Introduction

This is a reflective essay based on the class MGT4101 Strategic Business

Planning that discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the group assignment that
has been done so far. It is based on the feedback of the lecturer, Dr Mohd. Asrof and
from my own personal observations and subsequent research. Following it is also a
personal learning and development plan that outlines the objectives of the class
assignment and the future plans to address the objectives not met.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The strengths of the group were that three of us had the same classes for the
past three years, which allowed us to work in a familiar environment and attitudes of
the group members. However, in this class, there was also another new student that
required some getting used to. Her schedule was different from ours, which made
communication difficult and slow. This caused in group conflict as deadlines were
passed without response. According to the Thomas- Kilmann Conflict Mode
Instrument, we responded with avoidance, when a better solution would have been to
compromise or collaborate better. Either by compromising by redelegating the work or
being more lenient with the deadlines; or collaborating by inquiring the specific
problems faced and attempt to resolve it by helping (Nguyen et. al. 2019).

Table 1.0- Thomas- Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Hastings, Kavookjian, and
Ekong 2019).
 Further weaknesses of the group were that there lacked depth to the
analysation of the work. Also, the weightages of the Competitive Profile Matrix for
Netflix’s competitors were inaccurate at best as we were not caught up on recent
events of Disney acquiring Hulu. On the other hand, many analytical tools were used
which gave a broad comprehension of Netflix’s internal and external environment. To
improve, it is recommended to increase classroom interactions and ask more
questions to develop a better ability to critically think and analyse issues when
presented. On the other hand, other strengths that we possessed was the experience
that we had in an actual working environment as all of us had been working for a
minimum of two years each. This allowed us to apply business strategies in a practical
manner as we could reference out own experiences from the workplace, thus making
the lessons more relatable (O’Connor and Cordova 2010).

In addition to that, another group weakness was the lack of online participation
on the blackboard platform. We contributed this to the busy schedules of working
adults, but this should be changed in the future. This form of blended learning is
advantageous due to its flexibility of providing more avenues for us to engage and
familiarise ourselves with learning materials (Mestan 2019). Our learning on
blackboard would reinforce the lessons taught by the lecturer and thus should not be
ignored or overlooked.

From an external viewpoint, lessons were held across the Muslim fasting month
of Ramadhan which caused interruptions as it coincided with open fast timing of
7.30pm. To combat that, we suggested that the class be held online to accommodate
students that had transportation issues from their workplace to INTI’s KL campus. The
platform “Zoom” was used and presented complications as most of the students had
not used it before, like connectivity problems and sharing comments. In the future, trial
sessions should be had before the class as repetition breeds familiarity with software.
Furthermore, as students, we should take advantage of the technology provided by
the University, such as blended learning and the online resources in the library.
Personal Learning and Development Plan

Table 2.0- Personal Learning and Development Plan in MGT4101- Strategic Business
Planning.

The objective is to acquire business related skills that would benefit me in my

future career. According to the table above depicting the personal learning and
development plan based on SMART, the two objectives that were not completely met
were applying the analytical tools accurately and deriving a comprehensive business
strategy. To address that issue, it is recommended that at least three related journals
be read every week leading up to the exam for MGT4101. Group discussions and note
taking are also planned to be had on 18th, 20th, and 24th of July to strengthen
recollection of lessons and promote an environment of analytical thinking.
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