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Blog 5: My Vision on Leadership

Figure 1. My Vision of Leadership

Source: Articles 3, 2014

I believe that leadership is a process of leading people, based on adaptation, acceptance and collaborative decision-making. Yukl (2008) suggested that “research on leadership and management during the past several decades provide strong evidence that flexible, adaptive leadership is essential for most managers”. It is further supported by Jacobs and Jaques (1987) and even McCall and Sergrist (1980) that there is no single method of leadership that is effective on all, and that is precisely why flexible leadership is ultimately the best leadership technique, based on my opinion. I am aware that leadership to become flexible, is not easy since it requires knowledge, skills and the awareness of the context. Situation leadership, will be the closest type of leadership that I believe is most suited for the present day world. Situation leadership is an adaptation of two leadership behaviors, that is directive behavior and supportive behavior and comes in 4 styles: Directing, coaching, supporting and delegating (Kearney and Gebert, 2009; Shen et al., 2009; Deshpande, 2014; Beyond Theory, 2015: See figure 2 below).

Figure 2. Situational Leadership

Source: University of Phoenix, 2015

As stated by Jayanti (2013), who has a website demonstrating the importance of trust, suggested that a leader should be capable of winning the trust of the people that are around him/her. It is trust and respect that can create a good sense of following amongst the followers. Therefore, when visioning a leader, it is not entirely up to being flexible, that is from coaching to directing or delegating to supporting, but also having the charisma (Kotlyar and Karkowsky, 2007; Russell, 2013), that is needed to win the trust. Personality, plays a crucial role here (Kotler, 2008, Kotler, 1990). As stated by one of the popular owners in Thailand of a television company and hotel group – Direct TV PCL, suggested that from having no money to being rich has not changed his lifestyle. He said that, even now, I come to work at 7.00 in the morning and leave at 22.00. It is the impression that even the leader is willing to put some effort, apart from simply delegating and directing. Setting an example, and the daily behaviors build up the individual’s personality, which can be reflected amongst the followers. This individual, was the inspiration since day one. Due to the opportunity that I have got to interview him during the exhibition in Thailand, gave me the impression how a leader should be. He should not be someone demonstrating wealth and power, but a humble individual, with vast knowledge, minimal ego and the ability to accept opinions. As stated by Quin, Spreitzer and Hart (1992) that a leader has several attributes that must be integrated in order to gain effectiveness, and that there is no single attribute that can outweigh others.

As part of understanding and envisioning leadership, I conducted a minor primary research on how my colleagues view myself, in terms of the various attributes that I have, do not have and might need. It was concluded that as part of my personal development, I need to focus on my ability to communicate more openly. Since I have always been the type of person who does not engage directly with anything, this has happened to be my weakness. I wish to create a new self by the end of the year 2016, allowing to be ready to enter the tourism and hotel industry as a person with charisma, a strong personality and knowledge to understand and evaluate things better. As a result, I believe that there are various skills that wish to develop over the course of time. A part from my individual’s skills and attributes that I have stated above, I also wish to create a strong significance in terms of being the upcoming 21^st century leader. In order to do so, I believe that I should be more of a listener and less of a talker, followed by the ability to understand the opinions of people, take them into consideration and most importantly, have the confidence to direct people. I believe that in the hospitality and tourism industry, it is ultimately very important to be the people’s person as it is all about customer service. A good example can be noted between the quality of service of Hilton Pattaya compared to the quality of service located amongst the underlying, lower-level hotels.

I do not wish to be a dictator or an autocratic leader, as it has no space in the present world. I prefer a leader that is democratic, and listens to the voices of people. As stated by Mumford, Campion and Morgeson (2007) and Mullins (2013), that a leaders skill can vary from one position to another. In a board meeting, a leader might appear and perform differently, than what he or she might do while having a one on one conversation with a staff. Building personality and developing relationships are vital to exist in this competitive world. Mayer and Salovey (1995) suggested that a leader should be able to control his or her emotions and portray it in a constructive manner that does not deviate organizational objectives, but rather enforce it.

In conclusion, I envision a leader that can be explained in the following terms: charismatic, flexible, knowledgeable, listener and democratic. These are the types of attributes that a leader should have, and it should be within the best interest of the context, to decide on how many levels should one attribute be focused than the other. For example, in a situation of crisis, a leader should be knowledgeable and democratic to gain the best option for survival. However, in the context where the organization is performing very well, then the leader should focus more on listening, and charismatic, in order to continue motivating the followers to perform better.

