The Effect of Management Styles on Workers’ Productivity in the Hotel Industry
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the management style of managers and how it affects employee job performance.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Management Styles Prevalent in the Hospitality Industry
According to Miller et. al., (2007), the term management style refers your pattern of interacting with your subordinates: how you direct and control the work of others, and how you get them to produce the goods and services for which you are responsible. It includes not only your manner of giving instructions, but the methods and techniques you use to motivate your workers and to assure that your instructions are carried out.
There are many questions on what is the difference between management and management? Management is more concerned with promoting stability and enabling the organization to run smoothly, while the role of management is to inspire, promote and oversee initiatives to do with the long term change. Leaders provide inspiration, create opportunities, coach and motivate people to gain their support on fundamental long-term choices (French, Rayner &Rumbles, 2008).
Kreitner and Kinicki (2007) states that there are four commonalities among the many definitions of management: Management is a process between a leader and followers, management involves social influence, management occurs at multiple levels in an organization (at the individual level, for example), management involves mentoring, coaching, inspiring and motivating; leaders also build teams, generate cohesion, and resolve conflicts at the group level and Management focuses on goal accomplishment.
Approaches to Management styles
According to Cole and Kelly (2011) management theories focus on leader traits, behaviour (what the leader actually does), the power influence approach (the amount and type of power and how it is exercised), the situation or some combination therefore. Early management theories tended to be more universal in nature, i.e. applied to all types of situation, whereas more recently contingency theories of management have emerged, suggesting that certain aspects of management may apply to some situation but not others.
Since the 1950’s, in particular, several theories about management or management style have been proposed. These have tended to be expressed in terms of authoritarian versus democratic styles, people orientation versus task orientation (Cole & Kelly, 2011). The behavioral approach examines management behavior particularly that which influences the performance and motivation of subordinates, as result emphasis is placed on management style (Brooks, 2009). The path goal theory argues that subordinates are motivated by their leader to the extent that the behaviors of that leader influence their expectancies. In other words, the leader affects subordinates’ performance by clarifying the behaviors (paths) that will lead to desired rewards (Griffin & Moorhead, 2012).
The Situational management model developed by Hersey and Blanchard focuses on the readiness of followers, in particular. Readiness is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. Hersey and Blanchard argue that situational management requires adjusting the leaders’ emphasis on task behaviours (for example, giving guidance and direction) and relationship behaviours (for example, providing socio-emotional support) according to the readiness of followers to perform tasks (French et. al, 2008). The success of an influence attempt can be evaluated in terms of how it affects the way people subsequently view the leader for example ethical, supportive, competent, trustworthy (Conger & Riggio , 2007).
Fielder’s theory assumes leaders are predisposed to a particular set of leader behaviors. Leaders are either task oriented or relationship oriented. Task oriented leaders are directive, structure situational; set deadlines and make task assignments. Relationship oriented leaders are not strongly directive, focus on people and desire positive social interaction (Champoux, 2011).
Types of management styles
Management is increasingly taking place within a team context. As teams grow in popularity, the role of the leader in guiding team members takes on heighted importance. And the role of team leader is different from the traditional management role performed by first-line supervisors (Robbins & Judge, 2007). According to Locke (2004), the outcome of an influence attempt depends on what tactics are used, how skillfully they are used, and the context in which they are used. Combining tactics is usually more effective than using a single tactic. Experts in the area of management contend that management styles are needed as work groups develop (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010).
Transformational and Transactional Management
Transactional management focuses on clarifying employees’ roles and task requirements and providing followers with positive and negative rewards contingent on performance. In contrast, transformational leaders engender trust, seek to develop management in others, exhibit self-sacrifice and serve as moral agents, focusing themselves and followers on objectives the transcend the more immediate needs of the work group (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010).
Mcshane and Glinow (2011), defined transformational management as a perspective that explains how leaders change teams or organizations by creating, communicating, and modeling a vision for the organization or work unit and inspiring employees to strive for that vision. According to Thompson (2008), transactional management occurs when leaders motivate by exchanging rewards for high performance and noticing and reprimanding subordinates for mistakes and standard performance. Empirical research has shown positive relationships between transformational management and organizational performance (Champoux, 2011).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The survey strategy was a preferred in this study. The typical survey is a descriptive research study with the objective of measuring awareness, knowledge, behavior, opinions and attitudes both inside and outside of the organization (Zikmund, Babin, Carr & Griffin, 2010). According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009), using a survey strategy gives you more control over the research process and when sampling is used, it is possible to generate findings that are representative of whole population at a lower cost than collecting data for the whole population. The data collection techniques methods that tend to be used in surveys are questionnaires or scales (Quinlan, 2011).
