Impact of Leadership on Hotel Performance: Hilton Cyprus Case

This dissertation investigates the impact of effective leadership on organizational performance within the hotel industry, specifically focusing on Hilton Hotels Cyprus. The research explores the significance of leadership qualities in the hospitality sector, addressing challenges such as low employee retention and declining guest satisfaction. The study comprises five chapters, including a comprehensive literature review that examines leadership concepts, organizational performance frameworks, and relevant theories like situational leadership and the Balanced Scorecard model. The research employs an interpretivism philosophy, a deductive approach, and a descriptive design, utilizing both primary and secondary data collected through interviews with Hilton Cyprus managers. The findings, analyzed using thematic data analysis, reveal key themes related to leadership roles, employee retention, guest satisfaction, and communication strategies. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for improving leadership practices, enhancing teamwork, and fostering a positive work environment to improve hotel performance. The study also provides an action plan for guest satisfaction, teamwork, leadership perspective, and top-down communication.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Dissertation
Topic: Impact of effective leadership on organisational performance of hotel business: The case
of Hilton Hotels Cyprus
Student’s name:
Name of the university:
Author’s note:

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Acknowledgement
I am thankful to all the individuals who have been my constant support to complete the research
work based on ‘Impact of effective leadership on organisational performance of hotel business:
The case of Hilton Hotels Cyprus’. I would like to share my heartfelt gratitude to my professor
______ who has been my constant support. I want to share my thanks to my friends and families
who have been shown care all the times. I am very grateful to the managers of Hotel Hilton
Cyprus who provided their valuable responses during the interviews with patience to complete
the research. Completion of this research gives me much pleasure.
Thank You.

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Abstract
This research highlights the effectiveness of the business leaders in enhancing the organisational
performance of the hotel businesses. This particular research sheds light on Hotel Hilton Cyprus
as this hotel has been seen that perception of the guests are changing and the level of
performance of the front-line employees are declining in a gradual manner and naturally the
issue has attracted the attention of business leaders. This research has five separate chapters and
in the literature review section, concept of the two variables, leadership and organisational
performance have been discussed with theoretical framework. In addition, the leadership theories
like situational leadership and path goal theory have been explained. Furthermore, organisational
performance concepts like Hannan and Freeman model have been illuminated.
In order to collect the data, the researcher has followed interpretivism philosophy,
deductive approach and descriptive design. Secondary and primary, both types of data have been
used by the researcher. The data has been collected conducting the interviews of the four
managers of Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The researcher has used qualitative data to analyse the
findings using thematic data analysis. In chapter four, the researcher has segregated the findings
into five different themes to analyse the data of leadership and organisational performance of
Hilton hotel Cyprus. The leaders of Hotel Hilton Cyprus face the issue when the maximum staffs
leave the organisation, issue of lack of employees' retention rate, leadership roles and strategies;
therefore, leadership style is prescribed in the Hilton hotel. Guest satisfaction, team working and
leading by example from the leaders can improve the condition of Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The
leaders can also start training which can help to start communication.
Table of Contents

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Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................8
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................8
1.2 Background of the research...................................................................................................8
1.3 Research Rationale..............................................................................................................10
1.4 Research aim........................................................................................................................12
1.5 Research objectives.............................................................................................................13
1.6 Research questions...............................................................................................................13
1.7 Research hypothesis.............................................................................................................13
1.8 Research significance..........................................................................................................14
1.9 Structure of the dissertation.................................................................................................14
1.10 Summary............................................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................16
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................16
2.2 Concept of leadership in the hotel industry.........................................................................16
2.3 Theoretical framework of leadership...................................................................................17
2.4 Concept of organisational performance in the hospitality sector........................................19
2.5 Theoretical framework of organisational performance.......................................................20
Figure 2.1: BSC model of organisational performance.........................................................22
2.6 Factors driving hotel organisation’s performance...............................................................22
2.7 Impact of leadership on organisational performance in the hotel industry.........................23

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2.8 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................25
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework........................................................................................25
2.9 Literature gap.......................................................................................................................25
2.10 Summary............................................................................................................................26
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................27
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................27
3.2 Research onion.....................................................................................................................27
Figure 3.1: Research Onion...................................................................................................28
3.3 Research philosophy............................................................................................................28
3.4 Research approach...............................................................................................................29
3.5 Research design...................................................................................................................30
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................31
3.7 Sampling..............................................................................................................................33
3.8 Data analysis........................................................................................................................33
3.9 Reliability and validity........................................................................................................34
3.10 Ethical considerations........................................................................................................34
3.11 Timeline.............................................................................................................................35
3.12 Summary............................................................................................................................36
Chapter 4: Data findings and analysis...........................................................................................37
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................37

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4.2 Thematic Data analysis........................................................................................................37
Figure 4.1: Tourists arrival per year in Cyprus hotels...........................................................41
Figure 4.2: New development needed in the hotel sector focused on leaders.......................43
Figure 4.3: Tourist arrivals per month in Cyprus hotels........................................................46
4.3 Discussion and summary.....................................................................................................47
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................48
5.1 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................48
5.2 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................49
5.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................51
5.4 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................57
Reference List................................................................................................................................58
Appendix........................................................................................................................................68

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List of Figures
Figure 2.1: BSC model of organisational performance.................................................................20
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework................................................................................................23
Figure 3.1: Research Onion...........................................................................................................25
Figure 4.1: Tourists arrival per year in Cyprus hotels...................................................................39
Figure 4.2: New development needed in the hotel sector focused on leaders...............................41
Figure 4.3: Tourist arrivals per month in Cyprus hotels................................................................44

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List of Tables
Table 3.1: Interview sample..........................................................................................................31
Table 3.2: Gantt chart....................................................................................................................33
Table 4.1: Occupancy rate in Cyprus hotel (2012-2017)..............................................................36
Table 5.1: Action plan for guest satisfaction.................................................................................51
Table 5.2: Action plan for team work............................................................................................52
Table 4.3: Action plan for leaders’ perspective.............................................................................53
Table 4.4: Action Plan for top-down communication...................................................................55

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The significance of leadership qualities of the managers in the hotel industry cannot be
overlooked. In recent time, an economic downturn is making the hotel accommodation an
expensive one and the leaders have the responsibility to bring the customers to the door.
Managers’ good leadership qualities in the hospitality sector can bring good business. Regardless
of the size of the company, good leadership is necessary for the success of the business (Storey
2016). In this research, the researcher aims to analyse the impact of leadership on the hotel
business. In the hospitality sector, the managers play the role of the leaders to instruct and lead
the staffs to attract and retain the guests. The managers of the hotel need to have the required
skill so that they can effectively motivate the staffs. In this research, the Hilton Hotel of Cyprus
is chosen hospitality industry in which the researcher sets the focus to identify the leadership
impact on the organisation. There are five chapters in this research and each of the chapters is
allocated to collect, discuss and analyse the data. In the first chapter, the research rationale, aim,
objectives and research questions are given along with the structure of the overall research.
1.2 Background of the research
The hotel industry has to provide consistent quality to the service to the guests across all
units. The management of the hotel industry has to play the role of recruiting, selecting and
training of the staffs. In the hospitality sector, the retention rate of the employees is low and the
guest satisfaction is very important. The role of the managers in the hotel industry is to retain
maximum staffs by giving them motivating factors and provide the guests with ample
satisfactory factors. Lewis and Chambers (2017) further added that role of the managers in the

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hospitality industry is to instruct the staffs and be with the staffs in the training process so that
they can meet the organisational objectives. Leadership qualities in the hospitality industry for
the managers are very much similar to the qualities of the leaders in the successful business. The
hospitality industry leaders need mainly two types of skills, business skills and people skills.
According to Shoemaker et al. (2017), in the hotel industry, the business skills of the leaders are
associated with the accounting procedure, computer technologies and business sense. People
skills in the hotel industry are related to the fair play with the employees, the leaders must have
the clarity to solve the issues of the employees and to make the exact type of customer relations.
The leader in the hospitality industry is the one who must be respected by the staffs and the
perception of the employees must be fair.
The aim of any organisation is to survive and to sustain the existence of the organisation
by improving the performance. Hotel organisations continually increase the performance in order
to meet the objectives and needs of a highly competitive industry. According to Law et al.
(2016), the managers in the hotel lead the employees in such a way so that the staffs can achieve
the performance. In addition, the findings of the prior secondary articles explained the impact
and role of the leadership in the performance of the organisation or employees' satisfaction.
Leadership is very important for the organisation as the leaders have the responsibilities to gain
the high level of performance of the employees, to generate the marketing plan and to provide
the guest satisfaction (Scheule and Sneed 2015). Most of the authors stated that leadership has a
direct cause and effect relationship on the success of the organisations. In the hospitality sectors,
managers determine the change in tolerance, culture and employee motivations. Managers in the
hospitality sector reap the maximum of the organisation's resources (Arendt and Gregoire 2015).
The hotel industry is based on mainly human resources and the role of the managers is to

