Professional Identity and Practices Report: Skills and Development

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of professional identity and practices, focusing on the context of Cox & Kings, a UK-based travel services company. It examines the key benefits of ongoing professional development for various stakeholders, including improved efficiency, employee re-energization, and succession planning. The report investigates employer expectations regarding skills and competencies within the industry, highlighting the importance of flexibility, positive behavior, and rapid learning. It assesses the author's skills, abilities, and competencies for a specific role using self-evaluation models like skill audits and SWOT analysis. The report also delves into learning theories and approaches, such as behaviorism, cognitive theory, human learning theory, and social learning, recommending the adoption of social learning and behaviorism to improve learning skills and productivity. Finally, the report covers the creation of a development plan, including a mock job interview, and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the interview process, providing a well-rounded view of professional development within the travel and hospitality industry.

Professional
identity
and practices

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Task1................................................................................................................................................3
P1Key benefits of on going professional development for different stakeholders within
company ......................................................................................................................................3
Overview of company..................................................................................................................3
P2 Investigate professional employer expectation of skills and competencies within industry. .4
Task2 ..............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Assessment of skills, abilities and competencies for a specific roles ....................................5
P4 Learning theory ans its approaches which is used in professional and personal skills..........6
Task3 ...............................................................................................................................................7
P5 A development plan that increases skills and competencies within company.......................7
Task4 ..............................................................................................................................................8
P6 Job interview for suitable industry role .................................................................................8
P7 Strength and weakness of interview process for Sheraton hotel and resorts .........................9
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFRENCES.............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity means a identity of an individual that helps to recognise easily and
makes different from other person. It is based on person's values, beliefs, motives and experience
of people which comes day by day. Moreover, professional identity includes a different
recognition or identification of person which comes from professionalism and by observing other
people. It is dynamic and reconstruct identity that makes changes according to circumstances and
different events (Barkhuizen, ed., 2016). This report will focus on continuous professional
development and self directed learning that helps to improve own skills and knowledge. This
report will discuss about Cox & Kings company that is UK based company and provides
travelling services to its customers. Additionally, this report will covered various topics such as
on going professional development, development plan, assessment of own skills, competencies
and abilities that influences customers and increase business activities.
Task1
P1Key benefits of on going professional development for different stakeholders within company
Overview of company
Cox & Kings is established 1758 in order to provide travelling services to passenger. It
has travel business across seventeen international locations. It provides its products and services
at 149 cities including 12 branch sales office and has 86 agent members who helps to run a
business continuously all over the world. Moreo0ver, it provides hotel and restaurant services
that gives fresh food and cleaned rooms to passengers to stay. This company focuses on
customer demand and choices and give them satisfaction by providing better quality of services.
In other words, manager of this company hires highly qualified and experienced employees who
has capacity to attract customer by giving proper response. This is fast growing organisation who
records performance of employees and rewarded them for their good performance (Goldie,
2012).
Importance of professional development
On going professional development is the valuable experience for learners who learns
new things at work place. It increases skills and knowledge of person and make them
independent to take correct decision by using professional skills. It is very important because it
makes sure that a person is going to be competent or professional through learning new things.

So Cox & Kings provides training and development to its staff that leads to ongoing personal
development and accomplish organisation's goals. Advantages of ongoing professional
development is discussed below-
Improved efficiency: This means professional skills helps to improve efficiency of employees
by offering new skills. Such as Cox & King's manager provides training to its staff that give
opportunity to learn new and improve in work activities.
Reenergize to employees:Development helps to break up the monotony of workers who works
on daily basis and give reenergize to employee's creativity. Manager of Cox & Kings focuses on
employee's problems and provide them solution that give a benefits to enhance knowledge and
maintain productivity.
Make succession planning: This means development programme helps to make successful
planning for future by using professional skills and experience. Such as Cox & Kings gie
promotion to top performer that helps to make long career within industry by using professional
skills and certificates.
Build confidence and creditability: By professional development employees get confident to
continue job at same work place because staff used own personal and professional skills to make
successful plans that helps to build credibility by gaining advanced skills and certificates.
P2 Investigate professional employer expectation of skills and competencies within industry
Employer is a person who decides to do a business, arrange capital, collect resources,
gather information about market and people needs and start a business with the help of
employees. The motive of hotel and travelling industry is to offer suitable and affordable
services to passenger and guest who comes from other places. Therefore, employees of hotel and
organisation plays a vital role in deliver services such as amenities, food, room cleaning, and
room services that helps to attract customer and taking decision to obtain services more in
futures. Employer has many expectation to hire professional and experienced employees that
helps to increase number of services and increases profits (Hercelinskyj, 2014).
The role of employees and expectation of employer in Cox & Kings company are differ
from type of choice and size of organisation. Such as manager has needed to hire waiters, chef,
room services, and maids who provides services to customer and influence them by own
behaviour. Apart from these role employer need to cashier and receptionist profile who has

