Reflective Writing for Marketing

Management in Practice (Company

Project)

Semester 4
Academic Year 2014-15
Module Leader
Ms. Raunica Ahluwalia
By: Mahip Singh Pathania

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
STEP 1: GROUP FORMATION.....................................................................................................4
LEARNING OUTCOMES..........................................................................................................5
STEP 2: ALLOCATION OF WORK...............................................................................................6
LEARNING OUTCOMES..........................................................................................................6
STEP 3: CONDUCTING THE SURVEY.......................................................................................7
LEARNINGS OUTCOMES........................................................................................................8
STEP 4: DATA ENTRY...................................................................................................................9
LEARNING OUTCOMES..........................................................................................................9
STEP 5: ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................10
LEARING OUTCOMES...........................................................................................................10
STEP 6: MAKING A PRESENTATION.......................................................................................10
LEARNING OUTCOMES........................................................................................................11
STEP 7: PRESENTATION............................................................................................................11
LEARNING OUTCOMES........................................................................................................11
SELF DEVELOPMENT...............................................................................................................12
What I learnt during my MBA?.................................................................................................13
TRANSITIONING FROM STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT TO EXECUTION......................13
EXTRACTING VALUE............................................................................................................13
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................................14
LESS IS MORE.........................................................................................................................14
ACTION PLAN:............................................................................................................................15
Appendix I.....................................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
This reflective writing is for the module, Marketing Management in Practice (Company Project).
For this module we had to make a presentation and a report on a topic which was decided by
ourselves. We chose to work on Clean India Mission because it was one of the main points on
which the current central government came into power. The project guide Ms. Raunica
Ahluwalia guided us in a very methodical yet creative way. She took us through the project step
by step and was always there for us. The Clean India Mission is a campaign re-launched by
Prime Minister N.D. Modi (initially chalked out by the Indian National Congress) which aims to
clean India by 2019. Proper sanitation facilities even in the furthest of villages, proper disposal
of waste and being self-conscious about littering are the core basis of this campaign. This was
our first project which we thought had some actual purpose because most of the other projects
had a predefined topic and a concrete roadmap which we were required to follow.
Within the first few weeks of the 4th semester we were informed that we would be making a
project which would include both primary and secondary research data. After a brief discussion
with our module leader the topic Clean India Mission was finalized. We decided to prepare a
questionnaire which would help us to generate some primary data for our research. We targeted
the four aspects which form the basis of any questionnaire.

To evaluate the awareness of the public towards the mission

To understand the behavior of a general citizen
To see the attitude of the public towards the campaign
To evaluate the level of implementation of the programs initiated

For feasibility reasons and due to certain restrictions the respondents included a limited amount
of students, working professionals, housewives and people who were running their own business.

STEP 1: GROUP FORMATION

Once the topic was finalized, we divided ourselves into 2 groups of 3 each. My team mates were
Kanika and Shantanu. This was due to the fact that we had previously worked together on other
presentations as well and we had always performed well while working together. The reason
behind this is that each of us has a different skill set. This enables us to bring something different
to the table each time we work together.
We were very eager to start work on this project as it would be our first project which would
have some meaning to it and also contribute a little if not much towards the betterment of our
society. We aimed to achieve this while conducting our primary research. Then we made an
outline of the tasks that had to be completed in order to prepare a presentation. These tasks
included; data collection, analysis of data, conducting primary & secondary research, etc. All the
tasks were divided amongst us as per our skills and area of interest. Given below is a brief
description about the perception I have about my team mates.
Kanika Sharma: I believe that she has an analytical mind. This means that she is constantly
analysing the work and the points which need to be worked on. What approach should she take
towards the task or whether the task at hand is more important than the one which is already
pending? She is also a peoples person. As in, she is friendly while interacting with others, this
maybe for a survey or even otherwise. This helps in building a good rapport among clients and
respondents. She remains committed to the tasks assigned to her and strives for excellence
whenever she has to perform.

Shantanu Nirwan: He is very hardworking and a kind hearted soul. He plays an important role
in most of the presentations because he has good presentation skills. He is a quick learner and a
quick thinker. He has good communication skills; this can be very helpful while reaching out to
large audiences.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning is measurable and relatively permanent change in behaviour through experience,
instruction, or study. Whereas individual learning is selective, group learning is essentially
political; its outcomes depend largely on power playing in the group. Learning itself cannot be
measured, but its results can be. Although many groups are called "teams", not every work group
is a team. In a work group, performance is a function of what its members do as individuals. The
focus in a work group is individual goals and accountabilities. A team's performance is measured
primarily by the products produced collectively by the team. Teamwork is a shared commitment
both to the teams process (how the team works together) and to its product (what work the team
accomplishes). This commitment to team process is demonstrated through the development and
use of team norms and ground rules, a willingness to pay attention to group process, and a
sense of mutual accountability both to the members of the team as individuals and the team as
a whole.

STEP 2: ALLOCATION OF WORK

Once the groups were finalized and the tasks outlined, we then prepared a roadmap for the
project. The roadmap was prepared with advice and guidance from our module leader. A
roadmap is basically a breakdown of the project ambitions and goals with a specific timeline to
achieve these goals. We began the project by writing an introduction about the Clean India
Mission. This introduction was written individually by each team member. This helped us in
understanding the various aspects of the Clean India Mission as each of us had a different
outlook towards it. Once this task was over, we began preparing a questionnaire. Initially we
made a mock questionnaire in groups of two. Later the three of us made our own questionnaire
by taking some points down from the mock questionnaire. Once the questionnaire was prepared
our module leader told us to make certain changes in the questionnaire. These changes were
specifically focused on the four basic points of any questionnaire i.e. Awareness, attitude,
behaviour and implementation. We had kept our sample size to 100 respondents as we were
conducting a research within the city of Gurgaon. We then divided the 100 questionnaires among
ourselves to collect the primary data. Shantanu visited the malls to target working professionals
and students whereas, Kanika targeted housewives. I set up the questionnaire online and targeted
businessmen/women and mostly students along with working professionals as I have quite a bit
of contacts on social media.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Our module leader advised us to conduct team meetings every week in which we would share
our contribution each week and sit together to analyse the tasks which were completed and to
plan for the coming tasks. Working in a group can sometimes limit your work or depending upon
the capability increases the workload for an individual. An effective team includes; creator,
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implementer, finisher, investigator, supporter, evaluating member, coordinator & shaper. We had
assigned these roles to ourselves so that we could function as one. In a team all the roles are
crucial and contribute in their own way for a basis of a successful team. Our module leader even
handed us a guideline for the roadmap along with deadlines (Appendix I).

STEP 3: CONDUCTING THE SURVEY

This was one of the major tasks which needed to be completed for data collection. Previously I
have described how we divided the task of getting the questionnaires filled. My role was to target
the people who mostly remain on social media throughout the day. These included all the
categories which we were targeting hence I did not have much difficulty in conducting my part
of the survey. The trick behind enticing people into taking the survey was to keep the survey
short ad specific. There were no mind-boggling questions nor were any technical words used in
the preparation of the questionnaire. This was done to target a wider base of respondents. The
response of the public was very positive and they were eager to take part in our survey. Hence, I
invited more people to take the survey which seemed very encouraging to me. However, for the
project we kept the sample size to 100 respondents only.
This process of conducting the survey and collecting data was not all that easy as it sounds. I
faced many hurdles as well. Many of my contacts did not respond to my e-mails and messages to
take up the survey. Eventually I started targeting them through Facebook, I realised that it was
much more convenient and even the reaction of the respondents towards the survey on Facebook
was commendable as I got all my responses through Facebook. This task took about 4 days.
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There were certain limitations to this survey as well. The bias of some respondents and some
respondents were not reading the questions properly because they did not have enough time to
give to the survey.

LEARNINGS OUTCOMES
Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. This is
especially true for studies involving large sample sizes and large geographic areas. Written
questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases.
Questionnaires are easy to analyse. Data entry and tabulation for nearly all surveys can be easily
done with many computer software packages. Questionnaires are familiar to most people. Nearly
everyone has had some experience completing questionnaires and they generally do not make
people apprehensive. Questionnaires reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation and no
middle-man bias. The researcher's own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer
questions in a certain manner. There are no verbal or visual clues to influence the respondent.
Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When a respondent
receives a questionnaire in the mail, he is free to complete the questionnaire on his own timetable. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted by the research
instrument.

STEP 4: DATA ENTRY

In this step we as a group sat down with all the accumulated data through primary and secondary
research. The primary research included the survey results. The secondary data included pictures,
posters, videos, reports, articles and other materials which we referred to while making our
project.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
In this step I learnt how to organise the collected data and how to do coding of the questionnaire
& use the data for further analysis. I also learnt how to make implement the binary coding
system in some of the questions and learnt how to rank the options on the Likert Scale.
Furthermore, I learnt how to make use of posters, pictures and videos in a presentation, this
enabled us to reduce the written content in the slides and give a much more creative and a selfexplanatory presentation.

STEP 5: ANALYSIS
In this step we analysed the collected data and put it in the form of charts, graphs and other
suitable forms of statistical representations to explain our findings. We systematically broke

down each of our questions in the survey and thoroughly analysed them one by one. We also
analysed the videos and pictures we would be using in the project.

LEARING OUTCOMES
Analysis is the detailed examination of the data collected through our primary and secondary
research. Analysis of this data helped us to recognise the relevance of our collected data. It also
helped in identifying the correct places where we needed to place our data in the project.
Analysing the videos and pictures made us realize the difference between pictures and relevant
pictures; videos and relevant videos. In one such video my module leader pointed out that the
song which was in the video was irrelevant without the video. This audio advertisement can be
heard on the radio and the radio is a wrong medium for this advertisement.

STEP 6: MAKING A PRESENTATION

After all the previous steps were completed, me and my teammates sat down together to make
the presentation. We divided the work among ourselves and chose who would do which part of
the assignment. I was assigned the task of making the introductory slides and providing my team
mates with pictures and videos relevant for the presentation. Since I am a day scholar I have
access to the internet. Hence, the reason I did most if not all of the secondary research.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
In this step we learnt how to make an effective and an interesting presentation. We tried to make
the presentation interesting by adding videos and pictures. We also depicted charts and graphs of
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the analysis and most of them were self-explanatory. We learnt how to use pictures rather than
putting in loads of written data. This was done to keep the interest of the audience during the
presentation.

STEP 7: PRESENTATION
Once all the data had been collected, analysed, evaluated and conclusions had been drawn, it was
time for our group to showcase our project in the form of a presentation. The presentation
included about 30 slides and we were given about 10-15 minutes to present it. This presentation
was held in the conference room on 25th March and was attended by Mr. S. Munjal, the dean of
our institute along with our module leader. We had divided the presentation among ourselves
equally. Shantanu took the lead while giving the presentation as he has the best presentation
skills amongst us. After that I took the audience through the analysis of the data collected
through our survey. Finally, the presentation was concluded by Kanika.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
I learnt that it is important to get your audience to pay attention to what you are saying. Retain
their attention throughout the presentation. The longer the presentation, the tougher this becomes.
It is also important for your audience to remember what you said. This is even tougher. Our
module leader had taught us how to give an effective presentation and I feel that I implemented
most of her teachings and gave quite an apt presentation.

