Hospitality Group - Developing Your Managerial Skills - Essay Example

?Hospitality Group Developing your Managerial Skills Table of Contents Introduction 3 Review of 3 Employability Skills 4 Employability Skill International & Cultural Awareness 4 Literature Review 4 What and how have you developed this skill 5 Use feedback to give details of good or bad practice 5 What group of skills do these relate to? 6 Relate to management skills 6 Employability Skill 2: Team Development 7 Literature Review 7 How have you developed this skill 7 Use Feedback to Give Details of Good or Bad Practice 8 What group of skills do these relate to? 8 Relate to Management Skill 8 Employability Skill 3: Planning and Organising 9 Literature Review 9 What and how have you developed this skill 9 Use Feedback to Give Details of Good or Bad Practice 10 What group of skills do these relate to? 10 Relate Management Skill 10 Compare and Contrast 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 15 Introduction This reflective essay aims to present a brief of my professional development with respect to international and cultural employability skills along with my team development and planning and organising skills which I believe to be quite helpful in deriving better career prospects in hospitality industry. The essay will cover a theoretical explanation of the employability skills I could develop from my previous academic experiences and draw towards a critical review of my learning in these particular areas. In the current phenomenon, diversity is often regarded as one of the vital aspects within the hospitality industry which creates a direct influence on the tastes and preferences of the customers along with the level of commitment and expectations of the employees. The presence of cultural diversity both the internal and the external market of hospitality industry is quite apparent as compared to the other industry structures. Today, it has widely been argued that managing diversity within the workforce is important as well as a difficult task for managers in the hospitality industry by which organizations can generate greater cultural awareness while operating within international marketplaces. Contextually, the significance of generating cultural awareness and other intertwined employability skills such as team development and planning and organising have often been argued as a crucial facet of hospitality industry. Review of 3 Employability Skills Employability Skill 1: International & Cultural Awareness Literature Review According to Quappe & Cantatore (2005), cultural awareness imposes a direct impact on the communication system of an organisation which comprises the capability of creating consciousness towards the cultural values, beliefs and perceptions in different contexts. In this regard, it has been observed that different cultural groups evaluate and interpret situational components applying different perspectives, which further essentialists the obtainment of cultural awareness among modern day professionals (Quappe & Cantatore, 2005). As explained by Whitelaw & et. al. (2009) cultural diversity is quite apparent in the modern day hospitality sector in the both the dimensions of internal organisational culture (employees/workforce) and external organisational environment (customers/marketplaces). It is in this context that professionals need to continuously enhance and develop their efficiencies in this particular dimension so as to satisfy the contemporary needs of the hospitality industry (Whitelaw & et. al., 2009). According to Hall (2003), cultural awareness is often professed as an attitude which can be obtained from his/her learning experiences by an individual when interacting with various cultural groups. It has further been implied in this context that culture can be distinguished as the big ‘C’ of material culture and smaller ‘c’ of shared culture within an organisation (Hall, 2003). Based on a similar context, Moss (2002) revealed that when students and other academic professionals are engaged with the learning of cultural aspects, they will able to comprehend the cultural values of the overseas nation which is indeed a crucial aspect in the contemporary structure of hospitality industry (Whitelaw & et. al., 2009). Cultural awareness has been further explained to influence the employability skills of a professional in an efficient manner so that they can understand, trust and maintain high level of tolerance while communicating with people from other cultural backgrounds and thus can be regarded as a vital aspect in the hospitality industry (Moss, 2002). What and how have you developed this skill Through international and cultural awareness employability skill, it is quite easy to understand the attitude, behaviour and cultural values of the people who belong from diverse cultural backgrounds. I intended to develop this employability skill by learning as well as evaluating the sources of social and cultural theories on an international basis by which I could also identify the culture differences within the various regions. Additionally, I aimed at interacting with people from various cultures through social websites, travelling in various regions and also evaluating the perspectives presented in various scholarly researches based upon the significance of cultural awareness and the strategies through which this skill can be developed. Use feedback to give details of good or bad practice Learning and evaluating social and cultural theories, helped me to understand the necessities of international and cultural awareness in hospitality industry. Additionally, through my interaction with culturally diverse group of people, I was able to understand their individual viewpoints, communication styles and behavioural traits which further helped me to create an idea how to deal with people possessing differing tastes, preferences, values and sentiments. Moreover, by evaluating the scholarly writers’ viewpoint I was also able to gain knowledge by which I could understand the nature and the behaviour of different cultural clusters. Thus, based on these aspects, it can be stated that the practices which I attempted were good practices although the implementation of these strategies had certain disadvantages too. For instance, it is often argued that learning comprehensively regarding cultural