Understanding Learning Theories and Reflection

The assignment delves into a range of learning theories, including those presented by authors like Glanz and Bishop, Lloyd, Moon, Pedersen, Pritchard, and Tams. It emphasizes the significance of reflection as outlined by Koprowska, Rämgård et al., Rees et al., Sheikh et al., and Siebert & Costley in professional development contexts. The provided references offer insights into various aspects of learning and reflective practice relevant to diverse fields.

Personal and
Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Evaluating approaches to self-managed learning..................................................................1
1.2 Proposing ways in which life long learning could be encouraged at Travel Lodge.............3
1.3 Benefits of self managed learning ........................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Evaluating own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives.............................................................................................................4
2.2 Identifying own developmental needs and activities required to meet them........................6
2.3 Identifying development opportunities to meet the current and future defined needs..........7
2.4 Devising a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs.............7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Activities required to implement the development plan.......................................................9
3.2 Documenting development activities as planned..................................................................9
3.3 Critical discussion of own learning against aims and objectives included in personal
development plan......................................................................................................................10
3.4 Updated Personal Development Plan..................................................................................11
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
4.1 Selecting solutions to work-based problems.......................................................................12
4.2 & 4.3....................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
Books and Journals...................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
In the 21st century of conceptualisation and modernisation, companies nowadays lay their
significant concern on hiring and selecting the best and eligible candidate from the masses. This
enables the corporate entities to gain tremendous increase in its overall productivity and
performance in increasingly hyper competitive international market. Therefore, there is an
increasing demand for the skilled, talented, eligible and qualified workers who act as a core key
for the company in achieving heights of corporate success (Andrews and Higson, 2013). As a
result, this helps the organisation to attain growth and brand recognition which helps in beating
competitors in a very significant way. With regard to this context, the present report will
highlight crucial aspect for personal and professional development plan essential for an
organisation. For this purpose, the company which has been taken into account is Travel Lodge.
It is a private limited organization which deals in operating its business in hospitality and hotel
industry in United Kingdom. In lieu of this, the report will focus on evaluating own current skills
and competencies against professional standards for a hotel manager and also against
organisational objectives of the Travel Lodge. It will also throw light on understanding the
importance of self managed learning in enhancing lifelong development along with
demonstrating acquired interpersonal and transferable skills which are required to get the post of
hotel manager in the said organisation.
TASK 1
1.1 Evaluating approaches to self-managed learning
Travel Lodge is a large scale chain of hotels which serves its operations across the globe.
The major places of its operations broadly include US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Spain,
Australia and Ireland. The said company is headquartered in UK and have around 1254
employees working under it. In respect of this fact, the present study will focus on recruiting and
hiring a well qualified and experienced hotel manager in Travel Lodge by clearly examining the
crucial personal and development skills of the prospective applicants (Cottrell, 2010). In order to
improve the knowledge, skills, talent and to gain experience in the mention organisation, the
report will throw light on different measures undertaken by Travel Lodge towards the path of
self managed learning.
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Self managed learning can be described as an effective and systematic process of
improving, enhancing and intensifying the learning skills and potential of an individual in an
impressive and in a significant way. It renders a fascinating platform to the candidates to grow
and enhance their overall extent of knowledge, experience and understanding level. It helps the
potential candidate to create a strong, positive and huge impact on productivity and performance
of an organisation (Pedersen and Digby, 2014). In context with this fact, Travel Lodge focuses to
provide effective and knowledgeable self managed learning approaches to its managers as well
as staff to encourage them to work hard with full dedication to achieve company's goal within
short span of time and to remain committed with their working activities. The crucial self
managed learning approaches undertaken by the cited firm are explained as below- Conferences, seminars and workshops- It is the most knowledgeable and effective
approach towards self managed learning. Here the cited company lays its major concern
over providing its employees with impressive conferences, seminars and workshops to
solve their grievances and problems and to render them with detailed understanding of
their major roles and responsibilities within the organisational workplace. This helps the
individual employee to attain better understanding of company's goals and objective in
the hyper competitive environment and helps them to contribute effectively towards
organisation's goal and success (Tams, 2008). Books, Journals and articles- It is one of the most traditional approach of acquiring
relevant knowledge thereby developing attributes of learning in a very significant way. It
provides the individual employee of the said company with extensive research and details
regarding core subject matter which helps them to gain knowledge related to company's
facts and figures (Drollinger and Comer, 2013). Travel Lodge also provides its staff with
articles, books, brochures, journals to make them clear about concepts of their subjects in
an effective manner.
