Leadership Theory, Style, and Ethics: Analysis of a Case Study Report

This report analyzes leadership theory, style, and ethics within the context of the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai. It begins by exploring leadership and management theories, focusing on transformational leadership and its elements such as individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and positive influence. The report examines the appointment of foreign managers, discussing its advantages and disadvantages, and provides a critical example of handling attitude problems. It further explores the dynamics of gender, diversity, and culture in leadership, outlining strengths and weaknesses in these areas. The report then examines changes in corporate culture, including motivation, satisfaction, and company loyalty. Finally, it delves into different styles of leadership, including autocratic, democratic, and cross-cultural leadership, with a focus on the leadership style adopted by the general manager, Mark J. DeCocinis, and its ethical implications. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and providing an overview of the study's essence and understanding.

Running head: LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS
leadership theory, style and ethics

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 1
Executive Summary
Ethics are related to the appropriate and desirable moral and values of an individual
and at large. Ethics also deals with the intentions and purity of individuals. As far as
leadership is concerned, the leader is also required to maintain ethical values at workplace
acceptable by all the employees. In the present scenario, leadership is related to providing
satisfaction to employees rather than giving them the order to work. Employee satisfaction is
the only key which can be used in increasing productivity of the organization and thus to
increase the satisfaction level of customers also. An organization satisfying its customers is
also known as the loyal company to the society and to the customers as well. The report
describes the meaning of ethical leadership and its implication with the help of case study
provided. It also describes the most appropriate style of leadership that was followed by the
general manager of the given organization that resulted in providing results beyond the
imagination. The understanding of the study can become a good example of applied ethical
leadership in the environment of a business which was facing the situation of change in
management. At the end of the report, a conclusion has been drawn to provide the overall
understanding and essence of the study.

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 2
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................4
Theories of Leadership and Management..........................................................................................4
Elements of leadership framework....................................................................................................4
Individualized Consideration.........................................................................................................4
Inspirational Motivation................................................................................................................4
Positive Influence..........................................................................................................................5
The reason behind the appointment of veteran Ritz Carlton Foreign.................................................5
Advantages and Disadvantages.........................................................................................................5
Advantage......................................................................................................................................5
Disadvantage.................................................................................................................................5
Critical example of handling attitude problem...................................................................................6
Use of elements in change management............................................................................................6
Developed an environment of Respect..........................................................................................6
Professionalism..............................................................................................................................6
Hiring if new employees................................................................................................................7
Task 2....................................................................................................................................................7
Dynamics of gender, diversity and culture leadership.......................................................................7
Strengths............................................................................................................................................7
Employees’ gender strength...........................................................................................................7
Employees’ Diversity Strength......................................................................................................7
Employees’ Culture Strength.........................................................................................................7
Weaknesses.......................................................................................................................................8
Employees’ gender weaknesses.....................................................................................................8
Employees’ Diversity Weaknesses................................................................................................8
Employees’ culture weaknesses.....................................................................................................8
Influences of change management.....................................................................................................8
Examination of Changes in Corporate Culture..................................................................................9
Motivation.....................................................................................................................................9
Satisfaction....................................................................................................................................9
Company Loyalty..........................................................................................................................9
Multi-ethnicity...............................................................................................................................9
Task 3..................................................................................................................................................10
Styles of Leadership........................................................................................................................10

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 3
Autocratic Leadership..................................................................................................................10
Democratic Leadership................................................................................................................10
Cross-cultural Leadership............................................................................................................10
Leadership style adopted by DeCocinis...........................................................................................10
Advantage....................................................................................................................................10
Disadvantage...............................................................................................................................11
Ethical Leadership...........................................................................................................................11
Trust............................................................................................................................................11
Respect others..............................................................................................................................11
Ethical behavior:..............................................................................................................................11
Honesty........................................................................................................................................12
Community Building...................................................................................................................12
Respect........................................................................................................................................12
Strategies for maintaining relationships with stakeholders..............................................................12
Encouraging participation in decision making.............................................................................12
Understanding their needs...........................................................................................................12
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................12
References...........................................................................................................................................14

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 4
Introduction
An effective leadership and management of workforce is the primary responsibility of
an organization. An organization can only get success in the long run if it does not satisfy its
employees in maximum possible ways. The report describes the leadership techniques and
styles followed by Mark J. DeCocinis, general manager of The Portman Ritz Carlton
Shanghai, China, a well-known brand in the hospitality industry.
TASK 1
Theories of Leadership and Management
In the given case study, Mark J. DeCocinis the general manager of the hotel used two
most effective theories that resulted in the positive results in terms of motivated employees
and satisfied customers. Firstly he led the employees by applying transformational leadership
which states that a leader is required to work with his team to identify the need of change and
then guides for such change by inspiring and motivating the employees. By following this
style of leadership, DeCocinis got success in enhancing motivation and morale and
performance of employees by the different mechanisms. He provided an environment to
employees where they can work with their self-respect. He also identified the weaknesses of
employees and did not react in a negative manner. Instead of this, he introduced an
environment where employees could mend their wrong habits. This act encouraged the
employees to perform the job responsibilities in the best possible way (Davis, Campbell,
Hildon, Hobbs, & Michie, 2015).
Elements of leadership framework
Individualized Consideration
As each employee of the hotel had some specific strengths and weaknesses. For
example, some employees were motivated by changing the arrangement of dining area
whereas some were feeling motivated by the introduction of performance-based rewards.
DeCocinis used individualized consideration element of transformational leadership to
identify these different needs of the employees. He recognized these needs by observation
and eavesdropping that were used at hotel to motivate each employee individually
(Leadership, 2016).

