Reflection Paper
Reflect on your design thinking and teamwork journey by writing an APA format, 2-5 page paper using the framework addressing the following prompts providing specific examples for each:
Where did you shine? Where did you struggle? Where did you have the most questions?
What skills did you gain from doing this project? What did you learn from working with a team?
How might you use these skills beyond this class?
online-course-icons_icon-exam.png Grading
You will receive a grade ranging from 0-100% based on the quality of your submission. Your score on this assignment will contribute to your total assignment grade in this course. Please refer to the course syllabus for more information regarding how your course grade is calculated.
Page 6 of 8 in Module 13
Rubric
Reflection Paper Rubric
Reflection Paper Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAccuracy
Responds to all directions. Paper meets length requirements and was submitted by the due date. Follows APA guidelines and cites sources appropriately.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeApplication
Incorporates course materials and concepts.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeThinking and Creativity
Positions in paper demonstrate critical thinking and creative application of course concepts.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganization
The paper is logically organized following the framework provided. Main points are relevant to the framework questions: What, So What, and Now What?
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting, Structure, and Format
Paper is well written and did not contain grammatical errors or other mistakes. The paper:
–Is concise and precise
–Is free of misspellings
–Is free of grammatical mistakes
–Lacks incomplete sentences
–Uses correct punctuation
–Includes subject/verb agreement
–Uses pronouns correctly
–Is free of jargon and cliches
–Cites references correctly
20 pts
Total Points: 100
Reflection Papers 25%
You will complete 4 papers that assess your comprehension of key concepts presented in the readings, activities, and team design project.
Reimagining New Normal (revised)
Design thinking is an approach to a problem whereby the end user’s needs are prioritized above anything else. It seeks to mitigate the risks associated with launching new products, services, and ideas in these ever-changing times. It should be iterative, human-centered, and collaborative.
1. Social Media Strategy:
In these Corona epidemic times, service providers have had to change their business and marketing strategies to have a competitive advantage. For example, Higher education institutes now market themselves with student-need oriented programs—offering tailored or online classes with adjusted periods that support out-of-site studies. Generally, marketers who document strategies are more likely to report success (Vershitskaya 2020). Those who write processes are more likely to be successful, too (Links to an external site.). 88% of marketers who set goals achieve them (Harrington 2020). The takeaway is clear: creating a documented and redesigned strategy focused on processes and goals will improve your results post COVID-19.
2. Data Security in the New Millennium:
Companies depend on data security to smoothen their operations and gain a competitive advantage in the modern world. Data security is the leading concern for e-commerce companies whose numbers are ever-rising in the 21st century. Business administrators need to make massive investments in data security to secure their businesses from data breaches that may cause a competitive disadvantage for their companies. The economic crisis due to COVID-19, there has been a surge in the number of scammers and corporate phishing; hence most organizations have resolved to encrypting their data and hiding it from the cloud (Alrikabi 2020).
3. Therapy:
Redesigned Therapy can be an effective treatment for a host of mental and emotional problems. Simply talking about personal thoughts and feelings with a supportive individual can often make you feel better. It can be very healing, in and of itself, to voice personal worries or talk about something weighing the mind. Studies in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders affirm that online therapy is equally effective for panic disorder, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder (Carl 2019).
In conclusion, with the increasing changes in today’s world, we ought to be flexible, intuitive, creative, eager to learn, and have an open mindset. Similarly, our approaches to design thinking must morph and evolve.
References
Carl, E., Stein, A. T., Levihn-Coon, A., Pogue, J. R., Rothbaum, B., Emmelkamp, P., … & Powers, M. B. (2019). Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of anxiety disorders, 61, 27-36.
Harrington, S. W. (2020). Exploring Effective Internal Marketing Strategies for Sales Management to Reduce Turnover of Sales Representatives in the Software Industry (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
Vershitskaya, E. R., Mikhaylova, A. V., Gilmanshina, S. I., Dorozhkin, E. M., & Epaneshnikov, V. V. (2020). Present-day management of universities in Russia: Prospects and challenges of e-learning. Education and Information Technologies, 25(1), 611-621.
Challenging and easy part of implementing the concept
When implementing the concept of empathy that we learned this week, it was challenging to develop questions that did not make the interviewee feel like we were prying into their business. It wasn’t easy to develop questions that enabled them to respond without giving too much personal information. The easy part in implementing this concept was that we could relate to most of the responses that were given.
Use of the concept in other areas of life
An individual can use empathy in their daily life to understand the feelings of others and ways through which they can respond appropriately to them. That will enable them to build strong social relations with their schoolmates, workmates, family, and friends (Howe, 2017).
Role of the concept in entrepreneurship and development of ideas
In entrepreneurship, empathy plays a role that enables a company to develop products and services that are beneficial and functional for their customers. Listening and understanding the problems needs of the people a company or person is meant to serve makes it easier to come up with solutions to their problems (“Why empathy is the most important business skill,” 2020).
Ethical implications
Since empathy involves sharing one’s feelings with another, there is no guaranteed confidentiality of the information shared. The interviewer could easily decide to share the information with any person. The person sharing the information can be easily manipulated by the one extending empathy towards them.
