What Impact Have Successful Women Made In The U.S. Hospitality Industry As Leaders - Thesis Example

? ID Lecturer What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality industry as leaders? Introduction Hospitality industry refers to that part of the service industry which is concerned with a broad range of activities including hotels, restaurants, transportation, theme parks and also event management. Due to its unique nature of activities and the high customer interaction, the expectations from the employees are very different from other industries. This in turn imposes different demands on the leaders and managers. Before proceeding ahead, it is very important to understand the concept of leadership and leadership styles practiced by the managers and supervisors. Leadership in very simple words is the act or process of influencing others to behave in particular ways that would enable them to achieve their common goals. A very important fact to notice here is that leadership is not restricted to the top level management, a leader can be found in any place of the organization. Leaders have many responsibilities ranging from arranging the work environment to removing obstacles in the way of success. This also includes support and guidance for the followers. They may use power or persuasion to achieve these tasks. This essay will start with a discussion of the increasing role of females in this industry, followed by an analysis of the hospitality industry and the upcoming challenges. Further, we will highlight the practices, styles and aspects of leadership with their application to the hospitality industry. This will include a thorough analysis of the different theories of leadership. In the end, a conclusive statement will reinforce the findings of this work (Ryan, 2009). Increasing Role of the Females At present, even in the developed part of the world, the women are underrepresented in the management position and their leadership initiatives are not taken seriously by their male counterparts. However, as the time is passing by, the importance of leadership characteristics, more common in females are being appreciated and this makes them more suitable for leadership positions in certain industries. Hospitality is one of these industries and this has resulted in this sector witnessing a tremendous change as more and more women graduate with diplomas and degrees in hotel management and join the workforce. This fact clarifies the concept that though both the genders despite having many similarities in their leadership style have certain subtle differences that have high degree impact. These differences are usually due to the inbuilt nature of both the genders. A very simple example of this fact is that women desire clear and open communication which leaves no space for confusion. They are therefore, known to prefer contingent reward leadership style. Contemporary Challenge One of the major most challenges of the hospitality industry at present is that of providing consistent services. Although many of them have a standard procedure for the recruitment of their staff, inconsistency in the quality of front line employees exists. The right form of leadership at the right place can help reduce this problem to a great extent. Importance of a Correct Leadership Approach Other then improving the service quality another important aspect of correct leadership is based on the popular saying that states that “people do not leave their jobs, they leave their managers”. This shows the importance of the role of leadership. A huge amount of money is spent on the recruitment and training of individual. According to one source on an annual basis it is up to ?866 million alone in the hospitality industry. Therefore, it is very important to control the turnover rate in order to secure the company against any negative, financial consequences. Here, another point to highlight is that, correct leadership is required at all levels of an organization and not just the top level. A generalization indicates that there are three major levels at which it is crucial. These include, team level, operational level and finally strategic level. Also it is crucial that inspirational leadership style is practiced at all the levels of the hierarchy in order to derive the maximum benefit. Transactional versus Transformational Leadership Style Transactional leadership style as proposed by Weber and Bass is based on the concept that followers or subordinates who perform well should be rewarded and those who fall short should be punished. This system would motivate people to perform up to a desired level. On the other hand there is transformational leadership style, which refers to the approach towards leading people in which the higher end needs of the employees are considered and using those needs individuals are motivated. It is all about bringing about a change in people and also in the system as a whole. If transactional leadership is on one end of the spectrum transformational leadership is on the other. With respect to the hospitality industry it is important that the two are balanced and the leadership style has the essence of both of them. Therefore, women in this field should ensure that they have the capabilities and skills to carry out both these leadership styles. Due to the importance of these two aspects of leadership style it is very important to delve into the details of each one of them and hence we will discuss each one in detail, individually. Transactional leadership style is an approach which involves main focus on the present. This is important with respect to the hospitality industry because this is an industry which has seasonal demands (Doherty, 2004). That means during the peak seasons the job requires many decisions to be made which are to be focused on the short term and current scenario and have to be taken immediately. Further, though transactional leadership, often considered an inferior practice, has many appealing factors because of which it is also practiced at present, in a diversified range of fields. One such practice is contingent reward leadership. This basically involves leaders clarifying the task and expectation from each of the followers and then those who comply are rewarded for their work. Clarification of task is very important in the hospitality industry where several individuals carry out their set of responsibilities to jointly provide a result which is appreciated by the client. Such simplification would help in avoidance of any crisscrossing of activities and also reduce any form of role ambiguity that might exist amongst the employees. Within transformational leadership style, these leaders are characterized by thinking of the future and conducting activities ethically. In the world of today, with organizations going global and the consumers becoming more ethically conscious it has become very important that organization think from the perspective of the long term prospects of the company and be ethically responsible and socially aware of their actions and its consequences. Therefore, with every passing day it is becoming more and more important that managers take responsibility of their actions and be exemplary leaders so that their followers also carry out ethical practices. Apart from the pursuit for ethical solutions, transformational leaders also are known for inspiring their followers to perform beyond the normal. From the above explanation, it is clear that women have to take up both the responsibilities in order to be effective and successful in their career path within the hospitality industry. Though the traits associated with transformational leaders are more highly valued, the features of transactional leadership are no less important. Attributes that are Valued So far the talk has been about the spectrum of leadership style with transformation and transaction on the extreme ends. Now discussion will center on separating the attributes and characteristics that are valued amongst leaders in this particular field of business. These include the following: Ability to Work towards a Vision: As leadership is all about motivating people to work towards an aim hence it is very important to create a common vision and induce its importance amongst the followers. This would also include a drive to achieve something and to improve and excel. Communication Skills: This skill goes both ways. She should be