Term Paper on "Five Year Development Plan"

Term Paper 5 pages (1740 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Five-Year Development Plan:

A career development is an important part of the performance review process since it documents an individual's strengths and development areas with regards to career goals. As a result, the creation of this plan helps a person to establish means and strategies to maximize his/her opportunities for meaningful work in the future. The career goals should incorporate the required development to achieve the current role and necessary path to move into future roles. This is primarily because an individual's career covers his/her work experiences that are critical in defining current and future work roles ("Career Development Plan," 2007). The creation of career development goals is based on an emphasis on the current role since any development requires current performance targets and competencies that guide priority for development planning. The development planning for future career goals can start after the accomplishment of the expectations of current roles. Notably, the creation of a career development plan for current and future work goals is designed to be self-directed.

Career Goals and Objectives:

The identification of career goals and objectives is a process that starts from identifying an individual's current position or the place where/she is at the moment. In this case, I am an undergraduate junior student from Saudi Arabia studying a Degree in Business Management in Los Angeles. Upon completion of my degree, I intend to pursue a Degree in Hospitality in Switzerland that will enable me to enter the Hospitality and Hotel Management field in the Middle East. Even though I am currently studying for a Business degree, I have a background in hospitality business through which I have hands-on experience in the industry. The decision to settle for a career in the Hospitality and Hotel Management field was influenced by the experience I have gained while working in the hospitality industry.

A Business degree in management will be crucial in developing necessary hotel management competencies such as communication skills, supervising skills, and the ability to produce customer satisfaction and service skills. The business degree in management will also be helpful in the development of competencies like maintenance of professional and ethical standards, problem solving skills, leadership skills, and professionalism to accomplish operational objectives. Consequently, my career goal in this field is to enter the field of Hospitality and Hotel Management in the Middle East. The objective is to work in hotel management and operations within this field, especially in the luxury sector. Both degrees will be completed within the next 7 years i.e. The remaining 3 years in Degree in Management and 4 years for hospitality degree.

Possible Promotional Opportunities for Career Growth:

In the past few years, there has been a major shift in Hospitality and Hotel Management industry where general management skills are introduced to match the practical components. Business management skills have become increasingly integrated in the hospitality industry to help in developing hotel management competencies. The integration of management skills originate from the fact that hospitality is deeply entrenched in action management that requires the maintenance of requisite skills in the curriculum (Whitelaw et. al., 2009).

While these attempts tend to promote the integration of general management competencies in the curriculum, the hospitality field does not demonstrate specific interest in development of high order cognitive skills. Therefore, the need for high order cognitive skills is a potential promotional opportunity that fosters career growth. Through this opportunity, I will be able to analyze and integrate the wider issues incorporated in the decision-making process and demonstrate cognitive capacity to use knowledge in the operational settings.

Methods for Career Management:

Career management in the hospitality sector is based on three major concepts i.e. career mobility, career planning, and personal career strategies. In relation to career mobility, the first step is a general evaluation of career length i.e. how long it takes to accomplish the career goal. Since I am undertaking vocational education, the period it takes to reach the career goal will be shorter though a longer time is spent in education. In order to reach the general manager position, I would require a minimum of nine years in which 7 years will be spent on education while 2 years will be spent working in the field before becoming the general manager (Ladkin & Juwaheer, 2000, p.122). This will be followed by exploring the kind of job and various tasks undertaken towards the position, analyzing how individuals utilize the labor market, and evaluating the locus of control of job moves.

Career planning will involve an ongoing process in evaluating the current and future goals and expectations in order to achieve career success. In contrast, personal career strategies involve the creation of measures to advance the career. First, the strategy will involve being mobile and possessing international expertise and skills in order to succeed in the hospitality industry. The other personal strategies in career development and management in the hospital industry are moving around to gain knowledge and experience, ongoing training to improve education and skills, developing clear long-term career goals, and maximizing on opportunities provided by the firm's training schemes.

Current Skills, Abilities, Training, and Education:

The skills, abilities, training, and education in the hospitality industry tend to vary based on the expectations in the specific area of the hospitality industry. However, some of the most common skills include leadership competencies, maintenance of ethical standards, industry experience, planning for employment, and management or organization skills. With regards to training and education, I am gaining knowledge on management and organization skills, planning for employment, leadership skills, and ethical standards. On the contrary, the skills and abilities are the industry experience I have gained while working in the hospitality industry and the hospitality business background.

Job Satisfaction Attributes:

Success in the hospitality and hotel management industry is dependent on the ability to attain job satisfaction while working in the sector. One of the major attributes that indicate job satisfaction is the ability to meet customer needs since this industry is an action management field. The ability to meet customer needs is based on the service skills an individual possesses to work in the industry. Secondly, job satisfaction is demonstrated through the ability to generate service skills and customer satisfaction. Through the necessary service skills and competencies, customer satisfaction is achieved by meeting their needs, which in turn leads to job satisfaction. The third job satisfaction attribute is the ability to meet the current and future career goals through career development and effective career management.

Action Steps to Reaching Career Goals and Objectives:

In order to achieve the stated career goals and objectives, there are three major action steps to be undertaken. The first step is focusing on education and training since success in the hospitality industry is largely dependent on the quality of training and development of people delivering the services (Vokic, 2008, p.9). This will be the major focus within the next 3 years while I pursue a business degree in management. During the three-year period, I will gain knowledge on universal skills that are essential for the industry such as ethical standards, leadership and management skills, and planning for employment.

The second step will involve working in the hospitality industry while pursuing a Hospitality degree in order to enhance hands-on experience on what it is like to work in the industry. During this two-year period while working in the industry while pursuing the 4-year Hospitality degree, I will not only gain theoretical knowledge but will also obtain practical experience in the field. The third action step will be carried out upon completing the Hospitality degree where I will work in functional specialty roles, deputy general manager role, department head, and assistant manager roles within the industry. These roles will be undertaken en route to becoming a general manager and achieving career goals and objectives.

Potential Barriers:

In attempts to achieving the stated career goals and objectives, there are potential barriers while implementing the action steps. The first barrier is to find the right balance with regards to the focus to place on different skill sets. This challenge originates from the much emphasis on theory during training and development that could leave students confused. The confusion is based on the difficulties in finding the relevance of studies and the practical aspect of work. Actually, emphasis on theory brings confusion in relation to relevance while focus on the practical side contributes to lack of necessary skills to understand the industry (Whitelaw et. al., 2009). Secondly, globalization or technological advances is a probable barrier because of its impact on the industry through giving it a global perspective. Therefore, there will be an increased need to view the hospitality industry from an international perspective.

Impact of Career Training Programs:

Career development and management in the hospitality industry requires career training programs that act as the foundation for working in the sector. In addition to formal education, training programs in this industry include non-formal and informal education that contributes to quality development of personnel (Vujic, Becic & Crnjar, 2008, p.208). Educational… READ MORE

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