Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) - Essay Example

?Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) Table of Contents Learning Agreement 3 Agency Analysis 13 Identification of Two Major Issues 14 Overall Evaluation of Placement 17 References 19 Bibliography 22 Learning Agreement Learning log can be identified as a unique documentation of how a student traces their responses to learning difficulties as set by the teachers. In workplace environment, it has been observed that the companies have started to prefer candidates who are competent enough and thus can take challenges easily. They must possess the necessary skills and knowledge so that the person can fit into any kind of organisation and help the organisation at attaining the goals of the organisation. The table below helps to comprehend how competent enough I am for the job in which I am presently working. Numerous kinds of skills are generally to be possessed by the individual prior to entering the workplace. These numerous skills include problem solving ability, time management, communication skills written, decision making skills, organisational skills, leadership and motivation among others. Task Very Competent Competent Adequate Not Competent Problem solving ability v Communication skills written v Communication skills oral v Time management v Summarise key issues v Decision making skills v Influencing skills v Self management v Planning ability v Financial knowledge or Understanding v Initiative v Organisational skills v Ability to relate to a wider context v Independent judgement v Team work v Tact v Critical ability v Commercial awareness v Can cope with pressure/stress v Logical argument v Analytic ability v Innovation v Dependability/reliability v Leadership potential v Negotiation skills v Tolerance v Experience of the world of work v Rapid conceptualisation of issues v Leadership ability v Commitment v Self motivation v Adaptability (organisational) v Persistence/tenacity v Can deal with large amounts of information v Adaptability (intellectual) v Understanding of core principles v Drive/energy v Imagination v Creativity v Consideration for others v Enquiry and research skills v Maturity v Numeracy v Willingness to learn v Flexibility v Self confidence v Technical ability v Co-operation v Loyalty v Interest in lifelong learning v Desire to achieve/motivation v Curiosity v Deep understanding v General knowledge v Relevant work experience v Equipped for continuous education v Problem setting ability v Ability to use IT v Knowledge of the organisation v Specialist factual knowledge v Prior knowledge of the job v Knowledge of social/political issues v It can be analysed that I am quite competent enough in terms of adaptability, self motivation, tolerance, and negotiation skills. I also find myself proficient enough in dealing with large amount of data which is considered as one of the most significant skills for a person in an organisation. I am also competent enough in resolving the problems and planning. Most of the organisations state the fact that it is quite significant for the employees to possess problem solving as well as planning skills since the employees possessing these two skills can assist in attaining the goals of the organisation and can help in maintaining sustainable advantage. However, I find myself less competent in terms of time management, team work as well as leadership potential. Efficient time management is vital in order to attain the tasks of the organisation and to evade wasting the valuable organisation assets. Leadership as well as team management are all about being capable of directing a team to perform the best that it can. Team management is about the capability to obtain the best from the workforce. Leadership can also be observed to be a process of making oneself to be looked upon as an example in any organisation. The organisations cannot run efficiently without a good leader. Similarly, it is also significant to possess skills related to proper team management. Therefore, in order to place myself in a better organisation I need to equip myself with the necessary skills. I found myself lacking in three most crucial aspects such as leadership, time management and team work. In this regards, my long-term goals would be to develop leadership skills as well as time management skills. My short-term goal will be to equip myself with team management skills. I recognise the fact that no one is born as a leader. Each individual has the capability to create leadership skills and each individual can benefit from making use of them. Leadership and time management skills are wider concepts and thus they need a longer period of time to be adept at, approximately 1 year. However, team management is relatively easier to obtain and can be learnt from day-to-day activities. Therefore, a minimum of 6 months will be required for me to attain these objectives. The table designed below helps to comprehend what I want to learn and how I can learn them in order to attain both long-term as well as short-term goals. 