Personal and Professional Development: A Self-Managed Learning Journey

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PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................2
TASK 1....................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 APPROACHES OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING......................................3
1.2 LIFELONG LEARNING.....................................................................................5
1.3 BENEFITS OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING.................................................6
TASK 2....................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 SELF SKILL AUDIT..........................................................................................7
2.2 SELF DEVELOPMENT PLAN..........................................................................8
2.3 IDENTIFICATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.....................9
2.4 PPD PLAN...................................................................................................... 10
TASK 3..................................................................................................................... 12
3.1 PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THE
DEVELOPMENT PLAN........................................................................................ 12
3.2 DOCUMENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES...................................................14
3.3 REFLECT CRITICALLY ON YOUR OWN LEARNING AGAINST ORIGINAL
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.....................................................................................15
3.4 UPDATED PLAN............................................................................................ 17
TASK 4..................................................................................................................... 19
4.1 SOLUTIONS TO THE WORK BASED PROBLEMS......................................19
4.2 COMMUNICATION STYLES USED BY THE TRAVELODGE.......................22
4.3 TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.............................................................23
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................25
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................27

INTRODUCTION
Managing our learning along with working on the development of oneself in both
personal and professional ways by enhancing the skills and the competencies in
order to deal with the challenges thrown by the market is termed as the self-
managed learning. Self-managed learning also provides opportunities to the people
which help in making their own strategies in the tenure of the learning process as
well as in the personal and professional development. In the assignment we need to
do the self-audit of our skills and also learned about various self-managed learning
styles. Along with the above learnings, lifelong learning is also studied and benefit of
both the self-managed learning and the lifelong learning is done. Also, the
development plan is made for the enhancement of the possessed skills and then the
review for the same is done. In the last part, interpersonal and transferable skills are
been studied and the solutions to the work based problems are prepared.

TASK 1
1.1 APPROACHES OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING
Self-managed learning is a self, managed and organised the way of learning
adopted by individuals. This also indicated that the organisation can implement the
self-managed programmes and the employees will learn by themselves using the
self-managed techniques which will help the employees to grow in a certain
direction. It is the form of development program where the individual is self-
dependable and leads and manages themselves through these learning techniques
(Baporikar, 2016).
In order to set the goals and objectives to achieve at the end of the self-managed
learning process, one should follow the following steps:
Step 1 Think about the bigger picture i.e. describe the ideal situation of the outcome
of your life’s goal that will act as the motivational factor (Berezan et al., 2017).
Step 2 Now do the brainstorming and come up with the wish list which is related to
your goals and objectives (Berezan et al., 2017).
Step 3 Set the goals that are realistic in nature and are achievable. One of the best
ways to do it is conducting the SWOT analysis.
Step 4 Prioritise the set goals and also set the deadlines to achieve each of the set
goals. Also, try to set the easy goal at first as on the completion of the easy goals,
confidence level will boost up and you will be all charged up to work for achieving the
goal (Berezan et al., 2017).
Step 5 when you set your personal goals, it should be meaningful and also will help
in achieving the big picture you have set for yourself. Therefore the goals that are
beset by you should be SMART (Berezan et al., 2016).
Ways of self-managed learning are:
 Seminars & Conferences
The best way of self-managed learning is the seminar, which can be defined as the
hub of knowledge which is presented by many speakers at a single place in a single

time (Bryson, 2017). Therefore it is the best way of learning in a short span of time.
Also, the people are provided with the opportunity to present their knowledge and
also their public speaking gets better and they get confidence as their presentation
skill gets better.
 Internet
The Internet is a source where an individual can get into touch with any subject at
any point in time. A person can surf on any topic from anywhere with the required
resources. There is an ample amount of information on the internet hub and one can
opt for the one relevant to him (Bryson, 2017).
 Books
It is often said that books are the best friends of humans, it is true. The person who
is in the habit of reading a book gets a lot benefitted when it comes to self-managed
learning as books are the most accessible source and are most manageable also.
There are lot many books present on the same topic and in every language which
makes it the easiest way of self-managed learning (Bryson, 2017).