 

References

Articles3 (2014). Charismatic Leadership the prerequisites. [Online]. Available at: http://articles9.com/en/articles/charismatic-leadership-the-prerequisites/ [11^th September 2015]

Beyond Theory (2015). Situational Leadership training. [Online]. Available at: http://beyondtheory.co.uk/situational-leadership/ [11^th September 2015]

Deshpande, A. (2014). A comparative study of workforce diversity in service and manufacturing sectors in India. International Journal of Research In Business Management, 2(3), 1 – 8.

Jacobs, T. O., & Jaques, E. (1987). Leadership in complex systems. In J. Zeidner (Ed.), Human productivity enhancement: Organizations, personnel, and decision making, 2, 7–65.

Jayanti (2013). About the Trust. Jayanti Memorial Trust. [Online]. Available at: http://www.jmt.org.np/members_and_advisors.html [11^th September 2015]

Kearney, E. and Gebert, D. (2009). ‘Managing diversity and enhancing team outcomes: the promise of transformational leadership’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 77.

Kotter, J. P. (2008). Force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York: Free Press.

Kotter, J. P. (1990) A force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York: Free Press.

Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2007). Falling Over Ourselves to Follow the Leader. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 14(1), 38-49

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1995). Emotional intelligence and the construction and regulation of feelings. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 4, 197–208.

McCall, M. W. Jr., & Segrist, C. A. (1980). In pursuit of the manager’s job: Building on Mintzberg. Technical Report No. 14. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.

Mumford, M. D., Campion, M. A., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). The leadership skills strataplex: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels. Leadership Quarterly, 18, 154- 166.

Mullins, L. J. (2013) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 10th edn. Harlow: Pearson Higher Education

Quinn, R. E., Spreitzer, G. M., & Hart, S. L. (1992). Integrating the extremes: Crucial skills for managerial effectiveness. In S. Srivastva and R. E. Fry (Eds.), Executive and organizational continuity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 222-252.

Russell P. G, (2013). The relationship between leader fit and transformational leadership, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(1), 55 – 73

Smircich, L., and Morgan, G. (1982). Leadership: The management of meaning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 18(3), pp. 257-273.

University of Phoenix (2015). University of Phoenix presents Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership. [Online]. Available at: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=nolsehqab&oeidk=a07e9rgda6w801fea44 [11^th September 2015]

Yukl, G. (2010). The Importance of Flexible Leadership. 23rd annual conference of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, April, 2008. San Francisco, CA.

Blog 4: Leading and Change in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Mullins (2010: 753) suggested that “Change is nothing new and a simple fact of life. Some people actively thrive on new challenges and constant change, while others prefer the comfort of the status quo and strongly resist any change. It is all down to the personality of the individual and there is little management can do about resistance to change”

I believe the best illustrations how change management can affect individuals is on figure 1 below:

Figure 1. Each Individual being subjective to change on different levels

Source: Citi, 2015

Everything is changing, and change is a force that cannot be quite controlled. Some people resist change, whereas others tend to open-handedly accept change. Regardless of how they tend to appreciate or detest change, change is an inevitable process.  When looking it from a micro-perspective, it is important to notice that even in the context of organizations, a change is often seen with positive outcomes, whereas the process of achieving this change, takes more than stating the change that is going to take place (Zand and Sorensen, 1975). The process of change as stated by Mullins (2010), is either going to be rejected by the workforce or accepted, with the possibility of rejection far more likely than acceptance. Yet, these changes are done anyway, as it is the opinion of the upper management that this change would bring good to the overall company. This is further supported by Buckingham and Coffman (1999) that personality is often harder to change of an individual as they get older. Management are often in the dilemma on how to make their staffs and workforce to adapt to the consistent change that is taking place. As stated by Smircich and Morgan (1982), that at times, management can implement some strategies that create an environment suggesting change. As stated by Mullins (2010) that regardless of the person or organization, everything is subjected to change. Coetsee (1999) suggested that some countries are more resistant to change than the others, and this has given a significant impact on how people and organizations, tend to overcome the problems of resistance to change. “Organizational change can generate skepticism and resistance in employees, making it sometimes difficult or impossible to implement organizational improvements” (Folger and Skarlcki (1999: 25). However, it is up to the organization’s management team to ensure that the change is created for the right reasons, in alignment with the organizational objective and implemented appropriate. So how what are the roles of managers in avoiding and overcoming resistance to change?