advanced knowledge to influence visitors and covert them in customers. The Cox & Kings has
expectation to specific skills and competency like as-
Flexibility: This is most important required skills that is needed for employer as well
employees that helps to reduced stress and increase willingness to work by increasing outputs.
Such as employer of Cox & Kings has flexibility skills and they wants that their employees
should have this type of skills who can work efficiently by reducing stress level and focus on
productivity.
Positive behaviour: This means employer and employee should have positive behaviour
that helps to attract customer and thinks for further business activities. Such as Cox & Kings's
manager want its employees should have positive attitude that can attract consumer by providing
services with smily face.
Able to learn quickly: At present employer has expectation that its employees should be
more intelligent and confidence who can learn new thing and technology quickly. Manager of
Cox & Kings has same expectation and hires best employees who can adopt new challenges and
learns quickly in training programme.
Problem Handling competency: Employer of Cox & Kings wants that employees
should be more competent who can solve problems which is arising in the organisation and
maintain profitability by using professional skills.
M1Importance of on-going professional development
Professional development introduces as an important practice that highly assist a workers
to accomplish higher career growth and success within given time period. In addition to this it
also support an enterprises to attain its goals and objective in effective manner by maintain a
range of broad skilled as well as competent employees. Therefore, in order to create a high
skilled as well as competent workers Cox & Kings maintain a On-going professional practices by
organising certain conference and training events fro sharpening up their knowledge and skills.
Along with this, professional skills will help an employees to work with full dedication and
attain long term goals and objectives of company within given time period.

Task2
P3 Assessment of skills, abilities and competencies for a specific roles
Each and every person has unique skills, abilities and competency to complete the task on
time. This is most important that person should assess what qualities, abilities and competency
have possess to handle the difficult situation. Skills contains qualities and characteristics a person
have to perform a job role and what needs to get improve to fulfil the company's requirement.
For instance, Cox & Kings has vacancy for marketing profile and it published vacancy with job
role and responsibility. The applicant who want to apply for this role they need to review own
skills and competency to handle that profile (Huston, 2013).
For ability and skill assessment there is need to have specialisation in marketing profile
and needs to be experience at least one year and ability to adopt new challenges in order to
attract customer and convince them to obtain more services in future by providing good services.
Skill audit is a tool that shows skills and capabilities of individual and shows a path how to
achieve organisation's objectives by increasing profits. Such as Cox & Kings manager uses skill
audit tools that helps to improve skills, operation function and profit margin by providing
training to employees.
In order to analysis the personal skills and competencies about the job role of floor
manager I have executed personal skill audit. This in move assist me in identifying my strong as
well as weak point where I require to betterment as per my job of Floor manager in Cox &
Kings. There are two types of self evaluation model such as personal skill audit and SWOT
analysis:
Serial. no. I am able, competent and
have these skills
Marks Marks from other people
1 Interpersonal skills 9 9
2 Proper communication
skills
8 6
3 Critical Thinking 8 9
4 Decision making 8 6
5 Presentation skills 8 8

These all are my skills which are important for my job role of a floor manager within an
organisation which is graded by me as per the targetted competence and the level up to which I
posses. Along with this my SWOT analysis will determine as under:
Strength Weakness
 My interpersonal skills are quite better
which assist me in performing my work
or activity on time by keeping workers
stick to their work limit.
 Critical thinking is my biggest strength
which support in determining the
number of effective solution for
particular issue.
 My communicational skill is not much
better as sometime I not be capable to
convey information in accurate manner
that develop problem in work.
 I am not much better at making any
kind of decision as I sometimes get
stuck in dilemma.
Opportunities Threat
 The presentation skills help me in
gaining high level promotion in future
by making effective presentation with
coordination as well as accomplishing
targets much speedily.
 Weaker communicational quality is a
biggest threat for me as being a floor
manager I have to communicate several
instruction as well as miss
representation of information can affect
the outcomes.
P4 Learning theory ans its approaches which is used in professional and personal skills
Every organisation follows different types of theories and approaches that helps to
develop personal as well as professional skills. Moreover, learning theory states that how an
organisation and employees get new things and handle issues which arises in organisation. Cox
& Kings organisation follows learning theory and approaches that is-
Behaviourism: This approach involves how an individual behave and respond quickly
by using thoughts and ideas in order to solve industry's problems. Manager of Cox & Kings used

