Reflection 1

Reflection on AMP Report

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Introduction

This reflection report aims to describe the personal experiences encountered by

students during the process of completing the AMP (Applied Management Project) report. This

report is quite effective for students to learn from their practical experiences. It will be effective

for me to express my views on perceived performance, expectations, and lessons that I learnt

during the AMP report. This reflection report is the collection of skills, learning and

consolidated experience that I obtained during the process of completing the AMP report.

Along with this, it also reflects on issues faced as well as approaches used to deal with those

issues, which is significant to improve learning for future projects and professional career (Kolb,

2014). This reflection report is the part of a lifelong learning process that will ultimately benefit

me to gain useful things from the analysis of experiences, which is quite effective to do future

activities in better way.

Leaning and Experience from APM Report

The AMP report is a broad project process that consists of various stages under which I

have undertaken different activities. All the stages of AMP process contributed to provide

various learning and practical experiences to me that resulted as improvement in my skills and

abilities. During the AMP process, there are several activities such as group discussion,

interaction with tutor, independent study, data gathering and literature review that I have

done. I have experienced that each of these activities made a significant contribution to

improve my ability to carry out and manage a research project effectively. In the start of this

report, I was made a discussion with supervisor that helped me to understand the selected

topic for the research study as well as plan relevant objectives.

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I was maintained continuous interaction with tutor and other students who involved in

research on similar topic that benefited me to increase my ability of managing research work

and deal with challenges effectively. It is because group discussion facilitated a platform where

I not only shared my views and ideas, but also came to know about opinions and ideas of other

students that ultimately helped me to plan and complete AMP report according to

requirements of conducting a research study (Pritchard, 2013). In the group discussion and

personal interaction with tutor, I have experienced that literature review and data collection

and analysis are the key elements to carry out a research successfully. Initially, I faced problems

in the selection of appropriate methods and techniques for the research due to having lesser

knowledge regarding literature review.

But, group discussion was helped me to increase my confidence as well as level of

knowledge through which I addressed these challenges. Further, independent study was

conducted under AMP report that contributed to enhance my skills and level of self confidence,

which resulted as improvement in my performance during the research project. Under this

study, I used various sources of information to gather data for identifying the potential financial

risks that usually faced by the investor when making investment of money. I experienced that

independent study helped me to improve my critical analysis and data collection skills, which

enabled me to identify relevant articles and journals for writing literature review.

In this way, there are various theories such as learning theory, reflection theory and

experiential learning theory that are quire relevant to practical experiences and learning that I

gained from the completion of AMP report (Kolb, 2014). Each of these theories mainly states

that practical experiences of involving in various activities to complete a particular task can be
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effective to obtain useful learning as well as identify mistakes and their causes, which is quite

significant to conduct future research projects more effectively. For example, learning theory

explains that the efforts made for completing a particular activity and their results are quite

effective tools to learn from mistakes (Bender, 2012). It is because these things can enable a

person to identify possible causes of mistakes that are generally made during the collection of

data, writing literature review and interpreting results of data analysis.

As in the completion of AMP report, I made several mistakes especially when I involved

in searching data for writing literature review. It is because most of secondary sources that I

used for collecting data belong to books and websites that are inappropriate to write an

authentic and reliable literature review on chosen research topic for AMP report. As per the

concept of literature review, it is required for a researcher to use authentic and reliable sources

such as previous published articles and journals when writing literature review on a research

topic. It is because it is quite effective to ensure reliability and validity of research outcomes

(Brookhart, 2013). I faced various challenges in collecting the relevant data for literature review

due to lack of knowledge regarding the authentic sources of data and importance of articles

and journals in writing meaningful literature review.

In this way, the discussion with tutor and other students during the AMP process helped

me to realize my mistakes in data collection and writing of literature review. The feedbacks and

comments of tutor and other students on my work supported me to eliminate mistakes from

AMP report and to ensure use of authentic and reliable sources in for writing the literature

review. Along with this, it also helped me to make critical analysis of literature by considering

the views of different researchers who studied on similar type of topic. In this way, the
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guidelines of research project helped me to understand that to get reliable and valid results

from research, it is required for a researcher to use only authentic and reliable secondary

sources to gather data for writing a critical literature review.