References
Why empathy is the most important business skill. (2020, March 5). Laserfiche. https://www.laserfiche.com/ecmblog/why-empathy-is-the-most-important-business-skill/ (Links to an external site.)
Howe, D. (2017). Empathy: What it is and why it matters. Macmillan International Higher Education.
This week’s learning was quite comprehensive and clear for me, and I did not find notable challenges in implementing the concepts. Our team also proceeded with relative ease through the brainstorming phase. I would say the only challenge that we faced was the time restriction. If there were no time limits, we would have come up with more creative ideas.
Many of the concepts we learned are applicable in various aspects of life. For instance, showing empathy goes a long way in building personal relationships as well as connections at work and at school. It will help to build trust among the peers thereby helping us in creating networks.
I believe the concepts can help bring up genuine entrepreneurial ideas that can achieve great success. For example, we discussed client loyalty through relatability. If we can generate ideas that cater to the needs of clients, the ideas will certainly be useful in starting new businesses.
I think the brainstorming part is where ethical considerations lie. If we are a diverse group, then there needs to be an ethical condition of listening to all members equally. Everyone has the right to propose ideas and the final decision should be taken only after careful consideration of all members.
This was an interesting exercise, complicated, challenging, yet most elucidating. Time limitation and lack of concrete ideas were perhaps some of the most conspicuous challenges experienced. Undeniably, the time offered to generate the ideas was shorter, which affected the quality of the ideas generated during the exercise. I must contend some ideas did not make sense even to me but was still generated using a spinner.
Agreeably, the exercise helped to provide a basis for appreciating the need to explore the multi-dynamics to an issue. I do believe this would help in enhancing my problem-solving skills, especially when faced with a complex problem with multifactorial problems. This would increase decision-making skills.
The concept helped to appreciate the multifactorial nature of complex entrepreneurial problems in making informed decisions. An ideal business environment context requires regular decision-making (Buckley, & Casson, 2019). Apt decision-making demands an ability to generate all the options followed by an appraisal of the same. This is an essential skill in fostering creative decision-making in entrepreneurship.
The only ethical consideration in using the spinner concept is that it is to some extent a trial and era procedure since most of the ideas generated are not thoroughly tested. As a result, when applied, it could lead to unintended consequences. This is particularly true since the ability to appraise various ideas’ feasibility differs from one person to another.
References
Buckley, P., & Casson, M. (2019). Decision-making in international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(8), 1424-1439.
What was challenging about implementing the concepts from this week? What came easily?
This week’s focus was on exploring a solution in which prototyping was inherently based on storyboards. The storyboard was instrumental in visualizing and executing a plan aimed at providing a solution to a particular problem. Based on the knowledge I have from computer science; storyboarding was not challenging. However, the sketching part was quite challenging because I have never been good at any artistic work.
How might you use one or more of these concepts in your life (school, work, or otherwise)? Provide specific examples.
Storyboarding is integral in planning, visualizing, and implementing a project because it aids in approximating whatever resources are needed to accomplish a task, track progress, and manage timelines (Chandu, Nyberg & Black, 2019). Additionally, the concept enhances collaboration across teams working on different tasks of a project independently.
What role might the concepts play in entrepreneurship and the development of ideas?
Storyboarding is critical in the planning, tracking, and implementation of a particular project. In a nutshell, it provides the logical flow of the anticipated solution to specific problems through the engagement of different teams that work collaboratively.
What might be the ethical implications of using these concepts?
The notable implication that might arise from the concepts is creating addictive designs and overemphasis on particular designs. Creating designs that are addictive without providing health safeguards for the users would thus be our primary ethical implication.
Reference
Chandu, K. R., Nyberg, E., & Black, A. (2019). Storyboarding of recipes: grounded contextual
generation.
What was challenging about implementing the concepts from this week? What came easily?
Our team this week was challenged to come up with a prototype that would test its ability to draw more customers. We began by coming up with several interview questions that would help us what other people think of our prototype. Working as a team made the whole process easier. It was easier to brainstorm the interview questions and our target interviewees together. However, our major challenge is how the interviewees would respond to the questions and whether we would gain substantial information.
How might you use one or more of these concepts in your life (school, work, or otherwise)? Provide specific examples.
Teamwork would enable us to come up with better ideas in future projects through brainstorming and analysis. Prototypes and the interview questions would enable us to know how best the customers understand our ideas. We would also have first-hand responses and reactions about it, which would enable us to know the best direction to follow.
What role might the concepts play in entrepreneurship and development of ideas?
These concepts have played an important role in identifying our target market and segmenting the market. Through the several interviews, we can know what the customers’ needs are, which would enable us to develop ideas and make entrepreneurial decisions that would tailor to their needs.
What might be the ethical implications of using these concepts?
One of the ethical implications that are prone to emerge is that of breach of privacy. Some customers might find our questions a bit personal according to them, which could lead them to expose information that they feel is confidential or fail to give us some important information because they intend to protect their privacy.
