Pre-Placement Evaluation Report: IHG Placement and Career Development

This report provides a comprehensive pre-placement evaluation, focusing on a student's self-assessment of skills and abilities, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. It analyzes potential placement opportunities within InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), detailing the company's structure, culture, and the nature of the internship. The report further evaluates organizational structures such as functional, divisional, and matrix structures, and how they apply to IHG. Additionally, it examines management practices through the lens of classical management theory, human relations theory, and contingency management theory, assessing their impact on the organization and employee satisfaction. The student also identifies special support requirements and preferences, and evaluates their personality traits, concluding with an overview of the career path associated with the work placement, making it a useful resource for students preparing for similar placements.

PRE-PLACEMENT
EVALUATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Student Self Evaluation..........................................................................................................1
Evaluation of Potential Placement Opportunities...................................................................3
Evaluation of Career Path in Work Placement.......................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Pre-placement Evaluation refers to all the procedures, efforts and methods that are
required to identify that whether an individual is capable enough for a corporate position or not
(Jackson, 2017). The aspect is really crucial for individuals to perform in order to determine their
current competencies, as well as identify the aspects that are yet to be improvised for their
desired job role. Thus, in context to this, the report below is based on InterContinental Hotels
Group, which is one of the most recognised hospitality organisations within the United
Kingdom. The assignment covers a self evaluation of current skills and knowledge, along with
evaluation of potential placement opportunities. Furthermore, the report is also inclusive of
determination of the career path for work placement.
MAIN BODY
Student Self Evaluation
For a crucial placement in future, it is quite imperative to indulge in self evaluation to
identify the core competencies that is required for effective placement in future. In addition to
this, it would also help me in evaluate my overall personality based on certain goals and career
aspirations. Hence, in regards to this, my self evaluation is performed as under:
Abilities and Achievements to Date
I believe I possess several abilities in academic and professional contexts which would
allow me to cease several opportunities based on the placements. Along with this, there are
several valuable achievements that have been gained by me and could help me in future growth
in an effective manner. Hence, listed under are my abilities and certain achievements to date:
One of the most appropriate capabilities which I possess is in regards to communication.
These cover both the verbal, as well as written communication skills. As for the former, I make
sure that my speech is clear and is understood by each individual with whom I am conversing.
Moreover, I tend to have a good command over the language and effective public speaking
ability. On the other hand, I have been provided positive feedbacks regarding my written
communication skills, as per which, my reports and other documents contain desired structure,
professional dialect and continuous flow which keeps individuals engaged throughout.
Another ability which is possessed by me is related to teamwork. I find it very easy and
convenient to work with a group of individuals in a collective manner and deliver, as well as
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acquire instructions towards the goal that is to be accomplished. Furthermore, I am effective in
sharing my resources, knowledge and expertise to help each member of the group to achieve
their targets as per the requirement and stipulated time period.
Problem Solving is another effective ability. Within my academic experience, I came
across a range of complex scenarios, which required me to adapt to the problem and indulge into
practices which are necessary to solve the problem. In context to this, I was quite effective in
showcasing appropriate abilities when such situations needed to be dealt with through applying
critical thinking, along with creativity and innovation.
Discipline and Work Related Preferences
There are certain preferences in context of work, which in my opinion are very crucial to
be determined to understand personal requirements of an individual towards the work they would
like to perform (Jones and Ryan, 2014). Therefore, my discipline and work related preferences
are listed as under:
One of my major Discipline-related Preferences in is linked towards appropriate
cooperation within the organisation from the seniors. Furthermore, I would also prefer working
in an organisation which is ethical in relation to employees and the benefits and remunerations
provided to them.
In relation to work-related preferences, my preference is inclined towards opportunities
which allow me to furnish my skills and competencies for better professional prosperity.
Another work related preference which I seek in my future organisation is that it must
enable me to apply several principle and practices of leadership and management to make me
more competent in future.
Special Support Requirements
Each individual requires appropriate and necessary support from their respective
company in order to ensure timely and effective growth and fulfilment of personal and
professional expectations in an effective manner (Moulding, Stewart and Dunmeyer, 2014). In
my case, there are specific support requirements which I would be expecting my company to
fulfil:
The very first requirement in regards to support is associated with opportunities for training
and development. I believe each individual is different in terms of competence and hence, must
be given effective training to ensure that the desired performance standard as per different hob
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roles could be enhanced. Hence, in context of improvising my performance level, I would
require training and development activities to take place within the organisation.
