Holiday Inn: Professional Identity and Practice for Operation Managers

This report examines professional identity and practice within the context of a Holiday Inn operation manager role. It begins by defining professional identity and introduces Holiday Inn as the chosen organization. The report then delves into the benefits of ongoing professional development for various stakeholders, including employers and employees, and outlines the expectations of professional employers regarding skills and competence. The subsequent sections focus on assessing abilities, skills, and competences for the specific job role, utilizing methods like skill audits, SWOT analysis, and personality trait assessments (OCEAN model). Learning theories and approaches used in personal and professional development are also discussed. The report further includes a development plan for enhancing skills and competence, a simulated job interview scenario for the service industry, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the interview process. The report concludes by summarizing key findings and recommendations related to professional identity and practice within the hospitality sector.

Professional Identity and
Practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Benefits of ongoing professional development for various stakeholders..............................3
P2 Expectation of professional employer skills and competence...............................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 Assessing abilities, skills and competences for specific job role...........................................6
P4 Learning theories and approach used in personal and professional development processes.8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5 Development plan for enhancement of skills and competence..............................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P6 Job interview for service industry........................................................................................10
P7 Strength and weaknesses of applied interview process.......................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERNCES.................................................................................................................................15
.......................................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity is defined as personal values, moral, attitudes, beliefs, ethics, code
of practices, law, rules, legal and principles and others (Dehghani, Mosalanejad and Dehghan-
Nayeri, 2015). This is the professional identity of any individual working in an organisation. It is
very important for business to have professional people for achievement of goal and objectives.
The chosen organisation for assigned project is Holiday Inn which was founded in 1952 at
United Kingdom. It is British closely-held America brand which is subsidiary of Inter
Continental Hotel Group. This is regarded as world largest chains which has 1173 active hotels
having 214000 bedrooms. The specific job profile selected for Holiday Inn is Operation
Manager. The main aim of this report is to discuss about benefits of ongoing professional
development and expectation of employers in enhancement of skills and competence. For given
job role, individual should possess skill and competences. There are some learning theories and
approach used in personal and professional development process are discussed. It also covers
development plan, job interview and strength and weakness of interview process.
TASK 1
P1 Benefits of ongoing professional development for various stakeholders
Continuing Professional Development or ongoing professional development refers to a
process under which identification and tracking of documenting skills, knowledge and
experience earned by individual is judged (Continuing Professional Development (CPD), 2019).
This type of knowledge can be gained formally or informally beyond any initial training which
comes from experience of an individuals. Furthermore, process of professional development is
becoming vital in all profession. This is because it is continuing in nature that further helps in
accelerating change in the technology and increases complexity of supply chain. Moreover, there
are variety of approaches to professional development that includes coaching, mentoring and
many others. This is required in Holiday Inn in order to serve and assist their visitors, guest and
others. The welfare of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders working in
Holiday Inn are defined below:
Employer Benefits- The employer of Holiday Inn is enormously benefited with process
of Continuing Professional development. Some of these ways are:

 Competitive edge through Human Capital- Offering ongoing training and development
helps Holiday Inn to ensure that the company will gain competitive edge advantage
through human resource. With help of this training, employees can work efficiently
which can be used by Holiday Inn to increase overall productivity of organization. Skilled Workforce- Ongoing professional development helps in enhancing skill of the
workforce that potentially benefits Holiday Inn. Furthermore, skilled workforce will help
to cater needs of organisation with efficiency.
 Employee Engagement through Development Opportunities- The employees at work
should be engaged to do better work and reach goals faster. Therefore, this can be done
by providing professional development training to employees at Holiday Inn. This is one
best way to boost employees’ morale.
Employee Benefits- Not only employer is benefited with process of continuing
professional development but employees are also benefited. Some of ways in which employees
are benefited includes: Personal Satisfaction- When the employees are trained through ongoing professional
development they perform their jobs more effectively and become confident. At Holiday
Inn employees should personally be satisfied with training process which will help to
improve employee retention. Therefore, professional development training method is
adopted by Holiday Inn to gain competitive advantage (Flottorp and et. al., 2013). Intrinsic Motivation- Employees are usually motivated through every training process.
Furthermore, ongoing professional training helps employees of Holiday Inn to work with
efficiency and try to further enhance productivity of company as a whole.
 Increased Employ-ability- The process of on-going professional training helps in
improving employ-ability skills through education, training and practical knowledge that
can give Holiday Inn to give edge in job market. Therefore, adopting this training will
create and increase employment opportunities for Holiday Inn.
P2 Expectation of professional employer skills and competence
The employer of organisation has some expectation with employee working in
organisation in terms of competence and skills. As each individuals possess various capabilities
and knowledge for performing work (Geoffrion, Morselli and Guay, 2016). The selected job

