Professional Development and Practice: A Report for Virgin Holidays

This report examines professional identity and practice within Virgin Holidays, a UK-based tour operator. It begins by highlighting the importance of professional development for various stakeholders, including employees, employers, and customers, detailing how it enhances skills, productivit...Read More

PROFESSIONAL
IDENTITY AND
PRACTICE

Table of Content

INTRODUCTION
Management of personal and professional skills is essential for the development of an
individual. This is because these skills helps in maintaining strong position within an
organisation for longer duration. Professional skills helps the employee and employer in
achieving their desirable goals and targets within pre-determined time period. With the help of
proper evaluation of personal and professional skills the strength and weaknesses of the
individual can be easily known and plans can be made for the improvement. The taken
organisation is Virgin Holidays which is one of the biggest a tour operator company of UK. The
organisation was introduced in 1985 with the motive of satisfying its customer's at the global
level(Blaik Hourani and Stringer, 2015). Major topics covered in this report are advantages of
professional development for stakeholders, assessment of own skills and competences and
reviewing skills and weakness for the interview.
TASK 1
P1
Professional development is very much essential for every individual in the organisation.
As these skills helps in achieving long and short term goals in the best possible manner. If any
individual is successful in maintaining balance between targets and skills than performance can
be increased. The on going Professional development directly helps the individual in learning
various new skills and knowledge, so that better work can be completed in the future. With the
help of these skills employees of Virgin Holidays will be able to enhance the productivity of the
organisation. Ongoing professional development not only benefits the individual but it also very
much beneficial for various stakeholders of the organisation. The major role of on going
professional development plan for various stakeholders are discussed below-
Employee
 The major role of ongoing professional development plan is to help the individual in
performing various tasks of Virgin Holidays by using the capabilities and skills in the
systematic manner(Cottrell, 2015).
 This plan aims at improving the skills and knowledge of the individual, so that better
services to the customer's can be provided and sale of the organisation is increased.
Employer

 The cost of the organisation will be save because the employees will have proper set of
skills and knowledge, so organisation will not require to arrange training and
development programmes.
 The various functions of HR will be performed in the effective manner because each and
every task will be properly managed(Day, 2014).
Customers
 The satisfaction level of the customer's will be increased because better range of services
will be provided to the potential customer's.
 The problems and queries of customer's will be handled in the effective manner.
These were some of the benefits of on going professional development for various kinds of
stakeholders.
P2
Every employer in the organisation has various kinds of expectations for its employees in
the organisation. These may include completion of the assigned task within the limited period of
time. If these expectations of employer are achieved in the proper manner than Virgin Holidays
will be able to compete with its competitors in the best possible manner. Whereas if such
expectations of the employer is not achieved than it may lead to improper coordination of
activities and operations of the organisation. The major expectations of employers form personal
and professional development in Virgin Holidays in discussed below-
 Positive Attitude- One of the biggest expectation of employer is that employees must
have positive attitude towards the work of the organisation. As with the help of positive
attitude complex work of the organisation can be completed properly. Positive attitude
can lead to increase in the performance of each and every individual in Virgin Holidays.
As with the help of this not only the goals of the organisation will be achieved but
employer target will also be attained(Desimone, 2011).
 Willingness to learn- Employers also expect that its employees must have willingness to
learn in the organisation. This is because rapid changes took place in the internal and
external environment of Virgin Holidays, so it is very much essential for the employees
to earn new things. As with the help of this any change in the working structure can
easily adopted by the employees. If the employees of Virgin Holidays are willing to learn
new things than they will be able to perform as per the plans made by employer.

 Team work and cooperation- Effective management of team and cooperation by the
employees will lead to performance of Virgin Holidays in external business environment.
If the individual is able to perform better with the team than the expectations of its
employer can be easily fulfilled. While better coordination of activities will lead to
completion of task in the systematic manner and increase the market share.
If the employees of Virgin Holidays is successful in fulfilling the expectation of employer than
employees can get better chances for their individual growth and development in the
organisation(DuPre and Williams, 2011).
TASK 2
P3
It was quite essential for me to assess my own skills and abilities as with the help of these
I will able to know my strength and weakness for the specific job role in the organisation. This
assessment will be done to make plans and strategies for job role in Virgin Holidays. The job
role is for the tour operator, so it becomes necessary for me to analyse my weaknesses. This is
because if plans for overcoming the weaknesses is not made than I will not be able to perform
better in the organisation(Fullan, 2012). After the evaluation of skills and abilities my personal
skill audit is discussed below-
Learning Skills Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency
Skills:
Positive Attitude
Willingness to learn
Team Work
Cooperation
10 7
10 8
10 4
10 5
Abilities:
Team Handling
Research Capabilities
Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency
10 7
10 8
Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency

