Professional Identity and Practice Report: IHG Case Study

This report delves into the concept of professional identity and its practical application within the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). The introduction defines professional identity and its significance in the workplace. Task 1 explores the benefits of ongoing professional development for various stakeholders, examining IHG's structure and the importance of continuous learning. It then identifies key skills and competencies expected by employers in specific roles, such as assistant managers, highlighting hard, soft, professional, and business skills. Task 2 focuses on self-assessment techniques, including SWOT analysis and skill audits, to evaluate an individual's abilities. It also examines various learning theories and approaches, such as behavioristic, cognitive, humanistic, and social learning theories, and their relevance to personal and professional development. Task 3 outlines the construction of a development plan to enhance specific skills within a work context. Task 4 involves a simulated job interview, followed by a review of the strengths and weaknesses of the interview process. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and insights.

Professional Identity and
Practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key benefits of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders......................3
P2 Professional employer expectations related to skills and competencies for specific roles.....4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 Evaluate their own ability, skills and competencies for specific job role .............................6
P4 Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development process........7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5 Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within a specific
work context.................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P6 Undertake a job interview for a suitable service industry role.............................................10
P7 Review key strengths and weaknesses of an applied interview process..............................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity can be defined as special identity of an individual along with
different attributes, experiences, beliefs, values and object which attracts a person towards
attaining organisational goals (Brooks, 2016). It involves practices which helps in adoption as
well as development to identity in professional world. Such identity is perceived as profession as
well as is created through various aspects to define individuals in current as well as anticipated
professional life. For understanding professional identity and practices, InterContinental hotels
Group is selected. Chosen company is multinational hospitality company whose headquarters are
located at Denham, United Kingdom and provides various services related to tour as well as
travelling packages to multiple customers. This report discusses about ongoing professional
development, self-directed learning, career opportunities in order to enhance professional
identity. It further includes skills, competences, different learning and development approaches
to develop particular job role. Lastly, development plan is formulated for the growth of business.
TASK 1
P1 Key benefits of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders
Introduction and overview of the company: InterContinental Hotels Group is an
international hospitality business and the headquarters are located at Buckinghamshire, United
Kingdom since 1777 (InterContinental Hotels group, 2019). Managers of such organisation are
highly qualified as well as have experience to cater services to different customers who visit their
hotels. The hotel delivers services related to luxury rooms, accommodation services, positive
work environment, lodging, travelling, food facility and so on. There are 842749 guests rooms in
5656 hotels across 100 countries. The hotel has owned distinct brands such as Six Senses Hotel,
Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Crowne plaza an many more.
Benefits and importance of ongoing professional and personal development:
Ongoing professional development helps in learning new things as well as solving problems at
workplace. N the other hand, continuous development benefits in enhancing knowledge along
with skills in relation to particular job role. Following are the benefits as well as importance of
undertaking ongoing professional and personal development at InterContinental Hotels Group:
Helpful in succession planning: Succession planning is a technique to identify as well
as developing new managers who have capability to replace old managers at the time of

retirement, resignation or death. Professional learning helps in succession planning which
benefits by increasing availability of capable along with experiences employees for unoccupied
or empty job positions. Succession planning is important to eliminate the wastage of time and
identification of right people with right type of experience, skills or capabilities at right time
period. The manager of selected hotel provides continuous training to staff members which helps
in further business planning for enhancing business activities.
Build confidence level: Professional training and development programmes benefits in
making employees feel confident along with increasing their productivity level. High confidence
level is important as it improves abilities to take important as well as critical decision for the
betterment of hotels or personal life. Authorities of InterContinental Hotels Group focuses on
continuous development in order to building level of confidence within employees to respond
quickly along with taking effective decisions.
Improves skills of workforce: Ongoing professional development benefits by improving
skills of employees in relation to perform various operations in effective as well as efficient
manner. Managers of selected hotel uses effective skills and makes improvement through
providing training and development programmes to workforce (Bukor, 2015). Increasing skills is
important to perform activities in creative manner as well as on specified time period along with
this it provides various opportunities for further growth.
P2 Professional employer expectations related to skills and competencies for specific roles
Every organisation prefers to hire employees with sufficient skills as well as abilities in
order to perform particular job role at work place. Skills are the qualities or attributes within an
individual to complete critical task. InterContinental Hotels Group provides various types of
services to multiple clients as per their requirements, demands or preferences. For such purpose,
it is very important at hotel to have skilled employees who can maintain or deliver demanded
services to customers. Assistant managers should focus towards following competencies along
with skills:
Appropriateness of appearance: In relation to appearance which are needed for
presenting special context, employers can attract attention of customers. Appearing them self in
front of customers is an important skill which helps in maintaining business. In chosen hotel,
assistant managers are required to appear in special manner on special occasions. For example,
during hotel anniversaries or festivals, managers should wear attractive and decent costumes.

