Developing Manager Skills: A Comprehensive Guide

This report explores the essential skills and characteristics of a developing manager, focusing on the hospitality industry. It delves into different management styles, leadership qualities, communication processes, and organizational culture. The report also includes a self-assessment of management skills, a SWOT analysis, and a personalized career development plan. This comprehensive guide provides valuable insights for aspiring managers seeking to enhance their skills and advance their careers.

Unit 3-The Developing Manager
1

Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Task 1-Written report............................................................................................................................4
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Compare different management styles.........................................................................................5
1.2 Discuss leadership characteristics................................................................................................7
1.3 Evaluate communication processes in selected businesses..........................................................8
1.4 Analyse organizational culture and change in selected businesses............................................10
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................11
Task 2- Written Reflective Report.......................................................................................................12
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................12
2.1 Assess own management skills performance.............................................................................13
2.2 Analyse personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats...........................................15
2.3 Set and prioritize objectives and targets to develop own potential.............................................17
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................19
Task 3- Written report.........................................................................................................................20
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................20
3.1 Lead and motivate a team to achieve an agreed goal or objective..............................................21
3.2 Justify managerial decisions made to support achievement of agreed goal or objective and
recommendations for improvements................................................................................................22
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................23
Task 4- Written Reflective Report, and a Career Development Plan...................................................24
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................24
4.1 Explain how own managerial and personal skills will support career development...................24
4.2 Review career and personal development needs, current performance and future need to
produce a development plan............................................................................................................25
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................27
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................28
References...........................................................................................................................................29
2

Introduction
This report will assist in gaining the understanding of behavior management values and
gaining talents and ideas for reviewing their managerial potential in an effective and efficient
way. This assignment mainly consists of four tasks which help in analyzing various aspects
of developing manager within the firm. The first task is related to the comparison of
management style along with the discussion on the leadership characteristics of the different
organizations. For the completion of the first task, the company which is chosen is Hilton
and Marriott which is UK based hospitality sector. In task two, the reflective report will be
made regarding own management skill performance. The objectives and targets will be set
and prioritize for developing the skills. The managerial skills will be shown in the third task
for leading and motivating a team for attaining an agreed goal and aims. In the end, a career
development plan will be made for the managerial and personal skills for the future needs.
3

Task 1-Written report
Introduction
This part of the reported study will talk about the management styles and leadership
characteristics of two different hospitality sectors as Hilton and Marriott. The communication
process will be evaluated regarding the selected business. The analysis of organizational
culture and changes will be made with the chosen firm.
4

1.1 Compare different management styles.
The management is the methods used by the employees or managers for managing an
organization or group of people. It is the strategy of getting the staff on a common stage and
removing the best of them mentions to real administration management. Within the
hospitality industry, every manager or leader has a unique style of conducting the staffs. The
comparison of the management style of Hilton and Marriott are listed below:
Management style Hilton Marriott
Autocratic In the context of the Hilton
Hotel, the superior do not
take into consideration the
ideas and suggestions of the
subordinates.
The employees are not
bothered by taking an
organizational decision as it
leaders and managers are
solely responsible for this.
Democratic The management of Hilton
Hotel has implemented a
feedback box where the
reviews and ideas of
employees are welcomed for
the further organizational
development (Management
Study Guide, 2018).
Hotel Marriott is used to
organizing meetings and
seminar with the employees
for making a healthy
communication with them. In
this session, they also used to
collect the opinion and
review of employees for the
development of the firm.
Laissez-Faire The employees are not
forcibly worked by the
organization as they know
what is right or wrong for
them
The management of Marriott
Hotel, the managers are
employed just for the sake of
it and do not contribute
towards the development of
the firm
5

Action-orientated The leader focuses on the
task at hand and seeing it
through to fruition.
The leader of Marriott Hotel
is used to lead his team in
attaining the stated objective
of the firm (Management
Study Guide, 2018).
6

