Personal and Professional Development Analysis and Planning Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of personal and professional development, focusing on self-managed learning approaches, lifelong learning encouragement, and the benefits for both individuals and organizations. It includes a SWOT analysis, identification of skills and competencies against professional standards, and the development of a personal development plan. The report addresses work-based problems, explores various learning styles to overcome these challenges, and evaluates different time management strategies. Furthermore, it assesses current skills and competencies, identifies development needs, and outlines opportunities to meet both current and future needs, concluding with the implementation of short and long-term objectives and an updated personal development plan based on evaluation and feedback. The report emphasizes the importance of skills like customer service, communication, financial management, cultural awareness, and IT proficiency for a career in the hospitality industry.

PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Approaches to self-managed learning..............................................................................1
1.2 Ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional encouraged.....................2
1.3 Benefits of self-managed learning to individual and organization...................................2
4.1 Work based problem.........................................................................................................3
4.2 Learning styles which can be implemented to overcome the problems...........................3
4.3 Evaluating different time management strategies............................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Evaluate own current skills and competencies against professional standards................5
2.2 Identifying own development needs and activities required to meet them......................7
2.3 Development opportunities required to meet both current and future needs...................7
2.4 Developing Personal Development Plan to achieve goals...............................................8
3.1 Short term and long term objectives to implement the development plan.......................9
3.2 Documenting planned activities.......................................................................................9
3.3 Discussing own learning against the aims and objectives included in PDP.....................9
3.4 Updating PDP based on evaluation and feedback..........................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development assist individual to set specific goals, targets,
strategies and outcomes for learning. Learning plays a crucial role in one's life. The main
objective of preparing this report is to help the reader in understanding importance of self-
managed learning. This report consists of both self-managed learning for individuals as well as
organization. This report also focuses on individual current skills and competencies against
professional standards and organizational objectives. At the end of the report, a case study is
discussed where various measures are described in brief that can be adopted in order to reduce
employees absenteeism.
TASK 1
1.1 Approaches to self-managed learning
The best way which I will be opting is to observe the current scenario of the business or
industry. This will help me to develop my efficiency level. Various approaches are discussed
below: Conferences and Seminars- These are best and effective source of developing self-
managed learning as by attending seminars and conferences it will help me to know new
things (Calladine, 2006). This will also assist me to know other people ideas, experience
and perception towards a particular situation. Moreover, conference and seminar will
guide me to boost my speaking skills as it will generate confidence for speaking in
public. Internet- Internet is considered as solution for every problem. Being a management
student, internet helps to provide management knowledge which will upgrade my
vocabulary and skills extensively. Further, various articles from different authors will
help me to develop my knowledge. Online learning has been greatly facilitated by
efficiency and capability of individuals.
 Mentoring- Mentor will guide me to gain knowledge about various aspect of personal and
professional life. He will more likely act as a guide than a teacher. Moreover, mentor will
be an inspiring idol which will assist me to achieve my goals and objectives for life.
1

1.2 Ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional encouraged
Lifelong learning is a way of learning personally through varied sources and techniques.
Self-evaluation will help me to know that where I lack and what are my positive strengths
(Alcock, Daily and Griggs, 2008). I have conducted SWOT analysis of myself and for which I
have taken k help of my mentor, friends and family members. SWOT analyses are as follows:
 My strengths are that I am dedicated in my and have an eagerness to learn new things.
Further, I have good and healthy familiar behavior.
 My weakness is that, I get tensed easily for specific problem. Further, I am quite short
tempered too. I have opportunities of learning new skills and also have better job and
healthy office environment. Moreover, I'm focusing in enhance my knowledge and talent
by continuing my further studies.
 Threat for me is the recession, outdated study material, competition in jobs.
Further, lifelong learning in personal and professional can be done by getting knowledge
from all those experiences and events which incurred in life. People can develop themselves by
getting involved in various conference and seminars as these seminars give vast knowledge on
specific topic (Fisher, 2003). People will build efficiency in speaking and will be motivated to
raise their voice whenever they will get a chance in near future. Further, internet, television,
social media have their own significance in individual life.
1.3 Benefits of self-managed learning to individual and organization
For individuals- Self managed learning has given me a lot of benefit and positive
energy. These learning have increased my decision making skills from past learning, personal
and professional experiences. Self-managed learning helps me to be aware of all the future
consequences and further it prepares me to overcome such issues in my life (Brown and Harvey,
2011). Further, it assists me in developing and effective communication which builds healthy
impression in a particular task.
For organization- In every organization, training is provided to employees but many
times firms do not get desired results even after making huge expenditures on such programs.
This happens due to absence of self-managed learning. As stated above, seminars and group
discussions will help me in working with teams in an organization. Working in a team leads to
success for an organization and also helps in meeting individual goals and objectives (Bunderson
and Boumgarden, 2010). Organization will have a further advantage because of my presentation
2