Presentation and appearance: Employers should present or communicate in appropriate
manner with employees as well as customers . To appear and present in front of clients they need
to have effective communication skills. InterConntinental Hotels Group manager should present
their skills along with personality.
Working in ethical as well as responsible manner: Such skills are required for
accomplishing tasks or activities with responsibility and ethically. Employers of selected hotel
possess such skills to influence employees, handling complex situations as well as to complete
tasks. They delegate responsibilities with responsibilities along with best manner.
These mentioned skills are expected in professional employer. Along with this, an
assistant manager should also have following skills:
Hard skills: These skills are related to expertise of an individual for successfully
performing job operations. They are specific to job only and are listed in job descriptions or
postings. Some of the hard skills within assistant managers of chosen business are
administrative, information technology and so on (Cottrell, 2015).
Soft skills: These are interpersonal skills which describes approaches of work, life,
relationship with people at work place. Such skills are unique points which helps in getting
competitive advantage over others. Assistant managers of chosen hotel posses communication
skills, problem solving skills, conflict resolution, team player, leadership and many more as soft
skills.
Professional skills: These are career competencies which are not acquired or taught
during coursework but are connected with specific job role at workplace. In relevance to
assistant managers of InterContinental Hotels Group, they should have leadership, hotel
management, conflict resolution, mentoring skills to attain the targets with ethics and
punctuality.
Business skills: These skills are related with abilities or capacities which are acquired
through systematic, sustainable a swell as deliberate efforts to carry out complex job functions.
In InterContinental Hotels Group, assistant manager should have business skills related to
cognitive skills, technical skills, interpersonal skills and market skills. They should think in
strategic manner while performing activities to manage business.

TASK 2
P3 Evaluate their own ability, skills and competencies for specific job role
It is very important top examine or analysis own abilities, competences or skills related to
specific job role. An individual carefully analyses himself for knowing their abilities or
competencies (Davey, 2013). Techniques for self assessment are technical skill, personal SWOT
analysis and many more. Assistant manager can adopt following techniques for evaluating their
own competencies, abilities or skills:
Personal SWOT analysis: This is a model which helps in examining own strengths,
weaknesses, threats as well as opportunities. Further description is as follows:
Strength: It helps in analysing positive features within an individual and is beneficial for
growth in effective manner. The assistant managers strength which is analyses is that they posses
good communication skills, interpersonal skills along with presentation skills.
Weaknesses: Such helps in analysing negative features and it is very important to
overcome from such features. If not overcome on appropriate time period then they becomes as a
barriers in professional development. The weaknesses analysed within assistant manager is that
they lacks time management skills as well as management skills.
Opportunity: This aspect helps in further growth in future. Opportunities provides
chance to grow, learn better things and accepting change. In relation to assistant manager, they
have opportunity to get promotions from the position of assistant manager to become senior
manager.
Threat: Threats results in causing damages to life or property and are considered as
negative issues which becomes the reason which hampers growth. On the basis of analysis it can
be said that increasing competition in the corporate sector is a threat for assistant manager and at
the same time creates barriers as well as facing problems in performing job tasks.
Technical and soft skill audit: Such model is based on analysing technical as well as
soft skills. Technical skills in relevance to assistant manager does not hamper their task roles.
But at the same time, it is very important to have knowledge of all skill types to achieve growth
in personal along with professional life (Dent and Whitehead, 2013). Technical skills in
relevance to assistant manager, they posses theoretical knowledge of theories related to
management. It helps in understanding issues and at the same time talking effective decisions.
Soft skills possessed with the manager are problem solving skills, team player, communication

skills and leadership skills. Apart from this, significant skills includes self confidence and
delegation. The assistant manager lacks skills in the fields related to creativity, initiation and so
on.
Evaluation of all skills related to assistant manager are as follows:
S. No. Skill Good Average Bad
1 Creativity - - ✔
2 Interpersonal skills ✔ - -
3 Time management skills - ✔ -
4 Initiation - - ✔
5 Communication skills ✔ - -
6 Delegation - ✔ -
P4 Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development process
There are various types of learning approaches or theories which helps in improving
personal along with professional skills required at InterContinental Hotels Group. Some of the
theories and approaches are as follows:
Learning theories and approaches: It helps in undertaking different approaches by
students to understand the manner in which they study on the basis of perceived objectives
(Gibbs, 2015). Different types of learning approaches are as follows:
Behaviouristic approach: It encompasses new changes as well as behaviours which
responds in quick manner. It relies on believe that knowledge exists within along with outside of
an individual. It believes the concept that learning comes within an employee or company when
any changes in behaviour or situation are obtained among stimuli as well as responses.
InterContinental Hotels Group is planning to adopt new technology which will help in attracting
potential customers. When new technology will be adopted, employee response will be
considered as behaviour approach. It also helps in responding towards accepting change.
Cognitive approach: As per such approach, psychological concept is applied which
helps in studying mind as well as thinking process of others. By applying such theory, managers
observes what are the things going on learners or employees mind. Selected hotel group analysis

