Professional Identity and Practice Assignment - (Doc)

Professional Identity
and Practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key benefits of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders......................3
P2. Investigate professional employer expectations regarding their skills and competencies in
the context of organisation...........................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3. Assess their own ability, skills and competencies for specific job role................................7
P4. Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development process.......8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5 Development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within the specific work......9
TASK 4. ........................................................................................................................................11
P6. Job interview for service industry for a suitable role..........................................................11
P7. Strengths and weakness of applied interview process.........................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
The professional identity is a kind of concept that is created by individual's beliefs, values
, motivates and experience in their current professional life (Aydin, 2013). In other words, it is a
type of system that a person has about self in relation to the professional role. Herein, the project
report importance of ongoing professional development and career opportunities are discussed as
well as assessment of own skills is also mentioned. Along with professional development plan is
also designed. To better understand about the professional identity and practice, Ariana travel
limited company is selected which is located in the UK. Its headquarter is at Southall UK. The
company is providing travelling services to the customers since 25 years.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1.
P1 Key benefits of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders.
Company's overview- The Ariana travel limited company is located in UK which
provides travel services to the customers. The company operates its business at the global level
as well as they make holiday plan for the customers. It's registered office is at Middlesex, UK.
Additionally, they offer to book online airline services through their official website.
Key benefits of professional development- The professional development is a learning
process in which an individual improves its professional skills and capabilities by attending
seminars, completing courses etc. (Cook and Odom, 2013). On the other hand, ongoing
professional development is related with the tracking and documenting the knowledge, skills and
capabilities of the individual which is gain through the initial training. Eventually, the ongoing
professional development plan has various benefits for the stakeholders such as to the employer
and employee which are as follows:
Benefits to the employer:
 Skilled workforce- Due to the ongoing professional development, employer will be able
to get skilled workforce in the organisation. This can help in operating different functions
effectively. Herein, the context of the Ariana travel limited company the professional
development plan can help them in getting the skilled workers.
 Up to date knowledge- On the basis of the professional development plan, an employer
can get up to date knowledge about the professional skills of their employees. Like in the

Ariana travel limited company, the employer will be able to have all the knowledge about
their employees development.
 Competitive edge through human capital- It is necessary to achieve the competitive
advantage over the rivalry firms. For this purpose employees should be skilled and
capable. In the Ariana travel limited company, they can get the competitive advantage
over other companies if their employees have enough professional skills and abilities.
 Employee engagement through development opportunities- The employees can be
engage in the organisational tasks if they are provided enough development opportunities.
Employers can provide this development opportunities to the employees with the help of
ongoing professional development. In aspect of the Ariana travel limited company, their
employees can be engaged effectively in the travelling activities if they are provided
enough development opportunities.
 Organisational brand image- Due to ongoing development plan, the brand image of the
organisation can be increase. This is why because if employees professional skills and
capabilities will increase then they will perform well to satisfy the customers. It will
overall result in good brand image. Same as in the Ariana travel limited company, if their
workforce will have enough professional skills and potential then their customers will be
highly satisfied and their goodwill increase.
Benefits to the employee:
 Intrinsic motivation- The professional development helps to the employees in
motivating them to work effectively (Fraas, 2015). This is why because if an employee
has all the professional skills and abilities then confidence will increase which will lead
to motivation. Like in the Ariana travel limited company, the professional development
plan can be beneficial for their employees to be motivated towards their tasks.
 Personal satisfaction- The personal satisfaction of employees is very necessary and that
can be achieved through the professional development. It helps in fulfilling the personal
needs and demand to the employees. Such as in the Ariana travel limited company, the
professional skills can be useful to satisfy their personal need and demand.
 Increased employability- Due to professional development, the employees become loyal
towards the company. This is why because if they have enough skills and capabilities