behaviourism approach that helps to bring new strategy and technology by influencing
passengers.
Cognitive: It means read and study of human mind what individual is thinking and its
perception. For instance, manager of Cox & Kings reads employees mind and get what
employees want to increase productivity. By knowing needs and wants of employees manager
provide resources and training in order to increase productivity.
Human learning theory: This theory is opposition to behaviourist theory that involves
stress and unwanted individual's behaviour. This approaches is used to assess self image and self
actualisation that makes confident (Olausson, 2017).
Social learning: This is influencing theory that is used to increase professional and
personal skills by observing other people. Staff of Cox & Kings company observe its manager
how they makes planning to face the challenges and learn new things that increases professional
and personal skills.
From above mentioned theories and approaches it has been analysed that Cox & Kings
should adopt social learning and Behaviourism approach that helps to improve learning skill and
accept challenges in order to increase productivity. Moreover, it also give ideas how to face
problems by observing other that gives new knowledge.
Task3
P5 A development plan that increases skills and competencies within company
Development plan is the tool that impacts on staff's learning and development which is
based on assumption rather than exact information. It involves planning that need to perform step
by step in order to set career and objectives. It is prepared by the organisation's manager that
helps to develop business activities for maintaining profits in a organisation. Manager of Cox &
Kings prepares development plan by predicting past information that gives an idea what are the
needs to make changes in development and attain objectives of organisation. Manager provides
training to its staff to overcome the conflicts among members, time consuming and new
technology issues. So development plans are helps to reduce the problems and maintain profits
by using available resources in all enterprises (Pennington and Richards, 2016). For solving
problems and getting information a development plan is mentioned below-
Skills Activities are Resources Time Desire results

required to undertake
Problem
solving
Manager need to
expand interpersonal
skills and knowledge
that helps to solve
problems by using
flexibility. Manager
should focuses on
training that will
helps to adopt new
technology.
Case study,
formal training,
reasoning, maths
and aptitude test
to solve
problems.
1 month Employees will
take right action
by using training
and available
resources that
helps to solve
problems.
Management
of time
Manager should
allocate work among
employees as they
want and their
specialisation that
will save time and
complete task on
given time period.
Training and
development
programme,
prepare a
schedule and set a
preference of
work (Pihl-
Thingvad, 2015).
1 month Manager will
save time by
dividing the work
among employees
and can thing
about other work
in order to expand
business.
Conflicts Employer need to
keep all records of
employee's
performance that
helps to reduced
conflicts among
employees and
should awarded
according to
performance.
Includes team
work,
coordination,
cooperation, and
proper
communication
from bottom to
upper level that
provides exact
information.
1.5 month By recording
performance there
is chances to
increase relation
between employer
and employees
through
coordination and
they will work
well.

Task4
P6 Job interview for suitable industry role
Interview is the process to hire skilled and experienced person who contributes in
business activities and perform well continuously. As I was selected in Cox & Kings and resorts
as an senior Cashier profile that is responsible job. This is where I got information about vacancy
and job responsibility for senior cashier profile and I have applied. I faced different interview
rounds and answered all the questions. To clear this round I did many efforts and proved that I
am capable and competent to perform this role as well (Macklin and Bridges, 2012). I make
affected to whole interviewer by use of mine pre-requisite skills and knowledge that gave me an
opportunity to go and working with Cox & Kings organisation. A part from this, my internship
experienced also helped me out to provide this senior cashier job profile. An entire interview
using video recording process in which conversation will be made between interviewer &
interviewee. Manager of a Cox & Kings has asked me following question that relates to senior
cashier role like-
1. What makes excellent customer service according to you?
2. How we can increase cash inflow and maintain profits?
3. Do you prefer work alone or as a part o0f team?
4. How will you handle money and expenses within organisation?
5. What is delivered excellent service?
As I answered above mentioned all questions sufficiently, they impressed with my skills
and experience that gave me this job role. My internship part was helped me a lot to groom my
skills and abilities and helped me to crack the interview round (Wald, 2015).
Job description of the senior cashier profile in the Cox & Kings
Cox & Kings
Job Description
Job code: A123
Job profile: Senior cashier
Report to: General manager
Location: London
Date: 28.8.2019

Summary: The person is responsible for collecting and documenting an entire cash collected
during the operational period. Also, the person is need to accumulates all the cash at the one
place along with keeping and informing finance department on this matter. Person is
responsible for an actual collection of the cash and keep it safely.
Roles & responsibilities:
 The role of senior cashier is to oversee cash transaction, cash reconciliation, accounts
payment along with accounting duties,
 Train new hired cashier on about function of the cashier needs to perform and about an
entire company policies,
 Manage customer's cash deposit or due remains with them,
 Gather cash related to documents and accounts reports.
The role & responsibilities of the senior cashier is highly important which is necessary
for the purpose of head cashier position to have actual ability or long term durability of the cash
in the firm.
P7 Strength and weakness of interview process for Cox & Kings
Strength: Above conducted interview process is strength proved for me along with
development of skills such as communication, building an effective interaction or overall
personality development for longer time period. As we know that interview is the first phase to
know about business environment and contact to senior that helps to know behaviour and
expectation of employer. As I noticed that my training part helped me to provide this job that is
best opportunity for me. Thus interview helps to know about person's quality and ability to
handle the particular profile in a industry.
Weakness: During interview I came to know my weakness in reasoning and lack of
general knowledge that makes panic and negative. Only interview process is not enough to know
about organisation's environment which may be incorrect and misappropriate (Wenger-Trayner,
2014).