Assessment 4 – Reflective Writing
Part A
The Competing Values Framework (CVF) identifies eight competing roles that a manager must have competency if they are to achieve true mastery (Quinn et al 2015). These roles are divided among four quadrants: collaborate, create, compete and control. From my first survey, the strongest quadrant for me was collaboration, in particular the role of mentor. Unsurprisingly, this remained my most competent area of managerial skill, with notable improvement to the role of facilitator (4.8-5.2). This again reflects the fact that I get the most satisfaction from the human element of the hospitality industry, in particular the opportunity to be a positive influence on people who are new to the industry. With such a high turnover of staff being typical of the hospitality industry, I believe that this will continue to be my strength as a manager in the future. Click here to Order Now
My most significant area of improvement was in the control quadrant, where I scored higher for the roles of both monitor (4.0-4.5) and coordinator (3.8-4.4). The initial survey highlighted this as my weakest quadrant and it has certainly been an area that I have been particularly focused on improving since then. In particular I have been more focused on establishing routine and consistency with my approach to work. Restaurants are chaotic by nature, but I have found that placing extra focus on controlling the environment as much as possible has resulted in better personal performance and by extension, more satisfied guests.
The quadrants of external focus, compete and create, were where I was somewhat stagnant, with points being lost for the roles of producer (4.6-4.4) and innovator (4.5-4.2), although there were small improvements to the roles of director (4.4-4.8) and broker (3.7-4.0). My first survey placed rational goals as my second strongest quadrant, where it remained following my second survey, which may be why it was not an area that I placed particular focus on. I do find that I am driven by personal goals, which then translates to meeting targets for the businesses I work for. Similarly, the creative side of management is not something that I feel I have been particularly focused on in recent times, and is an area that I must certainly look to improve in the future. It takes a lot of confidence to sell new ideas and for me, I believe that this is something that will come with more experience.
The CVF provides a clear definition of the competencies that must be mastered to become a highly successful manager. For me, it has confirmed where my strengths lie and where I need to improve. Click here to Order Now
Part B
The second community blog assessment had us explore the statement, ‘Understanding the external environment is a necessary attribute of a modern tourism and hospitality manager.’ There were two blog posts that highlighted the impact that perceived political instability can have on a destination’s tourism industry; one in reference to Australia’s image for potential Asian travellers, following politician Pauline Hanson’s divisive rhetoric toward them, while the second focused on the recent drop in visitor numbers to Barcelona following episodes of political unrest. Coelho’s (2017) piece pointed toward emerging technology as being the key to increasing bookings during times of instability, which falls in line with managerial competencies related to open systems style management, in particular, innovation and adaptability (Quinn et al 2015). Coelho (2017) also suggests that managers in Barcelona develop stronger relationships with their guests, advising them to, “sell the features and benefits of your hotel and stay away from discussing the conflict. Make your guest feel assured, safe and welcome.” Negotiating new ideas and selling them to people is one of the key skill of open systems management, in particular for the role of the broker (Quinn et al). Litvin, (1999) on the other hand, calls on Australia to turn toward South Africa as an example of tourism growth following political unrest, which falls more into the quadrant of compete (Quinn et al 2015). Whether it be through awareness and ability to utilise new technology, or the ability to learn from and compete with other tourism systems, it can be concluded from these pieces that an understanding of the external environment is paramount for a successful manager.
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