Professional Identity and Practice: Enhancing Career Prospects at Intercontinental Hotel

This report discusses the concept of professional identity and practice for a Hospitality Manager at Intercontinental Hotel. It covers the benefits of ongoing professional and personal development, skills and competencies expected by the employer, self-evaluation models, and different learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development. The report also includes a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies.

Professional Identity and Practice
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Table of content
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Part 1 ...............................................................................................................................................3
An evaluation of various benefits and importance for undertaking an ongoing professional and
personal development and how it can enhance the career prospects......................................3
Investigate skills and competencies that are expected by the employer for specific roles at
Intercontinental Hotel. ...........................................................................................................4
Critically evaluate the abilities, skills and competencies for the job role of hospitality manager
at Intercontinental Hotel with the help of two self evaluation models in order to under take
audit of hard and soft skills. ..................................................................................................5
Review the range of different learning theories and approaches that are used for personal and
professional development. .....................................................................................................6
Explain the best development approaches in order to enhance personal and professional
development. .........................................................................................................................8
Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies...........................9
Part 2..............................................................................................................................................10
Interview Transcript and Self reflection ..............................................................................10
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Professional identity and practice is referred to the set of beliefs and attitudes in context
of professional role as a result of their work activities. A professional identity is a theoretical
construct that can be perceived as contextual, relational and changeable in nature. The
acquisition as well as demonstration of the knowledge, skills and attitude of a professional field
can be referred as a professional practice. This report revolves around the individual working as
a Hospitality Manager at Intercontinental hotel and further is looking forward towards the
decision of either career promotion or a career change opportunity (Albadan Varga, 2020
Bodnar, 2020).
The report has considered Intercontinental London as the primary organisation for the
report in order to study the concept of professional identity and practice. Intercontinental London
is a hospitality sector organisation that is established in London and is operated by
InterContinental Hotels Group. The organisation is established at Hyde Park corner, Park Lane,
London, England.
Part 1
An evaluation of various benefits and importance for undertaking an ongoing professional and
personal development and how it can enhance the career prospects.
An ongoing professional and personal development has various benefits for an individual.
Various benefits of an ongoing development plan have been discussed below.
 Skill enhancement- The individuals are more likely to develop and enhance the right
skills for career and further employees will become more productive as well as efficient.
These will also help in success of the business.
 Better engagement- Employee engagement is also facilitated with the help of ongoing
professional development. This will be possible as the employees start to feel more
confident in regard to the work or task completion at the work place (Cruess, Cruess and
Steinert, 2019).
 Better opportunities- The ongoing professional development helps in providing better
opportunities for the individuals as they have better skills and can be promotes easily.
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Investigate skills and competencies that are expected by the employer for specific roles at
Intercontinental Hotel.
The skills and competencies that are expected by Inter Continental Hotels for the job role of
Hospitality Manager have been discussed below.
 Team work- Team work is the most essential element for every job role that falls under
the hospitality industry. Team work is when group of people work together towards the
completion of a common goal.
 Multi tasking- Multi tasking is also an important skill that is essential for the employees
of the hospitality industry. Multi tasking is essential as a hospitality manager might have
to face various tasks at a particular point of time at Intercontinental Hotel.
 Flexibility- Flexibility is another skill that is required by the Hospitality manager at Inter
continental hotel. It is very commonly known that every single day comes with their own
experiences and better opportunities. This is an important skill so that the individual is
capable of performing tasks as per the requirements (Deng and et.al., 2018).
 Observational skills- Monitoring skills are quite important in order to pay attention to
every detail that can be judged by the customers who visit at Intercontinental hotel
London. These skills will help the organisation to build a rapport with the help of high
class standard products.
 Industry awareness- It is important for the individual working as Hospitality manager to
have industry awareness. The industry awareness will help in increasing the knowledge
of the person that are essential to maintain the standards and procedures of the
hospitality organisation like Intercontinental hotel. The industrial awareness can be raised
through various news platforms as well as through the interaction with the colleagues.
