Managerial Theories and Behaviour or What Are the Building Stones for a Succesful Manager - Dissertation Example

? Managerial Behaviors That Demonstrate Effectiveness in the Hotel Industry: An Empirical Study Introduction Background of the Study It has been well-established in management research that managers are frequently faced with various tasks, conflicting demands, and challenging expectations, which can all be barriers to managerial effectiveness. An extensive body of research has indicated the significant relationship between managerial behaviors and organizational outcomes, including employees’ job satisfaction, productivity, performance, job involvement, intentions for voluntary turnover, and likelihood of burnout in the workplace (Andersson and Floren, 2008). Thus, managers should be highly capable of responding to various role expectations and behaviors for them to accomplish managerial effectiveness (MacMahon and Murphy, 1999). Change is a permanent feature of contemporary workplaces. The occurrence of change has become a great challenge for companies in achieving long-term success and survival, thus, the need for highly capable and competent managers. To efficiently and effectively select managers who are competent enough to face organizational issues can be one of the most important measures that a company can take in responding to changing environments. This may be carried out by continuously enhancing their skills and knowledge to keep up with the rapid pace of change (Martynov, 2010). Essentially, while organizations ensure that the most competent employees are recruited and trained, developmental efforts are constantly done to further enhance the effectiveness and overall quality of their managerial workforce. Managerial effectiveness has been described through various perspectives during the past years as many have attempted to generate a single definition for this concept. In the hotel industry, successful managers possess a wide range of skills together with specialized knowledge, all of which are directed towards accomplishing enterprise objectives. Various studies have reported that managers who work in the hotel industry should demonstrate an accommodating attitude and be aware of hospitality systems; completely understand service quality; be capable of evaluating the quality of work to continuously provide satisfactory services; be able to create a dynamic work environment; establish open and strong interpersonal communications with other organizational members; be capable of assessing situations and developing cost-effective strategies to increase profits; control ambiguous circumstances, and effectively manage operations (Soehanovic, Zougaj, Krizoman, and Glavica, 2000). Generally, hotel managers are expected to create favorable relationships with employees and guests while running productive operations and achieving organizational goals. The current study, therefore, focuses on the necessary skills and behaviors of managers in the hotel industry in order to accomplish managerial effectiveness and lead their businesses to success. The framework applied in the work of Chauhan, Dhar, and Pathak (2005), emphasizing managerial effectiveness through functional and personal effectiveness, will be used in the current research. Research Aims and Objectives Acknowledging the vital role that managers play in organizations, the current study aims to address the following objectives: 1. To understand managerial effectiveness and its impact on the entire organization. 2. To identify the most important skills and attributes that managers should possess in order to cope with various organizational concerns. 3. To examine the current managerial practices and behaviors in the hotel industry and their effects on organizational outcomes. Significance of the Study The hotel industry is faced with a variety of challenges that need to be effectively addressed to ensure the satisfaction of customers, retention of capable employees, and long-term success of the businesses. The current study can help contribute to management literature by identifying effective managerial behaviors that can allow organizational leaders to point out the necessary areas for upgrading. This may hopefully help in the improvement of their overall performance. For management educators, trainers and professionals of human resource development, the study can provide further insight for developing specialized interventions for managerial development within the specific context of the hospitality industry. Review of Related Literature Management Issues in the Hospitality Industry This section will provide an overview of managerial effectiveness and the managerial behaviors necessary for coping with organizational issues, as asserted in a wide range of management studies. Managerial issues in the hotel industry will also be discussed in order to set the theoretical context; furthermore, the framework used by Chauhan et al (2005) will also be included to further assess the effectiveness or output of managerial actions and decisions. Managers working for hotels and other related businesses under the hospitality industry are faced with challenges that preclude successful operations in the rapidly changing present-day environment. For instance, need to cope with labor cost issues and any trend or occurrence that have a significant impact on labor expenses should be addressed by hospitality managers (Wang and Wang, 2009). It is part of their duties to decide about increases on minimum