Enhancing Professional Skills: A Development Plan for Travelodge Hotel

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Personal and Professional Development
Student’s Name:
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
1.1. Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning. Which approach can be more suitable for
you or your staff at Travelodge Hotel?........................................................................................5
1.2. Propose ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be
encouraged at Travelodge. In this question, you should say how you as a manager can
encourage lifelong learning at Travelodge Hotel........................................................................6
1.3. Evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to you as an assistant manager and the
Travel Lodge. Your judgment has to be supported by relevant evidence or examples...............7
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................9
2.1. Evaluate your own current skills and competencies against professional standards for a
hotel manager and against organizational objectives of Travelodge Hotel.................................9
2.2. Identify your own development needs and the activities required to meet them. Which of
your skills may need to be improved? How are you going to improve or gain these skills?....10
2.3. Identify development opportunities to meet your current and future defined needs. Which
opportunities are available for you inside or outside of the hotel to improve your skill
development needs?...................................................................................................................11
2.4. Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs. In this
task, you need to prepare a ‘plan’ for personal and professional development. In this plan, you
need to mention three issues: ‘what’ are your needed skills; ‘how’ are you going to develop
the skills; and ‘when’ are you going to develop intended skills?..............................................12
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................14
3.1. Discuss the processes and activities required to implement the development plan that you
prepared for yourself in task 2.4................................................................................................14
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3.2. Undertake and document development activities as planned. In this task, you should
implement the development plan you prepared for yourself and then write down how you
implemented your plan..............................................................................................................14
3.3. Reflect critically on your own learning against original aims and objectives set in the
development plan. Did you really learn new skills at the level you aim for them?...................15
3.4. Update the development plan that you prepared for yourself (covered in 2.4) based on the
feedback and evaluation............................................................................................................15
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................17
4.1- Select solutions to work-based problems...........................................................................17
4.2- Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels..................18
4.3- Evaluate and use effective time-management strategies....................................................18
4.1- Select solutions to work-based problems...........................................................................20
4.2- Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels..................20
4.3- Evaluate and use effective time-management strategies....................................................20
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................21
Reference List................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
Personal and professional development of an individual is considered important for the
workplace of the organization. If individuals within the workplace have developed their personal
and professional skills, they are able to function within the organization in a fruitful manner.
Besides this, it will help to increase the quality of organizational outcomes. Management of the
organization should ensure that they involve the individuals in process of learning and training,
as it will allow them to evolve in a better manner. The Travelodge Hotel is one of the most
famous hotels in the United Kingdom. The hotel is known for providing quality services to the
customers. This assignment has been developed for understanding the way in which employees
and staffs are developed both personally and professionally. With the help of personal and
professional development, individuals are able to understand their requirements towards the
organization. Moreover, they are able to understand their roles as an individual and implement
important skills for enhancing themselves.
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Task 1
1.1. Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning. Which approach can be more suitable
for you or your staff at Travelodge Hotel?
Self-managed learning can be regarded an important aspect that allows me to know learn skills
and techniques personal and professional development on my own. Besides this, self-managed
learning helps me to ensure that I am able to implement the skills in the workplace for enhancing
the overall process of business operations. It allows me to know about the right knowledge and
attitude that could be used while working within an organizational context (Cunningham, 2017).
In case of Travelodge Hotel, the management can make use of different approaches that could be
applied for self-managed learning. Some of the approaches have been outlined below in a
detailed manner:
Attending Seminars and Conferences
Seminars and conferences have been helpful for developing my personal and professional skills.
Attending such conferences and seminars will allow me to know about the correct usage of my
skill set in the organization. This will provide me with a clear idea about the ways in which I can
develop my skills and use them to meet with the organizational requirements (Bunderson and
Boumgarden, 2010).
Online Courses
In the modern era, online courses have become one of the most useful means to educate
individuals. I need to take help from online education websites that will help me to gain
knowledge. This assists me in increasing my skills that could be used in my personal and
professional life.
Learning through Research
I need to work on my researching skills so that I am able to find out about the task that I am
doing. It has helped me to grow and develop as an individual. While researching, I am able to
discover new things and am able to apply these in the course of my functioning within the
workplace.
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In case of working within Travelodge Hotel, attending seminars and conferences would be most
suitable for my development. This will allow me to know about the functioning of the hotel and I
will be able to make use of my skills for improving my performance in the workplace. Besides
this, seminars will assist me to function to the best of my abilities and help me to achieve the
business aim and objectives.