 Time management- Time management skills are also very important in order to
complete the jobs and task within a specific duration. These skills are important to be
held by the Hospitality manager at Inter continental hotel, London. Time management is
very important in order to avoid delay or waiting time for the customers at the hospitality
organisation (Dikilitaş and Yaylı, 2018).
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Critically evaluate the abilities, skills and competencies for the job role of hospitality manager at
Intercontinental Hotel with the help of two self evaluation models in order to under take
audit of hard and soft skills.
Self evaluation is basically referred to process wherein an individual evaluates own
performance. The purpose of the self evaluation is to communicate your values to others and
further help in self improvement. The self evaluation further helps in auditing of the hard and
soft skills of an individual. The various types of self evaluation methods that can be used by the
Hospitality Manager of Intercontinental hotel have been discussed below (Eyal-Cohen and et.al.,
2020).
 Performance Management- Performance management is basically a process of self
evaluation that comprises of establishing objectives for a specific time duration and there
after a review of performance is performed in aspect of the objectives. The employees of
The hospitality organisation are at times asked to self evaluate themselves which is then
evaluated with that of the evaluation of the managers. Further, the feedbacks are issued
regarding the performance at the workplace of an individual. Training and mentoring- Training and mentoring is a type of self evaluation technique
that is helpful in self evaluation of the knowledge skills and performance of the
individual. There can be a situation when a trainer at Intercontinental hotel London may
ask the trainees or the individual to evaluate them on their own perspectives based upon
the knowledge of the individual over a topic while comparing the duration of before and
after the session.
Audit of hard and soft skills
The audit of hard and soft skills have been performed of the Hospitality manager of Inter
Continental below. The rating below has been performed on the basis of the rating scale of 1-10.
Skills Self Evaluation Evaluation by others
Team work 8 6
Multi tasking 7 6
Flexibility 7 8
Observational skills 8 8
Industry awareness 7 6
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Time management 7 8
It has been observed that I need to work upon various skills in order to perform in a better
manner at The organisation. It can be analysed that I need to focus upon team working, multi
tasking skills. Further I need to enhance my knowledge over the industry awareness in order to
observe and monitor in a productive manner. An analysis can be made that my flexibility skills
and time management skills were at satisfactory level but can be improved further (Gibson,
Dollarhide and Moss, 2020).
Review the range of different learning theories and approaches that are used for personal and
professional development.
Learning theories are essential in order to promote personal and professional
development. The various learning theories and approaches have been discussed below.
 Cognitive learning theory- Cognitive learning theory is based upon the thinking of
people. The cognitive learning is basically about the mental processes in order to
understand the way we can learn. According to cognitive theory, it can be estimated that
learners are influenced by internal as well as external factors. Cognitive throry refers that
internal thoughts and external forces are both an important part of the cognitive process
and it is important to understand the impact of thinking upon the learning and behaviour.
It helps in having more control over it.
 Behaviourism Learning theory- Behaviourism theory is basically based upon the way a
student behaves in during the interaction process within an environment. Behaviour
theory states that an individual learns more from the external forces in comparison to the
internal sources. This theory is something that can be observed as well as quantified. In
order to bring this theory in to act, positive reinforcement can be used as it is more likely
to help the individual in perceiving the information (Rodrigues and Mogarro, 2019).
 Constructivism Learning theory- Constructivism theory states that the individuals are
capable of learning concepts on the basis of the previous experiences and previous
knowledge. These are based on creating a reality that is unique to them. Constructivism
theory states that learning is an active process that can be considered as personal as well
as individual. In order to implement this theory, it is important that the organisation
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facilitates interaction where the individuals can share their experiences and others can
learn from them as well.
 Humanism Learning theory- Humanism learning theory is basically based upon the
idea of self actualisation. Under this, it is considered that all the employees function
under the same hierarchy of needs. Self actualisation is considered on the top of the
hierarchical needs as the person is required to meet the needs of the best possible versions
of themselves. Each individual strives for self actualization and hence an individual can
either move towards the goal in order to fulfil the needs of away from the needs. These
needs can be fulfilled after fulfilling the emotional as well as physical needs by giving
them a safe and comfortable place to learn (Subryan, 2021).
