Professional Development Exercise - Case Study Example

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & LEADERSHIP Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Part 1: 3 The Negotiated Contract of Agreement 3 The Development Plan 6 The Development Record 7 Part 2: The Reflective Report 8 Why I undertook the professional development exercise 8 What I learnt from the development activity, process and the mirroring 9 How have/will I use this activity? 10 What leadership opportunities does it offer? 11 Evaluation of the junior leader’s traits in the past event 12 The utility of the learnt tools to produce a managerial/leadership critique 13 Conclusion 14 Reference List 15 Appendices 17 Development plan 19 Development plan 19 Introduction Professional development in the tourism, hospitality and events industry targets to enhance the professional knowledge of the students and other employees in the industry regarding the management of significant events in the sector. The management of food and beverages suffices to be one of the events. The success of the professional requires the individual to focus on the management of the operations associated with the industry. Professional development also enables the individual to attain an in-depth understanding of the tourism processes and the front-office systems. Furthermore, professional development entails enhancing the professional’s knowledge on the skills regarding communication, self-development, business planning, information technology and languages. The report contains two sections. The first section entails a portfolio of evidence that contains the contract of agreement, a development plan and a development record for the professional development initiative of the employee/student in the T.H.E industry. The second section of the report entails a reflective report that represents the relationship between the theoretical and practical knowledge of the individual concerning the professional development experiences. Part 1: The Negotiated Contract of Agreement The terms of the contract outline the specific areas in the managerial/leadership level that require professional development in the industry. For instance, it is essential for the hotel manager to manage the guest problems with sensitivity and understanding (Valachis 2003). By so doing, she/he can come up with the appropriate solutions to the problems as and when they appear. The other managerial competency entails the maintenance of ethical and professional standards in the workplace. It suffices to state that work ethics is pertinent to the success of a firm in any industry. The failure of the manager to impart ethical and professional knowledge to the employees of an organisation subjects it to negative reputation by the public and regulatory bodies. The ability of the manager to demonstrate professional appearance and poise is the other fundamental managerial competency in the hospitality, tourism and events industry. The manager should also exhibit elective oral and written communication skills at the workplace. The skills result in one of the most critical managerial competencies: the management of customer relations. Efficient customer relations guarantee customer satisfaction by enabling the manager to incorporate customer feedback in the preparation of the food and beverage and the delivery of hospitality services. Furthermore, employee motivation impacts positively on the output of the staffs at the workplace (Valachis 2003). Therefore, the management of employee relations bears paramount significance to the success of the firm in the T.H.E industry. Professional development in the industry also requires the manager to have human relations skills that guarantee the effective communication between the executive and all the other stakeholders of the business. Motivating employees to portray exceptional behaviour at the workplace suffices to be one of the most critical managerial competencies in the industry. Apparently, the workers interact directly with the clients. The interaction entails the direct communications between the employees and customers in the hotel rooms and while offering hospitality services. Therefore, listening to the needs of the employees and the associated immediate response to the needs motivates the employees at the workplace. A manager that fails to encourage employees faces the risk of encountering a high rate of employee turnover that may compel the company to incur substantial costs in the selection and recruitment of new employees. In essence, there are five domains that represent the leadership areas that require professional development in the sector. The fields encompass leadership, technical, interpersonal, conception-creative and administrative (Valachis 2003). Therefore, it is imperative for the hotel manager to possess all the competencies as mentioned above in the industry. The skills enable the manager to ascertain that the workers deliver the best services to the sensitive customers in the sector. A good example concerns the managerial skills exhibited by the executive when planning for an event at the hotel. The effective communication skills will enable the manager to communicate to the clients in time regarding the exact day of the event. The manager will also specify the exact locations of the event. Since there exist different customer needs and preferences, it will be appropriate for the manager to determine the particular needs of each of the clients that will participate in the event. The client-company proposal development by the manager in conjunction with the clients ought to enlist all the specific services that the clients would require. The date charge and the settlement of the balance are the other elements of the contract of agreement. Regarding the date charge, the manager would set a non-refundable charge that the client ought to pay before the confirmation of the booking by the hotel operators. In most cases, hotels set fixed charges for the confirmation of the booking. The hotel executives set the charge to be approximately 50% of the total costs required to set up the event. Finally, the agreement stipulates the exact date that the client have to settle the outstanding balance. The Development Plan Apparently, the professional development plan should encompass objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Moreover, it is essential to prioritise the objectives to produce an action plan that meets the stated objectives to guarantee the continuous professional and personal development. The first objectives regard the interchange of information in the industry. It is evident that information interchange is a pertinent