1.2 LIFELONG LEARNING
When can we say that learning is effective? It can be said that the learning is
effective when there is a progress in the person which can be checked at four stages
and these stages are experience, reflection, conceptualise and test. Lifelong learning
is the self-motivated, voluntary and the ongoing process of gaining the knowledge
that can be related to either personal aspect or the professional aspect (Chaudhry et
al., 2018). Therefore it also helps in enhancing social inclusion, personal
development and the active citizen citizenship along with the own sustainability,
employability and competitiveness (Chaudhry et al., 2018).
In Travelodge, lifelong learning is encouraged because of the following reasons:
 Improve the self-confidence
One can influence the self-confidence with the help of two things i.e. the trust on
yourself along with the competency level which is the result of the experience,
knowledge and the skills possessed by the person. Learning a new style or taking an
online course is the amazing way of boosting the self-confidence and is followed by
the employees of Travelodge (Heller and Cassady, 2017).
 Fight boredom
One of the best ways of keeping the employees all charged up is giving them the
challenges which will also help in removing the boredom. Ask them to take every
opportunity to learn something new, try to enrol the employees in the new courses,
read new books and authors, watch the TED conference etc. (Heydari et al., 2016).
 Keep your brain healthy and your mind sharp
The result of the study says that learning is the best exercise to keep your brain
active and also to make it function at a high level. A brain is a muscle so in order to
keep it in shape, try to provide it with new challenges and opportunities to learn and
grow. So in Travelodge, involve the employees in the decision making process and
ask them to provide the solutions for the same (Hildebrand, 2018).

1.3 BENEFITS OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING
There are many benefits of self-managed learning, some of them are as follows:
Benefits to the individuals
Promotion
After going through the process of self-managed learning, I was able to achieve the
higher position in the Travelodge as I was able to enhance my skills which were
helpful to complete my job in the new position (Husebø et al., 2015).
Improvement in skills
Self-managed learning helps in the enhancement of the skills of the employees of
the Travelodge which helps me in implementing various new and innovative
strategies in the Travelodge hotel which will help in the enhancing the productivity of
the hotel. Also, I will be able to find the mistakes of the employees and will be able to
provide them with the correct solutions (Husebø et al., 2015).
Benefits to the Travelodge
Customer satisfaction
If the employees of the Travelodge is self-managed, it will be a huge benefit to the
employees. Also if the employees are skilled, they will provide the customers with
more quality services and also be able to fulfil the need and demand of the
customers in a better way (Kumar, 2016).
Achievement of goals
The self-managed skills are also used in achieving the targets that are set for the
organisations before the deadlines. Also, the employees are more productive which
increases the productivity of the Travelodge as a whole (Kumar, 2016). For an
example, in Travelodge, there are many employees who belong to a different culture
and are speaking different languages, therefore in order to bring them on a single
platform in respect to communication, every employee was asked to learn English
and for the same, self-learning modules were provided to them. Therefore in this

manner, the communication was improved in the Travelodge which also improved
the overall performance of the hotel (Monty and Warren-Wenk, 2017).
TASK 2
2.1 SELF SKILL AUDIT
My current skills Professional standards Travelodge and job role
objectives
Organisational skills: I am
good in managing the
organising the tasks and
r5esources in the company.
Possessing good
organisational skills will help
in increasing the productivity
of the company as well as
the individual (Morden,
2016).
It is very important that the
manager is able to procure
goods and resources in an
effective and efficient way.
Technical skills: I am not
much, therefore, faces bit
difficulty in using new
software and technology
related services.
Being techno-savvy will help
in making the work easier
and also time will be saved.
Being effective technically
will help in making the work
easier and also less time to
consume (Morden, 2016).
Communication: I possess
strong communication skills
and have a strong hand in
both written and oral
communication.
One key to success is to
very sharp in communication
skills both written and oral
(Morden, 2016).
Being effective and clear will
help in managing the staff in
an effective and efficient
way (Morden, 2016).
Problem-solving skills: at
times I get panicked at the
time of problems and is not
able to come up with the
proper solutions for same.
The proper problem-solving
method will help in
managing the hotel in the
proper manner.
One of the key requirements
of being a successful
manager is the creative
problem-solving assessment
techniques and also the
spontaneity in coming up
with the solutions (Morden,
2016).
Leadership skills: as a
leader being able to
manage my team well and
keep them motivated to
continue with effective and
efficient work.
Being a good manager goes
hand in hand with being a
good leader (Morden, 2016).
In order to become a good
manager in the Travelodge,
it is important to be a good
leader also.

