Personal and Professional Development Report

This report examines personal and professional development, focusing on self-managed learning, lifelong learning, and skill development. It analyzes the benefits of self-managed learning for individuals and organizations, and provides a detailed evaluation of the author's own skills and competencies. The report also includes a personal and professional development plan, outlining strategies for improving communication, time management, and collaborative working skills. The report is based on a case study of Travelodge, a leading hotel chain in the UK.

Personal and
Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning.....................................................................1
1.2 Ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be
encouraged..................................................................................................................................2
1.3 Evaluation of benefits of self-managed learning to individuals and organisation................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Evaluation of own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives.............................................................................................................4
2.2 Identification of own development needs and the activities required to meet them.............5
2.3 Identification of development opportunities to meet current and future defined needs........5
2.4 Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Process and activities required in implementing development plan....................................7
3.4 Updating development plan based on feedback and evaluation...........................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Solutions to work-based problems........................................................................................9
4.2 Communicating in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels..................9
4.3 Evaluation and usage of effective time-management strategies.........................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Skills and their effectiveness is an important asset for an individual. Personal and
professional development is a relative term in this aspect which focusses on overall skill
development of an individual. It is a main factor which helps an individual in dealing with
complex situations with the use of effective tools and techniques. Managers in this context may
even implement key strategies that help in growth of individuals (PERSONAL OR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS. 2012). This report has been framed on Travelodge
hotel which is a chain of hotels in Ll ford, UK. It is the second most preferred hotel chain of UK
especially in budget sector. This project encompasses various elements such as self managed
learning skills of individuals which further help in future growth and development. Skill
development and strengths and weaknesses of individuals have also been mentioned in this
report. Furthermore this report also encompasses ways of lifelong learning along with ways and
styles for communication.
TASK 1
1.1 Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning.
Self managed learning is an important aspect which is used or considered by individuals
whenever they wish to develop and manage their own set of skills. It is an important tool which
helps in overall skill development of individuals. This is an important approach which is used by
managers of Travelodge for dealing with sort of uncertain or complex situations. Some important
approaches of self managed learning have been stated as under:
Conferences and seminars: Conferences and seminars are an essential part of every
business concern with which managers and subordinates bring about new innovations in their
business which further enhances their market share and goodwill. Managers of Travelodge
consider it to be an important tool in enhancing and improving skills of their subordinates and
employees.
Advantages: It enhances performance and knowledge quotient of employees.
Disadvantages: Misrepresentation of information can happen as speakers may not not be well
aware of the issue (Ahmed and Ward, 2016).
Internet:It is an important online platform which helps managers and leaders in
enhancing and developing potential of employees. By using internet managers of Travelodge
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will be able to receive and gain more information through articles and journals. This further
enhances skills and expertise of individuals.
Advantages: Internet provides easy access to information which can be used by individuals in
their knowledge development.
Disadvantages: Privacy of people is always at risk as anybody can hack id's and personal
information may tend to get leaked.
Social network: It is a connecting link for people across different regions. Hence it is
advised that owners and managers of Travelodge can initiate a social media group for their
employees with which they can interact with people present in different parts. This will help in
enhancing area of expertise (Althauser, 2015).
Advantages: It helps in connecting people from various regions.
Disadvantages: People today have become quite involved in their cellphones and hence they
have become lazy at work.
Out of all these methods, after evaluating all these tools managers of Travelodge social
media for their skill development. This also leads to timely achievement of goals and objectives.
1.2 Ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be encouraged.
Lifelong learning is an important aspect of behaviour of individuals. It stresses on
continuous and ongoing knowledge enhancement which will further help individuals in
achieving their personal as well as professional objectives. This process tends to vary from
person to person as needs of one person will never be similar to another. This approach was a
great success for managers of Travelodge as they were able to deal with complex situations in an
effective manner. Importance of adopting lifelong learning has been mentioned as under:
It helps in career development and growth prospects of an individuals by developing their
knowledge ans skills as well. Also it will help in improving employability as well as promotional
chances of an individual. Hence it is easy to say that continuous as well as lifelong learning helps
people in grabbing any future opportunities that may be available in competitive market
(Avidov-Ungar, 2016). Various important methods of lifelong learning have been mentioned as
under:
Self directed learning: Self directed learning refers to an approach which helps individuals in
facing any sort of challenges or critical situations that may be present. This method proves quite
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useful for managers and employees of Travelodge whenever a new change has to be brought
about in the hotel.