As stated by Gray (2012), it is the role of the managers to come up with the right reasons to suggest to the employees in order to create the required change and have it embedded amongst the followers/employees. Yukl (2010) suggested that in terms of ensuring the right change, leaders direct the managers, and it ultimately the managers that come up and personal with the staffs. This is where the right ingredients are needed to ensure that the change moves as smoothly as possible. Folger and Skarlicki (1999) further stated that sometimes, organizations make the change so harsh, that the implementation process takes dictatorial approach, meaning a hard and punishable-type of implementing change. It is proven by this study that, unfairness in treatment and not understanding that staffs are going through change can create an even stronger issue when it comes to maintaining change. A strong resistance can mean a harder struggle to achieve the required change properly implemented. This can take more time, more hours, and can be costly. Change management processes can direly affect the overall performance of the organization, and this can come with a huge cost. Therefore, the harder the change, the more complicated it is to create value in the change process. It is precisely for these reasons, that change is a step-by-step process and should be conducted over time. As stated by Mohamed (2013, slide 2) “change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired state”.

In the hospitality and tourism industry, change can be a troublesome process, as it can take a significant amount of time, due to the various divisions within the industry. The best process to manage change in this industry is on an individual or on a departmental based change, using the ADKAR model for change management (Mohamen, 2013: See figure 2 below).

Figure 2. ADKAR model for change management

Source: Tremolada, 2015

ADKAR involves, creating Awareness (A), Desire to be part of the change (D), have the required Knowledge to change (K), have the right Abilities to implement the skills required for the change (A) and finally to Reinforce and maintain changes (Prosci, 2007; Kotler, 1996; Homji, 2010). A good example, can be recognized from Dvaree Hotel groups in Thailand. The initial launch in Jomtien beach, in Pattaya City, Thailand, was a major failure (See figure 3 below). It was noted to have complains on no proper customer service, poor communication and bad coordination. However, recently, after 3 months of closure, the hotel was recently opened after undergoing change management. Here, a step-by-step, model was implemented, very much similar to ADKAR’s model for change management, resulting some positive outcomes.

Figure 3. Dvaree Dee Beach Hotel Pattaya, Thailand

Source: Booking.com

In conclusion, it can be concluded that there is no easy method to maintain change. In fact the idea of resisting change is very subjective from one country to another, with a particular focus on its culture. It is easier to implement change management in Hilton hotels in US compared to Hiltons in Thailand. Therefore, a close look must be dedicated to the managers, who would have to come up with models and processes that best suit the needs of their particular organization. In addition, time is important. Good changes take time, and any rushed changes sometimes can be problematic or even short-lived (Piderit, 2000).

 

References

Booking.com (2015). D Varee Jomtien Beach, Pattaya. [Online]. Available at: http://www.booking.com/hotel/th/d-varee-jomtien-beach.en-gb.html?sid=d37228f9b42b708df66b2d39a29c5a39;dcid=4;dist=0&sb_price_type=total&type=total& [last accessed 11^th September 2015]

Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (1999) First, Break All the Rules.New York: Simon & Schuster

Citi (2015). Making Change Safe and Simple. [Online]. Available at: http://www.citi.co.uk/is-change-manager-a-true-role/ [last accessed 11^th September 2015]

Coetsee, L. (1999). From resistance to commitment. Public Administration Quarterly, 204-222.

Folger, R. and Skarlicki, D. (1999). Unfairness and resistance to change: hardship as mistreatment, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35-50.

Gray, D. (2012). Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. Journal of Professional Safety [e-journal], 57(2), 20-21,

Homji, K. F. (2010). Business Process and Change Management Offerings for Addressing Issues in the Retail Supply Chain. Gurgaon: Tata Consultancy Services.

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business Press Review

Mohamed, M. (2013). Organizational Change management models. [Online]. SlideShare. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/maysoonmaged/organization-change-mgmt-models [last accessed 11th September 2015]

Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: a multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change. Academy of Management, 783-794

Prosci Inc. (2007). Best Practices in Change Management. Colorado.

