Professional Identity and Practice Skills - Assignment

Professional Identity and Practice

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction and overview of Organisation.................................................................................1
Skills and competences required by employer.............................................................................1
Importance and benefits of professional and personal development ..........................................2
Range of different learning theories and approaches...................................................................2
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................3
Critical evaluation of own, abilities, skills and competences of receptionist..............................3
Development Approaches............................................................................................................4
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................5
SMART Target for development plan.........................................................................................5
Professional Development Plan: .................................................................................................6
Evidence of development plan.....................................................................................................8
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................8
Planning and undertaking the job interview................................................................................8
Reviewing key strengths and weaknesses..................................................................................10
Evaluating the job interview process.........................................................................................10
Assessing own abilities..............................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity and practice may be defined as set of meanings which an individual
can use to describe how an individual perceives him or herself within a professional context
(Wald and et.al., 2015). It also refers as growth of an individual over a period in order to become
more professional in its career. In this report Marriott Hotel is taken an organisation, which is a
full-service hotel and resorts. This report discusses the importance if ongoing professional and
self directed learning in order to enhance the career opportunities and professional identity.
Present report also includes assessing own skills, learning and development approaches and
using SMART target in order to professional development plan. This report also includes the
plan to undertake a job interview for the chosen industry.
LO 1
Introduction and overview of Organisation
Marriott Hotels and Resorts is multinational company of hotels which is a brand
providing hotel services and resorts in different countries of the world. There are more than 567
hotels of Marriott with more than 201,366 resorts across the world. It was founded in 1957 by J.
Willard Marriott with its headquarters in U.S.
Skills and competences required by employer
Receptionist is one of most important part of any service organisation and in order to be
good receptionist there are various skills and competences required some of them are mentioned
below:
Friendliness: As receptionist is considered as face of any hotel, they welcome visitors and have
to address them in an effective manner. This requires a friendly nature which should be done
with happy face and should be highly skilled in greeting visitors and directing them.
Active listener: Receptionist should be active listener in order to provide quick responses to
visitors and should be able to quickly process the request from guests and superiors.
Communication: Receptionist should very high communication skills both verbal and non-
verbal (Receptionists Top Needed Skills, 2019). They have to answer quires, write emails, meet
with customers, answer phone calls etc. So, they should communicate effectively in order to
become more professional in its career.
Technology Adaptability: In current scenario it is the most important for a receptionist to adapt
to the evolving technologies. Receptionist should be able to use various software and
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applications which may in include managing employer's social media accounts or web-based
accounting programs.
Memory: Receptionist should have very good memory power as good memory will allow them
to respond quickly and will have a good sense of decision making. They should be able to
remember visitors and names of employees in an organisation.
Importance and benefits of professional and personal development
Professional development is referred as a process of self-education which is particularly
aimed for enhancing the professional and employability skills. Receptionist in order to climb the
ladder or to improve its sense of professionalism, its personal and professional development is
very important (Marañón and Pera, 2015). Personal and professional development helps in facing
the challenges in an effective manner and can overcome its weaknesses over the period of time.
It also improves and enhance the capabilities of an employee which help in meets its career in
the future. It is important for improving skills and knowledge which help the employee in
meeting future needs of the career. There are also various benefits of personal and professional
development like it will help in becoming more self-aware as it helps an individual to know it
values, beliefs, purposes which an employee wishes to pursue (Webb, 2017). It also gives a sense
of direction to employee and also makes it more clear for him/her what is to be achieved in the
future. This sense of direction make the process achieving the career goal easy as one can focus
on doing particular things only which takes him/her towards the set career objectives. It also acts
as a tool of motivation, when an employee knows what he/she wants to achieve it becomes easier
to achieve the career benefits for an employee. Also it helps an employer to choose the effective
and suitable employee for the organisation which will help in increasing the profitability and
productivity of the Hotel.
Range of different learning theories and approaches
There are various learning theories or approaches which can be used for professional and
professional development plan are as:
Kolb's Learning cycle: It is an experimental learning style which consists of 4 stages of learning
which are:
1. Diverging: Employee with this type of learning style take the things in different perspective,
such employees prefer watching and doing the same.
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2. Assimilating: These types of learners prefer to have a clear information, such learners are
more interested in concepts as well as in abstracts than in people.
3. Converging: These type of learners are problem solvers as they apply their learning
practically and also prefer technical tasks and keep on experimenting on new ideas.
4. Accommodating: Such employees with this type of learning prefer to thing more in practical
also they keep on accepting new challenges and try to solve the problems in an effective manner.
VAK Learning Style
In this learning style an employee of Marriott Hotel can use its 3 main sensory receivers
such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic in order to determine its dominant learning style (The
VAK Learning System). This style provides the simple way for explaining and understanding
learning styles which includes:
Visual-This learning style includes using observed or seen things like pictures, diagrams, etc.
Auditory-it involves transfer of information through the process of listening.
Kinesthetic-it involves learning through physical experience by touching, feeling, doing, etc.
