AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Aalia Baloch N1001587 Word Count: 1556
ETHICS STATEMENT I confirm that this work has gained a favourable ethics opinion and that I have faithfully observed the terms of the opinion in the conduct of this project. Date: 27/03/23
Signed:
4 Introduction
6 Gibbs reflective cycle
12
20
Evaluation
Conclusion
14
22
Analysis
Image references
8
16
Description
Conclusion
24
10 Feelings 2
CONTENTS
References
18
26
Action Plan
Bibliography 3
INTRODUCTION This report will contain a critical evaluation of my experience on the Co-lab module and the efforts contributed by myself individually and those around me. I will use the reflective model ‘Gibbs Reflective Cycle’ (The University of Edinburgh) and any necessary literature to assess the experience, moreover I will conclude with the use of SMART actions to create an action plan for any future assessments.
4
5
GIBBS REFLECTIVE CYCLE
Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) (The University of Edinburgh) (see appendix 1, pg 30-31) is a form of reflection which typically uses six different elements to enable people to reflect on previous experiences and improve when it comes to new experiences. The elements are description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. I chose this model as I felt it has clear sections to allow me to reflect on specific parts of the assessment and push me to my full potential when completing work in the future.
6
7
DESCRIPTION For this assessment we were asked to produce a group presentation supported by primary and secondary research, covering a digital concept which was focused on marketing scent for the brand Aromatherapy Associates. I was put in a group with five others to complete this presentation, additionally we were assigned a student from FIT in New York, who carried advanced knowledge of the aromatherapy industry. Our concept revolved around products being approved by healthcare professionals for its healing qualities without the target consumer knowing the scent or true qualities digitally (see appendix 2, pg 32-33). This concept with decided through the editing of a collaborative presentation to collect ideas from every group member (see appendix 3, pg 34-35). We proposed the concept to the FIT student who felt our idea was strong and would attract the target audience.
8
9
FEELINGS
This project definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone to begin with as it is an area, we were all unfamiliar with and a group of students I hadn’t worked with before. However, I was willing to learn and work with others to achieve the best possible outcome. When it came to presenting, I was concerned that our concept wasn’t strong enough due to students being absent creating an issue with rehearsing the presentation. Once we had managed to complete and present the assessment, I felt relieved however slightly disappointed as other students work seemed stronger and more thought through. I feel as though other students were also potentially dissatisfied as in addition to the lack of preparation, we experienced a few technical issues as the presentation was remote, nevertheless we pushed through to the end. Reassessing the situation, I feel as though we did as best as we could given the unforeseen circumstances.
10
11
EVALUATION In terms of the success during the project I believe we created a good concept and presented ourselves as best as we could. I also feel as though generally we were able to back up our concept with the primary research that we collected (see appendix 4, pg 36-37). I feel I have learnt a lot more about working together as a group and making sure to keep strong communication. I thoroughly enjoyed carrying out the primary research as it was interesting to see consumer attitudes towards aromatherapy, and this also helped us succeed in the assessment. Conversely, it was difficult for us to narrow down our ideas to begin with, as aromatherapy associates already possessed some of the qualities we were suggesting, so we found it difficult to come up with a unique idea. Our previous idea for example, surrounded personalisation through creating a quiz which would recommend products based on the answers to the quiz, but we later found competitors already have this within their ecommerce, thus we settled for a more exclusive idea. I do however feel as though we hadn’t fully delved into our concept itself, therefore there were a few unanswered questions at the end of our assessment due to a lack of development.
12
13
ANALYSIS
I believe that the reason things went well was due to the fact that we delegated leading roles at the beginning of the project. This allowed someone to be in control and evenly split up the workload without causing conflict. We had strong shared CAD skills throughout our group allowing a clear and concise but also well designed presentation. Zaccaro (2001) explains the significance of leadership and a group being assigned a good leader. This study indicates that failure is due to an individual’s contribution and inabilities as group a good dynamic is what creates success within a group. We were able to succeed due to our team leader identifying peoples strengths early on and therefore allocating certain sections based on abilities, leading to sections which were rich in content. As previously mentioned, we experienced some technical issues whereby one of the students screens crashed, preventing us from finishing the details on her slides. In addition to this we experienced a weak attendance from all group members throughout the weeks we had to complete this assessment. I believe this stunted us from performing as well due to inconsistency throughout the seminars and other group meetings. Often there was a weakness in communication and therefore we were not able to hit deadlines according to our previously made plan.