1.2 Discuss leadership characteristics.
The leadership skills and characteristics play an important role in the development and
growth of the organization. It also helps in enabling people in a position of authority to help
the employees for completing the initiatives and meet business goals. The selected business
in this task is Marriott and Hilton. The characteristic which is adopted by the management of
Marriott is autocratic and participative. In the context of the hospitality sector, the autocratic
leadership characteristic helps in taking a decision with the inference of others. The autocratic
leader of Marriott Hotel is allowed to take an effective decision for the development of the
organization such as judicial, financial, marketing and many more (West, 2016). The
participative leadership refers to the decision-making style which encourages the input from
the employees but at last the decision-making process is totally lies with the leader.
In the context of Hilton, the democratic leadership style is used which consists of the
distribution of the responsibility and aiding group decision making for the further
development of the organization. It includes creating job satisfaction and inspiring innovation
and imaginative solutions to the administrative issues and difficulties. Various motivational
concepts such as promotion, compensation, rewards are provided by the management of
Hilton so that the staff will feel ultimate job satisfaction and interest regarding the given task.
7

1.3 Evaluate communication processes in selected businesses.
The communication process is necessary in order to successfully carrying out the
organization towards attaining its success factor. It can be seen that the communication is the
most important and most used of all skills within the hospitality industry. In general
communication process used within the working environment of Hilton and Marriott consists
of six steps which are the sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver, and decoding.
Through this process, many of the hospitality industry communicate with their customers and
employees as well.
(Source: Author)
Sender- The sender is the party which initiates the conversation and also conceptualized the
idea that he wants to convey to the receiver (Nichols, et. al., 2015).
Encoding-In this process, the non-verbal methods such as symbol and others are used to
translate into information(Griffiths and Smith, 2016).
Message-After the completion of the encoding process, the sender can easily get the message
that he intended to convey.
8

Channel-Communication channel is defined as the medium through which the customer
wants to convey his message to the receiver.
Receiver-The receiver is the person for whom the note is directed.
Decoding-In the last process, the receiver reads the senders communication and tries to
recognize it in a possible way.
Following are the types of communication which are used in Hilton and Marriott:
Verbal-In the context of the hospitality sector, the sharing of information between
individuals is done by using speech. The verbal communication is mainly done through
words or writing.
Written-In the current era, written communication has great significance in the hospitality
sector. As a professional worker, the employees and manager of the hospitality sector are
used to communicating via emails, message, and others (McQuail and Windahl, 2015).
Non-verbal-It can be seen that the hotels that are able to master the non-verbal
communication can easily be able to establish memorable and long lasting guest relations
(Griffiths and Smith, 2016). Example- facial expression, eye contact and others are the form
of non-verbal communication.
9

1.4 Analyse organizational culture and change in selected businesses.
The organizational culture and changes within the selected businesses are as follows:
Organisational culture
Clan Culture- In the context of Hilton, the clan culture is used in which the leaders are seen
as a mentor where he always used to communicate with the employees for the further
organizational development. The organization also emphasize long-term human resource
development and bonds the employees by morale.
Adhocracy Culture-Along with the clan culture, the adhocracy culture is also used within
the working environment of Hilton where the employees take a risk and also the leaders are
seen as the innovator and risk taker.
Market Culture-In the context of Marriott, the market culture is used where the employees
are competent and focused on goals (OCAI online, n.d). Within this culture, the leaders are
hard drivers, producer, and rivals as well which helps in creating an external partnership and
enhancing the competitiveness by involving customers and suppliers as well.
Hierarchy Culture- The hierarchy culture is also used by the management of Marriott Hotel
where formal rules and policy are used for keeping the organization together.
Organisational changes
Demographic-Within the hospitality sector such as Hilton and Marriott, the demographic
changes are done due to the changes in the needs and demand of customers in the context of
product and services.
Economic-The sudden changes in the economic factors are responsible for affecting the
overall growth and development of the firm (Benn, et. al. 2014). It can be seen that the
management of Marriott and Hilton are using effective strategies for managing the economic
changes.
Legislative-The legislative changes somehow support the hospitality sector. The UK
government mainly develop rules and laws in the favor of the organization so that they can be
able to develop the efficiency of the service.
10

Conclusion
The above discussion explains that the communication process is important for the
development and growth of the organization. Various management styles are adopted by the
management of Hilton and Marriott for managing their work process.
11

Task 2- Written Reflective Report
Introduction
This reflective report will assess the management skills and characteristics of the manager
within the hospitality sector. For the completion of this task, the organization which is
selected is Clayton Crown Hotel. This report will also present the self-evaluation report for
career development.
12

