Reference no: EM133676373

Assessment:

The objective of this final assignment is to integrate the knowledge you have accumulated during your studies and assist you in reflecting on your current learning. The report provides an opportunity to express and illustrate the level of knowledge acquired throughout your degree and indeed from your most recent internship experiences. It integrates your reflections during your placement into a cohesive report that showcases your overall learning and professional development achieved throughout your degree. Additionally, you have the opportunity to make recommendations for future course and internship advancements.

A key component of your report is the Personal Impact and Reflection section. The importance of reflective practice for management professionals is well-documented (see for example Richert 1990; Schon 1996; Carson & Fisher 2006). 'Reflection has been described as a process of turning experience into learning. That is, a way of exploring experience in order to learn new things from it' (Bold 2001, p. 10). It A therefore an ideal way in which to explore the leaming outcomes of internship placements.

In the workforce, reflective practice is when managers critically evaluate their surroundings and the events in which they are involved from different perspectives. Rather than seeing such eve. as closed chapters, effective managers consciously take time out to evaluate past, present and future work-related scenarios, considering their intuitive responses and actively searching for valuable lessons and means of improving future professional performance. Your search should involve reference to relevant theories and readings from your university studies as well as industry joumals and databases which can be accessed online through the University Library. Integral to this process is recognising that reflection often involves exploring challenging events in order to gain insight and understanding (Bold 2001). It is during such reflection that you will become more aware of the synthesis and synergies between your theoretical learning and real-life practice as you consider how theoretical learning is applied and adapted in your internship wor-kplace.

Often it is not until towards the end of your placement during a forced or voluntary reflective period that you begin to realise the .11 extent of your learning and achievements. Taking the time to do this is an important part of the learning cycle, and developing your critical reflection skills will improve your potential as a manager.

Internship role - "Data entry clerk"

Your report should include the following: Executive Summary

Remember that an Executive Summary of a report is just that, a summary. It contains a statement of report purpose and an overview of the actual and specific findings. Generally, it should be no longer than one page and does not count towards the word limit of your report. 'The Executive Summary can only be written after you have completed your report. Write in past tense (e.g. The purpose of this report was to ...). If an Executive Summary is well written the reader should be able to understand the main points, findings, and conclusions of the actual report without having to read the full report.
Contents

A contents table helps set the context for the reader and allows them to easily locate key sections for reading or re-reading. Use the heading 'Contents' rather than 'Table of Contents' as this is the modern and more commonly accepted publishing convention. Ensure that each heading number, heading and page number are included and professionally laid out. The easiest and most professional way to achieve this is to use the Word feature that automatically creates a contents table for you.

1.0 Introduction (250 words approximately)
Introduction to the report, indicate what you will be talking about and in what order.

2.0 Overview of [insert organisation name here] and Internship Placement (650 words approximately)

2.1 Organisational Background (add sub-headings as appropriate)
Include name of organisation and dates of placement.
Present a brief overview of your organisation including its vision, core business and major target markets (use your own words - do not cut and paste from the Internet or company documents and ensure you accurately acknowledge all sources of information through correct referencing technique). Describe the organisational structure and its impact on productivity. What changes (if any) would you recommend?
How would you characterise your company,
organisational culture and what impact does
this have on staff morale and job satisfaction?

2.2 Roles and Responsibilities
during Internship Placement
Briefly outline what you did during your placement. (A position description may be attached as an appendix.)

3.0 Personal Impact and Reflection (at least 1500 words)
In this section, you are required to provide insights into your professional growth as a result of your placement experiences and course. Considering your experiences and expectations frorn your placernent, critically self-reflect on how this course and placement have impacted on your learning and future career aspirations. Use the following as a guide to structure your reflections:

3.1 Examining Political, Cultural and Social Realities
To what extent did issues of power and politics; cultural realities; and social realities impact on your placement experiences and learning? Link your discussions to relevant theory.

3.2 The Role of Values, Beliefs and Assumptions
To what extent and how or why did you change or reassess your values, beliefs and assurnptions during the course of your internship? Link your discussions to relevant theory.

3.3 Self-authorship
Which stage of meaning-making do you think you are in now (following external formulas, crossroads or self-authorship)? How do you know?
Did your meaning-making stage change during your intemship? Was there a provocative moment/situation that forced you to question the external forrnulas that you previously relied on? Give examples.

3.4 My Most Valuable Lessons
What were your most valuable learning experiences in the domains of Knowledge, Self and World? Link your discussions to relevant theory.
Did you achieve the learning goals/objectives that you set in your Learning Plan? If not, why? (Update the leaming objective table from Assessment 1 and include as an Appendix.)
How has your learning impacted on your future career goals and plans?
How would you rate your overall internship performance (complete the Internship Self-Evaluation form via the link below and include as an Appendix).

3.5 Recommendations for Whole Degree and Work Integrated Learning program
What recommendations can you make for the overall course and/or Work Integrated program (including the Professional Development for the Workplace unit and the internship)?

4.0 Conclusion (100 words approximately)
Conclude and summarise the report. References
Using Harvard Referencing style (see guidelines on the SCU library webpages or this handy guide about recent changes to Harvard referencing style) Changes_to_Harvard.pdf
Appendices
Appendix A: Update Learning Objective table/template from Assessment 1)
Appendix B: After completing the Self-evaluation you should download the PDF version of your responses and include this as an appendix in your report. Click here to complete the student self-

Your report should be professionally presented, with page numbers and follow a formal report writing forrnat.