Importance of Self-Directed Learning and Professional Learning in Personal and Professional Development

This document discusses the importance of self-directed learning and professional learning in personal and professional development. It explores the benefits of ongoing professional development for both employees and employers, as well as the importance of projecting a strong brand image. The document also covers common skills expected in the workplace, self-assessment approaches, and different learning and development approaches. The subject of the document is Professional Identity and Practice, and it is relevant for individuals seeking personal and professional growth in the hospitality industry.

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
AND PRACTICE

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
Importance of self directed learning and professional learning...................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
Assessment of own competences, skills and different learning and development approaches...6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development is all about getting the capabilities and skills
higher in themselves so that they can achieve the objectives effectively. In this competitive
market it is very important to improve the skills and knowledge so that there is an advantage
which can be present in the hands. Hilton hotel belongs to the hospitality industry which is
having its headquarters in Virginia, United States. The company originated in 1919 which is
almost 101 years back and as of December 2018 there 586 hotels in total of this company. There
are 75,765 rooms in total of this organization in the market. The report consists of employees
personal and professional growth is going to be discussed and the expectation which the
companies have from their workforce so that the productivity and the operations of the
organization can take place effectively. There would be a use of different theories and measures
which the company takes which can make the productivity and functioning of the organization
improve with the use of right skills and capabilities in the employees of the organization.
LO 1
Importance of self directed learning and professional learning
Company overview
The company is founded by Conrad Nicholson Hilton which was in the year 1919 and is
now located in 586 locations worldwide. The company has grown tremendously over years and
the headquarters of this United States, Virginia. This is a very famous and largest hospitality
brands in the world and has a target the tourists because of the services and products that they are
serving to the travellers. The first hotel of this organization was started and established in 1919,
Cisco, Texas. The organization is having a flagship brand of the Hilton Group which is a great
achievement which the company has got for themselves.
Importance of ongoing professional development
The following report is going to consist of the importance in both the employee and
employers of Hilton hotel. Employee Benefits
There are plenty of advantages which are present in personal and professional development
in the organization which is a great factor for the organization. Skilled and polished atmosphere
of the employees is going to make the company have better objective achievement and enhanced

roles critically. There is a personality which has to be present and improved from time to time so
that the company will be able to have a better functioning. The expectations are changing of the
customers which will have to be matched by Hilton hotel (Colmer, 2017).
 Employers Benefits
There are a lot of benefits which are present in the hotel industry when there is professional
development which is taking place. There are polished skills and capabilities which are present
in the company which is going to improve the communication, presentation, listening,
management and many other professional skills which is good for the reputation of the
organization (Arnold, 2017). The customers are going to have a higher satisfaction which results
in higher brand association and the hospitality industry will be able to serve the right roles and
work to the employees so that there is a higher achievement. This is going to enhance the
professional development in the entire organization and the employees are going too satisfied as
well.
Professional standard and expectations
In Hilton hotel there is an improvement which is involved at all the level which are
present and all the departments as well so that the professional standard of the company can be
maintained. The dress code of the employees is shown them as to how it has to be done so that
the impression on the guests is going to be good. Appearance does make a huge difference in the
organization on the customers which is being maintained by Hilton hotel. The presentation of
skills is very essential in hospitality industry which will have to be well maintained in Hilton
Hotel. There are proper plans and training which is provided to the employees from time to time
so that there is a professionalism which is present in the environment of the hotel which the
guests are comfortable with (Glucina and et.al., 2020). There are a lot of challenges and
opportunities which are present but with the help of an effective management this is going to get
better and customers are going to witness better environment in Hilton hotel. This session is
going to make the employees know what has to be done professionally and personally in the
organization for the customer’s satisfaction level.
Importance of projecting brand image
The brand image of Hilton is very strong so that the customers have a better impression
of the organization. There have to be better decision making so that there are more customers
which can come in the company. There is a segment according to class and expectations of the