able to effectively communicate her own ideas and at the same time be able to listen and comprehend others. Sense of Humor: Though this is usually ranked low it has a lot of significance in the role of leadership. Not only does it help in developing close links with peers it also helps in leading by inspiration. Valuing Transparency and Trust: Secrecy only creates misunderstanding and doubt. For an honest and truthful relationship the leaders need to build an environment of trust where everyone can openly contribute ideas for the attainment of the common goal. Innovative in Meeting New Challenges: Leaders in hospitality industry have to interact with and consider the needs of a diversified role set. Role set is a group of people who exercise influence on a given person. For a leader in hospitality industry this would include a diverse range of customers, employees and also the top management. Deriving solutions that meet the needs of these people require creative thinking and innovative solutions at each and every step. Recognize Importance of Quality: Like all other service based industries, hospitality industry also has to be very customer and service oriented. There is no lag and products are sold as soon as they are produced and the quality is truly in the hands of the front line employees. It is very important that they understand the importance of quality and keep it their utmost priority, at all times. Charisma: This is a form of interpersonal attraction that lures people into following the footsteps and taking the advice of a particular person. This provides the leaders with referent power. This means that people look up to her which is very important in order to be a successful leader. Knowledge of the Industry: Personal characteristics are very important but equally important is knowledge of the industry. Hospitality industry is very volatile and demanding. The curves and corners have to be known well in order to succeed therefore, formal education as well as informal collection of information is important (Tromp, 2010). Integrity: Leaders need to set an example of honesty and social responsibility for their followers. This is not restricted to the particular industry under consideration but is important for leaders anywhere. There is no hard and fast rule as to what characteristics and traits there should be in an individual, some characteristics are usually considered superior then the other and are evaluated during a recruitment process. Women joining this field need to be aware of these personality traits, usually being females they posses some of them. For instance, they are considered better at communication. However, at others they might not be as good like setting a vision and inspiring others to work towards it (Purcell, 1996). These traits with conscious training and effort can be learned or improved upon and are also gained along with time. These traits and personality characteristics are often considered to be a form of stereotyping and hence it is important that other theories and aspects of leadership are considered to give a holistic image of the needs of the hospitality industry. Some of these are as follows: Task-oriented Versus People-oriented This concept is very similar to the concept of transaction and transformational leadership style discussed early. However, an additional thing to add over here is that now days the average worker is more educated and street smart then they were a while back. Therefore, they are more ready to take the reins in their own hands and they do not need a guiding stick over the head all the time. Thus as a general rule, people-oriented leadership style is more successful in the contemporary world, due to the change in the approach of the workforce and also because it helps achieve synergy. In case of the hospitality industry, this synergy would be formed to provide better and improved experience to the clients. However, it should be kept in mind that people oriented requires leader to be patient, trusting and also liberal so that followers can experiment and learn from their mistakes. This is very important because they are the ones who have to interact with the customers finally and cannot be kept under supervision at all times. Situational Leadership The field of hospitality industry is very dynamic. There are periods of high and low demand which in turn lays different requirement during these differing seasons on the leadership role. This is where the theory of situational leadership theory comes in. The proponents of this theory Paul Hersey stated that effective leaders alter their leadership style with the readiness of the subordinates. This approach focuses on four leadership styles namely telling, selling, participating and delegating and the leader has to move between these four points according to situation. The situation varies with respect to three factors according to Fiedler’s theory; firstly, leader-member relationship, second legitimate and coercive power of the leader and finally the clarity of the task at hand. Variation of these three factors help to determine which leadership style will work. Hence it can be said that the leaders should possess the power to comprehend the given set of conditions and to act accordingly to achieve the best result (Arendt, 2011). This attribute is also developed with experience in a particular industry. Leadership Style and Gender As the focus of the topic is on females in the hospitality industry, it is very important to discuss the leadership style with a focus on the gender differences. As research conducting with respect to the gender preferences and application of transformation and transactional leadership style it was discovered that females have a greater tendency to exercise transformational leadership style. This means that women were more prone to developing relationship and working with people holistically and not just focused on transactions. Further, even when they enforce a transactional leadership style they focus more on the rewards and motivation through the carrot approach rather than by coercion or force. On the other hand, if you consider males they prefer transactional leadership and that too with a focus on coercion. They work best with authoritative leadership style and hence most successful at the time of crisis when there is a need to direct the troops to do exactly as told. Conclusion In the end, it is important to mention that there has been tremendous work done on the topic of leadership in general and also specific to hospitality industry. All the research findings picked up different dimensions and theories of leadership and analyzed the industry with respect to that. These concepts and ideas are overlapping to a certain extent but all represent a new perspective of leadership. The idea gained from this the above data was what characteristics and leadership style would be most appropriate for females working in the hospitality industry. This was done by discussing many different theories and also formulating a list of potential characteristic that might be kept in mind while recruiting people in this line of business. As a summary, a balance between transformation and transactional leadership is required though people orientation is preferred over task orientation. However, the leaders need to adjust their style according to situation. Finally, some of the characteristics discussed such as transformation and people orientation are more common amongst females however, others such as authoritative style has to be established through training and conscious effort. Bibliography Arendt, S., 2011. Leadership in action: student leadership development in an event management course. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 32(2) Doherty, L., 2004. Work-life balance initiatives: implications for women. Employee Relations, 26(4) Purcell, K., 1996. The relationship between career and job opportunities: women’s employment in the hospitality industry as a microcosm of women’s employment. Women In Management Review, 11(5) Ryan, I., 2009. A woman's place in hotel management: upstairs or downstairs? Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(3) Tromp, D., 2010. The relationships between psychological strain, organizational support, affective commitment and turnover intentions of highly educated hospitality employees. Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, 6 Read More