MKT01097 - Reflective Writing: Management Competencies in Tourism

This assignment is a reflective essay on tourism and hospitality management, focusing on the development of management competencies through the Competing Values Framework (CVF). Part A involves a self-assessment using the CVF, analyzing strengths and weaknesses in different managerial roles, and reflecting on improvements made over time. The reflection incorporates personal experiences, observations from the hotel sector, and insights gained from the survey results. Part B delves into the importance of the external environment in the tourism and hospitality industry, drawing upon community blog posts and relevant literature. It examines the impact of political instability, technological advancements, and the human relationship management theory on the industry. The essay also explores the significance of motivation, mastery, and meaning in the workplace, emphasizing the need for goal-based management and a creative environment to foster a highly motivated workforce. The assignment concludes by highlighting the critical role of external forces and competing values in achieving success in the hospitality industry.

Running Head : TOURIMS AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Tourism and Hospitality Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Assessment 4: Reflective Writing
The first Spiderweb profile
Second spiderweb profile

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PART A :
The competitive value framework is a useful tool for examining the employee
behaviour in an organization. The culture of an organization can be accessible with a study
instrument. The most effective framework among them is the competitive value framework
as per the views of Rogers, Gwen M. It is separated with the horizontal and the vertical axis
that reflects the internal and external along with the flexibility and control respectively. The
horizontal line describes the focus of the organization where the vertical lines indicate the
structure of the organization. Based on the CVF spider web, the strengths and the weaknesses
are described. The results show that I have greater strength in the creation and competence
sector but I am a bit weak in the controlling and collaboration. I have gained experience from
various sectors of the hotel and as per my observations, I can improve on myself easily and
quickly. Since travelling is extremely important in the hotel sector, I will work on myself and
handle new people having learnt new cultures at the same time, new language and new
behaviour too. In my first survey, I have done the best in the producer role , the innovator
role, the broker role and the director role. This has been my moist competent area of the
managerial skills. It reflects my expertise in dealing with the human element in the hospitality
industry. Particularly, I have a positive influence on people in the industry. I will make my
competence my strength to deal with the employee management in this industry as there are
high attrition rates.
In the survey which I underwent , it is found that I have improved in all of the
quadrants. In all the quadrants including the internal ,the external, the flexibility and control I
have scored 7.0 that is an excellent number. The initial survey revealed that I am little weak
in the areas of monitor role, mentor role, coordinator role and the facilitator role where I
scored between ( 5.4- 5.7 ). It showed that I am the strongest in the creation and competence
sector. The weakest points were the collaboration and controlling sector where I have focused

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in the second time and improved upto greater extent. Through the second survey, I have
understood that I am much influence by the personal goals that is converted into the meeting
the targets for the business where I work. Since, creativity is the best within myself, I can
become the best innovative manager in the future years. I am going to strengthen the
competency of creativity that I have to incorporate new and effective ideas in the business
management. Although I have received good scores in the mentor role, I believe that this
area needs my special considerations. On a concluding note , I would like to say that the CVF
has provided me with a clear description of the competencies I have and the areas where I
should focus to succeed in future.
PART B :
The second community blog from the assessment 3 has led me to explore the reasons
behind the external environment being a necessary attribute in the modern tourism and
hospitality industry. There were also other posts which highlighted the influence of the
perceived political instability on the tourism industry of a destination. One blog post put
forward the image of Australia for the Asian travellers having followed the divisive rhetoric
of Pauline Hanson towards them. The next blog post focused on the number of visitors on
Barcelona having followed the political instability over there. The advancement of
technology can be attributed to be the special reason behind the upsurge in the booking and at
the time of instability. It is all in line with the managerial competency of the associated with
the open system management. Another reason behind the rapid growth of visitors in
Barcelona is the adaptability and innovation of in the hotel management of the place. The
managers become successful in establishing a strong relationship with the guests and can
advertise to them in the best possible way about the features and the benefits of the hotel.
The guests are welcome in the best manner and they are made to feel the most comfortable.
It has been found that the negotiating ability of the new ideas and convincing the visitors to