aspect that influences the success of firms in the hospitality, tourism and events industry. Effective communication skills enable the hotel manager to instruct the other workers regarding their work responsibilities and expectations (Arcodia & Reid 2003). The skills also allow the manager to communicate the other objectives of the firm to the employees without impacting negatively on their attitude and morale towards the company. Therefore, the first purpose of the executive regarding professional development will entail establishing a communications database that will outline the flow of information/communication channels across the different levels of the organisation. The communication plan will also encompass the upcoming events at the hotel. The effective communication strategy also enables the manager to facilitate the transfer of data and voice communications in the organisation. Education and training suffice to be the other pertinent theme in the development of the profession of a hotel manager. The first objective under the theme requires the professional to provide training and education to all the staffs of the firm with the intention of developing their profession. The second goal requires the hotel manager to provide superior professional training and education for the special interests and all the levels of expertise. In the quest to meet the goal, it is imperative that the manager should identify the talented individuals and develop their profession. Recognition and identity suffice to be the other significant aspect of the professional development of a hotel manager. The competency skill requires the manager to increase the efficiency, impact and image of the hotel so as to guarantee the delivery of exceptional services and food products to the clients. Attaining an improvement in the image and efficiency of the hotel enterprise targets to increase the competitive image of the firm in the industry. Therefore, achieving competitive advantage suffices to be the other objective of the manager. The professional should also establish and promote exceptional ethical standards in the firm to guarantee the professional ethical conduct of all the employees (Arcodia & Reid 2003). The Development Record The development record will consist of four main sections. The first section encompasses my history of employing including all the agencies and companies that have benefited from my services. It also provides the period of the respective employment positions in the companies including my positions. The second section provides my educational certifications, degrees, awards, achievements and clearances. It also provides my career experiences in the industry. The third section enlists the six principal competency areas that a hotel manager ought to have an in-depth understanding. They include financial management, technology management, the management of digital marketing and reputation management. The management of human resources and global operations also suffice to be the other significant areas associated with hotel management. The fourth section provides a recap of my professional development plan that highlights all my achievements since I joined the industry. Part 2: The Reflective Report Why I undertook the professional development exercise Reducing the achievement gap was the first objective that compelled me to undertake the professional development activity. As a professional hotel manager, there exists a significant difference between the theoretical knowledge learnt under hotel and hospitality management and the real-life application of the knowledge in a hotel setup. Therefore, the professional development exercise bridged the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge associated with the hospitality industry. It is also evident that the training enabled me to develop hotel management practices based on the existing evidence rather than only relying on theoretical illusions. The professional development activity also played a significant role in enhancing my communication and human relational skills. The skills are pertinent in the communication of the business objectives to the junior employees in the organisation. They also enable the executives to relate positively with the junior staff members thus enhancing their motivation at the workplace. The other significant benefit of professional development concerns the determination of the current trends in the industry. It is evident that the T.H. E industry also exhibits significant changes associated with the management activities and personnel, and the changes in customer preferences and tastes in the food industry. Indeed, the primary objective of professional development entails ascertaining that the professional acquires the appropriate skills relevant to the delivery of best services in the hospitality sector. Meeting adequate annual progress records and expectations is the other challenge to hotel managers. However, professional development provides the managers with substantial expertise associated with setting and achieving the objectives of the company. What I learnt from the development activity, process and the mirroring I learnt that the communication database is essential in the management of all the communication channels in the hotel. The database enables the professional manager to schedule and communicate the activities for all the employees of the hotel. An efficient communication database also facilitates the timely communication of the emerging regulations, schedule changes, adjustments in the objectives of the firm and the planning of events at the hotel. Communication channels enable the transfer of both data and voice information regarding the research information that bears paramount significance to the success of the company. The communication database also acts as a knowledge source for other employees that require clarification regarding a particular area in the industry. I have also learnt that professional development provides education and training for all the employees of the organisation. It equips the staff members with substantial knowledge regarding the effective ways of serving customers and preparing food based on customer specifications and individual needs. The knowledge and training aspect of professional development enables the determination of the productivity and employability of the employees. For instance, graduates that exhibit tremendous results after undergoing the PD programme are more likely to perform exceptionally in the hotel that those that portray comparatively fewer outcomes in the programme. Moreover, it is appropriate to give similar training and development