Professional Identity and Practices

This document discusses the importance of professional identity and practices in the workplace. It explores the key benefits of ongoing professional and personal development, general skills and competencies required in a big retail firm, and different learning theories and approaches. The document also includes a development plan and analysis of job interviews.

Professional Identity
and Practices

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART A...........................................................................................................................................1
Section 1: Key benefits of on-going professional and personal development.............................1
Section 2: General skills and competencies.................................................................................3
Section 3: Own skills and competencies.....................................................................................4
Section 4: Learning theories and approaches..............................................................................6
Section 5: Development Plan.......................................................................................................7
PART B...........................................................................................................................................9
Section 6: Job Interview..............................................................................................................9
Section 7: Reflection..................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity can be defined as an identity that describes a person’s ability as per
work. It describes competencies and knowledge that an individual should have, to become expert
in a particular profession. In this regard, for building personal identity the present paper
describes ways that helps a person in establishing as well consistently reinforcing, to enhance
professionalism (Harden and Loving, 2019). For this purpose, to develop career River Island is
chosen, that deals in fashion brand and operates business at worldwide level. This case study
based report is conducted within five sections, which describes key benefits of on-going
professional and personal development. General skills and competencies, with development plan
required to become an effective general manager in a big retail firm are also explained. In
addition to this, a review of different learning approaches with job interview analysis for a
described job position is highlighted in further part.
PART A
Section 1: Key benefits of on-going professional and personal development
Overview of organisation:
River Island is the high street brand in fashion industry, which is headquartered in
London in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. It offers trendy wear of fashionable products and accessories
to all group of population including men, women and children of all age (Afanasyev and et. al.,
2019). Currently, it has more than 350 stores and has online presence also, which helps in
offering its products in worldwide market. In order to gain competitive advantage, top
management team of this firm mainly concerns on attracting, hiring and retaining highly skilled
candidates who have sharp knowledge about different-different industries like fashion, textiles,
clothing and retail, because it operates business in all these field (Bhansing, Wijngaarden and
Hitters, 2020). Having such knowledge, they can contribute better efforts to enhance shopping
experiences of customers at stores, that brings their feet again and again over. Through this
process, high benefits can be earned for operating business successfully.
Ongoing personal and professional development
Continuous professional development refers to a process of developing and maintaining
the skills at workplace, by giving opportunity to people to enhance their organisational
knowledge through engagement with others at workplace (O’Shea and McGrath, 2019). In River
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Island, management of this firm is designed this ongoing development cycle in such a way, that
helps employees to identify their development needs. Through this process, they can develop
skills and knowledge which are essential in improving their skills and knowledge (How CPD
benefits employees and employers?, 2019). In this regard, importance of ongoing training
process from perspectives of employers and employees of River Island is given as below –
Benefits of ongoing training for employers:
 Maintenance of organisational standards: The primary benefit of organising on-going
training program, helps a firm in ensuring that organisational standards across the
workplace, is high and consistent.
 Promotion of greater workforce: CPD programs aid management of River Island in
promoting greater work engagement, as well as general commitment from workers, to
achieve corporate goals (Schroeder, Anggraeni and Weber, 2019).
 Sharing of best practices: It is another main advantage of ongoing training program,
where giving equal opportunities to employees to enhance their skills, help management
of River Island in increasing sharing skills among them (Grobler, Grobler and Mathafena,
2019). Through this process, they could share practices with each other, which will help
in increasing organisational performance.
 Increase staff potential: Enhancing potential of staff members to contribute their best
performance, is one of the important benefit gained by employers due to ongoing
program.
Benefits of ongoing training for employees:
 Career development: Ongoing training program includes five main stages that are –
identification of weaknesses and make plan for improvement; learning activities;
reflection on learning; apply new knowledge; and last is sharing the best practices (Shah,
Maitlo, Jones and Yusuf, 2019). Therefore, going on through these stages, aid employees
of River Island to grab organisational knowledge and make their career more bright.
 Upgrade skills and competencies: Getting on-going training programs help employees of
River Island to understand skills which are essential to work, in such a large organisation.