The descriptive research design was appropriate in this study since its purpose was to investigate the management style of managers and how it affects the employee job performance. A survey strategy and a structured questionnaire based on the research questions are used to collect the information from the respondents at Safari Park Hotel.
Population and Sampling Design
Population
A population is a precisely defined body of people or objects under consideration for statistical purposes (Collis & Hussey, 2009). The population comprises of non-managerial employees of Safari Park Hotel, Enugu state and has an identified department. According to Safari Park Hotel list, there are 190 employees, non -managerial from the various departments: human resource, housekeeping, food and beverage (service and kitchen), finance and information communications technology, health club, purchasing and security (see table 3.1). It is from this population that the researcher will get an accessible sample size.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND FINDINGS
Demographic Data of respondents
Gender Distribution
The researcher requested the respondents to indicate their respective gender. The findings of the study showed that there were 54.7% male and 45.3% female respondents. The gender of the respondents was relatively well represented in this research. The figure 4.1 shows the gender distribution.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The purpose of this study was to investigate the management style of managers and how it affects employee job performance. The study was carried out at the Safari Park Hotel and was guided by the following research questions: what management styles are prevalent at the Safari Park Hotel; does the management style of a manager affect employee job performance; and what are the good management practices in the hospitality industry.
The descriptive research design was used in this study. The target population was 190 non-managerial employees of Safari Park Hotel. Data was collected in form of structured questionnaires. Out of 144 questionnaires distributed to the employees, 95 were returned representing a 66% response rate. To analyze the data, descriptive and statistical analysis was used and the findings were presented through use of tables and charts. Ranking of mean scores was used to identify the key factors. To discover the influence of management styles on employee job performance, the binary logistic regression model was used.
The respondents general information was captured; gender distribution showed 54.% male and 45.3% female respondents indicating a balance of both female and respondents in the research. About half of the respondents, 58.9% were in the category of 1-5 years work experience at the Safari Park Hotel with 33.7% of the respondents having 6-10 years and 7.4% had 11 years and above work experience. This indicated the respondents have relatively good working experience.
Based on research question one, the study found out that the managers at the hotel exhibited more of transformational and democratic management style and not autocratic nor transactional. On ranking the supervisors management style, the highest mean score was 4.13, makes suggestions on how to solve problems and the lowest mean score was 2.76, focuses more on punishment for mistakes. The study also found out that rating of management style factors based on gender had no major difference therefore indicating a common management style was found to be exhibited by the supervisors from both the male and female respondents.
The study sought to find out the influence of management style on employee job performance, based on research question two. The rankings of the factors showed that the respondents were influenced by the managers; self driven to perform work with the highest mean score of 4.21, being a team player at a mean of 4.20 as compared to the lowest mean score, low morale for my work at a mean of 2.27 and stressed at a mean of 2.52.
Further analysis of the results showed that management style and behaviors had either a positive or negative effect on the employee job performance. The binary logistic regression model was used to determine the significance of management style on job performance. Encouraging staff to participate in decision making was found to have negative significant influence (p=0.031) on job performance while if the managers think and say ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ had a positive significant (p=0.26) on employee job performance. Based on the findings from the regression model, the study showed that management style of the manager was critical and influenced the employee job performance.
By looking at the good management practices in the hotel, the study found out that the hotel provides training and development for all employees with the highest mean score of 3.76, celebrates the values and victories by creating a spirit of community, mean score of 3.67 and recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual success, mean score of 3.66. However, it is important to note that the employees felt and rated lowly these factors; has a clear reward system for all its employees mean score of 3.12 and has a human resource policies and procedures in place at a mean score of 3.29. These factors are considered among good management practices that motivate and enhance employee performance.
