Developing Personal, Interpersonal, And Problem-Solving Skills In A Hospitality Industry

Task 1 – Be able to determine own responsibilities and performance (LO1)

Task 1 – Be able to determine own responsibilities and performance (LO1)

a) You start by considering your personal responsibility in your role as a student. So, you develop a set of own responsibilities under three separate headings: o Personal responsibility o Your ability to learn and develop o Establishing and maintaining direct and indirect relationships Then, choose two items from each list, and, for each of them, set a performance objective which should be SMART making sure that you give yourself some objectives capable of being achieved before the current semester ends on 24th June. (LO1.1)

b) Review how you can use three of the motivational theories and techniques you have learned about in class to improve your own quality of performance in relation to the objectives you have identified. (LO1.4)

c) During the week commencing 4th July, evaluate how effective you have been in meeting the objectives you set in Task 1a. (LO1.2)

d) In the light of your response to Task 1c, make at least three personal recommendations designed to improve your performance in relation to the responsibilities you developed in Task 1a. (LO1.3) .

Task 2 – Be able to develop interpersonal and transferrable skills (LO2) Note: LO2.1 is dealt with as part of Task 3a

a) You have recently been hired as the human resource manager of a prestigious 5 star hotel in London which is currently focusing on its recruitment due to the increasing demand in the sector. One of your tasks is to ensure that the recruitment is done carefully, however you also need to address immediately the current low staffing levels at the hotel. You are thinking of seeking help from recruitment agencies to assist you in looking for the right candidates. Your immediate task is to start communicating your plans to solve the issue. (LO2.2) 

o Send an e-mail to an ex-colleague who currently manages a recruitment agency to seek assistance in recruiting new employees for the hotel

o Write a short memo to your staff team regarding the current staffing issue and inviting the heads of the departments for a staff meeting to discuss your initial plans to address the issue

o Draft a formal letter to Mr. Paul Patterson, the chief executive of the hotel, informing him of your plans for the hotel in addressing the current staffing problems.

b) Identify, giving reasons for your choices, a range of time management strategies you can use to make sure that you get the conversion project completed on schedule. (LO2.3)

Task 3 – Understand the dynamics of working with others (LO3)

a) Basing your answer on team roles exercises carried out in class, and the case study Expansion at the COC Travels (attached at the end of this assignment brief) explain how you would use your knowledge of Belbin’s team roles as a means of ensuring that the new team would be able to function effectively. It is essential that your answer is specific to the case study – general answers will not achieve a Pass grade. (LO3.1)

i) Use Tuckman’s four stages of group development to analyse the development of the team described in the case study of Expansion at the COC Travels. (LO3.2)

ii) Explain to Claire what she needs to do at each stage to help with the process of development (LO3.2)

b) Suggest, with reasons and examples of appropriate activities, how you, as team leader, might use Hackman’s Five Factor Model to improve the performance of your team. (LO3.3)

Task 4 – Be able to develop strategies for problem solving (LO4)

a) Working as part of an allocated team and using two methods/techniques for problem solving (a Fish Bone Diagram and the 5-step Process for Problem Solving) first define your problem and then develop an appropriate strategy for dealing with it. The problem for you and your team to work on is attached at the end of this assignment brief. (LO2.1 / LO4.2)

b) Now that you have had the chance to practise using them, evaluate the Fish Bone Diagram and the 5-step Process as practical tools/methods of solving problems. (LO4.1)

c) Evaluate the impact of implementing your team’s recommended strategy for solving the problem described in the case study. (LO4.3)

Task 1 – Be able to determine own responsibilities and performance (LO1)

Task 1 

(a) 

Being a student, my responsibilities are;

• Asking lots of questions
• Showing confusion properly.
• Communication my struggles to the teachers in an appropriate manner.
• Surround myself with other students who can help me.

My abilities to learn and develop;

• I study the curriculum in advance so that I get an overview of the chapters.
• I engage myself into essential preparation works like getting a workbook, downloading software and setting aside dates for each course.
• I complete all my assignments on time and if I miss a class, I always find ways to get the class assignments from my friends.
• I believe in establishing my learning styles, like taking notes and recording the lectures give by my class teachers.

Establishing and maintaining direct and indirect relationships;

• It is important to maintain and establish direct as well as indirect relationships in the classrooms in order to build interpersonal skills.
• It is also important to develop strong communication and networking skills.
• It also enables a student in building his/her intellectual skills.
• It enhances student engagement as well.