Feedbacks are another requirement that I wish the company to fulfil to support my progress.
This would allow me to ensure a structured approach towards enhancing my weaker skills, which
would support me throughout my progress.
Personality Evaluation
Individuals who seek career opportunities and effective placements are required to
evaluate their overall personality for organisations to understand the kind of employee the person
could be. Moreover, by self evaluation, people could also get an insight on how well they could
manage themselves within the organisation. Hence, in my relation, I believe that I am rather
outgoing, as I keep my opinions upfront, as well as I tend to get along with changes and different
people really well due to my extrovert nature. Furthermore, in relation to dependency, I am very
much independent, which could be used as strength for me to individually manage my own work
and not be dependent upon other people or resources (Koulafetis, 2017).
Evaluation of Potential Placement Opportunities
Placement Provider / Host Institution
InterContinental Hotels Group is a hospitality organisation within the United Kingdom,
which also has a presence worldwide. The mission of the company is to become one of the
greatest companies in the world by creating hotels and services which are loved by customers. In
terms of industry, its scope is very wide, considering the fact that there are various departments
such as marketing, housekeeping, front desk, maintenance, customer service, management and so
forth that need diverse individuals with high skill set for effective performance daily. In relation
to the firm, the company is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom and have more
than 5,000 hotels worldwide (Hascher and Hagenauer, 2016).
The company keeps on recruiting young and fresh minds for different positions within the
firm. Moreover, its management department is the one which seeks out creative individuals who
give a contemporary approach to management in an appropriate manner. Hence, the nature of
placement work is most likely to be positive within the company.
While on placement, the student would be a management intern who would be working
under the Asst Manager of the firm. Moreover, he would be responsible towards handling few
employees from each department and would be reporting the same to his seniors on daily basis.
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InterContinental Hotels Group is very particular in providing training opportunity to each of
its staff. Hence, for the student, they will be providing an induction for them to learn about the
work and nature of the company. Moreover, regular training and daily briefings would also be a
prominent part of the internship. To teach the student about management and handling staff,
computing facilities and different software would be subjected towards the same.
The culture of the company is very much supportive to the student as individuals, as a
progressive mindset is supported and promoted within the company where individuals tend to
collectively work towards accomplishing the firm’s tasks, which involves both personal and
professional growth and satisfaction (Moos and Pitton, 2014).
Evaluation of Organisational Structure
Within an organisation, there are different types of organisational structures that are
adopted by the company as per their nature of work and objectives. The structure of the company
promotes its operations, as well as supports the individuals towards working as per a set
framework towards achievement of goals and objectives. Some of these are explained below:
The very first organisational structure that is being analysed is Functional Structure in
which, the company is very much divided into smaller parts in relation to specific roles and
tasks. Moreover, each department within the firm has a manager, who is responsible for
reporting to the higher executives. One of the most appropriate merits of this structure is that the
departments within the company are formed as per the skill set, which is beneficial for enhancing
the performance effectively.
Divisional Structure is another organisational structure adopted by companies and is the one
in which, each division of the firm operates like one corporation itself, which is responsible for
managing its resources and getting the business going. Moreover, these each operation within the
company is handled separately in the divisional headquarters, with one person leading the whole
division. This allows the organisation to ensure flexibility in operations, along with appropriate
reporting (Katz, and et. al., 2014).
In addition to the above organisational structures, Matrix Structures is an effective blend of
the divisional, as well as functional structure. Within the same, situation plays an appropriate and
effective role whole deciding that which structure would be formulated by the company.
Basically, this structure focuses on the reporting element where it depends that whether the
employees would report to a single boss or multiple. A merit associated with this structure is that
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the knowledge and resources could appropriately and flexibly be shared across the organisation
depending on the need.
In relation to InterContinental Hotels Group, out of all these structures, the company adopts
functional structures in all its hotels. The reason is that departments are very well structured and
segregated from one another which allow proper communication and better output at daily basis.
The benefit associated with this structure for the individual is that after being newly exposed to
the work and professional life, the person would be working in a sequential and structured
manner, which would be convenient (Rigi, and et. al., 2017).
Management Practice within Work Placement
For an organisation which is related to providing placements, it is necessary that the
management practice of the same is effectively evaluated. For this purpose, there are several
theories whose impact is very important to be analysed within the current practices of this
organisation. Therefore, some of these practices and their possible impacts are discussed as
under:
One of the most prominent management theories is Classical Management Theory
which is based on the notion that all the individuals working within the company just possess
physical needs such as money, food and shelter. Hence, this theory emphasises on the economics
of management and organisations of workers. There are certain principles which this theory
works upon, such as maximisation of profit, productivity enhancement, streamlining of
operations and so forth. Therefore, it completely ignores the social requirements of individuals.
