Rapid Development Of Hospitality Industry example essay topic

1,807 words
Stage 1. 'Where I am now' a) My personal skills audit In this part of the report, I'd like to express my personal strengths and weaknesses. My personal skills audit shows that I am good at the following factors: A 5, A 9, B 2, B 4, D 5, D 6, and D 8 in the transferable skills; and scored highly in B 3, D 1, and G 5 in the personal attributes section. First of all, I am willing to learn.

(A 9) I always believe that the willingness to learn is crucial not only for students, but also for people who have already got good careers. As a university student, I am trying to learn as much knowledge as possible to prepare myself. When I get into the real workplace, to continue learning will be compulsory for me as well. I am working very hard at all elements of my course, which is often very difficult and demanding as I am an overseas student and have had to adapt to a big new learning experience. It is very important for me to set and achieve goals. (A 5) I have my own opinions on how to set a goal.

Generally speaking, I prefer to set a particular goal for current or short-term work. I think the internal or external environment that may influence the task is hard to change during a short period. On the other hand, I just set a general goal for future or long-term work. This is essentially because I cannot be sure what will happen over a long time. Things can change even though they are seen to be OK to day. For example, I try to concentrate on my assignments and try hard not to worry about exams at the end of the year.

More, I believe that I can establish a good working relationship with people at different levels of an organisation. (B 2) For example, I have always been happy working with other students when we do a project or prepare a presentation. I am quite flexible in the way I work. In other words, I rarely persist with my idea obstinately if my colleagues argue that is not appropriate for the work.

I am pleased to accept and learning from constructive criticism. (B 4) I think this is a good way to learn and also reveal my shortcomings. It is difficult for me to do this myself. For instance, I enjoy tutorial where I can discuss problems with my colleagues and tutor.

Using my initiative is my sixth strength. (D 5) I do not think people make the best of opportunities which can assist them to work successfully if they always wait for others' help. Thus, I usually find the chances that are beneficial for me by myself. Obviously, I also struggle to get the successful outcomes of those events. I try to identify a problem clearly before deciding on a solution or action. (D 6) I usually tell myself that rational solutions are not possible unless there is a clear idea of what causes the problem.

It is essential for me to know when my solutions are not successful. (D 8) I do this is by habit. I continue paying attention to work, which has already been finished; I can only slacken control after I see the achievement of the task. Additionally, I believe I can do a very good job in the case of commitment to an organisation. (B 3) I think this is the prerequisite for every body that is working to prepare to work in an enterprise. As long as I am employed by a company, I shall do my best to complete the missions.

It is a basic and important responsibility for me. I am honest in any situation at work, even when it is difficult to be truthful. (D 1) I think this is a basic ethical awareness for me. People will not trust me and cooperate with me in workplace, if I tell lies. Finally, I have strong confidence. (G 5) That's why I will still be able to value myself even if something has gone wrong at work.

For example, if something goes wrong at the university, I shall make a great effort to put it right. However, I am weak in the following areas. Because I've had no experience of work, I've never communicated with customers in a real situation. (C 1) My next year's work placement will help me to develop my communication skills with customers. Again, I rarely use information technology to edit and organise data. I cannot manipulate databases, or some analogous software.

(F 5) In the past studying life, none of my course related to those kinds of software, so I have no chance to learn and practice how to use them. I do use Windows, Office and Internet. I am looking forward to develop more IT skills in a real work situation. b) Identification of my learning style First of all, I should say that it is quite difficult for me as a student from China to adapt to British learning style. Those are different from my culture. However, I have been trying to adapt to British culture and its study environment. In particular, it is not only difficult for me to hear the lecturers, but I also need to understand the way they explain an issue.

I pay attention to my British classmates to see how they reflect on questions, and how they take notes. Nevertheless, I have to spend more time on studying than the local students, for it is more or less influenced by the language barriers. Sometimes I feel it is quite hard to understand all the things that lecturers talk about during class time, so I just try my best to take the notes well, then read and consolidate them at home with relevant handouts and text books. Stage 2. 'Where I want to be in the future' a) Identifying and assessing long term opportunities The hospitality industry has become more and more dynamic and competitive. Now it is worldwide and fast growing in character.

The international hospitality industry is wide-ranging covering everything from luxurious hotels, restaurants, designer bars, catering contractors, and specialist catering for sporting and other events to budget hotels, public houses and nightclubs... It also can be said that hospitality industry has been undergoing rapid globalisation in recent years. The brand names of Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, McDonald's and Pizza Hut can be found prominently in the landscape of many countries. Logically, the globalisation of the industry has created an increasing demand for competent and specialized managers to supervise operations in hospitality organisations.

As a student of International Hospitality Management, I am always willing to work in a deluxe hotel. In my opinion, the rapid development of hospitality industry is beneficial for me, since I can get more opportunities for the career. Because of the backwardness of Chinese hospitality industry, one of my crucial goals in the future is to go back China in several years later, and to contribute it as possible as I can. Anyhow, the hospitality organisations are still developing, though the speed is a little bit slower than developed countries. b) Record and priority of my immediate objectives In order that I can achieve the ambition in the future, I should first learn and handle hospitality business knowledge and skills very well during the period of university studying in the UK. Moreover, it is necessary for me to consider that many actual management skills and patterns may differ from Western countries when I work in China, since the business and cultural environment vary from one country to another. Furthermore, some other immediate objectives briefly list as following items: O Improve English language skill O Improve learning technology O To adapt to British culture O Increase experience in subjects Stage 3.

'Strategies for getting there' a) The learning needs I have The first and most essential learning need for me is to improve English language skill. As we know, the language barrier is a common problem for most overseas students in their studying life. Now I still feel that it's a little hard to communicate with my lecturers and colleagues, even though I achieved the requirement of English level wanted by the university. So I must be more active to communicate with British people, in order to improve my English.

Moreover, I should practice academic writing in English. Due to the different culture between Britain and China, the patterns of essay writing are also different from each other. To cope with this problem, the first thing I should do is to learn the various styles of academic writing, and to be aware of the features of organisation principle of each one. I need to develop academic vocabulary. Because we have to use formal language in academic essays or reports.

I think my textbooks are the good sources for me to accumulate academic words, and even their usage in sentences. b) Reasons for placement choice The placement is a period of work experience for a company in the industry in which the person is studying. The three hotels that I applied are: Britannia Country House Hotel, Manchester; Red Carnation Hotels, London; Hyatt Regency, Birmingham. I've applied to the Britannia Country House Hotel because it is a big hotel and it is quite busy so that will be a good experience for me to learn more about the hotel sector. Besides, Red Carnation Hotels are also quite interested to me because it is in the capital city of the United Kingdom - London, which is one of the most famous cities in the world, and attracts a large number of tourists.

Moreover, Hyatt Hotel is one of my favourite hotels, because it is not only a global hotel group, but also has high reputation in the international hospitality market. That's why I applied Hyatt Regency as one of my placement choices. All in all, even though I've never taken a real job and had contacted with customers in society, my placement choice will help me to get the skills I lack, and improve the skills I have; it also can assist me to develop work experience and combine the theories in books with real practice. Grade: 83%.