2.1 Assess own management skills performance.
Being an assistant manager at Clayton Crown Hotel there are several skills which need to be
possessed for management skill performance in an effective and efficient way. It is important
to evaluate personal skills because it helps in analyzing the personal needs and requirement
for the career development. Following are my management skills performance within the
working environment of Clayton Crown Hotel:
Skills Description
Leadership skills I believe that Imy leadership skills are
effective as I can easily be able to lead a team
in any situation. Basically, I haven’t leaded a
team so I don’t have enough knowledge
about the process of leading a team. So many
times, I have worked within a team where my
role is superior to my colleagues. But it is not
clear that I can be able to handle the roles and
responsibilities of leaders effectively and
actively (Cardy and Leonard, 2014).
Personal skills The personal skills include various aspects
such as communication, motivation,
interpersonal skills and many more. I realize
that my personal skills are effective as I can
easily be able to get connected with the
people around me. Being a manager, it is
important to communicate with the stranger
as well because it helps in knowing about his
skills and talent that can be used for the
further development of the firm. I can
motivate myself and also the organizational
employees for attaining the stated aims and
13

objective of the firm (Cardy and Leonard,
2014).
Planning skills I believe that my planning skills and effective
and efficient as well because I always used to
develop strategic planning for the
development of the organization. I also make
work planner for the organization in which I
rarely face problem regarding the completion
of the activity.
Creative skills My skills are creative as I can easily be able
to find new and creative ways of resolving
my personal and organizational issues
effectively.
14

2.2 Analyse personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
For analyzing the personal strength, weakness, and opportunities and threats I will use SWOT
analysis. It helps in measuring my skills and talent for the personal and professional
development as well (Bohari, et. al., 2017).
Strength Weakness
 One of my biggest strength is my
communication skills where I can
easily lure others towards the
organization.
 I have the ability to read the emotion
and thoughts of others effectively and
efficiently.
 I am a quick learner which helps me
in dealing with any organizational
situation.
 I have strong willpower and the
ability to think strategically than
others.
 I am able to lead any meetings and
seminar in an active way
 I can also use my strategic ideas for
the personal and organizational
development.
 My biggest weakness is that I am a
very much aggressive person which
affects my image within the working
environment.
 I always try to find perfection in the
work which affects my time and skill
as well.
 I have very hesitated nature i.e. I can’t
be able to face my senior
management.
 I pride myself on being big picture
guy
 Sometimes, I in front of my
colleagues I try to pretend that I am
the best which hurts their emotion and
morale as well.
 I always take extra work which
affects my current task in a negative
way
Opportunity Threat
15

 I have so many opportunities for
resolving my weakness as I can join
work under mentor so that their ideas
and opinion will assist me in
improving my skills
 I can also enhance my technical skills
as because in the current time period
technology is one of the important
factors for the personal and
organizational development.
 I can also start my further education
which will assist me in enhancing my
skill as per the current trends
 I can also get training and coaching
classes for managing my weakness
effectively and efficiently.
 Getting entry to the new business
world is a huge threat
 The hiring of new and skilled
employees can be responsible for
increased competition within the firm
 The conflicts with the junior
employees can affect my image in
front of upper management.
16

2.3 Set and prioritize objectives and targets to develop own potential.
Objectives- For developing self-potential effectively and efficiently, the following are the
objectives to be attained:
 To improve the communication skills by taking admission in training classes
 To enhance the leadership skills for further personal and organizational development
 To improve the technical skills so that the creativity level will be improved
 To get the vocational course for enhancing my personal skills
Targets-My target is to attain the stated objective and also learn how to use tool and software
for the development of the firm.
Deadline-I will complete my target within one year.
Learning program-There is a number of online and offline learning program in which I can
get admission for improving my potential and skills as well. Firstly, I will create own
personal development plan which will assist in clarifying the values, mission statement and
the area of excellence. If this method will not work then I will get online personal
development courses which will boost my career by learning from an expert.
Action plan-
Activities Starting date Ending date Duration(In days)
Identification of
weakness
01 July 2018 04 July 2018 4 days
Planning 05 July 2018 10 July 2018 6 days
Collection of data
for resolving the
11 July 2018 15 July 2018 5 days
17

weakness
Implementation 16 July 2018 22 July 2018 7 days
Testing 23 July 2018 25 July 2018 3 days
Monitoring 26 July 2018 30 July 2018 5 days
Gantt chart
Activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Identification of
weakness
Planning
Collection of data for
resolving the weakness
Implementation
Testing
Monitoring
Duration(in days)
July
18

