Module code: |
BMA4000-20 |
Module title: |
The Business Environment |
Assignment: |
A2: Individual Reflective Performance Report (Based on Business Case Study given on Moodle) |
Word count: |
1500 (+/- 10%) |
Contribution to module mark: |
40% of overall grade |
Assessment type: |
Individual Reflective Performance Report |
Weight: |
40% |
Submission deadline: |
7th October 2024 at 23:59 |
Student Name:
Student ID:
Executive Summary
The report has included Gibb’s Reflective Cycle and applied it to the experience of an individual against the completion of a case study revolving around the growth, relevance and challenges of fast fashion. There is an understanding of how fast fashion has evolved over the years and how it may impact sustainable practices for future generations. In this regard, Nobody's Child has been identified as an organisation implementing fast fashion practices with an approach to understanding both opportunities and challenges associated with its competitors. With relevant examples, the experience of an individual has been taken into account in this report.
Introduction
The business environment is considered as a strategic set of approaches that affects both internal and external operations to deliver quality approaches and meet market needs (Newman et al., 2020). Self-reflection is a way of expressing one's own feelings or emotions through an individual's thoughts, actions and words to develop their professional characteristics. The report will include a brief introduction of Gibb's Reflective Cycle Model to analyse the overall case study and identify potential career opportunities in future aspects. Lastly, an action plan will be prepared to improve my areas of weakness and take the necessary actions to resolve internal conflicts among other teammates.
Gibbs Reflective Cycle
It can be defined as a model that helps an individual to learn new things from their own experiences and enables them to reflect upon their feelings while attending the assignment. The Reflective Cycle was first developed by Graham Gibbs in his book in the year 1988 (Golumbic et al., 2022). It includes six major stages comprising description, feelings, analysis, evaluation, conclusion and action plan. Thus, an individual can express their feelings and experiences to analyse their potential strength and areas of development through effective strategies to increase accuracy levels.
Figure 1: Gibbs Reflective Cycle
(Source: Golumbic et al., 2022)
The case study is quite descriptive and research-oriented in nature to gather information from reliable resources such as books, articles and journals in order to meet the reader’s expectations. It has been executed based on the fashion retail sector to assess its current market situation and create a wider range of opportunities to gain competitive edges. For instance, I have conducted detailed market research on the fast fashion industry to make sense of the current issues faced by Nobody’s Child to compete with other renowned companies in the UK. It also helped me to acknowledge the actual demands of local customers and conduct quality research work to get better career opportunities. However, I faced certain challenges while conducting the research including a lack of time management skills and poor communication ability to stay connected with my team members in the long pathway. While attending various workshops and online courses, I was quite able to build a strong foundation with teammates and execute the task to complete within the given deadline. Tuckman and Jensen’s Model of group development is a team management approach that includes five stages such as forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning to focus on long-term goals (Ukhova et al., 2021). Thus, I should form a strong team and enable them to adapt to the ongoing scenarios for better individual performances.
2. Feelings
I believe that the case study has an interesting approach towards the development of an understanding regarding the adversities imposed by fast fashion. Herein, I am of the opinion that the case study takes into account a distinct purpose in terms of advocating the negative aspects of fast fashion while the world has been only exposed to its benefits over the years. Based on my approach to resolving the challenges presented in the case study, I felt that analysing the threats and potential opportunities that Nobody’s Child may come across, in the long run, may have been difficult. However, after this initial thought, my perception changed when I came across the idea that fast fashion has been associated with the rapid demolition of resources resulting from excessive demand, rather than resolving sustainability issues. With the help of effective research, I believe that I am well-equipped with enough knowledge regarding the business, stating facts and collecting data to understand the relevance of slow fashion while comparing it with the adversities of fast fashion. In my opinion, I also felt that I may not have been able to complete the work on time although eventually, I managed to do so with efficacy.
