Analysis of Leadership Styles and Change Programs at Hilton Hotel

This project analyzes the leadership styles adopted by Hilton Hotel in its change programs, focusing on democratic and transformational leadership approaches. It identifies and critiques leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, Laissez-Faire and transformational leadership, evaluating their suitability for change implementation, and potential barriers. The report delves into stakeholder resistance to change, including employee pressure, economic factors, and resource reallocation, and proposes an effective communication strategy using Kurt Lewin's change management model to mitigate resistance and foster stakeholder engagement. The project emphasizes the importance of clear communication and adaptation in driving successful change within the hotel, aiming to improve customer satisfaction and brand image.

PROJECT

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
INTRODUCTION 3
MAIN BODY 3
a) Identify and analyse the leadership styles which have been adopted to deliver the organisation’s
change programme to date3
b) Discuss potential resistance to change that key stakeholders may experience and how you would
manage an effective communication strategy to overcome this resistance 6
CONCLUSION 9
RECOMMENDATION 10
REFERENCES 11

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Leadership and change are both co-operative to each-other in context with business benefits and
its growth for longer duration. These two concepts are interlinked to itself and contributes for own
outcomes (Ulhøi, Song and Niu, 2016). The purpose of this report is to know leadership style which is
required in condition of change process implementation into the business activities and also leadership
approach has been explained in this report for valid conclusion. Apart from this, there is a discussion
over a resistance to change which has impacted Hilton hotel on larger basis and also series of steps or
model understanding in order to make common dialogue between management and hotel's
stakeholders. Lastly, this report has put its emphasis n clear understanding and explanation about the
concepts.
INTRODUCTION
Leadership is kind of tool which has played a necessary role in development of people and other
entities, this is why because of its forces to inspire a person or organisation to perform to gain business
competitiveness (Khan, 2016). Along with this, leadership has resulted into development of change in
order to implement it in given period of time and also empower an individual person through increased
task or work accountability. This report will cover Hilton hotel which is UK based leading hospitality
business and well known for its higher customer satisfaction along with brand image.
Apart from this, report will be carry on implementation of changes programmes in an effective
ways, discussion over the matter of leadership style such as democratic, autocratic etc., and its suitable
scope for business benefits. Also, report will put it focus over potential resistance to change that
particular stakeholders experience, while in process of change programmes.
MAIN BODY
a) Identify and analyse the leadership styles which have been adopted to deliver the organisation’s
change programme to date
Leadership is an ability of an every company's sector of management to set and accomplish
various challenging goals, take a suitable swift and decisive actions, overcoming or solution to the
competition along with inspiration to other for performing capabilities or efforts (Yasir, 2018). Also,
leadership has been resulted into implementation of a change in organisation at an optimised level, if
business entity is looking for implementing the defined into an organisation functioning and also for its
own benefits. In other words, leadership can be either group based or empower of single entity only. In

context with Hilton Hotel, this leading hotel comes up with various change programme such as loyalty
programme, room key technology and cutting environmental footprints (ten Have, 2016). These
changes are operational necessity of the hotel to make its operational aspects at profitable and attract
more and more customer. On the same side, there are various barriers which has been found through
Kotter's 8 model such as limited understanding, negative attitude of an employee's, poor
communication and lack of trustable management. In Hilton hotel, this was happened, because of
ineffective in a rules which has led non-responsive functioning from both employee's and management
on the higher basis. Also, such barrier are not good for advantage of the firm. Hence, in that case,
instant solution is a need and on rapid basis. It was also noticed that, given barriers are linked to
ineffective management and lack of best management approach, so as to implement changes on an
early to save both time and cost of the firm (van der Eng, 2018). During this, it was identified that,
leadership styles was missing, which would assist Hilton hotel for making its brand image very popular
within an entire globe.
To implement given change programmes, there are various leadership styles such as autocratic,
democratic, Laissez-Faire and transformational leadership. This is a good option to have discussion for
all four leadership styles to have one major choice to be implement to led changes adaptation for the
longer period of time. In context with Hilton hotel, explanation over a leadership styles are as follows”
Autocratic leadership: This is a style of leadership, in which a power is lies with one common
entity or any single person. That person control an entire environment of an organisation and also takes
decisions in its own. There is no as such priorities to other team members or person over asking for an
appropriate solution as well as remedy of any specific solution. Actually, this sounds as recipe for
business defeats and decline of the brand image on the higher basis. In context with Hilton hotel, this
style will be suitable, when going through change management or occupying results from this.
Democratic Leadership: This is a growth oriented style, where every person is empower to
take or share separate views, opinions or ideology in the process of decision making along with
bringing independent power to each and every person of an organisation (Van Rossum, 2018). In this
style, team member are majorly advised to share their own set of idea's, opinion or views for enabling
the common understanding among every individual person to take growth oriented. In context with
Hilton hotel, this style is suitable along with capability to led change management for beneficial of
hotel.
Laissez-Faire leadership: This style of leadership is typically provides lower results, because

