Business Reflection of the MBA Course

Studying for an MBA has required hard work long with application of existing knowledge gained at the undergraduate level in order to optimize the benefits of the current course. The current course has provided the chance to increase learning with knowledge that, when applied, will increase professional skills and abilities. The current course provided an opportunity to develop analytical skills, with a holistic approach from the initial identification and selection of analytical tools, through to the analysis process, and the utilization of findings to assess a firm's performance and determine potential changes in strategy.

To have a successful career it a senior management, or leadership, position, it is essential that one is able to undertake a comprehensive analysis of an organization, taking into account relevant internal and external environmental factors. It can be easy to take a cursory look at an organization, and believe one has identified relevant issues in order to make a diagnosis. However, such and such as this may result in short-sighted solutions, representing single loop learning, which may result in potentially important influential factors being omitted. This course started with the examination of different types of analytical models. The models, or frameworks, main value is in the way that they can provide a logical framework for the collection, organization, and analysis of information. At an undergraduate level basic models, such as Porter's five forces, and a SWOT analysis were studied. The model studied in this course for more complexity, providing a more comprehensive approach towards analysis. But in common with previous learning regarding research models, the greatest value is in the quality of the research and identification of relevant factors, rather than the use of a specific tool. These frameworks not only provided a framework, but also...

The most useful and that which was utilized was the congruence model, examining an organization in terms of processes, looking at inputs, throughputs, and outputs, and the degree to which congruence was gained through alignment. However, while the congruence model was changed as the basic model, additional benefits for gained from examining other models, in terms of the target information could be used for the linkages, as well as the options would be available for organizational analysis and diagnosis.
The application of the model to Whole Foods Market provided for a practical exercise in which the framework could be utilized in a real world context. Whole Foods Market is a well-known organization, and therefore information regarding the company was relatively simple to collect, although it had to be gained from a number of different sources. In gathering information it became apparent that internal sources had a degree of bias, which would not have been beneficial to the analysis. Therefore, information was gained from a number of sources. In the exercise, information utilized is that which is publicly available, but one may assume in a real-world scenario, and analysis for one's own organization could also incorporate internal confidential information for a more complete approach.

The extent of the alignment between the different elements of the analysis helped to indicate the level of congruence, and identify areas in which there may be strengths or weaknesses. The consideration of the strengths and weaknesses will allow for the identification of potential strategic changes or amendments that would help the organization better reaches goals. However, before any changes introduced there is also consideration of the way in which changes were supported, or may be resisted, by the examination of balancing and reinforcement loops. Past studies have demonstrated…