Hotel Operations Management

3rd Edition

Chapter 4
General Managers are
Leaders

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 The GM Sets the Pace (1 of 4)
• GMs’ feelings and actions about issues will likely
impact hotel staff attitudes about these same
issues.
• GMs only personally direct the work of department
heads and, perhaps, a few other high-level staff
members.
• GMs’ interactions with department heads directly
impact how the department heads interact with
their own staff.

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 The GM Sets the Pace (2 of 4)
• Influence
– Level of Morale
– Employee Turnover Rates
– Desired Product & Service Quality
• Skill
– Conceptual
– Technical
– Administrative
– Interpersonal

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 The GM Sets the Pace (3 of 4)
• Conceptual Skills
– The ability to collect, interpret, and use information in a
logical way.
• Interpersonal Skills
– The ability to understand and interact well with people.

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 The GM Sets the Pace (4 of 4)
• Administrative Skills
– The ability to organize and direct required work efforts
including the development of policies and operating
procedures.
• Technical Skills
– The ability to perform hotel management specific
aspects of the job.

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (1 of 6)
• Traditional
– Manager-focused work unit
– Manager is dominant
– Emphasis on technical skills
– Manager seeks stability
– Manager tells and sells their own views
– Manager personally responsible for results
– Manager personally solves problems

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (2 of 6)
– Fear and pressure used to motivate staff
– Autocratic (dictatorial) decision style
– Individual behavior
– GM forces compliance
– What one says is inconsistent with what one does
– Inconsistent “moments of truth”

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (3 of 6)
– Reactive management/supervision style
– Bureaucratic “rituals”
– Top down—one-way communication
– Hierarchy of control
– Power
– Short-term HR strategies

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (4 of 6)
• Contemporary
– Team-focused work unit
– Manager is supportive
– Emphasis on employee facilitation skills
– Manager encourages change
– Manager listens
– Manager shares responsibility for results
– Team problem-solving is employed

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (5 of 6)
– Pride, recognition, and growth are used to motivate
staff
– Participative decision style
– Team behavior
– GM earns the team’s support
– What one says is consistent with what one does
– Consistent “moments of truth”

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 GMs Manage in Times of Change (6 of 6)
– Proactive management/supervision style
– Flexible routines
– Multidirectional communication
– Empowerment
– Consensus
– Long-term HR strategies

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 Developing the Organizational Culture (1 of
4)
• Organizational Culture
– A collection of understandings shared by the hotel’s
staff members that influence decision-making and is
passed on to new employees.
• Long-Term Plans
• Policies And Procedures
• Operating Plans
• Guest-Focused service

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 Developing the Organizational Culture (2 of
4)
• Core Values
– Describe how hotel employees intend to act.
– Forms the foundation of the hotel’s vision and mission.

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 Developing the Organizational Culture (3 of
4)
• Genuine
• Concern
• Emphasis on Quality
• Credibility
• Loyalty
• Personal
• Development
• Continuous Professional Development
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 Developing the Organizational Culture (4 of
4)
• Vision
– “What do we want to create?”
– A unified vision will be stronger than the sum of each
employee’s and leader’s personal visions.

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 The GM and the Work Environment:
GM’s Role in Organizational Culture
• Effective GMs
– Seek input from employees regarding their own
position’s obstacles and suggestions to fix the
processes
– Show appreciation for work well done
– $$$
– “Welcome”
– “Thank You”
– Request Ideas

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 On-Boarding and Off-Boarding Tactics
• On-boarding
– The process by which a new employee is welcomed by
and integrated into the hotel.
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Orientation
• Induction
• Training

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 On-Boarding and Off-Boarding Tactics:
On-Boarding and Recruitment (1 of 2)
• Practices During Recruitment
– Be Truthful
– Pay Attention
– Make Introductions
– Lay the groundwork
– Calling and welcoming the new employee
– Ensure all paperwork, tools and other necessities are
available before the employee’s start date

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 On-Boarding and Off-Boarding Tactics:
On-Boarding and Recruitment (2 of 2)
– Answering all questions and concerns
– Scheduling regular conversations to clarify
expectations, provide feedback, and establish and
evaluate goals
– Discussing opportunities for the employee to learn new
knowledge and skills after becoming successful in their
current position

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 On-Boarding and Off-Boarding Tactics:
Off-Boarding
• Examples of off-boarding
– Exit interviews
– Finalizing paperwork
– Returning hotel property
– Ensuring proper benefits are explained

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (1 of 6)
• Programmed Decision
– Routine or repetitive decisions made after considering
policies, procedures, and rules.
• Nonprogrammed Decision
– Decisions that occur infrequently and require creative
and unique decision-making abilities.

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (2 of 6)
• Factors Affecting Decisions
– Who is the correct person to make the decision?
– How will a decision about a specific issue bring the
hotel closer to attaining its objectives and goals?
– How will the decision affect guests?
– Is there only one acceptable alternative?
– Should the decision be based upon objective facts and
analysis alone, or alternatively, can some subjective
(“common sense”) issues be addressed?

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (3 of 6)
– How much time and effort can be spent on the
decision?
– How does my experience help with decision-making?
– Must the decision please everyone?
– What, if any, are the ethical aspects related to the
decision being made?