Continuous professional development: It is a development technique which managers of
Trevelodge consider for continuous learning process. Also it helps in enhancing skills and
efficiency of employees . CPD helps individuals as they can get an ideas as to what are the
strengths and weaknesses of an individual.
These tools and techniques prove quite useful for managers whenever they wish
to develop knowledge and skills of their employees (Carpenter and Krutka, 2015). As a manager
in Travelodge I choose to adopt all these tools in a combined manner for achieving effectiveness
and efficiency.
1.3 Evaluation of benefits of self-managed learning to individuals and organisation.
Self managed learning refers to a structural process which helps individuals in taking any
sort of corrective actions. It is an important tool which further helps in timely achievement of
goals and objectives. Various advantages of self managed learning has been stated as under:
Benefits to Assistant manager:
Improving level of skills: It helps in improving skills and raising performance of
individuals. Various elements included in this process are team building, leadership etc. By
improving skills assistant manager will be able to enhance his satisfaction level leading to
smooth operating of business.
Fostering overall development: It is an important medium which is considered by
assistant manager so that they can further help in fostering overall personality development. By
doing so they will be able to achieve their goals and objectives in a specified time frame.
Benefits for employees: In context of individuals self managed learning helps in growth
and development of skills as well as traits. This further helps in effective and smooth functioning
of business. It is also a flexible process and can be modified any time as per requirements. This
further helps me in dealing with complex situations.
Benefits for business concerns: Self managed learning is an important prospect for every
business concern. This plays a quire important role in reducing costs that incur in a business
(Dias and Cadime, 2016). In present scenario, it aids managers of Travelodge by enhancing and
developing skills and effectiveness of employees. This further lends a competitive image to
companies and helps in their overall growth.
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TASK 2
2.1 Evaluation of own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives.
Professional standards: Standards or principles that are followed by business concerns in their
daily schedule are known as professional standards. Professional standards in context of
Travelodge have been mentioned as under:
 Employees need to follow a proper code of conduct and wear clean uniforms while they
are on duty (DiPaola and Wagner, 2018). Employees and managers should adopt ethical practices and comply with all legal
activities.
Organisational objectives:
 Adopting a customer centred approach which helps in fulfilling organisational goals and
objectives.
 Increase the sales volume with a aim to ensure long term sustainability.
Skills of a person are basic traits that every individual needs so as to develop and
maintain effectiveness in one's personal and professional abilities. For maintaining and
measuring effectiveness it is quite important that they conduct their oen skill audit. This will be
greatly helpful in identifying if there are any errors or faults in skills. For conducting my own
skill audit I took feedback and suggestions from my subordinates where they rated me on a scale
of 1-10.
Skills and Competencies Score (out of 10) Scores from others
Communication skills 8 7
Collaborative working 6 6
Analytical skills 7 7
Decision making 8 8
Time management skills 7 7
As per evaluation of above given skill audit based on how my subordinates rated me I
found our that I will need to develop certain skills such as collaborative or team working skills
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(Forde and et. al., 2016). Also ii gave scores to myself after gaining feedback from my
subordinates and analysed that my decision making skills are quite effective.
2.2 Identification of own development needs and the activities required to meet them.
An assistant manager in a company is known to manage and operate all operational
activities in an effective manner. In present context, assistant manager of Travelodge plays a
quite significant role and is known to work in an effective manner by adopting collaborative and
coordinated business practices in their culture. To be an effective manager I should have
excellent leadership and decision making skills. Also I will need to develop certain skills which
have been stated as under:
Time management skills: Time management is an important skill which every manager
in a business needs at some point of time (George, 2015). Managers should also be well aware
about behaviour and personality traits of employees working in their organisation. For effective
delegation of work I will need to keep an exact record of employees and their skills. This will
further help in achieving all organisational goals and objectives within a specified time frame.
