7 Pages
1837 Words
INTRODUCTION Of XGBCYP5045 Professional Placement Assignment
The term professional placement means a workplace placement undertaken by the student with the host organization as a requirement of a course at the university. The present study will outline reflective practices and reflective thinking as well as their benefits. Further, the report will cover a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, threats regarding the placement. It will highlight SMART goals to attain placement.
Reflective practices are a procedure of in-depth and intentional thinking about the experience to learn from them. In other words, reflective practice means learning through and from experience to effectively gain new insights into self (Storie, 2021). On the other hand, reflective thinking acts as a form of critical thinking that reflects learning and experience. It acts as a notion of awareness of an individual`s assumptions, knowledge and past experiences. For example, a student effectively engages in reflective practice by thinking about how they studied for a test and how they ended up performing to efficiently figure out how they can able to study better next time.
In addition, in a real environment number of philosophers and theorists give their views on the reflective practice. According to David Kolb that furnish Kolb`s reflective model states that reflective practice helps the individual to reflect on the experience, learn through abstract conceptualization and includes active experiments, allowing the individual to become efficient life-long learners. The theorist outlines that better learning is one of the effective benefits of reflective practice (Taneja, Kiran and Bose, 2022). Reflective practice is good to use because it allows the student to process what happened during the experience. One of the criticisms of the model is its simplicity in nature as a result fails to capture the significance of the observation, and only works in isolation.
Apart from this, theorists of the Gibbs reflective model outline that reflective practice allows the individual to transform the experience into valuable lessons and future outcomes. Gibbs says that every individual should reflect on their experience to effectively understand their strengths and weaknesses to attain the outcome for the future proficiently (Robson, 2022). Reflective practice allows the learner to do personal and professional development by taking corrective actions based on reflection on the experience. According to Gibbs, reflective practice provides benefits to the individual to develop their required skills and knowledge by taking corrective action. Hence, reflective practice is advantageous for the personal and professional growth of the individual in a significant manner. Further, the downsides of Gibbs's reflective practice include more focus on the negative aspect of the experience resulting in overcoming positive outcomes.
Moreover, based on the views of the theorist Driscoll, reflective practice plays an important role in developing a better understanding of different viewpoints and perspectives via answering “what”, “so what” and “now what”. The reflective practice aids in understanding viewpoints regarding preference, strengths and development. This leads to benefits the individual by enhancing their assimilation as well as recall capacity, at the same time it allows for boosting the motivation level as well (Terry and Bates, 2021). On the contrary, the lack of fitness of the model in each situation is a major criticism.
Thus, it is effective and good to use the reflective practice as it provides the individual with the knowledge of areas of improvement or areas of development. An effective understanding of the development area allows the individual to improve their skill and abilities according to the requirements. In addition, reflective practice is good to use as it enables the individual to produce better work as well as enhance their self-awareness.
Academic success starts here. New Assignment Help offers personalized Assignment Help in UK that fits your requirements perfectly.
MAIN BODY
The placement organization provides employment opportunities to the students according to qualifications and skills. The SWOT analysis helped me to recognize my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to get knowledge of my ability to get placed within Hilton in a managerial position.
Strengths: Communication is one of my strengths, I have good linguistic knowledge of different languages like English, French and German. It allows me to efficiently communicate with the team members, staff, stakeholders and tourists from globally. In addition, time management is also considered one of my proficient skills. It aids me in wisely managing my time and, hence, allows me to complete the task on a set deadline (Wolters and Brady, 2021).
Weaknesses: Through SWOT analysis, I identified that problem-solving skill is my lacking area. While reflecting on my previous experience of group projects at the time of conflicts between the members, I find difficulty in solving problems. It enables me to solve problems rapidly (Aslan, 2021). Further, another weakness of mine includes a lack of attention to detail ability. This weakness of mine directly impacts my personal as well as professional development.
Opportunities: The SWOT analysis aids me in identifying the opportunity of the position of placement in the Hilton. Referring to my strengths in communication and time management I was able to grab the placement at the Hilton.
Threats: My weaknesses of mine such as lack of problem-solving skills as well as attention to detail skill act as a threat for me to grab the managerial position within Hilton as a placement. It is a threat for me because working in a managerial position, it is an important requirement to solve problems regarding the function of the hotel, staff as well as customers. The inability of this acts as a barrier to my growth.