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manage, control and motivate the staffs in the workplace. This particular research explores the
impact of leadership that can play the success of the hotel business as this study showcases
leaders’ role in providing adequate training to handle the responsibilities efficiently in hotels.
Overview of Hilton Hotel in Cyprus
Hilton Hotels and Resorts provide resorts and hotel services to the guests and Hilton also
has the flagship brand. Conrad Hilton founded this Hilton Hotels and Resorts in the year 1919
and in the year 2017, the Hilton hotel has its services in more than 85 countries. In Cyprus, the
Hilton hotel is located in Nicosia's city centre and historic old city. Hilton Cyprus is the ideal
place to stay while visiting Cyprus. It is located in a Mediterranean climate and it has large
outdoor pool. Hilton Hotel in Cyprus has the business centre and it provides the conference and
event spaces for 2000 attendees (Hilton.com/en 2018). Hilton Hotel in Cyprus provides the
amenities like sunbathe by the large poolside, fitness centre and beauty salon and tennis court.
Hotel Hilton in Cyprus also provides the best opportunity to make choice for the guests to have
bars and restaurants. In the Hilton Hotel in Cyprus, more than 250 staffs working on a rotational
basis.
1.3 Research Rationale
What is the issue?
In the hospitality sector, the retention rate of the employees is very low as the staffs do
not find the hospitality employment suitable for their career. The leaders in the hotel industry are
the managers who generally try to retain maximum numbers of employees. Another issue in the
hotel industry is lack of guest satisfaction. The leaders take the responsibility to keep the
employees motivated and train the staffs so that the staffs must give their best within the working

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schedule to keep the guests happy (Jones et al. 2016). The leaders initiate the action in
communicating the plans and policies to the staffs of the hospitality sector. In the recent
economic downturn, the accommodation in hotels becomes expensive for the guests. The leaders
need to take the necessary steps so that the staffs give their best and the staffs can motivate the
employees.
Why is it an issue?
The managers in the hotel industry control and lead the staffs so that the staffs work
under the guidance of the leaders. The leaders make the staffs confidence so that the staffs can
provide the satisfaction to the guests. The staffs in the hotel industry must know their job role
and the leaders give guidelines to the staffs to follow. In Hotel Hilton Cyprus, more than 250
staffs work and the staffs lack the morale to work under the supervision of managers. The
managers fail to build the work environment where the staffs like to work in peace. Lack of
employees' motivation is the issue as the leaders fail to create a workplace environment and fail
to give extrinsic motivations (Kandampully et al. 2015). Top-down communication from the
leaders is not vivid in Hilton Hotel Cyprus; therefore, the staffs are facing the issue of co-
ordination as synchronisation is not gained through the effective and proper motive of the
leadership.
Why is it an issue now?
In Cyprus, in the year 2017, hotel accommodation industry made Euro 3.23 million
revenue (Altinay and Bowen 2018). However, the customers' reviews of Hilton Hotel Cyprus in
third-party online booking apps and websites are degrading. Maximum customers are
disappointed due to the poor behaviour of the staffs and the quality of the ambience and food.

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The poor reviews have influenced the minds of the guests who are willing to visit Cyprus. The
percentage of booking in Hotel Hilton Cyprus has been degraded due to the poor reviews of the
customers. It is a big challenge for hotel management to repair the reputation management as it
requires user-centric mentality, new staffs and logistical changes (Jauhari and Bharwani 2017).
The leadership style of the managers fails to motivate the employees and the staffs are leaving
the employment. As a result, the staffs' behaviour towards the guests has been changed. The
guests want an immediate response and the services as nobody wants anxiety and ambiguity
while they travelling. In contemporary times, it has been seen that the level of performance of the
front-line employees are declining in a gradual manner and naturally the issue has attracted the
attention of business leaders.
What does the research shed light on?
This particular research sheds light on the issues faced by the staffs and the guests in
Hotel Hilton Cyprus due to the negligence of the managers. The impact of leadership on the
hotel services and on the organisational productivity is the main focus of the research. Various
aspects of leadership in the hotel are to be the main focus of the research. The main purpose of
the research is to find out how effective is the role of leaders to increase the overall performance
of the hotel organisations.
1.4 Research aim
This research work aims to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of the business leaders
in enhancing the organisational performance of the hotel businesses. This particular research
aims to highlight the relevant aspects of organisational performance through the leadership. This

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research narrowly focuses on Hotel Hilton Cyprus to find out the leadership impact on the
organisation.
1.5 Research objectives
 To evaluate the effectiveness of leadership in enhancing the overall organisational
performance in the hotel business
 To recognise how good leadership in hotel business will help the organisation to sustain
the reputation or to build a positive reputation in the market of operation
 To explore the role of leaders in hospitality businesses of Hotel Hilton Cyprus
 To recommend some possible solutions to improve the leadership qualities in Hotel
Hilton Cyprus
1.6 Research questions
1. What is the effectiveness of leadership in enhancing the overall organisational
performance in the hotel business?
2. How can business leaders motivate the employees to enhance their level of performance?
3. What is the role of leaders in hospitality businesses of Hotel Hilton Cyprus?
4. What could be some possible recommend some possible solutions to improve the
leadership qualities in Hotel Hilton Cyprus?
1.7 Research hypothesis
H0: Business leaders do not help to increase the organisational performance in the hospitality
business
H1: Business leaders effectively increase the organisational performance in the hospitality
business

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1.8 Research significance
This research explains the leadership aspects of the hotel industry. First of all, this
research will be significant for the leaders and managers in the hotel industry as the leaders and
managers will get a clear aspect of leadership on the performance of the hotel. In addition, this
research will be further significant for the future researchers who can get the idea about
hospitality industry leadership. The researcher has collected the data from various secondary
sources. Additionally, the leaders of Hilton Hotel Cyprus can get the idea about what are the
challenges they are facing and how they can fight back with the challenges.
1.9 Structure of the dissertation
Chapter one: Introduction
In this chapter, research rationale, aim, objectives of the research and research questions are
given.
Chapter two: Literature Review
In this chapter, secondary data sources and scholarly papers have been discussed to present the
theoretical framework of the research.
Chapter three: Research Methodology
In this chapter, the data collection process and data analysis technique have been discussed.
Chapter four: Data collection and Data analysis
In chapter four, the collected data has been analysed with analysis technique and adequate graph
and table have been presented.

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Chapter five: Conclusions and Recommendations
In the final chapter, the conclusion of the research has been given along with objectives have
been linked with findings. Finally, a set of recommendations has been given.
1.10 Summary
In the introduction chapter, the background of the research topic is given which is based
on leadership impact on the organisational performance. This research is tried to set the missing
link on the leadership with impact on the performance of the organisation. The focus of the
research is on Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The aim, objectives and research questions have been set. In
the following chapter, secondary sources of the scholarly articles have been explained.

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Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter of literature review, scholarly papers have been reviewed based on the
secondary sources. Secondary sources include the current knowledge comprising the substantive
findings. The researcher has included the theoretical contribution of the scholarly authors
regarding the leadership in the hospitality industry and its impact on the organisational
performance. Leadership and organisational performance are described in the human resource
context. Literature reviews are mainly secondary data sources and literature review does not
report any original or experimental work. In this chapter, the researcher discusses two variables
of the research with concept and theories and underpins the relationship between two variables.
In the final section of this chapter, the gap in literature findings is given.
2.2 Concept of leadership in the hotel industry
According to Arendt and Gregoire (2015), leadership can be defined as influence
relationship between the followers and leaders which intend to reflect and real changes their
mutual purpose. The role of leaders in the hospitality industry is to meet and exceed the
expectation of the guests. The numbers of hotels in tourism or urban areas are increasing and the
guests have many options to choose from them. The managers emphasise the value of the
customer service to gain the guest satisfaction, excellent word-of-mouth publicity and the repeat
business (Boyne 2017). In addition, leaders focus on the guest services so that the guests can
admire about the hotels on social media and reviews sites (third-party apps). Effective managers
in the hotel focus on achieving the consistent results with the goal to establish the team. The
leaders in the hotel need to look far away from the existing process and the leaders need to