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (4 of 6)
• Team Decision-Making
– Traditional
▪ Manager makes decisions unilaterally
– Recent
▪ Manager makes decisions after input from others
– Contemporary
▪ Manager allows the affected team of employees to help make
decisions

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (5 of 6)
• Advantages
– Considering broad range of information
– Generating more creative alternatives
– Whole team aware of issues and problems
– Higher morale
– Easier implementation

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 Leadership Basics: Decision-Making (6 of 6)
• Disadvantages
– Possible conflicts
– May be forced to “take sides” if alternative opinions are
expressed
– Domination by staff members with strongest
personalities
– Time-consuming
– Not applicable when fast decisions necessary

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 Leadership Basics: Delegation (1 of 2)
• There must be an organizational climate in which
delegation can occur.
• Specific duties and responsibilities are assigned to
an employee.
• Sufficient authority is granted so the employee can
carry out the assignment.

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 Leadership Basics: Delegation (2 of 2)
• The supervisor and employee agree on specific
results that are expected.
• The delegated responsibility is communicated to
others to minimize confusion about “who does
what.”
• The manager establishes a feedback system to
measure progress as the assignment is
completed.

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 Leadership Basics: Communication (1 of 2)
• Vertical Communication
– Communication between individuals that flows up and
down throughout the organization.
• Horizontal Communication
– Communication between individuals at the same
organizational level.

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 Leadership Basics: Communication (2 of 2)
• Grapevine
– Informal communication that flows throughout a
property.
• Jargon
– Specialized job-related terms
▪ Example: A food server saying “86” to communicate that a
specific menu item is no longer available.

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 Leadership Basics: Motivation (1 of 2)
• Motivation
– An inner drive to attain a goal
• Strategy 1: Follow Sound Management Advice
• Strategy 2: Effective Orientation
• Strategy 3: Train Correctly
• Strategy 4: Manage a Professional Hotel

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 Leadership Basics: Motivation (2 of 2)
• Strategy 5: Supervise Like You Want to Be
Supervised
• Strategy 6: Encourage Effective Communication
• Strategy 7: Manage a Friendly Hotel
• Strategy 8: Help Your Employees Succeed

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 Leadership Basics: Discipline (1 of 2)
• Step 1: Oral warning (no entry in employee’s
record).
• Step 2: Oral warning (with entry in employee’s
record).
• Step 3: Written reprimand (often from a manager
at an organizational level above that of the
employee’s immediate supervisor).

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 Leadership Basics: Discipline (2 of 2)
• Step 4: Suspension for a specified number of
days.
• Step 5: Discharge from the organization.

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 Leadership Basics: The GM and Team
Building
• Good Team Leaders
– Maintain high standards and expectations.
– Support individual team members and maintain
relationships of trust and respect.
– Practice participative management and solicit input
from team members as goals and objectives are
established and as plans to achieve them are
implemented.
– Demonstrate that their own personal goals should not
be placed before the team’s goals.
– Share credit for the successes that the team achieves.

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 GM Interactions: GM’s Monthly “Diary”
• Sample GM Activities
– Conduct an all-employee meeting
– Submit a 90-day room revenue reforecast to the hotel’s
owner
– Attend franchiser’s co-op advertising meeting
– Attend the property’s safety and security committee
meeting

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (1 of 7)
• Possible Interactions with Employees: Positive
Examples
– Daily conversations with long-term staff members
– Learning employees’ suggestions about possible
operating improvements
– Welcoming new staff members to the team
– Congratulating personnel about significant events in
their or their families’ lives
– Mentoring younger workers

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (2 of 7)
– Following employees’ careers as they are promoted
within the organization
– Providing non-job-related advice when requested
– Observing employees enjoying themselves at a
company picnic
– Observing staff members who participate in community
organizations/activities

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (3 of 7)
• Possible Interactions with Employees: Negative
Examples
– Disciplining or terminating staff members
– Confronting staff members who are known to be
stealing
– Learning about illegal acts committed off-property by
staff members
– Assigning work responsibilities to cover “no-show”
employees
– Discovering employee “sabotage”

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (4 of 7)
– Supervising staff members who violate hotel policies,
requirements, and rules
– Comforting an employee whose child has passed away
– Observing an intoxicated employee attempting to come
to work
– Explaining to staff members why they did not get
promotions they sought

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (5 of 7)
• Possible Interactions with Guests: Positive
Examples
– Interacting with frequent guests
– Receiving spontaneous “thank-you notes” from happy
guests
– Observing guests celebrate significant
family/professional occasions at the hotel
– Providing service/assistance to guests who require it
– Receiving input from guests who genuinely want the
hotel to be successful

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (6 of 7)
– Interacting with guests as peers at
community/professional meetings
– Providing accommodations to guests stranded by
adverse travel conditions
– Receiving guest input about hospitable staff members
• Possible Interactions with Guests: Negative
Examples
– Interacting with police called to hotel for disturbances
and/or illegal guest activities

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 GM Interactions: Employee and Guest
Relationships (7 of 7)
– Guest deaths in sleeping rooms or in the hotel’s public
spaces
– Dealing with visibly intoxicated guests
– Preventing on-site prostitution
– Preventing guest theft of money, products, and/or
services from the hotel
– Preventing property vandalism
– Calming irate guests stranded by adverse travel
conditions
– Discovering overt guest room damage

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