Professional Identity Development: A Hilton Hotel Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report details a professional development plan for a Hilton Hotel receptionist.

PROFESSIONAL
IDENTITY
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
LO 1................................................................................................................................................ 4
P1 EXAMINATION OF BENEFITS OF ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR DIFFERENT
STAKEHOLDERS AT HILTON HOTEL............................................................................................4
P2 INVESTIGATION OF PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER EXPECTATION OF SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES WITHIN HILTON HOTEL....................................................................................5
M1 EVALUATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ON-GOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND
THE ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIREMENT IN HILTON HOTEL..............................7
LO2.................................................................................................................................................8
P3 ASSESSMENT OF OWN ABILITIES, COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS NEEDED FOR A
RECEPTIONIST ROLE AT HILTON HOTEL.....................................................................................8
P4 REVIEWING A RANGE OF LEARNING THEORIES AND APPROACHES FOR PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS................................................................................10
M3 EVALUATION OF OWN SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AND THE MOST APPROPRIATE
DEVELOPMENT APPROACH TO DEVELOP PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR A
RECEPTIONIST.......................................................................................................................... 12
LO3............................................................................................................................................... 13
P3 CONSTRUCT A DEVELOPMENT PLAN TO ENHANCE CHOSEN SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
WITHIN A SPECIFIC WORK CONTEXT........................................................................................13
M3 PROVIDE A DETAILED DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT APPLIES UNDERPINNING LEARNING
AND DEVELOPMENT THEORY, IN A SPECIFIC WORK CONTEXT................................................15
LO4............................................................................................................................................... 19
P6 UNDERTAKE A JOB INTERVIEW FOR A SUITABLE SERVICE INDUSTRY ROLE........................19
P7 REVIEW KEY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF AN APPLIED INTERVIEW PROCESS..............21
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M4 EVALUATE A JOB INTERVIEW PROCESS AND THE OBSTACLES AND CHALLENGES TO
OVERCOME.............................................................................................................................. 23
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 25
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................26
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INTRODUCTION
This assignment is based on developing professional skills that will beneficial for both the
employer and employee. Professional identity is the main aspect from a career point of view;
everyone needs to develop their identity so here the study will take place with the learning
about how to develop these professional skills, how to prepare to apply for a job and how to
prepare for interviews in a professional manner so as to get selected as an employee. Here the
industry chosen is hospitality industry where the chosen hotel is the Hilton hotel. Hilton hotels
and resorts is a multinational brand that is famous for its resorts and hospitality services to
both business and tourist travellers, this brand is one of the largest brands in the world. The
skills that are needed to be developed to get a job in Hilton are discussed in this assignment.
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LO 1
P1 EXAMINATION OF BENEFITS OF ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR
DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS AT HILTON HOTEL
Professional identity is the theory that how we identify or see ourselves in an occupational
sense and how we communicate it with others. One needs to learn how to develop professional
skills in order to find employment. Professional development includes identifying your strength
and weakness, the core skills required for a job and developing those skills within you. At Hilton
hotel, there is a requirement of only professional staff as the hotel is a big brand which has a
global presence in six continents and in more than 550 locations, so the employees need to
develop themselves professionally to sustain their employment at this hotel.
Decrease employee turnover- An employee who is given chance to develop professionally
within Hilton to develops his skills personally and professionally which motivates him to remain
within the organisation, decreasing the ratio of leaving staff from the organisation (Nadiri and
Tanova, 2010).
Motivation and Confidence booster- Through on-going development of employees most of the
problems are solved with ease. Hilton hotel makes employees learn new things that help them
in achieving their work targets; this automatically boosts up the confidence of employees and
motivates them to perform better.
Productivity- Training and development of skills of the employees lead to fewer chances of
errors, mistakes and promote proper functioning of employees. At the Hilton hotel, the focus is
on developing skills of the staff so that they deliver services with their best efficiency and
effectiveness. The trainers are experts who share their experiences with the employees; this
gives them the knowledge to solve the future uncertainties hence contributing to more
efficiency (Benavides-Chicón and Ortega, 2014).
Make succession planning easier- These professional development plans and events help in
shaping the future leaders in Hilton hotel, many beginners through training and development
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programs learn leadership skills, problem-solving skills, team working skills etc. that is beneficial
for future growth.
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P2 INVESTIGATION OF PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER EXPECTATION OF SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES WITHIN HILTON HOTEL
An employer expects some skills in the candidate that are mandatory for the hospitality
industry and these skills will get the candidate employed at Hilton hotel.
Cultural awareness – For tourist guest’s employee at Hilton hotel needs to have the cultural
awareness of the city in which the hotel is operating plus the famous and historic places to visit
transportation and convince routes, famous and cultural heritage etc. Helping the guests
whether he or she follows a different religion or different culture, he is to be assisted equally
and professionally (Caruana and Mcpherson, 2015).
Linguistic skill - The knowledge and command over English as a language and better if the
candidate knows 2 or more languages that will help in dealing with the international guests of
the Hilton hotel and this is preferable competency that the employer will love to have in a
candidate. In order to deal with the international kinds of different accent, the prospective
employee needs to know at least one more language than English may be French or German as
these languages are most commonly spoken languages around the world.
Customer service- Hilton hotel is global hotel brand and so to maintain and increase its
customer service quality it needs its staff to deliver their best services to delight the customer,
fulfilling all their demands and working efficiently in order to create a good experience for the
guests is the skill required for the Hilton hotel.
Flexibility in working hours- The Hilton hotel works 24*7 so some of the staff have to perform
night duties and there are no office hours, odd working timings is what happens at the
hospitality industry, the shifts need to manage so the continuity is not broken, so it is necessary
for the prospect employee to be flexible in their way of working (Wilks and Hemsworth, 2012).