customers so that there is a better experience of the customers and the company will be able to
function effectively in the market for a longer run (Hill and et.al., 2017).
Common skills expected at work place in this industry
To have a growth in career in this industry there is a requirement of different skills to be
enhanced which is going to be discussed in the further report which is business skills, soft and
hard skills. Business skills
These skills involve competitor’s analysis skills, presentation skills, audit skills, research
skill, etc which the company must have. This is good for the competitive advantage which is
present in Hilton and that is going to make the business environment much better. There is a
better achievement and functioning of the organization so that the company will be able to
function more effectively in the growing market which is present (Armitage-Chan, Maddison
and May, 2016). Improvement has to be done from time to time so that the employees are going
to have a better functioning and due to Pandemic this is going to be very essential for the
organization to have. Hard skills
Hard skills involve skills such as programming, statistic, information technology,
accounting and other skills which can be very helpful for a long run of the company. All these
skills are going to help the company to be able to achieve their goals and these make the
employees grow professionally in this industry which is a good factor for the organization. There
is an improvement which is done in the employees hard skills so that there is going to be
effective functioning (Webb, 2016). Soft skills
Soft skills involve skills such as delegation, creative thinking, innovation, networking,
communication, etc. These are few of the skills which are very essential in hospitality industry so
that the objectives and aims of the hotel can be achieved. The competition is high which is why
there must be better functioning. Hilton is having these soft skills in the employees which are
making the company have better performance in market.
Customer service skill
The customers have an expectation from hospitality industry that the services of the
organization are going to be good (Scholz, 2018). There is a particular skill which is required by

the company so that there would be better functioning which is present in Hilton Hotel so that
the customers can have high level of experience in this organization. The impression on the
travellers has to be good so that the customers get loyal to the organization.
LO 2
Assessment of own competences, skills and different learning and development approaches
Self assessment approaches and techniques
Self evaluation is analysing one’s own skills. There are a lot of techniques which can be
used to perform this.
Soft skill audit
This audit is the best technique to find out the soft skills which are present and have to be
improved upon so that there would be better performance. There has to be a good monitoring on
the skills like communication, listening, observation, etc kind of skill. This helps the employees
of Hilton to know their advantages and disadvantages and improve accordingly so that there is a
development.
Personal SWOT analysis
There must be a self evaluation so that there is a better analysis about them. This can be
done with a framework which is SWOT analysis. Strengths
There is everything positive which is involved of the employees. Whichever skills make the
employees have better performance level is analysed in this method. There is a personality which
the employees of Hilton have which is the strengths of them (Scholz and Trede, 2017). These
factors do not need polishing but have to be maintained. Weaknesses
These are the negative personality or skill which the employees of the organization have.
These aspects in the employees have to be worked up so that there is going to be a better service
and the satisfaction level of the customers can increase in Hilton Hotel. These skills have to be
monitored and proper guidance has to be given to these employees so that the best can be taken
out of them. Opportunities

These skills are present but have to be developed and got into action from the employees so
that there is a great opportunity for the hotel and the employee to grow in the market. The skills
which are already present also need to be improved by the hotel so that there is going to be a
better association which would be present. Threats
Threats are never good for a professional development which will have to be improved upon
so that the organization can use the resources usefully in the organization which is going to make
the satisfaction level of the customers increase and Hilton will have loyal travellers.
Personality and trait assessment
Personality and trait assessment is a process which has to be present in a professional
development for the employees so that there is a better functioning and operations which can
take place (Behin, Esmaeili and Assadollahi, 2018). This process guides the employees and tells
them what is expected out of them so that they would be able to give their personal best in the
organization which is going to be very good for operations of Hilton hotel.
Belbin team roles model Team worker
The employees who are in Hilton hotel know the importance of team work so that there is a
better distribution and the objectives of the organization can be achieved faster. Resource investigator
There are limited resources which are present which is why there has to be a better
availability and management of the resources so that the customers can get the best and the
utilization can also take place of the resources. Plant
This is the place where all the activities and operations take place and in Hilton all the
activities are done according to plans and strategies which are why this is an executed part. Coordinator
There is one person who communicates all the operations and measures which the team has
to take so that the objectives are achieved on time. This person makes a strong communication
between each department so that there is coordination in the organization. Monitor evaluator

