Strategic Leadership in the Hospitality Industry

Khakssar Ghahroodi, H., bin Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali, M., & Seyed Ghorban, Z. (2013). Examining Ethical Leadership and Its Impacts on the Followers’ Behavioral Outcomes. Asian Social Science, 9(3), 91-96. doi:10.5539/ass.v9n3p91

In this article, authors investigated ethical leadership and its role in the entire hospitality sector. The aim of the researchers was specifically to determine the relationship that exists between employees’ retention and role modeling in any hospitality firm. The study had four guiding hypothesis.

First, job satisfaction of junior managers is influenced positively by the commitment of the high ranking leaders to an ethical leadership. Second, a feeling of belonging to an organization is enhanced among the middle managers by the commitment of the top leaders to an ethical leadership. Third, job satisfaction and the possibility of leaving an organization among junior managers have a negative correlation. Finally, a negative correlation exists between the intention of junior leaders to leave an organization and the feeling of belonging to the organization.

Information was gathered by the researchers with an aim of examining the hypothesis. 117 junior managers in Malaysian travel and tour companies provided the information. According to the findings of these researchers, a positive relationship existed between job satisfaction and a feeling of belonging. Additionally, there was evidence to link a feeling of belonging and job satisfaction to the intention or lower rates of leaving an organization. Ethical leadership, according to the researchers was relatively new in this industry. However, it was becoming increasingly recognized by researchers. Nevertheless, these authors observed that ethical leadership’s role in this industry which includes influencing job satisfaction, feeling of belonging to the organization and the likelihood of leaving has not gotten much attention.

These findings are used by the authors in supporting the belief that a model of ethical leadership can benefit the entire hospitality industry. Job satisfaction and ethical leadership have a positive correlation which means that the employees’ behavior can be influenced by executive leaders via role modeling. The managers of the organization can realize this goal by developing and maintaining a good ethical code that describe employees’ behaviors and proper procedures of making decisions.

The researchers established that ethical codes are not imposed on employees by ethical leaders. Instead, they exemplify the behaviors that they would like to see among their employees to influence their behavior. The emphasis of the researchers is that a practical approach that can motivate employees while increasing productivity is leading by example.

The conclusion of the authors shows that the entire hospitality industry can be affected in various ways by ethical leadership apart from increasing job satisfaction and commitment. Thus, this subject should be investigated further. Additionally, the belief of the researchers is that other hospitality industry’s sectors apart from travel and tour agencies can benefit from ethical leadership.

This is a relevant study in the entire hospitality industry in regards to leadership development since it shows the potential benefits of ethical leadership when employed as a leadership model. Modern leaders have to familiarize themselves with ethical issues that affect the entire hospitality industry. This is very important because ethics are now a crucial research and debate topic in almost all sectors of business. Thus, this article highlights the importance of training leaders on ethical leadership’s principles as well as role modeling.

Lamelas, J., & Filipe, J. (2011). Co-leadership in the tourism sector companies: increasing effectiveness and efficiency. International Journal of Academic Research, 3(4), 475-480.

This article analyzes the shared leadership concept in the contemporary hospitality firms while highlighting certain factors that make co-leadership effective in the management of the tourism and hotels industry.

These researchers start by giving an overview of the history of co-leadership which depicts the evolution of human leadership from the patriarchal system where an organization’s leadership was entrusted to one leader who was considered to possess a divine leadership gift to the approach where team leadership is valued. The traditional leadership training model is challenged by the authors.

This leadership training model had views of different thinkers such as Aristotle whose belief was that a single person had the leadership ability in a society or organization as its basis. According to these authors, the appreciation of team leadership has increased significantly after the Second World War. However, many models that are used in training leaders still depict leadership as one leader’s responsibility such as the CEO, chairman or president.

The article presents factors that make co-leadership successful when used as a model of managing organizations. The researchers acknowledge that co-leadership is not usually effective than sole leadership. A business’ context determines the leadership model that it chooses. Thus, it is important to be careful when choosing a leadership model. Among the factors that influence shared leadership’s results include the first selection criteria, stability and capabilities of an individual, nature of the roles of a shared leadership, the essence of complementing skills, as well as the chosen role-sharing strategy.