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understand the dynamic relationship of the business structure. As stated by Worsfold (2016),
leaders need to make use of the talent of the employees in a best possible way by giving them the
right set of the tasks. The leaders need to be successful in overseeing and establishing the team to
make the systematic attempt to smooth the work of the hotel and to provide guest satisfaction.
The leaders can ask the HR department to hire the right staffs for the hotel and the leaders
can assess the staffs for their skills. The leaders analyse the employees' weaknesses and strengths
and look for ways to improve the team performance. The hospitality industry deals with both
services and human resources. Human resources are the staffs of the hotel and the services are
associated with room services, technologies, food quality and linen quality of the rooms
(Brownell 2017). The managers of the hotel can be autocratic or the managers can also be
democratic; however, democratic leaders can take the decision after discussing with staffs and
different departments of the hospitality sector. The leaders in the hotel industry act professionally
with the guests and with the staffs. The leaders can provide leeway so that the staffs can take
independent decisions. In addition, the managers in the hotel industry think about the
motivational policies and rewards as rewards help the staffs to give the best (Huang et al. 2016).
In order to increase the employee morale and retention, the leaders must make the workplace
atmosphere in a way so that the staffs must feel that they are valued.
2.3 Theoretical framework of leadership
Types of leadership
Autocratic leadership is to take control of all the business decisions made inside the
organisation without making any consultation with others. According to Hargreaves et al.
(2014), autocratic leaders hold high-level of power and they impose responsibilities on the

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employees. In case of close-level supervision, the autocratic leadership is helpful as the
employees have to listen to the leaders only. However, creative employees feel unmotivated
under the autocratic leaders as their morale may go down.
Democratic leadership process is associated with the decision-making with the fellow
team members. Democratic leaders carry the responsibility of observing the decision which is to
achieve desired outcomes (Tung 2014).
Laissez-faire leadership is about not exercising the control of the employees directly and
the laissez-faire leaders do not provide continuous feedback to the leaders. The employees must
be highly-experienced in laissez-faire leadership and the leaders leave the tasks on supervision of
the teams (Moore 2016).
Situational leadership
Dr Paul Hersey developed the situational leadership theory and this theory is flexible yet
powerful. Situational leadership is about understanding the relationship between the level of
readiness of the employees and the effective style of leadership for the specific task. Situational
leadership demonstrates the critical leadership competencies which are adapt, diagnose,
communicate and advance (McCleskey 2014). The fundamental principle of this theory is that no
single type of leadership is best; however, effective leadership must be task-relevant and
successful leaders always adapt to their leadership styles.
Path-goal theory
The leaders always select behaviours which are suited for the employees in a specific
environment so that the leaders can guide the team members through the path to achieve the

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goals. Path-goal theory determines the employee and characteristics of the environment and the
leaders follow a specific type of leadership. The leaders always focus on the motivational factors
which can help the employees to get success in the workplace to gain the organisational
objectives (Northouse 2018). Employees describe the leaders based on the expectations,
perception of ability and control desire. The leaders can design the task and support the team
members. In addition, the leaders can provide goals to formal authority system and the leaders
can segregate the workgroup based on the needs of the organisation. According to Chemers
(2014), in order to make the team supportive, the leaders show the enthusiasm, comradeship and
devotion towards team members.
2.4 Concept of organisational performance in the hospitality sector
Organisational performance is associated with analysing the performance of the company
as per the set objectives and goals. As defined by Coccia (2016), organisational performance
contains the result compared with output intended for the stipulated time frame. The authors
further described that organisational performance focuses on the three desired outcomes,
shareholder value, market performance and financial performance of the organisation.
Shareholder value is associated with while the organisation makes the shareholder richer and this
is the ultimate measure of the success of the company (Lee 2017). In addition, market
performance is related to the company achieves the market share through the performance.
Organisational performance helps to achieve the firm to get the lost market share and
organisational performance assists to upgrade the new products or services in the pipeline.
Product or service development boosts the sales or customer satisfaction. Moreover, financial
performance is related to with the company’s financial health and the finance team needs to
understand the Return on Investment, assets and value added. In hospitality industry, financial

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performance measures the operation of the company in monetary terms. Hospitality sector can
measure the financial performance just by gauging the value added (Alfalla-Luque et al. 2015).
Performance is a key focus of any hospitality organisation as performance helps the firms
to make progress and grow. Organisational performance can improve the shared values of the
company and value system of the hospitality organisations is developed to deal with the
development (Carlos Pinho et al. 2015). The main area of the organisational performance is to
show the growth of the firm and in the hospitality industry, it is very much associated with the
human resources. Human resources are the integral and inherent practice in the hospitality
industry and the relationship between the hosts and the guests are seen as being more fragile to
show the interaction in the hotel sector (Su et al. 2015).
2.5 Theoretical framework of organisational performance
Hannan and Freeman’s Theory of organisational performance
Organisational effectiveness means congruence between organisational objectives and
observed outcomes. Organisational effectiveness can be defined in different ways and it is
associated with efficiency, productivity, turnover of the employees, employee absenteeism, goal
consensus, stability, communication and conflict of the employees (Hannan and Freeman 1993).
Hannan and Freeman stated that the effectiveness of the organisation is degree to which
organisation can realise the goals. The model of effectiveness has multiple and frequently
changing in the goals. The goals of the organisation are few in number to be manageable and it is
defined to be understood. The authors described organisational effectiveness in three different
perspectives; goals involves in specificity, multiplicity of organisational objectives and temporal
dimension. According to Terziovski and Samson (2017), effective organisation tries to deal with

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reaching the goals to evolve with the ecology. The organisation spends money for the most and
best solution; however, if the organisation does not have the money; it will have the less
expensive mode to achieve the results.
BSC model of organisational performance
Kaplan and Norton developed the BSC model by linking the business unit strategy to the
performance of the organisation. BSC framework has four measurement criteria including four
non-financial and financial measures. Four measurements are customer satisfaction, financial
results, internal business process and learning and growth. This particular business performance
matrix permits the managers and leaders to understand the organisations can satisfy the
customers with services and products. The financial matrix includes the financial viability of the
shareholders and customers. Internal business process is associated with satisfying the
stakeholders and customers' business process (Kaplan and Norton 2001). In addition, learning
and growth discuss the vision of sustainability to change and develop. Learning and growth are
associated with the employee training, corporate culture attitude for both self-improvement and
individual. Customer satisfaction is associated with the achieving the vision of the customers
through service delivery. As stated by Rettab et al. (2017), the scorecard of the BSC model
demonstrates the successful adaptation of the mission and strategy of the organisation.

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Figure 2.1: BSC model of organisational performance
(Source: Kaplan and Norton 2001)
2.6 Factors driving hotel organisation’s performance
Performance of the hotels depends on four factors majorly and all these factors depend on
the human resources. Leaders drive the performance of the hotel and hotels fall into the category
of the service industry.
 Competitive pressure is generated by the industry and competitive pressure increases the
performance of the hotel in two ways; first, performance can be compared across the
industry and existence of organisation is depended on generating the competition through
the use of comparative information. Competitive pressures come from others hotels in the
same area when the hotel is under-performing compared to others (Hailey et al. 2015).
Competitive pressures can be normalised by good leadership and staffs’ initiative to
provide the best services.
 Accountability mechanism allows the guests to put pressure on the hospitality sector
performance. The guests give the reviews on the third party apps, social media and on the
website of the hotels. Poor reviews can lead to reducing the numbers of booking.
Therefore, the management needs to improve the services and quality of the rooms, staffs'
behaviour and food of the hospitality. The leaders' effective strategies can improve the
performance of the hotel.
 Externally imposed targets and performance benchmarks lead the hotel to improve the
performance of the staffs and leaders. Benchmarks are set by the public agency and third-
party apps from where the guests book the hotels (Waggoner et al. 2016). The third-party

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websites and mobile apps set various categories in which the guests can review and rate
the hotels.
 Management pressure to improve the performance of the staffs generates the best quality
performance of the staffs. The staffs do the responsibilities like take telephone calls, front
desks, concierge and reservation of the hotels and making guest relations.
2.7 Impact of leadership on organisational performance in the hotel industry
Leaders are invaluable when it comes to formulating and communicating new
strategic directions, as well as motivating employees and increase their dedication to
organisational goals or objective. Leadership acts as the catalyst that makes all other
elements work together; without leadership, all other business resources lie dormant. Some
of the ways in which leadership can benefit an organisation include the setting of a clear
vision and mission and communicating it effectively (Williams 2017). It is needed to make
employees clearly understand their individual roles and responsibilities towards achieving
organisational objectives. The leaders have effective planning and a structured approach to
achieve organisational goals. The leaders inspire and motivate team members to perform to
their full potential and bring out the best in every team member. On the other side, as stated
by Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016), good leadership can also help a team remain focused
during a time of crisis and boost the morale of the team. Leaders include vision, strategy,
motivating people, building a culture, ensuring compliance & ensuring the working of a
hotel. Leader formulates a vision and strategizes the same and then motivates people using
various leadership styles to achieve the same in a hospitality organisation. Managers in the
hotel have the authority and with that come to the responsibility which in turn leads to the
blame if things go wrong. As stated by Anderson and Sun (2017), though a leader is not

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responsible to execute, they are responsible for the safety of his people. Managers in the
hotel have to ensure that all related risks are mitigated via appropriate strategy.
When sports teams don’t perform the coach is usually fired and when sports teams do
well, the coach is recognised, however, the leaders certainly don't perform in the arena. The
managers in hospitality sector instruct the staffs to perform the best so that the hospitality
organisation brings greater revenue. On the contrary, as opined by Romager et al. (2017), in the
service industry, the organisations need to improve the expertise skills and notions as these are
associated with the service quality. The leaders in the hotel industry should focus on the
recruitment and selection, communication and training of the staffs. Staffs' induction and training
can bring the guest satisfaction. Better working system, environment, work culture, developed
customer service and team working can make the hotel sector effective to have organisational
performance. In addition, as explained by Beal (2016), leaders in the hotel can start the butler
service as the butlers look after the guests within the hotel rooms and the butlers provide
personalised services for the guests. In addition, the staffs can provide concierge services in the
hotel as the concierge helps the guests by providing various tasks, including booking hotels,
cabs, arranging spa and making restaurant reservation (Wang et al. 2016). Therefore, the
managers in the hotel instruct the staffs to perform the best to smooth run the organisational
resources for grabbing the competitive advantage. Moreover, the leaders look on sides, financial
performance and environmental protection.