Competencies:
Customer Service
Leadership
Problem Solving
10 7
10 8
10 9
From my personal skill audit, it is drawn that some of my skills and capabilities will help
me in handling various task of tour coordinator in Virgin Holidays. After the evaluation of skill
audit I have found that my team work and cooperation skills are not up to the mark. This means I
need to make proper plans to improve such skills. While on the other hand my problem solving
capability and willingness to learn new things will help me in achieving my long and short term
goals in the best possible manner. With help of my good points I will be able to provide better
range of services to potential customer's by managing each and every task properly. I have good
research capabilities, so I can analyse properly analyse and evaluate the activities and
operations.
P4
The travel and tourism industry generally involves various kinds of risk and uncertainty
because needs and preferences of customer's keeps on changing. So it is essential for individuals
to focus on personal and professional development. As with the help of these individuals will be
able to work as per the requirements of Virgin Holidays. With the help of theories and principles
behaviour of the individual can be improved and new skills can also be learned in the
coordinated manner. Some of the major traditional theories are discussed below
Behaviourism- It is considered as one of the best theory for continuous learning. As
with the help of this theory any changes in the behaviour can be easily witnessed. Using this
theory individual can easily learn new things(Huxham and Vangen, 2013). By continuously
using this theory individual can make necessary changes in the working structure. Behaviourism
approach will help the individuals in increasing their performance in Virgin Holidays. As with
the help of this theory each and every aspect of behaviour is properly analysed and ways for its
improvement is also suggested to the individual.
Cognitivism- This theory also helps in dealing with the alterations of behaviour of the
employees. Any changes in the behaviour can be easily done by using this approach as

systematic development of the individual can be done in this. It also deals with the thought
process of the individual working in Virgin Holidays. Cognitivism helps in dealing with the
problems in the best possible manner. As current state of mind of the employee can be analysed
and plans for its improvement can be made. If this approach is properly used for the individuals
of Virgin Holidays than organisational and individual goals can be easily achieved(Maister,
2012).
Constructivism- This theory is also known as artistic movement theory because this
theory mainly focuses on improving the existing set of knowledge. After the improvement
individual is able to experience new facts for completing the task of Virgin Holidays. This is
theory will be best suitable for the individuals of Virgin Holidays because this because it will
allow the individuals in learning new things which will directly lead to personal growth and
development. Positive impact can be created on the individual, so that they are able to increase
their capabilities in the best possible manner. The assigned task and activities to individuals will
be done in the proper manner because in this individual will know what is to be done for its
systematic achievement(Noe and et al., 2017).
TASK 3
P5
Personal development plan is generally used to know the skills and competencies of the
individual. With the help of this plan I will be able to make better plans for the future course of
action. This plan has also helped me in creating awareness about my weak and strong points.
Personal development plan was made by me to know the areas of improvement and also to boost
my motivation level in the systematic manner. In the absence of improper personal development
plan it will be difficult for me to achieve my goals and target in the limited period of time. My
Personal development plan is mentioned below-
Target Action to achieve Evidence of
completion
Target date
Building of
relationship with
valuable customer's
and other colleagues
 Proper
allotment of
time for
maintaining
This can be achieved
when customer's will
be able to know me by
my name.
Within 90 days.

by using positive
attitude.
better
relationship.
 Proper
practising of
the skills.
Better improvement in
willingness to learn
Continuous practice of
the skills learnt and
proper research for the
update.
Adequate knowledge
about the latest
updates made by the
organisation.
Within 85 days.
Increase the
motivation level
 Forcing self for
achieving the
task allotted
by the
superiors in the
limited period
of time and
assigning
proper work to
the
subordinates.
Competing the
assigned task within a
limited period of time.
Within 7 months.
TASK 4
P6
Job interview is the process in which various skills and capabilities are analysed in the
proper manner. It is essential for the individual to have a proper set of skills and knowledge so
that interview process can be completed in the best possible manner(Raish and Rimland, 2016).
This procedure also helps in development of various skills and responsibilities of the individual
in the systematic and coordinated manner. The job portfolio for Virgin Holidays in discussed
below-
Job Portfolio