During the AMP report, I always maintained a diary to record key points of group

discussion, feedbacks and suggestions of tutor, and useful things observed when collecting data

and writing literature review. This diary played a key role as reference that helped me to

include relevant key points when critically analyzing previous literatures to write a literature

review for AMP research project (Pritchard, 2013). According to me, literature review and data

collection are the key stages of AMP report because both these provided me various learning

and practical experience that ultimately contributed to enhance my skills. Apart from this, each

of these stages of AMP report enabled to develop my knowledge and understanding about

research topic that made significant contribution in improving my analytical skills and ability to

conduct a research project independently.

At the same time, I also experienced that feedbacks and views of tutor and other class

mates are quite significant and relevant to identify mistakes as well as determine appropriate

ways to eliminate their causes. In addition, I also learned that to write a literature review and

conduct an independent study are not easy tasks because both of them required knowledge of

research works and analytical skills. I also experienced that regular discussion with tutor made a

significant contribution in improving my confidence and skills, which helped me to deal with

challenges as well as complete the AMP report according to requirements.

Overall, I can say that to complete the AMP report is a big experience for me. It is

because it not only improved my skills, but it also helped me to develop myself to face
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challenging tasks successfully. Additionally, it can also be determined that AMP process was not

stable due to inclusion of various challenges and involvement of different situations.

Personal Feeling and Learning

I personally feel that the AMP process is an effective way to get different types of

experiences and learning, which are relevant to both my personal and professional life. It is

because it consists of different stages or phases that are quite significant to enhance level of

skills. From the AMP process, I feel that the process of putting AMP report together is not easy

due to involvement of different situations, which sometime created instability during the stages

of AMP process. In initial stage, it was not as easier to perform research projects with

perfection due to lacking of previous experience of working on this type of report.

In start of AMP process, I was confused between the terms of investment and

speculation. It is because I feel that both of them are quite similar as well as used by investors

to get higher returns. In addition, I also found that it is quite difficult for me to identify potential

financial risks for investors who prefer to invest in single security due to lack of knowledge on

this aspect earlier. But, the readings of secondary sources of data like articles, journals and

books helped me to improve level of knowledge and gain useful understanding that ultimately

benefited me to understand research topic and their related concepts effectively.

Along with this, I also personally feel that it is required for a researcher to develop a

schedule and then plan his/her research work according to schedule first. It is because this way

can be effective to manage wide research projects or AMP reports effectively. After completing

AMP process, I feel that I experienced difficulty with research topic due to having less

knowledge regarding the area. Due to this reason, I started reading of previous articles, journals
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and studies related to research topic in order to develop knowledge about the research area,

which helped me to get clear understanding of research issue. Along with this, the working in a

group environment also supported me to understand research and its requirements effectively

that contributed in the successful completion of AMP report.

Apart from this, the AMP project process also contributed to improve my learning skills

as well as team working ability that ultimately benefited me to work on the research project in

effective manner. It is because this process provided opportunities to work with tutor and

others students that helped me to get valuable learning and experiences. In this concern, I feel

that the actions of other students helped me to plan this AMP project process as well as

prepared to manage them in a significant manner. It is because some of students have previous

experiences of working on research projects that assisted me to learn from experience and

manage each chapter of AMP process effectively.

Along with this, I also feel during the AMP process, it is essential for the students who

are working on research projects to manage their time effectively, develop good coordination

and interaction with tutor and others, ensure continuous reading of related studies and plan

their work. It is because all these things are quite significant to ensure smooth working on the

AMP reports without any problem and frustration (Nijstad, 2009). I feel that to work on a

research project is sometime quite frustrating due to its long length, lengthy and theory based

literature review, and lack of interest that could contribute as overall failure of research study

by making irrelevant research on the selected topic. In this way, I feel that there are various

issues such as formation of research question, theory based case study analysis, time
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management, and planning of associated activities that encountered during the AMP project

process.

The lack of previous experience of working on a research project and lengthy work was

the main reason behind the occurrence of these issues during the process. When start working

on the AMP report, first of all I faced problem in the planning of activities due to availability of

limited time that created problem for me to manage all activities properly. To remove all these

issues, I made several efforts like personal discussion with tutor, discussion with group

members and readings. After interacting with tutor and participating in group discussion, I felt

confident to manage each of these issues effectively. It is because discussion with tutor and

other students helped me to understand the importance of planning, time management,

interaction and reading in the successful management of an AMP report.

The experience learning theory also states that an individual should be analytical and

always focus to learn from personal experiences and actions of others. It is because it is quite

significant to manage projects like AMP report effectively (Bilyk, 2010). From the experience of

the AMP project process, I feel that individuals should have habit to writing, reading and

interaction with others. It is because all these things have potential to increase their ability to

working and managing a large research project successfully.

