Professional Identity and Practice in Hospitality Industry: A Case Study of Hilton

This report discusses the importance of ongoing professional and personal development in the hospitality industry, with a focus on Hilton. It evaluates the skills and competences expected by the employer for specific roles in the industry and provides a plan for enhancing those skills. The report also covers different learning theories and approaches used for personal and professional development.

Professional Identity
and Practice

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Overview of the organisation.......................................................................................................1
Evaluation of the benefits and importance of undertaking ongoing professional and personal
development and how it can enhance career prospects...............................................................1
Investigation into the skills and competences expected by the employer for specific roles in
your chosen organisation.............................................................................................................3
Evaluation of skills and competences for one of the job roles in the organisation, using at least
two self-evaluation models to undertake an audit of your hard and soft skills............................3
Different learning theories and approaches used for personal and professional development....5
Considering best development approaches to enhance professional and personal development.
......................................................................................................................................................6
Evaluating the importance of ongoing professional development and associated skills
requirement within Hilton. ..........................................................................................................7
Evaluation of own skills and competences and the most appropriate developmental approach
to develop personal and professional skills for a general manager's role....................................7
Critical evaluation of own skills and competencies to meet the employer expectation of
professional skills required for employment within Hilton.........................................................8
Constructing a development plan to enhance skills and competencies within a specific work
context. ........................................................................................................................................8
A detailed development plan that applies underpinning learning and development theory........9
A comprehensive development plan that sets out clear and achievable targets, strategies and
outcomes of learning and training..............................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Professional and personal development is essential for every individual to enhance their
careers in their respective fields. In hospitality industry professional development of employees
is important for a organisation to reduce the staff turnover and to build quality leaders for the
company (Dean, 2022). This report will be based on Hilton which is a American multinational
hospitality company. It is a global brand and one of the largest company in hospitality industry in
the world. In this report we will discuss the importance of professional development and skills
enhancements for the organisation. The report will also highlight skills which the company want
from a specific roles in the hospitality industry. Further, the report will provide a plan for
enhancing the skills.
MAIN BODY
Overview of the organisation
Hilton is one of the leading hospitality company in the world which owns and manage
hotels around the world. The company was founded in 1919 by Conrad Hilton in Texas USA.
The company has seen a huge growth since than and currently the company operate in approx 94
countries covering six continents. Hilton hotels and resorts is company's flagship brand which is
the biggest hotel brand in the world. With the brand company target business and leisure
travellers (Yao, 2021). The company operate their hotels in major cities near vacation
destinations or airports. The company have 10 different brands under functioning under their
management and has a big and skilled work force of about 140,000 peoples. After one year of
owning the first hotel, Conrad invest back into the business and expanded his business. Conrad's
vision and innovation bring success as a result. During the great depression the business face
many challenges and Conrad was forced to give up some of his properties.

Evaluation of the benefits and importance of undertaking ongoing professional and personal
development and how it can enhance career prospects.
The company have seen immense growth since its inception and one of the main reason
behind that is their employee. The company's professional development program is among the
best development programs in the industry. Hilton follows a transformational leadership style
which inspire company's workforce to foster by changing according to the company culture.
Professional development of the employees is important for both the company and employees.
Company's working in hospitality industry need to adapt to the changes according to changin
trends and consumer behaviours. A company need a customer centric approach to survive in the
industry (Lee, 2020). One of the main objective of hospitality businesses is to provide best
customer experience to the customer and for that the company need trained and skilled
employees. Some of the benefits of ongoing professional development are mentioned below -
Increased capacity of employees – Employee training and development can benefits an
organisation as it help employees to adopt new technology and other changes in the organisation.
In today's changing business environment this benefits is crucial for the companies.
Increased job satisfaction – Employees morale and satisfaction increases when they feel that
their jobs are helping them to learn new things. When company provide training to the
employees then they sense that the job is helping them to increase their skills and knowledge and
they feel motivated.
Decreased employee turnover – Ongoing professional and personal development can help
organisation to retain skilled employees. Employees get opportunity to enhance their skills
which is important for employees. It increases the sense of belonging for employees which
increases employees commitment for the organisation.
Personal and professional skill development enhance various skills of an individual
which help them in various aspects of the professional and personal life. Professional skill
development ensure that individuals skills stay up to date and relevant. This increase employees
credibility in the industry. To thrive in a career skill development is essential as it prepare
employees for future career opportunities.