LO 2
Critical evaluation of own, abilities, skills and competences of receptionist
Skills Audit: It is the process which can help a receptionist to identify its skills gap within the
Hotel main outcome of skill audit is to identify the need for training for the success of the career
in the future (Virta and et.al, 2019). Skills audit can be done as shown below:
Technical and Soft Skills High Moderate In need of training
Communication ✔
Active Listening ✔
Social Media and web-
based skills
✔
Telephone Skills ✔
Microsoft Office Skills ✔
Pressure Handling Skills ✔
Problem solving Skills ✔
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Interpersonal Skills ✔
Adaptability ✔
Personal SWOT: It helps in understanding the ones own strengths and weaknesses as well as
opportunities and threats which an individual face which can help in planning for effective career
success in the future. It includes:
Strengths: Receptionist have an effective communication skills as he/she is able to communicate
with guests and employees in an effectively. He/she has also got good telephone skills and is
able to adapt as per the situation.
Weaknesses: It includes lack of problem solving skills as he/she is not able to handle pressure
and also lack web-based and social media skills.
Opportunities: There are number of opportunities available for receptionist as he/she can
improve the skills which he/she lack in and has also has the opportunity to improve its moderate
skills.
Threats: As there is high competition within the industry and if receptionist is unable to improve
its skill he/she may loose the job.
Development Approaches
Receptionist of Marriott Hotel can make use of various approaches in order to enhance its
personal and professional development. Some approaches are mentioned below:
Formal Training: It is a type of training program which can be provided by Marriott Hotel to its
receptionist by defining the goals and objectives by the training department of the hotel
(Kluijtmans and et.al., 2017). They assign the tasks and role which are to be performed by
receptionist during training process.
Coaching and mentoring: A receptionist can be provided a coaching by its superiors and
mentored throughout the process of training unless and until its skills and competencies are
developed.
Self-direction: Receptionist can also develop its skills and competencies by taking the
responsibilities for managing its own training programs. It can be life long process where a
receptionist can set its own goals and objectives of training in the future.
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Social learning and Networking: Receptionist in order to improve its behaviour he/she should
interact with superiors, colleagues, employees, friends by using large extended social media
platforms or apps. It is the best way to improve its social skills and behaviour.
LO 3
SMART Target for development plan
SMART Targets
Skills Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time bound
Social media
and Web-
based skills
I have to
improve my
social
networking
and web-based
skills by using
social media
apps and web
browsers.
If am able
handle
multiple social
media apps
and able to
surf the
information on
internet.
Using
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram etc.
This skill will
help me
handle the
social media
accounts of
the Hotel and
accounts of
Superiors.
Also, this will
help me in
developing my
future career.
6 months
Pressure
handling
skills
I have to
improve my
pressure
handling skills
by focusing on
the job and try
to keep calm
in stress
situations.
If I am able to
handle
complex
situations
easily without
committing
any errors.
Understanding
the situations
properly and
try to not to
panic.
Many times I
had faced a
complex
situations in
which I was
under huge
pressure and
also there will
be many
situations in
the future
6 Months.
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which will put
in pressure.
Problem
solving skills.
To improve
my problem
solving skills
I need to
improve my
sense of
judgement and
analysis.
When I am
able to
provider
effective
solutions to
complex
problems of
my personal
and
professional
career.
It is attainable
if I will take
guidance from
my superiors
and through
self-direction.
I have to deal
with may
problems of
guests so this
is a skill which
I need to
improve.
12 Months
Professional Development Plan:
A professional development plan can be established as follows:
Skills Activity Actions Measure Time Period
Social Media
and Web-based
Skills
Using Social
media apps,
Using internet
In order to
improve social
media and web-
based skill I
should make use
of social media
apps like
Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter, etc.
Using these app I
will try to
communicate
This skill can be
measured by, I
am able to handle
my superiors
social networking
account in an
effective manner.
I would chat and
answer the quires
of customers in
satisfactory
manner.
3 Months
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with my friends
and customers
which will help
me to improve
my social
networking skills.
Also, I will make
use of internet
and web browsers
where I will keep
on researching the
information
which is relevant
to my career.
Pressure
Handling Skills
To focus on work,
Deep insights to
the situations.
In order to
improve my
pressure handling
skills, I need to
understand the
situation
effectively by
deeply analysing
the situation. I
should not try to
panic and should
try to manage my
stress level.
This skill can be
measured, if I am
able to handle the
complex
situations
properly. Also, if
I am able to
handle number of
complaints in an
effective manner.
6 Months
Problem Solving
Skills
To solve
complicated
problems, provide
To improve this
skill, firsts I need
to solve small
This skill can be
measured, if am
able to solve the
12 Months
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effective solution issues of my own.
For complex issue
I will take
guidance from my
superiors. This
will help me to
improve my
problem solving
skills.
problems which I
will face and
provide the
solution in such a
manner that it
will be beneficial
for the Hotel. It
can also be
measured if I am
able to provide
solutions to
problems based
on my own
knowledge and
analysis and that
proves effective
for the
organisation.