 Social networks and media- It is the modern approach towards self managed learning.
Under this approach, the company mentions specific details regarding its core functions,
activities and other relevant information necessary for its employees in its official
websites or media. This helps the staff to develop and enhance their self managed
learning attributes towards lifelong development.
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1.2 Proposing ways in which lifelong learning could be encouraged at Travel Lodge
Life long learning is a wider concept for an individual employee in Travel Lodge. It helps
the individual in acquiring relevant knowledge and understanding about the subject matter which
in turn assists in overall development of his/her learning attributes. In context with this fact,
Travel Lodge proposes the following ways to encourage the concept of lifelong learning within
its workplace- Self directed approach of learning- It benefits the prospective individual to effectively
and critically carry out his/her personal assessment with a view to gain relevant
information related to crucial strength, major weaknesses, core opportunities and
substantial threat (Sheikh and et.al., 2012). It enables the individual to make use of its
strength to overcome the weakness and effectively grab opportunities to beat its
substantial threats. The managers of Travel Lodge focuses on encouraging self directed
approach of lifelong learning with a view to enhance and improve developmental and
personal skills and talent of its individual staff in a very effective way.
 Training and development sessions- The concerned entity lays its considerable concern
over rendering effective and knowledgeable training and development sessions to its
individual employee to motivate the lifelong approach of learning in a very significant
way. Offering such effective sessions helps the said organisation to improve the learning
attributes of its staff at different working stages (Dolea and et.al., 2010).
1.3 Benefits of self managed learning
The approach of self managed learning renders an organisation with innovative, skilled,
talented, eligible and qualified workforce which in turn acts as the major key towards success of
the company. It benefits the corporate entity to attain strong brand recognition worldwide and
helps it to get a prominent market share in vast and volatile international market. Apart from
this, it also benefits an individual to effectively enhance the learning skills along with improving
the overall personal and development skills to acquire desired position within an organisation
(Ehiyazaryan and Barraclough, 2009).
With regard to the present case scenario, the crucial benefits of self managed learning on
the productivity and performance of Travel Lodge along with the impact of such approaches on
me as an assistant manager of the said company are explained as follows-
Benefits of self managed learning in Travel Lodge
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 Enhances the work culture- Self managed learning approach helps Travel Lodge to
enhances and improves its overall work culture and work environment in a very
significant and effective way. It helps the organization to gain a positive and competitive
work environment which encourages the staff to successfully contribute towards
company's goals and objectives.
 Helps to attain committed, strong and loyal workforce- By providing a clear
understanding of their roles and responsibilities within an organisation through self
managed learning, the said entity is effectively able to gain a committed and loyal
workforce which helps organisation to increase its productivity and performance in the
business environment (Bullock and et.al., 2014).
Benefits of self managed learning to me as an assistant manager Enhances the personal and developmental skills- The above discussed measures of self
managed learning adopted by Travel Lodge helps me to improve and enhance my
personal development and growth as an assistant manager in the said industry. For
instance, I am now able to grab the exotic opportunities rendered by Travel Lodge to gain
higher position in the mention organisation. I am now able to train employees working
under me and they are trained in giving impressive presentation and induction sessions to
the trainers.
 Improving the ability to take strong initiatives- Effective platform of learning offered by
Travel Lodge has benefited me to gain confidence in taking strong initiative towards the
success and progress of the company. The evidence shows that, I am effective enough to
work beyond my prescribed time limit to achieve organisation's goals and take initiatives
in implementing strategic objectives for the said entity to attain corporate success within
the standard time frame (Rämgård, Blomqvist and Petersson, 2015).