1.2. Propose ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be
encouraged at Travelodge. In this question, you should say how you as a manager can
encourage lifelong learning at Travelodge Hotel.
In order to provide quality services to the customers, it is important for the managers of
Travelodge Hotel ensure that all the employees are making use of their skills and knowledge. For
achieving this, the manager should encourage employees for lifelong learning that could be
attained by the following techniques:
Self-management
The employees of Travelodge Hotel can use this technique for ensuring that they are working in
a much-organized manner. For implementing self-management, individuals should be capable of
developing their standards and work on them to achieve them in the course of their activities.
Self-motivation
Motivating oneself is important for an individual for overcoming the negative aspects that they
face in their lives. It allows them to step out of depression and other negative thoughts that make
it difficult for them to achieve things in their life (Pedler, 2011).
Self-monitoring
It is important for an individual to ensure that they are monitoring their performance in the
workplace. As a result, they become aware of the errors that they make in their work life and
they are able to take all the necessary measures that could help them to overcome the mistakes.
Self-modification
There are times, when individuals face deviation in their life and are unable to focus on the task
that has been allocated to them. Self-modification allows them to overcome the deviations and
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stay focused. Besides this, it allows them to achieve their business objectives in a desired
manner.
Being the manager of Travelodge Hotel, I feel it is important to keep my employees motivated
and help them to monitor their own performance. As a result, I will be able to increase the
quality of their performance. I need to provide them with training so that they know about their
roles and responsibilities in the workplace.
1.3. Evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to you as an assistant manager and the
Travel Lodge. Your judgment has to be supported by relevant evidence or examples.
Self-managed learning is considered important, as it benefits me in numerous manners. The
benefits of self-managed learning have been discussed below in a detailed manner:
Communication Skills
It has been observed that self-managed learning has helped me to increase my communication
skills. After implementing self-managed learning in the workplace, I was able to communicate
with the other staffs and the management authority in an efficient manner. This helped me to
resolve organizational issues in the workplace and it had a positive impact on the increase in the
productivity (Graves, 2013).
Leadership Skills
I am able to increase my leadership skills in the workplace. I am able to ensure that I am working
in collaboration with the other team members to increase the performance of the company. I was
able to motivate the other employees so that they can perform their jobs in an enthusiastic
manner. As a result, I used self-managed learning to lead the employees in the workplace with
the help of my leadership skills.
Knowing strengths and weaknesses
Self-managed learning has allowed me to know about my strengths and weaknesses. As a result,
I can work on my weaknesses and overcome them in the workplace. This allows me to increase
the company’s performance. Besides this, after knowing my areas of strengths, I can use them in
the workplace and meet with the organizational requirements (Kop and Fournier, 2011).
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An example can be cited in this regards. Self-managed learning has helped me to lead the
employees in the workplace. I could actually motivate the employees for performing in a better
manner. This helped to enhance the performance of the hotel and they were able to provide better
customer service.
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Task 2
2.1. Evaluate your own current skills and competencies against professional standards for a
hotel manager and against organizational objectives of Travelodge Hotel.
As a manager of Travelodge Hotel, I have to ensure that I set a certain standard of profession
within the workplace. The employees should be able to provide great deal of customer service to
the employees in the workplace. Besides this, my employees should also focus on the developing
the quality of services that they are providing to the customers.
Evaluation of my current skills and competencies are important to increase the professional
standards as a hotel manager. The different skills that I have evaluated are listed below:
Time management Skills
Managing time in a better manner is important to meet with the business objectives in the
workplace. With the help of this, I can easily ensure the achievement of the tasks that have been
allocated to my employees. During the process of evaluation, I could understand that I lacked
time management skills. As a result, I was unable to meet with the business objectives.
Moreover, it caused hindrance in the process of my business operations and I was unable to
complete the tasks on time (Whetten, 2011).
Communication Skills
This is one of the most important skills that are required by me, while working within the
organizational context. I have to communicate with the employees as well as the other managers
for understanding my job roles and responsibilities. It allows me to report about any kind of issue
or danger that has developed in the workplace. However, while working in the hotel, I was
unable to communicate in a successful manner. I failed to convey important information about
the workplace and it increased difficulties while meeting with the organizational objectives.
Interpersonal Skills
Having proper interpersonal skills is important for me while working at the Travelodge Hotel, as
it allows me to interact with people belonging to different culture and race. As a result, it benefits
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the organization in terms of their business operation. It helps me to deal with people related to
their business within and outside the workplace.