profile for Holiday Inn is Operation Manager. For this, the professional employer has following
expectation for skills and competence which are as follows:
Professional Standards and Expectations- For playing role of operation manager, the
employer expectation with their employee are as follows: Personal Presentation and Appearance- In order to play role of operation manager in
Holiday Inn employee should possess attractive personal presentation and appearance
(Gibson, 2016). This is expectation of employer with their employees to carry out with
work in proper manner. The posture and gestures of operation manager can help to
increase efficiency and effectiveness of organisation. Working responsibly and ethically- It is expectation of employer to have efficient and
effective staffs who can work ethically. They need to follow all ethical moral values such
as rules and regulations and principles for effective outcomes. The operation manager of
Holiday Inn should follow all their responsibilities and ethics for goal achievement.
 Maintaining Professional Standards- Each and every organisation has some set value,
principles and standard which need to be followed. In order to work as operation manager
in Holiday Inn there are some professional standards which should be maintained and
followed by respective job role manager for achievement of goals and objectives.
Common Skills Expected in Workplace- The skills required for operation manager at
Holiday Inn are described below: Self Confidence- The operation manager should have self confidence within itself for
carrying out work in effective and efficient manner. This is expectation of employer to
have self confident employees for their business so that they can assign any work to them
(Grubbauer and Steets, 2014). Creative Thinking- It is one of the most essential skill which is required within all
manager. In order to be operation manager, they should have creative thinking skills in
order to guide their subordinates and staff for better work performance. Communication- The operation manager of Holiday Inn should be able to communicate
effectively with their staff, subordinate so that work can be performed in proper manner.
As they provide guidance and leads other for work performance. Use of Technology- This is the world of technology, manager and employees performing
work in Holiday Inn should possess competence and skills for use of technology in firm

for effective outcomes. The operation manager should have good knowledge of
technology for data maintenance.
 Customer Service Skills- This is the essential skill which is required within operation
manager of Holiday Inn. In hospitality sector, this skill is important because it is based on
services provided to visitors, guests and others. Therefore, if they are provided with
customer service then they can visit that respective hotel again and again (Jeffrey and
Brunton, 2012).
TASK 2
P3 Assessing abilities, skills and competences for specific job role
There are various abilities, skills and competence which are required for operation
manager working in Holiday Inn which are discussed with help of approaches and theories. They
are as follows:
The personal skill audit is made on basis of hard and soft skill to identify their abilities,
skills and competence which helps to identify strengths and weaknesses. They are as follows:
Skills Rating by me Rating by others Differentiation
Communication Skill 8 9 -1 (Strength)
Self Confidence 9 7 2 (Weaknesses)
Leadership Skill 7 9 -2 (Strength)
Presentation Skill 7 5 2 (Weaknesses)
Creative Thinking 8 9 -1 (Strength)
Customer Service Skill 6 5 1 (Weaknesses)
Decision Making 8 7 1 (Weaknesses)
Flexibility 7 5 -2 (Strength)
Good Judgement 8 9 1 (Weaknesses)
Team work 5 4 1 (Weaknesses)
Responsibility 6 8 -2 (Strength)

