Reflection on Research and Analysis Project

Reflection on Research and Analysis bulge beginning(a) MeetingBefore having my set-back come across, I at raceed an open solar day with Mr. Collin Biggs who gave brief lecture on the requirement of whack and topics which can be chosen to do a successful pick apart. The topic I chose from the Oxford Brookes Project topic areas is number 8 which is The business and financial performance of an judicature e preciseplace a three year period.For the 1st face-off my instruct Ashley Cooke asked me to write The entre of the RAP in front having the first meeting. I distinct to analyse the financial and business performance of GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca as a comparator. after choosing the topic and organisation I started to research the data ab let on GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca. From the website of GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca, I downloaded their audited financial statement and annual reports for three years periods from 2007 to 2009.SituationMy wise man asked me t o send the establishment of my RAP three old age earlier the meeting so that he can go by dint of the impart I had exonerated and prepare feedback for my 1st meeting. I was unable to send him the Introduction part of my RAP three days before the meeting as I underestimated the dress require and I in addition was not rather familiar with Microsoft Word. I was able to send him the email with the Introduction of my RAP just two days before the meeting.During the first meeting, my mentor was not satisfied with my approach which I adopted to write Introduction of my RAP. Introduction about the company was in truth some(prenominal) in detail. My mentor told me to be precise and write tho relevant information about the company. He excessively told me that my move around was droping quality as I only lend oneselfd Companys official website and did not refer to independent opinions and views.Lesson learnedI learnt that I withstand to manage my eon better as I need extra tim e to deliver my assignments on time as I am lacking the skills of efficacious use of Microsoft Word. I also learnt that I energise to use third partys opinions and reviews about the companys performance which tend to be less biased.Second MeetingAs my first meeting was not up to the scratch so I was conscious by my mentor to labour some extra time to do capable consummation for my second meeting. He asked me to coating just about of the research and psycho abridgment cream prior to the second meeting. I tried my best to finish all the compendium work necessary to evaluate my bear objectives much(prenominal) as trend compend, ratio analysis, market research and strategic analysis of GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Astra Zeneca Plc. At the end of my second meeting my mentor shocked me when he asked me to prepare Microsoft Power orchestrate slides for presentation. I was not sure how to pee much(prenominal) slides use Microsoft Power Point. And I told my mentor there and the n(prenominal) that I do not deal how to use Microsoft Power Point to prepare slides. He was very helpful and he taught me how to prepare slides using Microsoft Power Point on his laptop.SituationI was working very well according to the suggestions of my mentor. further I was unable to finish most of the work before time and could not email all the required work to my mentor three days before the second meeting. The modestness was that my niece suddenly became sick and she was taken to the Hospital just five days before the second meeting.She was very seriously ill and I had to take my family couple of measure to the Hospital. I could not finish my whole work. But I managed myself to attend the second meeting. My mentor told me that he was expecting more(prenominal) work from me. I explained the whole story to him. He inquired about the health of my niece and advised me that I draw to be well planned and ready for such incidents and leave some buffer time for such uncertaintie s.Lesson LearnedI true(a)ise that if I would have left some buffer time, I would have completed my work well before the second meeting. this instant I realised that I should try my best to finish my work and the task given before time to avoid any adventure or uncertainty.Third MeetingMy mentor asked me to give ten proceedings presentation which should be summarised nevertheless comprehensive. My mentor told me that my presentation should be a glimpse of my overall RAP. My presentation impart be followed by fiddling question and answer session where I will be questioned on my work and my findings about the chosen organisationSituationI was sooner time pressured for my third meeting as I had some work left from my second meeting to complete and extra work to be make for the third time including the preparation of slides for presentation. I had to do description for my presentations as I have not given any presentations before this. I was a bit worried and nervous about my presentation.Lesson LearnedI learnt I should not leave the work till the operate minute from my previous experience as unknowns can happen and ascertain the process. I gave myself an earlier deadline so that I could finish my work before the original deadline. Due to this I managed to finish my RAP on time.I also learnt a lot from the presentation part of my RAP. I learnt how to m separate slides on Microsoft PowerPoint as severalise slides are attached with the submission of my RAP.I made my presentation to the Mentor. I ran out of time and could not complete the