea of preparing for contingencies to support the business during tough times. According to my understanding, planning the business is one of the most comprehensive roadmaps for success as it is easier to make changes in the plan asper the changes in the market. I have rightly explored every aspect of the market while preparing the business plan and realized the impact of the underlying issues which could potentially hamper the brand image of the company. The experience I gathered from this is highly productive and expect to utilize the knowledge whenever necessary.

• Reflections on Module 6

While addressing the issues I identified that there can be possibilities of certain challenges while executing a business that allowed me to understand the capabilities of my entrepreneurial mind. The first and foremost being the understanding of the market scenarios of the food delivery industry. The second challenge could be the appropriate use of technology in the drones to enhance the speed of the delivery. The third challenge was to safely deliver the food without getting it destroyed either by weather, human error or any technical issue. The fourth challenge understood of the human resource management and motivational factors to keep the good work continuing. The report explains the business plan in a very comprehensive manner, and it reflects my way of preparing a good business plan. Even when I wanted clarity with regards to these challenges, I had confidence within myself to accomplish writing a good business plan considering all necessary matters. In the current scenario, majority of businesses are thriving to survive the competition and only few are able to survive. I learned that they were able to survive due to strong commitment and motivation to work for the betterment of the people and society. Successful companies analyze their risks and also identify their competitors to make the right move. Therefore, creativity and innovation are majorly the most important keys for the success of an organization.

References

Burns, P. (2016). Entrepreneurship and small business. 3^rd ed. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan Limited.

Laud, R., Betts, S., &Basu, S. (2015). The’Business Concept’Competition as a’Business Plan’Alternative for New and Growing Entrepreneurship Programs: What’s the Big Idea?. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 18(2), 53.

Raza, S. A., Qazi, W., & Shah, N. (2018). Factors affecting the motivation and intention to become an entrepreneur among business university students. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 12(3), 221-241.

Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. R. (2018). Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and organizational change. 4^th ed. New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons.