Running head: FINAL REFLECTION PAPER FOR MBA 500

Final Reflection Paper for MBA 500

Leanna Nalley
American Sentinel University

Final Reflection Paper for MBA 500

This final reflection paper is intended to explain my reaction to the MBA 500 course
which is newly designed for the MBA program at American Sentinel University. To be truthful I
wasnt exactly sure what to expect from the MBA 500 course. Id been sent an email regarding
my interest in it, which I didnt see and then was subsequently contacted by Ms. Nightengale,
who resent the message. There was information in the email about the program, but not
specifically much on this particular course; it seemed so foreign that I was really going in
somewhat unaware of the expectations. I think that the other students that are employed by
American Sentinel University understood more fully the objectives and expectations than I may
have.
Positives and Recommendations
One of the things I liked about the course was the experiential learning. I was able to
apply my new knowledge to my project, changing to a Common Review Date, and to my
everyday work. For example, even if I wasnt the person involved in a project at work, I was
able to identify that Business Intelligence tools were being used. This provided me with a new
awareness of how co-workers go about doing their jobs and how decisions are made. Its
encouraged me to wonder about what else is available to help us do our jobs better and more
efficiently. In addition, no one was looking at the cost savings side of the conversion to a
Common Review Date. Once I started using the Excel tool and thinking about things differently
I was able to show these cost savings.
Probably my favorite tool is the Canvas used to brainstorm ideas. It assisted with getting
all thoughts down in a logical format and it was easy to use and allowed for revision. I will use

this often for many different projects. Plus, it just looks so cool when its all completed. I also
really like making Rocket Pitches on VoiceThread. Id never used anything where I could add
voice, and I see that video is also possible, so this was an exciting new tool. In addition, the
book Business Model Generation, which was required for the course, was a great resource, easy
to read and very applicable to the subject matter. (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010)
While meeting on-line with Go-to-Meeting was a great feature I can see where this may
not be possible for some students depending upon the type of position they are in and the hours
they work. I was able to put this meeting on my calendar and only had one date where there was
a conflict and I thought I was going to miss the meeting. Fortunately for me the work meeting
was cancelled. If the meetings are taped that helps, but participation is what makes it interactive
and that is what I liked about it. Even though on-line written discussions are fine, they arent as
interactive as meeting in a format like this. You get a sense of knowing the other students this
way. I do recommend that the first time you use this in the next class that you tell everyone how
to mute their phones and how to send messages. I didnt see that I could send a message until
around the 6th week when Devon Cancilla remarked on how nice Cheryl Ayres ePortfiolo was
during one of the meetings. After that I used it to comment on her ePortfolio and as a result she
and I got together one evening so she could provide me with some help. I also privately
mentioned to Devin Neves that he could purchase the Perrla program to help with the APA
format of papers and to ask Kathleen Ives about something shed said about grading papers and
recommendations for the format. I wish Id known about it sooner.
I spent a lot of time on this course, possibly more than other MBA courses, but I was
never asked to track my time so Im unsure. I had to spend more time some weeks than others
and often it was time spent learning to use the tools, like the canvas, the spreadsheet,

VoiceThread and ePortfolio. ePortfiolio took me an especially long time to get comfortable with.
Even after the explanation I wasnt able to understand what its intent was until I saw a good
complete example. But its not an easy thing to learn how to do when youve never created a
webpage. And, some features, like moving something around within the page is impossible
unless you download software, which when you click on it, isnt available anymore. I also got
confused with the new terminology, was it an ePortfolio or a myWiki page? Im still not sure. I
did have a bit of frustration in keeping up some weeks with the reading and assignments, along
with the learning curve of using the new technology. I just wanted to know it and some of it, like
ePortfolio just wasnt intuitive for me.
I dont think the workload for the course was too intense; its kind of expected in a
Masters level course, especially when you are completing it in eight weeks. There were times I
was stressed, but that was mostly because it was new material or tools that I was using and I was
outside of my comfort zone. How else do you grow and learn? I ended up understanding the
tools ultimately and believe all of those utilized in the course are useful for the course and in the
workplace. Moving forward, if the rest of the MBA program is structured surrounding the use of
these types of tools I believe it will be beneficial. Previously, my MBA courses at American
Sentinel were very structured: 1) read material 2) discuss material 3) reply to others discussion
4) go into Moodle so many times per week for discussion 5) turn in your assignment by Sunday
no later than . The content and number of replies to discussions were important, but if you
missed the required number of days going into Moodle to discuss, it counted against you. Thats
kind of ridiculous and this is coming from someone who likes some structure.
There were times I thought the directions in Moodle could have been a bit clearer
regarding what we were supposed to do for various assignments during the week. I dont know

if others felt the same way or not. Perhaps because so many worked together they could talk
about it and figure it out, whereas I was feeling like I was just missing something in the
instructions and would review them over and over again. I sometimes even had to email one of
the Professors for clarification. For instance, I dont think it was clear that we were required to
respond by going into discussions or VoiceThreads a week after they were due when students
were late getting their assignments in. I was already working on the next weeks assignments
and not checking whether or not other students had turned anything in. Deadline dates for
submission would be helpful. I like to know what is expected and when it is expected. If theres
some leeway then thats okay, but I would like to know that as well.
Conclusion
Overall I enjoyed the class. I liked learning and using new tools that I could use in the
course and at work, as well as, learning about the various Business Intelligence that is available
to help businesses. I liked the fact that I could work on a project since I am not planning on
opening a business, but I think that some of the tools, like the Excel spreadsheet, work better for
those types of projects. I do not feel that I have formed a good idea for the degree challenge
because my project will be completed prior to me finishing my MBA degree, so I will need to
come up with something else. However, I do believe I am prepared to move forward in the
degree program after taking this course and can anticipate some of the changes in the program
having taken the MBA 500. I have to say, while I do have recommendations, this is still the best
business class Ive ever taken. It is knowledge and experience I can use now and thats what its
all about.

References
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. Hoboken, New Jersey: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.