1. Outcome 1 (Developing Leadership Skill) Communicate effectively Encourage enthusiasm and a sense of belonging Keep everyone working towards agreed upon goals Get to know the people around me Treat others as individuals Solving problems in a methodological way I have realised that in order to be an effective leader, it is quite significant to communicate regarding the management goals and objectives clearly to the workers in an organisation. The leaders are also supposed to instil enthusiasm among the workers in the organisation and thus keep each individual working towards the attainment of the goals of the organisation. I also need to learn how the problems can be resolved in a methodological way because it will save time and thus assist me in attaining the goals with greater ease. Each individual has distinct capabilities, wants and needs as well as purpose in their life. In order to get along with them I need to know those individuals and their competencies (SOAR, 2012). Date to be Achieved 01.05.2012 – 01.05.2013 2. Outcome 2 (Proper Management of Time) Learn to set priorities Fight procrastination Group related activities Divide big task into workable and easily accomplished parts Use of timetable Minimisation of routine task Concentrate on doing things on time Not to overscheduled It is quite significant for me to learn proper management of time. I also must learn to set out priorities. By doing so, I will be capable of identifying the most significant task for me and the least significant task to be conducted in an organisation (Study Guide, 2012). I must also learn to divide big tasks into workable as well as easily attainable parts. This will make my job easier and will help me to complete my tasks at accurate times. I must also learn to make use of timetable where I can note the tasks that I am supposed to accomplish in a specific time period. I have noted the fact that I do not pay due attention on completing the tasks on time. By paying significant attention, I will be capable of managing the time in a proper way (University Of Hawaii, 2012). Date to be Achieved 02.06.2012 - 01.12.2012 3. Outcome 3 (Team Work) Establish clear and inspiring team goals Maintain result-oriented team goals Assemble competent team members Strive for unified commitment Provide for collaborative climate Encourage standard of excellence Furnish external support and recognition Apply principled leadership In order to equip myself with team management skills, it is vital for me to create team goals and thus maintain result oriented team goals. A team which is competent enough can help in the attainment of the goals of the organisation (Bayt, 2012). Therefore, I need to equip myself with the skills to assemble competent team members. I also need to learn how to work collaboratively in a team and thus strive for unified commitment. The quality of work done is most significant for any organisation. In a team, standard of excellence needs to be encouraged and thus principled leadership needs to be stimulated (GTI Media Ltd, 2012). Date to be Achieved 01.06.2012 - 01.12.2012 What are the opportunities for development? In your job? Within the team within which you work? The department? The organisation? The location? The industry? The commercial environment? I can equip myself with the necessary skills within the job that I work for, i.e. Hailong Hotel. The hotel will assist me with practical knowledge. What resources are required/available? Books and practical experience in my present workplace can assist me in attaining both short- term as well as long-term goals. By what criteria will you judge whether you have achieved your Learning Outcomes? I will maintain a dairy and monitor my progress each day. I will attempt to accomplish each outcome that has been listed above within a specified period of time and try to implement them in the hotel that I work for. If I fail to do so, I will work harder to improve those skills by reading numerous books and journals available. I will take help of my seniors in order to develop these skills. Agency Analysis The agency in which I have been placed is Hailong Hotel. The mission statement of Hailong Hotel is to generate rewarding customer experience thereby building long-term loyalty with the customers, creating business for hotel and increasing the affection of hospitality all over the world. Hailong Hotel is a small hotel based in China situated in China Liaoning Province Fuxin City and has significant customer base. The organisational structure of the hotel is that it consists of numerous departments. They are front office, reservation, housekeeping, uniformed services and telephone department. These numerous departments are in charge of several tasks as per the training and expertise of those working in them. The total number of staffs working with the hotel is thirty. The total number of guests that the hotel accommodates in a day is seventy-five. The hotel has the capability to merge several departments and possesses employees in the departments working for the similar goal. Haitong Hotel is a good company to work with because it takes into consideration the needs and the wants of the individual employees. Furthermore, the employees are offered with the opportunity to grow along with the organisation. The hotel offers the staff with career growth options and helps them to equip themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge (Wolui Inc, 2012). The strategies of the