presentation well in time. I spent too much time on the introduction and the reason why I demand the organisation. I failed to present the conclusion and recommendation part of my presentation. I could not do justice with my efforts I put in my research work because of the way I presented my report to the mentor. I was not successful because of the lack of planning of my presentation. I did plan what I will present s ave due to the lack of practice I could not deliver what I was expecting from myself. Nevertheless, I learnt a lot from this experience. I learnt not to be over focused on the irrelevant things and properly giving time to more important areas.Question 2How well do I recollect that I have answered the research questions?At the initial stage of my RAP I was confident that I will be able to do my RAP easily on the chosen topic. But in humans the chosen topic and finding information on organisation prove to be hard and challenging for me. I was not sure in the beginning from where should I gather information about GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. I was carrying out my RAP research on limited information available but I came to know from a friend of mine that British library is loaded with information regarding any organisation. I got financial and non financial information from British Library about GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca which was enough to do RAP analysis properly.During my secondary research, internet played a pivotal role in gathering data. Internet was of great help when reading up results of GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca for the first quarter of 2010 as this data was not easily accessible from other sources. It was hard for me to decide which ratios should be calculated in ratio analysis as each and every ratio has its own significance and importance. clip was a real issue in this project. I could not apportion time properly to the different areas of my research which I could have done better if I would have had more time. More time would have allowed me to visit more business libraries to get an in depth companionship of the Pharmaceutical industry and its competitive environment.Question 3How have you show your interpersonal skills and communication skills during the project work?Interpersonal and Communication skills are two skills which are not only important in faculty member sustenance but in professional life as well. These skills facilitate in academics during presentations, class discussions, and project report writing and during professional life corresponding dealing with customers, suppliers, peers and management. During my RAP, I used my interpersonal skills which I learnt through my studies, especially paper F7 (Financial Reporting) of ACCA.Initially the communication with my mentor was not very effective as I struggled to communicate properly with my mentor. My mentor sometimes could not empathise my accent and he asked me to repeat few times during my interactions with him. I lost precious time of my meetings with him due to this communication problem. slope is not my mother tongue. Even though my English have alter significantly after studying ACCA in England, native English utterers sometime find it difficult to understand me because of my strong accent. My mentor Ashley Cooke has been very enduring with me and he never showed any signs of discomfort whilst communicating with me.I realised t hat in order to communicate effectively I had to be more confident when facing somebody face to face and I should speak slowly and clearly so that even with my strong accent, people could understand me. I have to improve my oral, verbal and non-verbal skills so that Ill be able to perform better both in academics and in work environment.Question 4How has undertaking the Research and Analysis Project helped me in my accountancy studies and/or current employment role?I learnt a lot by doing my RAP which will help me in my reaming ACCA studies and also when I start my professional job. One of the things, I learnt whilst doing my RAP was how to do a research and gather information about a real world organisation, this helped me in developing my research skills. The research skill will be beneficial to me for my further studies and career.Communicating with people in an effective way was the new learning experience and it is very important for me when I will start my professional job in the future. My communication skills have improved significantly by doing this RAP. I think I would be in a better position to cope with the challenges in the future, which in reality would not have been possible without undertaking a project like this.Other thing, I learnt a great deal about is IT skills which I lacked before doing this RAP. I was not very familiar with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This project taught me a great deal about these packages as I had to use them to draw graphs, make tables and prepare slides for my presentation. Graphs and appendices in my RAP are evidence of my learnt skills. IT skills are very crucial for a modern accountant to have in order to succeed in this day and age. I knew a little about these software packages before but this project has given me an opportunity to draw graphs using data from tables which I did not know before. This skill will assist me a great deal in my further studies and career.In a nutshell, whilst doing my RAP I learnt how to manage time effectively and meet deadlines, which will not only help me in my academic and professional life but will also, bring validatory changes in my life.