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2.8 Conceptual framework
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework
(Source: Self-developed)
2.9 Literature gap
Most of the scholars proposed theoretical ideas and concepts of organisational leadership
and enhanced performances of the human resources. The authors also discussed the leadership
styles and innovations which are needed in the hotel industry. Moreover, leadership is a standout
amongst the most critical viewpoints in an organisation trying to change through organisational
leadership and learning, with the motivation behind empowering leadership development.
Leaders assume an essential part in contributing information and empowering a learning domain
in the association. The interconnections between leadership styles, organisational advancement
and organisational execution can be created. Additionally, scholarly researchers have discovered
that distinctive leadership styles may prompt diverse levels of organisational performance.

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However, the scholarly papers failed to propose which leadership style is appropriate in the hotel
sector and to carry out the day-to-day responsibilities.
2.10 Summary
This chapter deals with the scholarly articles and the researcher reviewed the findings of
the scholarly papers and theoretical frameworks. The secondary research papers talked about the
leadership styles to deal with the hospitality chores and works. Organisational performance is
associated with the leadership styles. Secondary data will help the researcher to meet the
research objectives. In the following chapter, the data collection process and data analysis
technique are discussed.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, a systematic plan for data collection and data analysis is provided.
Research methods are of two types; qualitative and quantitative. Choice of research methodology
is upon research objectives. This research is based on a business topic and the researcher has
selected the data collection and analysis process which could provide the help to collect the data.
In this research, the researcher has set the hypothesis and two variables of the research are the
leadership (independent variable) and organisational performance (dependent variable). Research
methodology sets the specific technique to collect the data for the research to analyse the
information of the topic.
3.2 Research onion
In this particular research, the researcher has followed the research onion as it provides
the progression through which the data collection process can be designed. The usefulness of
research methodology lies in its adaptability in a variety of contexts. Research onion is the
layered approach to which the researchers can collect the data and analyse it. Three major layers
of the research onion are the axiology, ontology and epistemology. As stated by Saunders et al.
(2009), each layer of the research onion states the research process and approach.

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Figure 3.1: Research Onion
(Source: Saunders et al. 2009)
3.3 Research philosophy
According to Hughes and Sharrock (2016), research philosophy explains the nature and
source of the knowledge. The author further stated that research philosophy helps to collect and
analyse the data based on phenomena. Research philosophy assists the researchers to formulate
the assumptions and beliefs of the research. Research philosophy lays the outer layer of the
research onion. There are mainly four types of research philosophy:
 Pragmatism
 Realism
 Interpretivism
 Positivism
Pragmatism Realism Interpretivism Positivism
The researcher can
collect the data using
The researcher needs
to choose the method
The researcher must
set the sample small
This data collection
process is highly

29DISSERTATION
a mixed method (both
qualitative and
quantitative)
fit for the topic and investigation
needs to be qualitative
structured and
samples need to be
large
Justification for selecting Interpretivism philosophy
Interpretivism develops the research in subjective perspective and interpretivism mostly
provides stress that human beings are different from physical phenomena. Leadership is based on
the leaders and interpretivism deals with human beings who are equal to the physical
phenomena. The leaders can belong to different cultural background and the leaders in the
workplace have to control the employees who might come from the different background also.
Leaders and employees both can bring the different social realities. As opined by Taylor et al.
(2015), the aim of the interpretivism is to establish a richer understanding and new context in
business and social research. Interpretivism also helps the researchers to look at the organisations
from the understandings of the different groups of people so that organisational performance can
be identified.
3.4 Research approach
Palinkas et al. (2015) stated that the research approach can be defined as the procedure
which consists of the stages of assumptions to understand the method of data collection,
interpretation and analysis. Research approach discusses the research methodology in two
different perspectives; approach of collecting data and approach of analysis of the data with
reasoning. Research approach is of two types;
 Inductive research approach

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 Deductive research approach
Inductive research approach goes from specific to general in data analysis and the
researchers try to explore the phenomenon (Woiceshyn and Daellenbach 2018). On the other
side, deductive research deals with collecting the data from general to specific and the data
collection process evaluates the proposition of the hypothesis.
Justification for selecting Deductive approach
The researcher has set a hypothesis for this research and confirming or rejecting of the
hypothesis can be done through deductive approach. At first, the researcher has discussed the
theories of both leadership and organisational performance. Deductive research approach
provides the verification of the research theory (Bryman 2016).The researcher has observed the
hypothesis of the study through theories and collected data. In the final stage of the deductive
approach; the researcher confirmed or rejected the hypothesis.
3.5 Research design
According to Levine et al. (2018), research design is the systematic method of collecting
the data from the respondents to use the data for analysis. Research design is mainly the
scientific study to do the overall synchronisation of the two variables. There are mainly three
types of research designs:
 Exploratory research design
 Explanatory research design
 Descriptive research design
Exploratory design helps the researcher to review the background of the research and the
explanatory design allows the researcher to identify the relation between the numerous variables

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that can be used for conducting the research work (Lewis 2015). Finally, descriptive design helps
the researcher to get to know the contemporary issues related to the topic of the research.
Justification for selecting descriptive design
In this research, the researcher has collected the data from the respondents using a small
sample. The descriptive design is used to explain the features of the population being studied and
descriptive research design tries to find out the data which can solve the research problem.
Descriptive research design can collect the data in three possible ways; observational, survey and
case study (Fusch and Ness 2015). Descriptive research design has helped the researcher to
explain the people who took part in this research. The researcher followed the observational
design where the researcher observed the sample so that the researcher could collect the
observational data and drew a conclusion from this.
3.6 Data collection process
In research methodology, data collection process is the most important part and data
needs to be collected measuring the information through targeted variables. There are two types
of data; primary data and secondary data. According to Edson et al. (2016), primary data are raw
data which are collected directly from respondents and these are first hand-raw data. On the other
side, secondary data are collected from the secondary sources like printed and online data
sources. The researcher has collected mixed data collection procedure in order to conduct this
research which means the researcher has collected both primary and secondary data.
Primary data for this research has been collected through a semi-structured interview of
the respondents. The researcher has used the questionnaire research instrument to collect the data
from the respondents. The researcher has prepared 10 open-ended questions to collect the data

32DISSERTATION
for the interviews. The researcher has conducted telephonic and Skype interviews of the
respondents to collect the observational data. The researcher has used the intranet software of
Hilton Hotel Cyprus in order to get information about the respondents and the permission of the
respondents has been taken to conduct the interview. According to Cleary et al. (2014), primary
data are reliable as the data collection procedure can be checked and analysed. The researcher
gets the raw and first-hand experience and information along with the information is up-to-date.
The researcher can ask the questions in the interview based on the research objectives. On the
other side, primary data is taken from the population and information can be biased sometimes.
Semi-structured questions will open up the ideas diverting from the set of open-ended questions.
The researcher has followed the themes like organisational performance and leadership to
discuss with the interviewees. Most importantly, interviews provide the advantage of correcting
the speech and developing the relationship with the respondents (Marshall et al. 2017). Interview
process helped to select the suitable candidates for this research and the researcher has got the
sufficient information. The survey has not been worked for this research as survey provides
inflexible design to collect the data from the very beginning. Survey questions are MCQ type and
general questions have not been appropriate for this research.
The researcher has also collected data from the secondary data sources like various
books, journals, articles, online sources and government reports. The researcher has collected
data based on Cyprus travellers' visits to different hotels and resorts through online materials.
3.7 Sampling
The researcher has chosen the managers of Hotel Hilton Cyprus as a sample population.
In Hotel Hilton Cyprus, there are mainly six types of managers exist. The researcher has
intended to collect the data from the managers using the interviews. The researcher has collected

