Professional Identity and Practice Report: Skills Enhancement

This report delves into the realm of professional identity and practice, emphasizing the development of essential skills and competencies for specific job roles. It begins with an overview of Four Points by Sheraton, highlighting the benefits of ongoing professional development for both employees and employers. The report outlines the expectations for an Operation Manager, focusing on skills like planning, communication, leadership, and time management. It then provides a self-assessment of the author's strengths and weaknesses, followed by a discussion of learning theories such as Bloom’s Taxonomy and Social Learning Theory. The core of the report is a detailed professional development plan designed to enhance skills relevant to an Operation Manager role, addressing areas like decision-making, technological knowledge, industry insight, and time management. The plan includes strategies for improvement and timelines for achieving goals. Finally, the report touches on the importance of an effective interview process.

PROFESSIONAL
IDENTITY AND
PRACTICE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Company overview......................................................................................................................3
Determine the key benefits of ongoing professional development.............................................4
Determine professional employer expectations of skills for desired job role.............................5
Evaluate own skills, abilities and competencies or precise job role............................................6
Define range of learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development..7
Create development plan for skill enhancement..........................................................................8
Design and undertake job interview of chosen service industry...............................................11
Identify the strengths and weakness of applied interview process............................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity and practice is an approach of developing individual’s knowledge
skills and core competencies for specific job role. The approach of professional identity and
practice is a process of continuous development which can lead to personal and professional
development (Aagaard and et.al, 2017). There are rapid changes in the marketplace for which
individual must have advanced skills and knowledge for performing specific job roles and
responsibilities in this changing dynamic business environment which can be done through
following a personal and professional development plan for achieving required professional
identity. The prime components of personal and professional development are goal orientation,
professional socialization, mentoring, critical thinking, experience and perception. The approach
of professional identity supports in identifying the professional self-concept and involves various
factors which are motives, attributes, experience and believes (Barbara-i-Molinero and et.al,
2017). Four Points by Sheraton is a multinational hotel chain which is operated by Marriot
International. The hotel was founded in the year 1995 and is operating worldwide. The report
aims to define the advantages of professional development that can enhance the skills and
competencies of an individual for performing a specific job roles and responsibilities through
which they can effectively meet all organisational goals and objectives. The report revolves
around various learning theories which can help in improving and shaping career and create a
personal development plan and strategies for skill enhancements. The project defines the
interview process within a hospitality industry and the strength and weakness of interview
process.
TASK
Company overview
Four Point by Sheraton is a multinational hotel chain which is operated by its parent
company Marriot International and the company was established in the year 1995. The company
use digital application Marriot Bonvoy through which the customers can book for stays. The
hotel chain offers various facilities and amenities, such as Wi-Fi, workspaces, free gym, pool and
their facilities that can help the hotel in meeting the demands of customers and deliver quality
customer experience. The multinational hotel focus on clean standards and delivering effective

services to the customers through which they can meet the requirements of their customers and
gain competitive advantage and maintain their brand image in the industry.
Determine the key benefits of ongoing professional development
Professional development is the process of learning, developing and improving skills for
meeting the needs and shaping career. This process offers opportunity to learn, gain knowledge,
apply new skills which can be helpful and effective for performing the assigned job roles and
responsibilities. There are several benefits of ongoing professional development, some of the
benefits are listed below:
Benefits for employees
 Increased confidence and credibility- The ongoing professional development process
helps to increase confidence and credibility of employees which supports them in
participating in all managerial activities ad meet organisational objectives (Best and
Williams, 2019). Such development process helps individual in enhancing their
confidence and credibility which lead to better career growth and opportunities.
 Improved efficiency- Personal and professional development helps in improving
performance and efficiency for performing the assigned job roles and responsibilities.
The approach of personal professional development ensures that all activities are
performed effectively and increases the efficiency of the employees.
 Keep skills up-to-date- The process of personal and professional development helps an
employee in keeping their skills up to date which supports them in regularly performing
the assigned activities and job roles effectively and efficiently that can meet performance
standard and help employee in facing regular challenges of dynamic business
environment.
Benefits for employer
 Increased engagement and retention- The personal and professional development
process helps in increasing employee engagement and retention by continuously
monitoring their performance and providing necessary training that can help them in
performing the daily activities and keep employees motivated (Bimrose and Brown,

