SKILLS AND LEARNING STATEMENT (SLS) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SKILLS AND LEARNING STATEMENT (SLS) - Assignment Example With further discussions, I chose HDFC (Housing Development and Finance Corporation) India as the bank on which my RAP will be focused. The bank had currently undergone an ICT innovation initiative for improving its performance and increasing its customer’s base (Rajan, 2010). My objective was to evaluate the bank’s performance before and after the introduction of the integrated multichannel in its operations. In the meeting with my project mentor, we discussed my strengths and weaknesses. I discovered that I was technically strong in literature writing however I was worried about the project analysis .With the help of my mentor, I outlined the structure of the project and he suggested ways to acquire information about the research project. According to him, the RAP should have a suitable structure, illustrative, conciseness, clarity with factual accuracy. Before my second meeting with my mentor, I was prepared with the draft of my project. My project was almost over an d I was just left with the conclusion and recommendation part. After going through the draft of my RAP, my mentor identified some errors on the referencing and Part one of the RAP. According to my mentor, the drafted RAP does not fully explain the reasons for choosing my project topic area and neither provided him with an understanding of the overall framework. He guided me with more information and asked me to make amendments but assured me that the overall approach of the project was satisfactory. He assured me the timetable I have been following is good enough to meet my project deadline. The reassurance and encouragement that the project approach is going on the right direction, helped my confidence. In third meeting with my mentor, I gave a presentation of my project. Before this meeting I had already provided my mentor with the draft of my RAP. This meeting included a 15 minutes presentation. The presentation helped overcome my fear of speaking in public and enhanced my orator y skill. I am an introvert and often stay behind in company’s meetings. I was overcome with fear during the presentation to my mentor and his partner. In the presentation, my mentor recommended some changes. He advised me to keep the language totally business-oriented without use of colloquial terms. The language had to be lucid as well as professional. My mentor commented on my nervousness. There were certain changes he recommended for example, the colour combination, referencing, structure, evidences and outcomes. He mentioned that timing is an important factor to consider in presentations. The presentation enhanced my communication skills and made me learn how to conduct while presenting a project- one should be aware of the right gesture, facial expression and stances. The presentation enabled me to exercise introspection and I am now confident that I can take a lead in office meetings. 2. How well do you think that you have answered your research question(s)? While doing the RAP I had proposed four research questions. Research questions are very important, as they determine the formal aim of the study. The research questions formulated by me clearly stated what the study is going to investigate and efforts had been made by me to address the questions properly. The first proposed research question is â€Å"

External Envrionment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

External Envrionment - Essay Example Mr. Curran Dandurand was thinking of the dynamics of the organizations international marketing operations. For more that fifteen years, the company had sold products outside the united states of America. However, when it came to 1992, out of the totals sales of $1billion, the company’s international sales accounted for only 11 per cent. This is opposite to Avon, a rival company which delivered more that 55 per cent of a total of $3.6 sales from the international markets in the same year. The company got a chance to venture into the international market. Among the international market ventures included launching of its operations in Japan. Japan is considered a mature market but then it happens to be lucrative in its operations. The other major market is the rapidly upcoming market in china. China happens to be quite unknown but the potential is enormous. Mary Kay Cosmetics Company was in competition for customers in both direct selling and cosmetics industries. Just to mention , the major competitor in the united states in 1992 were four companies. They included Avon, L’Oreal, Revlon and Procter & gamble. When it came to international marketing, Argentina and Australia were not chosen because of reasons bent on the company’s strategy. However, the company had a presence in many other countries and was hoping to do extremely well. In Canada, the Mary Kay cosmetics company was perceived as outdated, a clear indicator of its poor market analysis as a new entrant. This was in accordance to the research that was conducted. All this happened in the year 1992. This definitely tainted their image. Mary Kay Company needs a renewed approach that pays attention to the needs and culture of the local markets. Customers’ thoughts about a product are of utmost importance, because it determines how they shall respond to the same product. The Mary Kay cosmetics company had a lot of work to do after it suffered a low brand image. This may as well mean that the company never took enough time to understand the market requirements of the Australians. The brand image was positive in Mexico. Many people were aware of the brand in the same country. The company had rapid expansion in Taiwan, which was able to raise $3.3 million through sales. One of the mistakes Mary Kay Cosmetics Company did was to apply US market strategies directly without an acute understanding of the other markets. To be more specific, the company used the same marketing strategies used in the United States in new markets. These strategies were not even modified to pay any special attention to the new market requirements. This can be done through forecasting which could play a great role in learning the behavior of the market (Mullins, Boyd & Walker, 2010). Instead, Avon paid attention to the needs of the local markets. This included setting apart enough resources for international marketing strategies. This was important as a new entrant. Avon did not ignore other new market entrants. Mary Kay Company downplayed the implications and threats of other new entrants. Besides, in some markets the consumers were not aware of the products and services associated with Mary and Kay Cosmetics Company. Definitely, this led to low brand awareness that ended up hurting the overall sales of Mary Kay incorporated. One of the requirements of successful marketing is an acute understanding of the needs of the market. This on its own is not enough. After understanding the needs