abilities of work force by recognising issues and at the same time training is provided for further
improvements.
Humanistic approach: Such approach helps in defining experiences related to individual
person. It destructs stress, unusual feeling along with negative elements from behaviour of an
individual. Assistant manager of InterContinental Hotels Group applies this approach for the
purpose of reducing stress, work load and helps in executing employees plans for enhancing their
skills as well as achieving heights (Guile, 2014).
Social learning theory: such theory is based on learning process as well as social
behaviours which are acquired through observations or imitating others. It defines learning as a
cognitive process which takes place in relation to social context. It further described that learning
can be acquired through punishments or rewards as vicarious reinforcement. This approach is
used by InterCiontinental Hotels Group where employee learning of new skills as well as
experiences is stated by observing managers or other staff members. Workforce of selected
business observes managers actions and learn to cope up with critical circumstances or
situations. It also helps in application of effective business decision.
Best development approaches to enhance your own professional and personal development.
The assistant manager can adopt learning theories and approaches for the purpose of enhancing
skills for professional along with personal development. This will helps in learning new concepts
and resolving various issues or problems arising at work place. Such approaches will help
assistant manager to observe behaviour of other managers and get guidance in order to react in
certain situations for accepting new technology.
TASK 3
P5 Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within a specific
work context
Performance Development Plan: It is a tool which helps in business growth by solving
various problems related to expanding operations in international market place. This plan is
prepared by managers for the purpose of achieving objectives as well as goals. Such planning act
as guidance in development of business in specific area. The managers of InterContinental
Hotels Group provides various training along with development programmes to its workforce for
resolving conflicts using competencies as well as skills. This plan will help in improving skills of

assistant manager (Huston, 2013). Thus, development plan with the use of SMART target
approach is described below:
Current skills
and
competencies
Professional development
plan (Using SMART target)
Evaluation of
progress
Evaluation of
effectiveness of
personal
development plan
Time
management
Specific – With such skill
time frame for completion of
tasks are set in specific
manner.
Measurable – To measure this
skill, stop watch as well as
help from others can be taken
in order to focus towards
managerial activities.
Achievable – The goal along
with time period must be
stated to enhance the skills and
achieving objectives.
Relevant - It is related with job
of assistant manager.
Time - The estimated time for
enhancing such skill requires 3
months.
In order to determine
the progress reports
can be analysed
where time period is
recorded in relation
to performing tasks
(Loon, 2016).
With the help of
analysis,
improvements in time
management skills can
be evaluated.
Initiation skills Specific - To improve skill of
taking initiation.
Measurable - It is measured
with the help of new
implementation of new tasks
in different situations and
For evaluating the
progress, initiations
and development at
work place can be
analyses.
Evaluation of
development plan can
be done through
evaluating changes
which have taken
place as well as

checking ability.
Achievable – For analysis
different types of initiated task
in different situations for the
growth of selected hotel.
Relevant – It is related to
taking critical decisions for
initiation at work place
(Sutherland and Markauskaite,
2012).
Time – For this skill, time
required is about 7 months.
following idol
individuals who have
experience in
managing work and
performing them
accordingly.
Creativity skills Specific – To improve
creativity in performing work.
Measurable - To measure skill
assistant manager can
formulate various ideas by
applying creativity in relation
to decision making.
Achievable – In resolve any
issues at workplace, creative
along with innovative ideas
can be achieved
Relevant – It is related with
improving skills of assistant
manager
Time – It can be improved
within 1 year.
The progress can be
evaluated by
applying innovative
ideas as well as make
essential decisions.
For analysing the
effectiveness of
evaluation of personal
development plan,
improvements in
criteria of innovation
by effectively apply
ideas to solve
problems in certain
situations.

TASK 4
P6 Undertake a job interview for a suitable service industry role
Interview is a formal communication between two or more people in which one person
asks questions and on the other hand another person gives answers. Interviewer asks questions
and interviewee gives answers.
There are various types of interview processes based on organisational policies as well as
positions.
Formal Interview: Such interview is conducted by interviewer in systematic as well as
appropriate manner where questions are set in advance (Trede, Macklin and Bridges, 2012).
Informal Interview: In such interview no system is followed and questions are not set in
advance. The interviewer asks questions as per this preferences.
A scenario is presented fro the interview for the position of hospitality manager, formal
interview is taken and is as follows:
Formal interview for the post of Hospitality Manager
Question 1.
Interviewer- Introduce Yourself.
Interviewee- Myself David Dsouza and my belongings are from Manchester. I have completed
graduation in the field of hotel management. My post graduation is in commerce stream. My
hobbies are managing people, painting.
Question 2.
Interviewer - Do you have any job experience?
Interviewee - No sir, I am a fresher.
Question 3.
Interviewer - What is your goal in hotel management field?
Interviewee – My short term goal is to become hotel manager and develop my skills in
hospitality sector by applying innovative techniques for satisfy potential clients.
Question 4.