2019). Such approach helps in enhancing employee performance which ultimately leads
to increased employee engagement and retention.
 Increased commitment and staff morale- The process of personal and professional
development helps in boosting employee morale and increases the commitment towards
the job by offering personal and professional development opportunities that can help
them in tapping career and personal growth opportunities.
 Effective brand image- The technique of professional development helps in developing
the skills, knowledge and competencies of employees which is responsible for improving
the brand image and organisational goodwill in the industry.
Determine professional employer expectations of skills for desired job role
In this report, the chosen hotel is Four Season by Sheraton Hotel and the job role is of
OPERATION MANAGER. As an Operating Manager, there are several skills, knowledge and
competencies which are required to perform the daily activities effectively, some of these
expected skills and knowledge are listed underneath:
 Effective planning- For being an Operational Manager, candidate must be able to
effectively plan daily activities of the business which will ensure innovative approaches
are used for performing roles and responsibilities and productivity of the business can be
enhanced (Binyamin, 2018).
 Delegating- As an Operation Manager, the candidate must be visionary and able to
understand and delegate all roles and responsibility to their subordinates which will help
them in completing all work on time and ensure organisational productivity and
profitability.
 Effective communication and active listening- As an Operation Manager, another
important skill is effective communication and active listening which helps in
understanding customers and colleagues and emphasis on sharing all valuable
information that can meet the demand of customer and effective management of staff
which will eventually help in increasing profitability of business.
 Leadership- Operation Manager must be able to lead and guide the whole team which
will help in making progress towards achievement of organisational objectives and
enhancing the performance and productivity of business (Chu, 2019). With effective

leadership of an Operation Manager, this skill will help in maintaining positive working
culture and face challenges in this dynamic business environment by maintaining a
competitive position in the industry.
 Time management- As an Operation Manager, the candidate must be able to manage all
activities in timely manner and make sure that the functioning and regular operation of
the hotel are performed in planned time period.
Evaluate own skills, abilities and competencies or precise job role
As mentioned above, I want to become Operation Manager and for that various skills are
required, to meet those skills set and knowledge, I focused on identifying the skills, core
competencies and weakness through which I can further create development pan for improving
required skill set ad weakness (James, 2017). By continuously monitoring and self-assessment,
some of the skills and short comings are identified and are discussed below:
STRENGTHS
 Effective planning- The ability to plan all activities effectively has been a strength which
helped in planning all activities effectively and creating an innovative layout which will
be performed by the business that can enhance organisational competency and
productivity.
 Effective communication- Effective communication has been a strength, as the ability to
communicate effectively helped in creating cordial relation and sharing all information
that can help in achieving objectives. With the help of effective two-way communication,
this helped in sharing and understanding others and delivering the right message on right
time.
 Active listening- Active listening has been another skill and strength which has helped
me in understanding and observing closely. This strength has helped me in understanding
others point of view accurately and gain better insight of the information which has been
shared.
 Self-motivated- Being self-motivated has been a strength and core competency which
encouraged me and encouraged me in being optimistic and having a positive outlook
towards situations.
WEAKNESS

 Poor decision making- The inability to form decisions has been one of the weakness
which affected the overall performance and opportunities.
 Insufficient technological knowledge- Due to lack of technical knowledge, this has
shattered many career growth opportunities and was one of the motivating factor while
performing the job role and responsibilities.
 Lack of industry insight- Due to lack of industry insight, this has been a barrier in
understanding the changing business environment and affected the overall performance
and commercial awareness which might lead to inability to identify risk and threats.
 Poor time management- Lack of time management has been another weakness which
affected the ability to perform all activities within time and lead to delays and inability to
meet targets.
Define range of learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development
The professional development process is a method for enhancing one's occupational
position. The professional development plan includes making decisions to facilitate long-term
learning that is linked with an individual's career and professional goals (Nickel and Zimmer,
2019). Learning may take place in a variety of ways, each of which incorporates different
theories, ideologies, and models that may help a person improve their skills, knowledge, and
competences. Some of these personal and professional learning theories are covered below:
 Bloom’s Taxonomy- Benjamin Bloom presented this learning theory in his theoretical
framework for learning. Bloom's Taxonomy divides learning into three categories:
cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor. Bloom's Taxonomy's cognitive domain is
concerned with a subject's knowledge, critical thinking, and comprehension. This domain
focuses on and handles awareness, enhancing emotions, feelings, and attitudes, and the
affective element specifies how individuals emotionally respond and immerse themselves
at the behavior level. Bloom's Taxonomy's psychomotor domain is centered on skill-
based learning, which includes the capacity to operate or affect tools such as a hand or a
hammer. The psychomotor domain is primarily concerned with behavior and skill
development.
 Social Learning Theory- The social learning theory was given by Albert Bandura during
the first half of 20th century. This theory is a learning process which emphasis that new