2.2 SELF DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Skills to be developed Methods of development
Oral presentation skills Go through the online tutorials of giving the
presentations, learn about the guidelines
for preparing the presentation and give the
oral presentation in the meetings etc.
(Nisbet and Shucksmith, 2017).
Problem-solving skills Read about the past issues, learn about
the applied solutions by the seniors, learn
new analysis techniques, try critical
thinking etc.
Decision-making skills By analysing the situation in a more
detailed manner and also doing the
detailed analysis (Nisbet and Shucksmith,
2017).
Delivering feedback By learning the tools used for the analysis
of the performance of the employees and
then giving them the feedback accordingly.
Innovative skills By coming up with the out of the box ideas
and also try to add value to the existing
ones and to modify them as per the
present need (Nisbet and Shucksmith,
2017).

2.3 IDENTIFICATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
There are many developmental opportunities in the Travelodge hotel being as a
manager. As it is discussed in the project that the problem faced in the Travelodge in
the retention of the employees i.e. there is high labour turnover in the Travelodge.
Therefore managing the human resource in the Travelodge in an effective and
efficient manner will help me in getting the promotion in the hotel. For doing the
same I will attend the training programmes related to effective and efficient human
resource management. Therefore this will be in developing my skills in both
personal and professional aspects (Otoo et al., 2015).
Opportunities within the Travelodge involves asking help from the senior managers
as well. This also involves the additional interaction with the employees in the
effective manner which will make them feel that they belong to the organisation
which will motivate them to perform better and the employee turnover problem will
be solved (Otoo et al., 2015).

2.4 PPD PLAN
Developme
nt
Priority Activities
to be
undertake
n
Resources Targe
t
start
date
Targe
t end
date
Criteria for
success
Profession
al
knowledge
low Increase
the
knowledge
related to
the present
job aspects
and learn
new and
updated
information
(Potter,
2015).
Use on the
online
available
information,
read books,
etc. (Potter,
2015).
10th
Feb
2019
10th
April
2019
Providing
the staff with
the required
theoretical
knowledge
and helping
them in
understandi
ng their work
in a better
way.
Time
manageme
nt
Moderatel
y high
Prioritising
of the work,
making the
required
schedules
etc.
Make the
use of
various time
manageme
nt tools.
10
Feb
2019
30th
April
2019
Make the
proper
scheduling
for each of
the workers
and make
sure the
housekeepin
g activities
are
performed
on time and
are as per
the
requirement
of the
guests.
Decision
making
Moderate Take the
decisions
as per the
need of the
moment an
in
accordance
with the
need of the
Travelodge
taking into
considerati
on the staff
as well
Analysing
the
situations
and the
problems in
the better
way (Potter,
2015).
1st
April
2019
15th
April
2019
Be the part
of the
decision
making
authorities
and be able
to make the
decisions for
the
housekeepin
g
department.

(Potter,
2015).
Presentatio
n
Moderatel
y high
Be fluent in
the public
speaking
skills
Video
lectures,
review old
presentatio
ns of
seniors,
attend
seminars
etc. (Potter,
2015).
1st
Feb
2019
15th
Feb
2019
Record
yourself
while giving
the
presentation
and also ask
for the
feedback
from the
seniors and
subordinates
.