Group Working Management

In the beginning of the AMP project process, I worked in a group with some other

students in order to be prepared for research project. In this way, supervisor of my group

conducted an initial group discussion of all members that helped me to understand about AMP

report and its requirements, which was quite significant to get right direction for managing and
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completing a research project effectively. Along with this, group discussion can also be effective

to complete the research project successfully by gaining understanding of research topic and its

area from the views and learning of each other. In this concern, the teamwork theory depicts

that to work in team of group is quite significant for student or individual to develop skills

specific to collaborative and project management efforts (Levi, 2010).

Along with this, group working also enabled me to increase my contribution in group

activities and performance in personal research project. It is because most of the team

members always prefer to ask questions from tutor and other students that helped me to learn

about new skills and concepts as well as get useful experiences, which is significant to plan and

manage the AMP report in efficient manner. From the AMP project process, I learned that both

group discussion and question asking method are quite effective ways to improve level of skills

by gaining knowledge about new things, and prepare them for future tasks effectively.

But at the same time, group working also brought few tensions for me during the AMP

process when I faced conflicts with some team members in case of forming research questions

and selecting methods for conducting research. It is because it is not required that all team

members have same views and suggestion when interacting in group discussion that usually

caused to problems in group working. During the AMP, tutor was strongly emphasized to

develop direct coordination and interaction between each team members to overcome causes

of conflicts and other issues. It is because these ways contributed to develop understanding of

each other and their views among team members. In this concern, questioning method played

a key role in overcoming these problems because it allowed me and other members to ask
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questions directly from tutor and with each other, which is significant to develop mutual

understanding (Nijstad, 2009).

Apart from this, I also faced issues when participating in group discussion due to

ineffective communication skill and hesitation in speaking among large audience. During the

process, I developed personal contract with each one to get feedback about my communication

and areas for improvements as well as participate in group discussion activities regularly to

improve communication and overcome hesitation. In the group, I preferred personal

interaction along with group discussion to chat with other in order to work together more

effectively for completing the AMP report.

Learning for Future

From the experience of AMP report, I learned following lesions that I plan to take into

future in order to improve future activities related to research projects:

Planning Skills:

From the practical experience of managing the AMP project process, I learned that

planning is essential for successful management and completion of any work. It is because it

has potential to increase ability of a person to plan future activities properly, which is significant

to achieve desired outcomes. In future, I will give special consideration to improve my planning

skills because it can enable me to manage future research activities or projects more

effectively.

Communication Skills:

From the experiences, it is found that I was not good in communication with a large

group at the initial stage of research project that’s why I faced problems in interacting with
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tutor and group members. An effective communication skill is required to get success in every

field that’s why I will increase my focus to improve my communication skills in future activities.

It is because it will help me to complete both individual and group projects successfully. For this

purpose, I will plan to take communication training classes and participate in group discussion

regularly to enhance my communication skills.

Analytical Skill:

It is another important area in case of participating in the AMP project effectively. It is

because this skill is required to improve decision making and understand different concepts

easily. To get success in future, I will improve my analytical skill in order to ensure effective

decision making when participating future activities related to education and professional life.

Along with this, it will also be effective for me to visualize and solve complex and

uncomplicated problems and concepts, which is quite effective to make sensible decisions.

Time Management:

Apart from this, I also learned that time management is essential to organize a research

project or other work properly that’s why I also need to improve this skill in future activities. I it

because it will help me to complete my projects on time and utilize extra time to improve

required skills.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the AMP project process was a

good learning experience for me because it contributed to make several improvements within

me in terms of communication skills, questioning skills, work management skills etc. From the
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reflection, overall it can be determined that there are some lacking areas in which I need to

make improvement in the future activities for performing better.

References

Bender, W.N. (2012) Project-Based Learning: Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century.

UK: Corwin Press.

Bilyk, B. (2010) Reflective Essay: Kolb’s ‘Experiential Learning Cycle. Germany: GRIN Verlag.

Brookhart, S.M. (2013) Grading and Group Work: How do I assess individual learning when

students work together? UK: ASCD

Kolb, D.A. (2014) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.

USA: FT Press.

Levi, D. (2010) Group Dynamics for Teams, 3rd Ed. USA: SAGE.

Nijstad, B. A. (2009) Group Performance. UK: Taylor & Francis.

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Pritchard, A. (2013) Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom.

UK: Routledge.