33DISSERTATION
the data from four different types of managers from Hotel Hilton Cyprus. The researcher has
taken permission from the managers before conducting the interviews, based on telephone and
Skype. The researcher has selected four managers using non-probability sampling. Non-
probability sampling technique is used where the researcher does not include all the individuals
in the population equal chances of being chosen (Broad 2014). The researcher has selected four
managers, hotel manager, front office manager, restaurant and beverage manager and
housekeeping manager for conducting the interview. The interview data has been recorded for
the research purpose.
Sample population Sample size Sample technique Sample frame
Hotel managers 4 Non-probability
sampling
Semi-structured
interview (Through
telephone and Skype)
Table 3.1: Interview sample
(Source: Self-developed)
3.8 Data analysis
Quantitative data are mainly numerical data and this research data comes from the survey
mainly. Quantitative data helps mainly in statistical analysis (Sutton and Austin 2015).
Quantitative data includes the frequencies and calculation of the variables. In this research, the
researcher has used qualitative data analysis technique. Interviews data are mainly qualitative
data as these are based on observations of the respondents. Qualitative data are the development
of ideas which assist us to understand business or social phenomena giving emphasis on views,
meanings and experiences (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). The researcher has used the thematic data

34DISSERTATION
analysis technique as this analysis is qualitative analysis method. The thematic analysis puts
stress on the examining, pinpointing and recording the themes within the data (Smith 2015). The
researcher has divided the qualitative data findings into five themes and these themes have been
based on the specific research questions. Thematic analysis has been conducted based on the
secondary data findings and the interview responses. The researcher has used NVivo software for
qualitative data analysis as it helps to find the themes to maximise the ideas and insights.
3.9 Reliability and validity
Qualitative research is mainly based on the interpretive, subjective and contextual data;
therefore, the findings of the research like less likely to be questioned. The findings of the
research need to be consistent, believable and applicable. In this qualitative research area,
reliability means the consistency and the researcher has tried to produce the same results in
repeat mode. The researcher has validated the findings of the research from all the four
managers' perspective so that the conclusions must bring the correctness. Validity means the
accuracy of the findings (Marshall et al. 2017). Face validity is the logical validity where the
researcher can apply the subjective assessment of the measure.
3.10 Ethical considerations
This particular research is based on the human participants and the researcher has
conducted interviews through telephonic and Skype. Before conducting the research, the
researcher has sent the consent paper to the respondents and the interview respondents knew why
the interview has been taken. The interviewees have signed the consent paper before faced the
interview questions. The researcher has followed the Data Protection Act 1998 declaring all the
data has been stored in private and the names of the respondents have not been made public. The
researcher ensured that confidentiality would be maintained and any kind of coercion would not

35DISSERTATION
be performed. The researcher has cited all the references materials collected from the internet
and any kind of information and facts have been treated as a legally punishable offence. In
addition, the researcher has taken permission from the university also before conducting the
research on human participants. The researcher also ensured that all the data would be destroyed
once the research process is done.
3.11 Timeline
Main activities Week 1 Week 3 Week 5 Week 7 Week 8 Week 10 Week 12
Topic selection ✓
Components of
literature review
✓
Research
methodology
✓
Primary data
collection
(Interview)
✓
Analysis and
interpretation
✓
Findings ✓
Conclusion and
Recommendation
✓
submission of
project
✓

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Table 3.2: Gantt chart
(Source: Self-developed)
3.12 Summary
The researcher has collected both primary and secondary data to conduct the research.
Therefore, a vast amount of data has been collected to segregate the data into themes. The correct
form of data collection has led the researcher to analyse the data in an effective way. In the
following the chapter, the collected data is analysed based on the themes. Data analysis is the
most important part of the research as it leads the researcher towards conclusion and
recommendation.

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Chapter 4: Data findings and analysis
4.1 Introduction
In this particular chapter, collected data through interview and the secondary sources are
analysed using the thematic data analysis. The researcher has collected qualitative data from the
semi-structured interview, in this chapter; thematic analysis is done by segregating the collected
data into five themes. The researcher has divided the themes based on the research questions.
The researcher has started the analysis of the data after generation and experimentation of the
data from the interview and the secondary sources. The data needs to be interpreted during the
analysis. Under each of the theme, the researcher has given a table or graph to support the
analysis. NVivo software supports the qualitative data analysis and the researcher coded the
themes using this particular software. This software has helped the researcher to find the
keywords and the researcher found the transcript of the interviews.
4.2 Thematic Data analysis
Analysing qualitative data collected from the interviews is an issue; however, it is
required the innovation process. The researcher has divided the qualitative data into five different
themes.
Theme 1
The effectiveness of leadership in the hotel sector to mitigate the issues
The hotel industry is growing fast in Cyprus and it is expected to grow at high speed
assuming that almost 1 in 12 people would be employed in the hospitality sector in Cyprus by
the end of 2022 (Boukas and Ziakas 2018). In Cyprus, the hotel industry is flourishing as this

38DISSERTATION
place is known for international tourism. Numbers of travellers reached 3.5 million in 2016 and
tourism is one of the largest economic values for Cyprus. Many of the international hotel chains
have their hotel and resort in Cyprus. The managers in a hotel in Cyprus have to make a plan so
that the hotel can compete with other hotels. The travellers mainly make their bookings through
third-party apps using the online platform. Key tourist areas of Cyprus are mainly five and those
are Paphos, Famagusta, Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca (Visitcyprus.biz 2018). Hilton Hotel is
located in Nicosia area and Hotel manager of Hotel Hilton stated during the interview that
Nicosia is the commercial and business hub of Cyprus with the world-famous archaeological
museum. The occupancy rate of the hotels in Cyprus has been increasing. Staffs’ behaviour,
technology and leadership have been influencing the hotel industry and visit of numbers of
guests is improving.
Year Occupancy rate
2012 64.5%
2013 63%
2014 61.6%
2015 65.3%
2016 71.3%
Table 4.1: Occupancy rate in Cyprus hotel (2012-2017)
(Source: Statista.com 2018)
Apart from the bright side of the tourism in Cyprus, the hotel manager of Hilton
explained that the hotel industry has been facing the issue of continuous changing demands of
guests. In a previous time, the guests come to the hotels through travel agencies or they

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themselves came to the hotels. In recent time, the guests can observe the reviews of the hotels
before booking through third-party websites or mobile app. Technology has made the guests
impatient and understanding of the guests’ demand is changing. Housekeeping manager of
Hilton hotel also described that the perception of a luxury hotel is changing and the well-
designed hotel is not enough as the guests want personalised services. The role of the leaders is
to find out the guests' perception of the hotel and the leaders need to instruct the staffs and help
the staffs to achieve the objective. Moreover, the hotel industry has been facing the competition
from the alternatives accommodation like Airbnb. Airbnb is one of the biggest threats for the
luxury hotels and the valuation of Airbnb reached $10 billion which is much bigger than the
large hotel chains in the world. Airbnb provides alternative accommodation and offbeat living
and the guests are attracted by this (Styles et al. 2017). Leaders are changing their behaviour to
instruct the staffs and the leaders are making the routine of the staffs so that they can provide
guest satisfaction. The leaders in the hotel industry have taken the alternative pattern of
interaction with the staffs and subordinates so that the staffs can provide their hundred per cent in
their working period having extra fringe benefits. The managers are choosing alternative media
to advertise about hotels adding the extra benefits which can be avail by the guests while staying.
‘Being-there' or ‘hands-on' is prevalent leadership style which is effective for the staffs' job
satisfaction as the staffs think that leaders' stand beside them (Fairhurstand Connaughton, 2014).
On the other side, literature sources described that in the hospitality industry autocratic
leadership is as common as the unpredictable demand of the guests and staffs’ behaviour is the
main reason.
Theme 2
Leadership leads to the positive reputation of the hotel

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Cyprus economy relies on the service industry and on the tourism industry. WTTC
published a report, in which it is mentioned that the tourism sector provided $6.1 billion in GDP
(almost 6% of total GDP) in Cyprus economy (Visitcyprus.biz 2018). However, total
contribution in the travel and tourism sector in Cyprus economy was almost 19% in the year
2016, as stated by the front office manager of Hilton, Cyprus. The scenario of tourism was not
the same in the last five years as the hotels were depended on leisure and the business guests
throughout the year. However, the hotel business leaders started the campaign named ‘Sun and
Sea' and it started the seasonality in Cyprus tourism (Cyprusprofile.com 2018). The peak season
of tourists' arrival in hotels in Cyprus is between May and October. Cyprus is mainly known for
the summer destination. The hospitality business managers and the leaders divided the
accommodations into a few categories namely, hotels, hotel apartments, traditional building,
tourist village, resorts, guest houses and camping sites to attract the guests. As stated by
Antonakis and Day (2017), ineffective and improper marketing was part of the leadership in
Cyprus hotel business in past, however; the leaders changed the marketing by re-evaluating the
marketing.