TASK 2
2.1 Evaluating own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives
Skills required for
Hotel manager in
Travel Lodge
My current skills and
attributes
Areas where I need
to improve my skills
Professional
standards/
Significance of skills
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within Travel Lodge
Communication skills Good command on my
communication skills
Presentation skills and
formal communication
process.
Formal presentation
and business
communication will
benefit me in
improving the quality
of business
communication and
services rendered
within the
organisation.
Leadership skills Posses moderate
leadership skills
Developing skills to
face contingent
circumstances and
measures to control
direct and manage the
employees to acquire
high and positive
results.
Creating a significant
and high outcome for
establishing effective
and positive business
results in the
international market.
Management skills Considerably low
management skills
Enhancing the skills
and attributes to meet
the deadlines within
the prescribed time
limit and to improve
my time management
skills effectively.
Delivering high results
and managing
company's operations
in a very significant
way.
Technological skills Good access on MS
office and MS Excel
Learning new
applications and
software for carrying
out the work in
Enhances data base
management system
and expand the
business unit
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hospitality and hotel
industry.
successfully.
Decision making and
problem solving skills
Moderate decision
making and problem
solving skills
Developing the
contingent and strong
decision making skills
for the said
organisation.
Attainment of valuable
and higher business
results in an effective
and significant way.
Team Work Renders good results
while working in a
team.
Understanding team
dynamics and
developing strategies
to encourage the
employees to attain
company's goals and
objectives.
Attaining high and
desirable business
results.
2.2 Identifying own developmental needs and activities required to meet them
With a view to identify my own developmental needs and the activities which are
essentially required to attain such needs, I will significantly lay attention in undertaking SWOT
Analysis of my personal attributes which is as follows-
STRENGTH
 Impressive and influencing
communication skills.
 Good command on advanced
technology.
 Renders positive results when working
in a team.
 Strong inter-personnel attributes.
WEAKNESSES
 Moderate leadership skills.
 Poor management skills.
 Lack in making effective and strong
decision.
OPPORTUNITIES
 Building strong relationships within the
organisation.
 Rendering formal business
THREATS
 Fierce competition in the market.
 Online marketing and dealing concept.
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presentations within the company.
 Attending effective training,
development and induction sessions.
2.3 Identifying development opportunities to meet the current and future defined needs
Developing opportunities are available to me to meet the current and future defined needs
within Travel Lodge includes the following aspects- Leadership skills- Effective leadership is one of the most important priorities of Travel
Lodge. It creates a significant and positive impact on performance and productivity of the
said business in the global marketplace. The said entity renders exotic opportunity to
enhance leadership skills in a very significant way. Proper distribution and direction of
employee’s roles and responsibilities by a leader is one such opportunity which helps me
to meet current and future defined leadership skills within Travel lodge. Also, to maintain
a strong employee-employer relationship is one of the important roles played by a leader
to avoid the conflicts of interest within the workplace and to work with proper
coordination and cooperation towards common set of company's goal. Management skills- In order to enhance my management skills, the developmental
opportunities provided by the said hotel chain encompass timely achievement of small
targets within the company. It also provides me with the opportunity to plan, organise and
direct employees and working of the organisation in a very significant way which in turn
helps me to enhance and improve my managerial skills.
 Decision making and problem solving skills- To improve my decision making and
problem solving skills, Travel Lodge renders me with the opportunity to involve in
decision making process of the company with a view to give my opinions, thoughts and
ideas towards a particular set of problem. This allows me to gain confidence and helps
me to make effective, positive and strong decisions in the line of achieving company's
success.
2.4 Devising a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs
In order to devise a personal and professional development plan on the basis of my
identified needs, I should effectively answer the following questions-
What are my needed skills?
