Reflective Performance Report: Gibbs' Reflective Cycle in Retail

The report is divided into two parts the first part involves the case study in which several questions are given and based on the case study the solution is given to each question. On the other hand, the second part of an individual reflective performance report includes the Gibbs reflective model for the analysis.

Reflective Performance Report

Gibbs Reflective Cycle

Gibbs named his model for writing reflection Gibbs' model of reflection. This sequence includes six phases: Description, Feeling, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan (Adeani et al., 2020).

Description (What happened)

The first stage of the Gibbs reflective cycle is Description which states that the case study on which I worked mainly focused on addressing operational ineffectiveness and strategic challenges in the retail sector. The company was facing various challenges regarding supply chain management and along with this, the company was also facing challenges relevant to digital transformation. The main task was to analyze the company's internal factors see its market position and offer a strategic recommendation to enhance performance and be at the top in the fashion market. In class, we are divided into groups and to solve the case study the group working theory was used. Tuckman and Jensen’s model is structured in a linear, flat format, was researched only within four group settings, and is homogeneous (Iannucci III and MARINE CORPS UNIV QUANTICO VA, 2019). Tuckman and Jensen is a very famous group working on theory in the first stage we formed a group and in this stage, every individual was getting to know each other and along with this, the environment was conducive (WCU, 2024). In the second stage which is known as storming in this stage, we faced some disagreement as every individual had a different opinion some of the group members said to focus on quick operational ineffectiveness, and on the other hand some of the group members said that to address the company strategic vision. The third stage is the norming stage in which partnerships become more effective and in the last stage which is known as the performing stage in this stage, we can analyze the case study very well as we utilize the tools such as SWOT analysis to the company's internal atmosphere.

Feelings (what were you thinking and feeling?)

When I first saw the case study then I had mixed feelings that included excitement and a little bit of anxiety. Also, the case study was based on the retail sector and as nowadays customer choices change every minute I was very excited to drive into the analysis. On the other hand at the same time, I was nervous as I was not fully confident about my skills to completely address the business concerns present in the case study. When the case study moved ahead along with this I also felt confident to contribute to solving the issues. My interest was specifically in the supply chain part of the case study. Also, I had experience in operational processes before so I was very confident to solve the issue. On the other hand, I was less confident when it came to the strategic marketing part of the case study, particularly in digital transformation and engagement of the customer. In the group discussions, I contributed very and despite this somewhere I also doubted myself. As most of the time, I was questioning myself most of the time whether my knowledge of retail trends was enough to add important value.

Evaluation (what was good and bad about the experience?)

There are various positive parts of the experience the first essential benefit that involves is SWOT analysis which offers to know the organization's internal strengths and along with this also on the other hand weaknesses of the company was analyzed. This supported us in finding the areas of ineffectiveness in the supply chain and after this, we can provide recommendations like smooth logistics and enhancing inventory management. The next positive result was that we managed the group dynamics after reaching the norming stage we formed a partnership that became seamless and based on this we divided the tasks based on individual strengths enhanced effectiveness and along with this it also enhanced productivity. On the other hand, there were also some negative parts of the experience at the beginning when our team went under the debate including the slight concerns that led to delays in completing the analysis. The next when we went to the storming phase our group faced difficulties related to decision-making and at that time our team did not have a leader to guide the team. This impacted progress as due to this our progress got slow and due to this every team member was a little bit disappointed. Also, our team failed to discover the suggestions for digital transformation in the retail sector. Our team's strategic recommendations would have been good if our team had focused on digital tools such as e-commerce and customer relationship management systems that improve the company's competitiveness. When we reached to performing stage our team's progress was slower than we expected but we utilized the Tuckman and Jensen theory that supported us in knowing why conflicts occurred at the time of the storming phase. If we could have utilized the structured decision-making tools then the progress may have been quick in comparison with previous progress.

Analysis (what sense can you make of the situation?)

