Critical Analysis of Leadership in the Hospitality Industry

This essay provides a critical analysis of the impact of leadership on organizational culture and human resource management in the hospitality industry. It examines different leadership theories and their effects on the industry, with a focus on real-life leaders and their influence. The essay also discusses the role of responsible leadership and its impact on business decisions. The case study of Katie Taylor, CEO of Four Seasons Hotel, is analyzed to understand the effects of leadership on the organization and its employees. Overall, the essay highlights the importance of effective leadership in the hospitality industry.

Running head: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
As discussed by Angka and Darma (2016), leadership can be defined as the ability of
a group or an individual to guide and influence the followers and other employees as well.
The effective decisions that are taken by the leaders are considered to be important for the
ways by which members of the organization are able to fulfil their responsibilities. The
overall organizational objectives can be fulfilled with the help of implementation of effective
leadership.
The essay will be based on the analysis of the impact that leadership has on the
culture of the organization. The effective leadership based on human resource management is
an important part of the analysis. A real life leader will be analysed in order to relate to the
theories of leadership will also be discussed in the essay in detail. The aspects related to
responsible leadership will be analysed in the essay in order to examine the relationship that
has been established with the hospitality based organizations (Chen & Wu, 2017).
The organization that has been taken into consideration for this analysis is the Four
Seasons Hotel. Four Seasons Hotel trades under the name of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
in the international hospitality based industry. The headquarters of the organization is located
in Toronto, Ontario. The organization operates greater than 100 hotels all over the world
since the year 2007. The leader who is considered for the study is Katie Taylor
(Fourseasons.com 2019).
Critical analysis
Impact of leadership theories on organizational culture - According to Gatling,
Kang and Kim (2016), the trait theory of leadership can be implemented in order to determine
the effective traits that have been developed by a leader. The trait theory is mainly based on

2CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP
the systematic efforts that have been undertaken by the psychologists in order to understand
the effective leadership styles. The five major physical traits that are a part of the trait theory
include, appearance, ability based traits and intelligence and personality traits are mainly
based on the enthusiasm, self-confidence and aggressiveness. The related characteristics on
the other hand are related to persistence, achievement and drive initiative.
As discussed by Huang et al. (2016), the social characteristics include,
cooperativeness, administrative ability and interpersonal skills as well. Transformational
leadership on the other hand can be considered to be a modern leadership style that is able to
affect the culture of the organizations. The organizational environment and culture is affected
in a positive manner by the proper cooperation that is developed between the leaders and the
employees. Transformational leaders are able to form an important part in the vision that is
developed by an organization and the methods that are used to communicate it to the
employees as well.
As argued by Jaiswal and Dhar (2015), the leaders are able to develop relationship
with the employees in such a manner that can help them to form a positive work based
environment and culture. The modern organizations are able to operate in an effective manner
with the help of proper leadership. The skills that have been developed by the leaders have an
impact on the ways by which employees are able to provide the best levels of productivity.
The transformational leaders are considered to be effective for the ways by which an
organization and its operations can be maintained within the industry.
According to Jang and Kandampully (2018), the structure and culture of an
organization is influenced in a huge manner by the factors based on transformational
leadership. The proper implementation of changes is also based on the ways by which
transformational leaders are able to provide their services. Many different researches have

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been conducted based on the ways by which transformational leadership is able to influence
the organizational culture. Responsible leadership can also be considered to be an important
theory that helps in providing effective levels of understanding based on the business
decisions that can be taken by leaders based on the interests of shareholders. The responsible
leaders also take into account the demands and needs of the other stakeholders like, the
clients, suppliers, community and workers as well. The leaders in this case have a major
responsibility towards the communities in which the organizations are operating (Jang, Zheng
& Bosselman, 2017).
Impact of leadership on human resource management - As discussed by Kruja et al.
(2016), the human resource management of the organizations are affected in a huge manner
by the attributes of the leaders. The qualities of a leader are able to play a major role in the
ways by which the organization is able to operate in the highly competitive environment. The
levels of competitiveness of the environment are quite important for the ways by which
leaders are able to manage the operations and the employees or human resources as well. The
employees or human resources are able to play the most important role in proper
development of the organizational operations.
According to Liang et al. (2017), the human resources are considered to be the most
important part of the effective operations of the company. The leadership qualities that are
depicted by the leaders are able to affect the ways by which organizations are able to
maintain their levels of operations in the respective industries. The relationship that is
developed between the managers and employees are able to play a major role in the ways by
which the levels of profitability of the company can be increased and a positive and
productive work environment can be maintained as well.

4CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP
Examples of real life leaders - Luo, Marnburg and Law (2017) suggested that, the
real life transformational leaders have been able to affect the culture that has been developed
by the organizations. The leaders have played a major role in the ways by which the
organizations have been able to develop their positions in the industry. The transformational
leaders have been able to affect the ways by which organizations are able to operate in the
industry. The leaders in the technology industry are able to affect the operations of different
organizations. Steve Jobs is a transformational leader who has been able to affect the
operations of Apple Inc. and the work environment that has been developed as well.
According to Luo et al. (2016), the culture of Apple Inc. is also based on the
leadership qualities that have been developed by the organization. The vision that has been
developed by Steve Jobs was communicated to the employees that further led to the huge
success of the organization in the industry. Jeff Bezos the CEO of Amazon has proved to be
another major example of transformational leader who has provided his services in order to
develop an effective relationship with the employees.
The organization has been able to perform successfully in the industry with the help
of vision that has been implemented by Bezos in an effective manner. The transformational
leadership qualities have been able to affect the work process of the employees in a huge
way. The leaders have been successful in their attempts to develop a relationship with the
employees that has further led to the increase in satisfaction levels of the employees as well
(Lyu et al. 2016).
Leadership in the hospitality industry - As discussed by Mittal and Dhar (2016), the
hospitality industry is a part of the broad category of fields that are a part of the highly
effective service industry. The growth that has been depicted by the service industry is
considered to be the most important factor that is able to attract different organizations in

