Table of Contents

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Literature review

3.1 Characteristic and management of international hotels

3.2 Leadership Style

3.3 Defining leadership

3.4 Leadership Theories

3.5 Organizational Commitment

3.6 Definition of organization commitment

3.7 Theoretical model of organization commitment

4. Results

5. Findings

5.1 The Differentiation of employees’ background in manager’s leadership

approaches

5.2 The Differences in Organizational Commitment by Employees Background

5.3 The Relationship between Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment

6. Conclusion

7. Recommendations

7.1 Implications for further research

8. Reflection

9. References & Bibliography

1. Introduction

According to Huang (1996) the international hotel come under the purview of traditional

service based businesses. Further, the hospitality industry is promoted by local

governments in each country since the industry requires massive employee strength

and therefore creates employment opportunities.

Typically, in the industry, for the low level employees, job characteristics are similar

across all kinds of enterprises wherein the salaries are lower and work hours are

extended. This has led to a high attrition rate in the industry. Further, with the labor and

human resource laws and regulations intensifying in various nations (Yang, 2000),

finding the right kind of employees and retaining them has become a major issue for the

international hotels. This also implies that in the coming years a considerable amount of

part time and non regular employees may be required to be trained and they may take

the role of the permanent employees and be absorbed in the industry.

Thus, the international hotels will have to face along with the present challenge of

intensifying competition, the confrontation of inconsistent workforce availability.

The imperative for retaining competitive edge in the existing state of affairs is the

consistency of the critical; aspect of the business, which is the workforce of the

business unit of the organization. According to Steers (1997), the likely reason for the

high attrition rate is management commitment. Further, Chen (1995) has purported that

Management commitment is majorly influenced by the leadership attitude of the

managerial unit of the organization. The present assignment analyzes the connection

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between the leadership approach of managers and the commitment of the managers

towards the company in the international hotel industry.

The study has utilized the case of Four Seasons, Hotel UK. The company is facing

issues with its quality of services and retention of employees.

Four Seasons Hotel, UK

Four seasons group was established in 1960 by Isadore Sharp who is currently serving

as the CEO of the company. In UK the company has more than 16 hotels ranging

between three to Five stars services (Four seasons, 2012).

The company is a huge brand in the hotel industry and is currently running more than

seventy hotels in 36 countries all over the world (Four seasons, 2012).

Issue with Four Seasons Hotel

Four seasons hotel which is facing issues with quality of services and retaining employees. This issue has been attributed towards the leadership and organizational management at the hotel (Telegraph. 2012; Legalweek , 2012;I4U News, 2012). Despite the fact that international hotel is a flourishing sector, it is hard to retain the quality of service and thus sustainability due to the attrition rate of the employees in the hotel, which is related to the leadership style of managers (RBC, 2012). The focus of this report will therefore be to recognize the pattern of leadership approach of managers in Four Seasons Hotels, UK. Further, the report will also scrutinize the variation among employees regarding commitment towards management. The focus of the report will also be directed towards evaluation of the link between leadership approach of managers and commitment of employees and how it influences the attrition rate.

2. Methodology

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The present report is based on the literature review and a documentary analysis has

been consulted to analyze the theories, past research works and studies regarding

leadership, organizational commitment and their current state of affairs in the

International Hotel industry. Hence, this report is based on the secondary research.

There exist different benefits and drawbacks of utilizing secondary data. The primary

benefit to the researcher was the cost effectiveness and time benefit. The study

conducted by the International consortium of Hotels as well as numerous other studies

on the international hotel industry provided insights at no expenditure to the researcher.

This report has extracted these insights and information from these past studies to

understand the organizational structure, the present state of affairs in the international

hotel industry and issue of attrition that is a growing phenomenon in the sector. The

time and resources that were required by the researcher in accessing and utilizing the

secondary data for the research was nominal when compared to the time and resources

that would have been necessary for the researcher to conduct their own surveys

collecting first hand information. On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages

to using secondary data. One major disadvantage is that someone other than you

designed the surveys. Therefore, the questions and available information are not always

coded or worded exactly as you might like them to be. Although I did not have to spend

time creating a research instrument, I did have to spend time fine-tuning and adjusting it

to fit my needs. This is why it is critical to have a strong literature base. However, there

are also limitations and drawbacks of utilizing secondary research for the report. One of

the primary drawback is that every past work has been conducted for a different context

and its nature and design is not as desired by the researcher for the present report.