Discussions
Management Styles Prevalent in the Hospitality Industry
From the findings of the study, the opinions of the respondents indicated there were a varied management styles portrayed by their supervisor. The findings showed that the prevalent management styles were: transformational, charismatic and democratic management styles. The findings of the study were in contrary with Miller et. al., (2007) stated that in the hospitality industry, the traditional method of dealing with hourly works has generally been some variation of command obey-method combined with carrot-stick techniques of reward and punishment. Based on the research findings, the autocratic management, servant and transactional management style were not found to be the most prevalent management styles in the hotel.
The management at Safari Park Hotel could be associated with more than one style. The findings of the study were contrary to Fiedler’s contingency theory which according to Nelson (2013) this theory assumes that leaders are either task oriented or relationship oriented, depending on how the leaders obtain their primary need gratification. The study findings supported Hersey and Blanchard approach which asserts that styles are not mutually exclusive, in other words that a leader can be both highly task focused and highly relationship focused (Shani, Chandler, Coget & Lau, 2009).
The majority of respondents highly ranked that the supervisors’ makes suggestions on how to solve the problems, exhibiting a democratic management style as stated by Wilson (2004) the democratic leader took the initiative where they felt it was needed in making guiding suggestions. Controlling managers have a desire to exercise personal power over subordinates by dominating and maintaining tight control over their activities (Laferla, 2010). The respondents ranked low the factor that the supervisors did focus more on punishment for mistakes, believe only their ideas are best which characterizes the autocratic management where the manager alone exercises decision making and authority for determining policy, procedures for achieving goals, work tasks and relationships, control of rewards or punishment (Mullins, 2008).
While the democratic management style was found most prevalent over the autocratic, the margin of difference between those who agreed (28.6%) and those who disagreed (31.9%) to the supervisors need to control every activity was found to be minimal i.e. 3.3. Also it is worthy to note, regarding the factor on focuses more on punishment the margin of difference between those who disagree (37.9%) and those neutral (35.8%) was also very minimal i.e. 2.1and for the factor believes only their ideas are best a difference of 9 was found between respondents who disagree (33.3%) and respondents who are neutral (24.7%). This is indicated that there were still elements of autocratic management style found in the supervisors. According to Miller et.al. (2007) perhaps that is the way the supervisor was raised or perhaps it is the only method the supervisor has ever seen in action. In relation to transactional versus the transformational management, the findings of the study show the supervisor encourages thinking and creativity, inspiring employees to strive for organizational vision. According to Williams (2011) transformational leaders are able to make their followers feel that they are a vital part of the organization and help them see how their jobs fit with the organization’s vision. Therefore, the study found the supervisors exhibited the transformational management as compared to the transactional management which occurs when a leader motivates followers purely by exchanging rewards for performance (George & Jones, 2008) . The respondents ranked low the factor that the supervisors recognize and awards based only on work performance.
Influence of Management Style on the Employee Job Performance
The findings of the study showed that management style influenced the employee job performance. Based on the rankings of level of performance when relating with the immediate supervisor, the respondents ranked highly the factors; they felt self-driven to perform their work, being a team player, willingness to work hard, correcting any poor performance. The findings supports Williams (2011) leaders inspire their companies to change and their followers to give extraordinary effort to accomplish organizational goals.
On the other hand, it was noted that among the least ranked factors, the respondents felt when relating with their supervisors, nothing is ever accomplished, not supported, very dissatisfied with our conversations. According to Joyce (2007) by developing a positive attitude in the team, managers get a positive attitude back and the quality of the work improves. Despite the overall positive influence, the managers should strive to improve in this area.
The findings indicated that respondents with 11 years above experience a high percentage i.e. 28.6% of respondents were not sure if they were self –driven to perform work when relating with their supervisor. According to Brooks (2009) it is hard to measure attitudes and that it is difficult to establish simple links between attitude and behavior and job performance, it is an area of great concern to managers.
In addition, the results based on number of years worked versus the employee self drive to perform work showed consideration of Maslow proposal of universal human needs representing the order in which these needs become motivators of human behavior (Miller et. al., 2007) is critical. Hence it is important for the management to consistently monitor the behaviors, needs of employees and adopt appropriate management style at the various stages in their work experience.