Investigation into the skills and competences expected by the employer for specific roles in your
chosen organisation.
An employer expect various skills from its employees. Every job need some skills which
are necessary for the specific role. The role of general manager is a crucial role in any business.
A manager perform various tasks in a business and develop strategies for running business
effectively and efficiently. A manager regularly analyse the business and do research for
evaluating the opportunities (Fakhriddinovich and Khalimovich, 2022).
Skills and competences expected by Hilton from their general managers are mentioned below -
Responsibility – The organisation have a culture of accountability at the workplace and
employees are responsible for their actions and decisions. In such culture, the company need to
have a manager who can adjust to the organisational culture. At managerial level the
responsibility that an employee can bear is higher as compare to other entry level roles.
Decision Making – A manager take many big decisions regarding the business some of these
decisions can decide the profitability and fate of the business and that's why the company expect
better decision-making skills from the managers.
Communication Skills – A manager collaborate with different peoples and employees in an
organisation and in hospitality industry the number of new people they interact increases a lot.
Hence, Hilton expect best communication skills from their general managers. Managers make
strategies and policies for the business and they are responsible to keep whole workforce
motivated (Hlihel, Chater and Boumane, 2022). Good communication skills are important for
managers role as they need to communicate their decisions, strategies and belief with colleagues.
Evaluation of skills and competences for one of the job roles in the organisation, using at least
two self-evaluation models to undertake an audit of your hard and soft skills.
To evaluate own ability and skills SWOT analysis and CIRO model are two frameworks
which can help. By conducting a personal SWOT analysis an individual can identify their

strengths and weaknesses. CIRO model is a training evaluation model which can help Hilton's
employees to evaluate the effectiveness of management training course.
Personal SWOT analysis
Strengths
 My critical thinning skills are good
which helps me in my career growth. I
can think out of the box and bring
innovating ideas to solve complicated
situations. As a general manager it is
my strength which allow me to make
effective strategies.
 Communication skill is also one of my
strength. I can communicate effectively
with different peoples. In management
profession communication skills are
must because it bring clarity and reduce
conflicts and confusion in the
organisation (Rabiul and Yean, 2021).
Weaknesses
 Time management skill is my weakness
as I fail to manage tasks when I try to
do multitasking. When I do
multitasking I sometime take more time
than expected because I am not good at
prioritising the tasks according to
deadlines.
 Overworking and not delegating is also
one of my weakness. Delegation of taks
is a skill that a manager must have and
I create a lot of burden for my self by
doing tasks on my own instead of
delegating it to others.
Opportunities
 To build my career in hospitality
industry in need to enhance my skill.
Enhancing skills can help me to thrive
in my professional career.
 Hospitality industry change constantly
as trends and consumer behaviour
change. Decision making skills and
technology skills are two skills which
every company expect from its
managers. Developing these two skills
will be beneficial for me.
Threats
 There is a tough competition for a
specific job role. So many individuals
with also similar skills fight for a job
role which can be a treat for me.
 My weakness of time management and
poor delegation skills are the biggest
threat for me as these skills are
essential for the job role.