41DISSERTATION
Figure 4.1: Tourists arrival per year in Cyprus hotels
(Source: Cyprusprofile.com 2018)
Hotel manager of Hilton hotel averred that Hilton brought the changes in the innovation
of the hotel services as Hilton applied the concept of customised services for the guests. The
leaders always try to improve the value of the hotel business apart from the quantity. The leaders
of hotel business have the vision also as not everyone can understand the big picture. This
findings can be linked with literature review section, Hargreaves et al. (2014) stated in the article
that leaders need to trust the staffs in the hotel business to execute the vision to achieve the
target. In addition, Hilton hotel of Cyprus brought the reputation from the brand image of Hilton
which they carry with them. In addition, in Nicosia, the hotel manager of Hilton provides values
to the staffs to follow, such as guest satisfaction, use of ICT technologies, leisure booking and
inspiration. The leaders of the Hilton hotel bring the inspiration to the mind of the employees.
However, in particular scenario, the organisational performance cannot be brought in the right

42DISSERTATION
order as sales and online presence of hotel has created an issue for Hilton. The leaders in hotels
need to communicate with the staffs as good leaders are the good communicators along with
good listeners (Tung 2014). In the literature review, it has been found that reputation of the hotel
depends on social media, search, reviews and ratings on apps and word of mouth publicity.
Therefore, leaders’ role is associated with the claiming of the business listing on third-party apps
and gets noticed by adding the best quality photo.
Theme 3
Role of leaders in the hotel business
The hotel manager in Hilton Cyprus explained that leaders' role in the hotel business is
based on two skills; people skills and business skills. In the literature review section, the authors
also stated about people skills and business skills. The leaders need to have the people skills
which are included the respect, fair play and problem-solving abilities among the employees.
The leaders in the hotel business have good relations with the staffs and the staffs show respect
towards the leaders. Leaders in the hotel industry delegate responsibilities, encourage
achievement, provide good attitudes and create an enjoyable workplace for the staffs. In the hotel
industry, Hilton housekeeping manager faced lower retention of the employees and the reason
behind it may be lack of stability and poor wage of the employees. As stated in the literature
review by Wang (2016), leadership qualities of the managers in the hotel industry are based on
bringing the mutual respect, negotiation skills, get equipped with technologies and guest
relations. People skills of leadership increase the organisational performance of the hotel. In the
article, the authors stated the future trends in the hotel industry and the managers of the hotels
have to focus on these categories.

43DISSERTATION
24%
12%
14%
22%
18%
20%
New Development in hotel sector
Location based
technologies
Mobile payment
Room control device
Tablets at front desk
energy management
Intercative digital signage
Figure 4.2: New development needed in the hotel sector focused on leaders
(Source: Cyprushotelassociation.org 2018)
In hotel Hilton of Cyprus, the management has been facing the issue of poor guest
satisfaction and poor reviews of the hotels in third-party apps and websites. The leaders have
taken the strict stance and if the staffs are wrong, the managers have taken the appropriate
actions. The leaders in the hotel sector show the qualities of the business skills and these skills
include the accountancy procedure, business sense and using computer technologies
(Zumitzavan and Udchachone 2016). The leaders' quality lies in the communication through
verbal, online or written and business sense is needed for the marketing plan of the hotels. Front
Office manager of Hilton Cyprus focused on the matter of guests as the manager thought that
staffs must have an understanding of the guests' behaviour and these experiences are cultivated
from the career.
Theme 4
Influence of leaders in organisational performance in the hotel sector

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In the hotel industry, hotel sector creates the own dynamic and culture which may help
the organisation to gain the development and overcome the issues. On asking the leadership
performance in hotel Hilton, the hotel manager explained that Hilton hotel has adopted the
system perspective which is helpful in improving the culture of excellence and it guides the
journey to the excellence (Zervas et al. 2017). The leaders in the hotel sector pursue the
performance excellence and it requires the commitment of the staffs. The leaders ask the staffs to
work on time so that the strategic planning of leadership; market focus and customer-centric goal
can be achieved (Fraj et al. 2015). In order to be successful in the organisation; teamwork has its
vital role. The staffs are working with and this achievement thinks about additionally the
business all in all. In the hospitality business, nobody is working only for the advantage of an
individual or for the leader itself, each part regardless of his or her position contributes for the
acknowledgment of the business' fundamental objective, to give a certification to guests'
aggregate satisfaction.
The leaders in hotel industry guarantee the collaboration and partnership implies
participation. If there's participation between the managers and the subordinates, at that point this
demonstrates communication exists inside the work-group. Team working is the way to
empower partnership; consequently, leaders need to know these imperative perspectives in
keeping up the great connection in the gathering. Furthermore, the housekeeping manager
clarified amid the interview that each staff should feel their significance. The staffs to function
admirably in a work environment, each commitment they give ought to be valued and loved
(Molina-Azorin et al. 2015). In the event that the staffs have offered benefits to share their
thoughts, the more they will be enlivened to work with extraordinary quality. In Hotel Hilton, the
leaders should demonstrate that they are great cases for their staffs, and this will upgrade

45DISSERTATION
partnership inside the group (Nieves and Segarra-Cipres 2015). Team building and other
gathering exercises will expand partnership and participation in the work-group.
Theme 5
Strategies to improve the leadership qualities in a hotel
In many of the scholarly articles, the authors commented that leaders are born after
spending years to understand the concept of leadership. Strong leadership needs the regular
accepting of the feedback, continuous learning and consistent practice (Karatepe and Karadas
2015). During the interview, the restaurant and beverage manager mentioned that the staffs need
to understand the vision of the leader as instruction cannot bring a positive future. The staffs
within the hospitality sector must find the mentors so that the leaders can motivate the staffs to
work on their best. The hotel manager of Hilton Cyprus told that the staffs must be committed so
that they can provide perfect guest satisfaction. The leaders in the hospitality sector can build up
the emotional intelligence with the staffs so that the leaders can share the empathy with the
staffs. Many hotels fly on the sweat and exploitation of their employees. It starts with room
cleaners and ends with the night porter and everyone in between. Staffs that associate with the
hotel will take extra pride and care when tending to the place. The hotel management needs to
spend money first on cleanliness and experience (Wilson and Elison 2018). Keep a constant eye
on all metrics that are associated can be helpful from a leader’s perspective. It means the
management proposes to buy the best vacuum cleaners, build a great kitchen, buy good tools for
cleaning staff, great supplies for everyone, and have modern and efficient technology
everywhere. Good leadership increases the efficiency of the employees. In 2016, hotels of
Cyprus have more than 71% occupancy rate. In Cyprus, there were 223 hotels in 2017 and

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leaders play important role in increasing the organisational performance (Cyprusprofile.com
2018).
Figure 4.3: Tourist arrivals per month in Cyprus hotels
(Source: Cyprushotelassociation.org 2018)
To be effective in the hospitality business, the staffs must be focused on guaranteeing
consumer loyalty. The leaders can request to take the necessary steps to keep clients upbeat and
furthermore make repeat business. The managers’ aptitude is the best in the accommodation
business are those with magnificent communication skills (Story 2016). The leaders can convey
successfully both orally and in composing. An incredible hospitality staff must have great
technological abilities and knows about an extensive variety of digital applications that are
utilised inside the business. The hotel manager of Hilton discussed excitement as enthusiasm of
the hotel business is energetic about their employments and endeavour to do the most ideal work.

47DISSERTATION
4.3 Discussion and summary
In Cyprus, most of the travellers visit to enjoy the sea and the sun. Therefore, the hotel
accommodations are needed for the health, wellbeing and cultural travellers. To be successful in
hospitality, one must have first class relational abilities, as the very nature of the business is to
give spectacular guest benefit. Some of the time, hotel staffs have solid leadership abilities and
can delegate tasks making noteworthy commitments to an organisation’s general achievement
(Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014). Effective hospitality leaders know about guidelines of
wellbeing and cleanliness as they apply to service place, lodgings, and different area where
individuals invest time and energy. In the hotel industry, Hilton Hotel Cyprus mainly faces the
issues of hotel sales and online presence. The Hilton management thinks that the brand image of
the hotel will help the hotel to run; however, lack of online presence and poor reviews of the
guests brought issues. The leaders face the issue when the maximum staffs leave the organisation
and the organisation faces the issue of lack of employees' retention rate. The managers' in Hilton
are not sure about their roles and strategies; therefore, leadership style is prescribed in the Hilton
hotel. The leaders of the Hilton hotel may not focus on the financial performance; therefore a
blueprint is needed to describe the financial plan of the hotel.