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Although, it provided the advantage of saving time over conducting research through

specific research instruments but it needed to be redesigned as per the requirements of

the present study. To overcome this limitation the researcher synthesized and carefully

chose and collected only that literature that was extensively and critically relevant to the

present study. Further, the researcher also used extensive theoretical literature as it

forms the underpinning for justifying and relating it to the present context and also for

analyzing and framing recommendations. Further, decision making regarding the

inferences in the absence of a theoretical base can deteriorate. The theoretical literature

provides the scope for conceivable explanation for every important or unimportant and

inferences from the collected data.

3. Literature review

3.1 Characteristic and management of international hotels

According to Medik (1961), the term hotel is derived either form the ancient Latin word

“Hospitalis” which means showing care for guest or the French term “hostel” which

means a building to provide refreshment and enjoyment to travelers. Subsequently,

over the years any building that is rented by travelers came to be known as hotel

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The organization of the various departments and the overall work culture of a hotel can

be broadly classified into two categories based on the root operations and task

specifications. These two categories are the frontage operations and the support

operations. The various departments comprise of the room service department, restraint

and café departments, and the marketing unit and so on. These comprise of the front

end operations of the business, the back end operations constitute the management

decision making, human resource management, financial operations and accounting

and other core operations of the Company (Wu, 2000)

Relatively, the organization of the medium scale hotels is not as complex. In these

hotels, a single unit of the company handles several fields of business operations and a

single employee handles multiple job responsibilities. Comparatively, international

hotels comprise of a management culture that his highly complex.

Nevertheless, varied kinds of business provide for varied level in management

structure. International hotel typically comprise of superior degree of task orientation.

Depending upon the organizational need the management structure is popularly of two

types. The first structure is uncomplicated structure with lesser number of departments

and broad scope of administration and the second one is a narrow pyramid structure

wherein there are multiple layers in the corporation, more managers and more

departments.

The organization of an international hotel depend upon the various factors like scale of

operations of the hotel, the range of services that it provides and also the number of

departments that the company has organized in its company.

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3.2 Leadership Style

According to Drucker (1993) efficiency and results produced by managers are the chief

determinants of gauging the performance of any organization. Any corporation that is

deficient in strong leadership oriented managers cannot ensure that their core

competencies and resources can be transformed into the factor for gaining competitive

edge. Hence, it is apparent that leadership quality of management is intimately linked

with the growth of any corporation. Another research conducted by Brass in 1990

presented that more than half of the variables influencing the prospects on any

corporation are determined by the leaders.

3.3 Defining leadership

Leadership has been described by Robbins (1993), as the competency to impact any

particular section or assortment of employees toward accomplishment of specified

objectives. Leadership has also been termed as an assortment of human associations

(Tannenbaum, 1964). Through specific style of interactions leadership can lead the

disciples to accomplish desired organizational goals. This implies that leadership is a

type of association that can implicate energy and push the individuals to conduct

operations with close association with one another and achieve a common set of

objectives. Hence leadership can be understood as the method of impacting a specific

group in the direction of achieving specific objectives that are imperative for any

organization.

3.4 Leadership Theories

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From the early twentieth century, different models and theories were put forward by

theorists and researchers having different view regarding leadership. On a broad basis

these theories can be categorized as under:

(1) Trait model: These theories were purported by Stogdill (1963) and Davis (1972) and

they focused upon the individual traits and attitudes that a competent leader should

possess.

(2) Behavior Theories:

The behavioral theories focused upon the variables that commence the design and put

forward that there exists two factors that decided the commencing design and

implementation. Subsequently, Likert (1967) and Kotler (1988) too presented similar

theories of leadership based on behavioral aspects.