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 5
Inspirational Motivation
This element involves the ability of a leader to motivate, inspire confidence and
develop a sense of dedication to work among team members. This was exactly followed by
DeCocinis by communicating his expectations to the employees about their performance and
responsibilities. He also made free the employees to leave the job in case of any
dissatisfaction. But he also communicated that if an employee was willing to work with the
organization then he did not need to change his professional attitude overnight. Along with
this, he also mentioned that in case of any difficulties, the management was there to help the
employees. The first target of the management was to satisfy the employees in terms of
wages, working environment and job responsibilities (Odukah, 2016).
Positive Influence
This is also an important element of transformational leadership which indicates that
employees should be influenced in a positive manner so that they may not feel overburdened.
DeCocinis used this element very smartly by influencing the employees to support in the
change management. He convinced the employees positively by stating that changes are not
possible overnight. He gave sufficient time to make changes in the old habits also he did not
penalize the inexperienced employees for providing over compensation to the customers. It
also motivated the employees up to the great extent to work with such a kind of encouraging
facilities.
The reason behind the appointment of veteran Ritz Carlton Foreign
Appointment of managers from veteran Ritz Carlton foreign was one of the most
fruitful decisions of DeCocinis. Since the hotel was poorly managed at the time of merging.
All employees were trained according to the culture and trend of China. The Ritz Carlton
hotel had its own standards and values that were beyond the imagination of the employees of
Portman. To manage the new and existing employees of the Portman according to the
standards of Ritz Carlton, it was necessary to appoint the managers to form the veteran Ritz
Carlton form other countries (Looi, Marusarz, & Baumruk, 2017).
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantage
The managers were well known about the trend of Ritz Carlton, therefore they were
able to train the existing Chinese employees in a well-structured way. Along with this
DeCocinis did not need to spend money on the training and development of such managers as

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 6
they were already trained and had the experience to work as per Ritz Carlton working
process.
Disadvantage
One of the considerable disadvantages that were faced by the employees was the
differences in culture and management styles of the managers appointed form foreign
countries. They had to face communication problems as many of the employees were not able
to speak English. Also, the employees were facing the problem because the leadership style
of foreign managers was different in comparison to the management of Portman.
Critical example of handling attitude problem
The new managers behaved with young workers in a good manner and also said to
develop their habits that could also help in providing better services to the customer. The
manager helped the young employees by giving proper time for developing their
unprofessional habits. The management also gave the right to the young and inexperienced
workers to settle the disputes up to $2000 without any need of approval to management. This
was a major decision that developed a sense of trust among employees. But this could also be
considered as an unfavorable step as workers could also use this right in an unethical manner.
Thus, this step could also impact in a negative manner on the gross sales of the hotel
(Theories, 2016).
Use of elements in change management
The management considered three major elements by considering the following
advantages of such elements:
Developed an environment of Respect
Firstly the management created an environment where the employees might feel that
the organization was also concerned about their respect and beliefs. For this purpose, the first
step took by the management was really appreciable that was opening a new dining room for
employees along with civilized and respectable surroundings that could force an employee to
feel proud on his/her organization. Thus, the management firstly developed an environment
that could satisfy employees in all areas (Lee & Raschke, 2016).
Professionalism
This was the second element that was used by the management to lead the change
management in a positive manner. The management explained to the employees that how the
Chinese workers were uncivilized and unprofessional while performing their duties. The

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 7
employees were informed that developing professionalism in their habits, it would be easy to
serve customers in an appropriate manner. They were also given adequate time for
developing the manners related o professionalism (Theorizing and Practicing Organizational
Culture and Diversity A Case Study, 2013).
Hiring if new employees
For an effective change management, DeCocinis considered that only one person
could not judge the ability of an applicant to perform the job responsibilities. Therefore, he
used to conduct the final round of hiring by himself where he used to judge the soft skills of
the applicant instead of technical knowledge. Along with this, he also started organizing
annual survey related to employee satisfaction. This helped in identifying the reasons because
of which employees were dissatisfied with their job. It helped in developing a positive change
management (Junior, Porto, Pacifico, & Salgado, 2015).
Task 2
Dynamics of gender, diversity and culture leadership
The organization needs to be very concerned about the management of employees on
the basis of gender, diversity, and culture. This can impact the overall performance of the
employees as well as of the organization. It may also result in an increase in the attrition rate
of employees if they feel that their values, culture, and ideas are not considered by the
management of the company. Therefore, the mismanagement of above-mentioned factors can
lead to increase in dissatisfaction level of employees and customers. On the other hand, a
leader and management who is concerned about managing the above aspects are always
preferred by the employees as given in case study (Brito & Oliveira, 2013).
Strengths
Employees’ gender strength
 A workforce having both female and male employees can perform better as both are
capable to perform different type of responsibilities. For example, female employees
at hotel were able to understand the expectations and needs of female customers.
Employees’ Diversity Strength
 A workforce with diversified employees might have resulted in performing better
because there can be the use of more than one idea and the customer could be served
accordingly.

