Job Role and Relation to the Structure, Aims, and Purposes of Pizza Hut - Assignment Example

Reflective ment Table of Contents Introduction 3 Job Role and Relation to the Structure, Aims and Purposes of Pizza Hut (Learning Outcome K1) 3 A Brief Description of Learning Style (Learning Outcome K2) 4 SWOT Analysis (Learning Outcome C1) 6 A Brief Overview of Reflection Theory (Learning Outcome P1) 8 A Brief Analysis of the Incidents on Placement (Learning Outcome T1) 10 Conclusion 12 References 13 Bibliography 15 Introduction It was quite difficult for me to find a job at the time when I first moved to England. I almost gave up in finding jobs after spending three long months without any fruitful result. However, finally, it was in the year 2011 when I found a job at one of the American based restaurant chains named Pizza Hut, Inc. which is located in the Westquay shopping centre that deals in selling various sorts of delicious pizzas to the customers throughout the globe. I felt much happy after getting the job at Pizza Hut as it took a long time and hard toil to attain my desired objective and moreover I almost gave up trying. Job Role and Relation to the Structure, Aims and Purposes of Pizza Hut (Learning Outcome K1) My job role at Pizza Hut was to deal with the customers visiting the store acting as hut host. According to the perception of my manager, I should complete the online training before getting started on performing the job role of a hut host. At the very beginning, I found quite difficult to complete the entire training process as my English was not up to the mark. Moreover, there were endless pages of assessment which I found extremely tedious and at certain points I nearly gave up. In order to determine the job role of a hut host, it has been apparently observed that helping the customers towards feeling genuinely welcome and truly relaxed after entering into the store is one of the prime responsibilities or functions of a hut host (Pizza Hut UK Ltd. 2011). In this similar context, my job role at Pizza Hut as a hut host was to ensure that the waiting time of the customers are managed effectively and most importantly they are informed of precise wait times. Moreover, my job responsibility was also to ensure that the customers are well informed about any special requirements that they wish to avail from the store. After a few days of work as a hut host, I felt that my job role was quite an interesting one as it rendered me a prospect to meet and to get introduced to new people along with communicating with other staff members associated with the store. My job function can be related with the structure, aims and purposes of Pizza Hut by a considerable level. In this regard, the structure of Pizza Hut fundamentally comprises different levels of managers who are held accountable for organising as well as managing the various operational functions of the restaurant chain (Pizza Hut UK Ltd. 2007). One of the major aims of Pizza Hut has been noted to be the deliverance of excellent quality of foods to its valuable customers by employing skilled along with experienced people (Superbrands Limited n.d.). Moreover, accomplishing superior competitive position is also the other prime intention of the company (Scribd Inc. 2013).The other purposes of Pizza Hut include working actively with its different stakeholders relating to nutritional policies and most significantly offering broad assortment of foods according to the preferences of the customers by a greater level (Pizza Hut UK Ltd. 2010). My job responsibility i.e. acting as hut host can be related with the above discussed structure, aims and purposes of Pizza Hut because the related task of a hut host is to satisfy the customers by delivering them excellent quality of foods along with operational services. A Brief Description of Learning Style (Learning Outcome K2) Learning styles are fundamentally regarded as various ways or approaches of learning. It has been viewed that different individuals or people hold dissimilar preferences regarding how they wish to learn in terms of performing a particular job which is prevalently acknowledged as learning style. By comprehending different learning styles, it can be observed that individuals or people might gain valuable insights that would eventually make them to develop their overall performances by a greater level (LeFever 2011). In this similar concern, Alan Mumford and Peter Honey had propounded a learning style which is primarily based upon four preferences that comprise theorists, activists, pragmatists and reflectors. Relating to my placement, the preference of activists linked with the learning style developed by Honey and Mumford can be applied to my learning while working at Pizza Hut as hut host. According to Honey and Mumford, the preference of activists desires to be engaged in making new experiences and has been noted to be quiet enthusiastic about exploring new ideas. Moreover, the learning style which was developed by Honey and Mumford signifies that the activists greatly enjoy performing new activities and possessing the intention to act first and fully consider the implications later. In accordance with the perception possessed by Honey and Mumford, it can be said that activists learn better at the time when they are engaged in making new experiences and opportunities. Moreover, they learn better when they are actively involved in making effective decisions and playing the role of efficient working staff within any specific organisation (LSIS 2012). After acquiring a brief idea about the diverse preferences of learning style instigated by Honey and Mumford, it can be stated that my learning style can be related with ‘activists’ dimension. This is owing to the reason that I like to get involved in making new experiences like on my first day of the job, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting as well as getting introduced to new people along with learning the different job functions which encouraged me to avail the prospect of exploring innovative ideas from them. Moreover, the preference of activists can be linked with my learning style owing to the reason that I was quite eager towards working with other staff members belonging to Pizza Hut and play the role of an efficient working staff. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can broadly be affirmed that while working at Pizza Hut as a hut host, my learning style can be related with one of the preferences of the learning style developed by Honey and Mumford i.e. activists by a significant level. SWOT Analysis (Learning Outcome C1) The perception of SWOT analysis is typically described as one of the prominent tools of analysing overall strategic position of a particular organisation or an individual (Griffin 2011). The conduct of SWOT analysis ultimately helps to determine the entire situation of an organisation in the business market and also an individual or people in a specific organisation (Kumar 2008). Relating to my placement at Pizza Hut, I discovered that the job role as a hut host gave me the ability or scope to get involved and meet with new people that can be regarded as one of the major strengths towards developing my career in future. Moreover, the work experience especially at a renowned company i.ee. Pizza Hut would eventually provide me a better mileage towards developing my career or working efficiently and competently with any other company in future. On the other hand, certain weaknesses possessed by me which have been viewed while working as a hut host at Pizza Hut can create hindrances towards developing my career in future by a certain degree. In this regard, my crucial weaknesses include imperfect knowledge of English language, less allied work experience, difficulty to communicate with other staff members of Pizza Hut along with possessing less listening skills due to a lack of sufficient knowledge in English. I believe that these particular weaknesses would eventually hamper me in developing my career in future. The placement at a renowned restaurant chain named Pizza Hut made me to avail numerous significant opportunities in terms of gaining broader experience of dealing with various staff members belonging to the company and also the customers visiting the store daily. Moreover, I believe that the placement at Pizza Hut acting as hut host provided me the opportunities towards getting attractive experience of the world of employment and working as a team. One of the prime opportunities that I have gained from the placement at Pizza Hut performing the role as a hut host is to earn substantial amount of money by delivering superior services to the customers. The work experience which I had gathered by working at Pizza Hut as a hut host would eventually support me to find other related job prospects in other renowned companies in future. As I incessantly tried to study new facets from everyone attached with the company, I believe that the placement at Pizza Hut might help me in working towards a future prosperous career by a greater level. However, the threats like fitting into the company culture and high proficiency of certain staff in understanding and communicating in English can restrict me from gaining complete leverage in my career in future. This can be better understood with the help of the following SWOT Index. Strengths Valuable industry work experience Ability to meet new people Exploring new ideas Weaknesses Shortage of similar work experience Deficiency in confidence when dealing with various people Opportunities Earning substantial money Working as a group Gaining enormous experience by dealing with new people Threats Acclimatizing with the organizational culture Presence of related experienced staffs A Brief Overview of Reflection Theory (Learning Outcome P1) It has been apparently observed that the idea of reflection principally enhances the ownership as well as the motivation of the individuals in creating along with developing their own learning styles. The notion of reflection generally facilitates the individuals towards performing a specific task in developing an effectual learning style (LEARN 2013). Relating to my placement at Pizza Hut, the reflection theory developed by an organisational psychologist as well as a researcher named David Kolb can be taken into concern. The reflection theory of Kolb signifies that experiential learning can occur at a particular time when individuals are engaged in a specific activity and desire to study novel things for future development (Moon 2013). As per the observation made by Kolb, learning is regarded as a procedure in which valuable information is generated by the alteration of experiences. The various constituents that are comprised in the reflection theory of Kolb include conceptual learning, concrete learning experiences and learning application in different sectors (Regis University 2007). It can broadly be affirmed that this reflection theory of Kolb can be linked with my learning experience while working at Pizza Hut performing the job role of hut host. The reflection theory of Kolb can be better understood with the experiences that I have attained from the placement. According to my learning log, by the third month of my job at Pizza Hut, the job became quite important for me as I finally met the area manager. The manager awarded me a badge comprising 3000 smiles and took his photo with me due to my effective work performance and dedication along with sincerity towards work. This particular activity was noticed by other employees and they started to treat me in a different manner. I became quite happy when the manager took my photo with him and told that the picture would go in the news magazine of Pizza Hut. The desire to learn new things throughout the work and the ‘activists’ mode of learning style ultimately supported me to become an important figure in the restaurant team and I had also generated a nice group of friends with whom I worked in the store. The reflection theory of Kolb can be related with my personal experience during the placement at Pizza Hut as I was honoured by taking into concern the aforementioned incidents. In this regard, I strongly believed that I was able to increase my overall performance by exploring new ideas and working as a team and most importantly through acquiring new experiences which is regarded as one of the imperative aspects of Kolb’s reflection theory. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be stated that the reflection theory of Kolb can be related with my experience at Pizza Hut working as hut host. A Brief Analysis of the Incidents on Placement (Learning Outcome T1) While working in Pizza Hut, I had set the target of working as a team and establishing clear communication with other staff members in order to enhance my work skills. I suddenly felt much comfortable doing the job acting as hut host by realising that teamwork is a key towards success and if I help others they then in turn would certainly repeat the favour. One of the incidents that showed improvements in my working skills is effectively managing the customers during the eve of Christmas and New Year. The work schedule was very much hectic as I had to work for seven days continuously. Several staffs were observed to become much tired but we did not let our boss down by working as a team and smoothly handling the entire business operations. There certain reasons that ultimately facilitated me to improve my working skills resulting in I becoming a major figure in the restaurant team. These reasons can be linked with the reflective model propounded by Kolb. By taking into concern the reflective model developed by Kolb, it can broadly be affirmed that I was able to show greater improvements in my working skills due to the reason of engaging myself in accomplishing innovative experiences and most vitally exploring different inventive areas. According to the reflective model developed by Kolb, the other reason which enhanced my working skills is establishing a clear communication with other staff members belonging to Pizza Hut and working with them in an effective manner. Undoubtedly, I enjoyed performing different job tasks that had been assigned to me i.e. managing the customers thus effectually serving as hut host that can also be considered as the other primary reason to improve my overall performance. Relating to the reflective model of Kolb, my prime intention was to act first and then consider the implications resulting in improved working skills along with acquiring the position of a responsible working staff amid other staff members of Pizza Hut. It is worth mentioning that I enjoyed every particular activity that happened around me and I incessantly tried to study fresh activities from everyone linked with Pizza Hut. With regard to my enhanced working skill, it can be stated that I was in prime position to learn English towards developing my career in future. Thus, it can be affirmed that the aforementioned activities relating to the reflective model of Kolb have contributed in improving my working skills resulting in working dynamically towards a better future career. Conclusion The placement at Pizza Hut contributed in developing my working performance intending towards working for a better future career. It is quite obvious with reference to the fact that if I desire to accomplish anything in future, I need to start as well as to follow the learning style based upon the aspect of activists along with the different facets of reflective model instigated by Kolb. Thus, it can be concluded that this particular job placement especially at Pizza Hut not only enabled me to learn several invaluable facets but also provided me an in-depth knowledge about how to interact with new people along with rendering certain valuable skills that would be with me for life. References Griffin, R. W., 2011. Fundamentals of management. United States: Cengage Learning. Kumar, S. A., 2008. Entrepreneurship development. India: New Age International. LeFever, M., 2011. Learning styles. United States: David C Cook. LSIS, 2012. Introduction to learning styles [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://archive.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=152477 LEARN, 2013. Portfolio [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/portfolio/reflect/theory.html Moon, J. A., 2013. Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice. United Kingdom: Routledge. Pizza Hut UK Ltd., 2011. Job description [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: https://wfa.kronostm.co.uk/index.jsp?locale=en_US&applicationName=PizzaHutUKNonReqExt&SEQ=positionDetails&POSTING_ID=69627286 Pizza Hut UK Ltd., 2007. Information pack [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/assets/redroof/files/Student_Pack.pdf Pizza Hut UK Ltd., 2010. Commitments 2009 [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/hccpizzahutsept10.pdf Regis University, 2007. The Kolb model [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://academic.regis.edu/ed202/subsequent/kolb2.htm Superbrands Limited, No Date. The Market [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.superbrands.com/hk/latestpdfs/SPB-HK_FA_PIZZAHUT.pdf Scribd Inc., 2013. Documents [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27008741/Pizza-Hut-Project Bibliography Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences, 2008. Understanding your learning styles [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.aultmancollege.edu/files/understanding-learning-styles.pdf Conner, M. L., 2008. What’s your learning style? [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.wiu.edu/advising/docs/discover_learning_style.pdf Dixon, N.M., 1999. The organizational learning cycle: how we can learn collectively. United Kingdom: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Evans, C., 2006. Learning styles in education and training. England: Emerald Group Publishing. Fine, L. G., 2009. The SWOT analysis [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://lawrencefine.com/downloads/SWOT%20-%20PDF.pdf Infed, 2001. Practice [online] [viewed 12 April 2013]. Available from: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm Sims, R. R., 2002. Teaching business ethics for effective learning. United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. Verma, D., 2009. Decision making style: social and creative dimensions. India: Global India Publications. 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