Evidence of development plan
I, have been able to improve my behavioural skills and there has been a change in my
behaviour. I have been working on the advice which have been provided by my superiors and
has also been appreciated by them. I, also have improved my cognitive skills which as I am able
to understand the situation in effective manner I am able to process the information such a way
that it has enhanced by understanding. I, also gained the knowledge and experience of various
field which will help me in developing my career in the future.
LO 4
Planning and undertaking the job interview
Operational Manager is one of the important post of any organisation, as he/she is
responsible for dealing with the operations of company. Operational manager has huge
responsibilities and it is important for Operational Manager to have required skills and
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knowledge in order to perform a particular job particularly for Hotel industry. There are three
stages of interview, first stage is informal interview where candidates are asked with simple
questions. Second stage involves group discussions and task and third and final stage is face to
face interview.
In order to plan the interviews for the post of Operations management, I have to develop
a proper CV which will be provided to employer. CV should include all the essential information
which is required by the employer.
James Anderson
333 South, Second Street, London Road, 51211
Ph805-666-2121 [e-mail]
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Completed seasoned professional with success in operations management in order to achieve
organisational goals.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
Operations Management
 Overseeing all organisational operational matters.
 Head of guest service management.
 Overseeing finance, implementing new methods of serviceability and improving the
profitability.
 Organising and conducting full hotel operations training.
Skills
 Good communication skills.
 Good interpersonal skills.
 Technically proficient in MS office, word, spreadsheets and accounting.
 Organisation Skills.
WORK HISTORY
National Retail Outlet, London
Chief Operations Officer 2018- Present
Spring Woods, Horley, London.
Human Resource Manager 2015-2018
EDUCATION
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Georgetown University, London, UK.
MBA in Operations Management (2013-2015).
Stanford College of Education, London, UK.
Bachelor of Business Administration (2010-2013)
In order to appear the interview for the post of Operations Manager , I have to prepare for
some important questions which are:
 What skills according to you is important for the success of position of Operations
Manager?
 What are the tasks which you handle on daily basis as an operations manager?
 How do you get involved with other managers of the organisation?
 How can be productivity and efficiency be increased by maintaining the quality of work?
 How do you manage the budget of operations?
Reviewing key strengths and weaknesses
During the interview, I had to face three rounds and it was a good experience for me, also
I came to know about my strengths and weaknesses. While appearing the interview I was very
confident as at beginning some basic questions were asked which I replied confidently. Also, I
was able to understand the questions to which I replied very easily. I also good communication
skills for which I was appreciated by interviewer but there some weaknesses like as interview
session shifted towards the complex question I became nervous even though I knew the answer
very well. Another weaknesses which I had during the interview was that lacked some
knowledge of budgeting related to operations. This is the area which I need to improve in the
future. So these were the strengths which I need to optimise in the future which will help me to
develop my career and can face the challenges related to my career prospective. I also need to
overcome the weakness which I have so that I will be able to appear the interview effectively and
crack the interview process.
Evaluating the job interview process
Appearing in the interview for the post of Operations Manager has been one of
challenging experience of my life. There some challenges which I had to deal with while
appearing in the interview like at the beginning of interview I was very confident that I will
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easily crack the interview. As the interview shifted towards the most complex questions I
became nervous and I was not able to handle that nervous situation which made the interview
session harder for me. I could not reply to questions even I knew the answer which was the
challenging even more challenging for me. During the interview I was asked the questions
related to budget, how would I prepare and manage the budget of operational activities of a hotel,
as I was in the retailing sector I lacked some knowledge about the operational budgeting of
Hotel which was also another challenge which I faced during the interview process. I also faced
the challenge of maintaining my level of confidence throughout the interview process. I also
faced the challenge of maintaining the time for the task which was assigned to me during the
second stage of interview also I had to argue with other candidates during the group discussion
by maintaining integrity and respect.
Recommendations:
 I need to improve my confidence level and try to maintain it.
 I also need to be calm during the interview and try not become nervous as should trust
my ability and competence.
 I should improve my know of operational budgeting.
Assessing own abilities
I am a good listener as I was appreciated by the interviewer during the interview that I am
a good listener due to which I was able to answer the complex questions easily. I also respected
all the group members and their views which argue respectfully if did not agree with them
during the group discussions. Also, I was able to complete the task before the set time for which
I was awarded best finisher by the HR. manager.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that professional identity and practice forms
an important part for employee as it helps in developing the personal and professional career of
an individual in an effective manner. Also, professional development is beneficial for both
employer and employee of an organisation. Present report also concludes that it is important for
an employee to assess their skills and competencies and can apply range of learning theories in
order to develop professionally. In order to develop a career in the future an employee should
develop and establish a professional development plan by formulating the SMART career
objectives. It can also be concluded from the report that it is important for an individual to plan
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for interview process and assess its strengths and weaknesses which will help in facing
challenges of interview effectively.
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