wage and consider its impact on employees’ behavior. Multicultural issues are also prevalent nowadays and are demonstrated through a culturally diverse workforce. Franchises of hotels have become a common trend and the internationalization of businesses; this requires that managers are aware of cross-cultural management to avoid conflict and reinforce productivity and performance among employees of different cultural backgrounds. Operating issues such as labor shortages have also been noted as one of the most challenging priorities of the hospital industry (Ramanathan and Ramanathan, 2011). A decreasing number of labor force members together with the problem of attracting and retaining competent professionals have become a global difficulty. Hence, the need for hospitality managers to develop creative and valuable strategies that can address the needs and expectations of employees while ensuring that organizational objectives are met as well. Cost reduction has also been an area of concern in the hospitality industry. Managers thus need to address cost issues and concerns while containing their expenses, thereby encouraging them to come up with effective solutions that will further support cost savings. Furthermore, increased competition among hotels has driven managers to thoroughly assess service quality, especially the value that is obtained by their guests. Marketing issues such as overlapping brands which have reduced the ability of customers to distinguish among brands have also occurred while the changing demands and expectations of customers have encouraged hotel managers to assess and reinforce various products and services to address such various requirements (Wu, Tsai, and Zhou, 2011). In addition, technological issues have made it more difficult for managers to cope with its usage and related costs. The growing complexity of hotel management in the hospitality industry can be demonstrated through the integration of various key components, as mentioned above, thereby suggesting the need for highly capable, knowledgeable, and competent managers to effectively address these issues. Managerial Effectiveness: An Overview The concept of managerial effectiveness has been differently characterized by various scholars and researchers owing to its complexity (Bao, 2009). Earlier studies such as that of Reddin (1974) described managerial effectiveness as the ability of managers to achieve the necessary results or output requirements of their managerial position. Moreover, according to Kirchoff (1977), managerial effectiveness is manifested in the accomplishment of multiple goals rather than the optimization of a single one. It can also pertain to the relationship between the manager’s achievement or performance and the organizational aims/objectives, or what he/ she is expected to do when given such position (Bennett and Langford, 1983). The qualities, character strengths, and intrinsic capabilities of individuals have also been regarded by Boyatzis (1982) as fundamental components of managerial effectiveness, while Drucker (1988) asserted that such effectiveness is the main factor that contributes to organizational success. Other studies conclude that an effective manager is an individual that efficiently utilizes all resources in order to improve the functioning of an organization; moreover, a manager’s adaptability to situations, especially amidst organizational change, plays an important role to their employees’ perceptions regarding their effectiveness in keeping up with their managerial role. Managers’ concern for both the situation and the involved employees or customers should also be evident. Specialized strategies for tackling a specific situation, which can be further developed through constant practice, can help managers perform well. Managerial responses to situations, especially ambiguous ones, should include positive affectivity, self-efficacy, confidence, acceptance and tolerance for uncertainties, conflict management, risk control, and openness to experience (Judge, Thoresen, Pucik, and Welbourne, 1999). Many have also agreed that effectiveness is mainly dependent upon the situation, the role and position as a manager, the task assigned, the involvement of the organization, and the influence of the surrounding environment. managers that are able to appropriately behave and react towards the situation are perceived to be highly effective (Page, Wilson, Meyer, and Inkson, 2003). Theoretical Framework The current study will make use of the framework used in the research of Chauhan et al (2005) to assess managerial behaviors and how these can impact the organization. The factors identified in their instrument are generally categorized into personal effectiveness and functional effectiveness. Personal effectiveness is generally determined by the relationships which managers establish between themselves and their employees, and how such interactions influence the performance and productivity of employees. Issues such as the quality of the products or services delivered by their staff and foreseeing prospective problems and buffering their repercussions are subsumed under personal effectiveness. Second is functional effectiveness that primarily integrates technical aspects and procedural changes with managerial roles, and includes issues such as the modifications in the changes in equipment routines and the speed with which such changes are adopted to by the division; and novel ways of work organization, technology, and procedures; and keeping up