Hospitality Management Issues - Essay Example

Hospitality Management Introduction There is no doubt that education acts like a key to life, and that only those who are ready to dance to the rhythm of education will triumph. Additionally, it is also important to note that for one to excel in education hard work is paramount. As a student of hospitality management, I have realized that the best moments in life is when one engages the mind in books in search of knowledge. Sometimes, this can be difficult but with resilience and the urge of wanting to know, has propelled many to greatest heights of success. During my early days as a college student, I endeavored to know everything about hospitality management and anything related to it. Though I had passion in this field, I had to read and understand many facts about this academic discipline. From void literature to noteworthy complex materials, I embarked on a journey of seeking knowledge. I must admit that although I got varied interpretations, the messages were clear and interesting. Additionally, I must admit that I have been a thinker right through my course as a student of hospitality management. Nonetheless, I must say that through continuous class attendance and personal studies, my skills continue to increase tremendously. As compared to the past, I now know much more and this is something that inspires me most. My critical analysis skills have increased greatly, and undoubtedly, in everything I learn or do, I always ask myself “why” on very many instances. Although being only a first year student, I have learnt on how to challenge myself by digging deep into manuscripts where I will probably find the necessary details that will not only satisfy me, but also help me in my academic journey. Most importantly, I believe that through education and hard work, one can become successful in life (Annie, Howard & Mildred, 1996, p. 2). Review of my academic skills To start with, academic skills are a compilation of learning strategies, learning tendencies, and time supervision contrivances, which will enable a student to achieve his or her expectations in school or at college. Many students, me included, understand that learning entails many more things other than accessibility to information. For instance, our tutors always incorporate academic skills in their lessons to help us understand and master the necessary skills and concepts. In fact, these skills help us to tackle exams and tests, and additionally, they are imperative in the days ahead. As a college student, I have attended various workshops to nurture my academic skills. In my first workshop I attended barely less than six months ago, I took sessions aimed at enhancing my academic skills. In the workshop, we learnt three major pillars in attaining academic skills: note taking, time management, and academic writing. These session of the three anchors for a successful academic journey have so far helped me a lot to develop other skills that are not only paramount in my studies, but also they have created a positive impact in my academic studies. There is no doubt in my mind that these pillars also augment my future employability. For instance, on time management, I learnt how to utilize my time well in order to finish my tasks hence achieve my goals. I must say that after attending the first workshop, I have improved on how to prioritize, plan and schedule, deal with deadlines, set new goals and targets, and finally, I am now good in decision-making. We also learnt about exam preparation skills especially how to do revision, beating procrastination, answering past papers, timetabling, and doing away with distractions. I can surely say that these things have enhanced my academic skills to reflect my true knowledge and ability. I have also realized that by attending a series of activities such as this workshop, students can enhance their academic skills greatly. However, it is also important to note that academic skill development is a continuous process and I intend to attend as many workshops as possible. Through this workshop, I know have developed a framework ‘SMART’, which enlists my goals and objectives as a student, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Undoubtedly, the first workshop has so far enhanced my academic skills, and set me into a journey of academic success (Annie, Howard & Mildred, 1996, p. 4-5). My learning style We live in a world where learning happens continuously. By learning, I do not mean academic studies only, but even in work environments, people attend workshops to learn new ideas, and people always learn hobbies and interests. Thus, irrespective of one’s background, learning is a process. Each human being has their own learning strategies and therefore, they vary from one person to another. The common one includes logical, solitary, aural, verbal, and visual. In my second SHAPE workshop, I learnt more about learning styles. This enabled me to discover my own learning style. My learning strategy is that of hands-on approach, which may people classify under kinesthetic. Additionally, as a student in hospitality management, I also discovered that I enjoy learning from visual aids, and I love computers much. I do not mean that listening and verbal skills dominantly used by my lecturers are not my type. Rather, I prefer hands-on approach plus visual leaning. In most cases, I assign much of my time in learning how a