These researchers also discuss factors that necessitate using shared leadership within the contemporary business environment. Factors that have been identified by these researchers include the essence of merging organizations with similar business operations as a way of maximizing benefits that come with co-ownership and globalization of organizations as well as the essence of trying a modern approach in leadership of organizations in which other approaches have failed. The essence of rapid changes in an organization in order to deal with complex business and organizational environment more so in the hospitality sector is another factor.

The other co-leadership approach discussed by the researchers is participative management where owners and employees participate in the leadership through risk management, responding to different issues, participating in improving programs continuously and taking extra steps towards the achievement of the set organizational goals.

The essence of shared leadership within the tourism sector is also discussed by the researchers. They describe this sector as complex and in need of large investments, elastic demand, stiff competition, high seasonality and labor intensive. According to these researchers, the major problem that the entire hotel industry is facing is the need for a more flexible model of leadership that is capable of responding to business environment’s changes via experimentation, continuous modification and taking risk.

The conclusion of these researchers is that there is a need to consider every variable that can influence the organizational success within the entire hospitality industry so as to effectively apply co-leadership. The main argument of these researchers is that although it is commonly believed that co-leadership is ineffective, the demand of the tourism sector is that more competencies and leadership skills that a single individual cannot possess should be applied. This makes shared leadership the most preferable leadership model in the industry.

This is a relevant article in the development of strategic leadership within the entire hospitality industry since it depicts co-leadership as a model of leadership that can be pursued by leaders. Choosing this leadership model demands the designing of proper programs for training leaders in order to prepare them for a new model.

Bernsen, P., Segers, M. & Tillema, H. H. (2009). Learning under pressure: learning strategies, workplace climate, and leadership style in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Resources Development and Management 9(4), 358-373.

This article examines the impact that leadership model, organizational settings and learning approaches have on the middle managers in the whole hospitality industry. The study is motivated by the significant realization of varied benefits that come from professional development that equips leaders with vital leadership competencies for solving challenges within the business environment that is becoming more unpredictable.

The belief of the authors is that employees’ attitude is mainly affected by the working environment. Among the styles of leadership focused on by the researchers include transformational leadership where employee’s goals are aligned with organizational goals. They also focused on transactional leadership where the concern of leaders is working conditions’ improvement rather than organizational goals. The researchers also focused on laissez-faire leadership where most decisions are made by the employees.

Several findings are reported by the study about workplace climate’s relationship, learning and style of leadership. First, a correlation was established between leadership model and workplace environment. Leaders who were interested in supporting employees had higher chances of practicing transformational leadership. A positive association was found to exist between transactional leadership and exercising more freedom in organizing tasks among employees of an organization (choice dependence). Both transformational and transactional leadership approaches establish a workplace that has positive supervision as well as considerable freedom in organizing tasks.

Second, a clear-cut correlation was established between learning style and workplace environment. Nevertheless, positive correlation was reported between workload and deep style of learning.

Third, they associated surface learning with a transactional leadership especially due to the fact that transactional leaders do not concern themselves with the development of their employees. Instead, they motivate employees by rewarding them. Surface learning can be common within the entire hospitality industry since the days of managers are usually busy.

In a nut shell, the belief of the researchers is that leaders who wish to develop middle managers have to consider the demands that the employees are required to meet while handling difficult tasks and operating under pressure. Additionally, the study shows that learning is possible among middle managers even with their busy schedules. According to this research, supportive leadership plays a vital role of facilitating employees’ learning.

This is a relevant study in the development of strategic leadership within the entire hospitality industry since leaders have to deliberately take measures that will enhance employees’ training as a way of preparing them for current and future challenges within the industry. Understanding learning strategy and leadership style’s correlation will enable leaders to select a leadership approach that will support learning styles that suit personal and organizational goals.

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