(3) Contingency Theories

This theory was first put forward by Feidler in 1967. Further in 1971 House presented

that derived extensively form the research of the behavioral theory in the Ohio state

university and also for the expectancy theory based on employee motivation. A major

contribution in the contingency theories were performed by Hersey and Blachard in

1977 who put forward a situational leadership model wherein the two variables namely

relationship a task behaviors were utilized that converted their attributes into four differ

leadership aspects namely, telling, selling, Participation and delegation. The

contingency theories implicated that leaders choose any specific approach of leadership

based on the willingness of the disciples. Further, the selling style was found to be

effective for reluctant employees who are not competent. The participation approach

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was found to be effective for enthusiastic but incompetent employees. The delegation

approach was found to be useful for competent as well as enthusiastic employees.

(4) Neocharismatic Theories

These speculations are essentially symbolized by leadership concerning transaction

and alteration.

Considering the attributes of global visitor holiday homes, the essential supplies

furnished by these inns consists of not only illustratable entities such as room, bistros,

amenities for free time and entertainment, but also unseen benefits.

The administration and goods production all are forced by customers’ response. The

trade of such globally identified holiday inns greatly counts on a huge measure of

workforce, whereas workers are dissimilar in capability and compliance. As a result, it is

vital for supervisors to make use of an appropriate headship pattern to fulfill an

assistant’s eagerness to achieve goals. Taking into account the motive and background

of investigation, Hersey & Blanchard’s hypothesis of conditional headship is appropriate

and employed in this research.

3.5 Organizational Commitment

According to Morris and Sherman (1981) the commitment of management can

efficiently determine the performance and competency of any organization. Hence, this

implies that commitment of management is a variable for computing the effectiveness of

any corporation. This implicates that it is imperative for leaders to focus additionally on

the commitment of employees towards management.

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3.6 Definition of organization commitment

Organizational commitment is regarded as a mental contract connecting the individual’s

identification and attribution with the organization and performing his duty (Wallace,

1995). Organizational commitment is able to facilitate voluntary cooperation within an

organization. Different theorists have varied schools of thoughts regarding the

organizational commitment of employees. However, there exists a general consensus

among the theorists that organizational commitment is the faithfulness towards

corporation. According to porter et al (1974) the organizational commitment is the level

of recognizing and contributing to the objectives of any organization. The nature of

organizational commitment has three aspects namely, understanding and accepting the

objectives and culture of organization, the willingness to create consistent efforts

towards achievement of these objectives and an inherent willingness to be part of the

organization consistently. Hence, Organizational commitment can be described as the a

readiness that associated the recognition and understanding of organizational goals and

the subsequent execution by any individual. Therefore, organizational commitment is

the competency to provide deliberate contribution to the corporation.

3.7 Theoretical model of organization commitment

Theories of organizational commitment have emerged from past research conducted by

past researchers (Sheldon, 1967; Steers, 1977; Buchanan, 1974) regarding the

organizational commitment and discovered that organizational commitment is

influenced by three major factors namely individual traits, position and job

responsibilities and experience of the employees. The results that emerge for

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organizational commitment are preservation eagerness, preservation claim, presence

rate, and job performance.

Four Seasons Hotel organizational management and leadership style

Delegating style is implemented by the majority of managers of the hotel. On the other

hand, selling and participating styles is implemented by very few managers and the

telling style is least implemented. An employee’s major subject, department, length of

service, top-level leadership style, and region, have significant influence on a manager’s

leadership style.

While selling, participating, and delegating approaches are exploited more frequently by

the managers of the company and employees have superior organizational

commitment. The employees under a participating leadership approach attain the

uppermost importance, attempt, preservation, and overall commitments. On the other

hand, a telling leadership approach employed by managers is not competent to

increase the organizational commitment of employees (Step project, 2012).

The factors, comprising age, length of service, major subject, top-level leadership

approach, and region, have a noteworthy manipulation on the organizational

commitment of employees.

It has been observed that the elder employee and the employee with a longer length of

service have a superior level of organizational commitment. Moreover, the

organizational commitment of the employees majoring in hotels is not as elevated as

those in other areas.