then their approach will be positive towards their responsibility. Same as in the Ariana
travel limited company, their employees will be loyal towards the company with the help
of ongoing professional development.
 Added more value on CV and future employment-The professional development
increase the weight of the CV of the employees. This is why because due to this kind of
development, employee can mentioned additional skills and capabilities in their CV. As
well as it also help in future development of the employees. Such as in the Ariana travel
limited company, their employees can improve their skills and can mention in the CV
which will help in further development.
So these are the main benefits of the ongoing professional development for different
stakeholders.
P2. Investigate professional employer expectations regarding their skills and competencies in the
context of organisation.
It is necessary for the companies that their employees should have all the skills and
competencies to perform various tasks. In the Ariana travel limited company, they provide a
wide range of travelling services to their customers so it is important that their employees must
have all the skills. If they require an assistant manager for managing the different tasks and
activities then following skills and competencies will be needed:
 Personal presentation and appearance- It is commonly said that “first impression is the
last impression” so this is important for an employer to have good appearance (Francois,
Coufal and Subramanian, 2015). As well as an effective way to present own in front of
people, it includes mainly good communication skills. In the Ariana travel limited
company, it is necessary for an assistant manager to present him/her self in front of
employees with impressive personality.
 Appropriateness of appearance in special context- There are many special context in
which employers are needed to be appear in an effective manner. This is important to
attract customers attention. It is an important skill which is required by the organisation
in their employer. Like in the Ariana travel limited company, it is important for assistant
manager to have these skills to appear in special way on special occasion. For example, if

there is an occasion of celebrating any festival then it is important for assistant manager
to present in special manner.
 Maintaining professional standards- The professional standards are those standards
which are related to maintaining the level of care, diligence and skills as per the job role.
In the Ariana travel limited company, this is important for the role of assistant manager
that he/she should try to maintain the professional standard of working.
 Working responsibly and ethically- These kind of skills are related to complete a task
with full of responsibility and in an ethical manner. Due to completion of these skills, an
employer can influence other employees. In the absence of this skill, it will be difficult to
manage the given task. In the Ariana limited company, it is necessary for an assistant
manager to complete the work with responsibility as well as in the ethical manner. Like if
there is a task to conduct a tour then it will be responsibility of the assistant manager to
manage all the activities effectively and timely.
So these are the skills which are expected in professional employer. Herein, aspect of Ariana
travel limited company it is necessary for an assistant manager to have above mentioned skills.
Apart from it, an assistant manager should have below skills:
 Business skills- These skills are related with the having knowledge about the business
activities and given role (Guder, 2013). Like in the Ariana travel limited company, this is
important for the assistant manager to have the proper knowledge about the travelling
activities such as knowledge about the travelling locations, vacation plans etc.
 Professional skills- The professional skills are those skills which are related to the
specific job role. Such as in the Ariana travel limited, this is necessary for the assistant
manager to have knowledge about the management of different activities.
 Soft skills- The soft skills are the skills which are related to the influencing other people
with the communication, personality etc. For an assistant manager, this is important to
have soft skills like confidence, creativity, innovation etc.
 Hard skills- These skills are totally opposite of the soft skills. It includes use of advanced
techniques and technology as well as statistics, maths etc. For an assistant manager, this
is important for the assistant manager to have some hard skills like some knowledge of
management theories, new techniques etc.