of a leader does not directly supervise the employees. Basically, in this, decision making is left to an
employee's with no guidance in taking decision. Here, leader provides the resources, but no decision
making support, but employee's are expected to take corrective decision making for business suitability
and growth. In context with Hilton hotel, this style is not suitable for adaptation of changes and
alteration in business profit making process.
Transformational leadership: In this style, creation of vision exists for an employee's along
with worthwhile communication process for business benefits and long term advantage. This leadership
is important to improve employee's morale and also promote inclusion within the groups (Pugh, 2016).
This kind of leader is role model for their employee's or team members and strives an opportunity to
understand the others strength's and weaknesses to find relevant solution in an early period of time. In
context with Hilton hotel, transformational leadership will be suitable option along with support of
democratic leaderships.
After an above discussion, it was noticed that Hilton hotel management was decided to go with
democratic leadership their change implementation process, with guidance and support of their team
member's after reviewing their sharing of an idea, opinion and views for benefit of this leading hotel
firm. In response to change programme, this leadership style has been proven right for leading
business growth & revenue generation on a higher stage. Also, this style has empowered business
function of the Hilton hotel on higher and optimised level.
In contrast, there are various leadership approaches such as trait approach which is required to
overcome barriers which is majorly connected to Hilton hotel life-cycle inadequacy and to responsive
with emerging needs for future development of this hotel (Yahaya and Ebrahim, 2016). Traits approach
is relevant to identify emerging trends related to change life cycle of this hotel. The explanation of this
approach is as follows :-
Traits approach: This is a major approach to leadership which is commonly referred to as, trait
approach to leadership because this approach of traits basically looks for a series of physical, mental, or
personality potentials that are meant for an effective leaders possess that neither non-leaders nor
ineffective leaders possess. This approach involves various different traits such as adaptability,
adjustment, assertiveness, alertness,

b) Discuss potential resistance to change that key stakeholders may experience and how you would
manage an effective communication strategy to overcome this resistance
Stakeholder is a person, any group or business entity which has some set of common interest or
matter of concern in an organisation. In other context, stakeholder can effect or be affected by a
business entity and also through action, objectives or policies. It was identified that major stakeholders
of Hilton hotel are customers, suppliers, creditors, shareholders, legal agency etc. These entities has put
lots of negative forces on interest and retention of the stakeholders on larger basis (van der Voet, 2016).
In business process, these stakeholder are mainly effected by some major critical resistance to change,
which can also be termed as forces or pressure. In organisational level, resist to change such as
employee pressure or high turnover, management loss, unequal distribution of power, image and
prestige of a business entity. These forces may results in loss of stakeholder interest and loss of trust
from company's operation. In context with Hilton hotel, this leading hospitality is under process of
bringing changes into room based service, structuring complimentary fees, lock system along with
enabling health protection in premises to entertain customer experiences and retain them for longer
period of time. Also, customer as a key stakeholder may experiences these resistance, even after or
before of change process. The discussion over resist to change which stakeholder may experiences are
as follows:
Threat of power of an individual level: Such kind of power is likely to be observed in
manager who may use its power to disorganise or transfer its sub-ordinates. In change process, threat of
manager power is one of the causes of resistance of change.
Losing of control by employee's: The change process may sometime reduces control level that
manager generally conduct to retain the employee's. This generally, happens when employee's are not
meant to be make employee's aware about change made in operation process. This might be against of
their level of choice or thinking (Storey, 2016).
Economic factors: Organisational change may sometimes burdens financial position of
business , by creating pressure of debt or borrowed amount. When any structure change happens in
hotel premises, cost of bearing process is always high, because of entire changes in design or look.
Loss of profit is major cause of such practices. Less profit may effect interest of the stakeholder.
Reallocation of a resources: Change process generally consumes higher resources, which
entity needs to be incur, when they are implementing any design or structural change into the hotel
premises (Rowold, 2016) Hilton hotel have incurred huge money on interior of premises to make it