14
15
CONCLUSION I have learnt about the importance of communication and teamwork throughout this module (see appendix 5, pg 38-39). The importance of communication is stressed in a study which focuses on the idea of communication management (Bucăţa and Rizescu, 2017). It suggests that the idea of communication allows for the development of interpersonal relationships and the ability to identify different skill levels for optimal success confirmed by the communication process management model (Beattie & Ellis, 2014). Research also suggests that managers use 45% of time for communication, so this stresses the idea that communication and the development of interpersonal relationships affects the success of a project which has been validated in our presentation.
It is critical to identify strengths and weaknesses of team members and plan ahead for unforeseen circumstances such as absence or technical difficulties. By spending longer on finalising and developing the concept with the help of our FIT student, we would have been able to answer the questions better at the end of the presentation. The project as a whole has highlighted that I need to work on being more vocal as I do feel I let people take charge at times without projecting my input during team discussions. Through the Myers Briggs personality test (Truity), I can understand that my type is ENFP (see appendix 6, pg 40-41). This shows that although I am extroverted, I am more individualistic and therefore often struggle to speak up when it comes to teamwork.
Tuckman’s theory (1965) (Miller) explains the multiple stages of group development analysing the thought process during group work. He claims that there are four hierarchical stages: forming, storming, norming and performing. This piece of literature highlights that absence stunts a group of individuals additionally, according to Tuckman, in group development we focus on the interpersonal relationships in addition the completing the tasks. Thus, when it comes to a group with contrasting personality types, the group dynamic affects the quality of the work. Finally, from helping create the presentation itself more I think that we would have had slightly more developed sections, as the general layout was left in the hands of the team leader. This way, we also could’ve reached deadlines quicker and had more time to rehearse.
16
17
ACTION PLAN
“
In terms of improvement, I will strive to be more vocal when it comes to group work. By doing this I believe it will allow the group to be more successful, as previously highlighted by Bucăţa and Rizescu, 2017. I will make sure to raise the awareness of my personal strengths and weaknesses and potentially try to take a more managerial approach to my next project. I aim to improve my confidence in speaking up through the book, ‘Speaking with confidence and skill’, (Kelly and Watson, 1989). This recommends ways to be more confident in social situations and will inevitably benefit me in future group projects.
Additionally, I intend to plan ahead more as this will allow more time for us to rehearse as a group. I will suggest that we have a few meetings each week either online or in person to use as checkpoints as some group members could not be present at all of the seminars. I believe this is important, so the workload is spread evenly and not left in the hands of one member as our concept was. Finally, I would ask for more feedback from our FIT student. I believe we could’ve utilised the help and knowledge of the student better which would’ve prevented the confusion and unanswered questions at the end of our project.
18
19
20
21
CONCLUSION
In review of my self-reflection, I believe I largely contributed to the overall success of the group, and I feel as though we matched the brief at a good level and were able to overcome any uncertainty within the assessment. However, we could have reached a more advanced level and thought ahead of our concept potentially through clearer mockups and more in-depth content. I aim to follow the literature referenced in this report and prepare more in advance in order to work better as a team for optimum success in future projects.
IMAGE REFERENCES Aromatherapy Associates. “Renewing Rose Body Oil,” Esse, 2023, esseretail. co.uk/product/renewing-rose-body-oil/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Gibbs. “Adapted Gibbs Reflective Cycle,” Performance Management Systems, 7 Aug. 2019, www.pmsystems. co.uk/post/we-do-not-learn-from-experience-we-learnfrom-reflecting-on-experience. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Aromatherapy Associates. “The Aromatherapy Associates Beauty Box,” This England, 2022, www.thisengland.co.uk/thearomatherapy-associates-beauty-box. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Baloch, 2023. Headspace drawing [illustration] NTU, Nottingham. 26 Mar. 2023
PNG Kit. “Green Palm Leaves - Palm Leaf Black and White,” PNG Kit, 2023, www.pngkit.com/ bigpic/u2y3q8t4o0q8t4w7/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Aromatherapy Associates. “Rose Shower Oil,” Harrods, 2023, www.harrods.com/en-us/shopping/aromatherapyassociates-rose-shower-oil-250ml-17103964. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Aromatherapy Associates. “De-Stress Frankincense Pure Essential Oil 10ml,” The Treatment Rooms, 2020, www.thetreatmentrooms.co.uk/product/de-stressfrankincense-pure-essential-oil/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Aromatherapy Associates. “Aromatherapy Associates,” The Product House, 2023, theproducthouse.com/aromatherapyassociates. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
Baloch, 2023. Flower drawing [illustration] NTU, Notingham. 26 Mar. 2023
Peak PX. “Shout Black,” Peak PX, 2023, www. peakpx.com/en/hd-wallpaper-desktop-vrjyg. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
22
Baloch, 2023. Arrow drawing [illustration] NTU, Nottingham. 26 Mar. 2023
Aromatherapy Associates. “Bath and Shower Oil,” Look Fantastic, 2023, www.lookfantastic.com/brands/ aromatherapy-associates.list. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.