In addition, via the evaluation of the SWOT analysis of the placement organization Hilton, I identified that the company has a weakness of lack of proper management of organization activities, people and so more. It leads to an impact on the brand image and customer satisfaction in a crucial manner. Thus, I will address the weakness of the placement via my strengths of effective communication and time-management skills. I use a simple and empathetic tone and language to instruct the staff members so that they complete the assigned task effectively and efficiently. Along with this, I also use time management skills for proper scheduling of the different activities of the hotel, staff management and so more. It helps me to address the weakness of lack of proper management.
SMART goals: the SMART goal of mine includes enhancing my problem-solving skills, attention to detail and effective performance by 10% via taking the required actions of observing experts, and mediation within the timeframe of 6 months.
Gibbs model: Referring to the Gibbs reflective model, while working on the group project with students of different backgrounds and languages, I identified that my communication skills are quite effective. During the project due to the difference in language, it became onerous for the team members to communicate with each other, to cope with this, I used my language knowledge to communicate ideas, opinions and suggestions in the best manner. Moreover, at the time of completion of the project, I was aware of my time management skills. Due to differences in opinion and misunderstanding becomes difficult to complete the project on time. To overcome it I use my time-management skill (Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, 2025). For example, I prepare a schedule assigning tasks to each member according to needs and requirements. On contrary to this, during the group project, I recognize my lack areas such as lack of problem-solving skills and attention to detail skills. To improve the area of development, I follow an action plan, it is as under:
| Skill needs to develop |
Action-taken |
Resource required |
Measurable |
Timeframe |
| Problem-solving skill |
Brainstorming ideas Playing mindful games (Chen et al, 2021) |
Playing boards, group of people |
It is measured via feedback from the superiors |
6 months |
| Attention to detail |
Meditation Reading books |
Meditation mat, books |
It is measured via the self-assessment |
4 month |
CONCLUSION
As expressed professional placement plays an important role in networking opportunities, developing skills, confidence building as well as enhancing the employability of the individual. The present study outlines that reflective practice refers to a process of thinking about experience and identifying strengths and weaknesses to enhance future outcomes. On the other hand, reflective thinking refers to a consideration of the larger context, the meaning as well as the impact of experience and action. The report highlights the views of three theorists about reflective practices such as Kolb says that reflective practice enables the individual to process knowledge, happenings and experiences. Apart from this, the opinion of Gibbs of reflective practice is that it enables the individual to grow personally and professionally while Driscoll stated that reflective practice enhances the recall capacity of individuals and enhances their motivation level.
Apart from this, to attain placement within the Hilton at the managerial level SWOT analysis model was used. The report highlighted the strengths of communication and time management while identifying the weaknesses of lack of attention to detail and problem-solving skills. The report is evaluated to address the weaknesses of placement such as lack of proper management, time-management skills and effective communication skill use. The strengths aid in overcoming the weakness of the placement. Apart from this, by using the Gibbs model, an action plan is furnished to enhance weak skills via playing mind games, brainstorming ideas, regular meditation and so more.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
- Aslan, A. (2021). Problem-based learning in live online classes: Learning achievement, problem-solving skill, communication skill, and interaction. Computers & Education, 171, 104237.
- Chen, S. Y., Tsai, J. C., Liu, S. Y., & Chang, C. Y. (2021). The effect of a scientific board game on improving creative problem-solving skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41, 100921.
- Robson, I. (2022). Reflection and Learning. In The Reflective Leader: Reflexivity in Practice (pp. 5-24). Emerald Publishing Limited.
- Storie, B. (2021). Incorporating Reflective Practice as a Means of Improving Student Self-Regulated Learning in a Digital Learning Environment.
- Taneja, M., Kiran, R., & Bose, S. C. (2022). Critical analysis of Kolb experiential learning process: Gender perspective. International Journal of Health Sciences, (I), 8713-8723.
- Terry, T., & Bates, A. S. (2021). The reflective urologist. Journal of Clinical Urology, 14(4), 300-305.
- Wolters, C. A., & Brady, A. C. (2021). College students’ time management: A self-regulated learning perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), 1319-1351