Professional Identity and practice 2

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Professional Identity and Practice

Duaa Mohammed

LO2: Key Answers

- Choose a specific job with a level higher than you are in the hospitality industry (Hotel or

a Restaurant), and Identify it.

- Job Role Introduction:

One of the jobs in Hotels and Restaurants is being a concierge. The bearer of this position

interacts directly with customers by providing different services such as responding to

customer requests such as room reservations, predicting potential customer needs, getting

tickets ready for customers, and organizing safe stays for the customers in the

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restaurant/hotel during their stay. In luxurious hotels, a concierge is a position that requires

several years of experience (Bellini & Convert, 2016). However, in some hotels, it may be

considered an entry-level position.

Determine four essential skills & abilities for the chosen role. (add reasons to each point)

1. Good communication skills: A concierge interacts directly with customers and therefore needs

to be fluent to establish a better understanding between them and the clients. Besides, concierges

also need good communication skills to aid them in developing good monthly reports that

provide the hotel management with information about the clients' comments. They also need

strong verbal communication skills to ensure clarity when providing details and other relevant

information to the clients (Bellini & Convert, 2016).

2. The concierge position requires a person who is very friendly and courteous. Concierges are

the first people who receive the guests in an organization when they report to a hotel. In this

respect, they represent the face of the organization. In this respect, they need to be very

welcoming and demonstrate genuine care. They should wear a smiling and welcoming face and

receive visitors with welcoming words. Thus being friendly will give concierges a spontaneous

welcoming face that will make them fit well.

3. Concierges need to have a high level of organization skills. Organization skills are an

important asset for anybody working in positions that require multitasking or dealing with

delicate issues. Concierges are one such position. Concierges handle several tasks such as

serving guests, making arrangements for new bookings, pickups, and coordinating reports. Being

organized would help the concierge to juggle performing these several tasks.

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4. Concierge needs to have strong professionalism. Concierges are the eye of an organization.

They interact directly with the clients on behalf of hotels. Putting on professional attires and

demeanor make them presentable and trustworthy in the eyes of the guests they receive.

Determine four essential competencies for the chosen role. (add reasons to each point)

1. Good time management: most of the clients that visit high-end hotels are

professionals and dignitaries with a long list of appointments and limited time. They thus

place a high emphasis on proper time management. Good time management would help

concierges ensure that they pan well all the necessary activities of their clients (Bellini &

Convert, 2016).

2. Confidence: Concierges need to demonstrate a high level of confidence. This would

help them to win the trust of their clients.

3. Knowledgeable: concierges are the point of information of any hotel from whom the

visiting clients get the information they need. They, therefore, need to have a good grasp

of basic information to help them provide the clients with verifiable information.

4. Honesty: Concierges often receive and keep the property of the visitors on behalf of

the hotel. They need to demonstrate a high level of integrity and honesty to win the trust

of both the clients and the organization.

- Determine your own strengths and weaknesses you possess in the chosen position.

- Considerate the best development approaches to enhance your Personal and professional

development that let you overcome your weaknesses within your chosen job role.

(support your answer by explaining each point in detail).

Note: The table here can help you answer the above two questions:

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Strengths

Go-getter

Highly organized

Multilingual

Good time management

Strong communication skills

Honesty

Integrity

Weaknesses

Difficulty in coping

with pressure

Inability to

communicate in some

languages

Fear of staying late on

the job

Development Approach

Organize language

development competency

training to enhance

communication

Plan for working in shifts

Enrolment in psychological

training courses to enhance

tolerance.

- Provide a valid conclusion or reason judgment on 1. your strengths and weaknesses

2. your development approach

I have a strong moral capacity, which explains why I have honesty and integrity as a

professional. I believe in ethics and morals; hence I ensure that all my activities are done

per the underlying professional ethics and code of conduct.

Though I can speak some of the main languages, I have a weakness in some of the

world's languages. This is because I have not had an opportunity to learn these languages.

Therefore enrolling in a language enhancement course would equip me with knowledge

and understanding of these languages.