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Beneath independent top-level leadership, the management has the maximum level in

importance, attempt, preservation, and overall commitments. Alternatively, beneath

authoritative top-level leadership, the management performs the smallest amount of

retention and overall commitments. On the other hand, the management under

noninterference top-level leadership has the slightest attempt of organizational

commitment. This is influencing the quality of service of the organization.

5. Findings

5.1 The Differentiation of employees’ background in manager’s leadership

approaches

Regarding various aspects such as age, gender, occupational and qualification level,

designation and amount of hotels served up previously, there is no noteworthy

dissimilarity in the leadership approach of a manager. It observed that approaches of

leadership that were utilized by the managers were not considerably affected by the

background variables of employees. Therefore, by this key subject, extent of service,

there are considerable dissimilarities in the leadership approach of managers.

Moreover, there is also no noteworthy differentiation in the leadership approach

between front-end staff and back-end staff in the Hotel service.

5.2 The Differences in Organizational Commitment by Employees Background

In terms of the observation of employees to organizational commitment, the employees

of international hotels have a constructive organizational commitment. Moreover, they

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also confirm elevated attempt but low withholding commitment. Therefore, this

explained that the organizational commitment of employees of international hotels was

not considerably influenced by the age, gender, occupational and qualification level,

designation and amount of hotels served up previously.

5.3 The Relationship between Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment

Various leadership approaches adapted by the managers of international hotels such as

selling, participating and delegating approaches have a noteworthy constructive

relationship with the organizational commitment of employees.

Moreover, the relationship between the telling style and the organizational commitment

of employees is not important. Thus, this signifies that when managers utilize more

selling, participating, and delegating approaches of leadership, the organizational

commitment of employees is higher. On the other hand, the utilization of the telling

leadership style does not reinforce the organizational commitment of employees.

Therefore, when managers of international hotels implement a participating leadership

approach, the performance of employee is preeminent in the commitments of entire

significance, attempt, and withholding. On the other hand, the performance of

employees is nastiest in the four types of commitment when a telling leadership

approach is implemented. Therefore, managers with the selling approach have an

elevated scale of withholding and overall commitment than those with the delegating

style. Thus, if a delegating leadership approach is implemented by a manager, the

quantity of employees with importance and commitment is superior to the numeral of

those directed by a selling approach of leadership.

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6. Conclusion

This research has observed some of the functions of leadership and people

performance and it can be outlined that there have been spectacular transformations.

The responsibility of the leader has had to acclimatize to the change in the business

environment and establish itself cost-effectively feasible. Consequently, organizations

recognized people performance to achieve a competitive advantage by the utilization of

their workforce as a method to distinguish them from competition.

The majority of managers of hotels implement an entrusting approach, some managers

implement partaking styles. The major subject, department, length of service, top-level

leadership style, and region of employees have noteworthy persuasion on a leadership

approach of a manager as well as on organizational commitment of an employee.

Underneath independent top-level leadership, the assistants have the maximum extent

in assessment, attempt, withholding, and overall obligations. Conversely, under reliable

top-level leadership, the assistants carry out the least withholding and overall

obligations. Moreover, the assistants under noninterference top-level leadership have

the slightest attempt obligations. Therefore, while selling, contributing, and entrusting

approaches are employed more frequently by the managers of the hotels, employees

have superior organizational obligation. The employees under a contributing leadership

approach attain the maximum value, attempt, withholding, and overall obligations.

As a result, the function of the leadership will shift to a key point inside the hotels, and

will be observed as the solution to a competitive advantage construction on the

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performance of the employees when enhancing and structuring the future tactical path

of the organization.

