Good Ajiya Transport Services Business Plan Reflection Essay Example

The business plan project was designed as a pilot experiential project that would provide the students a hands-on capstone experience rather than the more traditional, theoretical approach. Teaming with other members of the business college who were also completing their plans, as a student I felt like a consultant on a live business project and took this opportunity to assume a number of roles in a business consultancy. As a student I worked as a consultants to assist in bringing the initial business plan to completion in preparation for presentation to the college executive committee.
Completing the plan was quite an experience as it involved real engagement with a location and thinking through the needs of that area in crafting a business that would provide sustainable demand. Aliya Transport Services is the vision from a number of conversations I have had over time with cousins, brothers and uncles. It is the dream of mine to open this business in the area and to provide these services to the community. I found that distilling the larger plan into a brief summary to be a challenging task. Deciding on what to included, what to exclude, and how to present the information required multiple re-writes. It was like a puzzle, but it provided the same sense of achievement one gets from working on a 500- piece tabletop puzzle and seeing the whole picture emerge. The collaboration with my team-mates and the staff went very well, with a smooth interaction. While I prefer in-person meetings, the phone meetings went well, allowing a free flow of ideas and discussion, even though the participants were geographically remote. I still prefer in-person meetings, but have gained a much greater respect for virtual meetings and will be more comfortable utilizing them in the future. Overall the capstone project for the Aliya Transport Services business plan was a most positive experience for me. I would highly recommend the team approach for future students, as it allows for a capstone experience that more closely resembles what will be encountered in the post-academic life versus more traditional, theoretical research.
I was excited for the opportunity to work on this business plan for Aliya Transport Services and the experience did not disappoint. Specifically, given my interest in the transport industry am grateful for this opportunity. Working with fellow students in the library and common academic areas while they crafted their own individual projects was also a great learning experience as a way to see the entrepreneurial visions of many students come to life. The entire process proved to be rewarding, challenging, and most importantly educational.
Being able to act as consultants to help research and present information for the Aliya Transport business concept team to present to our own executive staff was beneficial for my business experience and my education. The opportunity to work with a real-world business problem was a learning experience I will remember. Working with true business issues allows maximum learning for students to use in their current and/or future careers. In addition to being able to work on a project for the transport industry, I also enjoyed using my accounting and finance strengths to provide data for the Aliya Transport Services business plan. Being in a single project was useful because I was unable to split up work to suit our strengths and interests.
While I found it rewarding to provide financial services to the project, it was also very challenging to do the analysis for an organization with which I was not familiar. This required a lot of interaction with the material and concept and many different parts of the plan. It was a much different scenario than providing analyses when one has data available at the tip of your fingers. Some of the struggles I faced as I worked through the project was the ever-changing business model that I saw as being possibilities for Aliya Transport. Although this was challenging, it is a realistic problem one may help to eliminate as an employee or consultant. All projects have numerous changes from the start of a project to the end, and it is important for students to experience those realistic problems. I would have benefited perhaps from a team to write the business plan with and people to interact with a jump ideas off of where meetings involved check-ins, and I would have also enjoyed being on site for meetings. Given the resources I had, and the fact that it was just alone as a single student writing this plan, I was pleased with the constant communication I was able to glean from fellow students who were also on individual projects provided and how well we were able to keep up with our own progress and changes. Although I believe a group project would have been a beneficial experience, I am grateful that I was given this opportunity. The approach using a group of students, an organization or department that is in need of assistance, and a professor to guide the academic portion, proved to be more like the team approaches I use at work versus a typical individual academic project. I would highly recommend this type of project be allowed in the future. I do believe there is more work to be done, as in any organization. Future business students in the program could pick up where we left off. In another business class I have considered the topic of entrepreneurship and how it has changed the business climate for new upcoming businesspeople in the industry After completion I thought of how this could be tied into this project by future students. My initial assumption is that Aliya transport would be very successful in the Nairobi Metropolitan area because in part of the increasing costs of transportation. These increasing costs are likely a big part of why Aliya would be successful, as costs are not expected to decline in the near future. Looking at how the transport industry has changed costs for Kenyan people and using that information to present evidence for the need for Aliya Transport Services could provide a motivating analysis.
This Capstone assignment was a great learning experience; I was lucky to be part of such a great class and learning experience. My academic tutors kept us all motivated to complete the project. The tutors great direction kept us on board throughout the weeks with updates through phone conferences. As a student I worked to accomplish the big picture, but all the while I had to take responsibility for smaller areas that I felt best fit my talents. I learned through this process was that I need to have more confidence in my education and trust that I now can apply my knowledge in real world situations. I am proud of the business plan created. I believe it will help guide Aliya Transport's strategy. I also believe that there is much more work to be done.