Analyzing Classical Management Theories and Leadership Styles of Marriott International

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Questions (a) and (b) in Task A MUST be completed.
Question (a) in Task B MUST be completed, question (b) can only be completed if you aim
for a Merit OR Distinction.
Task A
a) Analyse and evaluate the current classical management theories and leadership styles of
Marriot International. Link the leadership styles to a range of management theories and
provide evidence of Marriott International organisational structure and culture that
demonstrates its talent management strategies.
b) With regards to the different classical management theories and leadership styles highlighted in
A (a) above, Explain the roles of a leader and the roles of a manager in the case study
organisation (Provide a minimum of 3 roles for each).
NOTE: To discuss the above, you will have to first assess different classical management theories,
leadership styles and explain the role of the leader and manager before linking them to Marriott
International.
Answer a)
Management can be referred to as formulating strategies as well as managing efforts of
the employees. There are four classical management theories, namely, Scientific Theory,
Administrative Theory etc. The Scientific theory is a management theory that is mainly focussed
towards improving the overall economic efficiency as well as the productivity of labour within the
organisation. Marriott International can implement this theory in order to break down a job into
small and understandable tasks (Ansoff and et. al., 2018). This will make the work systematic
and produce desired results effectively. Fredrick Taylor, who proposed this theory stated that the
management system changes sometimes due to certain changes. This can lead to the interests of
workers converting to interests of the management. This means that the workers and
management should cooperate with each other. The scientific theory has four principles that are
suitable for all types of activities, so as to increase the overall productivity. The first principle
states that the workers should not get stuck with old techniques and instead, new techniques

should be developed. Apart from this, all activities should be carried out with cooperation and the
efficiency of each person should be kept in mind.
Another classical management is Administrative Theory, which was proposed by Henri
Fayol. The theory is mainly focussed on management and explains six different management
functions (Azad and et. al., 2017). Marriott International has a special executive board that is
based on their passion. As a result, they carry out team work in order to achieve success. The six
functions of management lead to thirteen principles of management. These include division of
labour, discipline, authority, unity of command and direction, remuneration, hierarchy , order and
so on.
On the other hand, leadership is the ability of an individual to lead and guide a team of
people. The leadership styles usually focus on the attitude as well as behaviour of a leader. This is
usually taken into account based on the relation that the leader shares with his team members. An
appropriate leadership style is the one that is in sync with the organisation's goals and mission. An
autocratic leader makes decisions himself, without taking inputs from subordinates (Bush, Bell
and Middlewood, 2019). Such leaders provide a clear expectation of what is expected from
the employees and how different tasks should be done. They make decisions without any
dependence on any one and are controlling as well as bossy in nature. Marriott International has
democratic leaders, who encourage participation among their team members to share thoughts
and ideas during decision making. Such leaders keep their team members informed about any
risks that may have an impact on their work. Democratic leaders act as a coach to their
subordinates. Encouraging employees to be a part of decision-making process makes them feel
valuable. Marriott International has a matrix organisational structure with democratic leaders who
support their team members. This means that there is a dual chain of command within the

workplace. Other organisational structures include centralised, decentralised, process and
divisional structure.
This demonstrates its talent management strategies as this type of organisational structure
improves the overall access to various resources. Also, since the authority is clearly defined within
the structure, there is a process culture due to which employees are focussed on their work and
the decision making is long-term with low risk (De Nobile, 2018). As a result, there is a better
management of talent. Manager implements Scientific Theory in order to provide direction to
their team members as to how can they complete difficult jobs. This has led to a healthy culture
within the workplace wherein both employees as well as leaders work collectively. As a result, the
company is able to manage and retain talent for a longer period of time.
Answer b)
Role of a Leader
 A leader provides direction to the team members by establishing the vision and
highlighting its importance to them (Gopee and Galloway, 2017). They also develop
strategies so that goals can be attained.
 Ms. Laura Kingly is responsible for aligning people within the organisation and engage
them in the implementation of strategies (Mamabolo, Kerrin and Kele, 2017). She
communicates direction among team members.
 She plays an important role in motivating and coaching the staff members at different
levels within the workplace. Ms. Kingly recognises the efforts of team members and
rewards hem.
Role of a Manager

 Managers play an important role in planning and setting goals. They are also responsible
for submitting budgets and allocating different resources in order to ensure smooth
functioning (Nisula and Pekkola, 2018).
 Being a line manager, Ms. Laura Kingly creates and organises structure so that plans can be
accomplished. She also assigns responsibilities to different team members. Developing
policies and procedures to monitor progress of employees is also one of her
responsibilities.
 Apart from this, Ms. Laura Kingly coordinates and controls different activities within the
organisation. She monitors results and facilitates problem-solving for her team members.