machine works rather than having someone explain to me the same. My lecturers use both visual and verbal techniques in teaching. This has really helped me to understand some facts practically rather than visually. I have also discovered that whenever I learn by visual means, I am able to remember much more than when I learn verbally. In instances where the teaching is purely kryptonite, I am able to develop visual tools out of what I have learnt in class in order to align them to my preferred learning style—visual. Whenever I am doing my personal studies in the library or at home, I refer much to sequential diagrams, but that does not means that I do not apply descriptive verbal learning styles in my studies. I strongly believe that as a manager, I need to have visual techniques so that I can guide my staff in future. In fact, many people will agree with me that by transferring verbal instructions into descriptive visual materials, information learnt remain fresh in the mind for quite long time. Additionally, the fast changing technological world is slowly transforming verbal classroom-based learning into visual-based technique for the benefit of the students. The workshop also assisted me to understand the different learning styles and figure out those that I prefer most. I am now quite knowledgeable on how to apply different learning styles in order to achieve my academic goals and objectives. Although it will be difficult to change my learning style, at least, I know how to change certain learning styles to conform to my preferred visual learning style. Moreover, there are very many materials, which will help many students, adapt to new learning styles and become better learners (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, & Bjork, 2008, pp. 109-119). My approach to first assessments Assessments can be tricky especially to a student or a learner who has not prepared adequately. Assessments are integral and play a significant role in teaching. For instance, through assessments students can identify their weaknesses and strengths. After reviewing my performance on the assessments I have done so far, I am pleased to say I have done pretty well. For instance, my results from pre and posttests are above average and I have always used these data to work even harder. Consequently, my content knowledge keeps increasing. Additionally, from the assessments, I can say my instructional decision-making skills have greatly improved. I am now good in contextual analysis. I have developed huge interest in learning from the materials given by my lecturers and other relevant materials. I can also use internet to do research unlike in the past. Data from assessments I have done so far have been integral in re-graphing my lesson objectives and I am confident always whenever I take assessment tests. My attitude towards reading and doing assessment tests is becoming positive. I now understand the importance of allocating equal time to all units in order to score well in all units. I understand that the overall better grade comes from single subjects and it is therefore vital to read all units equally as I do. However, I still feel I have not done well in areas that require social abilities. I intend to use my learning strategies in order to enhance my content knowledge in this area. My expectations have improved greatly unlike in the past, and I am more positive about my results. I do not underestimate any assessment as I take them considerably with the hope of becoming the best. I am confident that my prerequisite skills have improved greatly, and they are the reason why I perform well in my assessments. I single out my improved learning strategies, as one of the reasons why I perform well in y tests. Whenever a student focuses on how to achieve his or her goals, and works hard towards achieving them, then when the tests comes calling, that student will undoubtedly perform well. I am not an exception on this as I apply my learning strategies for academic success. I also believe that I chose the right goals, and I plan to acquire more knowledge that will be a prerequisite to the second year units. My scores are the benchmarks that I use in order to score highly in subsequent grades. So far, my grades are good although I hope to improve them further (Haney & Madaus, 1989, pp. 683-687). Experiences of working within a group Working in groups is paramount especially for students. In groups, students exchange ideas that will help them not only in their assessments, but also in their future endeavors. Working in a group has many advantages and many students who use this method of study can perform well in their studies. For instance, I have been involved in some discussion groups discussing term papers before we present them for marking. Teams always strive to improve the process and with the rich knowledge, there is no doubt that the discussion is outstanding. Each member of the team in our discussion handles a certain area. However, every member can contribute to the topic so that we can exhaust the topic under discussion. For example, in our discussion of coming up with various strategies of effective communication, members had to propose the various modes of communication and explain their applications. We began by forming a charter where we had a leader and the secretary. Clearly, we defined our leadership, and leadership is vital in any team, as it ensures dexterity and