Assessment Task

Critically evaluate the application of core leadership theories demonstrated by a hospitality organisation, through developing a profile of their responses, actions and behaviours to a chosen leadership area of discussion. 

Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task. 

Context 

Leadership is an important component of professional life – both the leadership of others and oneself. The development of your leadership knowledge will assist your career progression, in particular managing teams in hospitality. A vital component of that development is an understanding of how leadership is currently being implemented in industry today. 

This assessment will evaluate your ability to identify and reflect on effective leadership outcomes using the core leadership theories presented in this subject. 

Task Instructions 

You will be presented with several different areas of discussion currently topical in the global hospitality industry. After selecting your area of discussion, you will then need to choose a hotel organisation that has been or is currently focusing on that particular area.

The areas of discussion for this assessment will be provided to students in the first week of the subject in your Blackboard shell. You will need to select and critically review one (1) area only.     

You are then to develop a profile on the leadership demonstrated by the hospitality organisation by considering the outline provided below, critically evaluating the effectiveness of the leadership demonstrated using the knowledge you have gained up to and including Week 4.

Introduction

The magnificent Hilton Brisbane is located in the heart of the busy CBD of Brisbane. Due to the Hilton Brisbane's prominent position in the fiercely competitive hospitality industry, academics and business professionals are interested in learning more about its leadership profile. The hotel has a superb reputation thanks to its meticulous attention to detail, state-of-the-art services, and eco-friendly practices.

The Hilton Brisbane's senior leadership group oversaw the hotel's major renovations in recent years. The hotel's administration is renowned for its commitment to innovative ideas, consideration for guests, and focus on personnel. Leaders of organisations believe that in order to give consumers the best service possible, employees must be satisfied. The guiding values of the hotel reflect this approach, placing a strong focus on teamwork, individual accountability, and a relentless pursuit of improvement.

Experts in the hospitality industry make up the executive team of the Hilton Brisbane. A general manager controls the team's operations and strategically directs the ship. Department managers in charge of sales, marketing, finances, and human resources assist the general manager. The management staff is solely responsible for the hotel's performance in a competitive sector.

The Hilton Brisbane's management staff is the subject of the study. We will look at the hotel's management, organisational structure, and strategies used to ensure its ongoing success as part of this process. The research will also go into the challenges that Hilton Brisbane's management faced and the most recent variables that affect effective hotel management.

Also Read - Management Assignment Help

1 Context for the leadership profile

1.1. Area of discussion selected and its importance for global hospitality

Every industry needs strong leadership, but the hotel sector needs it more than any other. The hospitality industry, one of the biggest and fastest-growing in the world, significantly impacts people's lives and the global economy. According to Phillip (2022), the hotel industry generated 330 million jobs and contributed 10.4% to the global GDP in 2021. The industry provided 9.6 percent of total export earnings globally in the same year.

It is hard to overstate the importance of great leadership in the hospitality industry. Hertas-Valdivia, Gonzalez-Torres, and Najera-Sanchez's research from 2022 suggest that a great leader may increase morale, productivity, customer satisfaction, and the bottom line at work.

Conversely, ineffective leadership is linked to low morale, a high staff turnover rate, and decreased productivity, all of which impact the bottom line. In order to retain a competitive advantage, firms must invest in leadership development and training programmes.

Also Read - Management Coursework Help

1.2. Hospitality organisation and its initiatives/programs

The Hilton Brisbane is an opulent five-star hotel in the heart of Brisbane, Australia. One of the biggest and most well-known hotel brands is Hilton Hotels & Resorts, of which this establishment is a part. As of 2023, the company that owns the Hilton name, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., operated 6,400 hotels and resorts throughout 119 different countries and territories (Hilton, 2023).

In order to promote sound management and increase the hotel's competitive edge, The Hilton Brisbane has implemented a variety of tactics. One such programme is the "Hilton Leadership Journey," which aims to develop stronger team leaders (Hilton, 2023).

The program's main components are self-awareness, teamwork, communication, customer focus, business savvy, and leadership transformation, to name only six.

Additionally, the Hilton Brisbane manages the "Hilton Thrive Programme," which emphasizes community service and environmental protection (Hilton, 2022).

The program's objectives include implementing energy and water-saving measures, making locally and sustainably sourced purchases, and providing volunteer time and financial assistance to nearby NGOs. This project supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Travel with Purpose, Hilton's corporate responsibility programme.

In addition to strongly emphasizing environmental stewardship, Hilton Brisbane has taken steps to promote an atmosphere that embraces and celebrates diversity.