S (Specific)	Asking lots of questions to my class teachers in order to clear confusion, studying the curriculum in advance and engage myself into essential works, developing strong and sound interpersonal as well as communication skills.	Sensible, strategic, self-managed, significant and succinct.
M (Measurable)	The objectives are quite measurable and I will be able to achieve the following objectives before my semester ends.	Manageable, meaningful, maintainable, mapped with personal objectives as well as goals.
A (Achievable)	The objectives are achievable depending on my own competencies.	Actionable, attainable, acceptable, accountable and aligned.
R (Realistic)	The objectives are quite relevant and there does not exist any unrealistic claims.	Results oriented, recorded, reviewable, relevant to the objectives, robust.
T (Time bound)	The objectives can be easily attained by the end of my current semester.	Team-building, time bound and track-able.

(b).

Three motivational theories are;

• Hierarchy of Needs Theory,
• Carrot and Stick Theory,
• Motivation-Hygiene Theory.

The Hierarchy of Needs Theory implies that every individual needs to understand what motivates them. For instance; a newly hired employee would like to be driven by the needs for the basic survival. On the contrary, a careerist worker is concerned with his/her career advancement. Similarly, I am more concerned about my career and therefore, this motivational theory will help me improve my performance, depending on my needs and desires. The Carrot and Stick Theory is a traditional motivational theory, which helps in breaking down motivation in two primary concepts that is fear and incentives. The incentives in my case would be good grades or scores in my semester exam and the fear would be the exam anxiety. Lastly, the Motivation-Hygiene Theory is also known as the Two-Factor Theory that deals with satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The factors which lead to the satisfaction include recognition, advancement, achievement and the ones which lead to dissatisfaction include discouragement, peer relationships and others.

(c)

A performance monitoring system is being designed to measure the performance indicators that are failure or success. I have been quite effective in meeting my personal goals and objectives. It is because of the performance monitoring system. The performance monitoring system enabled me to manage my activities continuously. It is a systematic way of collecting the data on the selected indicators and measure to what extent the individual can manage his/her goals or objectives. The objectives of the monitoring program should be clearly articulated in terms, so that they are meaningful and in turn, provide the basis of management.

(d)

In order to improve my performances, responsibilities, abilities of learning and maintaining relationships, I need to set my priorities and separate the relevant ones from the irrelevant. In case of urgency, I should be able to get the job done, emphasizing upon its quality as well. Being a student, it is important for me to set the priorities quickly and get the job done on the basis of their importance. In addition to this, I should be able to develop a positive attitude towards my duties and responsibilities. This is another way of improving performances. Every one notices quickly a persistent and consistent attitude of optimism and cheerfulness.

Moreover, I should improve my performance by continually updating my learning skills and seeking knowledge from my class teachers. Supervisors are very much impressed with the individuals who constantly strive to learn and know more, for increasing their values. Therefore, upgrading skills and knowledge is an immensely crucial part of my life so that it can accelerate my career. In addition to this, 85% of the success in modern day’s environment comes from one’s own personality and their abilities of communicating effectively with other people. It gets determined by how people will react and respect me. Therefore, it can be said that one can improve their personality by learning more and being more honest as well as sincere.

Task 2 – Be able to develop interpersonal and transferrable skills (LO2)

Task 2

(a)

Email

To: [email protected]

Subject: Regarding recruitment procedures

To Angela Johnson,

Hope this mail finds you in good stead! Currently, I have been hired as a human resource manager of a prestigious five star hotel in London. My organization is currently focusing on their recruitment strategies, due to the increasing demand in the hospitality sector. Being the human resource manager, my task is to ensure that the recruitment is being done carefully. However, I feel that the organization needs to address immediately the current low levels of staffing within the hotel. I have been thinking of seeking help from the recruitment agencies in order to assist me for looking and selecting the right candidate for the hospitality industry.

Being new in this industry, I am finding some issues with hiring and recruitment. I have been applying certain theories and models in order to improve the performance within the organization. Let me mention, I have applied Tuckman’s four stage model for developing the team morale and analyzing their performances. In addition to this, I have also applied Hackman’s Five Factor Model in order to improve the performances of my team. However, even after applying organizational theories and models, I am unable to conduct an effective recruitment and selection procedure. Therefore, I have mailed you in order to seek help regarding the recruitment strategies. I hope you will understand my current situation and assist me in accordance with that.