Smircich, L., and Morgan, G. (1982). Leadership: The management of meaning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 18(3), pp. 257-273.

Tremolada, G. (2015). Using a change model like ADKAR. [Online]. Available at: https://frontlinemanagementexperts.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/using-a-change-model-like-adkar/ [last accessed 11^th September 2015]

Yukl, G. (2010) Leadership in Organizations. 6th ed. Essex: Pearson-Prentice Hall

Zand, D. E. and Sorensen, R. E. (1975) ‘Theory of Change and the Effective use of Management Science’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 20(4), 532-545

Blog 3: Most effective Leadership & Management Styles & approaches in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

For several decades, studies have created various methods of determining the ideal leadership and management styles. Leadership and management are two very different aspects, yet they have certain areas of commonality. Mullins (2013) suggested that leadership is about how a leader is capable of influencing, inspiring and motivating his or her followers, whereas the management is a group of individuals who work towards getting the task done. As stated by Parker and Ritson (2005) suggested that leaders are unique in their own ways, and often an individual is capable of being a leader because the method that he or she has implemented in that particular setting is sufficient to meet the requirements. Mullins (2013) also suggested that a management staff or a manager per say, would have different job responsibilities compared to a leader. I believe that if a leader decides to engage in the management position, he or she might not be able to be as effective, since the rules and protocols, including the processes are not the same. Similarly, putting a management individual to become a leader might have a similar implication, consider that that particular management individual might not have the leadership attributes and qualities to lead people. Therefore, it can be understood that managing and leading people are not the same thing.

What makes leaders and managers ultimately different and similar? Firstly, leaders are more of a people oriented, as it involves influencing and motivating, whereas managers are often task oriented assigned by the upper management or the owners (Kotler, 1990). Secondly, leaders and managers can both be task or people oriented, and that is where transformational and transactional leadership approaches are noted. Therefore, even a manager is capable of being a leader and vice versa.

When discussing the best personal style that managers should adopt to ensure success, there is vast amount of literature suggesting one and the other. I believe that an effective leader should not only be aware of the style that they use and its relevant impact, but they should also be aware of the level and type of relationship that is required to maintain a harmonic yet motivated group of followers. Pitt and Wise (2010) suggested that charismatic leader are very effective in the present day world, due to their ability to charm and motivate people. Bardham et al., (2012) suggested that a leader that is technology oriented is important in the 21^st century to stay up-to-date with the followers. Other researchers such as Prasad and Mills (1996), Yukl (2010) and Kotler (2008) have mentioned transformation, transactional, Laisse Faire and other forms of leaderships that are used in varying context. However, I believe that all of these leadership styles are not effective considering the present-day context of our business and competitive world.

I believe that the best leadership technique is the one who embraces a situational leadership technique (Figure 1). Leadership style is how an individual behaves and performs when he or she is trying to influence someone, often in an organizational context, it’s the followers. There are two types of behaviors that a situational leader can have, that is directive and supportive. Directive, is often seen as the push style of leading, whereas supporting is the pull style. I can gladly say that situational leadership is the best technique for the present day world, however which one is best within the situation leadership, that is, push or pull, that I cannot be certain and nobody can as well.

Figure 1. Situational leadership Model

Source: Beyond Theory, 2015

In the case of tourism and hospitality industry, it is very important that leaders and management take a rather push approach. The reason is because, customer service is an absolutely requirement for staffs and followers in the hospitality and tourism industry. Therefore, there should be a directive behavior in what the followers should do and should not do in terms of dealing with consumers. One good example of this form of leadership can be noted by Mr. Dinesh Bista (Figure 2), the CEO of Soaltee Crowne Plaza Hotel (Figure 3), and the only 5 star hotel in Nepal. He suggested that when it comes to dealing with followers and subordinates, we need to push them, tear them and ultimately shape them into the person that is best suited for the industry. He stated “the industry would not change and adapt you, you have to change and adapt the industry” (via telephonic conversation).

Figure 2. Mr. Bista Dinesh (second from the left)

Source: Jayanti, 2013

Figure 3. Soaltee Hotel Nepal

Source: Jayanti, 2013

To sum things up, there is no one absolute method of leading or managing people. There is a series of techniques that can be utilized based on the circumstance that suits the organizational culture, objective and the followers. It is ultimately up to the leader to decide, and as a result, it is this decision that places the leaders on the top of the chart, or at the bottom. A good leader is able to flexibly decide his or her approach towards its followers, noticing what is most effective and what is not.