skills. By reading various articles and interacting with people on social media, a good amount of
confidence has been developed in me and this will assist me in giving better presentation for
whatever task and duties given to me within an organization.
4.1 Work based problem
Work pressure is the main problems which I am feeling that organization will have
wherever I will be working in the coming future. These problems are very genuine and it can be
identified in each and every business corporate. Work pressure is due to work load and it is a part
of each and every organization. Being an HR student, my aim is to work in a reputed hospitality.
There will be many work based problems relating to proper communication of department, ethics
of employees, training and development of inexperienced employees and high turnover rate of
HR department (Fink, 2013). Moreover, communication problem between various departments
occur due to lack of communication and group working skills. Problem might also occur in
sharing information as colleagues will not be having much experience and technical skills.
Training will help me to improve all major barriers and drawbacks which I will be facing
within the organization. Proper training will guide me to have knowledge about particular task
and duties. Work pressure will surely and steadily reduce as I will start having knowledge of the
work which is assigned to me. Proper qualification helps me to have knowledge of the field
which I will be going through (Developing social care: values and principles. 2005).
4.2 Learning styles which can be implemented to overcome the problems
To reduce the work pressure, different learning styles are implemented. Some of them are
as follows:
 Stress Management- Stress management consist of wide techniques which is aimed to
control a person level of stress in order to improve everyday functioning within
organization (Robbins and et.al., 2013). Stress management will help me to reduce the
level of tension and motivate me to accomplish the task efficiently within a given period.
 Transfer of work- To reduce the work pressure, there need to be a proper division of
work. Pressure is reduced when superior transfers some of their work to subordinates as
this will give some freedom to reduce the amount of work pressure.
Further, communication plays a crucial role in every business enterprise as without it no
organization can achieve its goals and objectives. Communication at different level is as follows:
3

 Strategic level- Communication at strategic level means to communicate with top level of
management in an organization. I will choose presentation method to express my ideas
and new techniques for the betterment and growth of hospitality (Gravill and Compeau,
2008). Tactic level- Communication at tactical level speaks about communicating to middle
level management in an organization as it includes line managers, functional managers
and various others. I will select mailing and intercom services in order to interact with
them as proper and brief communication is required to allocate works for subordinates
 Operational level- Operational level consists of lower level subordinates who are
considered as employees of company. In order to interact with them, I will opt seminar
method as a large mass of workers will be communicated at the same time. This is a
beneficiary process as it reduces the cost and will save time for organization.
4.3 Evaluating different time management strategies
Time management strategy for me will depend on my personality, ability and also on the
level of discipline (Le Deist and Winterton, 2005). In respect to it, some time management
strategies are as follows: By knowing how to spend time- By making a proper time log, it will help me to determine
how I am using my time. By identifying my time consuming activities, I can work on
them to improve my efficiency. By setting priorities- This plays a crucial role as priorities will help me to make a
distinction between what is important and what is urgent. One of the easiest methods to
set priorities for me is by making to-do lists. Scheduling- Scheduling of task will not only help me to record a task but it will also help
me to make a time commitment the things which I need to do. Healthy scheduling will be
done by planning most challenging task when I have my best of the energy to perform it.
 Delegation- Delegation is the most important technique for time management as this
gives responsibility to someone else to perform a task. I will delegate tasks by identifying
the skills of individuals so that they can perform that task in effective manner.
Setting priorities will be the best time management strategy for me as it will allocate me
to identify that which task is most important and which comes after that. Currently as a student,
4

