Essay Sample on Personal and Professional Development Plan

Introduction

Personal and Professional development is the ability to improve a required set of skills and knowledge essential for a required job position at a given workplace and the maintenance of good relations with people in social life. Personal development refers to qualities such as social competencies, relationship with people and behaviors (Cottrell 2015; 3), while Personal Development Plan refers to the activities that improve self-knowledge and identity, enhance quality of life, develop talent and potential, create employment opportunities and realize dreams and aspirations (Cottrell 2015; 3). Personal development refers to the methods and techniques applied in institutional contexts that support individual development at the levels of the organization.

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Professional development, on the other hand, involves activities aimed at achieving certain goals and objectives, and they include communication, planning, proper management and knowledge in the interested field (Janssen 2013; 260). This report addresses the personal and professional development plan and the approaches adopted for self-learning that can be used by the staff of the Club Quarters Hotel in Philadelphia. Club Quarters is an organization in the hospitality industry dedicated to achieve its objectives and provide customer value by meeting their needs and satisfying them. This report will identify my current skills and competencies compared against the professional standard of the organization as the General Manager of Club Quarters and further develop a plan for improvement. This report will also discuss in depth the activities required to implement the action plan and analyze the learning against the original aims and objectives. This report will also give recommendations on how to manage time, reduce staff turnover and enhance communication.

Self-Learning

Self-managed learning is aimed to achieve the required position within an organization by learning the appropriate requirements (Zimmerman 2013; 10). This is enhanced through personal and professional development plan that seeks to achieve these set objectives (Zimmerman 2013; 10). As the General Manager at Club Quarters, I have identified various self-learning activities that will help improve the staff's knowledge and expertise. These activities include observation and reading (Zimmerman 2013; 13). Through observation, staff members at Club Quarters will learn about the hotel's culture and practice that will enhance a good relationship between the staff members at the workplace and improve on customer services. Reading helps improve professional understanding and set of skills about operations of the hotel.

As the General Manager at Club Quarters, I will recommend life-long learning skills through self-evaluation which will enable staff members to understand their value against the standards of Club Quarters (Paadi 2014; 10). As the manager, I will implement policies and measures that will keep my staff very effective in the workplace. Staff members may also get information from the Internet that will educate them on how to utilize their potential to achieve the set objectives. For me as the manager, I will learn new trends and policies that will help me run the hotel in an efficient manner. Online learning also helps improve creativity and relationship at workplace. Self-Managed learning will help me improve skills such as communication, leadership qualities, and responsibilities among others. self-managed learning will also help me get higher positions at work through skills learned such as decision making, management, leadership roles and planning of operations just to mention a few (Paadi 2014; 10). The organization will also benefit from the wide knowledge gathered of service standards and customer satisfaction.

Evaluation of Skills and Competencies

As a General Manager at Club Quarters, I am looking looking to gain higher positions at the workplace, and so I have to evaluate my current set of skills and competencies in order to meet the required skills for my future position (Blomeke et al. 2013; 2). It is essential to identify the areas that I need to make an improvement and develop a good plan in order to improve. Through a self-evaluation, I have analyzed my current skills against the required professional standards of a manager at Club Quarters (Blomeke et al. 2013; 2).

I have identified certain areas of competencies that I need to improve on and work on in order to gain the required set of skills for a higher position. These competencies include time management, proper and timely decision making, planning of operations, a good command of diverse languages used at the workplace, leadership qualities, relationship building and a great influencer (Zhang et al. 2013; 748). Changes brought about by globalization, and technological advancements are also areas that I need to constantly improve on with time in order to meet the organization's objectives (Zhang et al. 2013; 748). Through self-evaluation, it is important to help the staff members improve on the areas lacking on their competencies in order to create a good workplace environment that is effective.

Through the traditional SWOT analysis, I have identified my areas of strength that will help me achieve the desired goals of gaining a higher position and helping the organization achieve its goals. These competencies include communication skills, both verbal and written that help me address my fellow workers and control the operations of Club Quarters (Bakanauskiene and Martinkiene 2015; 30). As the General Manager, my planning skills have helped me organize the activities of the hotel. My other areas of strength include great motivation for the staff members and identification of resources that will help me improve on the areas that I am lacking (Bakanauskiene and Martinkiene 2015; 30). Through self-evaluation, there are various areas that I need to improve on, and these include time management, a good command of diverse languages, proper decision making and a proper understanding of the professional standards required for a higher position at the hotel.