The hotel has signed the Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) (Hilton, 2023) to demonstrate its commitment to assisting Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians mend their ties.

This plan includes measures to expand employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians, support for Indigenous-owned businesses, and training for hotel workers on Indigenous history and culture.

The Hilton Brisbane has also started initiatives to support staff members' personal and professional development. The leadership development programmes and online training courses offered by Hilton Worldwide University are available to staff members at all hotel echelons.

The hotel also provides employee assistance services to support staff members having problems at work or in their personal life.

Also Read - Assignment Help Brisbane

1.3. Communication of initiatives/programs with employees and the broader community

If there is inadequate communication, leadership initiatives, and projects will not succeed. The Hilton Brisbane has established a variety of various channels of communication to ensure that its personnel and the neighborhood are well-informed about and understand its programmes and programmes.

The hotel also makes their efforts known to the neighbourhood at large. The Hilton Brisbane has received awards and certifications from the hospitality sector for its dedication to sustainability. These include the Green Globe designation and EarthCheck certification (Hilton, 2023). These credentials demonstrate a hotel's commitment to environmental sustainability and are highly respected in the hospitality industry.

Through various internal channels, the hotel informs its staff of opportunities for leadership development. Examples of these channels include team meetings, training sessions, and performance reviews for specific individuals.

Additionally, the hotel offers its staff an intranet portal to read more about the Hilton Leadership Journey and other educational opportunities. The hotel's management is actively involved with the staff, offering them both encouragement and helpful criticism to help them develop as leaders.

2 The Leadership Profile and Critical Evaluation

2.1. Four leadership characteristics, behaviours, and attitudes of Hilton Brisbane

The Hilton Brisbane has demonstrated several crucial leadership behaviours, habits, and attitudes during the development of its programmes. In a highly complex and unpredictably changing operating environment, the organisation has shown extraordinary flexibility and the ability to respond quickly to changes (Ramalingam et al., 2020). This is especially important for the hotel industry, which has to swiftly adjust to changing customer expectations.

Second, Hilton Brisbane has demonstrated its commitment to its employees by focusing intensely on training and autonomy. Consider the business's emphasis on giving employees a chance to develop their leadership abilities through formal training as evidence.

Thirdly, the Hilton Brisbane has proven that it prioritizes giving its visitors first-rate service. As a result, the organisation frequently wins recognition for having some of the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry.

Last but not least, the Hilton Brisbane has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability by taking steps like reducing plastic use and installing energy-efficient fixtures.

Also Read - Marketing Assignment Help

2.2. Evidence of styles of leadership showcased by Hilton Brisbane

At the Hilton Brisbane, many leadership philosophies—including transformational, servant, and genuine leadership—have been on the show. Transformational leaders energise and encourage their followers to strive toward a common objective (DuBrin, 2018).

The Hilton Brisbane business employs servant leadership, placing a high value on staff development and autonomy (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). But servant leaders prioritise the needs of their subordinates over their own (Eva et al., 2019).

The Hilton Brisbane's dedication to meeting its visitors' requirements is an excellent example of this kind of management. Authentic leadership is characterised by transparent and self-aware leaders (Novitasari et al., 2020). Consider Hilton Brisbane's initiatives to lessen its environmental impact to provide an example of this kind of leadership.

2.3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership behaviours, attitudes, actions, and styles used by the hospitality organisation

The leadership of The Hilton Brisbane has exhibited admirable behaviour, attitude, action, and style that have aided the business' success (Eva et al., 2019). Due to the company's commitment to employee growth and autonomy, a highly engaged and motivated workforce has directly contributed to high levels of customer satisfaction. A customer-centric approach to service delivery has produced beneficial results, such as retaining customers and fostering positive word-of-mouth (Eva et al., 2019).

Similarly, the Hilton Brisbane's commitment to sustainability has given the establishment an outstanding reputation among eco-aware tourists.

However, there are still some areas that require improvement. Despite Hilton Brisbane's admirable commitment to employee development, there may be room to increase employee engagement and empowerment through more group-based decision-making.

Although the customer-centric approach to service delivery has effectively kept customers, personalization could use some work (Bavik, 2020). Last but not least, despite the organization's admirable commitment to sustainability, there may be an opportunity for improvement by implementing even more radical changes.

The Hilton Brisbane has demonstrated excellent leadership behaviour, attitude, action, and style in achieving its goals. The business has succeeded in its quest for employee empowerment, customer attention in service delivery, and environmental sustainability by using contemporary leadership ideas.