Being the manager of Travelodge Hotel, I should focus on encouraging employees for
developing their skills and providing them with scope to use these skills in the workplace. It will
help to increase the productivity of the organization and eases their process of achieving their
business objectives. I need to work on my time management skills and communication skills for
developing my business and increase the profitability of the organization.
2.2. Identify your own development needs and the activities required to meet them. Which
of your skills may need to be improved? How are you going to improve or gain these skills?
It is necessary to identify my needs for development, while working within the organizational
context. If I am able to understand my needs for development, it becomes easier for me to
accomplish the tasks that have been allocated to me as a manger. This section analyses certain
skills that need to be improved while working within the organization. The identification of the
development needs has been outlined below:
Knowledge, concepts and skills required for the job
The job description of Travelodge Hotel had certain criterion that should be possessed by me.
While working within the hotel industry, it is important for me to know about the requirements
of the workplace. It is also important for me to have all the required skills and knowledge that is
needed in the workplace so that I am able to meet with the requirements of the organization.
Monitoring and improvising skills
While working for Travelodge Hotel I should be able to monitor my performance and know
about the errors that I am making in the process of my business. This allows me to rectify the
mistakes and perform in a flawless manner. Besides this, I should also look to improvise new
techniques and styles for meeting with the business objectives. This helps me to increase the
performance standards of the hotel (Grissom et al., 2015).
Skills to be improved
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After the completion of the analysis, it was observed that working on time management skills
and communication skills would be required. I was unable to address the requirements of the
tasks that have been allocated to me in the workplace. As a result, I have to work on my time
management skills and increase my working standards (Kameg et al., 2010). Besides this, I
should also focus on the development of my communication skills for ensuring that I am able to
communicate with the higher authorities about the issues that I am facing in the workplace.
Ways to improve skills
For improving time management skills, I should be able to undertake tasks and look to complete
them on or before the actual deadline. This will help me to increase my time management skills
and I will be able to meet with the organizational requirements easily.
Apart from this, I should focus on the level of communication with my subordinates and
employees in the workplace. Besides this, I should look to communicate with the managers and
the higher authorities. I should look to inform them about any kind of difficulties that I am facing
while addressing the requirements of the task. This will allow my communication skills to
increase in the workplace.
2.3. Identify development opportunities to meet your current and future defined needs.
Which opportunities are available for you inside or outside of the hotel to improve your
skill development needs?
In order to develop personal and professional skills, it is important for me to look for
opportunities to develop myself in the right manner. This section discusses the opportunities that
will assist me in the development of the required skills and it has been analyzed below:
Knowing the skill gaps
For developing the required skills, it is necessary for me to know about the gap that exists
between my actual and required skills. I have to work on my current competencies so that I can
develop my skills that could be used for developing the business of Travelodge Hotel. This will
allow me to work in accordance to the requirements of the organization.
Management of skills
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It is important for me to manage my skills in a proper way so that I am able to develop them in
the course of my work. The organization assists me to know about the skills that are needed for
performing a certain job role. As a result, I am completely aware of the organizational
requirements.
While working within the organization, several opportunities that are available for me to develop
and enhance my skills. For developing my communication skills, I should be able to
communicate with the management authority as well as the other employees in a successful
manner (Karim and Kandy, 2011). This will help me to increase my communication skills and I
will be able to use the skills to accomplish the task that has been allocated.
In order to develop my time management skills, I have enough opportunities within the
workplace. I have to take initiative to complete my work on time. This will enhance my skills
and will not miss the deadlines of any tasks. Moreover, it allows the organization to achieve their
goals in a desired way.
2.4. Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs. In this
task, you need to prepare a ‘plan’ for personal and professional development. In this plan,
you need to mention three issues: ‘what’ are your needed skills; ‘how’ are you going to
develop the skills; and ‘when’ are you going to develop intended skills?
This section develops a personal and professional development plan to understand the needs for
developing my skills while working within the Travelodge Hotel. The plan has been done below
as follows:
Development
Objectives
Priority Activities
to be
undertaken
Resources Target
start
date
Target
end date
Criteria for
success
Communicatio
n Skill
Very high Interaction
with
individuals
and self-
assessment
Reading
books,
help from
managers
and peers
7/02/19 21/02/19 Gaining
positive
feedbacks
from
managers and
peers and
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