With every changes in technology and operations, help workers to upgrade skills and
competencies, so that they can work comfortably in dynamic business environment.
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 Build confidence and engagement: Improving weakness and grabbing new knowledge
build up confidence of people at workplace (Booth, 2019). In context with present firm,
ongoing programs help in building confidence to take challenging role and engaging
them with each other for accomplishment of organisational activities.
 Boost productivity: The another main benefit of developing skills at personal and
professional level, help in boosting productivity of workers also. They feel more
productive and able to do any complex task in easy way, which aid them to gain higher
position as well.
Therefore, from all above these discussion, it has evaluated that ongoing or continuous
professional development proves not only beneficial for employees, but also for employers too.
Through perspective of both staff members and employers of River Island, it has evaluated that
designing on-going training program in such a manner, where employees can evaluate where
they have to work more to improve their competencies, give benefits to management also in
increasing productivity (Weller, 2019). Through this process, high satisfaction of jobs can be
provided under workers, which helps in earning their high commitment to provide best services
to customers.
Section 2: General skills and competencies
Every organisation whether operate at small level or large one, seeks to avail best
workforce, so that higher profitability can gain. In this regard, River Island which operates its
business mainly in fashion industries, where competition is much high, due to presence of
Burberry Plc, Primark, Tesco and more (Schroeder, Anggraeni and Weber, 2019). Therefore, to
gain competitive advantage from such firms, management of River Island hire those workers,
who possess following general skills and competencies –
Willingness to learn: It refers to first expectation of management of River Island, where
they want to recruit workers who are always ready to learn new thing (Grobler, Grobler and
Mathafena, 2019). Having such ability, ensure managers of this company then whenever changes
in terms of technology, working procedures or in operational activities will be done, to run
business as per trends in marketplace, then instead of employee resistivity, workers will give
support to accept the same and show willingness to learn new thing.
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Ability to solve problems: Employers of River Island and generally all companies,
demands from workers, that they must able to solve problems which may arise while working
with others (Shah, Maitlo, Jones and Yusuf, 2019). It includes conflicts with workers,
disengagement within a group and more, where having such capability aid employers to develop
and maintain positivity at workplace, if they are able to resolve problems in own manner.
Positive and good attitude: It refers to core expectation of management of River Island,
to have workforce where each employee to behave and work in positive manner (Booth, 2019).
Having this ability will help managers in increasing sharing abilities and cooperation among
large workforce, to develop an effective team for completing the complex activities and
enhancement of customer satisfaction.
Projecting the brand image: As River Island is one of the largest fashion retailer of UK
which operates its worldwide level. Therefore, its employers are mainly emphasised on
maintaining its reputation and corporate image in fashion and retail industry (Weller, 2019). For
this purpose, they seek that every employee should have ability to represent the brand image at
marketplace, so that competencies of business could be reflect by their way of projecting.
Section 3: Own skills and competencies
In order to work in such a large organisation i.e. River Island, it is essential for every
person to measure own skills and competencies first, as per employers’ expectations. This would
help in identifying areas where they need to work more, before applying for a specific job
position, so that chance of selection can be increased (O’Shea and McGrath, 2019). In this
regard, one of the main position where I want to work is general manager position at workplace,
whose main role is to supervise others and monitor their performance. For this purpose, to
understand the how much I am able to achieve position of general manager, SWOT analysis
needs to done first. This would help in evaluating capabilities that show my strengths for
respective position, as well as areas where need to work more (Bhansing, Wijngaarden and
Hitters, 2020). Therefore, for this purpose, I have used this skill auditing tool to identify my
skills and weaknesses in following way –
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Handling negative attitude of co-
workers positively, by effective
 As main expectation of present firm
is that employees should have skills
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leadership skills shows main strength
of mine, that reflects my capabilities
to perform role of supervisor
 Having technical knowledge of latest
technologies, may help a company in
determining which techniques they
need to adopt for running operations
efficiently.
to project the positive brand image in
front of major competitors and in
eyes of customers, therefore, lack of
this skill i.e. low confidence level,
reflects main weakness of mine
 Another main weakness point of
mine is inexperienced management
in budgetary control, which refers to
most essential skill for handling the
position of general manager.
