Work Based Learning: Skills and Career Planning in the Hospitality Industry

This document discusses the importance of work-based learning in the hospitality industry, focusing on personal skill audit, progress in planning, skills and knowledge for work role, reflective logs and journals, and planning for future career role. It provides insights into the skills required for a front office manager and offers strategies for improvement. The document also highlights the career planning process and the steps to achieve a higher position in the hotel industry.

Work Based Leaning

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Analyse Personal Skill Audit...............................................................................................3
Progress in Planning.............................................................................................................6
Skills and Knowledge for Work Role.................................................................................7
Reflective logs and Journals................................................................................................8
Planning for Future Career Role........................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

Introduction
The Individual portfolio provides an audit of skills and personal development plan as a
front office Manager. The Portfolio also consist a reflection on the progress in work role and
identifies the gap in skills and knowledge as front office Manager (Battistelli et. al., 2019). A
discussion is also based on planning for future career role and evaluation is also done on learning
and progress with reflective journals and logs. The Chosen Hospitality Industry in this portfolio
is Hotel Marriott which is one of the diversified hospitality companies that have various
franchises of hotel and lodging activities. The Hotel was founded by J. Willard Marriott and
Alice Marriott; it is one of the largest hotel chains in World having number of rooms and
facilities. The Company was formed in 1993 when Marriott Corporation was got split between
two organisations Marriott International Inc., and Host Marriott Corporation. Marriott has
opened its first Hotel in Arlington Virginia and named as Twin Bridges Motor Hotel. Due to
Pandemic, Marriott has faced a loss as people are restricted to travel and stay in Hotels. Even in
COVID 19, the company is focusing on health and safety of customers and employees, they are
taking an extra precautionary actions such as instituting additional cleanliness standards, using
electrostatic sprayers with disinfectant, removing furniture in public areas to allow for a space
and maintain social distancing and adding disinfecting wipes in Hotel rooms.
Analyse Personal Skill Audit
Skills Self assessed Score from others Outcome
Leadership skills 7 9 -2
Computer Skills 9 6 3
Negotiation skills 7 8 -1
Decision making skills 8 7 1
Communication skills 7 8 -1
Interpersonal skills 6 8 -2
Time management
skills
9 6 3
Active listening skills 8 7 1

In Above Personal Skill Audit it is been Assessed that there are positive and negative
results shown in analyse of personal skill audit. I have self assessed my own skills and other
people also scored me on the basis of my Skills. Some of My skills are good and some skills
need to be improved. From the above skills assessment it is been cleared that I have to work on
my Computer Skills, Decision making skills, Time management skills and Active listening skills.
Following are the strength and weakness which are shown through skill audit of Front office
Manager-
Strength
 I have good leadership skills through
which I can handle team efficiently and
effectively.
 I am good in communication skills. I
can speak effectively and convey
messages easily. With my
communication skills I can easily
attract customers and make them
comfortable in Hotel.
 I have a strong negotiation power I can
think in under pressure and uncertainty
rapidly. I can easily collaborate and work with
others. I can easily resolve the issues in
Hotel.
Weaknesses
 I am weak in making decisions I can't
make appropriate decision on time I
have to take help of other staff
members.
 My Computer skills are not so good. I
face problem while managing the data
that affects my performance while
working in Marriott Hotel.
 I am unable to manage time properly. I
take a time to complete my Target.
 I am not able to pay attention on
customer while they are talking.
Requirements Personal
audit
(rating
scale: 0-
10)
GAP Remedial
action/strategy
Deadlines
for
remedial
action
Computer Skills
9 Have to work on It can be 3 month

computer skills
which can help in
maintaining
database and
proper command
on Computer.
improved with
focusing on
practical part and
learning basic
computer.
Decision making
skills 8 As a Front officer
Manager I need to
improve my
decision making
skills so that I can
take appropriate
decision on time.
To take active
participation in
decision making
process.
1 month
Time management
skills
9 I have to Manage
the time and work
accordingly so
that I can achieve
my target.
Organise and
schedule the tasks
and deadlines.
Focus on High
value activities in
Hotel. Review my
performance once
in a day.
2 months
Active listening skills
8
I have to pay
attention on
customers and
listen their issues
and queries
I must show my
gesture in such a
way that represent
that I am listening
their words. I
On-going.