23
REFERENCES Beattie, Geoffrey, and Andrew W. Ellis. “The Psychology of Language and Communication.” Google Books, Taylor & Francis, 2017, books.google.co.uk/ books?hl=en&lr=&id=FzUlDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=beattie+and+ellis+2014&ots=VQRjvKHFD3&sig=v16mEBXwYQAPnPZ1QueRi3ij0jk#v=onepage&q=beattie%20and%20ellis%202014&f=false. Accessed: 22nd March
Bucăţa, George, and Alexandru Marius Rizescu. “The Role of Communication in Enhancing Work Effectiveness of an Organization.” Land Forces Academy Review, vol. 22, no. 1, 2017, pp. 49–57. Accessed: 22nd March
Kelly, Lynne, and Arden K. Watson. “Speaking with Confidence and Skill.” Google Books, University Press of America, 1989, books.google.co.uk/ books?hl=en&lr=&id=JhHxsrGPSBUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=improving+confidence+in+social+situations&ots=wGVv1biXAw&sig=M0WBP5FNtaX_K93dIohS9D-RaXI&redir_ esc=y#v=onepage&q=improving%20confidence%20in%20social%20situations&f=false. Accessed: 22nd March
Miller, Diane L. “The Stages of Group Development: A Retrospective Study of Dynamic Team Processes.” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences de L’Administration, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2009, pp. 121–34. Accessed: 21st March
The University of Edinburgh. “Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.” The University of Edinburgh, 11 Nov. 2020, www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbsreflective-cycle#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20famous. Accessed: 21st March
Truity. “The TypeFinder® Personality Test.” Truity, 9 June 2019, www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new. Accessed: 21st March
Zaccaro, Stephen J., et al. “Team Leadership.” The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 4, 2001, pp. 451–83, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984301000935. Accessed: 22nd March
24
25
BIBLIOGRAPHY Bista, Krishna. Journal of International Students, 2019 Vol. 9 No 4. Google Books, Lulu.com, 17 Nov. 2019, books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=& id=mn3CDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1203&dq=outside+of+your+comfort+zone&ots=20AJ3diOUY&sig=lcJSUdVIkqOC0YdWTDmw-kDr40I&redir_ esc=y#v=onepage&q=outside%20of%20your%20comfort%20zone&f=false. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.
Bradbury, Andrew J. Successful Presentation Skills. Google Books, Kogan Page Publishers, 2006, books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WKnWN2JtMqcC& oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=presentation+skills&ots=IdR-w1aXXY&sig=yURZUZLOJUCUGT1mDuRH1B4IB2o&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=presentation%20skills&f=false. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023. Cardiff Metropolitan University. Reflective Writing: Applying Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle. 1984. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023. Figner, Bernd, and Elke U. Weber. “Who Takes Risks When and Why?” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 20, no. 4, Aug. 2011, pp. 211–216.
Molinsky, Andy. REPRINT H031AA PUBLISHED on HBR.ORG ARTICLE MANAGING YOURSELF If You’re Not Outside Your Comfort Zone, You Won’t Learn Anything. 2016.
Russo-Netzer, Pninit, and Geoffrey L. Cohen. ““If You’re Uncomfortable, Go Outside Your Comfort Zone”: A Novel Behavioral “Stretch” Intervention Supports the Well-Being of Unhappy People.” The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15 May 2022, pp. 1–17.
26
27
APPENDIX 30
36
Reflective models
Primary research
32
38
Presentation slides
34 Collaborative document 28
Team communication
40 Myers Briggs personality test 29
REFLECTIVE MODELS GIBBS
KOLB
Appendix 1
30
31
PRESENTATION SLIDES
32
Appendix 2
33
COLLABORATIVE DOCUMENT
34
Appendix 3
35
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Appendix 4
36
37
TEAM COMMUNICATION
38
Appendix 5
39
MYERS BRIGGS PERSONALITY TEST
Appendix 6
40
41