behavior can be acquired by observing others (Schaible, 2018). The theory also explains
human behavior in terms of reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral and
environmental factors. The social learning theory highlight the importance of observing,
imitating the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reaction of others. In this theory,
environmental as well as cognitive factors are considered valuable which influence the
behavior and learning of humans. The four principles of social learning theory involve-
attention and focus matter, retention on deep context, reproduction occurs on demand and
motivation can be intrinsic as well as extrinsic.
Create development plan for skill enhancement
Professional development plan is an individual development plan which documents
career goals and define strategies which can help an individual in meeting the objectives and
enhancing the required skill set (Sharpless and et.al, 2015). The personal and professional
development helps to achieve career helps and identify the necessary skills and resources to
making improvements.
Development plan for enhancing skills for Operation Manager at Four Season by Sheraton
Hotel
The professional development plan for working as an Operation Manager in Four
Seasons by Sheraton Hotel is explained below:
SKILLS CURRENT
LEVEL
EXPECED
LEVEL
STRATEGY ANALYSIS TIME
BOUND
Poor decision
making
2 7 Understanding
the pros and
cons of each
situation and
by learning
from
experiences
and
entertaining
doubts will be
This can be
measured by
analyzing the
decision
making
ability and
decisions
which has
been formed
earlier before
3 months

a helpful
approach for
enhancing
decision
making skills
(Tomlinson
and Jackson,
2019). By
understanding
the context,
experimenting,
being
skeptical,
understanding
the perspective
will be helpful
approach for
forming
decisions
effectively.
practicing
such
strategies.
The growth
of
development
in decision
making will
be identified
by the new
decisions
which has
been formed.
Insufficient
technological
knowledge
3 9 By enrolling
into online
courses or
offline courses
and gathering
knowledge
will be an
effective
approach for
enhancing and
improving
This can be
measured
through
identifying
the ability to
use the
technology.
With the help
of online and
offline
courses and
1 year

technological
knowledge
(Tracey and
Hutchinson,
2018).
degrees, the
ability to use
advanced
technology
can be
enhanced and
it will depict
the
development
growth.
Lack of
industry
insight
1 8 By regularly
monitoring the
changing
business
environment,
using social
media
platforms,
connecting
with others
and involving
in discussions
by sharing
own point of
will also help
in improving
commercial
awareness and
industry
insight
(Vokatis and
This can be
analyzed
through
identifying
the level of
awareness
which has
been
increased by
gathering
knowledge
from
different
portals and
sites.
6 months

Zhang, 2016).
Poor time
management
2 6 By regularly
planning out
every day,
prioritizing
daily, weekly,
monthly task,
using a timer,
removing
distractions
and by using
time
management
tools will be
an helpful
approach for
improving the
time
management
skills (Wald
and et.al,
2019).
This can be
measured
through
identifying
and
observing the
change in
timely
completion
of activities
and ability to
meet the
targets within
time.
4 months
Design and undertake job interview of chosen service industry
Four Season by Sheraton Hotel must recruit most competent candidate who will be able
to understand the roles and responsibilities which needs to be performed by the on daily basis
and meet all performance standards that can help in achieving the organisational objectives
effectively. As there are many departments which needs to be managed, the candidate must be
responsible to plan and strategize all activities of hotel that can improve performance and
productivity of business and maintain the competitive position in the industry (Wiles, 2017).
There are a set of questions which will be asked in the interview process of Four Season by

Sheraton Hotel to recruit the most desirable and potential candidate for the position of Operation
Manager, some of the questions which are asked in the interview process are discussed below:
1. What traits and talents make you a viable candidate for an Operation Manager
position with the Four Season by Sheraton Hotel?
I have been working with Hotel Ritz for 3 years as an Operation Manager, I can
handle all operational activities of the business. As an Operation Manager, I will focus on
ensuring effective cooperation, in forming strategies that can enhance the business
position of Four Season by Sheraton Hotel in the hospitality industry. For the job role of
Operation Manager in Four Season by Sheraton Hotel, I am desirable candidate as I will
ensure that all objectives are meet time and will always keep employees motivated by
which they can perform their best for improving the goodwill of the business in the
industry and will also focus on building and maintaining good interpersonal relations
with customers which will help in attracting more customers, retaining more loyal and
potential customers, generate higher revenues and maximize profitability of business.
2. What are the main tasks and functions of an Operation Manager in the hotel
industry?
As an Operation Manager, I will focus on maintaining effective collaboration and
cooperation within the whole team and maintain a cordial relation with internal and
external guests. I will focus on short, medium and long term goals which needs to be
accomplished on time. As an Operation Manager, I will prepare the annual budget and
forecast monthly processes that can manage the finances of the business and will co-
ordinate with all departments by which all operations of the whole business can be
effectively executed and conduct regular operation, organize team meeting which will
help in analyzing the progress towards goal achievement and business position in the
industry that can help in forming strategies which are essential for maximizing
profitability of business.
3. How do you delegate work to employees?
I will choose the right person for the job by understanding employee strengths,
weakness and their preferences which will help in enhancing collaboration and
performing all activities effectively. I also focus on providing required resources in
trainings and right instructions which will help them in performing the delegated roles