awareness through different social theories in a challenging task. Moreover, significant gap persists in terms of data authenticity when interacting with people through social networking sites. What group of skills do these relate to? This employability skill, i.e. international and cultural awareness is directly related with the development of personal attributes in terms of behaviour, attitude and communication style among others. Through these secondary skills related with international and cultural awareness, I was able to understand what changes can be implemented to develop my behavioural attitudes while interacting with a group of culturally diverse people. Additionally, through these skills, I believe to obtain efficiency in comprehending the nature, behaviour and perception of the different cultures more effectively. Relate to management skills Through this employability skill, I was able to develop the capabilities to manage the cultural diversity workforce within the hospitality organization. Additionally, with the help of this skill I was also able to identify the accurate communication style which is needed to interact with culturally diversified people. This skill also helped me to develop leadership skills and motivation skills by which I was able to understand the motivational forces which influence the workers by providing them with better job satisfaction as per their requirements. Employability Skill 2: Team Development Literature Review According to Mealiea & Baltazar (2005), globalization and rapidly changing business environment have influenced hospitality organizations to restructure or re-design their overall operational activities in order to remain competitive within the targeted market. In this regard majority of the leading business managers in this particular sector have been strategically focusing upon the development of the team structure (Mealiea & Baltazar, 2005). According to Harvey & et. al. (1998), in an organization, team refers to a small group of people who operate towards a particular set of performance goals, make commitment towards the specific purposes and a implement approaches for which they hold themselves as a mutually responsible persons. According to Wilison (2010), there are five stages which are followed by every organization in order to develop an efficient team. These stages include forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. According to Kriek & Venter (2009), team work and team building plays a vital role for growing and developing tourism organizations making day-to-day activities more feasible within their operational activities. Majority of the leading global organizations are primarily focused on team building through which they intend to direct the business activities towards an approachable direction (Kriek & Venter, 2009). How have you developed this skill I aimed to develop the employability skill of team development on the basis of my personal work experiences. It was due to this reason that I started participating in various academic events and family programs as a leader. Additionally, I also intended to develop this employability skill by interacting with senior managers who are quite experienced in handling a team. In order to develop this skill, I also considered the evaluation of necessary scholarly models and perspectives through which I was able to learn that first I need to develop as a team member to become an efficient team leader. Use Feedback to Give Details of Good or Bad Practice With the applied practices to develop this skill, I was able to learn and understand the role of leadership by which I can motivate the team members more professionally towards a successful approach gaining real life experiences and thus can be regarded as a good practice in this context. However, the feedbacks I received from my friends and families along with my professors revealed that organisational level team development is much different from that in the social and classroom environment which further diminished the effectiveness of this particular practice in my employability skill development. What group of skills do these relate to? From my learning, I was able to identify that team development skill assists in developing communication skills and motivating skills by a large extent. Additionally, with the help of this skill I could also develop a shared understanding with my friends or colleagues. This skill also helped me to understand my personal capabilities thereby enhancing my self evaluation skill. Relate to Management Skill Through this employability skill, I was able to develop my leadership style which further helped me to understand my capabilities, work experiences with other members and also assist me to be a more responsible person which can contribute top my managerial career. Moreover, this skill also helped me to understand the effectiveness of the job responsibilities while working within a team. Employability Skill 3: Planning and Organising Literature Review According to Dempster (1998), in the present business context, planning and organising are playing a significant role for attaining sustainability. Complexities, uncertainties and interconnections have become quite apparent within the hospitality industries where the managers have to face significant challenges in this concern primarily owing to the scarcity of resources in terms of adequate manpower and finances (Dempster, 1998). According to Boskovic & et. al. (2010), through an appropriate planning, managers of the tourism organization can determine accurate products as per the needs of the tourists or customers. Organising also acts as a strategic function for destination managers based on the developed strategic plans to accomplish the determined goals (Boskovic & et. al., 2010). Emphasising on a similar notion, Tesone (2012) also argued customer relationship as one of the vital aspects in hospitality and tourism industry, wherein the company’s middle managers tend to emphasize upon organising activities and executive managers concentrates on planning activities. What and how have you developed this skill I intended to develop my planning and organising skill by evaluating the various planning and organizational models which were implemented by the majority of the organizations to attain success. Additionally, I focused on organizing and