3. Evaluation
A positive decision that I had undertaken while completing the activities outlined in the case study was to have a critical approach in terms of understanding the relevance and growth of fast fashion. Herein, Belbin’s Team Roles revolve around the implementation of 9 roles for every team member, based on thought-oriented, action-oriented and people-oriented practices (Rahmani et al., 2022). As an action-oriented individual, I have been capable of carrying out extensive research on the adversities caused by fast fashion on Nobody’s Child. However, I have undertaken negative decisions whilst completing this work and this can be analysed with the help of evaluating performance results. The Katzenbach and Smith Model has been responsible for analysing the performance of teams based on personal growth, collective work outcomes and performance results (Kobushko et al., 2020). Herein, my personal growth during this assignment, especially on grounds of professionalism has not been much since I have been able to develop only a few skills that are not essential in the field of employability. Moreover, considering Tuckman and Jensen’s Group working theory, the forming stage included decision-making, storming included conflicts on the negative decisions, norming infused understanding, performing revolved around effective results and adjourning indicated completion.
4. Analysis
Among the different decisions that I had undertaken during the completion of the work, one of the decisions that worked well revolved around the inclusion of the competitors of Nobody’s Child as examples to understanding the relevance of fast fashion. For instance, the decision to carry out a comparison between the benefits of fast fashion in large organisations such as Zara with the adversities imposed on small firms such as Nobody’s Child. However, there have been decisions that failed to work well and required communication and collaboration with my team members. For instance, one of the decisions that I made revolved around the need to implement the promotional strategies of the organisation, which failed to work since I aligned it with the overall, business strategy being different from its promotional practices. Herein, the most difficult fields of business and management for me at Nobody’s Child were operations and management. This is because each field requires attention to the organisational structure and is interrelated, contributing to the profitability criteria of Nobody’s Child. However, I have not applied Porter’s Five Forces analysis or Mintzberg’s analysis to Nobody’s. Applying them may have ensured a better competitive analysis for Nobody’s Child concerning fast fashion.
5. Conclusion
In my opinion, understanding similar case studies requires effective research skills, academic capabilities and commercial awareness. However, although I have effective research skills, I lack commercial skill sets and writing abilities, which may be a drawback in my field in understanding relevant case studies. In this case study though, I have been able to understand the relevance of fast fashion and relate the adversities caused by it in small firms such as Nobody’s Child. From a different perspective, I believe that time management is both a personal and professional skill that needs to be implemented by an individual in terms of engaging in better performance. On the other hand, the skills that may be essential in terms of performing better among team members or in groups revolve around decision-making, observational skills and communication. Communication skills, in my opinion, are one of the crucial abilities that I lack while discarding the establishment of an interactive environment essential in terms of conducting such assignments. Developing my communication skills can help me deliver a better understanding of team members while understanding their perspectives without engaging in conflicts. Improving such skills can also help me develop my active listening skills in the long run.
6. Action Plan
Step 1: Engage in Responsible Clothing
The clothing industry has been recognised as one of the most polluting sectors with producers and retailers gradually returning to the principles of ethical fashion (Liu et al., 2021). Herein, Nobody’s Child may be able to engage in ethical, responsible and sustainable clothing practices.
Step 2: Focus on Slow Fashion Practices
Well-informed clients are concerned and focused on the planet and the long-term well-being of individuals based on the implementation of slow fashion as a sustainable mode (Domingos, Vale and Faria, 2022). Nobody’s Child can integrate slow fashion at times to mitigate upcoming challenges.
Step 3: Use Recycled Items and Goods
With businesses moving towards waste management recovery, recycling has been emerging as a targeted action to address the current issue of pollution and depleting resources (Shooshtarian et al., 2020). Nobody’s Child may be able to endorse recyclable and reusable materials to reduce waste.
Step 4: Improving Existing Qualities
The increasing consumption, as well as the efficacy of fast fashion products, has been driving the prices of clothing to be affordable and low for consumers (Niinimäki et al., 2020). Herein, Nobody’s Child can focus on product development in terms of attracting more target customers.
Conclusion
Based on the above findings, it can be concluded that the case study documented a brief description of my overall experience while conducting research work based on the fashion retail industry. Besides, I have faced certain challenges due to a lack of research skills and poor communication skills as well as staying connected with other team members in future aspects. Further, Tuckman's team development theory has been applied with practical examples to improve my professional efficiencies and deal with external uncertainties. Lastly, certain strategies were identified to improve my interpersonal qualities and get better career opportunities to generate positive outcomes.