Conclusion
By discussing the above scenario it has been considered that the personal development is
important because it helps in enhancing the skills and abilities in an effective and efficient
way. The targets and objectives and set for developing own potential.
19

Task 3- Written report
Introduction
In this reported study, strategies will be explained for motivating a team so that they can be
able to attain the agreed goal and objective. Also, the justification will be made for
supporting the attainment of the goal and also the recommendation for improvements.
20

3.1 Lead and motivate a team to achieve an agreed goal or objective.
Being a worker in Frankie & Benny's, my role is to lead the organization. For leading and
motivating the team of Frankie & Benny's for attaining an agreed goal, I will use the
following activities:
Team building-For the success of Frankie & Benny's, team building is one of the best
activities which helps in performing the task as per the benchmarking standard. For building
an effective and efficient team, it is important to organize a seminar and debate so that the
ideas and opinion of the employees will be met for achieving the objectives. Fun activities
can also be played among the employees which will enhance their skills.
Motivation-For boosting the morale of the employees, it is important to provide a reward,
benefit, and compensation on monthly basis. The Maslow hierarchy model can be considered
by the organization for analyzing the needs of employees. This will assist in knowing the
needs and demand of employees. The organization can also give small projects to the
employees for motivating them. Also, the organization will be able to check the skills of
employees whether they are able to complete the organizational task.
Communication-Communication is one of the important processes which helps in improving
the employee motivation in many ways. With an effective communication, the organization
can easily distribute the information to the employees (Root, 2018). Clear and honest
relationship helps in encouraging the strengthening of the relationship which will reach the
maximum productivity.
21

3.2 Justify managerial decisions made to support achievement of agreed goal or
objective and recommendations for improvements.
The manager of Frankie & Benny'sshould makes various decisions for the growth and
development of the firm. Strategic planning is important to run a business and also for the
implementation of the stated activities. Before developing a strategic plan, it is important to
undertake the reviews and response and target customers as this will assist in making an
organizational decision. The manager also needs to make an effective relationship with their
employees. By building an effective relationship, the manager can organize meeting and
session by offering and respect to the peers.
Recommendations
 The organization needs to focus on the demand and desire of customers
 They can also provide a training session to the employees for improving their skills
 For an effective outcome, the organization can also collect the review and response of
customers
 They can also take suggestions from the employees before making any of the strategic
planning
22

Conclusion
As per the above discussion, it is clear that employee can only attain the organizational goal
when the leader and manager will motivate them by providing rewards and benefits. The
justified managerial decision helps in the achievement of the goal.
23

Task 4- Written Reflective Report, and a Career Development Plan
Introduction
In this task, explanation will be made for managerial and personal skills for supporting the
career development. The development of the current skills and competencies, it is important
to develop a career development plan because it helps in analyzing the weakness and
strengths in an active way.
4.1 Explain how own managerial and personal skills will support career development.
The managerial and personal skills will assist in supporting the career development
effectively and efficiently. Basically, I am looking to enhance my skills so that I can improve
the working of the hospitality sector such as Hilton. Following are the activities which can be
used for managing personal skills effectively and efficiently:
Communication skill- For working within the hospitality industry, I have to develop my
communication skills effectively so that I can be able to communicate with a large number of
customers at a common time (Bolden, 2016). For the personal and professional development,
I need to speak in various languages so that I can be able to communicate with customers all
over the world. I have to improve my verbal communication as sometimes I got hesitate
while communicating with the customers and funders as well (Assiter, 2017)
Leadership- My leadership skills are effective in the context of the hospitality sector. In
order to gain the higher position in the organization, I need to improve my leadership skills as
per the current trends. With the improvement in leadership skills, I will be able to lead a team
as it will support my profession to advance the authority to proposed trends to employees and
another supervisor. For sustaining within the working environment, I need to have an
effective control over the operational and another department of the firm (Lejeune, 2017).
Time management-In the current time period, it can be seen that the time management play
a vital role in the career development. For meeting the demand and desire of the customers I
need to generate services before the deadline as this will be helpful in monitoring the issues
in an active way (Bolden, 2016).
24