- Considerate the threats and the opportunities for the chosen role

Opportunities Threats

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Continuous expansion in the hospitality

industry

High demand for professionals in this line

Stiff competition as more people enroll

for courses in hospitality

Some organizations merge this position

with the receptionist

- Provide a logical debate to convince the employer that the skills you own play

positively against the other competitors.

I am a well-groomed professional with experience in the role of a concierge. My strong

knowledge of the hospitality industry gives me a cutting edge when receiving and

directing guests because I give them a detailed and reliable explanation that helps them

have an easy time staying in their booked room. My strong communication skills with

bias in effective negotiation are a big asset in persuading and convincing potential clients

to place their bookings. This is instrumental to any organization that seeks to maximize

its boarding. My good organization skills are significantly important for this position as

they help me juggle many tasks at the same time, thus helping me complete the assigned

roles in good time.

Review a range of learning theories and approaches used for personal and

professional development processes.

- Choose 2 of the learning theories ( ) and 2 of the learning approaches ( ) and explain

each one and its strengths and weaknesses.

- 1. Constructivist theory of learning. This theory holds that the learning process is

initiated by the learner's constructor of the knowledge. It holds that new learning is

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developed through schemas brought into the learning process by the learner. Associated

with the work of Lev Vygotsky, this theory holds that learning is a collaborative process

that relies upon social interaction between the learner and the teacher. Thus when

presented with a collaborative environment, students learn a lot (Ecker, 2020).

Strengths

a. Learning is imitated by the learner

b. Learning can take place spontaneously when there is goodwill and a collaborative

environment

Weaknesses

a. Success depends on the quality of the teacher: some teachers assume that all students

are geniuses hence leaving the slow learners unattended to

b. It does not recognize the differences in levels of understanding

- 2. Humanist Theory of Learning: This theory posits that learning is meant to fulfill the

learner's needs as opposed to achieving specific targets of the learning itself. It is based

on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the cornerstone for effective learning. In this theory,

the student is at the center of the learning process, and the teacher is a facilitator who

needs to recognize and support the knowledge of the student (Cherry, 2020).

Strengths

a. Learning is intrinsic and comes from the learner

b. Learners have self-motivation

Weaknesses

a. It is egocentric as every learner focuses on self

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b. does not provide universal ground for assessing knowledge acquired since different

learners have different goals

- 3. Behaviorist Approach

- This approach stresses that learning is centered on teaching appropriate behavior to the

learners. It stresses positive feedback as a way of reinforcing good learning outcomes.

Strengths

a. Very effective in imparting positive behavior

b. Enhances uniformity in learning

Weaknesses

a. Not all learning can be achieved through behaviorism

b. Behaviorism does not acknowledge other domains of intellectual development

- 4. Cognitive Approaches to Learning stress the role of the active mind in the learning

process as an important factor in achieving better outcomes.

Strengths

a. Prepares the learner

b. Quality of learning outcome is inherent in the learner

- Weaknesses

a. Cognition can be blurred over time

b. It is more theoretical

- Make a table for the changes or adjustments and additions suggested by you to enhance

the theory.

The name of the theory Suggested changes

1. Constructivist Provision of adequate support to the learner during the

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theory of learning learning process

2. Humanist Theory

of Learning:

The learning process should have some motivations to

motivate learners

3. Behaviorist

Approach

Learners should be provided with proper guidance to help

shape up their knowledge acquisition; modeling, guidance

and counseling, and exposure to job orientations are all

critical.

4. Cognitive

Approaches to

Learning

Learning need to be accompanied by practical

applications of the cognitive knowledge gained to cement

understanding.

References

Bellini, N. & Convert, O. (2016). The Concierge. Tradition, obsolescence and innovation in

tourism. Emerging Issues in Management, 1-19

Cherry, K. (June 22, 2020). Child development theories and examples. Very Well Mind.

Ecker, J. (January 14, 2020). Six strategies to support the development of self-directed learners.

Education Reimagined,