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With a view to acquire the position of the hotel manager in Travel Lodge, I need to focus
on developing my leadership, management, decision making skills along with the inter-personnel
attributes in a very significant and in an effective way. The needed skills to attain the desired
position includes the following-
Management skills- Management skills tend to create a strong and effective impact over
performance and productivity of the business unit. The employees with such skills benefits the
company in giving higher and valuable business results and allows it to maintain a competitive
and winning edge in the vast international market.
Leadership skills- Leadership skills focus on enhancing the capability of an individual to take
strong and effective initiative in the light of achieving company's success. Employees possessing
such skills are eligible for attaining desired position of hotel manager in Travel Lodge.
Decision making skills- It is very important for employees to take strong and effective decision
to solve a particular set of problem in a very effective way. Therefore, in order to attain the
desired position in the said entity, I need to focus on enhancing and developing my decision
making and problem solving skills in a highly significant way.
How am I going to develop such skills?
It is very important for me to develop the needed skills in an effective and appropriate
way so as to attain the position of hotel manager in Travel Lodge. In lieu of this fact, I will focus
on the following set of activities-
Management skills- For enhancing and developing my management skills, I will focus on
managing time by setting shorter targets. Also, I will deal with effective planning, organising and
directing the work according to the task which will allow me to develop my managerial skills. In
addition, I will read articles, books and journals to brush up my concepts regarding the subject
matter.
Leadership skills- In order to develop my leadership skills, I will focus on attending team
meetings and taking expert advice. Also, I will deal with delegating roles and responsibilities
effectively and accordingly which matches the job description along with person specification
within the said company.
Decision making skills- To improve and develop my decision making skills, I will lay my
significant concern on involving in the decision making and problem solving skills of the
company and giving effective ideas, thoughts and opinions towards a particular issue.
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When I am going to enhance these intending skills?
Management skills- 1 Year
Leadership skills -4 months
Decision making skills- 6 months
TASK 3
3.1 Activities required to implement the development plan
By analysing the above personal and development plan, I have been successful in
identifying my major strengths and weaknesses in a very significant way. Now, I lay my prime
concern over enhancing my certain skills which tends to hamper my productivity and
performance in Travel Lodge. The major processes and activities required to implement the
above development plan includes the following-
 Firstly, I will deal with enhancing and developing my management skills that are
important for attaining desired position in the said entity. For gaining the objective, I will
focus on enrolling to a certified professional course and engaging myself in planning,
organising, controlling and directing the work in an appropriate and systematic manner.
 The other essential skill which needs to be improved to become hotel manager in Travel
Lodge is to enhance and develop my leadership skills. For this purpose, I will actively
participate in company’s team meetings and will clearly direct the roles and
responsibilities to individual team member which matches their interest and
qualifications.
 Thirdly, in order to enhance my decision making skills I will attend training sessions to
gain relevant knowledge and information regarding the subject matter which will help me
in enhancing confidence and making strong and effective decisions.
3.2 Documenting development activities as planned
In order to execute my activities in a highly systematic way, I will focus on undertaking
the following developmental activities in a significant and effective way- Continuous mentoring- With a view to enhance my leadership, management and
decision making attributes, it becomes essential for me to work under experienced and
expert people. For this purpose, I will go through continuous mentoring and observation
by such people which will allow me to share my thoughts, ideas and opinions with my
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mentor. They will render me with effective suggestions to improve my skills significantly
for becoming the hotel manager of Travel Lodge.
 E-Learning process- Electronic learning will impressively help me to overcome my
weaknesses by enhancing my skills effectively. By surfing through a wide range of
official websites, I can gain detailed understanding of various concepts related to my
subject matter. This will help me to gain confidence and will benefit me to enhance my
learning skills especially the decision making skills in a very significant way.