setting priorities is helping me to accomplishing my routine task on time (Hass,
Abdolmohammadi and Burnaby, 2006). Further, if I become an HR manager of any hospitality
like Hilton or Marriott in the future, I will have lot of work load to manage employees and other
works. So setting priorities will help me to achieve my desired goals and objectives.
TASK 2
2.1 Evaluate own current skills and competencies against professional standards
I have to seek employment in Hilton hotel after completion my post-graduation. In order
to acquire position in the cited hospitality firm, I must have good time leadership, time
management and communication skills (Top 6 Hospitality skills. 2013). All these skills will help
in attaining the aim and objectives of the Hilton. Skills which require working at Hilton are: Customer Service- Effective customer service means sending customers happy without
any complaints and grievance. Languages- Customers in hotel comes from different demographic areas and have
different regional languages. Therefore, to communicate with guests in different language
requires a priceless skill. Communication skills- Interacting with customers and addressing their needs is relatively
important. Financial management- Employees must have better understanding of cash flow,
profitability and tax liabilities (Sachs and McArthur, 2005). Cultural awareness- This is important in order to interact with customers who belong
from different cultures. Industry understanding- One who belongs to a billion dollar industries must have
knowledge of their latest trends and news.
 Information Technology (IT)- To maintain record of employees, their attendance and for
the calculation of performance appraisal IT plays a significant role.
The above stated are the professional standards and organization objectives. In relation to
it, if I try to find out what is the best quality in me than I will say that I have better knowledge of
customer service, communication skills and cultural awareness (Whetten, 2005). Along with it, I
have some additional skills which are as follows:
 Good writing skills
5

 Researching skills
 Leadership skills Team building skills
Curriculum Vitae
Name- Paul Walter
Email- [e-mail]
Mobile- 04425489541
Profile
I am an early academic student and have interest in Human resource management. I am quite
hard working and dedicated towards my goals and objectives.
Career objective
 To make a sound position in corporate world and work enthusiastically in team to achieve
goal of the organization/MNC with devotion and hard work.
 To succeed in an environment of growth and excellence and earn a job which provides
me job Satisfaction and self-development and help me achieve personal as well as
organization goals.
Education and Qualification
MBA in HR (University of Manchester)- 2015 to current
Modules include- Role of HR, Recruitment and Selection process, Ways to motivating
employees, Strategic management
BBM (University of Liverpool)
Modules include- Basic management theories and models, ways to retain employees
High school from Aberdeen Public School, London.
Skills Profile
Leadership
Having leadership skills for taking my team in order to achieve desired goals and objectives. In
my captaincy for cricket team, our college has won number of medals and trophies
Motivated and Ambitious
6

 I am very ambitious to achieve my desired goals and can perform well even in high
pressure environments.
 I always had a part-time job along with my studies; this job gave me stability and
maturity to develop myself and also my skills.
2.2 Identifying own development needs and activities required to meet them
For working in Hilton, I have to adopt some strategies for my personal and professional
life. I do have better communication, customer’s service and leadership skills but I don't have
knowledge of different languages, industrial undertaking and financial management. To
overcome industrial undertaking, I have to read more of the books and newspapers like The
Times, Guardian etc. I will further refer Hospitality website and access the data which will be of
my use (Robertson and Robertson, 2012). For understanding different languages, I will prefer
watching respective movies and news in that language only as it will give me a hint of idea that
what they are talking about. Slowly and steadily I will be able to improve my understanding
power for a particular language. Moreover, I will read books and join language classes to have a
proper fluency and command over language.
For the financial management, I will read books on certain topic which will help me to
have an idea about all the accounting ratios and standards. Further, statistics on corporate website
will help me to have an idea about what amount of profits corporate have inured (Cook, Khan
and Pickett, 2006). By having continuous practice on financial management and accounting, I
will overcome this problem.
2.3 Development opportunities required to meet both current and future needs
In order to make career in hospitality and to meet current and future needs there exists lot
of development opportunities. Some important sources are stated below:
 Books- Books are the physical source of extending knowledge and as stated above, I will
focus on improving all the prior areas in which I am lacking i.e. financial management,
languages and industrial undertakings. Internet- With the use of internet, I will get the vast amount of knowledge regarding
each and everything. Further, with the help of it, I will come to keno about the policies
and strategies opted by competitors so that Hilton can overcome and achieve its goals and
7