There is a person in Hilton hotel who keeps a control on all the operations. This is performed
by companies so that they can monitor and control the productivity and operations which are
taking place. Shaper
There has to be a perfect shape to all the activities in the organization because the reputation
and standards have to be maintained (Ashby, Adler and Herbert, 2016). Specialist
These are the people who have the right to take decisions because they have experience and
special authority is provided to them by the management. Leaders are mostly who are given the
right to make decisions for the organization for better functioning. Completer finisher
There are tasks which have to be completed by specific people because the quality and
standards have to match the organization. Implementer
All the employees are known as implementers in Hilton hotel because everyone has a say in
the decision making or giving ideas to the organization for a better operations in the future.
Comparison between job specification and required skills
Point of difference Job Specification Required skill
Meaning Job specification is a part of
recruitment process (Klein and
Miraglia, 2018).
This paper note or letter is
going to consist of all the
requirements which the hotel
would need to get in the
eligible candidate in the
organization so that the
functioning can be maintained.
This is the actual skills which
are required and is also like
prescription of skills for the
candidate to have.
This would be a part of job
specification.
Skill There is a criterion which is
required for the job in job
specification.
The skills have to match the
job specification which has
been taken out by Hilton.

Learning and development approaches
There are different types of learning approaches which can be implemented in the
organization. Learning approaches are according to behaviourist, humanist and cognitive as a
part of hospitality industry. These are approaches for the employees to be able to have a better
performance level in the hotel.
The different learning theories are Kolb reflective cycle, Gange’s theory and other
approaches which can be implemented by the organization. There must be an effective training
and tactics which must be used by the organization in order to make these skills be accepted by
the employees (Moorhead and et.al., 2017).
CONCLUSION
There is an increase in the hospitality industry which will have to be maintained so that
the company will be able to maintain their customers or travellers in the hotel. The company will
have to focus on their skills and capabilities which they have for the satisfaction of the customers
by improving the employee’s communication, research, listening, management and other
important skills which can make the reputation of the organization be increased as well as
achieve their objectives. There are new methods and techniques which are coming in the
organization so that the organization is able to have a smooth functioning and management.
Personal development planning is going to be very effective in this factor and that is a good
factor for the organization which can make the company have better brand image in the market
and the organization will also be able to function effectively in the market. There has to be a
good monitoring of the employees so that the management can improve accordingly because too
many changes are also going to harm the organization in a negative manner. There must be a
respect in the customers for the organization after so many efforts which are being up in by the
company for an effective functioning.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Behaviour Professional Identity through Induction. Kairaranga. 18(2). pp.8-21.
Ashby, S.E., Adler, J. and Herbert, L., 2016. An exploratory international study into
occupational therapy students' perceptions of professional identity. Australian
Occupational Therapy Journal. 63(4). pp.233-243.
Behin, B., Esmaeili, F. and Assadollahi, R., 2018. An English teacher’s professional identity
development: The effect of educational policies. Journal of Modern Research in
English Language Studies. 5(2). pp.19-40.
Colmer, K., 2017. Collaborative professional learning: Contributing to the growth of leadership,
professional identity and professionalism. European Early Childhood Education
Research Journal. 25(3). pp.436-449.
Glucina, T.T and et.al., 2020. Moving towards a contemporary chiropractic professional
identity. Complementary therapies in clinical practice. 39. p.101105.
Hill, K and et.al., 2017. State definitions of social work practice: Implications for our
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Klein, S.R. and Miraglia, K.M., 2018. At the intersections of professional identity. Visual
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Moorhead, B and et.al., 2017. Pedagogies for developing students’ professional identity in neo-
conservative environments. In ANZSWWER Symposium 2017.
Scholz, E. and Trede, F., 2017. Professional identity in new graduate veterinarians: Developing
agency, capability and understandings of professionalism. In ANZAHPE 2017
Conference: ANZAHPE 2017.
Scholz, E.C., 2018. Professional Identity Development in New Graduate Veterinarians (Doctoral
dissertation, Charles Sturt University).
Webb, S.A., 2016. Professional identity and social work (pp. 355-370). London: Routledge.