The Experience after Restaurant Training - Essay Example

Learning Log The experience I obtained during my placement will remain vivid in my memory. I did my placement at Chongqing San Jia Xiang Restaurant. The restaurant prepares Chinese dishes especially Guangdong cuisine and Shannxi snacks. One would regard the dishes offered by the restaurant unique because of the prevailing customs of this society. The mission of the restaurant is to offer Chinese dishes in an environment where the dishes are less common (Chongqing Expat Club, 2008:8). For instance, Londoners serve English dishes most of the time. The situation makes it difficult for the visiting Chinese to enjoy. This idea influenced the owners of this restaurant to create an opportunity to the Chinese in heart of London. Many clients visiting the restaurant have remarked that the restaurant has enabled them to acquire the best in a foreign land. The restaurant respects and promotes Chinese culture. Reception of clients who visit this restaurant would attest to the above fact. The restaurant location is heart English land where one would expect to meet the English culture. However, the uniqueness of the restaurant stem up from the fact that it roots for the native culture of the Chinese. This is the best that a person would imagine especially when an individual has been dreaming of experience the native culture. Language is an aspect of culture, which influences all other activities in the society. The restaurants prefer addressing its Chinese visitors in Chinese language and other visitors in the most appropriate language (Touro). The idea is to protect the business from failing to cater for the interest of the society. Serving the needs of Chinese people as well as the needs of the people who embraces the Chinese culture is the sole objective of the restaurant. This objective is evident through the long-term service that the restaurant has offered to the society since its inception in 1890s (Chongqing Expat Club, 2008:3). Chinese immigrants needed a place to practice their culture while in foreign land. The idea was only practical through creation of a recreational facility that could address the needs of the Chinese immigrants. The viability of the restaurant for a century is a demonstration that the immigrants embraced the idea. Today the practices in the restaurant indicate respect for the Chinese culture. Human culture differs owing to the fact that people live in various geographical regions. The practices observed in London by Londoners are much different from practices of Chinese in Beijing. How the fabric that formed the foundation of the restaurant anticipated to carry the practices alive. My placement at Chongqing San Jia Xiang restaurant exposed me to two events; first, exercises my communication skills in an international environment second to retain stress. The restaurant offers services to international guest visiting or residing in London. Communication is a crucial tool in the hospitality industry that dictates the number clients. Clients visiting various recreational facilities are keen to reception in their new environment. The restaurant offers a warm reception to people (Touro). Exposure to new environment offers an opportunity for learning new approaches. I was not an exception to this exercise. I had to receive clients, listen to their demands and respond. The experience was good because the management managed to influence my reaction whenever I misunderstood the clients. People have different abilities yet they need services. It means I had to develop skills of response as well as skills of controlling my temper whenever the demands were out of my taste. The organisation concern promotes an environment where a person could be able to learn. Individual’s presentation influences ones ability to handle clients. The restaurant management and staff created an environment, which encourages an individual to be presentable. The restaurant holds routine departmental meetings, which aims at analysing and attending to problems of the workers. The sessions are very encouraging because it enabled us to address the challenges we faced as well as introducing a new idea to the organisation. Many institution face the challenge of accepting ideas from junior staffs, however, the restaurant does accept opinion of individual junior or senior staffs. The opportunity provided by the restaurant to workers to address their grievances is very useful because it offers a window for learning (Chongqing Expat Club, 2008: 12). Learning would be difficult when such opportunities do not exist in this organisation. Placement instructors of the restaurant created a learning environment. The approach adopted by the instructors was demonstration, which I feel, is an effective approach. My duty was to imitate the observations that I made in the restaurant. For instance, the instructors could set a table and offer the same opportunity for me to practice. Work assessment creates a challenge to the learner to think (Reynolds and Webber, 2004:136). The instructors offered similar conditions to us in order to equip our attitudes towards performing a given task. I think that my gratitude to the restaurant is not heresy but a demonstration of deep felt thanks to the respective leaders who influenced my learning period. Classroom and field are two different conditions that offer learning opportunity (Reynolds and Webber, 2004:136). Classroom lessons did not offer the practical experience that I got during the placement. Lectures prepared us with the required skills for the trade. My induction into the restaurant proved to me that I had idea of real conditions in my trade. Human feelings are inevitable, yet an individual cannot live without feelings. Sometimes I could become angry especially when I was subject to repetition of a previous event. I think I had the classroom mentality that is far from reality. Stress test by the instructors at the restaurant was a big challenge to me because I felt the staff had some peculiar attitude about me. I did not know that stress test was to equip my communication skills. Human beings are subject to stress whenever conditions dictate otherwise. I did not like conditions that led to stresses. Building pressure in the hospitality industry is crucial because it would influence client ability to attend the restaurant (Walker and Miller, 2009:107). It is not surprising that some clients may ask questions that would appear as obvious to the workers, but new to the visitors. I took some time learn the technique, however, I had developed prejudice against the staffs who subjected me to stress test. My stay in the restaurant helped me to develop new perspective about social events. I did observe social events that took place in the restaurant and realised that human perception to social life differs in various environments. The perception in the Chinese environment differs with other cultures. Psychosocial theorists believe that every individual demonstrate some amount of reaction to events