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order to develop their operations. Many people are also attracted towards the industry for the
purpose of developing their careers as well. The different industries that are a part of the
service based industry include, drink and food service, theme parks, transportation, cruise
line.
According to Patiar and Wang (2016), the hospitality based industry has recently
depicted huge levels of growth and has developed categories that are totally based on the
services that are offered to the consumers. The needs and demands of employees also need to
be fulfilled in a holistic way with the help of proper customer service. The different sectors
that are a part of the hospitality industry include, lodging and accommodation, food and
beverage, travel and tourism, entertainment industry and timeshare.
According to Salem (2015), the organizations that are a part of this sector need to
provide major levels of attention to the relationships that have been developed with the
customers and the services that are offered to them as well. The leaders are thereby able to
play the most important role in this case for the purpose of developing a positive work
environment within the organization. Responsible leadership is able to play a major role in
the ways by which organizations in the hospitality industry are able to operate. The industry
has major growth in the last few years and the proper improvement of different aspects are
able to provide future growth based opportunities to the companies (Slåtten & Mehmetoglu,
2015).
Profile of the leader in hospitality industry - Katie Taylor is an example of a leader
who has played a major role in the ways by which her organization has developed its position
in the hospitality based industry. Katie Taylor is a top executive in the Four Seasons Hotel
and had begun her career in the hospitality industry in the year 1989. Katie was further
appointed as the CEO of the organization and was responsible for leading a huge portfolio of

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80 hotels and 50 more properties of the organization are under the development phase. The
values that are followed by the Four Seasons Hotel are considered to be the most important
part of the success that has been gained in the industry (Terglav, Ruzzier & Kaše, 2016).
The leader has been able to provide her maximum levels of commitment to the proper
development and implementation of the values within the organization. The group of
employees or human resources of the Four Seasons Hotel are highly dedicated towards the
vision of the organization. The values of Four Seasons Hotel have been depicted with the
help of the work culture which is developed within the organization. Different initiatives that
have been taken by the Hotel under the leadership of Katie Taylor have been able to provide
the maximum levels of support to the vision and the values (Trainingjournal.com. 2019).
Effect of leadership of Katie Taylor on the human resources - The vision and values
of the Four Seasons Hotel is based on the importance that is provided to the communities
who live around the operations of the organization. Katie Taylor had played a major role in
this case for the purpose of increasing the initiatives that are being implemented by the
organization in order to provide support to the communities. Katie Taylor has been a part of
the hospitality based industries from the start of her career. This has proved to be a major
factor that is able to affect the ways by which the CEO has understood the demands and
needs of the stakeholders (Wang, 2016).
According to Gatling, Kang and Kim (2016), the leader has been able to play a major
role in improving the operations of Four Seasons Hotel and its effectiveness in the hospitality
industry as well. The levels of gender diversity in the Hotel have been increased with the help
of different initiatives that have been implemented. The leader had also faced some major
challenges in the organization as a woman and has been successful in developing her position
with the help of efficient services that are offered. The pay inequities have been considered to

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be a major factor that affected the work process of many female employees in the Four
Seasons Hotel. Katie had taken major steps for reducing the levels of inequalities that were a
part of the hotel earlier. This has been able to play a major role in increasing the diversity
levels and improving the operations as well (Lyu et al. 2016).
Effects of leadership of Katie Taylor on culinary skills - As argued by Jaiswal and
Dhar (2015), the different departments in the organization have been influenced by the
leadership qualities and activities of Katie Taylor. The leadership qualities that have been
depicted by responsible leadership of Katie Taylor have an impact on the operations of
various departments. The culinary arts of employees are also affected by the leadership
related qualities of Katie Taylor. The different properties that are being developed by the
organization with the help of proper expansion are affected by the leaders and the strategies
that have been developed as well. The culinary arts of the employees are affected by the ways
by which leaders are aim at providing training to them based on the improvement of their
skills. The levels of competition that exist in the industry are also considered to be an
important factor that is able to affect the training levels that have been provided to them
(Patiar & Wang, 2016).
Impact of leadership on own activities - According to Patiar and Wang (2016), the
leadership based analysis that has been made by me in the essay has been helpful in providing
clear concepts based on the ways by which responsible leaders are able to affect the modern
organizations in a competitive business environment. The aspects of responsible have
provided a detailed picture based on the skills that are gained by the leaders. The
development of proper leadership qualities is based on the project work that I have done in
the institute. The positive impact that responsible leadership has on the work process is an
important factor that provides me with a picture of the aspects related to proper leadership.

8CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP
Conclusion
The essay can be concluded by stating that the organizations in the hospitality
industry are able to operate in an effective manner with the help of proper leadership based
qualities. The leaders are able to play a major role in the development of a proper
organizational culture in the modern organizations. The theories that are related to leadership
based activities are considered to be important for the ways by which different companies are
able to operate. The effects of leadership on human resource management department or the
employees are considered to be important for the ways by which organizations can improve
the levels of performance. The skills related to leadership are considered to be important for
the improvement of revenues in the hospitality industry. The effects of hospitality based
leaders on the organizations are considered to be important for development of the operations
and proper culture as well. The changes that are required to be implemented within
organizations are also related to the effective leadership qualities. The analysis of leadership
theories has been able to provide major support based on the ways by which I have developed
my personal leadership qualities that I have used within my project team.

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