company have been designed taking into consideration the employees needs and wants. The company enjoys a favourable organisational culture. The short-term and long-term objective of the hotel has been to expand its operation in numerous parts of Chinese region such as Xian gang, Wuhan and Nanchang thereby increasing the revenue and the sales of the company. My role in the hotel is that of the management trainee in human resource department where I am supposed to learn how we build company culture, administer an environment endorsing diversity, obtain technical training and mentoring and thus ensure that the needs of the staff are met (Hotelscombined, 2012). Identification of Two Major Issues Numerous types of issues takes place in an organisation on a regular basis, however they are of little concern. However, one fine night, one of our colleagues reported us that fire has taken place in the hotel. Kitchen staffs reported heavy smoke and flames visible from the kitchen. All the staff members were quite apprehensive of the event and did not know how to deal with the situation in a proper way. However, the transferable skills that I have developed in the hotel have been of great significance in such context. I was glad to learn that all the team members demonstrated immense courage to fight with the situation in a proper way which proved that I had learnt to manage to work in team adequately. I made my team members realise that such situations can be overcome easily if we all work in group. I made one of my team members to locate fire extinguishers so that the flame can be removed as soon as possible. I instructed my team mates to open emergency exits so that the staffs can exit as soon as possible and prevent themselves from such mishaps. I was glad to know that most of the team members worked as per my instructions. However, few of them panicked due to the situation and thus demonstrated their frustration when we were not capable of paying due attention to them. I noticed the fact that the fire had caused few damages to the hotel. According to UK legislation, it has been found that precautions can be taken in an organisation in order to prevent the fire from taking place (USDA, 2009). It is significant to have proper ventilation systems so that the flammable gas or vapour can be removed. The UK legislation requires employers to administer work processes in a suitable working condition in order to minimise the risks related to fire in the organisation (HSE, 2012). According to the legislation in China, it is significant for the employer of the workplace to ensure that all means of escape is safely reached at all the times. There must be an unobstructed way of exit from the workplace to safe place. According to Chinese legislation, all the exit doors need to be kept movable and unlocked all the times so that when fire takes place people can exit from such doors immediately. There must be a fire warning system in the place of work to alert the people regarding such incidences on time and thus actions can be taken immediately. These actions are compulsory to be adhered in the organisations of the UK as well (Labour Department Hong Kong, 2012). I consider this event as offering me with the learning opportunity and thereby assisting me to enhance my skills and knowledge. It helped to demonstrate several skills. However, I still felt that I was lacking behind in terms of time management. When such circumstances take place in an organisation, it is significant to focus upon time management. I found that if there had been proper management of the time and resources then I could have prevented the fire from causing the damages. It can be analysed that when such circumstances take place in an organisation, team work and leadership along with time management have great roles to play. I recognised the fact that in the climate of continuous change, learning is quite significant. We must have the willingness to learn and thus update our skills and knowledge at work. I also recognised the fact that if I can enhance my skills further on time management, I would be capable of handling any issue taking place in the organisation (KSAM, 2012). The other issue that took place was related to sickness in Haitong Hotel. One of our team members felt ill on the day of annual meeting to be taken place in the organisation. All our team members were quite worried since the presence of all the team members was quite necessary on that particular day. I found it necessary to extend my assistance in order to prevent the condition of patient from getting worse. I tried to locate for first aid box and offered the patient with medicines. We took him to the rest room immediately and made him rest so that he can feel better. I was happy to see all the team members’ collaborative effort to occur in the situation. However, despite the team members group efforts; a few of the team members were not ready to offer their complete assistance. As a management trainee in the organisation, I tried to console these members and lead them on how to deal with such situations (UCL, 2010). I noticed the fact that I had develop skills in adequate time management and therefore was capable of assisting the team member with proper medication. I learnt the fact that group