As stated table represent strength and weaknesses of individual for given job profile.
They are as follows:
Strengths Weaknesses
Communication Skill
Leadership Skill
Creative Thinking
Flexibility
Responsibility
Self Confidence
Presentation Skill
Customer Service Skill
Decision Making
Good Judgement
Team work
For assessing abilities, skills and competences for specific job role is explained with aid
of SWOT analysis and Personality Trait Assessment. They are described below:
SWOT Analysis
This type of method is used for analysing strength weaknesses opportunities and threats
of individual and organisation. Here, I have applied SWOT analysis for knowing about my
capabilities and skills regarding operation manager profile in Holiday Inn are given below:
Strengths- After analysing personal skill audit, there are some strengths which are
carried by me such as:
 My communication skill is good due to which I can easily communicate with subordinate
and staff for better work performance which can help me in achievement of goals and
objectives of Holiday Inn.
 As I possess good leadership skill so I can lead team and members in effective and
efficient manner so that operating activities of Holiday Inn can be achieved.
 My creative thinking ability is very strong which can help Holiday Inn to operate their
activities and task in better manner. This can help to beat competition and achieve set
goal and objectives.
Weaknesses- There are some weaknesses which create problems for effective outcome
which are as follows:
 My customer skills is weak which create problem in operating activities of business in
effective manner and serving visitors and guests. This can create problem for consumer to
avail facilities of hotel .

 I am slow in taking decision for business where I lack to grab opportunities for
organisation. The slow decision making in Holiday Inn can leads to lose many customers
and opportunities which can provide benefits to it.
Opportunities- There are opportunities which are available for me such as:
 I can improve my decision making skill in business which can help me to grab various
chances and gain for Holiday Inn. This skill is required by operation manager of business
for making effective and efficient decisions.
 With the improving of customer service skill I can create opportunities for Holiday Inn to
influence large number of visitors and guests to avail facilities and services which helps
in raising gains and profits.
Threats- The threats which I have analysed are as follows:
 The need and demand of people is changing so I need to move with those requirement
otherwise I cannot sustain in market.
 Due to increase in number of hotel industry in market are providing high quality goods
and service which can create threat for me to improve my service and facilities for
survival, growth and sustainability of market.
Personality Trait Assessment
These model possess five elements which is termed as OCEAN. They are described
below:
Openness to Experience- In order to perform work at Holiday Inn as operation manager
I should possess in depth experience of subject matter. I should be imaginative, curiosity,
creativity, varied interests and other for work performance.
Conscientiousness- I need to be goal directed, give time in preparation of work at
Holiday Inn. This can help me for better results.
Extroversion- For playing role of operation manager in Holiday Inn I should be social
able, talking in order to make decisions.
Agreeableness- The traits such as affection, trust, kindness should be possessed by me
which can help in operating activities and work of Holiday Inn.
Neuroticism- This includes sadness, emotional instability and moodiness. In order to
perform work in Holiday Inn I should be less moody and highly stable.

P4 Learning theories and approach used in personal and professional development processes
The personal and professional development process is regarded as assistance for growth
career and learning to manage things (Martin, 2013). It can aid in work performance ethically
and safely. The learning theories and approach used in personal and professional development
processes are as follows:
Learning Theories
The theories for personal and professional development is as follows:
VAK Learning Cycle- This theory explains and understanding learning styles. There are
three types of styles in respective theory which determine dominate. They are as follows: Visual- It includes seeing, reading and observing such as displays, pictures, diagrams.
The operation manager can improve personal and professional development through
writing and viewing things. Auditory- It is defined as transferring information through listening or spoken words and
sounds. This can helps in improving professional development through listening skills.
 Kinesthetic- This consists of physical experience like shaking hands, touching, holding,
feeling and others. It can helps in improving development by doing practical things.
Learning Approach
The learning approach for personal and professional development is as follows:
Behaviourist Approach- This approach focus on various aspects such as reasoning,
thinking, problem solving and others (Meldgaard Hansen and Kamp, 2018). With change in
experience of environment, behaviour of an individual is changed. This learning approach is
known as stimulus response as it focus on both stimuli and response. With this approach,
individual can improve their behaviour and skills in better manner.
Development Options
The development options used for personal and professional development is as follows:
Formal Training- This is defined as learning type program where objectives and goals
are identified by training department, instructors. It is also called structured learning. With help
of such training, personal and professional can be improved in effective and efficient manner.