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buy them is another important skill which is required in the hotel industry. Summing up the
factors, it can be said that the outer environment of a tourism destination plays an important
role in the tourism system. It determines whether one will be a successful manager or not.
Although the external environment is paramount in the success of the hospitality
organization, the employees are also considered to be the greatest source in the collection of
the necessary information. Hence , not only the external environment but the information
collection is also a vital part. The human relationship management theory which involves
utmost involvement and commitment is seen to have significant role in the tourism industry.
The lower level of the employees is involved by the upper level of management that helps in
the success of a business.
The final concern of the second community blog was on the motivation, the mastery
and the meaning. It has been suggested that there is a greater motivating factor than money
which is a conventional thought. The staffs in this industry should be given the personal
goals setting and the manger should help the individuals to achieve the goals. It was
identified to be a competing competency which would be connected with the goals setting
and talent nurturing. The blog also mentioned Walo( 2000 ) in order to reveal a similar
message speaking about the students’ progress towards mastering management skills at the
time of internship programs.
It was further mentioned that the collaboration of the goal based progress and the
strong mentoring were highly helpful for the growth in the management competencies. A
goal based management has been identified by Quinn et. al ( 2015) which also focuses on the
outcomes that can lead to disaster. This disaster has been warned by Allan Watts in the
speech he delivers. The concept of creative environment being the essential in maintaining a
highly motivated workforce is also put forth. The survey of the CEO of IBM, agrees that the

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most crucial factor is creativity for success. It highlights the external factors that have a
positive impact on the inner environment of the organization. It is completely aligned with
the CVF. The outcomes are at the same time aligned with the paradoxes of controlling the
management. Ion a concluding note it can be said that the community blog has been
extremely focused on the outer environment and the supporting references also agreed with
the external forces having greater impact on the hospitality industry. The group blog
suggests that in the hospitality industry, the managers are supposed to have mastery over the
competing values in the path to success.The blog has been highly useful as it carried a bulk of
information related to the tourism and the hospitality industry.

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Reference
Linkedin.com. (2019). 5 Ways to Keep Your Hospitality Team Motivated. [online] Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141112145425-95733662-5-ways-to-keep-your-hospitality-team-
motivated [Accessed 2 Jun. 2019].
YouTube. (2019). What If Money Was No Object? - Alan Watts. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khOaAHK7efc [Accessed 2 Jun. 2019].
Www-03.ibm.com. (2019). IBM 2010 Global CEO Study: Creativity Selected as Most Crucial Factor
for Future Success. [online] Available at:
https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/31670.wss [Accessed 2 Jun. 2019].
Coelho, M 2017, ‘Catalonia: Why technology is more important than ever in times of
political upheaval’,Hotel News Resource, 22 December, viewed 31 May 2018,
F. Henry (1949).’Principles of Management ‘New York: Pitman. Pg. 20-41
International Business Machines 2010, ‘IBM 2010 Global CEO Study: Creativity Selected as
Most Crucial Factor for Future Success’, viewed 31 May 2018,
Litvin, SW 1999, ‘Tourism and politics: the impact of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party on
Australian visitor arrivals’, Journal of Tourism Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 51-60.
Patel, R 2014, ‘5 Ways to Keep Your Hospitality Team Motivated’, LinkedIn, 13 November
2014, viewed 31 May 2018,
Quinn, RE, Bright, D, Faerman, SR, Thompson, MP & McGrath, MR 2015, Becoming A
Master Manager: A Competing Values Approach, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New
York.
Rogers, Gwen M (2016) “Correlation study of patient safety culture to organizational culture
using competing values framework in the pharmacy of Maine Medical Center”
Tragedy & Hope 2013, ‘What If Money Was No Object? – Alan Watts’, YouTube, online
video, viewed 11 May 2018,
Türkay, O, Solmaz, SA & Şengül, S, 2011, ‘Strategic analysis of the external environment
and the importance of the information: Research on perceptions of hotel managers’ Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 24, pp.1060-69.

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Walo, M 2000, ‘Assessing the contribution of internship in developing Australian tourism
and hospitality students’ management competencies’, Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative
Education, vol.2, no. 1, pp. 12-28.