CIRO is a acronym that stands for the four levels of the model which are Context, Input,
Reaction and Output.
Stage 1: Context evaluation
The skills which I lack are time management and delegation skills which are needed for a
role of general manager. I also need to enhance my technology and decision making skills to stay
credible for the role of general manager.
Stage 2: Input evaluation
By keeping track of the time I spent on each task I can understand where I am misusing or
wasting my time there are also other practices which can increase my time management skill like
scheduling the day, delegating the tasks and creating small tasks or milestones to complete the
projects. By taking feedbacks from experienced or senior managers I can improve my decision
making and delegation skills. I can work with a senior manager to gain these skills.
Stage 3: Reaction evaluation
After following the processes mentioned in above stage I can write my feedbacks and
suggestions from the processes, this stage can help me to improve the way of training.
Stage 4: Outcome
This is the last stage of the model and in this stage I can evaluate the outcomes of the training.
Best outcome will be my main goal, and they can be measured on the four levels. Learner level,
workplace level, team or department level and the business level.
Different learning theories and approaches used for personal and professional development.
There are different theories and approaches which organisations use for personal and
professional development of their employees. Career development theories outlines the path for
individuals to improve their professional growth (Ampountolas, Shaw and James, 2019). These
theories aims on explaining why someone is good for a specific career and how he/she can get a
good trajectory in their careers. Hilton can use various different theories or approaches which are
mentioned below.

Frank parsons trait and factor theory
The theory was developed by Frank Parsons and it has two main characteristics, traits and
factors. Factors refers to the possibles jobs while traits refer to quality of the people. This theory
involve three actions. First, examine the personality trait of the person then identify the
character traits of the job and then measure that person's traits against the job traits.
Super's development self concept theory
The theory was developed by Donald Super he build this theory around the idea that an
individuals view on self changes with time and experience. Super broke career development into
five stages. Hilton can use this theory to let their employees grow in their careers.
Gibbs learning theory
The theory is also known as gibbs reflective cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1998. The
theory. This theory was designed as a continuous cycle of improvement and an individual can
use this theory to reflect their experience with training and development. The theory is divided
into six stages mentioned below -
Description – Employees can describe their experience from the training in this stage.
Feeling – In this stage employees can state how they feeling during the development process.
Evaluation – This stage allow employees to evaluate positive and negative effects of the
process.
Analysis – This is the stage in which employees make sense of what happen in the process. In
this stage employees need to think why things go well and how they could have responded.
Conclusion – This is the summary of the process and learning which they gain. Employees can
thinks how the process could have been better for the employees.
Action Plan – Action plan sum up every stage and allow employees to make a plan by which
they can improve for the next time .
Considering best development approaches to enhance professional and personal development.
There are many approaches I can use to enhance my professional and personal
development. Many companies in hospitality industry provide e-learning to their employees.
These learning programs include topics like project management, software trainings and

technical skill training. As a general manager these topics are important for career development
(Calicchio, 2020).
The best approach for my professional and personal growth can be career planning. To excel
and move higher in career a plan can help significantly. Planning can help individuals to identify
various opportunities which is important in today's highly competitive environment. A plan
outline a path and set goals for a individual and that can help an individual to thrive in their
careers. One of the many benefit of a career plan is, it enhance self development. To follow a
plan an individual need strong will, strength and focus which also help an individual in personal
development. A plan can help an individual to understand the skill that he/she need to develop
and with a plan they can also identify the steps to gain skills which they lack. Professional
development mean developing in the job role, it include improving necessary skills for the job
(Gibbs, 2022). In simple words we can say that professional development is focused on the skills
while personal development is focused on communication and time management.
Evaluating the importance of ongoing professional development and associated skills
requirement within Hilton.
As we know businesses in hospitality industry have mission and vision align with the
priorities of customers satisfaction. Hilton is one of the biggest names in hospitality industry and
the company make sure that their employee remain skilful and knowledgeable in hospitality
industry's dynamic environment. The company have to quickly adapt to changes and consumers
trends and a skilled workforce is a basic requirement for this. Hilton provide a professional
development program to employees which help them to develop or enhance skills which are
essential for their job roles (Reddy, 2020). While hiring a employee the company focus on the
personality of the candidate. Self confidence, team working skills, knowledge of foreign
language and IT skills are some of the skills that are required to work in the company.
Evaluation of own skills and competences and the most appropriate developmental approach to
develop personal and professional skills for a general manager's role
Time management skills and communication skills are my biggest strength and I can use
these skills to grab opportunities in future. Some other skills like technology skills and