Tem work and cooperation- As in the hospitality industry every department is interlinked with
each other and mainly all the departments are dependent on the reception staff for
information regarding the number of guests cooperation and teamwork is necessary. The
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person who has the ability to work in a team is required at the Hilton hotel. Not even a single
employee can work alone, working in a team is the only option, so the candidate should know
how to be cooperative, how to maintain own pace with the pace of others at the hotel, how to
agree with the limited resources, how to manage time and complete the tasks on time, taking
responsibility for your work etc. working with team is the skill requirement of every hotel
including Hilton hotel and resorts (Janta et al., 2011).
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M1 EVALUATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ON-GOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AND THE ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIREMENT IN HILTON HOTEL
The development of professional skills is termed to be beneficial as well as carry some
disadvantages with it. The on-going professional development is a very effective way to develop
the skills of the employee as this increases the credibility and confidence of the employees,
their inner confidence is build up if they are being trained professionally. Their creativity and
innovation abilities start to develop through professional training programs and activities of the
Hilton hotel. The efficiency of the employees is gradually increased which is the most positive
factor for the hotel industry. The reason for an increase in efficiency is the training and on-going
professional development programs that directly relate to increases in quality of services that
they deliver to guests, reduction in errors and operational mistakes as the process is being
made clear in training period. Customer satisfaction is achieved as the efficiency and
productivity are increased delighting the guests with their best services directly adding on to
the goodwill of Hilton hotel making it more attractive to prospective guests and help in
retaining the regular business guests. If the employees are properly trained and their
professional skills are enhanced than they get the motivation to work enthusiastically for the
Hilton hotel. As the development increases credibility, motivation ultimately making the
employee satisfied with his working environment and working culture at Hilton thus the good
and professionally sound employees are retained and maintained in the Hilton hotel. This also
reduces the cost of recruitment, training, and loss due to errors and mistakes. The requirement
of skills like multi-tasking, communication skills of Hilton hotel is very apt because these are the
basic competencies that an employee of this industry should possess.
There is a disadvantage of developing professional skills of employees is that there are some
employees who learn the skills here in this organisation to get a job elsewhere.
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LO2
P3 ASSESSMENT OF OWN ABILITIES, COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS NEEDED FOR A
RECEPTIONIST ROLE AT HILTON HOTEL
Communication skills- This skill is the most important skill for a hospitality industry as the
employee needs to communicate with the guests of the hotel i.e. travellers, business guests,
international personalities so the employee should know how to properly communicate with
them properly and effectively. An employee will have to deal with people of different
temperament; dealing with the guests of different age groups, of different nationalities so
communicating them in a way that is understandable for guests, relatable to them is the
communication ability which is required for the job at the Hilton hotel (Janta et al., 2011).
Organisational skills- This skill is very much useful in the hospitality industry, organisational
skills include managing, communicating the details and quantity of guests and their personal
preferences to the management staff, conference and restaurant department. This skill of
managing and coordinating with the other departments is the requirement of Hilton hotel
receptionist job.
Commitment- The candidate should be able to commit with the Hilton hotels if he is employed
at this hotel as a receptionist. There is a special training and professional development of skills
provided at Hilton hotel so the employee needs to stay in the Hilton hotel and work efficiently
so that the hotel gets payback for all the training that he has been provided at this hotel he
cannot use training as a key to get employment in the competitors or other hotels. He needs to
be regular at work, timely report on the duty and takes responsibility of his work, he cannot
delegate his work but if in case he does he needs prior permission and notice for the same.
Multi-tasking- There are various tasks and activities that are interlinked with each other’s work,
at Hilton hotels say the reception staff needs to perform several tasks at a time like answering
correctly and politely to the questions of the guests, booking or performing checking out
formalities, receiving cash ordering the bell boy, making bills, communicating the hotel’s
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maintenance staff about the booking or checking out of the guests etc. so for performing all
these work at a time he needs the ability of multi-tasking (Maxwell et al., 2010).
MS Excel and basic knowledge of computer- This is the preferable skill that a reception staff
should mandatorily have without basic computer knowledge and knowledge of MS Office the
candidate cannot be selected for reception staff , Hilton hotel is big brand where most of the
work is done through computer technology, like printing bills, feeding checking and check out
guest data in the computer software, communication to other hotel staff department
(restaurant, housekeeping staff) is also done through computer software, checking the
bookings and assisting the guests .
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P4 REVIEWING A RANGE OF LEARNING THEORIES AND APPROACHES FOR PERSONAL
AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
To cope up with the requirements of the industry and to develop those skills.There are three
basic theories of learning for personal and professional development i.e. cognitive theory,
behaviourism and constructive theory.
Figure – Theories of learning
Source- http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/theories/
Behaviourism theory- This theory believes that knowledge is outside in the environment and
one can learn from the external experiences. The behaviour theory states that learning can take
place when there is a change in behaviours occurs between the response and the stimuli.
Learning can be done by repetitively doing the tasks to gain excellence or through establishing
rules and working on them until the goal or perfection is achieved.
Cognitive theory – This theory states that learning can be done by internally processing the
information, not from external situations and circumstances. This is contradictory to
behaviourism theory it believes that the learning occurs because of the human who analyse and
process the information not by reacting to the stimuli. This can be done by linking the concepts
or by categorising the information, gathering and analysing the relevant information.
Constructivism theory- This theory is focused on the individual perspective of looking at things,
it depends on how the individual takes it, it's a matter of perception, some may take the
information as the threat and some may take it as a learning and motive to do better. This is
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