effectively. I also
need to respond
customers
appropriately.
should stop
performing
multitask while
listening to
customers.
Progress in Planning
As a Front office manager I have to manage the customers and interact with them via face
to face, phone calls or emails. I have many roles and responsibilities in Hotel Marriott I need to
supervise the workload during the shifts, maintain healthy relationship with other staff members
and communicate effectively with other departments. But I am looking for a higher position in
which I can gain more value and recognition in Marriott Hotel. The higher post which I want to
be in future is General Manager and Assistant General Manager. For this position I have to
improve my skills and knowledge for getting these job roles.
For this duty I have to train employees related to new policies and also handle the cash
tasks. I have to improve my skills in which I am not so good and which can affect my goal to
become General Manager (Pellas and et. al., 2019). As my communication skill is good I can
easily make customers comfortable while taking and create a good bond with them which helps
in increasing the profit of Hotel Marriott. I need to work on my computer skills as I have to
handle the cash management which can be problematic for me if I haven't improve my computer
skills. With the help of good computer skills I can easily maintain book keeping tasks and make
profit and loss reports. As my listening skills re also not so good I have to improve my listening
skills for making customers think that I am taking active participation in their thoughts and
opinions. With good listening skills I can easily solve the issues and conflicts of customers which
make me one step forward to get the post of General Manager post. I can easily respond to the
complaints of clients and find solution of their problems. As General Manager I must have
Ability to Stay Calm Under pressure which helps to be multi tasking in fast-paced environment it
makes me to work in under pressure. So, I need to focus on one thing at one time that helps to
give my best output. For working under pressure I need to be focused on what needs to be
achieved firstly and remain positive so that I can handle the situation easily (Taub and et. al.,
2020).

Skills and Knowledge for Work Role
Skills are divided into two types such as Soft skill and hard skill. Hard skill means
knowledge and ability related to job which is to be pedometer in job duty whereas Soft skill
refers to personal quality that helps to become good employee. The Skills and Knowledge I
required as a Front Office Manager are as follows-
Communication skills-
As a Front office manager in Hotel Marriott I have to interact with many people whether
it could be via phone, face or face or email (Papadopoulos, 2019). For this I need to be fluent and
confident while communicating with clients. With the help of strong communication skills
customer get attracted and I can easily convey message to other staff members and customers.
Problem solving skills-
I must have an ability to solve issues and problem in Hotel. Issues can be related to
customers or staff member I need to handle the problems promptly and quickly by giving
solution. My duty is to address the complaints of customers and handle it in effective manner.
Interpersonal Skills-
For building and maintaining a strong relationship with other staff members and
customers, I must have a strong Interpersonal skill. This skill helps to Comfort people so that
they can stay in Marriott Hotel happily. I can easily collaborate and work with other staff
members and achieve the target of Marriott Hotel.
Leadership skills-
As my role is Front office Manager I need to supervise and direct other staff members. I
must have leadership skills by which I can easily motivate, resolve conflicts, encourage and
achieve the desired goal of Hotel.
Proficiency in different language-
I need to interact with many customers of different cultures and religion which comes
from different countries for handling them I need to be proficient in other languages too.
Communicating with clients in their own native language makes them comfortable while
speaking and they can easily convey their message.
Typing speed-
My typing skills must be fast so that customer need not to wait for getting keys of their
room. Typing speed must be good that helps to manage the time and work quickly.