Collaborative working skills: In every business leaders and managers are most important
people and need to possess certain skills such as intelligence, intellectual skills etc which help in
timely completion of activities. I can enhance or improve my collaborative skills by analysing
my strengths and weaknesses. I will also have to examine my weaknesses in communication and
leading people in Travelodge.
Analytical skills: These skills are based on reasoning and are important for managers to
be effective in their jobs. I also will have to develop my certain traits and skills such as positive
and optimistic approach, emotional quotient, collaborative working etc. Also I can even attend
various personality development seminars. This will help in maintaining a healthy relationship
between employees.
2.3 Identification of development opportunities to meet current and future defined needs.
Development is a quite broad aspect which helps people in building their skill quotient
and makes them competent to fight any critical situation. Various development opportunities in
context of Travelodge has been mentioned as under:
Training: Training is an important tool which helps in building skill quotient of people.
In present context training will help me in enhancing my time management skills which will
further be beneficial for me in effective functioning (Grant, 2017). This helps me in timely
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completion of activities. Managers of Travelodge have also set up their own skill academy where
their employees can be trained.
Welfare Programmes: Welfare programmes are known to have a quite significant impact
on skill development of individuals. These programmes in Travelodge have been initiated with a
coordination from UK government. These programmes are known to provide as healthy and safe
working environment to employees of Travelodge and lead to completion of work in a structural
and formal manner.
Monitoring and Supervision: Monitoring and supervision refers to a process that helps
in in improving overall performance of employees in Travelodge and also achieve better results
(Lee and Choi, 2015). Both these factors are quite important in inculcating professional skills in
people. In context of Travelodge it helps me in examining performance of employees and also
check variances between actual and standard performance.
2.4 Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs.
Personal and professional development plan is an important tool which helps individuals
in setting their goals and objectives in an effective manner. By adopting a PPD people can easily
evaluate if there are any variances in their performances.
S.
No.
Learning
target
Present
Proficiency
Target
Proficiency
Development
Opportunities
Person
responsible
for Judging
Skills
Time Scale
1 Analytical
skills
7 10 I can enhance my
analytical skills by
having interactive
sessions . These
interactive sessions
will help me in
assessing my
strengths and
weaknesses.
Managers
and senior
executives
45 days
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2 Collaborativ
e skills
6 10 I can enhance my
collaborative working
skills by attending
personality
development classes
where trainers make
people work in
groups. This thereby
leads to development
of my own skills.
Peers and
colleagues
1 month
3 Time
management
skills
7 10 I can improve my
time management
skills by attending
various training
sessions.
Managers
and
colleagues
2 months
TASK 3
3.1 Process and activities required in implementing development plan.
Strategic planning process of Travelodge is having some issues hence to solve this in an
effective manner I have set up a development plan which has been mentioned as under:
Defining goals and objectives: First step is to define or examine goals and objectives
which helps in timely completion of tasks assigned.
Examination of strengths: After defining goals and objectives next step is to examine
strengths on a personal basis. It will help me in removing any defects or errors that may be
present.
Training sessions: Once the strengths and weaknesses are determined next step is to
provide training to employees based on their inefficiencies (Lovett, Dempster and Flückiger,
2015).
Setting deadlines: Next important step is providing deadlines for developing inefficient
skills such as 6 months, 2 months and so on. It motivates employees to maintain effectiveness.
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Clear explanation of objectives: Managers should always set clear guidelines and goals
for their subordinates. This lends them an exact idea as to what they have to achieve.
3.2Undertaking and document development activities.