TASK 2.
P3. Assess their own ability, skills and competencies for specific job role.
This is very important to analyse the own abilities, skills and competencies. Due to this,
an individual can become able to evaluate himself. There are various kind of techniques for self
assessment like technical and soft skill audit, personal swot analysis etc. Herein, the aspect of
assistant manager, it is important to do self analysis which is mentioned below:
Personal swot analysis- This is related with the analysing own strength, weakness,
opportunity and threat (Jørgensen and Becker, 2015). Below, my personal swot analysis is
described:
Strength- It refers to the positive element in an individual which give benefits in progress.
As a role of assistant manager my strength is that I have good communication skills, good
presentation skills and interpersonal skills.
Weakness- This is related with the negative aspect in an employer. These aspects are
needed to be overcome as soon as possible. As a role of assistant manager, my weakness is that I
have lack of managerial, time management and problem solving skills.
Opportunities- These are the positive possibility of growth in future. I have opportunity to
promote my self from the post of assistant manager to senior manager.
Threat- This is related to the negative issue which can occur in the growth of an
individual. For me, the threat is increasing competition in the corporate sector. Due to this, I have
to face many problems in future.
Technical and soft skill audit- It is a kind of evaluation that is related with the technical
and soft skills (Sherin, 2014). For assistant manager, technical skill does not matter too much.
Though I have some technical skills such as theoretical knowledge of management theories. As
well as soft skills are very important for the assistant managers. I have some soft skills such as
communication skills, initiative nature etc. Apart from these skills I do not have some important
skills like self confidence, delegation etc. As well as I am little average in some areas like
creativity, initiative for critical decisions.
So overall assessment of my own skills is as follows:
S.NO. Skill Good Average Bad

1 Communication skills ✔ X X
2 Presentation skills ✔ X X
3 Interpersonal skills ✔ X X
4 Managerial skills X X ✔
5 Time management skills X X ✔
6 Problem solving skills X X ✔
7 Creativity X ✔ X
8 Confidence X ✔ X
9 Delegation X X ✔
P4. Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development process.
There are various kind of learning theories and approaches for development of the
employees by improving their skills and capabilities. Herein, some learning theories and
approaches are mentioned below which can be followed by the Ariana travel limited company:
Learning approaches- There are basic three learning approaches which are as follows-
 Behaviourist approach- This approach is related with employees approach towards
solving the issues or problems (Killion, 2013). In other words, it is associated with the
learner's response towards the stimulus. The benefit of this approach is to making capable
to the employees to solve the issues quickly as soon as possible. The Ariana travel limited
company can use this approach to enhance the capabilities of employees to solve the
conflicts. Cognitive approach- This approach is based on the psychological concept which is
related to study of mind and thinking process of the individuals (Nichols and 2017). Due
to this approach the Ariana travel limited company can understand the need of
improvement in their employees and can provide training accordingly.
 Humanist approach- It is a kind of approach which is related with the explanation of the
individual's experience (Lee and Buxton, 2013). In other words, this approach eliminate

the stress or negative aspects from the individual's behaviour. The Ariana travel limited
company's leaders may use this approach to reduce the stress from the employee's
behaviour so that they can perform well.
Learning theory- The learning theory of Gagne's Model is as follows:
The Gagne's learning theory is a kind of theory which provide step by step instruction to
the leaders, managers and trainers to guide the learners effectively. Eventually, this theory is
categorized into nine steps which are as follows:
 Gaining attention- This is the first step of this theory, in this leader has to put the
attention on the learners.
 Informing learners about objectives- It is related to the providing detailed information to
the learners about the organizational goals and objectives.
 Stimulating recall for prior learning- This step is related with matching the new learned
information with the previous learning concept.
 Presenting the stimulus- Under this step, the new information is provided to the learners.
 Provide learning guidance- In this step the guidance is provided to the learners to retain
the new information.
 Eliciting the performance- In this step, learner's performance is highlighted by the leader.
 Providing feedback- Under this step, the feedback is given to the learners about their
performance.
 Assessing the performance- It is related to the measuring the actual performance of the
learners.
 Retention and transfer- On the basis of measured performance, the retention and transfer
decisions are taken by the leaders.
So this is the Gagne's learning theory which can be applied by the Ariana travel limited company
as a learning tool. Due to this, their employees learning capability can be improve.