References

Bardham, I., Krishnan, V. V., and Lin, S. (2012). Team Dispersion, Information Technology, and Project Performance. Production and Operation Management Society. [Online]. Available at: http://rady.ucsd.edu/docs/faculty/krishnan2.pdf [30th Aug 2015]

Beyond Theory (2015). Situational Leadership training. [Online]. Available at: http://beyondtheory.co.uk/situational-leadership/ [30th Aug 2015]

Jayanti (2013). About the Trust. Jayanti Memorial Trust. [Online]. Available at: http://www.jmt.org.np/members_and_advisors.html [31^st Aug 2015]

Kotter, J. P. (2008). Force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York: Free Press.

Kotter, J. P. (1990) A force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York: Free Press.

Mullins, L. J. (2013) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 10th edn. Harlow: Pearson Higher Education

Parker, L. D., & Ritson, P. A. (2005). Revisiting Fayol: anticipating contemporary management.British Journal of Management, 16(3), 175-194.

Pitts, D. W., and Wise, L. R. (2010). Workforce diversity in the new millennium: Prospects for research. Review of Public Personnel Administration, Volume 30, issue 1, pp. 44–69

Prasad, P., and Mills, A. J. (1997). From showcase to shadow: Understanding the dilemmas of managing workplace diversity. In P. Prasad, A. J. Mills, M. B. Elmes, & A. Prasad (Eds.), Managing the organizational melting pot: Dilemmas of workplace diversity (pp. 3–30). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Smircich, L., and Morgan, G. (1982). Leadership: The management of meaning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 18(3), pp. 257-273.

Yukl, G. (2010) Leadership in Organizations. 6th ed. Essex: Pearson-Prentice Hall

Blog 2: Challenge of Managing Diverse Teams in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Figure 1. Picture Depicting Cultural Diversity

[Courtesy of McDermott and Oetzel, 2012]

With globalization, diversity within teams has become an inevitable consequence. Many researchers have seen this as a problem whereas others noted it to be the solution to the issues of ineffective team formation. Ibarra and Hansen (2011) suggested that “research has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided that they are well led” (p. 71). Based on their study, diversity within teams create better idea generation, and more knowledge than in a case where the team is made up of individuals with the same cultural and national backgrounds. As further stated by Ibarra and Hansen (2011, p. 71) “people from different background, disciplines, culture and generations” is what makes up a team of diverse background, that is, diverse teams.

As suggested by Belbin (2013, p. 18) “there is no team role formula for a given functional role since this may change from one organizational culture to another”. As a result, it is not only the diversity within a team that matters, but also the cultural aspects of the organization, that may influence the team formation, setting and effectiveness. Gratton and Erickson (2009) and Bertcher (1994) suggested that in many cases the challenges lie when the team is made up of people from various culture and when the members are not familiar with one another. As they state “when too many members are strangers, people may be reluctant to share knowledge. The best practice is to put at least a few people who know one another on the team” (Gratton and Erickson, 2009, p. 104). However, in cases where it is not possible to create a team with prior familiarity, then it is important for them to place people with the right task and relationship mind-set into a team, in order to form a team that helps both in the achievement of objectives and also in the case of reaching relationship goals. This may include, as suggested by Belbin (1981) and Belbin.com (2014) a series of events, including the use of informal meetings such as movies, activities and etc., followed by formal meetings associated directly with the work. Some studies have suggested such as that of Gratton and Erikson (2009) and Katzenback and Smith (1993) that the use of too many experts in the team is also not a good idea. “The greater the portion of experts a team had, the more likely it was to disintegrate into nonproductive conflict and stalemate” (Gratton and Erickson, 2009, p. 102). The following video from IMD Business School demonstrates how to lead a diverse team.

Figure 2. Video Description/Photo

[Courtesy of IMD Business School YouTube, 2013]

The video demonstrates that the diversity can have a huge impact on the environment of the workplace and the team itself. An individual’s ability to work adequately is directly associated with the environment that the team creates, and as suggested by IMD Business School (2013) that cultural diversity within a team can indirectly affect the individual’s ability to perform, which can be both positive and negative in its impact.

