Evaluation of the Retail and Industrial Vacancy Rates for the City of Canterbury - Case Study Example

EVALUATION OF THE RETAIL AND INDUSTRIAL VACANCY RATES FOR THE CITY OF CANTERBURY reflective learning statement Phillip Spirkovski, Mahmudul Hossain, Olivia Sanoubane and Hansheng (Kevin) Zhang Western Sydney University - Economics & Finance Engagement Project Group 6 March 2016 Introduction Reflective learning statement is a review of what has been undertaken in the research process. This is the personal view that a person gives after undertaking a certain research and report writing. This essay will be able to give a reflection of how research on vacancy rates in Canterbury was undertaken. It will be able to provide various methods that were used in the research and challenges experienced during the research. The research on vacancy rates in various suburbs of Canterbury was conducted by our group of four students as indicated in the report. Different group members made various site visits, and reports were developed concerning the findings on those sites. The group managed to study various suburbs successfully in the city of Canterbury. Various residential areas were visited and data recorded to be presented to the council of the city (Bland, 2016). The group conducted various research in Canterbury to determine the population, industries, culture, diversity, demography, property market, business activities and transport. Analysis on various information obtained in the field was done with deep research to ensure that the problem of vacancy rates was solved in the city. The group also managed to generate an econometric model to analyze the issue of vacancy rates in the city statistically. The retail rates and the industrial rates were obtained by the research, and various recommendations were provided so that the council can be able to solve the problem of vacancy rates in the city. The project which was developed was able to look into the issues affecting the retail and industrial vacancy rates. It was able to determine the whether vacancy rates were an issue for the city of Canterbury. The report provided various ideas on how vacancy rates were affecting various sectors of the economy of Canterbury (Dana, and Yendol-Hoppey, 2014). Learning process The process of developing the research report provided various skill and lessons to the group members. In the process of gathering various information from different sources ensured that members learned a lot about the economics of the city. The process of coming up with the report on the research on vacancy rates enabled many of us to learn much teamwork and team building. This was because each was to collects data on various sites and eventually merge the data to provide an appropriate analysis and conclusion on the subject of study (Kolb, 2014). The following are some of the abilities and skill that we learned; Team building Co-operation Scheduling Teamwork Data collection Survey Analysis The group managed to use all their skills and abilities in various learning processes above. This ensures that all of us were very active in the process of developing the report. The above learning processes will be discussed below on how it was achieved and how it benefited the group members in the coming up with the report on vacancy rates. Team building The group members were able to create a team which executed the task of researching how the vacancy rates affected the economy of the city of Canterbury. The project was divided into several parts in which each member was able to collect data on a certain site then present them in the general report. Through this, each member was able to build from each other’s information and eventually create a report which provided insight on vacancy rates in the city of Canterbury. Each member was able to learn how to merge data from various sources and to provide the correct analysis from the obtained information. This created a team of people who work together in the essence of developing a bigger idea hence team building. The data table below shows how various activities were distributed to each member. Task Member to complete the task Report Executive summary and introduction Was completed by Olivia Sanoubane. Methodology and findings Was completed by Mahmudul Hossain and Hansheng (Kevin) Zhang Discussion of results Was completed by Phillip Spirkovski Results presentation Was presented by each team member. Tasks Person to undertake the task Data Find information Each group member went out and collected the primary and secondary data Primary data The primary data we were collected by Mahmudul Hossain and Hansheng (Kevin) Zhang. Secondary data The secondary data was collected by Phillip Spirkovski and Olivia Sanoubane. Build an econometric model The econometric model was built by Mahmudul Hossain and Hansheng (Kevin) Zhang Evaluate if correlation occurs between variables Phillip Spirkovski evaluated whether the correlation existed between the variables. Co-operation The successful completion of the project report on the research on vacancy rates was majorly due to the cooperation between all the group members. Each member did their part; this ensured that various information collected were in unison and had relatively small variations. The information the population of the city was collected by two members and hence merging of the data provided a correct estimate of the population of the city. The cooperation among members was also evident in the writing of the report. This is due to the fact that the is organized, and step by step analysis by various group member indicate minimal deviations, and this is indicating that co-operation was at maximum. Without the cooperation amongst the group members, the report would not have been completed on various information on the vacancy rates in the city. Scheduling The process of undertaking research requires each member to work on a certain schedule. The completion of the research and the report on the project was possible due to the ability of each member to maintain their schedules as provided in the timetable. Time was managed well by all the group members hence