Opportunities Threats
 River Island offers ongoing training
at workplace, so if I got to work
under this firm, then it would help in
improving my weakness and learn
how to perform supervisor’s role
 Another main opportunity in front of
me, is to take some classes first
before to apply, where I can learn
those skills and knowledge which are
essential to perform this role.
 Less learning abilities of mine, might
arise problems in front of me, to
learn from on-going environment at
workplace
 Less capability to grab knowledge
while working under guidance of
others, may create threat for me to
enhance my abilities.
To measure how much I am able to meet expectations of employers, I have taken another
main approach i.e. skill audit. This would make me able to identify my level of competencies as
well, in following way –
No. Skills and competency to work in
River Island
Current scores Required scores
1. Communication and listening
abilities
9 8
2. Ability to make positivity at 9 9
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workplace
3. Projection of brand image 7 9
4. Problem solving skills 6 8
5. Interpersonal skills 7 9
As per this analysis, it has been analysed that there are many abilities of mine which
makes me able to attain general manager position within an organisation. But still there are some
areas where I need to work i.e. how to project brand image of a company in a unique way, where
many competitors are already present (Afanasyev and et. al., 2019). In context with River Island,
as it provides on-going learning program, so it helps me to overcome from my weaknesses and
improve skills which are essential to perform the responsibility and roles of a general manager.
Section 4: Learning theories and approaches
For improving productivity of workplace, it becomes essential for a company to motivate
workers first. In this regard, management of River Island uses a number of learning theories as
well as approaches that aid workers to understand organisational standard of workplace and work
accordingly, so that consistency can be maintained (Harden and Loving, 2019). The main
benefits of applying learning theories at workplace, is developing professional and personal
skills of workers at equal level. Learning approaches are generally adopted as per different-
different context of business, as described below –
Behaviourism: This approach of learning is based on the idea which helps learners how to
respond towards changes in positive manner (Shah, Maitlo, Jones and Yusuf, 2019). In this
regard, role of facilitator at workplace, is to provide relevant stimuli that helps learners to gain
required knowledge and skills, as per organisational standard.
Cognitive: This approach is mainly concerned with way information is grabbed and
processed by workers. For this process, providing an environment where employees can build
their learning skills through reflection, abstraction, reviewing own roles in a certain task
(Grobler, Grobler and Mathafena, 2019). This would help learners in evaluating areas where they
need to work for enhancing performance.
On the basis of these learning approaches, it has been evaluated that social, behaviourism
and cognitive learning approaches are all best suited to develop professional and personal skills
among employees. Through these approaches, it would help management to reduce chance of
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employee resistivity and gain their positive commitment to learn how to work with new
technologies, for achievement of organisational goals.
Section 5: Development Plan
In order to develop skills and overcome from major weaknesses of mine, it becomes
essential for me to prepare an action plan. For this purpose, I have made following professional
development plan –
Personal and Professional Development Plan -
Skills Measurable Activities need to be
undertaken
Resources Attainable
goals
Time
period
Confidence
level
This skill can be
measured by
evaluating
performance of
a person to
handle complex
activity
Will take
management support
to increase my
confidence level,
Engaging myself
in on-going
learning practices
will provide me
opportunity to
understand
working
environment and
increase my
confidence to
handle job
responsibilities
By getting
training during
on-going
process, make
me able to
show my
abilities for
performing the
general
manager
responsibilities
1 Month
Budgetary
control
The general
manager has to
provide his
supervision to
various
departments to
perform their
tasks.