that happen in a given environment (Palombo, et.al. 2009:182). Human reaction depends on built attitudes, which an individual develops from the environment. I was able to observe that my reaction was different to reaction of other staffs during my stress test induction. I wondered why they did not object to the conditions that did not show acknowledgement to their services. However, I learnt that the situation in the restaurant offered an opportunity for the employees to endure and demonstrate courtesy to clients who projected arrogance. The condition appears strange and hectic to practice but the restaurants staffs do not demonstrate any aspect of displeasure to clients. The idea behind marketing is to instigate a situation, which influences the consumer to buy. The situation is only practical through reactions, which an individual would demonstrate to a client. Daily processes require some bit of endurance and patience (DeRobertis, 2008:153) because the environment for marketing services and goods would subject the seller to conditions that disgusts but a reciprocal of the same would generate a negative feedback to the restaurant. This analogy forms the bearing of courtesy verses all manner of arrogance. The tendency to achieve the uttermost goal does not just come erroneously, but an individual would develop it from social conditions (Jaszay and Dunk, 2003:182). The Carl Rogers theory on personal development posits that biological factors and social factors contribute to individual’s attempt to self-actualisation tendency. I observed the way my instructors handled their activities and felt that I should do it more than them. The motivating factor was the benefits that they got from their practice. The restaurant recognizes individual efforts to promote the name of the organization. I developed the urge to be among the influential figures in the hospitality industry. I knew that the attaining the ambition entailed developing the capacity to deliver the same way as my seniors. Borrowing Carl’s theory, developing skills geared towards achieving my goals was not an option but a requisite. Largely, observational experienced influenced the perception that I developed about my career. Communication skills were not any important to my student life. However, my placement environment moulded me to project my future through the skills that I learnt. My idea of success changed because I realised that it would come from the self-image that I developed. Developing self-image meant creating a good rapport between the clients and me (Deci, and Ryan, 2008:12). Client is the ladder that which connects the interest of the individual to success. This idea created a feeling in me, which has helped to embrace the culture of service. I had to prepare to face an environment that did not match my interest. However, Carl regards the condition as worthy because it would capitalise of unworthy situation by creating an environment, which promotes progress. Rejecting the condition would shut the dream to success while accepting the challenge would open a window to progress. Many employers regard personal development as an attribute that contribute to organisation success (Saee, 2006:85). Expression or the ability to achieve the objective of the organisation influences the approach taken when hiring an employee. The condition is paramount in the labour market necessitating models of acquiring the requisite. I think learners develop the objects required by employers by working towards the demands in set. Professional life dictates social aspects of an individual’s life. For instance, self-esteem is a recipe of success. People who demonstrate self-esteem would develop strategies of achieving life goals as opposed to individuals who show pessimistic characteristics. The image that an individual would project towards personal life would act as a driving factor towards the desired goal. Psychologists believe that an individual would build his or her career out of self-image (Surrey, 2006:14). The urge to uttermost performance comes from intrinsic feelings that an individual develops from the surrounding. The language learning theory proposed by Carl Rogers tasks an individual to develop the required skills. Carl posits in the theory that individual goals dictates language learning (Surrey, 2006:14) Professional ability and language skills are the major factors that would contribute to the success in the industry. I think that the experience I gained during the placement period helped me to develop a different perception to learning. Environment helps in shaping an individual personality as wells as goal setting and achieving attitude. In conclusion, my placement at Chongqing San Jia Xiang Restaurant enabled me to conceptualise my individual goals as opposed to general life goals. The culture of the restaurant equipped me with necessary skills which a re relevant in the hospitality industry. The consumer environment requires patients and courtesy that the consumers might not project. However, the idea of marketing is to influence the consumer to accept the product option presented in the market. Theories of success posit that self-esteem and the urge to self-actualisation are the key drivers to success. People observe environmental influences and compare them with intrinsic views in order to learn. Personal ability is very crucial element that employers gauge whenever they intend to hire an individual. Learning process depend on the immediate benefit that an individual seeks to achieve as well as long-term benefits. The image developed during learning would steer an individual to success. Bibliography Chongqing Expat Club.2008. Chongqing Handbook. Available from http://www.cqexpat.com/chongqing_handbook/chongqing_handbook.pdf [Accessed on 24 April 2012] Deci, L. E. And Ryan, M. R. 2008. Self-Determination Theory: A Macrotheory of Human Motivation, Development, and Health. Available from http://www.psicologia-uniroma4.it/LS/organizzazione/materiale/cap-49-3-182%5B1%5D.pdf [Accessed 24 April 2012] DeRobertis, M. E. 2008. Humanizing Child Developmental Theory: A Holistic Approach. Los Angeles: Eugene Mario DeRobertis. Jaszay, C. and Dunk, P. 2003. Training Design for the Hospitality Industry. New York: Cengage Learning. p182 Palombo, J. et.al. 2009. Guide to Psychoanalytic Developmental Theories. London: Springer. Reynolds, M. W. and Webber, A. J. 2004. Expanding Curriculum Theory: Dis/Positions and Lines of Flight. London: Routledge. Saee, J. 2006. Managerial competence within the hospitality and tourism service industries: global cultural contextual analysis. London: Routledge. Surrey, L. J.2006. Self-Determination Theory: A Macrotheory of Human Motivation, Development, and Health. Available from http://www.wcwonline.org/pdf/previews/preview_13sc.pdf [Accessed on 24 April 2012] Touro China. Available from http://www.tourochina.com/guide/Xi%27an/cuisine-index.html [Accessed on 24 April 2012] Walker, R. J and Miller, E. J. 2009. Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p107 Read More