gaining the ability to be able to schedule their time to submit the required information. The ability to schedule the time provided to perform the research and obtain the results ensured that the group complied to the time limit provided for the development of the report. Teamwork The report was successfully compiled due to the teamwork that was evident during various processes. Primary data collected and secondary data collection needed a little survey which would not have been successful without the teamwork which was portrayed by group members. Consultation with various people and organization needed much teamwork to cover the required regions. There are many suburbs in the city of Canterbury. If the research were to be done by an individual, it would have been tedious, and many errors would have been made by the person undertaking the survey. Through teamwork, the group was able to visit many residential areas in Canterbury and were able to collect crucial data on the vacancy rates. We were able to consult more than one hundred people from various suburbs of the city. Through teamwork, it would have been nearly impossible to consult a such number of people within the given timeline. Survey Members of the group were able to ensure that they learned surveying skills which were practices during data collection in the researching vacancy rates. Through the use of this skill, we were able to analyze the vacancy rates in various regions, and hence, this ensured that the collected data was a reflection of the whole region. Surveying skills ensure that the research covers a large region even though all those regions are not visited by the group members. The sampling of various data ensures that the obtained information on the vacancy rates in the city of Canterbury is efficient and a true reflection of the vacancy rates in the whole region (Bryman, and Bell, 2015). Challenges faced during the research on vacancy rates in Canterbury There were several challenges that the group encountered in the research and report writing about the vacancy rates in Canterbury. The following are some of the challenges Insufficient data Government policy Limited resources Insufficient time The above challenges were encountered during the research and the report writing. However, due to the problems we encountered, it did not deter us from reaching our main goals. This problem only reduced our ability exhaustively to provide sufficient information on the research question (Bland, 2016). Insufficient data The group encountered the challenge of insufficient data for various fields. The population that was used is only an estimation of the real population of the city. This is because there is no census that has been conducted since 2012. The figures used are not a true representation of the current information. The maps which indicate the development of various residential is dated back in 2015. The real data on the housing sector is not accurate since there are many houses being developed in the city and most of them were recently set up. This was one of the major challenges we experienced during the research. The estimations that are used only give analysis based on the apparent values but not the real values (Geltner, 2015). Government policy The local government has its policies on data collection. There are some sources that are redistricted to common people and hence became a challenge for the group to determine the vacancy rates accurately in the city. The data which is held by the local government of New South Wales would have been crucial in determining the actual housing developed in the city. There are some industrial housings which their data is not allowed for access by unauthorized personnel. This was covered in our recommendation since there are missing data on the houses which were developed by the local government. Some of the policies do not allow various details about the vacancy rates of some industrial parks to be accessed and hence we only had estimations. Limited resources There were regions which the group did not access due to the limited resources. Some data were not offered freely and hence the group was not able to obtain that information. Traveling to most parts on the city was also becoming expensive for some of the group members since it needed sufficient finances to go and survey some regions like Rosewood. The survey was only limited to a hundred people who are not a realistic estimate for the whole population of 146, 000 residents of the city of Canterbury. The group also had difficulty in buying various information on industrial vacancy rates. This was because many developers do not give out their information to the public. The estimations were only used by the group only to give a reflection of the real information (Bland, 2016). Insufficient time The research would have been sufficiently done when there was a relatively longer period provided to ensure that the research covered most locations in the city. The area to be covered was very large but with the help of resources in the internet and facilities which collect data about the city; we were able to cover a larger area successfully. Conclusion In conclusion, the research on the vacancy rates in the city was made successfully because of the commitment and hard work portrayed by all the members of the group. The research covered most parts of the city, and the report that we developed is adequately informed, and the analysis that we did was sufficient to give the council a solution to the problem of vacancy rates in the city. However, many challenges were experienced by the group members. This is due to the limited resources and the short time provided to cover the whole city. The group learned many skills while dong the research. Surveying is a skill which many of us had to acquire to finish the report successfully. Through critical thinking, the group members were able to provide an accurate analysis of various activities that were studied during the field days. References Bland, L.S., 2016. Effects of a Self-Reflective Learning Process on Student Art Performance. 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