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Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
Hilton Hotels and Resorts have their regional development teams and Cyprus region is
headed by Marybelle Arnett, Vice President Development of Hilton. Hotel Hilton Cyprus has
been facing the issue of poor review rating of the guests on the websites and third-party apps.
The leaders of the Hilton hotel are taking the decisions regarding the extraordinary results.
Findings of the interviews explained that leaders in Hilton Cyprus try to establish the shared
beliefs, goals and values. Effective leadership begins with the inspiring others and leaders must
have the vision to articulate the mission and objectives to the leaders. Hilton hotel has been
facing the issue of poor guest review and the leaders are taking the effective measures to provide
guest satisfaction. The vision of the leaders does not always belong to the leaders as discussions
are done before making any strategy. The leaders of Hotel Hilton Cyprus stated about sharing
creativity. The leaders in the Hilton hotel Cyprus model with an example so that the staffs can
learn from the leaders. The issue of organisational performance can be solved by the leaders'
proactive measure. Organisational performance of Hilton hotel is associated with business
performance and financial performance. The leaders take an active part in managing both
financial and business decisions.
The leaders' visibility towards the vision of the organisation is needed so that the leaders
can ask the staffs to do what is needed. The brand image of Hilton helps Hilton Cyprus to have
maximum guests. The leaders need to completely believe in setting goals and how it will benefit
the organisation and its employees. The leaders give employees all the resources necessary to
complete their duties, however, leaders need to create the will and enthusiasm required to

49DISSERTATION
engross them, the chances of generating great results decrease over the period. The leaders listen
to the audience, both formal and informal feedback, body language, quality of work are all
incoming signals. The leaders of Hilton Hotel Cyprus are trying to set up a roadmap and channel
efforts towards fixing things. Hilton Cyprus has been facing the issues of poor guest satisfaction,
high staff turnover and lack of online presence. In addition, the financial performance of Hilton
Cyprus is not up to the mark. Leaders in Hilton are trying to upgrade the rules for the staffs so
that the staffs can do their best.
5.2 Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To evaluate the effectiveness of leadership in enhancing the overall
organisational performance in the hotel business
This objective has been met in the literature review section and in themes 1 and 4. During
the interview sessions, the leaders of Hilton hotel stated about their planning and experiences
about leadership which can provide the organisational effectiveness. The leaders in Hilton Group
already thought of the rewards scheme so that the employees become productive to give a
highest organisational performance. Hilton Cyprus has not yet started any multi-faceted staff
incentive scheme so that they can reward the staffs. The hotel manager of Hilton hotel Cyprus
told that effective leadership is about instructing the staffs and leading the staffs towards
achieving organisational objectives. Hilton Hotel Cyprus does not have any bonus scheme and
personal discounts for the staffs. Hilton Hotel Cyprus has personal recognition programme for
the staffs that can provide extra motivation to the staffs. The leaders take personal leadership
style and each of the leader's style is different. The leaders need to make sure everyone knows
holding back information will be detrimental to the team. Managers lead the staffs in hotel
business by example and consistently reinforcing desired behaviours. The team leaders ensure all

50DISSERTATION
learn and respond to important new discoveries. The leaders of the Hilton hotel show trust as it is
very important in all team relationships.
Objective 2: To recognise how good leadership in hotel business will help the organisation
to sustain the reputation or to build a positive reputation in the market of operation
This objective has been met in the literature review section and in theme 2. During the
interviews, the leaders have been asked about organisational reputation followed by Hilton
Cyprus. In addition, hotel managers of hospitality sector believe that the employees like the firms
they are work for and the employees feel a strong sense of commitment towards the organisation.
The leadership of the hotel industry follows the basic factor of meeting the guest satisfaction.
Leaders in Hilton Cyprus cannot meet the basic requirement of the reputation as the guests are
not satisfied with the services of a hotel. The poor ratings and reviews are the result of
disappointed guests. The managers have failed to instruct the staffs to do their basic work. The
perception of Hilton hotel must be credible so that the reviews must be authentic and good. From
the employees' perspective, transformational leadership style and democratic leadership styles
provide the employees with a sense of encouragement. Leaders in Hilton hotel Cyprus know
when to switch the leadership style with trust and commitment. Reliability is a major part of
building a good reputation. Leaders personify the company with many different stakeholders.
Objective 3: To explore the role of leaders in hospitality businesses of Hotel Hilton Cyprus
This objective has been met in the literature review section and in theme 3. Leadership
role in the hospitality industry of the managers is based on mainly motivating and making
productive of the human resources. The staffs in the Hilton hotel Cyprus are unmotivated and the
leaders are not sure about their leadership style. The leaders in the hospitality industry need to be

51DISSERTATION
innovative and the leaders should have a vision. The leaders of the Hilton hotel have the inner
values which inspire the employees. Hilton Hotel Cyprus builds and cultivates trusting
relationships for both survival and success. Leaders are responsible and the leader is destiny.
Quality of leadership determines the destiny of teams, groups, organisations, nations and the
world. Good leadership brings the company forward; bad leadership can cost opportunity, money
and time. In leadership of hospitality industry, the employees are expected to be leaders are be
enthusiastic, talented and charismatic. The leaders can expect to be knowledgeable, hardworking
and motivated so that they can share the traits of hotel leadership. The leaders try to retain the
staffs as turnover of the staffs are time-consuming and costly.
Objective 4: To recommend some possible solutions to improve the leadership qualities in
Hotel Hilton Cyprus
This objective has been met partially in theme 4 where the leaders' perspective of hotel
business strategies has been explained. First of all the managers talked about make use of the
human staffs as they are the key factors of the company’s effectiveness. Second important thing
for the managers of Hilton Hotel Cyprus is to develop the guest satisfaction. The leaders talked
about guest satisfaction, teamwork and improvement of financial condition.
However, the possible recommendations for Hilton Hotel Cyprus are given in the
following sections with an action plan.
5.3 Recommendations
a. Improving guest satisfaction through providing training to the staffs
Hilton Hotel Cyprus has been facing the issue of poor guest satisfaction and the reviews
of the hotel have been degrading. The guests do not find the luxury elements and the satisfactory

52DISSERTATION
factors of the hotel are missing. The reason is possibly the poor staff training and the staffs are
not aware of the guests’ satisfaction. The leaders need to understand that the guests’ experience
starts long before the guests arrive at the hotel; therefore, best quality images must be uploaded
to the website and in the apps. The leaders of the Hilton Hotel Cyprus must make a PR team
respond to guest feedback. The staffs must be given training so that the staffs can connect with
the guests on a personal level. The training can be provided on an on-the-job basis where the
leaders will tell the employees how to behave with the guests.
Activities Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5
Conducting
a meeting
with all
managers
✔
Making a PR
team
respond to
guest
feedback
✔
Connecting
with guests
✔
Conducting
training
✔
Using guest
feedback to
✔

53DISSERTATION
make
decisions
Table 5.1: Action plan for guest satisfaction
(Source: Self-developed)
b. Developing team working
The leaders in the Hilton Hotel Cyprus have failed to make a positive team bonding. In
the hospitality industry, the employee retention is very low and the team members come from the
various ethnic group. Therefore, the hotel manager in Hilton hotel Cyprus needs to develop
diversity within the team so that the employees can work with all types of staffs. The team
members must come first in case of any decision is taken. Effective team working will help to
resolve the problem solving of the staffs when the staffs work in hospitality sector dealing with
guests who may come from different regions. The leaders should encourage the staffs to think
free. Team working can improve the organisational performance as it will improve the human
resources and productivity.
Activities Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5
Conducting
a meeting
asking all
staffs to be
present
✔
Developing
diversity
✔

54DISSERTATION
within a
team
The
members
come first
✔
Asking team
members to
solve
problem and
conflict
✔
Encourage in
free thinking
✔
Table 5.2: Action plan for team work
(Source: Self-developed)
c. Leading by example from the leaders’ perspective
In the hospitality sector, the leaders must lead by examples as it would help the hotel to
develop organisational efficiency. Good leaders must lead by examples and leaders'
responsibility taking ability makes the leaders' stand apart. In the Hilton hotel Cyprus, the leaders
need to motivate always and management's truthfulness can make an accurate representation of
the motivation. Extrinsic motivation can be given by starting the financial rewards. Leaders'
courageous mentality will make the staffs courageous also. The leaders need to acknowledge
failure and the leaders need to be persistent.