The analysis states that the decisions which we took worked very well and on the other hand, some of them didn’t work very well. For instance, mainly focusing on the organization's operational ineffectiveness, particularly in supply chain management was a good strategic decision. Also, by utilizing the SWOT analysis we can know about the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of the company. Despite the various advantages we also have weaknesses one of the measure weaknesses that occurred is the absence of attention we were ignoring the digital transformation and engagement of the customer. Nowadays the retail sector most of the time depends on digital platforms to increase the engagement of the customer and our team failed to address this part. One solution that could have been applied is utilizing Mintzberg’s strategy which could have offered various benefits such as providing more good methods and offering recommendations based on the market trends. The next area where we struggled was making strategic marketing decisions specifically around brand alignment and the experience of the customer. Regarding the company's viewpoints in areas such as marketing and customer relationship management. I was very confident in analyzing the internal atmosphere and operational part of the company.

Conclusion (what else could you have done?)

There are various areas where I could enhance to perform well in the same tasks in the future. The first thing that could have been done is to improve strategic thinking skills is very important. On the other hand, I was able to utilize basic analytical tools such as SWOT analysis. Also, I realized that I need to improve my capability to think more essentially when the problem is related to the business. This will include knowing the frameworks and along with this also getting to know when to apply the frameworks to build valuable insights. The next important area where I need enhancement is digital transformation and along with this strategic impact on companies particularly in quick-growing sectors such as retail. I am required to improve my knowledge of digital marketing strategies that include e-commerce and engagement of customer technologies which are very important parts of the current company atmosphere. The next area where I need to work is my capability to direct and make good decisions in marketing and branding policies. Nowadays marketing is a very important part of any company strategy, particularly in competitive sectors such as retail. When talking in a relationship with a group one of the essential skills that I require to build is leadership as at the time of group discussion I refused to take the leadership role. Building good leadership skills will support me in making good decisions and along with this it will also help me to solve conflicts efficiently. The next thing where I need improvement involves communication when I contributed to the case study I realized that I have less efficient communication skills. Also, good communication is one of the important parts of group work and by building good communication I can enhance my speaking skills.

Action Plan (If it arose again what would you do?)

The action plan that I will take if the same kind of case study occurs, for this I will follow a structured method to make sure a complete analysis and more efficient group work. There are various steps that I will take to approach the case study. The first step that I will take is to conduct a deep PESTEL analysis to get to know about the external atmosphere that involves market trends and the development of technology along with this behavior of the customer. The second step that I will take is applying Porter’s generic strategy, in the beginning, to know whether the organization should take the cost leadership. The third step that I will take is utilizing the Belbin Team roles to assign a particular task to every member based on their strength as this will reduce the conflicts at the time of the storming phase and will also enhance the effectiveness of the group. The Belbin team role model was used as a framework to broadly categorize the identified skills into three high-level categories (action-oriented, people-oriented, and thought-oriented) without delving into the model's more detailed components (Rahmani et al., 2022). The fourth step that I will take is scheduling daily progress reviews to make sure that the team stays on track and changes the strategy according to the requirements also this will help to reduce delays and make sure that the group is focused on resolving the challenges of the case study.

Figure 1: Gibbs' reflective cycle

Source: (The University of Edinburgh, 2024).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the report solved the seven given tasks based on the case study provided which was relevant to the retail market specifically related to the fashion market. Also, based on this Gibbs model was utilized for reflective performance. As Gibbs named his model for writing reflection Gibbs' model of reflection was done in six phases that included Description, Feeling, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan.