Through the SWOT analysis, I have identified various opportunities that I can work on to improve on the areas that I am lacking and these are gaining a higher position. I have seen an opportunity of getting a higher position than the general manager, and I need to fight for it to achieve that desired goal. Another opportunity that presents itself is to increase my level of confidence and leadership at Club Quarters by proper management of resources and good operations of the daily activities at the hotel. These opportunities will give me a good bargaining power as I apply for a higher position.

However, there are certain threats that I will eventually encounter in my journey to gain a higher position, and these are changes in the policies and processes at the hotel (Addams and Allfred 2013; 44). Club Quarters has a culture of changing its policies annually in order to improve on its customers' needs and achieve the set objectives. Some of these changes may be unprecedented and may pose a threat to my goals. The difference in perception may also pose another threat because ambitions and visions may differ from one person to another. Changes in technological advancement may also pose another threat because it takes time to adjust to the new technology that has to be up to speed in order to compete favorably in the global markets. The competition level for this higher position from fellow workers may also be a threat that I need to improve on by working on my skills in order to acquire this position.

Identification of Development Needs

Through the SWOT analysis and self-evaluation, I have identified areas that I am lacking and need to improve in order to achieve my set objectives. In order to overcome the gap between my current skills and the standards of Club Quarters, I will engage in different activities that will help me improve. For instance, I will do a lot of research though online reading, seminars, and conferences on leadership in order to learn about leadership qualities. Online reading will give me ideas and incentives on how to improve and prepare for a higher position at the hotel. I will also learn about the different strategies and competencies required to meet the qualifications of a higher position of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

In order to improve on my competencies such as decision making, time management, knowledge of international standards and planning of the hotel operations, I will engage the current top executives of the hotel in order to learn a few things about being the top leader of the hotel (Bok et al. 2013; 123). I will observe how the top executives plan and implement the policies of the hotel and learn the best practices from them. I will also watch great videos on diverse languages, and this will help me get a gist of the diverse languages required of me. These activities will help me improve on my skills required for the higher position, and at the same time help me sustain my current position as the General Manager.

Development Activities to Meet Current and Future Needs

In any organizational setting, there is always room for improvement and development of skills and knowledge required to meet and sustain current needs and improve on future needs (Bok et al. 2013; 123). Identification of these opportunities and plan to execute these needs is essential to help me maintain my position as the General Manager and aim for a higher position as the CEO at Club Quarters. These opportunities are time management, planning, leadership, communication skills, decision making, and language. It is essential to improve from my current ratings to a higher rating to meet the required standards (Bok et al. 2013; 123). For instance, to improve my language which I will rate it at three to five, I will need to attend classes and watch online videos to learn the diverse languages required of me.

My decision making is currently at a rating of four, and I need to improve to a rating of five, I will refer the past decisions and involve my team in coming up with better decisions to meet future needs. My leadership quality is at four and to improve to five; I will read books and articles of some of the great leaders and also pick a few leadership qualities from the current top executives. To improve my communication skills, I will take part in seminars and conferences and engage the employees in improving the relationship of the workplace. My time management is currently at a rating of three and to improve to five; I will develop a proper plan for the scheduling of task and prior planning to save on time.

Personal and Professional Development Plan

A development plan will help me improve on the areas that I lack which I have identified from the SWOT analysis and self-evaluation (Cottrell 2015; 3). This table below will give the set of skills identified; activities that will help improve on them, time frame and results of improvement.

Development Plan

Skills Activities for Improvement Time Frame Results:

• Leadership Read online sources, books, and journals of great leaders
• Observe current top officials' leadership qualities 2 months Offer great leadership functions at Club Quarters
• Communication Attend seminars and conferences
• Watch online videos
• Use non-verbal cues such as gestures when interacting with employees 2 months Able to use diverse communication skills
• Application of diverse languages
• Time management Scheduling of tasks
• Prior planning of activities 1 month Timely completion of tasks and operations at the hotel
• Decision making Involvement of other members at the hotel
• Review of past decisions 2 mon...