55DISSERTATION
Activities Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5
The leaders
can start
giving small
training
✔
The leaders
can hold a
meeting
✔
Leaders need
to persistent
✔
The leaders
will delegate
the work
✔
The leaders
can start
online
tutorial to
provide an
example
✔
Table 4.3: Action plan for leaders’ perspective
(Source: Self-developed)
d. Top-down communication from leaders

56DISSERTATION
In the Hilton Hotel Cyprus, the communication of the leaders does not come to the staffs
always. Top-down communication puts stress on a managerial hierarchy where the
communication transfer from the highest level to the company staffs. Communication develops
the transparency within the organisation where the staffs get to know their key responsibilities
and the expectations become clear of the leaders as well. Starting the intranet software will create
the feedback process even faster and the organisational performance will increase.
Activities Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5
Conducting a
formal meeting
✔
Developing a
communication
strategy
✔
Asking the
leader to take a
democratic
leadership
style
✔
Multiplying
the message
✔
Having
intranet
software
✔

57DISSERTATION
Table 4.4: Action Plan for top-down communication
(Source: Self-developed)
5.4 Future scope of the study
This particular research has been put the focus on the leadership impact on the hotel
business. Leadership can influence organisational performance in the hotel business. This
research narrowly focuses on Hilton Hotel Cyprus. The future researchers can get help while
doing the research based on ‘Appropriate Leadership Styles in hospitality sector'. In the future,
the researchers can get assistance about the importance of leadership qualities of the managers in
the hospitality industry.

58DISSERTATION
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Appendix
Interview questions with transcript
1. Do you follow any particular type of leadership style?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
I don't think I generally follow any particular type of leadership. Those who are
my subordinates believe that I follow autocratic leadership ruling with an iron
fist. Actually, I am a strict person and I want that all the staffs should follow the
rules of the organisation along with less absenteeism.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
I mainly follow laissez-faire leadership type so that the team members under
me can work with creativity. I just monitor the staffs with their effective
communication and performance.
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
All the guests want best quality food and the taste of the food should be best in
Hilton. Therefore, I always try to take any decision consulting with my team
members. I never instruct and I like to take a suggestion from my team
members. Therefore, you can say I follow democratic leadership.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
For me, my leadership is situational leadership. As my designation, staffs under
me must come each day so that the guests can get the best satisfaction. My
leadership style changes with the given situations.
2. Do subordinates who working under you always follow the instruction given to them?
1st Manager
(Hotel
My autocratic leadership style lets the staffs follow my instructions and
concerns. I always monitor what the staffs do and strategic direction given by

69DISSERTATION
manager) me has to follow by the single individual. I also want to know what the staffs
actually want from us.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
I always communicate my expectations of the team members and the team
members always follow my instructions. My expectations are fulfilled with the
help of the staffs.
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
Actually, the retention rate of the staffs is very high in this field. The staffs do
not have any right set of expertise to perform the work very well. Therefore,
sometimes, I get rude with the staffs and they fail to follow my instructions.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
I change my instruction based on the situation and my rigid monitoring makes
the staffs follow my communication. Sometimes, I feel that there is a
communication gap and we may not have the knowledge what the employees
want from us.
3. What is your view regarding the difference between managerial supervision and
leadership?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
From my perspective, leadership is the expertise of leading others and
management is coordinating and organising all the things in an efficient manner
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
Leadership is about inspiring the people and management is about doing
activities to control the staffs. I believe that leaders can influence and managers
can rule the people.
3rd Manager According to me, leadership can encourage change and management brings

70DISSERTATION
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
stability
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
Leadership is about the formulation of the principles and guidelines whereas
management follows the management of policies and procedures. My role in
the organisation is to lead the people in a proactive way so that the staffs can be
reactive.
4. Do you follow any motivational strategy to motivate the subordinates working under
you?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
Staffs in the hotel industry are the assets and valuable resources. Hilton
management provides the mainly the recognition to the staffs to get motivated.
I personally believe that the simple act of letting the employees know that they
are doing a good job can motivate the employees.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
I was a manager of the hotel sector believe that the trust of the leaders on the
staffs can motivate the people. Hilton hotel provides recognition system. I
personally trust the employees so that the staffs can communicate with us in a
better way.

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3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
The staffs leave the hotel sector because they do not find any prosperity in the
hotel sector. Career advancement always motivates the staffs in the hotel
industry.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
I think a reward system can encourage the employees to do basic work. The
staffs will be motivated if the organisation provides financial add-on. Hilton
hotel Cyprus is planning to provide incentives, paid time off, bonuses and
travel perks to the housekeeping staffs so that they do not leave the
organisation.
5. According to you, what is the reason behind the poor staff retention in the hotel
business?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
It is difficult to say as there are many reasons for leaving the staffs in the hotel
sector. In Cyprus, travel and tourism is one of the main sectors in which the
employees work on. I personally think that the staffs may feel that the job is a
bad fit for them.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
I have been in this hospitality sector for more than 3 years. I think that staffs
always think that they can make more money in some other sector. In Cyprus,
people have to commute and staffs are leaving because they hate the commute.

72DISSERTATION
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
The immediate supervisor is always a factor so that the employees are leaving
the organisation. Leadership style has to be changed and that is why I take the
democratic leadership where the employees can share their concern.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
The staffs in the hotel sector leave the organisation as they do not feel
appreciated in the hotel business. The leaders may not feel the employees to be
valued by the organisation. The staffs have to get along with the co-workers. In
Hotel Hilton Cyprus, staffs come from various multiethnic backgrounds;
therefore, the staffs need to gel up with other employees as well.
6. What are the leadership challenges you faced while working in Hilton Cyprus?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
As a hotel manager, I always face the issue of changing the expectations of the
guests. Guests’ expectation is changing and the guests’ perception of the luxury
hotel is also changing. The guests want convenience, efficiency and
personalisation in hotel
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
In the hotel, the management has to deal with the latest technologies always. In
the hotel, the management has to provide the employees with the latest
technologies and the guests want electric outlets, flat screen television and USB
ports.

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3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
The employees in the hotel industry maximum time create the issue of irregular
working hours and they do not follow the roasters carefully. As a leader, we
face the issue of irregularities of working hours. Lack of employee retention is
another issue.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
Positional leaders need to work hard so that they can earn their respect. The
leaders need to show the managerial experience; otherwise, the staffs would not
give respect.
7. Do you really think that leadership can impact on organisational performance, how?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
I believe that leadership style dictates the staffs what to do so that
organisational objectives must be met. The leaders use one-way communication
to meet the organisational performances.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
Organisational performance depends on mainly three particular things; financial
performance, shareholders' performance and organisational performances. The
leaders in the hotel sector can take the up the responsibilities so that all three
performances can be met.
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
The leaders need to be participative as I always do. This participation of the
leadership can bring the organisational performance. Hilton in Cyprus has not
been performing well as the performance of the organisation does not touch the
benchmark.
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
The leaders need to involve with the staffs so that subordinates can work on
their own with responsibilities. This strategy can make the staffs productive. In
the hospitality industry, organisational performance is depended on the human

74DISSERTATION
resources.
8. What is the role of the leader in the hotel business?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
In the hotel business, staffs always come first. Therefore, the role of the leader
is to motivate the staffs and to make a good interpersonal relationship.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
The leader in the hotel business must communicate well with the staffs so that
the employees can feel valued. I myself focus on listening rather than talking
with the staffs
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
I think that the leaders of the organisation must have a good vision to shape the
future. The leaders' deep understanding can change the future of the hotel
business
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
I always try to work with the team members and the role of the leader is to be a
good team player. Team playing can avoid the mistakes done by the employees.
9. How can you people improve the positive reputation of Hilton, Cyprus?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
Hilton Cyprus itself a famous hotel and the brand image associated with Hilton
makes the hospitality business useful. I always try to contribute the social and
economic development of Nicosia area in order to make the better community.

75DISSERTATION
Participating with the community can make the business famous
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
As a front office manager, I believe in a network with the third-party app and
customers. Increasing relationship with the client base and the websites can
increase the reputation of the business.
3rd Manager
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
Hilton Cyprus is getting the poor review from the guests and the reputation of
the hotel is at stake. Therefore, the managers of the hotel are planning for
innovation and growth by implementing guest satisfaction plan and
technologies
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
Valuable employees can provide the guest satisfaction, comfortable rooms
personalised services and quality food can increase the reputation of the
business
10. What are the plans you have to reach top-notch success in hotel business through
leadership?
1st Manager
(Hotel
manager)
As a hotel manager, I personally think that in order to be successful in guest
satisfaction, hiring technologies and improving the financial condition, the
leaders need to make good relations with the staffs. We, the leaders need to lead
the staffs by examples.
2nd Manager
(Front office
manager)
The leaders must not be afraid of criticism as the leaders need to listen to the
staffs. Good communication with the guests and the staffs can improve the
condition to achieve the objective.
3rd Manager The leaders of the Hilton hotel must be a team player so that the team members
must listen to the instructions. The staffs can ask questions and try new things.

76DISSERTATION
(Restaurant
and beverage
manager)
4th Manager
(Housekeeping
manager)
In addition, we are planning to start a PR team and the team members of the PR
team will check the guests' concerns and share the feedback with us. The
reviews' acknowledgement is necessary so that the guests can think that they
are valued.