Reference List
Beckett, A. (2024) The cost of living crisis has made the UK a poorer, more anxious nation – and worse is yet to come. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/26/cost-of-living-crisis-uk-prices (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Crumbie, A. (2024) What is fast fashion and why is it a problem?. Available at: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Domingos, M., Vale, V.T. and Faria, S. (2022) Slow fashion consumer behaviour: A literature review. Sustainability, 14(5), p.2860.
Facebook (2024) Nobody's Child. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/nobodyschild/ (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Glassdoor (2024) Working at Nobody’s Child. Available at: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Nobody-s-ChildEI_IE1254818.11,25.htm (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Golumbic, Y.N., Motion, A., Chau, A., Choi, L., D'Silva, D., Ho, J., Nielsen, M., Shi, K., Son, C.D., Wu, O. and Zhang, S. (2022) Self-reflection promotes learning in citizen science and serves as an effective assessment tool. Computers and Education Open, 3, p.100104.
Knuppe, N. (2022) What Is a Public Limited Company?. Available at: https://www.nobodyschild.com/en-in/pages/sustainability (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Kobushko, Y.V., Kobushko, I.M., Starynskyi, M.V. and Zavalna, Z. (2020) Managing team effectiveness based on key performance indicators of its members.
Liu, Y., Liu, M.T., Perez, A., Chan, W., Collado, J. and Mo, Z. (2021) The importance of knowledge and trust for ethical fashion consumption. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(5), pp.1175-1194.
Newman, C., Rand, J., Tarp, F. and Trifkovic, N. (2020) Corporate social responsibility in a competitive business environment. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(8), pp.1455-1472.
Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T. and Gwilt, A. (2020) The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(4), pp.189-200.
Nobody’s Child (2024) Responsibility is in our fabric. Available at: https://www.nobodyschild.com/en-in/pages/sustainability (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Nothing’s Child (2024) Responsibly Crafted Fashion. Available at: https://www.nobodysChild.com/en-in?utm_source=NMPi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PaidSearch&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw6c63BhAiEiwAF0EH1CYQ4NHtf-dVSgamAaNqotyg1OZqY514aV5aWluxORbFpxW_2q57zRoCF9EQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Paris Good Fashion (2021) Why Fast Fashion Still Has Gen-Z’s Heart? #262. Available at: https://parisgoodfashion.fr/en/news/why-fast-fashion-still-has-gen-zs-heart-262/#:~:text=It's%20a%20model%20built%20to,%2Dfriendly%20alternatives%3A%20it's%20cheap. (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Putri, D.R. (2021) Digital marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and customer purchase intention (case study: Ailesh green consulting). European Journal of Business and Management Research, 6(5), pp.87-93.
Rahmani, F., Scott-Young, C., Tadayon, A. and van der Walt, J.D. (2022) Team composition in relational contracting (RC) in large infrastructure projects: a Belbin’s team roles model approach. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 29(5), pp.2027-2046.
Rocket Reach (2024) Nobody's Child Management. Available at: https://rocketreach.co/nobodys-child-management_b55b3fd7f65ec764 (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Shooshtarian, S., Caldera, S., Maqsood, T. and Ryley, T. (2020) Using recycled construction and demolition waste products: A review of stakeholders’ perceptions, decisions, and motivations. Recycling, 5(4), p.31.