References

Adeani, I.S. Febriani, R.B. and Syafryadin, S. (2020) ‘Using GIBBS’reflective cycle in making reflections of literary analysis’, Indonesian EFL Journal, 6(2), pp.139-148. https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/article/download/3382/2034

Iannucci III, B.J. and MARINE CORPS UNIV QUANTICO VA. (2019) ‘Relevance of Tuckman’s Group Dynamics in Contemporary Military’: The Total-Group Setting’, https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1177296.pdf

Jha, S.K. and Veeramani, S. (2021) ‘Sorting responsible business practices in fast fashion: a case study of Zara’, Journal of Management and Public Policy, 12(2), pp.54-58. http://jmpp.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Journal-of-Management-Public-Policy-vol.-12-No.-2-June-2021.pdf#page=54

Lee, J.E. (2019) ‘Fast-fashion retailers-Types of online-based internationalization’, The Research Journal of the Costume Culture, 27(1), pp.33-45. https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO201912964891193.pdf

Morrison, J. (2020). Morrison, The Global Business Environment, 5E. [online] Issuu. Available at: https://issuu.com/palgravemacmillan/docs/9781352008975 [Accessed 30 Sep. 2024].

Muganda, I. (2020) ‘Examining customer perception of employee demographics and its effects on customer satisfaction: the case of HFC bank in Nairobi County (Doctoral dissertation, Strathmore University)’, https://su-plus.strathmore.edu/bitstream/handle/11071/12151/Examining%20customer%20perception%20of%20employee%20demographics%20and%20its%20effects%20on%20customer%20satisfaction%20-%20the%20case%20of%20HFC%20bank%20in%20Nairobi%20County.pdf?sequence=1

?Raeburn, A. (2024) What is a SWOT analysis. Asana. Available at: https://asana.com/resources/swot-analysis (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

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), https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Allen-Tadayon/publication/352019208_Team_composition_in_relational_contracting_RC_in_large_infrastructure_projects_a_Belbin%27s_team_roles_model_approach/links/60b5ed8f299bf106f6edd895/Team-composition-in-relational-contracting-RC-in-large-infrastructure-projects-a-Belbins-team-roles-model-approach.pdf

The University of Edinburgh (2020) Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

?WCU (2024) Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development . Wcupa.edu. Available at: https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Appendix

TASK

Conduct a SWOT analysis to identify your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

The process of conducting a SWOT analysis involves evaluating and assessing different strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and other factors that impact a particular subject (Raeburn, 2024). SWOT is divided into four aspects Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats which are explained below in-depth:

Strengths

There are various strengths of the company the first one is that the company generates good-looking and affordable clothes that enhance the company's attractiveness and engage more customers. The second strength that the company offers is the quick speed as it produces the latest trend in the market very fast which offers a competitive benefit in the market.

Weaknesses

Despite the benefits the company offers on the other hand it also has various weaknesses the first weakness of the company is environmental and social concern as the company consumes a high amount of water and has bad working conditions.

Opportunities

There are various opportunities that the company can utilize to enhance company growth the first opportunity for the company is to take a sustainability initiative that includes eco-friendly practices like recycling and utilizing sustainable materials. The second opportunity for the company is to collaborate with influencers by collaborating with influencers company can improve the brand visibility.

Threats

There are various threats for the company the first threat is competition as the fashion sector has high competition Companies involved in the fashion market such as Zara, and H&M are very well-established in the market. The second threat for the company is shifting customer choices as nowadays the customers have different choices and with time it is enhancing as customers nowadays demand sustainable fashions.

Identify who your nearest competitors are, within the fast-fashion marketplace.

Various companies are very well-built in the fashion market first nearest competitor is Zara is at the top of the fashion market and is very well-known for bringing the latest new designs into the fashion market. Zara can move a designer clothing line from the studio to its front stores in just two weeks, a turnaround time unmatched by any of its competitors so far (Jha and Veeramani, 2021). The second nearest competition of the company is H&M as it is also one of the major players in the fashion market and has a good presence in the market and it offers the customer stylish and affordable clothes. The third nearest competitor of the company is Uniqlo which mainly focuses on ease and useful clothing. The fourth competitor of the company is Primark which provides customers with good and affordable clothes and offers the customer clothes with low cost.

