Sunday, February 17, 2019

[Solution] Descriptive Reflection on an Interpersonal Communication Issue

After receiving feedback for the problem, I have decided to use the concepts behind the Thomas-Kilmann conflict model to resolve this issue.

Firstly, the “accommodating” mode should be adopted to restore the relationship between the guest and the hotel. The hotel should be more understanding as the guest may be looking forward to dining in the restaurant after being told that breakfast was included. Therefore, when being denied of access, it is inevitable that he will be frustrated. As a method to apologise, the guest should be compensated with free breakfast at the restaurant. 

While the Guest Service Officer (GSO) should adhere to the standard operating procedures of changing the code accordingly, I feel that I should also be more meticulous while performing my task. Instead of only paying attention to the code number, I should also venture into the notes or traces section to make sure no important information was being missed out. Additionally, when a disparity was spotted between the standardised code and notes, I should have called the GSO for verification. These extra precautions will allow me to ensure that I am providing the correct information to guests, preventing similar problem from happening again. 

(197 words)

Friday, February 15, 2019

[Problem] Descriptive Reflection on an Interpersonal Communication Issue

An interpersonal communication issue occurred to me during my internship in the telecommunications department of a hotel. One day, I received a call from an in-house guest who wanted to check if breakfast was included in his room package. I followed the standard operating procedures and checked the code number in the system before informing the guest that he could proceed to the restaurant for breakfast.


A few minutes later, the duty manager called the department to find out which officer attended to the call. He mentioned that breakfast was not included and the guest was extremely unhappy with the false information provided.

Reprimanded for my carelessness, I remember feeling very disheartened for the next few days. However, a week later, my supervisor told me that the guest service officer was also responsible for this incident. As he was lazy to change the code in the system, he added a note in the guest’s profile to inform all staff that breakfast was not included. Unfortunately, he forgot to make the note visible and staff will not be alerted unless they clicked into the notes section.

What could have been done to prevent this from happening in the first place?


(199 words)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Formal Introduction

To: Ms. Shirley Mary Alexander
Date: January 24, 2019
From: Sin Jia Yun
Subject: Self-introduction of Sin Jia Yun

Dear Ms. Shirley, 

I would like to use this opportunity to formally introduce myself. My name is Sin Jia Yun, a second-year Hospitality Business undergraduate at Singapore Institute of Technology. I graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Hotel and Leisure Facilities Management. 

During my diploma studies, I was offered an opportunity to complete my internship as a front office trainee at OUE Limited’s flagship hotel, Mandarin Orchard Singapore. As I have yet to experience the facilities management aspect of my diploma, I decided to take a gap year upon my polytechnic graduation to work with E M Services, a facilities management firm. While I have learned a lot during my short stint with the company, taking a gap year has also ascertained my interest for the hotel industry. Therefore, I applied for this course and successfully secured a slot for the 2017 intake.

My communication strength is my open-mindedness to every individual’s opinion. As I believe that different perspectives will help to form better ideas, I am always keen in listening and understanding from another individual's point of view. This strength of mine allows me to achieve a more honest and productive conversation with everyone. 

My weakness is the lack of confidence when presenting in front of a large crowd. While I am comfortable with initiating small talks with my peers and strangers, I always find myself shivering and stuttering during presentations. 

Being in the service industry, I feel that having the ability to communicate effectively is extremely crucial. Therefore, through this module, I wish to improve my writing and communication skills in order to speak with greater confidence during presentations or in a public setting. 

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your classes. 

Yours sincerely, 
Sin Jia Yun

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

[Draft] Formal Introduction

To: Ms. Shirley Mary Alexander
Date: January 24, 2019
From: Sin Jia Yun
Subject: Self Introduction

Dear Ms. Shirley, 

I would like to use this opportunity to formally introduce myself. My name is Sin Jia Yun, a second-year Hospitality Business undergraduate at Singapore Institute of Technology. I graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Hotel and Leisure Facilities Management. 

During my diploma studies, I was offered an opportunity to complete my internship as a front office trainee at OUE Limited’s flagship hotel, Mandarin Orchard Singapore. As I have yet to experience the facilities management aspect of my diploma, I decided to take a gap year after my polytechnic graduation to work with E M Services, a facilities management firm. While I have learned a lot during my short stint with the company, taking a gap year has also ascertained my interest for the hotel industry. Therefore, I applied for this course and successfully secured a slot for the 2017 intake.

My communication strength is my open-mindedness to every individual’s opinion. As I believe that different perspectives will help to form better ideas, I am always keen in listening and understanding from the other person’s point of view. This strength of mine allows me to achieve a more honest and productive conversation with everyone. 

My weakness is the lack of confidence when presenting in front of a large crowd. While I am comfortable with initiating small talks with my peers and strangers, I always find myself shivering and stuttering during presentations. 

Being in the service industry, I feel that having the ability to communicate effectively is extremely crucial. Therefore, through this module, I wish to improve my writing and communication skills in order to speak with greater confidence during presentation or in a public setting. 

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your classes. 

Yours Sincerely, 
Sin Jia Yun