opportunities to all the members of the organisation. Furthermore, PD impacts positively on the reputation and image of the hotel. For instance, it enhances the effectiveness, impact and image of the hotel to the existing clients in the market thereby enabling the firm to attain competitive advantage in the industry. How have/will I use this activity? The programme identified the most important skills that a professional hotel manager ought to have. For instance, leadership skills turned out to be core competencies for the professional director. I will ascertain that I exhibit professional leadership by bridging the gap between the management executive and the junior worker. It will be appropriate to engage in the activities of the hotel so as to ascertain that the employees perform as expected. Moreover, the guaranteed proximity between the manager and junior employees increases the productivity of the employees besides fostering the image of the company. Mingling with the employees expresses two other significant skills acquired from the professional development programme. The skills encompass employee relations and problem resolution. Maintaining a positive relationship between the executives and the employees is an indicator of positive employee relations (Wood 2005). Moreover, I will use the direct contact with the employees to resolve workplace problems and conflicts as and when they emerge. The other managerial skills gained during the professional development programme encompass staffing, employee training, guest services, administrative communications, operational controls and internship. Moreover, the plan entailed food and beverage management. About staffing, I will ensure that I hire employable and trainable staffs. The achievement of the objective necessitates tracking the performance of the individual while under training at the institution of higher learning. I will also establish a training programme that will ascertain the continuous training of employees at the workplace to guarantee the relevance of their knowledge to the industry. Furthermore, efficient guest services are significant to the competitive advantage of a hotel business. Therefore, I will ascertain that the workers possess the relevant customer-handling expertise to verify the efficient delivery of customer services in the guest rooms, conference rooms and dining areas (Wood 2005). As mentioned before, I will communicate effectively with the other workers in the organisation. I will also use internship programmes to tap talented employees that can deliver the best outcomes at the workplace. What leadership opportunities does it offer? Professional development offers several leadership opportunities for the hotel manager. For instance, PD provides the ten leadership breakthroughs that may enable organisational managers to relate positively with their employees thus resulting in a stronger workforce. The first breakthrough concerns the provision of industry recognised credentials and educational standards that govern the hospitality sector. The failure of the manager to understand the required credentials in the industry will result in the inappropriate establishment of the objectives that may impact negatively on the quest for competitive advantage on the part of the company. PD also guarantees the development of brand-neutral skills that emanate from the brand-specific competencies. As a result, the manager can implement training programmes that may enable the workers to produce food products and offer services that correspond to the actual brand requirements in the industry. The other leadership opportunity offered by the PD training programme include the necessity for soft skills associated with problem-solving, leadership and collaboration rather than hard skills (Van Vugt et al. 2008). Apparently, managers that have the skills enjoy guaranteed success in their management initiatives. The programme also enabled the identification of training programmes that correspond to the exact career requirements and aspirations of the employees. Moreover, the programme allows the manager to adopt user-friendly educational and training programmes that cater to the different needs of the employees of an organisation. The other leadership competence concerns the heightening of internships as a technique that guarantees hands-on experience for the trainee waiters, chefs, receptionists among other professions in the sector. PD also enables managers to assess the outcomes of the training endeavour to determine the significance of the findings to the achievements of the firm's objectives. The programme also advocates for effective recruitment strategies that motivate individuals to pursue careers in the hospitality industry. The programme also offers precise pathways from the educational programmes to the entry of the person in the job and the required career progression. Most importantly, the programme advocates for the continuous professional development of all the employees of the organisation. Evaluation of the junior leader’s traits in the past event I had a workshop in Lancaster hotel in Beirut as a mirroring leader held on Sunday, May 24th, 2015. Being the mirroring leader, I adopted a body language that resembled those of the other participants of the workshop in a bid to enhance their understanding of what I had to deliver. The intention of the professional development workshop and the mirroring technique was to develop a kinship with the other junior supervisors and managers in the workshop. To impart the PD knowledge to the junior managers, I endeavoured to mirror one leader in the capacity of the hotel manager. By so doing, we created a simulated scenario that comprised of the relationships, activities and communications between the hotel managers and the junior managers of the company. The junior managers utilised the simulated industry scenarios in the workshop so as to understand the appropriate conduct and behaviour required to handle different situations. Prior to the PD education and training programme, the junior employees recommended solutions related to their learning experiences in their colleges. Consequently, the necessity of subjecting them to the PD programme arose in a bid to bridge their current knowledge to the existing industry requirements. The workshop ended at 12:30 pm following the achievement of all the training and educational modules required for the programme. The utility of the learnt tools to produce a managerial/leadership critique Creating the credentialing guidelines for the discovered management techniques in the hospitality industry sufficed to be the most relevant method of critiquing the performance