planning various events in my school and family gatherings. Use Feedback to Give Details of Good or Bad Practice By organizing and planning events, I can able to understand how to manage time and resources in an efficient manner. Additionally, I can also develop time management skill and resource management skills by a greater extent owing to which this can be regarded as a good practice. What group of skills do these relate to? This skill is directly related with personal attributes where I can develop my time management skill and my resource allocation skills. Relate Management Skill Through this employability skill, I was able to develop my time management abilities and make proper utilization of the resources to maintain a highly sustainable environment. With the help of this skill, I was able to understand the procedure to accomplish the job responsibilities at the specific time period. Compare and Contrast By taking into consideration regarding the literature viewpoints, it has been observed that these three employability skills are interrelated with each other. Through enhanced international and cultural awareness, I can manage a team in an efficient manner by understanding the needs of every team members. Additionally, I can also identify the necessities of customers from a culturally diverse marketplace with the virtues of effective internal and cultural awareness, team development skills and planning and organising skills. However, it is worth mentioning in this regard that each employability skill presents a challenge at the individual level in terms of learning and knowledge application. When comparing and contrasting the employability skills I selected to focus on, I realised that developing the skill of team development was the most challenging task which could only be dome through gathering adequate experiences. Whereas, the other two employability skills, i.e. internal and cultural awareness enhancement and planning and organising skills can be developed through regular interactions and theoretical underpinnings. Conclusion By undertaking this essay, I was able to understanding that to grow professionally I need to focus on continuous development of my employability skill. Contextually, the diversity, the complexity and the regular challenges witnessed in this context presents a more challenging task to continuously imbibe a learning attitude and applying the obtained knowledge effectively in the requisite field. However, as my study reveals that I am in the growing stage and need to focus in greater development of my employability skills, I intend to take the assistance of my professors, my friends and professionals who are quite experienced in this field. It is in this context that I need to develop my learning skills and my skills to apply my knowledge in the real life scenario of the hospitality industry. References Boskovic, D., & et. al., 2010. Planning and Organising Tourist Destinations the Example of the Rural Istria Cluster. Tourism & Hospitality Management, pp. 794-807. Dempster, B. L., 1998. A Self-Organizing Systems Perspective on Planning for Sustainability. University of Waterloo. [Online] Available at: http://www.bethd.ca/pubs/mesthe.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Hall, J., 2003. Look, question and learn: a cultured view of spoken English learning. The English Teacher, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 251-258. Harvey, S., & et. al., 1998. Developing Successful Teams in Organisations. Australian Journal of Management & Organisational Behaviour, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-8. Kriek, H. S., & Venter, P., 2009. The Perceived Success of Teambuilding Interventions in South African Organisations. Southern African Business Review, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 112- 128. Mealiea, L., & Baltazar, R., 2005. A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 141-160. Moss, H., 2002. The Importance Of Developing Cultural Awareness. British Council. [Online] Available at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/portugal-inenglish-2002s-developing-cultural-awareness.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Quappe, S., & Cantatore , G., 2005. How Do I Manage Cultural Diversity? What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build it? [Online] Available at: http://www.culturosity.com/pdfs/What%20is%20Cultural%20Awareness.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Tesone, D. V. V., 2012. Principles of Management for the Hospitality Industry. Routledge. Wilson, C., 2010. Bruce Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming & Performing Team Development Model. Abstract. [Online] Available at: http://www.performancecoachtraining.com/resources/docs/pdfs2/BruceTuckman_Team_Development_Model.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Whitelaw, P. A., & et. al., 2009. Training Needs of the Hospitality Industry. Sustainable Tourism. [Online] Available at: http://www.sustainabletourismonline.com/awms/Upload/Resource/80093%20%20Training%20Needs%20WEB.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Bibliography Devine, F., 2009. Resource Guide: Cultural Awareness for Hospitality and Tourism. The Higher Education Academy. [Online] Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/resource_guides/cultural_awareness_hosp_tourism.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Potvin, J. H., 2012. Planning and Organizing an Annual Conference. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://kmh-lanl.hansonhub.com/pc-26-123-potvin.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. The Salvation Army, 2013. Stages of Team Development. Tuckman’s Team Development Model. [Online] Available at: http://salvos.org.au/scribe/sites/2020/files/Resources/Transitions/HANDOUT_-_Tuckmans_Team_Development_Model.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Tierney, M. R., 2002. Team Building Events For Staff: Are They Just Play Or Do They Pay? Maximillion Events Ltd. [Online] Available at: http://www.maximillion.co.uk/assets/0000/4444/MBA_Dissertation.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. University of Victoria, 2004. Developing Effective Teams Workbook. British Columbia Canada. [Online] Available at: http://web.uvic.ca/hr/hrhandbook/organizdev/effectiveteamwkb.pdf [Accessed March 4, 2013]. Read More