enthusiasm towards our goals and objectives. However, in order to avoid monotony, each time we have a discussion, we rotate the leadership positions so that every member feels part of the team. In a team, everybody finishes the assignment and therefore, in terms of time management and completion of assignments, teamwork helps a lot (Hall & Weaver, 2001, pp. 867-875). My progress over the academic year Almost one year down the line in college, I have experienced much academically. I came in knowing little about college life and I did not understand academic life in college. However, after attending a series of workshops organized by the university, I now understand my goals and objectives. I have so far developed my goals from the learnt benchmark. In my studies, I have always gauged myself using three major components: unit completion, maximum score, and eligibility. I always work hard in order to have the highest possible GPA score. If my GPA score is above average, them I am on the right track, otherwise, it means am not doing to y expectations. Luckily, I must say that the workshops I attended helped me a lot in setting out my priorities right and going for them. Normally, every college has its own period of reviewing the enrollment status of each student. After reviewing, that is when a student proceeds to another level. I have so far surpassed the set number of credits for one to proceed to another level. With an average score of 79% in both semesters, I am off the hook and I look forward in doing better. I have not failed a single unit in my studies, and from my personal calculations; my completion ratio is way above average. I am so happy that my GPA score id high enough to avoid being on the list of those students on financial aid probation, or even being discontinued form studies. However, I have just realized that in everything one does, he or she must set out goals and objectives and work hard towards achieving them. The most important thing is to develop learning strategies that will propel you to academic success. Key goals and aims for the second year Having completed my first year in college successfully, I now look forward to my second year. Although my grades have been above average, I look forward in maintaining the same pace and if possible improve them further. My aim is to graduate with a first class honors and get a job where I can use the knowledge learnt in class for personal and corporate development. In my second year, I want to sharpen my skills in a highly competitive academic environment. I believe this will help me grow as a student and enable me to apply my skills effectively in everything I do inside and outside college. I want to learn more about hospitality management excel and take every challenge that comes on my way head on. I understand that I have an opportunity, and the best thing I can do is to use it for my own academic success. I want to be a hard working and diligent student who is always committed to his studies and never allow distractions to come my way. I believe I have the potential to be the best student not only academically, but also outside class. I look forward to participate in extra-curricular activities such as debating and sprouting events in order to keep my mind and physical health fit. Additionally, I would treasure every competition that comes on the way in order to enhance my skills. I believe by participating in competitions will not only help in the growth of my institution, but also enhance my organizational skills necessary so paramount in the future. I am lucky I am in an institution that rewards excellence and the lecturers are ready to help the students achieve their goals and objectives. I plan to use my lecturers in an effective way in order to grow from strength to strength. I also plan to be kind to my fellow colleague students in order to amalgamate learning and diverse ideologies. Since the sky is my limit, I look forward to a new year of success just like the one before (Bossaert, Doumen, Buyse, & Verschueren, 2011, pp. 50-57). Conclusion For a student to be successful in his or studies, it is vital to set out goals and objectives and work towards achieving them. In most cases, students who have set goals, objectives and priorities not only succeed in their studies, but they have an upper hand when it comes to employability. I also believe that by attending workshop seminars on academic success, students can benefit greatly by learning the various methods of tackling assessments, dealing with deadlines and working in groups. References Annie, W., Howard, W. & Mildred, M. (1996). "Achievement and Ability Tests - Definition of the Domain", Educational Measurement, 2, 2–5. Bossaert, G., Doumen, E., Buyse, Verschueren, K. (2011). "Predicting Students Academic Achievement after the Transition to First Grade: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study". Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32(1), 47–57. Hall, P. & Weaver, L. (2001). "Interdisciplinary Education and Teamwork: a Long and Winding Road". Medical Education, 35(9), 867–875. Haney, W. & Madaus, G. (1989). “Searching for alternatives to standardized tests: Whys, whats, and whatever”. Phi Delta Kappan, 70, 683-687. Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D. & Bjork, R. (2008). "Learning styles: Concepts and evidence". Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(1), 105–119. Read More