The impact this would be having on management practices of InterContinental Hotels Group is
that it would be generating less employee satisfaction and ineffective retention of the individuals
who would be joining the firm after their placements (Allen and Wright, 2014).
As the name suggests, another management theory is the human relations theory is
completely based on the employees and workforce within the organisation. It works on the
notion that in order to improve the performance standards of employees, it is necessary that
proper attention has been given to their needs. Hence, this would be having positive impact on
the management practices of InterContinental Hotels Group as the social needs, such as
collectiveness, working conditions, motivations and so forth would be engaging employees in an
appropriate manner.
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Contingency management theory is another theory in which, the belief that is supported is
related to the aspect that there is no definite style or approach that could be adopted towards
management and it is majorly dependent on several internal and external factors that which
approach would be adopted by the company. This theory determines three basic factors that
influence management, which is the firm’s size, technology that is being used within, as well as
the leadership style. The most appropriate benefit from this theory to any organisation is that it
provides them flexibility, as well as effective modification and adaptation towards the changes
that are currently taking place within the business environment (Alushi, Hammond and Wood,
2015).
In relation to InterContinental Hotels Group, its current management practices are supported
by Contingency Management Theory, as the firm has a flexible structure and transformational
leadership that enables the company to introduce and embed change within the organisation.
Moreover, its current management practices are dependent upon the expertise level of employees
and are flexible enough according to the situation and hence, Contingency Management Theory
suits best to InterContinental Hotels Group.
Evaluation of Career Path in Work Placement
As per the above self evaluation and company analysis, I believe that the best career path
for me within the work placement would be that of a management intern, as my skills are very
much relevant towards handling resources and people and InterContinental Hotels Group would
provide me a head start in my future career prospects (Mahadevan, 2015).
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the report above that pre-placement evaluation is very crucial
and important for individuals to gain an insight about their capabilities and effectiveness
according to the desirable job roles. The self evaluation is necessary to be undertaken on the
basis of abilities, previous experience, working preferences and overall personality, to reflect the
overall effectiveness of a person towards placements. Furthermore, apart from the student, it is
also necessary to evaluate the desired workplace on basis of its scope, nature, culture, structure
and management using several theories of management such as Classical, Behavioural, Human
Resources and Contingency Theory. Lastly, evaluation career path of individual within the
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organisation ensures appropriate alignment of professional choice with personal capabilities for
future growth and prosperity.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Allen, J.M. and Wright, S.E., 2014. Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher
education practicum. Teachers and Teaching. 20(2). pp.136-151.
Alushi, L., Hammond, J.A. and Wood, J.H., 2015. Evaluation of dementia education programs
for pre-registration healthcare students—a review of the literature. Nurse Education
Today. 35(9). pp.992-998.
Hascher, T. and Hagenauer, G., 2016. Openness to theory and its importance for pre-service
teachers’ self-efficacy, emotions, and classroom behaviour in the teaching
practicum. International Journal of Educational Research. 77. pp.15-25.
Jackson, D., 2017. Developing pre-professional identity in undergraduates through work-
integrated learning. Higher Education. 74(5). pp.833-853.
Jones, M. and Ryan, J., 2014. Learning in the practicum: Engaging pre-service teachers in
reflective practice in the online space. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. 42(2).
pp.132-146.
Katz, E., and et. al., 2014. Illuminating students’ pre-practicum conceptual and emotional states:
Implications for field education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work. 34(1). pp.96-108.
Koulafetis, P., 2017. Modern Credit Risk Management: Theory and Practice. Springer.
Mahadevan, B., 2015. Operations management: Theory and practice. Pearson Education India.
Moos, D.C. and Pitton, D., 2014. Student teacher challenges: Using the cognitive load theory as
an explanatory lens. Teaching Education. 25(2). pp.127-141.
Moulding, L.R., Stewart, P.W. and Dunmeyer, M.L., 2014. Pre-service teachers' sense of
efficacy: Relationship to academic ability, student teaching placement characteristics, and
mentor support. Teaching and teacher education. 41. pp.60-66.
Rigi, M., and et. al., 2017. Evaluation and management of the swollen optic disk in cryptococcal
meningitis. Survey of ophthalmology. 62(2). pp.150-160.
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