Regards,

Emma Watson

Memo

Private and Confidential

To: Alec Simpson (Head of the department)

From: Christine Grey (Human resource manager)

Date: 2^nd June 2018

Subject: Regarding staffing issues and proposal of plans to address the issues

I would like to arrange a formal meeting with you and other staff members in order to discuss regarding the staffing issues and propose new plans in order to address those. The meeting date will be fixed as per your convenience; however, the staff members have no issues if the meeting takes place by the end of this week. There work pressure will reduce by then. I would like to propose some plans for the recruitment procedures and improvement strategies. You are requested to bring your representatives as well to the meeting and I strongly recommend you to do so.

I will be grateful if you kindly confirm your presence in the meeting as it is immensely crucial for the betterment of the organization. If you are busy with your job duties, we can reschedule the meeting to the next week, as per your suggested alternative date and time. The purpose of the plan will help the organization achieve a satisfactory performance level, in terms of recruitment. Other staff members are there to support you reach this level, but it is highly important that you understand the importance of this meeting. Kindly, take the matter into consideration and let us know of your availability.

For further information, feel free to contact me.

Regards

Formal letter

Private and confidential

Mr. Paul Patterson (Chief Executive Officer)

Subject: Regarding current staffing issues

Task 3 – Understand the dynamics of working with others (LO3)

Respected Sir,

Hope this mail finds you at good stead! Recently, I found that the prestigious hotel is currently facing recruitment issues. I have also taken a step in addressing those problems as being the human resource manager, it is immensely crucial for me to take these factors into consideration. However, seeking help from a renowned recruitment agency, I have planned some new strategies for the organization’s betterment. The recruitment strategies undertaken by the company is not fulfilling the requirements. Moreover, I feel that the managers should analyze the job position and the need for recruitment, before conducting one. In addition to this, the candidates should be selected on the basis of their skills and competencies and not on their sources. In addition to this, disabled candidates should also be given the chance, as per their experiences. Furthermore, the company should recognize the value of diversity within the workplace as it helps in bringing in huge talent and experience within the workplace. Kindly, take the matter into consideration and let us know of your concern.

Regards,

Mona Richards

(Human Resource Manager)

(b)

Time Management Strategies for the completion of the project;

• Planning and scheduling ahead to control the time.
• Prioritizing the tasks on the basis of their importance.
• Being most productive at the time of undertaking tough responsibilities.
• Staying away from all sorts of distractions.
• Focusing on a single task at a time.
• Grouping and doing similar kind of projects in order to have a streamlined flow of work.
• Taking breaks for clearing head space.
• Sticking to the work schedule.
• Getting enough rest in order to improve the performance level.
• Maintaining a healthy diet and staying energized.

Task 3

The team roles by Belbin are categorized under action, people and thought orientation. It helps the team in associating themselves with the interpersonal and behavioural strengths. The roles that are oriented towards the actions are the shapers, implementers and complete finishers who help the teams to improve their teams by understanding the best approaches so that the problems can be solved in a proper manner (Batenburg, van Walbreek and in der Maur 2013). With respect to the case study, it can be seen that Claire has taken up the duty to manage the organization in a proper manner by coordinating all the employees so that the organization can function effectively.  The people oriented roles according to the model are the coordinators, team workers and resource investigators. The case study shows that Claire is able to coordinate with the other team members to make the leaflet in a proper manner. She delegated the task to Paul who is a good designer, as he has a good knowledge regarding the technologies that are used for designing the leaflet. This shows that Paul is the resource investigator within the team. He has the knowledge to design the leaflet in a better way with the help of the technology. The next roles in the model are oriented towards thoughts where the plant is the creative innovator, monitor-evaluator helps in evaluating the ideas so that it can be cost-effective and the specialist uses the special knowledge so that the work can be done in a faster manner (Senaratne and Gunawardane 2015).

The group development stages suggested by Tuckman shows that there are four stages such as Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Forming is the stage where the members of the team has to be polite and positive and the leader has to take a dominant role regarding the responsibilities and roles that are not clear to them (Seck and Helton 2014). Storming is the process where the boundaries of the employees are pushed against the forming stage. It is here where the rise of conflicts within the employees can be seen with respect to the style of working. With respect to the case study, it can be seen that Andrew is in a conflict with Paul and Claire, as he things that his suggestions are superior to that of anyone else (Batenburg, van Walbreek and in der Maur 2013).

Task 4 – Be able to develop strategies for problem solving (LO4)

The next stage is that of norming, where the employees will have to resolve the differences so that the strengths of the colleagues can be appreciated. This will also result in respecting the authority in a better manner. The performing stage is where the employees work hard in achieving the goals of their respective teams. The case study shows that Claire provided opportunity to everyone with respect to their level of skills so that the leaflet can be made in a proper manner (Redick et al. 2014).