with constant change related to one’s work. Through such assessment, the managers’ role and behaviors can be evaluated with regards to their productivity, adaptability, and flexibility. Hence, this can provide assistance in identifying managerial practices that can remarkably contribute to the improvement of performance and productivity among members and achievement of objectives. The review of related literature will generally focus on the management of the current hospitality industry as well as the evaluation of managerial behaviors in determining those that can generate effectiveness and enable their organizations to attain success. The effectiveness of managerial roles and behaviors play a vital role to the hospitality industry as it points out the strong and weak points of managers, thereby allowing organizations to continue with their efficient operations and enhance areas that are in need of improvement. This way, all parties involved- the business organization, its employees, and their customers- can all attain benefits from successful managerial practices. Methodology This section will focus on the research approach, design, and strategy of the study. Moreover, the procedures for data gathering as well as the analysis of data will also be explained in this section together with the limitations of the selected procedures. Finally, this section will serve as a guide in confirming the validity of the results of this research. Research Approach A quantitative approach will be utilized for the study and data collected under this approach will be used for generating statistical representations that will enable the researcher to establish a more in-depth overview of the results and conduct a more thorough analysis of the data (Bryman, 2001). The respondents’ answers play a very important role as it will be the primary data that will generate the outcomes in a quantitative approach. The conclusion will then validate the hypotheses that have been established at the beginning of the study. Research Design The research design will serve as a guide for data gathering, measurement, and analysis for the researcher to make the appropriate conclusions (Gall, Borg, and Gall, 1996). The current study will make use of the descriptive-correlational research design to measure the effectiveness of managerial behaviours in the hotel industry on organizational outcomes, particularly of employees. This research design will not allow the researcher to manipulate or influence, in any way, the occurrence that is being observed owing to its descriptive nature. The results will consequently be correlated in order to come up with an apt conclusion on the significant relationships between constructs (De Vaus, 2001). In the case of the present study, managerial behaviors shall be correlated with their perceived overall effectiveness as managers. Research Strategy The quantitative approach to research is characterized by a systematic means of collecting data; it also requires researchers to extensively plan their data gathering methods, analysis of data, and measurement of variables prior to the actual research. Survey questions can provide certain advantages such as obtaining straightforward answers that will allow for a more comprehensive analysis of data and prevent confusion. The current study will make use of a survey questionnaire that will be distributed to managers who work for the American hotel industry while the results will be subjected to the generation of statistical graphs for a more thorough analysis. Data Collection Procedures The procedures for gathering data will begin with the collection of secondary data that is relevant to the study’s main topic. Academic sources that range from journal articles to online books can be used to obtain relevant data; keywords such as “managerial behaviours”, “managerial effectiveness” and “effects of managerial practices” can be used as keywords for online search engines. The selection of the sample will be conducted by contacting relevant participants for the study, particularly managers in five- and four-star hotels in the United States. Purposive sampling procedure will be used for selecting the appropriate participants for the study. Consent forms will also be distributed to ensure that participants are willing to take part in the research. When survey questionnaires are completed, the results will be encoded into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 that will allow the researcher to produce a statistical representation of the gathered data. The current study will make use of a quantitative approach to research to gather primary data and determine the effectiveness of managerial behaviours on their employees. A descriptive-correlational research design will be employed to identify the relationships among the constructs (managerial behaviours and their effectiveness on organizational outcomes). Purposive sampling procedures will be used for selecting the sample consisting of managers from a number of five- and four-star hotels in the US. When results are gathered through completed survey questionnaires, the results will be encoded into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v. 16.0 in order to produce statistical representations of the results and allow the researcher to conduct an in-depth analysis and arrive at appropriate conclusions. References Andersson, S., and Floren, H. (2008). Exploring managerial behavior in small international firms. 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