Will take classes
from affiliated
institutions to
understand how
budget for
accomplishment of a
project can be
controlled and utilised
On-going
organisational
program and off-
the learning
programs both
will help me to
increase my skills
about how to
Supervising
teams
efficiently for
using their
resources like
capital and
budget
15 days
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in optimum manner manage and
utilise budget
Problem
solving skills
Developing
effective team
and resolving
their conflicts as
well as other
issues, it is
essential for me
as a general
manager to have
problem solving
skills
Will engage more in
team activities will
help me to determine
what problems
generally be occurred,
so that ways to
resolve same can be
developed
Need to take
enough training
to analyse ways
for handling and
resolving
different
problems at
organisation
Regular
basis
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PART B
Section 6: Job Interview
General manager refers to be one of the most important role in a company, where person
on this position handles a number of roles and responsibilities. In this regard, for hiring an
individual for general manage position, management of River Island has design the job
description as shown below –
After designing the job description, following interview steps are planned, to measure
skills and competencies of applicants who have applied for general manager post –
Interview Process –
Ques 1: Describe yourself in a single sentence
Ques 2: What do you think, is roles and responsibilities performed by general manager is
different from others?
Ques 3: What skills a person should have to perform the general manager’s role?
Ques 4: Demonstrate the key areas of your past performance where you have gained
achievement?
Ques 5: Which abilities differentiate you from other applicants?
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Section 7: Reflection
After getting news about job vacancy in River Island, I have immediately applied on
company’s website, where after a week I have got confirmation for date and time of interview
process through phone call. But before to go for interview, I have explored all such information
which is essential for an applicant to know. It includes formal dress, prior-information about
company and how to represent yourself, help me to make preparation to crack interview and
being selected. In this regard, when I go for interview, at initial stage I was felt little bit nervous,
but before cracking interview, all applicants have to fill up the form first in which past
performance role have to be mentioned, with major strengths and weaknesses in just few lines.
So, after filling this form, I had make my mind about questions which might be asked by
interviewers on the basis of information that I have mentioned in the form. So, this would help
me to prepare myself how to crack interview (Schroeder, Anggraeni and Weber, 2019) . But
when I went for interview, I have seen that two interviewers were there, where first one was
asking questions continuously and second one is judged the way of answering the same. This
situation has increased my heartbeat first, but after first and second questions, I have controlled
my nervousness and give answers in perfect way, as questions were much easy.
CONCLUSION
It has been analysed from overall report that for developing professional identity, a
person needs to concern on evaluating own skills and competencies first. This would help in
determining areas where they need to make improvement, in order to become professional in a
particular field. Along with this, to make them able to work professionally, employers also
provide them opportunity to develop their competencies through ongoing training programs. This
would help in increasing experience and make career more bright. Furthermore, learning theories
and approaches help individuals to analyse how certain situations at workplace can be resolved
and managed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
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professional identities: establishing, modelling, efficiency expectations and long-term
development. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 10(2),
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Bhansing, P. V., Wijngaarden, Y. and Hitters, E., 2020. Identity Work In the Context of Co-
located Creative Entrepreneurs: How Place Influences Professional
Identity. International Journal of Arts Management, 22(2).
Booth, J. O. A. N. N. A., 2019. How does participant experience of work-based learning shape a
professional identity?. Work Based Learning e-Journal, 8(1), pp.20-38.
Grobler, A., Grobler, S. and Mathafena, R., 2019. Measurement of the perceptions of human
resource practices in a seemingly collectivistic culture. SA Journal of Human Resource
Management, 17(1), pp.1-11.
Harden, S. B. and Loving, K., 2019. Outreach and engagement staff and communities of
practice: A journey from practice to theory for an emerging professional identity and
community. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 8(2), p.2.
O’Shea, J. and McGrath, S., 2019. Contemporary factors shaping the professional identity of
occupational therapy lecturers. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82(3), pp.186-
194.
Schroeder, P., Anggraeni, K. and Weber, U., 2019. The relevance of circular economy practices
to the sustainable development goals. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(1), pp.77-95.
Shah, M., Maitlo, A., Jones, P. and Yusuf, Y., 2019. An investigation into agile learning
processes and knowledge sharing practices to prevent identity theft in the online retail
organisations. Journal of Knowledge Management.
Weller, S., 2019. Academic practice: Developing as a professional in higher education. SAGE
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Online
How CPD benefits employees and employers?. 2019. [Online]. Available Through<
https://www.delta-net.com/blog/2019/05/how-cpd-benefits-employers-and-employees>.
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