The findings of the study show that the respondents ranked low the factor that the organization provides feedback, empowerment and coaching to employees. According to Vecchio (2006), employee empowerment refers to a set of motivational techniques that are designed to improve employee performance through increased levels of employee participation and self determination. Good supervisors are outgoing, among their people every day observing, coaching, evaluating ‘Hey, that’s a great job (Miller et. al., 2007).
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to investigate management style of managers and how it affects the employee job performance. Based on the discussions, the following conclusions were derived from the study.
What management styles are prevalent at the Safari Park Hotel
The transformational, charismatic and democratic management styles were most prevalent at the Safari Park Hotel. The supervisors do not lean towards transactional and servant management styles. The supervisors engaged in encouraging the staff through participative decision making and were inspiring. However, as much as autocratic management style was not very prevalent, an element of this management style was found also used by the managers i.e. need to control every activity and focuses more on punishment. The management approach was situational with supervisors having both a task and relationship behaviors as opposed to exhibiting only one particular set of behavior.
The respondents’ expectations as ranked by both genders showed a common view on the management styles exhibited by the supervisors. Despite expectations of differences of men and women, the ratings of the supervisor indicated a balance in the management styles from the supervisors. Both the female and male respondents agreed that the most prevalent management styles were transformational and democratic as opposed to autocratic.
Management style of a manager influence on employee job performance.
The management style of manager was found to have either a positive or negative significant influence on the employee job performance. The managers had a positive influence on the employees and they were self driven to perform, being a team player and willingness to work hard. However, it was found the managers need to ensure the employees feel supported and satisfied with conversations.
Employees with 11 years and above work experience had a high number of respondents not sure if they were self driven to perform work. This indicated that those who have worked for many years tend to be influenced by the leaders and the impact of management style on these employees should be monitored and evaluated consistently.
A charismatic and transformational management style i.e. the manager seeks to develop management in team members and says ‘We’ rather than ‘I’ has a positive significant influence on job performance as opposed to an autocratic management style i.e. the supervisor believes only their ideas are best whereby there is a negative significant influence on the job performance .
While encouraging staff to participate in decision making, make suggestions of problem solving and clarifies his or her role within the group are considered positive, they had a negative significant influence on the employee job performance. The manager’s approach is critical in determining the level of employee job performance. The need to control every activity was found to have positive significant influence on employee job performance in situations where employees need close supervision on their jobs and are dependent on the supervisor.
Good management practices in the hospitality industry.
Good management practices are critical in the functioning of an organization to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. Generally the hotel was found to have good management practices in place such as; training and development for all employees, celebrate the values and victories, recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence and has a clearly defined organizational structure. These are good practices that are considered to be motivational and enhance employee job performance.
Regarding practices that enhance employee motivation and performance management, the study showed that the hotel was under performing in certain management practices such as having a clear reward system, clarifying employee performance goals, ensuring human resource policies and procedures are in place, providing feedback, empowerment and coaching to employees. These are considered as challenges which could have an influence on the employee job performance
Recommendation
Recommendations for improvement
What management styles are prevalent at the Safari Park Hotel
The study showed that the situational management approach is being used and this should be encouraged to ensure an overall balance in the management styles. One exclusive management style should not be used by the managers but this should be based on the circumstances and nature of work. However, the supervisors should adopt servant management and minimize on any autocratic management such as focusing more on punishment which is bound to have in the long run negative influence on employee job performance.
Management style of a manager influence on employee job performance.
Supervisors should evaluate their management style approaches especially when encouraging the staff in participating in the decision making. While this is a positive attribute, it had a negative influence. Training on communication skills will equip and enable the managers to execute their management appropriately thus a positive influence on the employee job performance.
The management style should be varied based on the number of years an employee has worked in the organization. This will ensure a positive influence and ensure a self drive to perform the job. The managers should monitor the attitude, behavior of employees and engage them appropriately so as not to lose the self drive to perform their jobs.
Good management practices in the hospitality industry.
There is need for the management to implement a clear reward system and clarify employee performance goals. This can be engaged through an internal or external human resource practitioner. Transparency of a reward system will ensure all employees have a common goal. Much emphasis must be placed on availability of human resources policy and procedures. This should be well documented and available for reference by the employees. The above issues should be clearly communicated during the orientation of employees and any other training sessions.
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