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SELF DEVELOPMENT
Self-reflection for me is all about introspecting yourself and coming to terms with your strengths
and weaknesses. One must learn to not only further strengthen their good points but also to be
able to confront their short-comings. This will be the initial step towards becoming a success in
the future. We must learn to deal not only with internal factors like strengths and weaknesses but
we should also focus on the external factors which are also equally important. For this one
should be aware of the opportunities he or she can take advantage of. At the same time being
wary of the threats and competition that you might face, so you can negate them.
My major strengths are being able to remain patient, calm & focused even under pressure. I also
consider myself to be a team player and never have any doubts over my ability. Moreover, I like
to listen to what views other people have or how they might perceive things to be in a situation
or in a defined surrounding. I usually like to sit in a place from where I can observe all those
sitting in the room. Being a team player is one of my key strengths as I thrive on people backing
me up and lending support.
My self-confidence can easily give way to over-confidence which can result in failure of the task
I am performing at hand. Other than my over-confidence I have weak presentation skills as well
as poor concentration. I seem to get nervous and/or anxious while giving presentations or
addressing a crowd in a public speaking event. I often am too relaxed and usually have a laidback approach. I do not cross deadlines but I always leave my work until the very last minute.
You can say that I am not easily self-motivated unless the work is based upon my area of interest.
Life gives us an opportunity at every nook and corner along the way to achieve our goal. It is up
to us that we remain aware of these opportunities and seize them as we come across them. These
opportunities such as attending seminars, giving presentations and other such events will provide
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me with immense experience and encourage me to be pro-active. This will help me to control my
confidence and be assured of my abilities. I also need to learn how to relax as that will also
increase my concentration power. I will also ensure that I watch videos on presentation and
presentation skills on a regular basis and practice them as well.
My immediate threats are not just my colleagues in class but also those who are at the same stage
in life as me. By that I mean are ready for their first job after this semester. Few of my colleagues
who have prior work experience and have internships at bigger firms than me would be at a
slight advantage as I had the profile of a content writer during my internship. I also need to be
wary of any new threats that might develop in the future, for e.g. competing during campus
placement to get the best offer.
What I learnt during my MBA?
TRANSITIONING FROM STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT TO EXECUTION
In todays world, it is important to understand how you can help firms transition from strategy
development to execution, set up KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) at each level, and better
tackle specific issues. Most of our assignments and deliverables were built upon solving strategic
or operational problems similar to those encountered in real life.
EXTRACTING VALUE
It is up to us to extract value and what you get out is proportionate to what you put in. In context,
being taught by a faculty that has significant experience and achievements in the corporate
world, meeting business leaders over leadership forums and studying alongside a diverse pool of
candidates with different professional backgrounds and a significant amount of work experience
is very insightful.

13

A good amount of time was spent in doing things the way they are done in the Corporate World
and learning to address a wide range of issues. Nonetheless another part of the course helps you
to analyse the relevance and shortcomings of current corporate practices and to build a broader
perspective for the future and help corporate stakeholders get rid of short term views.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
A good B-School will give you an opportunity to assess yourself in context of your objectives
before the program and subsequently work towards your long term goals considering how the
program fits in. Also, from a personal point of view, experts from the field give you tips on
grounding the MBA and using it to add value to your future employers. One often gets advice on
developing a personal strategy, improving ones own brand equity, developing leadership
attributes, understanding what employers look for and additionally some cultural advice for the
international environment.
LESS IS MORE
In conclusion, one could describe the B-School experience by saying less is more. It is less
because it does not give you all the answers, but it is more because it helps you organise what
you know and identify what you dont know and further helps you analyse things from multiple
perspectives.

ACTION PLAN:
Objectives

Opportunities

Resources
Available

Measuring
Success
14

Relevant

Time
Bound

Over
confidence

Presentation
skills and
Public
speaking

Laid-back
attitude &
selfmotivation

Knowing my
limits, not
getting ahead
of myself.
Respecting my
opponents.
Upcoming
interviews for
placement.
Giving
presentations
in college and
practising with
friends

Friends,
teachers and
seniors
opinion about
me. Guidance
from mentor.

Making
friends with
ease.
Learning to
accept a
wider range
of people.

Make me a
better person in
life. Change
others view
about me.
Positive impact
on myself.

Almost
achieved

Attending
presentation
& seminars,
looking at
videos on the
internet,
friends, mock
presentations

Recording
of previous
presentation
s and
comparison
after
rectifying
my defects

It will be very
helpful as I am
about to step
into the
corporate world,
where giving
presentation is
second nature to
all.

May
2015

Take initiative,
pursue the path
which leads to
self-motivation
(interests me)

Remaining
assignments
and upcoming
sports
activities

Avoid
deadlines
and
finishing my
work well in
advance

It will help me
with my work
because one
needs to have a
pro-active
approach at
work

April
2015

15

Appendix I
Roadmap

16