of the learnt ways in the PD programme. For instance, measuring the performance of core skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, customer service and collaboration will enable the evaluation of the performance of the PD exercise. Direction observations and the assessment of customer feedback will be essential in the determination of whether the programme yielded a positive change in the character and attributes of the junior managers or not. A comparatively equal performance will imply that the application has not produced the desired results. The assessment of the performance of the customisable and modular education will provide a guideline on whether I should recommend a better educational technique or not. To determine the efficiency of the specialised competencies of the workforce, it will be appropriate to evaluate the performance of the aspect about the overall performance of the employees. Offering ‘stackable' certifications for the attainment of particular management skills stipulated in the PD programme is also important in the determination of the performance of the application. A diagnostic assessment of the competency needs of the organisation at the managerial level will also indicate whether the current programme has addressed the skills shortage witnessed in the firm prior to the implementation of the programme. Apparently, an increase in the business outcome will ascertain the validity and effectiveness of the programme. Conclusion Professional development and learning suffice to be the major milestone in the acquisition of professional competencies in any industry. In the hospitality, tourism and events industry, career development and learning impart managerial expertise to managers thereby enabling them to understand the core competency areas that allow a firm to attain competitive advantage. The major aspects encompass financial management, technological management and the management of digital marketing. Other areas include reputation management, human resource management and the management of global operations. Some of the significant management skills identified in the professional management programme encompass leadership, employee relations, problem resolutions, staffing and employee training. The other skills include guest services, managerial communications, operations controls, internship and the management of food and beverages. Reference List Arcodia, C & Reid, S 2003, ‘Goals and objectives of event management associations’, In Journal of Convention & Exhibition Management (Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 57-75), Taylor & Francis Group. Valachis, I 2003, ‘Essential competencies for a hospitality management career: The role of hospitality management education’, In meeting of the Tempus-Phare No CD-JEP 15007/2000 Conference on Educating for Tomorrow’s Tourism, Ohrid, Macedonia. Van Vugt, M, Hogan, R & Kaiser, R B 2008, ‘Leadership, followership, and evolution: some lessons from the past’, American Psychologist, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 182. Wood, D 2005, ‘Hospitality management skills: An educational and workplace comparative analyses’. Appendices NAME: COVERING THE PERIOD FROM: May 24th, 2015 TO: October 30th, 2015 The Development Plan What do I want/need to learn? What will I do to achieve this? What resources or support will I need? What will my success criteria be? Target dates for review and completion I need to learn the development of an effective communication database. Establish and analyse other firms in the T.H.E industry that have an effective communication plan Funding from the organisation to purchase and install a modern communication database, cooperation from all the stakeholders of the organisation. Identify firms that have well-established communication databases. Define the meaning and expected performance of a good communication database June 30th I need to learn the contribution of PD to the education and training of the employee Implement the professional development and learning programme to test its impact on my managerial skills Organisation funding to cater for the professional development and training Identify the contribution of professional development and learning to employee education and training in other successful firms in the industry June 30th I need to learn the impact of PD on the image and reputation of the firm Conduct an assessment of the impact of the PD exercise on the impact and reputation of the firm Collaborative support from other managers and employees in providing data regarding customer feedback concerning the image and reputation of the firm Identify the contribution of PD on the reputation and image of firms in other cases October 30th The Development Record NAME: COVERING THE PERIOD FROM: May 24th, 2015 TO: October 30th, 2015 Key dates What did you do? Why? What did you learn from this? How have/will you use this? Any further action? June 30th We analysed the role of the professional development and training programme in regard to the communication database. Poor communication impacts negatively on the communication of new employee roles and work schedules I learnt that a communication database is essential in the communication of work schedules and new roles to the employees in an organisation. I will use the communication database to communicate work schedules and new work roles on a timely basis June 30th We evaluated the significance of the programme to the education and training of employees at the workplace The absence of education and training is responsible for the reduced productivity and efficiency of the employees at the workplace I learnt that professional development and planning educates and trains employees at the workplace. I will use the professional development and planning programme to educate and train the other students June 30th We assessed the contribution of the programme to the image and reputation of the company Lack of professional development has resulted in employee inefficiency that has impacted negatively on the image and reputation of companies I learnt that the programme improves the image and reputation of the company. I will use the programme to improve the image and reputation of the company. June 30th We evaluated the necessity of the programme in skill and career development Reduced career and skill development programmes are responsible for the reduced competitiveness of organisations and their employees I learnt that the programme is essential in skill and career development. I will use the programme to heighten the significance of career development among the other students. Development plan Development plan Read More