For effectively examining my skills I considered ratings given by my subordinates. In this
context for enhancing quality of my deficient skills I considered various tools which help in my
overall personality and skill development. After receiving feedback from my subordinates I came
to know that my analytical skills are quite weak hence I will have to attend personality
development classes for almost a week (McMillan, McConnell and O’Sullivan, 2016). This will
lead to better and efficient analytical skills. Also for collaborative working skills I have planned
that I will attend training programmes where trainers provide group activities which will further
lead to enhanced coordinating and collaborative skills. Lastly for improving my time
management I have decided that I will set time limits and standards for myself and further
examine if I can complete these tasks within a specified time frame.
3.3Reflect critically on learnings against original aims and objectives in development plan.
My aims and objectives as an assistant manager in Travelodge were to develop and
improve my own set of skills that lacked efficiency such as analytical skills, time management
and collaborative skills etc. Currently I have all these skills embedded in my personality
although they are not as developed as they should have been. These skills play a quite important
role both on personal as well as professional level. Hence in this context I have set a criteria of
100 percent for each skill. From the above examination it is quite clear that I need to develop my
analytical skills which is only possible when I attend personality development classes. For
example if this skill of mine is developed up to 70 % I will then need to at least develop it to
25% more to gain efficiency. Same goes for other other skills for example my presentation skills
were weak hence I decided about practising about 5 presentations a week to be efficient but due
to some other issues and lack of time management I could only do 3 presentations a week. This
states that I could not achieve 50% pass criteria in this context.
3.4 Updating development plan based on feedback and evaluation.
I have updated my development plan after fetching feedback from subordinates and also
involving self evaluation. The updated self development plan has been mentioned as under:
Qualities Feedback Action for Required Time
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improvement period
Analytical skills Quite developed but
needs to be improved
as I was not able to
deal with critical
situations
Receiving training
from by top managers
and also attending
training sessions.
45 days
Time management
skills
Lack of time
management due to
my work was
mismanaged
Setting schedules for
myself and evaluating
on basis of standards.
1 month
Collaborative working
skills
Lack of skills. I could
not perform in
harmony in groups
Attending training
classes where I am
made to work in
groups.
45 days
TASK 4
4.1 Solutions to work-based problems.
Problems or critical situations are an integral part of a business concern which may occur
at timely intervals. This can hamper or affect business performance in a quite negative way.
Hence to overcome this issue managers of Travelodge have further developed a systematic
process or plan that helps in addressing issues.
Identification of issues: First initial step in this process is to identify issues that
employees are facing (Olsen, 2015). This helps in effectively resolving those issues. Main issues
that are faced Travelodge include employee turnover, ineffective communication etc.
Analysis of problems: After the issues are identified next step is to analyse the depth of
the issue. For this managers will have to critically analyse the entire situation.
Potential solutions: After analysis is done next step is to find suitable and effective
solutions for these problems. Solutions to various work based issues are:
 Providing training to employees so as to develop their morale.
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 Using both monetary and non monetary incentives for motivating and satisfying
employees (Taylor, 2016).
 Other than these various cost and time effective strategies can also be used.
4.2 Communicating in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels.
Communication: It is the process of transferring information, ideas, thoughts from one place to
another. Every communication requires a sender, receiver and a message. There are many types
of communication some of them are discussed below:
Verbal Communication: When information, thought, ideas, message is communicate or
exchange through words or language is known as verbal communication. Verbal communication
can be done in spoken and written form.
Non-Verbal Communication: In this kind of communication, messages or informations
are unspoken. This form of communication mainly helps the verbal communication. This
includes facial expressions, gestures, posture, body movement that communicate without words.
Styles of Communication in Travelodge:
Controller style: This is a type of communication style where leaders are demanding.
They communicate their thoughts and ideas in a straightforward manner(4 Communication Styles
and How They Play out in the Workplace. 2018). When employees of the Travelodge requires
motivation and dedication towards their work, managers often use this approach.
Analyser style: This style is often based on organised and sharp way of communication.
Travelodge leaders involved in getting knowledge and also examine all needed informations and
facts.
Promoter style: It is a people driven as well as enthusiastic approach. Travelodge
managers use this style when they want to create social and friendly environment for their
employees. This approach is used to allow all the individual to express their thoughts freely.