TASK 3.
P5 Development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within the specific work.
Development plan- The development plan is the combination of strategies to improve the
skills of the individuals. Due to this plan I can improve my skills for the assistant manager.
Herein, the development plan is mentioned below with the use of SMART target approach:
Current skills
and competencies
Professional
development plan
(Using SMART target)
Evaluation of
progress
Evaluation of
effectiveness of personal
development plan
Managerial skills Specific- The goal is to
improve the management
skills.
Measurable- This can be
measure by observing the
managerial activities.
Achievable- The goal
should be achievable.
The managerial skills can
be achievable.
Relevant- The managerial
skill is related to the job
of assistant manager.
Time- The estimated time
to improve this skill is of
3 months.
The progress of the
managerial skills can
be evaluated by
managing the small
travelling tours on
own responsibility.
The evaluation of the
development plan can be
done by checking the
improvements regarding
to the managerial skills in
the learner.
Problem solving
skills
Specific- The goal is to
improve the problem
solving skills.
Measurable-This can be
measure by checking the
improvement in the
The progress can be
evaluated by solving
the realistic issues in
the organisation.
The evaluation of
development plan can be
done by checking whether
the learner is able to solve
the issues by own
creativity or not.

problem solving skills.
Achievable- This skill
can be achieve by solving
the issues in the
organisation.
Relevant- It is relevant
for an assistant manager
to solve the issues.
Timely- The expected
time for this skill is 6
months.
Creativity skills Specific- The goal is to
improve the creativity.
Measurable- The
effectiveness of this skill
can be measure by
making creative ideas for
decision making.
Achievable- This skill
can be achieve by putting
creative and innovative
ideas to solve any issue.
Relevant- This skill is
necessary for the assistant
manager.
Time- This skill can be
improve in more then 1
year.
This skill can be
measure by giving
innovative ideas and
opinion to make
important decisions.
For this skill, the
evaluation of development
plan can be done by
checking the creativity of
the employees in solving
the problems or in
decision making.

TASK 4.
P6. Job interview for service industry for a suitable role.
Interview- This is a formal communication between two parties wherein, question are
asked by the interviewer from the interviewee (Marcotte, Moriates and Milstein, 2014).
There are many kind of interview processes to conduct the interview such as formal,
informal etc.
Formal interview- In this type of interview, usually 5 to 12 questions are asked from the
interviewee (McGee,Wang and Polly, 2013). It is conducted in a systematic manner as per the
pre set time and structure.
Informal interview- This is totally opposite of the formal interview. It is conducted
without any structure or fix time period. As well as there is no any specific set of questions.
Herein, the context of given scenario for the job role of Hospitality manager, the formal
interview process is taken. The job interview for chosen job role is mentioned below:
Formal interview for the post of “Hospitality Manager”
1.
Interviewer- Tell me about yourself?
Interviewee- My name is XYZ, I am from London. I have done diploma in hotel management
and I have completed my graduation in commerce stream.
2.
Interviewer- Do you have any job experience?
Interviewee- No, I am fresher.
3.
Interviewer- Why you want to become a “Hotel Manager” ?
Interviewee- I wants to become a hotel manager because it is my dream to enter in the
hospitality sector to serve the customers.

4.
Interviewer- Why should I hire you?
Interviewee- You should hire me because of my potential skills and capabilities. You may find
any other candidate who have some experience but you can not find a candidate who have skills
and capabilities such as me.
P7. Strengths and weakness of applied interview process.
In the above mentioned task, for the post of Hotel Manager the formal interview process
is taken. This process has some strengths and weakness which are mentioned below:
Strengths- The formal interview process has some advantages like in this all the
interviewee face the same questions. As well as this interview process consists a particular
structure which consists fix time period, location etc.
Weakness- Apart from these strengths, the formal interview process includes some
weakness. Like this interview consumes time and cost as well as interviewer can effect by the
different answers of same questions. Additionally, some times it becomes difficult for the
interviewer to choose the appropriate candidate for the job.
CONCLUSION
From above project report it has been concluded that professional development is very
important for the employees because it helps in enhancing the skills and capabilities.
Additionally, in the project report benefits of ongoing development plan for the employee and
employer is mentioned as well as skills and capabilities for the assistant manager is also
concluded. Apart from it, Gagne's learning theory is also mentioned, along with a professional
development is also described. In the last part of report, formal process of the job interview for
the post of Hotel management is concluded with the strengths and weakness of the formal
process.

REFERENCES
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