4.2 Review career and personal development needs, current performance and future
need to produce a development plan.
It is important to review the career and personal development needs, current performance and
the future needs before the implementation of the development plan. Following are the career
needs, current performance, and future needs:
Career and personal
development needs
Current performance Future needs
To gain experience in
improving the skills
effectively and efficiently.
Currently, I am working on
improving my planning
skills. This is because Hilton
is planning to get expand
their market in a new country
(McGrath, 2014).
To develop the leadership
roles so that I can be able to
become a team leader within
the firm
To join training classes for
resolving my personal
weakness such as hesitation
while communicating with
clients
I am reading online article
and notes for improving my
skills
Provide safety and security to
the employees
Work under some experts for
knowing the tricks and ideas
for managing the work.
I am also going to the
meditation classes for
improving my thinking skills
To secure my position by
providing effective strategies
and ideas to the organization
(Lejeune, et. al., 2016).
Development plan
25

Activities Starting date Ending date Duration(in a
month)
Planning 01 Jan 2018 01 Feb 2018 1 month
To improve
interaction with
peers and client
02 Feb 2018 02 April 2018 2 month
Observing the
leading people
03 April 2018 03 June 2018 1 month
To improve
leadership skills
04 June 2018 04 August 2018 3 month
Taking review from
experts
05 August 2018 05 September 2018 1 month
Gantt chart
Activities January February March April May June July August September
Planning
To improve
interaction with peers
and client
Observing the leading
people
To improve
leadership skills
Taking review from
experts
Duration(in months)
26

Conclusion
The above discussion concludes that for attaining the personal and organizational
development, the employee needs to develop a career development plan. This is because it
helps in analyzing the skills and weakness as well. The current performance and future needs
can also be developed in the plan.
27

Conclusion
From the above task, it is been considered that for developing the skills and abilities of
manager the organization needs to plan and implement new strategies. The report has
discussed and compared the management style and leadership characteristics of managers in
two different hospitality sectors. Communication has been declared as the effective aspect for
the success of the organization because it helps in connecting with the employees and also the
customers all over the globe. The information has been provided regarding leading and
motivating staff effectively and efficiently. In addition to this, at the end of the report career
and development plan has been regarding the needs and development of future plans. This
assessment made clear that the manager needs to evaluate their skills and abilities for having
an effective and reliable outcome. The information provided regarding leading and
motivating staff members helps in justifying the decision for supporting the achievement of
goals and objective.
28

References
 Assiter, A., 2017. Transferable skills in higher education. Routledge.
 Benn, S., Edwards, M. and Williams, T., 2014. Organizational change for corporate
sustainability. Routledge.
 Bohari, A.M., Hin, C.W. and Fuad, N., 2017. The competitiveness of the halal food
industry in Malaysia: A SWOT-ICT analysis. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of
Society and Space, 9(1).
 Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management, and organizational development. In
Gower handbook of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158).
Routledge.
 Cardy, R. and Leonard, B., 2014. Performance Management: Concepts, Skills, and
Exercises: Concepts, Skills, and Exercises. Routledge.
 Griffiths, C. and Smith, M., 2016. Attuning: a communication process between people
with severe and profound intellectual disability and their interaction partners. Journal
of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 29(2), pp.124-138.
 Lejeune, C., Raemdonck, I. and Beausaert, S., 2016. An electronic Personal
Development Plan (PDP) as learning practice fostering: Self-Directed Learning and
competencies development and performance.
 Management Study Guide., 2018. Management Style - Meaning and Different Types
of Styles [Online] Management Study Guide. Available at:
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/management-style.htm [Accessed: 04 Jul.
18].
 Margerison, C.J., 2017. Managerial Consulting Skills: A Practical Guide: A Practical
Guide. Routledge.
 McGrath, M., 2014. Personal development plan. Leading the Way, 11(1), p.21.
 McQuail, D. and Windahl, S., 2015. Communication models for the study of mass
communications. Routledge.
29

 Nichols, P., Horner, B. and Fyfe, K., 2015. Understanding and improving
communication processes in an increasingly multicultural aged care
workforce. Journal of aging studies, 32, pp.23-31.
 OCAI online.,n.d. Organizational Culture Types [Online] OCAI online. Available at:
https://www.ocai-online.com/about-the-Organizational-Culture-Assessment-
Instrument-OCAI/Organizational-Culture-Types [Accessed: 04 Jul. 18].
 Root, G.N., 2018. Role of Communication in Employee Motivation [Online] Chron.
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-communication-employee-
motivation-11914.html [Accessed: 04 Jul. 18].
 West, L., 2016. Coach-athlete communication: Coaching style, leadership
characteristics, and psychological outcomes.
30