Find out who your current customers are by researching different aspects of the fast fashion market:

What are the demographics of your customers? Please include age, gender, location, occupation, disposable income, and hobbies.
What is the psychographic profile of your customers? Please include personality traits, social convictions, and socio-political persuasions.

Demographic factors encompass age, sexual orientation, educational level, place of residence or work, occupation, and monthly income (Muganda, 2020). The demographics of the customers involve the age as the customer of the company lies in the age group between 18 to 30. The next demographic is gender which involves both men and women but these two women have a large base. The next demographic is a location which includes urban areas and cities that have a main focus on fashion trends. The next demographic is occupation the customers involved are mainly students and professionals. The next demographic is disposable income which states that the majority of the customers come from the middle class. The demographic is Hobbies which means that the customers are most of the time interested in the fashion sector that involves social media and online shopping.

Psychographic Profile

The psychographic profile involves personality traits in which the customer is trend-aware and conscious of affordability. The second psychological profile is related to social as nowadays most of the customers are becoming environmentally aware. The third psychological profile involves Socio-Political Persuasions that include the customer most of the time advanced and are worried about ethical sourcing and along with this customer are also worried about environmental impact.

Mention 2 ways your company plans to promote itself to customers. You are to see your company’s promotions as part of its overall strategy, not just a one-off promotion.

The two ways that involve promoting company plans to customers are such as the first way is sustainability campaigns offering sustainability campaigns the company plans to promote itself through complete sustainability-focused campaigns that will showcase the commitment to ethical practices involving the utilization of recycled materials and minimizing carbon emission. Promoting values that foster consumption standards within the limits of the ecological environment is essential for Environment and Sustainable development (Morrison, 2020). The sustainability campaign will offer various advantages such as this campaign will attract customers who are very environmentally concerned. The second way involved in promoting company plans to customers is collaborating with social media influencers that are on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Influencers nowadays are very helpful for the customer as they make it easy for the customer to make a purchase. The strategy is specifically efficient for quick fashion organizations by utilizing this strategy the engagement of the customer increases and along with this the growth of the company improves.

Which marketing/advertising streams does your company plan to use (consider online platforms, social media platforms, etc.? Say why you have chosen these platforms)?

The company utilizes social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok as the customers most of the time use these platforms regularly Instagram has one very good feature known as shopping which allows customers to purchase by seeing the posts and along with this feature also allows a smooth experience for the customer. The second marketing involves collaboration with retail companies online utilizing platforms such as ASOS to enhance the engagement of the customer. ASOS caters to fashion-forward individuals internationally, specifically targeting customers between the ages of 16 and 34 (Lee, 2019). The reason for choosing the above platforms is because both of them link with demographics specifically with young customers as they utilize social media more.

How does your company plan to tackle its social and environmental issues? Consider both social and environmental issues.

The company's plan to tackle its social and environmental issues will be done by collaborating with companies that are very well linked with ethical labor standards and along with this daily regular check will make sure that factory employees work in safe conditions. On the other hand for environmental issues sustainable materials will be utilized that will include a recycling program for clothing and along with this, it will also encourage customers to give back the clothes for recycling.

Finally, explain how being a private limited company (Ltd.) affects the company’s day-to-day operations. E.g., Financial reporting, compliance, raising capital, etc.

As a private limited company, various operations affect the company's day-to-day operations such as the first one of financial reporting which involves submitting the financial reports to regulatory authorities. When financial reporting can offer dependable and pertinent (high-quality) data, it has the potential to bolster the delivery of more productive, streamlined, and responsible (high-quality) public services. The second operation is compliance which states that the company should comply with all legal needs like health and safety regulations. The third operation is raising capital which states that as a private company, it cannot openly share trades, and instead that it has to depend on the loans for raising capital.

Reflective Performance Report: Analysis of a Case Study in the Retail Sector using Gibbs' Reflective Cycle

Table of Contents

Introduction