Claire needs to understand the responsibility that has been given to her so that it can help her in understanding the necessary skills that are required for doing the task in an efficient way. She also needs to delegate the tasks to the person who has a better knowledge regarding the ways in which the leaflet can be designed properly. The suggestions from other colleagues need to be taken in to consideration so that it can result in making the leaflet attractive for the company. Claire has to combine the feedbacks from the other employees along with the expert knowledge of Paul so that it can allow her in designing the best leaflet for the company. She needs to take in to consideration the viewpoints of the other employees, as she believes in perfection that will help in making the outcome of the design in a better way (Seck and Helton 2014).

The Five Factor model of Hackman helps in increasing the success of the team and the factors are ‘Being a Real Team’ where the task is shared among the employees so that the group is stable in nature. It will also help including people who have special skills so that the team can perform better than others. The second factor is known as ‘Compelling Direction’ where the team will be able to control the goals so that it can help them in reaching the objectives in a better manner (Jia, Jia and Karau 2013). The third factor is known as ‘Enabling Structure’ where the variety that is present within the team helps them to succeed. The fourth factor is known as ‘Supportive Context’ where support needs to be provided by the leaders for the success of the team. The fifth factor is known as ‘Expert Coaching’ that helps in mentoring the daily activities that are taken up the team. From the case study, it can be seen that Claire has managed to increase the coordination of the team by taking the feedback at is being provided by her colleagues. This has resulted in taking the decision by Claire to hire another person so that another resource can be used within the team so that the efficiency level can be increased as well (Ali et al. 2014).

Task 4

The case study that has been provided has shown that the couple booked a deluxe room in a hotel within their price range but up on reaching the place, the hotel could not accommodate them and were asked to stay in the double room due to a mistake in the server that led to overbooking. The couple had to adjust for one day and was shifted to the deluxe room the next day but were disappointed with the services that were provided to them. They suggested that they would not recommend the services of the hotel to their friends and relatives in the future (Chang 2015).

The fishbone diagram allows the company in preventing the solutions that may lead to a greater amount of problem in addressing the current problem that is being faced in the work place. The use of this diagram allows the group of employees in having a brainstorming session so that the causes of the problems can be found out in a proper manner. It also allows in listing the major causes of the problems so that they can be eliminated on a priority basis (Coccia 2018).

The five steps of problem solving are first to identify the problem so that it can help in getting a better understanding of the root for the cause. The second step is to gather ideas that can help in mitigating the problems that is being faced by the company or the organization. The third step is to decide on the solution that will be suitable in effectively dealing with the problem so that it can be mitigated in a proper manner. The fourth step will help in implementing the solution in the work place so that it can analyse the results regarding the mitigation of the problem. The result that will be collected by implementing the solutions needs to be reviewed so that it can help in providing a better understanding regarding the extent to which problem can be solved (Bardach and Patashnik 2015).

The problem solving process with respect to the case study can be that the hotel needs to identify the problems that are present in its technical failure, which has led to the factor of overbooking. This has resulted in miscommunicating with the customers due to which the level of expectation were not met in a proper manner. This problem had to be identified by the hotel so that better ideas could have been collected from the employees regarding the mitigation of the failure. This would have helped in efficiently managing the risk of overbooking within the organization. The idea that would have been provided by the experts had to be implemented within the organization so that it can help in evaluating the problem that was present in the hotel (Whimbet, Lochhead and Narode 2013).

The Fishbone diagram would have helped in understanding the primary reason for the cause of the problem so that the other problems can be mitigated that are associated with the main problem. This will help in analysing the problems that are being faced by the hotel organization in a proper way.

The recommended strategy for solving the problem that was being faced by the hotel organization provided in the case study is that a better expert needs to be hired so that it can result in understanding the problems that resulted in the failure of the system. This will help the customers in booking the hotels in a proper manner so that it does not lead to overbooking within the organization. The organization also needs to see that the services that are being provided to the customers are of better kind so that the customers can be satisfied with the benefits that are being provided to them. It will also help the organization in understanding the requirements of the company so that the service that is being provided to the customers can be increased to a great extent. The housekeeping that is present within the hotel needs to be trained in a proper manner so that they can provide a better service to the customers, which will help in satisfying them to a great extent. It will also allow in gaining a competitive advantage in the market over? the hotels that are operating with the same amount. The organization also needs to provide the information on the websites in the correct manner so that it can help the customers in getting the correct information that will allow them in booking the place.

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