attractive to gain customer. High resources needs budget of cost which is simply responsible to poor
financial position.
These resistance to change needs to be overcome as soon as possible to retain common interest f
the stakeholders along with increasing business functioning and increased profitability for the Hilton
hotel (Bormann, 2018). There is a requirement of dialogue transformation, which is required to led
change process in an effective manner. In order to overcome this resistance to change, Hilton hotel
must use Kurt Lewin's model of change management to overcome this resistance to have clear cut
communication among different stakeholder and Hilton hotel executives for business benefits. The
explanation of model is as follows:
According to the Lewins, change for any individual or any organisation is a complicated
journey which may not be very simple as well as mostly involves several stages of transition or any
kind of misunderstanding before attainment the stage of equilibrium or stability.
Unfreezing: This is the primary stage of transition or change resistance overcome and one of
the most critical stages in the entire process of change management. It involves an bringing
improvement for the readiness and willingness of people to change by fostering a realization for
moving from the existing comfort zone to a transformed situation. In context with Hilton hotel, this
stage needs to be implemented by management to identify needs as per change process along with
desire to manage and retain stakeholder for higher duration.
Change: This stage is regarded as the stage or multiple Transition or the stage of actual
implementation of change process into the Hilton hotel. It involves the acceptance of the new ways of
doing things or adopting any legal and final structure. This is the stage in which the people are
unfrozen, and the actual change is implemented (Rizvi, 2016). During this stage, stakeholder needs to
control in situation, when they can be demotivated on performance of any change.
Freeze (Refreezing): During this stage, the people move towards stage of transition (persistent
to change) to a much more stable state which we can regard as the state of equilibrium. The stage of
Refreezing is the ultimate stage, through which people accept or internalize the new ways of working
or change, accept it as a part of their life and establish new relationships. In context with Hilton hotel,
this would assist to stakeholders to create thinking over the business functioning of this leading hotel
business (Popli, 2018).

Sources: Kurt Lewins Model of change management, 2018
These modular strategy will assist Hilton hotel resistance to change in three situation before,
during or after the change process.
Before: In before situation, this strategy will assist to know what exactly effect stakeholder fro
this change process or what is not. Also, this will help us to what level of change management needs to
bringing is order to overcome these resistance to change.
During: In this process, resistance needs to be overcome through idea generation and dialogue
making full-fledged relationship between the stakeholder to carry it for longer period of time. The
retention policy needs to be implement here (Martin, 2016).
After: After change process, this strategy will enables the stakeholder confidence and interest to
retain with Hilton hotel for long duration. This will led motivation of a stakeholders to work with
collaboration with management of Hilton hotel for their growth and diversity into business practices.
Illustration 1: Kurt Lewins Model of change management

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that leadership has been recognised as tools and
techniques to manage working in an organisation. Also, it has been facilitation into bringing change
scenario in every business, especially in context of hospitality. In this sector, where business has been
suffered with lack of changes, in that situation leadership have brought kind of common relationship
with others to get profitable results. Resistance to change has been resulted into identification of change
management into an organisation along with the retaining the satisfaction of stakeholder at the greater
side. Lastly, it has been proved important to manage stakeholder into the business function for longer
period of time, in case, business is looking for change procedure.

RECOMMENDATION
From the above report, it is to be recommendable that leadership must be democratic culture in
the Hilton hotel to maintain the customer flow and their satisfaction at an utilised manner. When
company is going through any change programme, it is necessary to understand each and every entity
in order to retain their common understanding & interest in the organisational performance. Hilton's
major stakeholders are their trust worthing customer's, investors, suppliers etc. Proper stakeholder
management is a necessary to maintain them for longer period of time. Forces should be overcome, if
in case, business wants to achieve its desired goals and targets.

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