Even though Hilton Brisbane's leadership profile could be better, it can guide other hospitality businesses that want to achieve similar outcomes.

3. Recommendations

3.1 Two recommendations

The evaluation and analysis of the Hilton Brisbane leadership profile enable the production of two practical and relevant recommendations for the hospitality industry.
The transformational leadership plan of Hilton Brisbane should place a high priority on developing personnel skills and capabilities. The finest leaders inspire their employees to reach new levels of innovation and change.

Investing in employees' professional development may have two consequences: improved customer happiness and company performance. Programmes for training, mentoring, and coaching give employees the resources they need to reach their potential.

The second recommendation is that Hilton Brisbane adopts a more participative leadership style by including employees in crucial decisions. This may increase employee interest, pleasure, and commitment at work. The ownership and agency established by participatory leadership may increase productivity and innovation.

Giving staff members a say in creating and implementing new initiatives is the most excellent method to motivate them to offer suggestions and viewpoints.

Following transformational and participative leadership, these recommendations can help Hilton Brisbane improve its performance and increase its position as a global leader in the hospitality industry.

Also Read - Leadership Assignment Help

Conclusion

The investigation evaluated Hilton Brisbane's management team and numerous initiatives and activities. The paper examined the value of good leadership in the hotel industry globally and evaluated the hospitality organization's leadership traits, behaviours, and attitudes as they carried out their objectives.

The results demonstrate that the Hilton Brisbane displayed transformational leadership characteristics, including vision, inspiration, and intellectual stimulation, which greatly influenced the success of the hotel's projects. The Hilton Brisbane's leadership's actions, attitudes, and behaviours were examined, and it became clear that they were essential to the hotel's achievement of its goals.

The report also offered Hilton Brisbane two practical recommendations for improving its leadership practices: to fortify its middle management and broaden the scope of employee participation. The current evaluation conducted an assessment of the management team of Hilton Brisbane and its several initiatives through the application of the ideas of transformational leadership.

The cumulative findings have suggested that transformative leadership is crucial for an organization's success in the hospitality industry. Furthermore, it may also be concluded that it may significantly impact employee engagement, job satisfaction, and performance.

References

Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2013). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (10th-anniversary edition, 2nd ed.). Emerald. https://lesa.on.worldcat.org/oclc/940500017 

Bavik, A. (2020). A systematic review of the servant leadership literature in management and hospitality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(1), 347–382. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2018-0788/full/html 

DuBrin, A. (2018). Leadership: Research, findings, practice, and skills (9th ed.). Cengage Learning. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.torrens.idm.oclc.org/lib/think/reader.action?docID=6351096 

Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., Van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The leadership quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984317307774 

Hilton, (2023). ESG. https://esg.hilton.com/?_gl=1%2Asxbam4%2A_gcl_aw%2AR0NMLjE2ODMxOTA1MDAuQ2owS0NRandyODJpQmhDdUFSSXNBTzBFQV
p5YUJzOU1PM2VTdmpDZi1xVUlacEdDRVBPSHRHVllLLVhwWWlFUGd5WUV2bm9WT190UHZab2FBdDUx
RUFMd193Y0I.%2A_gcl_dc%2AR0NMLjE2ODMxOTA1MDAuQ2owS0NRandyODJpQmhDdUFSSXNBTzBFQ
Vp5YUJzOU1PM2VTdmpDZi1xVUlacEdDRVBPSHRHVllLLVhwWWlFUGd5WUV2bm9WT190UHZab2FBdD
UxRUFMd193Y0I. 

Huertas-Valdivia, I., González-Torres, T., & Nájera-Sánchez, J. J. (2022). Contemporary leadership in hospitality: a review and research agenda. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, (ahead-of-print). https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2021-0658/full/html

Novitasari, D., Siswanto, E., Purwanto, A., & Fahmi, K. (2020). Authentic Leadership and Innovation: What is the Role of Psychological Capital? International Journal of Social and Management Studies, 1(1), 1-21. https://www.ijosmas.org/index.php/ijosmas/article/view/1

Philipp, J. (2022). World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). In Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing (pp. 806–808). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.elgaronline.com/view/book/9781800377486/b-9781800377486.world.travel.xml 

Ramalingam, B., Nabarro, D., Oqubuy, A., Carnall, D., & Wild, L. (2020). Principles to guide adaptive leadership. Harvard Business Review. https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/CME/documents/5-20Principles-20to-20Guide-20Adaptive-20Leadership.pdf