Statista (2024) Average annual disposable income in the UK 2021/22, by age group. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/824464/mean-disposable-income-per-household-by-age-uk/ (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Statista (2024) Characteristics of generations in the UK 2022. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389926/uk-characteristics-of-generations/ (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Statista (2024) Most well-known fashion stores in the United Kingdom 2023. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1343478/most-well-known-fashion-stores-in-the-united-kingdom/ (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Statista (2024) Number of people employed in the UK 1992-2022, by generation. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1393584/employment-figures-uk-by-generation/#:~:text=Number%20of%20people%20employed%20in%20the%20UK%201992%2D2022%2C%20by%20generation&text=In%202022%2C%20among%20the%20working,and%204.3%20million%20Gen%20Z. (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Statista (2024) Operating profit of the H&M Group worldwide 2012-2023, by region. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/683366/operating-profit-of-the-handm-group-worldwide-by-region/ (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Ukhova, N., Rudolph, K.S., Schiener, A. and Altmann, M. (2021) Designing Formative Feedback Guidelines for Group Development Stages in Virtual Collaboration.
WHO WHAT WEAR (2024) Nobody’s Child discount codes for September 2024. Available at: https://www.whowhatwear.com/promo-codes/nobodys-child (Accessed: 26 September 2024).
Appendix – Case Study: Fast Fashion
Conduct a SWOT analysis
Strengths
|
Weaknesses
|
Opportunities
|
Threats
|
Table 1: SWOT Analysis
(Source: Created by the learner)
Identify who your nearest competitors are
Competitors |
Mission and vision |
Revenue |
Zara |
|
4,283 Billion Swedish Kronor (Statista, 2024). |
H&M |
|
$1.50 Billion in 2023 |
Table 2: Competitive analysis
(Source: Created by the learner)
3. Find out who your current customers
What are the demographics of your customers?
Generation Z mostly prefers fast fashion clothes as they grew up in a world of fast fashion by using social media and the internet to drive innovation. Gen Z belongs to the age group from 12 to 27 years in which women are more likely to purchase fast fashion clothes. In 2022, about 4.3 Million of Generation Z were employed in the UK (Statista, 2024). The average annual disposal income of Gen Z was recorded at about 36,370 British pounds per household as of 2022 (Statista, 2024). Hobbies that are popular with Generation Z are video games, social activities, thrifting and many more.
What is the psychographic profile of your customers?
About 38% of respondents in a survey said that Generation Z were easily offended and were unable to work hard to get a better life ahead (Statista, 2024). Besides, they are quite polite in nature and value diversity, inclusivity and gender equality. Lastly, Gen Z is quite progressive and open-minded to raise their voices against offenders. Lastly, the fast-fashion is quite cheap compared to eco-friendly products which also helps to grab the attention of local societies and communities (Paris Good Fashion, 2021).
4. Mention 2 ways your company plans to promote itself to customers.
Nobody's Child provides exclusive discounts with promotional codes to grab the attention of a wider range of local communities and visitors for both offline and online stores (WHO WHAT WEAR, 2024). Besides, it has an official Facebook page with 96K followers to stay connected with customers and send important messages (Facebook, 2024). However, the company can adopt modern tools and techniques such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy and conduct social media campaigns to focus on the basic needs of customers.
5. Which marketing/advertising streams does your company plan to use
Nobody’s Child can promote its business through content marketing to post online stories and emotionally connect with local consumers to reach a wider marketplace. In addition, video advertising engages people through short video clips to promote business objectives and increase website trafficking in order to generate better outcomes (Putri, 2021).
6. How does your company plan to tackle its social and environmental issues?
Fast fashion has an adverse role in both social and environmental aspects for exploiting cheap labour and often pays extremely low wages (Crumbie, 2024). Further, the industry is also responsible for massive amounts of air pollution by using harmful chemicals in textile production and emitting carbon gas to generate greenhouse gases. Therefore, Nobody's Child aims to bring beautiful fashion to every woman and reduce the impact of harmful chemicals to produce organic materials (Nobody's Child, 2024).
7. Finally explain how being a private limited company (Ltd.) affects the company’s day-to-day operations.
Being a Private Limited Company (Ltd.), organisations have limited liability with a minimum capital share of $50,000 in the UK (Kunppe, 2022). Nobody’s Child has collaborated with Marks and Spencer (M&S) as its potential investor to raise huge capital for further investment in operational segments. It also abides by regulatory compliances to form an effective managerial team including the Non-Executive Director, Culture Manager, E-commerce Manager, Chief Executive Officer and many more (Rocket Reach, 2024).
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