Reflective logs and Journals
What Did I
Learn?
What went well? What could I
Have done better?
What did I gain
from the
experience
Learning and
progress
In 1 week I
learned about
personal skills
audit.
I get to know
above my skills
and knowledge.
I need to work on
my skills which
show negative
results.
I have gained that
there are skills
which I need to
improve so that I
can achieve my
goals and follow
my career path.
I have learnt in
this week related
to the skills. This
helps me to
achieve my goals
in efficient and
effective manner.
In 2 week I have
learned what the
pitfalls to avoid
during skill audit
are.
I get the
knowledge
related to pitfalls
which I need to
avoid during skill
audit.
I can plan for my
future by
improving my
skills and
knowledge.
I get the
knowledge about
Halo effect,
external factors,
Self perception
and perfectionism
and Non
perfectionism.
In this week I
have learned how
to avoid the
pitfalls during
skill audit that
helps me in
improving my
skills.
I get to know
about Personal
development plan
in week 3
I can easily set
my goals; reflect
my own learning,
achievements and
performance.
I can plan for my
future Career.
I gained that it is
a lifelong process
which helps in
maximising the
potential and
develop a person
in different areas
of life.
I have learned
how to make
personal
development
plan.

Planning for Future Career Role
Everybody wants to be at higher position in organisation at some day, I also want that my
job role get change in future and I got a position at high post in Hotel Marriott. For this I need to
plan for future career role. Career planning generally means making a step for achieving future
professional (Abdullah, Mohd-Isa and Samsudin, 2019).
Know about potential Career options-
Firstly, I need to know about the potential Career options which is suitable for me. I have
to start gaining knowledge related to other career options by colleagues, friends, other staff
members, seniors, etc. I have to find out the skills and qualification of other job role in which I
have to work and know the qualification of my seniors.
Identify the Career that matches my skills-
I have to look out the career which matches my skills like I am good in communication
and interpersonal skills so I can opt for a position of Assistant general manager or General
Manager. I have to need to assess my soft skills and hard skills which helps me in getting higher
job position in Hotel Marriott.
Establish Smart Goals-
Smart goals are the part of life they provide a direction, motivation, clarification and
focus on Career. These goals help to guide individual how to achieve career by following right
path and direction. Smart stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
With the help of smart goals I can focus on my efforts and increase the chances of achieving my
goals.
Develop a career action plan-
For achieving the career role as Assistant General manager and General Manager I have
to develop a plan through which I can follow and make my option a reality. I have to work on
my skills through which I can become General Manager. I have to identify the things that can
motivate me to change my job position. I need to be proficient in different languages which can
help to communicate with customers more efficiently and effectively. Hotel Marriott only has a
people who can work under pressure. I must also develop my interpersonal skills so that with the
help of this skill I can easily resolve the conflict and issues in Hotel. For becoming General
Manager I must know how to influence people and fulfil their needs and requirements so that
they can give their productive outcomes (Chen and Yang, 2019).

Conclusion
From the above information it is been concluded that an individual must analyse their
personal skills that helps to know about in which skills they are lacking and in which they are
good.

Appendix
(Scope: Measures for Knowledge and Skills ratings, 2020)

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abdullah, J., Mohd-Isa, W. N. and Samsudin, M. A., 2019. Virtual reality to improve group
work skill and self-directed learning in problem-based learning narratives. Virtual
Reality. 23(4). pp.461-471.
Battistelli, A and et. al., 2019. Information sharing and innovative work behavior: The role of
work‐based learning, challenging tasks, and organizational commitment. Human
Resource Development Quarterly. 30(3). pp.361-381.
Chen, C. H. and Yang, Y. C., 2019. Revisiting the effects of project-based learning on students’
academic achievement: A meta-analysis investigating moderators. Educational
Research Review. 26. pp.71-81.
Papadopoulos, A., 2019. Integrating the natural environment in social work education:
Sustainability and scenario-based learning. Australian Social Work. 72(2). pp.233-241.
Pellas, N and et. al., 2019. Augmenting the learning experience in primary and secondary school
education: A systematic review of recent trends in augmented reality game-based
learning. Virtual Reality. 23(4). pp.329-346.
Taub, M and et. al., 2020. The agency effect: The impact of student agency on learning,
emotions, and problem-solving behaviors in a game-based learning
environment. Computers & Education. 147. p.103781.