In the hospitality and tourism industry, the ability to manage diversity within a team is absolutely important, as it is indeed a center of diverse interaction. For example, Hilton Pattaya, the leading 5star hotel of the prestigious Hilton Group, has created some productive team settings. Each team consists of a local Thai member, and foreigners (that is other nationality but Thai). The reason for placing a team in this setting is to have a local input into all idea generations. However, the question did this lead to conflict, the conclusion was with the training that they were receiving, and the teams were able to reduce conflicts that arose due to the cultural differences that was innate within each individual. Therefore, it is can be suggested that in a good way to manage the challenge in a diverse setting is to create and develop procurement strategies that ensure diversity exist, however, cultural sensitivity training is given to every individual that enters the workplace.

In conclusion, diverse team is an inevitable consequence of the 21^st century globalization process. However, conflicts as well are inevitable, and even with studies suggesting that diversity creates a better and more productive teams, challenges need to be faced and handled. It involves dealing with issues of knowledge differences, cultural values, traditions, morals and even ethics (Puck, Neyer and Dennerlein, 2010). A good and productive diverse team is capable of viewing one another within the context of the same society that is, being human beings, with knowledge differences that openly is shared.

References

Belbin, R. M (1981) Management Teams: Why they succeed or fail, Butterworth- Heinemann and (1993) Team Roles at Work, Butterworth-Heinemann

Belbin (2013). Method, Reliability & validity, statistics and research: A comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles. [Online]. Available at: http://www.belbin.com/content/page/5599/BELBIN(uk)-2013-A%20Comprehensive%20Review.pdf [Accessed 28^th August 2015]

Belbin.com, (2014) Belbin Training and Team Role Accreditation – Belbin Team Roles. Online. Available at: http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=9&gt [Accessed 28th August 2015]

Bertcher, H. J. (1994) Group Participation: Techniques for Leaders and Members. London: Sage.

Edmondson, A. C. (2012). Teamwork on the fly. Spotlight on the secrets of great teams. Harvard Busienss review, April, p. 72 – 80

Gratton, L., and Erickson, T. J. (2009). 8 Ways to build collaborative teams. Harvard Business Review. November 2007, p. 99 – 109

Ibarra, H., and Hansen, M. T. (2011). Are you a collaborative leader? Harvard Business Review. July-August 2011 Issue. Online. Available from: https://hbr.org/2011/07/are-you-a-collaborative-leader [Accessed 29th August 2015]

IMD Business School (2012). Leading Diverse Teams. IMD Business School. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpWY1WmVvXY [Accessed 29^th August 2015]

Kazenback, J. and Smith, D.K. (1993) ‘The Discipline of Teams’, Harvard Business Review. March-April, p.110-120

McDermott, V. M., and Oetzel, J.G. (2012). Who will survive? Diversity and team dynamics. A Publication of the National Communication Associations: Communication Currents, 7(3). Available Online at: https://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=2442 [Accessed 28^th August 2015]

Puck, J., Neyer, A. and Dennerlein, T. (2010). Diversity and conflict in teams: a contingency perspective, European Journal of International Management, 4(1), p. 417-39

Leadership and Ethics in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Are You an Ethical Leader?

Ethical leadership is the next big thing, and with the rise in its significance, many of the multinational companies have improved their leadership technique to cater the increasing need of ethics in organization. However, companies are in dilemma considering the problems of leadership technique and how it affects the performance of followers and the organization as a whole. This blog takes you deeper into understanding the various positions in the debate while focusing in the industry of Hospitality and Tourism.

 Definition of ethical leadership as stated by Rubin et al., (2010, pp. 216) “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relations, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement and decision-making”. Technically, normative ethical systems can be divided into three main categorizes, deontological, teleological and virtue ethics. Both deontological and teleological ethics are based on morality and focuses on the individual actions. As stated by Emelda (2011), what distinguishes the two are based on HOW the actions are judged. Teleological ethics involves the judging of the actions of an individual to be morally right due to the spill-over effect or the resultant consequences of that particular actions. However, deontological ethics is where the actions are judged right due to the correlation with the various responsibilities of the individual (About, 2015). When someone wishes to ask himself or herself on what type of person or ethical leader you should be, then the focus comes to the theory of virtue ethics. Therefore, what primarily separates them are based on how relevant the action is to the moral duties (deontology) and what were the consequences (teleology).