3.3 Critical discussion of own learning against aims and objectives included in personal
development plan
The most crucial aspect of personal and professional development in an organisation
implies the own learning attribute. This helps me in gaining a significant growth in my overall
personality. In context with the personal development plan, there are three major skills which
require utmost improvement to gain the post of hotel manager in Travel Lodge. Management skills- I will focus on developing and enhancing my managerial skills by
taking a certified diploma course in a considerable and significant manner. Doing this
will benefit me to acquire theoretical knowledge regarding my subject matter which in
turn will allow me to develop an effective and strong implementation of such theoretical
knowledge in the said hotel industry. Leadership skills- To enhance such skills, I will lay my significant concern over taking
expert advice from my mentor. Also, I will focus on actively attending company's team
meetings to gain relevant and essential knowledge regarding crucial goals, objectives and
the time frame within which such objectives are to be accomplished. Apart from this, I
will also deal with delegating responsibility and authority to my individual team member
in an effective and systematic way.
 Problem solving and decision making skills- In order to develop and enhance my
problem solving and decision making skills, I will lay emphasis on attending effective
and training sessions. Also, I will focus on taking active participation in the company's
decision making process to gain confidence to present my ideas, thoughts and opinions in
an effective and influential way.
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3.4 Updated Personal Development Plan
Skills Development scale Ways to improve Time scale required
Management skills Effective I will focus on
learning contemporary
issues in managing
work activities within
an organisational
workplace.
1 year
Leadership skills High I will analyse and
examine current
industry standards and
will undertake such
standards to give
higher and valuable
business results.
6 months
Problem solving &
decision making skills
Low I will focus on reading
books, journals and
articles related to my
subject matter to gain
detailed
understanding.
5 months
Communication skills Moderate I will focus on
delivering effective
and formal
presentations to
develop my overall
communication skills
as per the company
standards.
3 months
Team Work Effective I will with all the 2 months
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group members and
will listen to their
opinions, thoughts and
ideas to gain
cooperation and
coordination to attain
the common set of
company's goal.
TASK 4
4.1 Selecting solutions to work-based problems
In context with the present case scenario, it can be analyzed that Paramount Travel hotel
Park Royal, London is facing serious challenge of high staff turnover on account of heavy
workloads, low employee motivation, low workforce morale, job dissatisfaction and high mental
stress. In lieu of this fact, it therefore becomes mandatory for the said organisation to undertake
effective and impressive employee engagement techniques to overcome such serious threat and
to retain the best and eligible employee within the company's workplace (Rees, Shepherd and
Chamberlain, 2005). It should undertake the following measures to reduce its staff turnover and
to gain success in the vast international market.
Team Work
The said hotel should implement the process of
team working within its workplace to reduce
the aspect of heavy workload on a single
employee. This will help the company to get
the work done on time and will increase
productivity and performance of individual
employee within the company (Taylor and
Hamdy, 2013). As a result, this will benefit the
said entity to render effective customer care
services thereby gaining highest level of
customer satisfaction.
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Motivating and appraising the individual
performance of employee
With a view to boost up the morale of
individual employee within the workplace,
Paramount hotel should focus on encouraging
and motivating human resource to perform
better to achieve company's goals (Glanz and
Bishop, 2010). The concerned entity should
provide its employees with positive feedbacks,
appraisals and standing omission in-front of all
to gain their motivation and commitment.
4.2 & 4.3
This particular section has been covered in PPT.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that, in order to gain the desired position in
Travel Lodge, I need to clearly lay my significant concern over identifying my major strengths
and weaknesses to develop my personal and professional plan. Doing this would enable me to
gain appropriate and detailed knowledge regarding the crucial skills which I need to enhance and
develop to attain the post of hotel manager in Travel Lodge. The study helped to gain insight
understanding about the core aspect of self managed learning along with the various ways taken
by the said entity to encourage self managed learning approach within its workplace (Moon,
2013). Also, the study helped to attain deep understanding about the major ways which can help
Paramount Travel hotel Park Royal to reduce its staff turnover and to retain the eligible staff
within the workplace to enhance its performance and productivity in the business environment.
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Dolea, C. and et.al., 2010. Evaluated strategies to increase attraction and retention of health
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