 Connectivism learning theory- Connectivism learning is a learning theory that focuses
upon the learning process with the help of connections. The connections can either be
with each other as well as connections with the roles and responsibilities of the lives of
the individual. The hobbies, goals as well as people can be referred as the connections
that influence learning. In order to develop learning, organisation can focus over building
of various connections and relationships in order to motivate the individuals for learning.
 Transformative learning theory- Transformative learning theory is considered as one of
the best approach for adult education along with young adult learning. The transformative
or the transformation learning is a theory that focuses upon that learners have an ability to
adjust the thinking in accordance with the new information. According to research, it has
been found that the adults do not apply their older understandings upon the new
understanding of things as they change. This is the best approach for adults, as the
children are not capable of performing the transformation process through their
understanding.
 Social Learning theory- Social learning theory is a learning theory that states that an
individual can learn with the help of observing others through their activity or actions that
are exhibited by the colleagues, seniors or various other employees. The social learning
theory has four elements namely attention, retention, reproduction as well as motivation.
Attention as an element is referred to the different or unique lessons that help the
individuals to have focus. Retention is referred to act of internalising the information and
recalling it later on. Reproduction element refers to the process of drawing the previously
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learned behaviour in accordance with the suitability or the requirement of the usage.
Motivation is an element of social learning theory that is capable of extension from
seeing other individuals being rewarded or punished as per their actions (Tomlinson and
Jackson, 2021).
Explain the best development approaches in order to enhance personal and professional
development.
It is very important for an individual to maximise the personal development at work
place. There are various ways that can be used in order to maximise the personal development of
an individual like me who is working as a hospitality manager at Intercontinental London have
been discussed further. The ways in which I feel that I can develop personal and professional
skills have been discussed below-
 Setting up of goals- The first step of development approach to enhance personal and
professional skill is to set the goals and objectives. It is very important to identify the aim
that is required to be achieved and then further the bench mark is used to measure the
success. It is vert essential that the goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic as
well as time based.
 Noting down the goals- The next thing that is to be done after identification of the goals
is to prepare a to do list. In reference to the to do list, the tasks are prepared on a one to
one manner. This helps in attainment of the goals and further helps in personal and
professional development in an effective and efficient manner.
 Identifying the best way for doing a task- As an individual, one is required to perform
the same task after a while. Hence the same old techniques or methods can be proved
helpful in improving or doing the task in an effective manner.
 Initiation- In the starting, it can seem that the task is hectic or unachievable, but it is very
important for an individual to communicate the tasks within themselves. The task that is
to be accomplished can be fragmented in to smaller sections and start with each task
within a specific time limit. The goals are important to be segmented so that they are easy
to be attained through empowerment and encouragement (Williams, Guglietti and Haney,
2018).
 Pace of work- The pace of work must be in accordance with the pace that one is likely to
be in or feels comfortable. An individual must not feel pressurized with the time duration
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of the task completion. One must not over commit as it may lead to more stress and
frustration within the individual. The task must be accomplished in a relaxing manner.
 Improvement of skills- When one focuses over self improvement, the individual must
focus upon the already existing skills too. Rather that just focussing upon development of
new skills. The individual can focus over strengthening the skills that they are already
good at as these will help in excelling further.
 Positive mindset- It is very important for an individual to have a positive mindset. When
an individual focuses over a positive side, then in that case the person will embrace the
failures and further develop a learning from them. A positive mindset will definitely help
in achieving the goals of the individual (Wyatt, And et.al., 2020).
 Learning from failure- An individual must take notes from every personal encounter
that will help the individual to avoid the same mistakes to occur in future. It is very
important to learn from failures as these will help in sustaining the times, efforts and cost
for accomplishment of the goals.
 Prioritise personal development- An individual must focus over keeping themselves as
the priority in order to become a better version of themselves.