effort can make even a complex situation, flexible and workable. I also learnt the fact that a person must have good decision making skill as well as problem solving skill in order to handle the issues effectively (HR Office of Human Resource, 2012). In the near future, I would like to enhance other skills such as enhanced commitment towards the organisation. I would also prefer to focus more upon leadership as well as other qualities so that it can facilitate the organisation with the necessary assistance when such events take place. Overall Evaluation of Placement It can be analysed that in the modern times, it is quite significant for an individual to possess necessary skills and capabilities so that he/she can fit within the organisation effectively and thus assist in the attainment of the goals of the organisation. Team work, leadership and adequate problem solving skills are quite effective when the organisation faces certain issues (McInerney & et. al.2012). The workplace has been of greater significance for me since it helped me to develop myself with the skills that I can use in day-to-day activities and in any kind of organisation. In order to equip myself in other workplace related scenarios that can occur in the organisation, I would focus more upon life-long learning and building of self confidence so that I can handle any type of situations effectively. I would also like to identify the weaknesses that hinder my progress in the workplace and thus take necessary steps to develop myself in those weak areas in the placement. By identifying the numerous human resource issues that take place in the organisation, I would like to identify certain solutions to the problems and thus sharpen my leadership skills in the hotel in the near future. Involving all the team members in the decision making process can be given due emphasis as this will resolve most of the human resource related issues in the organisation (Kezar, 2001). References Bayt, 2012. Developing Teamwork in the Workplace. Research Reports. [Online] Available at: http://www.bayt.com/en/career-article-2761/ [Accessed April 13, 2012]. GTI Media Ltd, 2012. Top 10 Skills and Competencies: Leadership and Team Management. Target Jobs. [Online] Available at: http://targetjobs.co.uk/news/252567-top-10-skills-and-competencies-leadership-and-team-management [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Hotelscombined, 2012. Hailong Hotel. Hotel. [Online] Available at: http://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/Hailong_Hotel.htm [Accessed April 13, 2012]. HR Office of Human Resource, 2012. Continuous Learning and Self-Development. HR Guidance. [Online] Available at: http://hr.od.nih.gov/workingatnih/competencies/core/continuouslearn.htm [Accessed April 13, 2012]. HSE, 2012. Work Process Fire Safety. Guidance. [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/workplace.htm [Accessed April 13, 2012]. KSAM, 2012. Self Development & Learning. What is Arts Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.sam-arts.demon.co.uk/ksam/kbank/selfdev.html [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Kezar, A. J., 2001. Understanding and Facilitating Organizational Change in the 21st Century. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://www.jcu.edu/academic/planassess/planning/files/Planning%20articles/organizational%20change.pdf [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Labour Department Hong Kong, 2012. Guidance Notes On Fire Safety in Workplace. Public. [Online] Available at: http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/os/C/FireSafetyWorkplaces.pdf [Accessed April 13, 2012]. McInerney, C. & et. al., 2012. Learning Organisation. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/larsenk/learnorg/index.html [Accessed April 13, 2012]. SOAR, 2012. Developing Leadership Skills. Forms. [Online] Available at: http://soar.ucsc.edu/forms/developing_leadership.pdf [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Study Guide, 2012. Time Management. News and Projects. [Online] Available at: http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm [Accessed April 13, 2012]. University of Hawaii, 2012. Six Steps for Developing Good Time Management Habits. Learning. [Online] Available at: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/learning/PDFhandouts/TimeManagement/SIX%20STEPS%20FOR%20DEVELOPING.pdf [Accessed April 13, 2012]. USDA, 2009. Imports From China and Food Safety Issues. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/58620/2/EIB52.pdf [Accessed April 13, 2012]. UCL, 2010. Sickness - Management Guidance. Docs. [Online] Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/docs/sickness_management.php [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Wolui Inc, 2012. Hai Long Hotel ZhengZhou. Hailong Hotel. [Online] Available at: http://www.china-discount-hotels.com/zhengzhou/hai-long-hotel-zhengzhou.html [Accessed April 13, 2012]. Bibliography Boyle-Baise, M., 2002. Multicultural Service Learning: Educating Teachers in Diverse Communities. Teachers College Press. Dozier, C. & et. al., 2006. Critical Literacy/Critical Teaching: Tools for Preparing Responsive Teachers. Teachers College Press. Pasquarelli, S. L., 2006. 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