The retail and channel management course is an integral part of the bachelor’s degree in marketing at the university. The objective of the course is to equip students with a comprehensive view of retailing and also be able to analyze the retail environment and also expose students to the new developments in this industry. This is necessitated by the fact that the retail industry is changing each day and any successful business must be able to put this into consideration.
The content of the course was covered in three broad sections that were subdivided into a number of sections. The four sections as covered include;
- Retailing Environment
- Retailing Strategy
- Merchandise Management
- Store Management
The retailing environment section was concerned with the environment within which the retailers operate. The challenges that they undergo and the possible solutions to these challenges
The retailing strategy touched on the various strategies those retail businesses could employ in order to survive and remain profitable in this industry. This touched on the various strategies and policies that retailers would employ in ensuring that all the maximum potential of the business is reached, given the resources constraints
Merchandise management is majorly concerned with inventory management which basically dwells on the methods of ensuring adequate merchandise level so that the business does not go out of stock, nor retain very high levels of stocks that are not necessary.
Store management is more or less to the merchandise management- this section is majorly concerned with operations management, customer’s service, stores layout design and visual merchandising, group presentation and integration etc.
This paper is meant to be a self reflection on the above content, with particular emphasis on my personal experience during the course, areas that fared well and also that I need to do further work.
According to Dewey (1991) the role of reflection in education is has received a lot of interest amongst educators in the recent past. According to his ground breaking work, Dewey notes that self reflection fostered critical thinking and demonstrated development of professional values and skills. Self reflection has been defined in various ways in literature. In Dewey’s work, self reflection is defined as ‘’an active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or form of knowledge in the light of the grounds the support it and further conclusion to which it tends. Bound et al. () aptly define reflection in the context of learning and focus more on one’s personal experience as the object of reflection, as referring to “those intellectual and affective activities that individuals engage into explore their experience, which leads to new understanding and appreciations” The definition of reflection by Moon (), on the other hand, focuses more on the role of reflection and learning, and embeds reflection into the learning process. She describes reflection as “a form of mental processing with a purpose and/or anticipated outcome that is applied to relatively complex or unstructured ideas for which there is not an obvious solution” (p. 23). All three definitions though focus on different contexts, share similarities in that they emphasize purposeful critical analysis of knowledge and experience so as to achieve deeper meaning and understanding.
These definitions are all united in advocating for improvement in student learning. In the present age, self reflection will be defined as the process a learned will undergo to look back at his learning experiences and what was done to enable learning to occur, and the exploration of the connection that persists between the learners own ideas and the knowledge of what was taught. This is expected to translate to greater academic achievement for the staff.
Theories of learning
I am going to address three major theories of learning and the first one is the behaviorist’s theories. According to the behaviorist theories, the children’s mind is a blank slate that is usually filled in by the environment through what they refer to as conditioning. B.F Skinner, the most famous behaviorists based his theory on operant conditioning on rewards and punishments. This method was for many years used to study the development of human brain. According to operant conditioning, the human mind changes behavior by the use of a reinforcement which is given after some desirable response. In his study, Skinner identified three types of responses which included behavior rein forcers, punishers and neutral operants.
Basically, skinner was trying to explain that whatever the Child’s mind learns is as a result of the conditioning that the society has on the mind. For instance if a particular behavior is punished, then the child will try to avoid such a behavior. Modern research however indicates that the brain is not a passive element in the learning process as stated by the likes of skinner. It’s a very active element as explained by Albert Bandura who claimed that children learn through imitation
Constructivists postulate that children gain their knowledge from their interaction with the outside world. Jean Piaget developed a theory that shows the stages in cognitive development. Modern researchers however suggest that the stages that were developed by the early constructivists’ were not universal but are determined majorly by the cultural set ups and experiences of each particular individual. They argue that children construct their learning from their own experiences and view the world from their own frames of references and not through any other person’s experiences. To understand a child, one must examine how the child receives, processes and internalizes information (Moon, 1999)
Humanist theories explain that we learn from our relationships with others. Children, according to this theory have a positive direction and adults can only facilitate their growth process. It’s asserted that children learn through aligning themselves with the good of others through understanding and empathy. Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs also falls in this category. Maslow explained that needs are motivators and one need has to be satisfied before the next one
Ease of self reflection
Thought the course, I have been quite attentive to the instructions of the instructor and I have piously attended all the lectures. I have managed to understand the concepts learned in this course and I did not have many difficulties in the assessment. Most importantly, my instructor was very supportive and informative and this enabled me to grasp all the concepts with considerable ease.