Organisation: Virgin Holidays
Division: Customer service department
Job Title: Tour Operator
Job Location: Crawley, UK
Working conditions : 7 Hours
Job Summary
The repudiated tour operator organisation Virgin Holiday is recruiting qualified tour operator.
Organisation requires desirable candidates who can easily handle various task and can also
handle the queries of its clients.
Role
 Providing information about various places to the potential customer's.
 Must be able to create proper holiday package for customer's.
 Assure proper satisfaction level of customer's by providing them luxurious services.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Organisation: Virgin Holidays
Job Title : Tour Operator
Qualification – MBA from recognised university
Essential Criteria:
 Adequate knowledge about designation of the country.
 Proper communication skills
 Handle queries of customer's regarding the holiday package.
Desirable criteria:
 Two year of experience as a tour operator
 proper decision-making capacity and a quick learner.
CURICULAM VITAE

These interview process is generally used by Virgin Holidays to select the right candidate
for the right job. So it is necessary for the manager to ask appropriate set of questions as per the
roles and responsibilities in the organisation. With the help of this manager will be able to
manage the task and activities of the organisation in the best possible manner and positive
working environment can be made(Rosenberg, Heimler and Morote, 2012).
P7
Strength of interview process
One of the major advantage of this interview process is right candidate can be placed at
the right job. Each and every skills of the individual can be analysed in the proper manner and
improvements can also be done if required. Chances of mistakes and errors can be reduced
because deep analyses of the individual is done. If the management is successful in properly
implementing the strategies for interview process than its performance and profitability can be

increased in the systematic manner(Sokoloff, 2012). This process is not a time consuming and
lengthy process so the time and resources of the organisation can be saved. Right candidate can
be hired in limited period of time. In this process the top authorities and management of the
organisation asks proper and logical questions from the candidates to analyse the skills and
capabilities in the proper manner. This is generally done evaluate the knowledge of candidates
and to maintain proper working environment in the organisation. This process also helps the
organisation in sustaining in the market for longer period of time.
Weakness of interview process
Along with the strength interview process also has various kinds of weakness. One of the
biggest weakness or disadvantage of this process is candidates usually gets nervous because
various kinds of questions are being asked by the top authorities of the organisation. Due to this
the performance of the candidate is decreased. This means candidate is not able to perform better
in the interview process. Another major disadvantage of this process is candidate might not be
able to concentrate properly in the interview process because at the time of interview there can
be various kinds of distractions(Troen and Boles, 2010). This process also involves high amount
of cost, so due to this revenue and cost of the organisation gets negatively impacted.
CONCLUSION
From the above given report it has been stated that proper personal development plan can
help the individual in increasing its motivation level in the best possible manner. The targeted
goals can be achieved if the individual is successful in knowing the strength and weakness.
Better plans and strategies can be made for overcoming the weaknesses and also for contributing
in the success of the organisation. Individual and organisational goals will be easily achievable if
proper analysis is done. With the help of personal development plan expectations of the
employer can also be fulfilled because individual will know what is to be done. Overall growth
can be achieved by using the personal development plan.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Blaik Hourani, R. and Stringer, P., 2015. Professional development: Perceptions of benefits for
principals. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 18(3). pp.305-339.
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Day, D.V. ed., 2014. The Oxford handbook of leadership and organizations. Oxford Library of
Psychology.
Desimone, L.M., 2011. A primer on effective professional development. Phi delta kappan.
92(6). pp.68-71.
DuPre, C. and Williams, K., 2011. Undergraduates' Perceptions of Employer Expectations.
Journal of Career and Technical Education. 26(1). pp.8-19.
Fullan, M., 2012. Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Routledge.
Huxham, C. and Vangen, S., 2013. Managing to collaborate: The theory and practice of
collaborative advantage. Routledge.
Maister, D.H., 2012. Managing the professional service firm. Simon and Schuster.
Noe, R.A., and et al., 2017. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
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Rosenberg, S., Heimler, R. and Morote, E.S., 2012. Basic employability skills: a triangular
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Sokoloff, J., 2012. Information literacy in the workplace: Employer expectations. Journal of
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