Supporter style: This is the last style of communication which is very popular among
everyone. The personality of this communicator is calm and cool. This approach helps in
effectively expressing one's opinions and thoughts for decision making process in Travelodge.
4.3 Evaluation and usage of effective time-management strategies.
Time management is an important tool which helps managers of each business in timely
completion of their tasks. Various strategies used by managers of Travelodge in this context have
been mentioned as under:
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Prioritising workload of employees: This strategy helps in delegating work ot
employees based on their skills and area of expertise (Thomas and et. al., 2016). Tasks should
always be assigned as per their deadlines and preference.
Setting objectives: Setting up goals and objectives is very essential as it helps in
ascertaining differences between actual as well as desirable performance. This acts a base for
measuring and evaluating performance of employees.
Making and keeping appointments: By adopting this strategy managers of Travelodge
are able to maintain a systematic record of their daily tasks. This also helps managers in
examining as to whether the employees are working on a timely basis or not (DiPaola and
Wagner, 2018).
I as a manager considered effective time management strategies which further helped me
in timely completion of my business processes. Also it helped in accomplishment of
organisational goals and objectives.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned report it has been concluded that personal and professional
development is an important aspect of every individual and their overall personality. It is an
essential tool that helps in assessing future and current requirements of individuals. This report
evaluates approaches of self managed learning along with various ways of lifelong learning. Also
this report comprises of a skill audit and a development plan that is re-constructed by individuals
after gaining feedback from subordinates. This is an important tool that helps in timely
achievement of goals and objectives. Various methods of learning have also been mentioned in
this report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahmed, E. and Ward, R., 2016. Analysis of factors influencing acceptance of personal, academic
and professional development e-portfolios. Computers in Human Behavior. 63. pp.152-161.
Althauser, K., 2015. Job-embedded professional development: Its impact on teacher self-efficacy
and student performance. Teacher Development. 19(2). pp.210-225.
Avidov-Ungar, O., 2016. A model of professional development: teachers’ perceptions of their
professional development. Teachers and Teaching. 22(6). pp.653-669.
Carpenter, J. P. and Krutka, D. G., 2015. Engagement through microblogging: Educator
professional development via Twitter. Professional Development in Education. 41(4). pp.707-
728.
Dias, P. C. and Cadime, I., 2016. Effects of personal and professional factors on teachers’
attitudes towards inclusion in preschool. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 31(1),
pp.111-123.
DiPaola, M. and Wagner, C. A., 2018. Improving instruction through supervision, evaluation,
and professional development. IAP.
Forde, C., and et. al., 2016. Rethinking professional standards to promote professional
learning. Professional Development in Education. 42(1). pp.19-35.
George, C., 2015. Retaining professional workers: what makes them stay?. Employee
Relations. 37(1). pp.102-121.
Grant, J., 2017. The good CPD guide: A practical guide to managed continuing professional
development in medicine. CRC Press.
Lee, O. and Choi, E., 2015. The influence of professional development on teachers’
implementation of the teaching personal and social responsibility model. Journal of Teaching in
Physical Education. 34(4). pp.603-625.
Lovett, S., Dempster, N. and Flückiger, B., 2015. Personal agency in leadership learning using
an Australian heuristic. Professional development in education. 41(1). pp.127-143.
McMillan, D. J., McConnell, B. and O’Sullivan, H., 2016. Continuing professional
development–why bother? Perceptions and motivations of teachers in Ireland. Professional
development in education. 42(1). pp.150-167.
Olsen, B., 2015. Teaching what they learn, learning what they live: How teachers' personal
histories shape their professional development. Routledge.
Taylor, L. ed., 2016. How to develop your healthcare career: A guide to employability and
professional development. John Wiley & Sons.
Thomas, P.A., and et. al., 2016. Curriculum development for medical education: a six-step
approach. JHU Press.
Online
PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS. 2012. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/e-learning/assessing-educational-
needs/personal-or-professional-development-plans>.
4 Communication Styles and How They Play out in the Workplace. 2018. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/communication-styles>.
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