 Measure achievements- The final step is to measure the performance of the individual
while comparing them with the set standards. This will help in determining the
development within an individual.
Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies.
In order to look upon career promotion opportunities as a Hospitality Manager, it is
important for me to enhance my skills and competencies. The enhancement of skills and
opportunities will help in becoming more productive at the work place. In order to enhance the
chosen skills and competencies, a development plan needs to be performed. A development plan
has been developed below (Yang, Wang and Chen, 2021).
Current skills and
competencies used in
personal and
professional plan
Goals development
plan activity
Monitoring of
progress
Effectiveness of
personal
development plan
I need to gain more I can look forward A continuous The development plan
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experience in team
building and
leadership skills.
upon consulting peers
and colleagues and
further make efforts
towards better
engagement and
interaction at the
workplace.
performance
evaluation can help in
monitoring of the
progress.
will further help in
focussing over better
team building efforts
and accomplishment
of goals in a better
manner.
Industry awareness Interaction with peers
and news portal can be
visited.
The industry
awareness can be
measured with the
help of proper
discussions.
It will help in taking
better decisions at the
organisation regarding
the trends and
requirement.
Communication skills In order to develop
communication skills,
a short term course can
be enrolled in.
The monitoring can be
done through
interactions.
It will help in
addressing the
customers at the
hospitality business
and better engagement
with the colleagues.
Part 2
Interview Transcript and Self reflection
(Covered in PPT)
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the report that Professional identity and practice are of great
significance. A professional identity is a theoretical construct that can be perceived as contextual,
relational and changeable in nature. The report has highlighted a personal development plan that
has showcased attainment of short term, medium term and long term goals. The report has
highlighted various learning theories along with the development theories. The report has also
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highlighted various benefits and importance of ongoing personal development along with the
skills and competencies that are required in the hospitality industry.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Albadan Varga, J.P., 2020. Teaching Professional Identity: Conjoining Complex Thinking and
the Educational Field. Sophia, Colección de Filosofía de la Educación, (29), pp.127-
156.
Bodnar, A., 2020. Professional identity enacted at public library: Implications for the
organization in the context of digitalization.
Cruess, S.R., Cruess, R.L. and Steinert, Y., 2019. Supporting the development of a professional
identity: general principles. Medical teacher, 41(6), pp.641-649.
Deng, L. and et.al., 2018. Student teachers’ emotions, dilemmas, and professional identity
formation amid the teaching practicums. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27(6),
pp.441-453.
Dikilitaş, K. and Yaylı, D., 2018. Teachers’ professional identity development through action
research. ELT Journal, 72(4), pp.415-424.
Eyal-Cohen, D. and et.al., 2020. Developing the professional identity of art therapy students as
reflected in art therapy simulation sessions. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 71, p.101706.
Gibson, D.M., Dollarhide, C.T. and Moss, J.M., 2020. Professional identity development: A
grounded theory of transformational tasks of new counselors. Counselor Education and
Supervision, 50(1), pp.21-38.
Rodrigues, F. and Mogarro, M.J., 2019. Student teachers’ professional identity: A review of
research contributions. Educational research review, 28, p.100286.
Subryan, S., 2021. Exploring Secondary School Science Teacher Professional Identity: Can it be
influenced and reshaped by experiences of professional development programmes?.
University of Derby (United Kingdom).
Tomlinson, M. and Jackson, D., 2021. Professional identity formation in contemporary higher
education students. Studies in Higher Education, 46(4), pp.885-900.
Williams, A., Guglietti, M.V. and Haney, S., 2018. Journalism students’ professional identity in
the making: Implications for education and practice. Journalism, 19(6), pp.820-836.
Wyatt, T.R. And et.al., 2020. What does context have to do with anything? A study of
professional identity formation in physician-trainees considered underrepresented in
medicine. Academic Medicine, 95(10), pp.1587-1593.
Yang, H., Wang, R. and Chen, H., 2021. Professional identity construction among social work
agencies. Journal of Social Work, 21(4), pp.753-773.
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