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7. Recommendations

The decision makers of top level management should strain the principal function as a

crucial aspect in manipulating their subordinates. Therefore, it is recommended that

decision makers of top-level management should implement an independent leadership

strategy. Moreover, managers have to utilize a contributing leadership approach. It is

suggested that the leaders of the hotel should give more consideration in order to grow

proficient cooperation and articulate affectionate apprehension and reliance to

associates through contributing leadership approach. Therefore, it is vital to institute a

sound organization of reimbursement, encouragement, and growth in order to augment

the organizational obligation of employees in order to decrease labor turnover, increase

production and develop service quality. This recommendation also meets up the

perspective of Siguaw and Ens (1999), that sensible reimburse, a fine remuneration

organization and organized encouragement are the essential techniques to preserve

employees. Therefore, for international hotels, employees have conservatively been

observed as a flexible area of the company, but drawing and preserving the correct

individuals for the business is the rigid part since it is the groundwork on which the

whole lot is supported. Hence, employees have to be relocated as a prominent yield

facilitator as part of the search for gifted individuals.

According to Bluedorn (1982), satisfaction towards job can influence organizational

obligation, which manipulates the inspiration of withholding. For that reason, it is

recommended that employees should contribute in different training and workshops in

order to improve their abilities to meet up varying necessities of job. Therefore,

employees of international hotel should strain proficient improvement. Moreover, it is

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essential to smooth the progress of the collaboration among the hotels in the hospitality

industry. Leadership should be acknowledged as the driver of aims, objectives and

ethics of the corporation. Therefore, Leadership strategy and approach of the hotel has

to be assigned the role of the link between the organizational strategy and goals of the

organization with the intention to overhaul the profitability and cultivate managerial

tradition that facilitates originality and elasticity. Moreover, so as to attain competent,

proficient, and constant employees, Four Seasons hotel have to institute an elegant

sensible training curriculum with full proficient support, effectual teaching, and work-

experience with the intention of enlightening well-grounded employees with a well-built

enthusiasm to serve up in the business.

7.1 Implications for further research

For further research, it is recommended to convey the employees of industry, leisure,

and sustaining departments into the hotels. In addition, top-level management as well

as the managers can be interrogated to determine their observations concerning the

leadership approach and organizational commitment as well as people performance.

Taking into consideration of case, the stratified example by the working fashion in

international hotels is recommended for further study. It can then be utilizes in order to

evaluate the dissimilarities in the leadership approach and association among different

working fashions in terms of international hotels.

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8. Reflection

As I recap on the events of the past few weeks, I feel that while I am content that my

assignment has been completed successfully, at the same time it has verified as one of

the largest and exhaustive assignment so far. Consequently, it necessitated added

meditation, extra exploration and additional concentration relatively when compared to

other assignments. However, the very same difficulty has also become the biggest

benefit for me. The supreme profit is the amassing of all of our management knowledge

into a valuable and meaningful report and the benefit of reviewing critical literature on

the topic that greatly added to my knowledge. In the process of documenting the

multilayered assignment, assorted confrontations were in the form of doubts such as,

whether the explored facts and figures will be significant in the eye of the evaluators?

Have I ignored any essential point that had to be included? Majority of fears were

doused after a profound investigation regarding the industry through newspapers,

magazines and internet resources.

A prominent part of the report is devoted to review of past literature on leadership

strategy, role of leadership in organizations, and the modern view on leadership

planning. Selection of the appropriate theories and strategic models was a hard task. I

explored through my past modules as well as numerous journals and articles so as to

collect the right theories for the assignment.

The report has utilized the case of Four Seasons Hotel to explore the shift in the

strategic aspect of human resource management. hotel industry is a rapidly expanding

internationally and good amount of information is available in various resources.

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The assignment wanted from us to integrate all the knowledge of the critical human

resource management theories and strategic models that we have gained so far. Hence

this assignment has proved to be summary of all the Human resource management

information that we have achieved and is one of the most prominent learning outcomes

achieved from the working on the report.

While going through some theories on human resource and leadership at some stage in

my management course, I felt that a few strategies were had lesser relevance.

However, I am pleased now that I have rectified my mistake and I am now well aware of

the fact that whatever theories we were taught is of utmost relevance and can come

handy at any time during our future career.

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House, R. J. (1971). A Path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative

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Robbins, S. P. (1993). Organizational behavior. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 366-392.

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