One of my challenges however was trying to internalize some of the concepts learned and also trying to see how such concepts are applicable in real life situations. After many discussions with colleagues and the instructor, I was able to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and am willing to do even better in future.
Interpretation
I will explain my interpretation of the learning during the course using the four sections in the course. These were earlier mentioned and they encompass the whole course in retail and channel management. They are explained below.
Retailing Environment- Initially, I had difficulties understanding the concept of the retail environment but as the course went on, I began to get a clearer understanding of some of the issues discussed. I think I had not fully settled as the instructor introduced the first topic, which was the introduction to retailing. I had initially thought of retailing as just small establishments in a local set up but deeper understanding revealed that retailing is a global industry, with large supermarket chains such as Woolworths and wall mart being classified as retailers.
Of particular importance in this section was the nature of retailing, which was a big surprise because I later learnt that it can be a profitable affair if managed properly.
The second topic in this section was the types of retailing and also the concept of multichannel retailing. Here, some of the largest multinational, multi channeled businesses are discussed and their mode of operations as well as their geographical spread was discussed. I particularly marveled at how some of these large retail businesses have been able to establish their branch networks in nearly all continents and still manage to plough in a tidy return at the end of their financial periods.
The second section discussed was Retailing Strategy. In this chapter, we learnt how the retailer employs several strategies to ensure success in his business. The chapters also included the customer aspects of the retail business. The instructor was categorical that the customer is an important player in the retail business and all efforts must be made to ensure that the customer is given first priority in the planning of the retail business at all times. Of particular attention was the identification and understanding of customer needs, customer buying behavior was also a key element of this business (Lew & Schmidt,2011).
In this section of the retail strategy, emphasis was also laid on the retail/site selection. This encompassed the selection of the site for the set up of the retail business. The various aspects of the site selection were analyzed with a bias to the availability of customers, infrastructure and legal and regulatory requirements. The retail organization and human resources management was also an issue discussed in the section. Lastly in this section was the customer relationship management, which handled the ways of ensuring a satisfied customer which is key to the growth of the retail business.
I appreciated the strategy used by retailers in a bid to make it big in the market. Some of the strategies are quite practical and require the input of everyone in the business. I particularly learnt that the location of the business is of a lot of importance in ensuring that the business is strategically placed for the maximum proximity to customers.
This section was quite important because I gained skills that I believe will be necessary in ensuring that I am able to strategically run a retail business, while at the same time appreciating the relevance of the various aspects of the business in economic development.
In the merchandise management section, issued discussed included developing and implementing a merchandise plan, financial management, with the aim of ensuring that there is enough resources to acquire inventory as and when needed, pricing strategies in retailing, which is aimed at ensuring that the business is in a position to compete fairly in the retail market
Lastly on this section is the retail communication. This relates to the promotional strategies that retailers use to promote their image and business in the market.
I had particular difficulties in understanding the concept of the stock level management, especially the various formulae for the different stocks levels but I was able to do so after discussions with colleagues.
I now believe that I am well equipped to be able to run a retail business of any magnitude, given the knowledge that I have gathered in this course. Even though I still have a lot to learn in this subject, I am convinced that I am in a position to make a very meaningful contribution to any start up or existing retail business.
My performance in this section has been fair, but this is majorly because I did not have much information on this subject but after this reflection, I think I am very confident that I am in a better position to do much better in any future course related to this course as I am now more equipped to perform even better in future. I give a lot of credit to the course instructor and colleagues who have been instrumental in assisting me understand even the most complex concepts in this course
References
Moon JA (1999). A handbook of reflective and experimental learning. London: Routledge
Boud D, Keogh R, Walker D (1985) . Reflection: Turning experience into learning. London: Kogan
Hmelo-Silver CE (2004) . Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review.
Lew, M. D. N., & Schmidt, H. G. (2011). Writing to learn: Can reflection journals be used to promote self-reflection and learning? Higher Education Research and Development (in press).