objectives (Kenny, 2006). Further, I will get the exact and accurate amount of secondary
data from corporate websites.
 Institutions- There are many institutions who give coaching for financial management,
language learning. During training session, I come to know about practical applications
and also various kinds of calculations that are done in financial models.
2.4 Developing Personal Development Plan to achieve goals
Learning
Objective/
Goal
Current
Proficiency
Skills That Are
To Developed
Available
Opportunities
Criteria For
Judging
Skill Dev.
Time
Scale
Languages English Regional,
German and
French
Through books,
coaching classes
and internet
Language test,
Oral
communication,
Written Test
8
Months
Financial
management
No
Proficiency
Basic finance,
Ratios,
Accounting
Coaching classes,
Financial seminars
and with help of
mentor
Written test,
performance
feedback,
3
months
Industry
understanding
Up to some
extent
Knowledge of
hospitality
background and
profile
Internet, Journals,
Companies annual
reports
Oral
communication,
performance
feedback
6
months
Information
Technology
(IT)
Basic
internet
Recording
attendance,
record of
employee's
Coaching classes,
Books,
Practical Test 1 month
3.1 Short term and long term objectives to implement the development plan
When we develop and implement a plan we need to follow planning process that will
helping in achieving good results. Financial management and IT is the short term objectives
which will be achieved in a given period as mentioned above. Financial management requires
basic knowledge which will be gained within a specific time period (Brinkerhoff, 2006).
8

Through proper coaching classes, financial seminars will help me to gain perspective knowledge
on specific topics. Along with it, IT knowledge is quite simple and skills like attendance
recording, performance appraisal of employees will be achieve through the use of internet and
books.
However, Long term objectives consist of learning of different languages and industry
understanding and it will require more of the time as compared to short term objectives. These
objectives will be achieved through oral communication and written test (Goh, 2008).
3.2 Documenting planned activities
The issues which I'm facing are stated above and to overcome these some goals is been
prepared:
 Attending every class- I have attend each and every class for all the problems. If one
class is skipped due to any certainty that whole of the flow get broken.
 Preparing Self notes- I have prepare short notes for each topic and for all the issues so
that it can be convenient for me to revise the topic in a summary way.
 Smart Class- I have not keep my study up to the class as I revised and search more on
the topic with the help of internet so that I can get deep knowledge for a particular topic
(Tyler, 2013).
3.3 Discussing own learning against the aims and objectives included in PDP
The issues which I was facing earlier have been overcome up to a great extent. Through
proper coaching and guidance, I have gained sufficient knowledge of IT and various languages
(Saunders, Evans and Joshi, 2005). This language learning has helped me to have a healthy
interaction with customers without any barrier which comes to hotel. With continuous use of
internet and by understanding each and every concept, I have attained a healthy knowledge of
recording attendance and calculating performance appraisal. Further, financial knowledge have
made easy for me to calculate the payrolls and incentives for employees. Along with it, knowing
industry trend will help me and hospitality to get ahead of competitors firm. I have also come to
know by feedback from mentor that there is also a need to develop building connection skills and
multi-tasking people in hotel line as success in hospitality management jobs depends a great deal
on a person's ability in order to make positive connections with clients, guests, vendors, and even
other employees (Draganidis and Mentzas, 2006).
9

3.4 Updating PDP based on evaluation and feedback.
Learning
Objective/
Goal
Current
Proficiency
Skills That Are
To Developed
Available
Opportunities
Criteria For
Judging
Skill Dev.
Time
Scale
Financial
management
NO Basic finance,
Ratios,
Accounting
Coaching classes,
Financial seminars
and with help of
mentor
Written test,
performance
feedback,
1 month
Industry
understanding
Up to some
extent
Knowledge of
hospitality
background and
profile
Internet, Journals,
Companies annual
reports
Oral
communication,
performance
feedback
2
months
Multi tasking Upto some
extent
To take
multiple
responsibilities,
able to take
work load
Coaching, under
practice of
successful HR
Implementing
practice,
performance
feedback
4
months
Flexibility NO Able to respond
hospitality need
at any part of
the day
Coaching, under
practice of
successful HR
Performance
feedback,
practical
implications
2
months
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that self-managed learning is imperative for
personal and professional development of every person. In order to develop professionally,
individual have to do proper planning in respect of education and career. In the absence of
planning person will not be able to take effective decision that might affect his/her future.
Further, this report is evident of mentioning time management strategies in order to keep
discipline and timely completion of work.
10