TASK 3
P5 Development plan for enhancement of skills and competence
Professional Development Plan (PDP) is defined as written document which identify
goals, skills and objectives of individual for improving and career development (Moon, 2013).
The development plan prepared by Holiday Inn for enhancement of skills and competence of
employees and staff are as follows:
Current Skills and
Competencies used in
personal and
professional plan
Goals Personal /
Professional
Development
Plan
ACTIVITY (Use
SMART targets)
Indicate how you
have monitored
your progress,
underpinning
learning and
development theory
Evaluate the
effectiveness of your
personal development
plan
Self Confidence Long Term Goals
(1 months)
Behaviourist Theory:
I have monitored my
progress through way
I behave with
individual.
It can be improved by
participation in different
public speaking classes
and making effective
decision.
Presentation Skill Medium Term
Goals (6 months)
Benchmarking: I
need to fix period in
order to improve
presentation skill and
measuring it on set
time period.
For this training should
be taken for presentation
skills in order to
improve myself.
Customer Service Skill Short Term Goals
(3 months)
Social Learning
Theory: This theory
can assist in creation
of social relationship
with different people
that helps in
improving customer
service skill.
This is essential skill
that should be possessed
by staff and employees
for serving their
consumers in better and
effective manner.
The various courses and training which are undertaken by me in past year and recent are:
Training Course
undertaken
Date Venue Main Learning undertaken/new
skills developed
Quality Management
Certification
18th
January,
2018
Hilton Hotel Management of quality
Providing training and development
to employees for maintaining quality
in hotel industry.
Management of overall activities.

Inventory Management 12th June,
2019
Marriott Hotel Management of inventory
Storage of products and providing
services.
TASK 4
P6 Job interview for service industry
Job Advertisement
This is defined as print and electronic media that helps in providing information about job
for particular profile (Smets, Morris and Greenwood, 2012). Holiday Inn has used following job
advertisement for post of operation manager. It is as follows:
Job Advertisement
18th June, 2019
Dear All,
It is an outstanding and great opportunity for you to perform work in renowned hotel industry.
Currently, Holiday Inn Hotel is in requirement of operation manager for organisation where
applying candidates should have 2-3 years experience in specified field and possess good
personality.
The candidates who meet those criteria can apply for given job. They can send their CVs and
covering letter within four days from issue of advertisement at: [e-mail].
Job Specification
This is written document which consist of experience, emotional, physical, educational
qualifications, skills for given job profiles (Tarvydas and Hartley, 2017).
Job Title Operation Manager
Report to Manager of Holiday Inn
Roles &
Responsibilities
Managing team
Managing operation department
Provide training and development
Qualification Diploma in Hotel Management or Masters in Hotel industry

Title of the job Operation Manager
Date: 18/06/2019
Qualification required Essential Desirable Met
Diploma in Hotel Management
Masters in Hotel Industry
English Fluency
Yes
Yes
Yes
Experience required
3 years experience in operation
department of renowned
organization
Yes
Personal characteristics &
conduct
Communication skill
Leadership Skills
Good interpersonal skill
Yes
Yes
Yes
Roles and Responsibilities
Managing team
Managing operation department
Provide training and development
Yes
Yes
Yes
Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum Vitae
Objective: To achieve goal and objectives of life by working in reputed organisation through