With that said, it is important to understand that leader and the team are likely to adapt to the same ethical behavior, with the leader being the beacon of influence. That is precisely why stakeholders in all organizations should careful address their moral responsibility and duties and then make it clear on what is right, wrong, good and bad (Mullins et al., 2013). In order for a person to be an ethical leader, he or she must have a clear understanding on 4-V model of Ethical leadership as presented below:

Figure 1. 4-V Model of ethical Leadership (Source: CulChey, 2014)

According to the 4-V Model of Ethical Leadership, it is important that for a leader to realize or achieve ethical state of mind, he or she must look into themselves. It starts with realizing the primary values, and then applying that values on to the vision for a better world, while finally voicing their vision. In the inner circle of the 4-V Model, there is service, politics and renewal. Service is the application of the vision to see how well it has performed. Politics can be linked to democratic principles whereby the organization practices the various voices and finally the renewal, which is re-evaluate the voice and the consequences to see if it meets the values.

With my focus being on hospitality industry, the issues of ethics are predominantly focused on CEO pays and compensations. Although, there are various different ethical issues in this industry, the topic associated with pay has hit the headlines. In the hospitality industry, keeping customers happy and satisfied is the ultimate agenda. Therefore, the beginning and the end of all hotel processes should be related to customers. A good example where ethical leadership is greatly flawed is in the case of Henry Silverman (Figure 2), the former leader of Cedant hotel chain. This leader has been accused of self-compensating over $36 million in 2001, whereas the average low-level employees were barely making $6 (KSB, 2011).

Figure 2. Henry Silverman

Considering this, there is a thin line in which leaders lack the ethical requirement in their method for leading the organization. However, many have suggested that he made the organization into an $18 billion worth, by following the deontological ethical theory, that is, by following his moral duties. This can be highly questionable. With ethics lacking in a leader, it is likely that there will be a strong influence towards their followers, making the organization in the verge of being an unethical playground (Bloomberg Business, 2002). However, in large organizations, often it is not the CEO that influences the followers but are the managers and General Managers, who are capable of expressing the virtue ethics and influencing it amongst the followers. Yet there is a question, of if every leader in the organization lacks ethics, then a strong case of poor performance and even loss in credibility is to be anticipated. A leader that practices ethical leadership and influences it amongst his or her followers is an organization that would position itself on a higher ground that in the long run gives a different type of competitive advantage, and improved performance (Brown et al., 2006). The following is an example of a strong ethical leader Eric Danziger, the president and CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group, where he demonstrates the importance ethical leadership:

In conclusion, it can be noted that various leaders have their own method of dealing with ethics and the significance of ethics in the present world. Some are unable to find the inner values and therefore reflect this on their actions, while others are capable of integrating the various ethical requirement (Brown et al., 2005). Performance is greatly an issue when ethics is not considered in the organization, especially when followers are likely to have a similar perspectives on the business world as their leaders would have (Rubin et al., 2010). This leads to the point that leadership is vital, and being ethical dominant is the characteristics of the new world leader.

References

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Bloomberg Business (2002). Henry Silverman on Fraud and Recovery. Bloomberg Business. Online. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2002-07-30/henry-silverman-on-fraud-and-recovery [last accessed 26th July 2015]

Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., and Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Volume 97, pp. 117-134

Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, Volume 17, pp. 595-616

ChulChey (2014). Theme 4: Analysis of 4-V Model of Ethical Leadership. WordPress. Online. Available at: https://culchey13.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/theme-4%EF%BC%9Aanalysis-of-4-v-model-of-ethical-leadership/ [last accessed 26^th July 2015]

Emelda, M. (2011), Difference Between Deontology and Teleology. Understanding

KSB (2011). Ethical Issues Facing the Hospitality Industry. KSB 100-Fall Group 7. Online. Available at: http://ksb100hospitality.blogspot.com/2011/09/ethical-issues-facing-hospitality.html [last accessed 26th July 2015]

Mullins, L. J. (2013), Management and Organizational Behaviour, 10^th Edition, Pearson Higher Education

Rubin R., Dierdoff, E. and Brown, M. (2010). Do Ethical Leaders Get Ahead? Exploring