CTC (Travel Agent Certifications) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

GROW model

A coaching conversation structure: Goal, Reality, Options, Will. The coach asks questions at each stage so the coachee sets the goal and commits to specific next actions.

SBI feedback model

Situation, Behavior, Impact. Describe when and where it happened, the observable behavior, and its effect. This keeps feedback specific and about behavior rather than personality.

Coaching versus mentoring

Coaching is short-term, performance-focused, and question-led, typically without advice. Mentoring is longer-term, development-focused, and experience-based, with the mentor actively sharing advice and tacit knowledge.

Thomas–Kilmann conflict modes

Competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating, plotted on assertiveness versus cooperativeness. The best mode depends on stakes, available time, and the importance of the relationship.

Positions versus interests

A position is a stated demand; an interest is the underlying need behind it. Focusing on interests usually uncovers more options and produces integrative rather than win-lose agreements.

Mediation sequence

Convene and set ground rules, clarify each party's account, surface interests, generate options jointly, then record the agreement. The mediator controls the process while the parties control the outcome.

SCAMPER checklist

An idea-generation checklist: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse. Each prompt is applied to an existing product or process to force divergent alternatives.

Divergent then convergent thinking

Separate idea generation from evaluation. Divergence produces many options without judgment; convergence screens them against criteria. Mixing the two in one step suppresses both quantity and originality.

Six Thinking Hats

Six roles used one at a time: white facts, red feelings, black caution, yellow benefits, green alternatives, blue process. Sequencing hats prevents competing thinking modes from clashing in a group.

DISC four styles

Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness. D and I tend toward fast pace; S and C tend toward deliberate pace. Each style has strengths and watch-outs, and none is best.

Adapting to high D

Be brief, bottom-line, and results-oriented, and offer options with a recommendation. High Dominance wants control and speed and loses patience with rambling detail or unresolved discussion.

Adapting to high C

Be precise, logical, and organized; supply data, sources, and time to analyze. High Conscientiousness fears criticism of work quality and distrusts unsupported or exaggerated claims.

Goleman's four EI domains

Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Self-awareness underpins the other three, and relationship management is where the first three become visible to others.

Affect labeling

Naming an emotion in words reduces its intensity by engaging regulatory processes. Naming an emotion such as frustration is distinct from venting it or suppressing it entirely.

Cognitive versus emotional empathy

Cognitive empathy is understanding another's perspective; emotional empathy is feeling what they feel; compassionate empathy adds a motive to act. Each serves a different leadership purpose.

BATNA

Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: what you will do if no deal is reached. It sets your true walk-away point, so improving your BATNA before talks raises your power.

ZOPA

Zone Of Possible Agreement: the overlap between the buyer's maximum and the seller's minimum. No ZOPA means no deal unless one side changes its reservation value.

Integrative versus distributive bargaining

Distributive bargaining divides a fixed pie; integrative bargaining expands it by trading on issues the parties value differently. Integrative deals require multiple issues and some disclosure of priorities.

MESO

Multiple Equivalent Simultaneous Offers: present two or three packages of equal value to you. This reveals the other side's priorities while anchoring on several dimensions at once.

Rule of three

Audiences recall three items better than longer lists. Structure the presentation around three key messages and restate them at the opening and at the close.

Handling a hostile question

Listen fully without interrupting, restate the question in neutral terms, answer briefly to the whole audience, then check agreement before moving on.

Slide density guideline

A common guideline is six or fewer words per line and six or fewer lines per slide. Slides support the speaker's message and should never function as a script.

Gross margin formula

Gross margin equals revenue minus cost of goods sold, divided by revenue. It measures profitability before operating expenses and is expressed as a percentage.

NPV decision rule

Discount all expected cash flows at the required rate, then subtract the initial investment. Accept a project when NPV exceeds zero, and choose the highest NPV among mutually exclusive options.

Break-even units

Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by contribution margin per unit, where contribution margin is price minus variable cost per unit.

Critical path

The longest path through the network diagram; it determines the minimum project duration. Activities on the critical path have zero total float, so any delay there delays the project.

Cost variance and CPI

Cost variance equals earned value minus actual cost; the cost performance index equals earned value divided by actual cost. Negative CV and CPI below one both indicate over budget.

RACI rule

Responsible performs the work, Accountable approves and must be exactly one person per task, Consulted provides input, Informed receives updates. Multiple accountable people create decision paralysis.

Tuckman stages

Forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Storming is a normal phase as members test roles and boundaries, and leaders who suppress it slow the team's progress.

Psychological safety

The shared belief that speaking up with questions, errors, or dissent will not be punished. It predicts learning behavior, error reporting, and team performance.

Lencioni's five dysfunctions

Absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. They stack bottom-up, so trust must be addressed before the higher layers.

Social loafing

Individuals exert less effort in a team than they would alone. It grows with team size and falls when individual contributions are identifiable and the task is meaningful.