technology skills are skills which are essential for the industry because it help an individual to
thrive in a dynamic business environment. As a general manager skills like time management
and delegation of work are crucial and by creating a plan employees can set a path to improve
their skills. Working with a experienced person or asking regular feedbacks from them can help a
person to improve these skills. By improving the skills to delegate the tasks a person can save
time which automatically help them in time management.
Critical evaluation of own skills and competencies to meet the employer expectation of
professional skills required for employment within Hilton.
Employers in a hospitality industry expect some skills from their employees which can
help them to provide best experience to their consumers. The company expect responsibility as it
show professionalism of employees. I always take ownership of my actions and tasks which
makes me a responsible person also I accept failures and take learning from failures to achieve
better results in future. The company also seek better communication skills from a employee and
my communications skills have always been my strength (Mazzotti and et.al., 2018). Critical
thinking skills are also one of my strength which help me to take better decision. In complicated
situation with my creative and critical thinking skills I can find solutions which is a crucial skill
for a general manager.
Constructing a development plan to enhance skills and competencies within a specific work
context.
Development plan is crucial for developing the required skills and it help individuals to achieve
success. A plan can help a manager to enhance their skills and prepare a effective way which can
help to enhance their skills.
Skills Importance of skills for a
general manager.
Action Taken to
Improve the skills.
Time Limit
Time
Management
Skills
It is a important for a
manager to posses this
skills because a manager
perform various tasks in a
business and if they lack
By making a schedule
of each day and
following that can help
in managing time for
each task. Prioritising
3 Months

this skill it can increase
their workload and reduce
their performance.
task according to the
deadlines can also help
to improve this skill.
Work Delegating
Skills
A manager's work is to
delegate work and
authority to its
subordinates to increase
company's performance
and that's why it is
important for managers to
have these skills. Lack of
this skill also increase
workload of managers.
To improve this skill I
need to create trust and
relationship with
subordinates. By
understanding the
strength and
weaknesses of team
members a manager
can assign tasks
effectively and
efficiently.
3 Months
Decision- making
Skills
One of the main function
of a manager is to make
effective decisions for the
betterment of business. A
manager take so many
decisions which can highly
influence the business and
good decision-making
skills are vital for a
manager.
By working with a
experienced manager
one can enhance this
skill. Decision making
skill can also be
improved by reading
and practising on
different case studies.
6 Months
A detailed development plan that applies underpinning learning and development theory.
The three primary learning theories are behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. To
improve required skills a person need to follow the plan with focus, by bringing the action plan

in routine and working daily to improve skills one can successfully learn the skills. By working
under a senior or experienced manager a person can get the information and data which can help
to enhance skills (Watts, Hallmark and Beroz, 2021). Some skills like decision making skills and
delegating skills are learned by experiences and a manager can learn them by working on the
field. By actively engaging with people and collaborating with them also help in increasing skills
which are required for the job role.
A comprehensive development plan that sets out clear and achievable targets, strategies and
outcomes of learning and training.
To improve the skills one of the most important think is to set small and smart targets. To
increase delegation skills, a manager need to set goals which can lead him/her towards the final
goal. A manager must set the target to understand the strength and weaknesses of its team
members and them he can set the target to build a strong bond in the team. All these small
targets can help the manager to enhance his/her delegating skills. Which can also help to enhance
time management skills. The outcome of learning and training is to achieve skills that are
essential for the job role of a general manager.
CONCLUSION
In this report it is concluded that personal and professional development is important for
an individual as it help them to get successful in their careers. By creating a career development
plan a person can get clarity about the career and can take suitable actions for development. In
this report we discussed importance of ongoing professional and personal development. The
learning theories and approaches are also evaluated in the report.

REFERENCES
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