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 8
Employees’ Culture Strength
 Employees from the different culture might help in understanding the needs and wants
of guests from different cultures. The diversity in culture impacted in a positive
manner on the overall revenue of the hotel by providing the high level of customer
services.
Weaknesses
Employees’ gender weaknesses
 Normally there are chances of harassment and related activities with female workers
at the workplace.
Employees’ Diversity Weaknesses
 This is not easy to manage a force having employees with diversified minds and
beliefs. As provided in the case study, the management has to be aware of all the
aspects that may create conflict among diversified workers.
Employees’ culture weaknesses
 Employees may feel that the preference is not given to their culture in case of
differences in culture at the workplace.
Influences of change management
A commitment related to providing employment on the basis of gender equality,
diversity and adopting cultural differences is one of the main promises made by almost all the
organizations. Changing workforce construction and the introduction of new organizational
forms increases the number of diversified employees in the workforce and this affects the
leadership style of the leader of an organization. In given case study, DeCocinis provided
employment to the workers and employees of China along with the employees of other
nations who were already working in the other outlets of the hotel in different countries. This
gave the birth of diversified workforce with diversity in cultures, values, and beliefs. It was
definitely not easy to manage a workforce which is totally diversifies workforce even many
of the workers did not know English as they were only well known to the Chinese language.
This created communication gap among employees. For decrease the level of
miscommunication due to the language problem, DeCocinis started to organize a yearly
training program containing 100 hours. The main thing that was creating a difference among
employees was the perception of employees of Ritz Carlton that they had about Chinese
culture and unprofessional behavior of Chinese workers. This affected the leadership style of

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 9
DeCocinis as he could not deny the fact as well as he could also not emphasis on Chinese
workers to change their habits and behavior immediately (Burke & Barron, 2014).
Examination of Changes in Corporate Culture
Motivation
The change in the corporate culture of an organization can become either result in
motivating or demotivating the employees. If corporate change and change is management is
followed effectively by considering the appropriate style of leadership, then it can surely
motivate employees to perform better. In given case study, the change in the culture and
management of the hotel was carried out very effectively by giving respect to the values and
beliefs and existing employees as well as considering the new changes in such a manner that
may not affect the ethical values of any employee (Dobre, 2013).
Satisfaction
When there is a change in corporate culture and management the most challenging
task of the managers of new corporate culture is to satisfy the existing employees from the
old culture. In case of Ritz Carlton, old employees did not aware of the standards to the new
management and its customer services. Therefore it was a difficult task of the management to
satisfy existing employees with their policies without any dissatisfaction. The management
worked well on this aspect and resulted in increasing satisfaction level of employee up to
96% which was 26% higher than satisfaction level of previous management (Muscalu, 2014).
Company Loyalty
The loyalty of company can be measured through the increase and decrease in
satisfaction level of customers and employees. Company loyalty of Ritz Carlton can be seen
through the facilities provided to employees and workers at the time of change in
management. Similarly, the company also used to provide annually rewards to employees on
the basis of their performance. Customer satisfaction level also increased up to 96 % which
shows that the company was loyal to its guest as well as its employees also.
Multi-ethnicity
Multi-ethnicity is related to the different ethics that are followed by different people at
any organization or workplace. This is different form multi-culture as cultures are based on
the values and beliefs whereas ethnicity is based on the ethics followed by individuals. In the
case study, multi-ethnicity can be seen by considering the opinions of foreign employees
about Chinese workers. This can also be analyzed on the basis of the migration trend of

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 10
employees only for a minimum hike in wages. It shows that their ethics allowed them to
leave their existing and trusted company at the time when it needs the most because of
change in management and culture.
Task 3
Styles of Leadership
The three main leadership styles can be analyzed as follows
Autocratic Leadership
This leadership is related to the centralization of the leader. In this style, the leader or
boss holds all the responsibilities and authorities related to the decisions. The opinions of the
employees are not considered by the leader while making decisions. The leader takes decision
and communicate the same to the employees and expect immediate implementation. This
type of leadership is not liked by most of the individuals because of less flexibility.
Democratic Leadership
This is opposite to the autocratic leadership style as employees are involved in
making decisions and final decisions are taken on the basis of opinions of employees. The
final responsibility holds with the leader but he can delegate his/her authority to the
employees related to that particular project. This is one of the most preferable leadership
styles as it is characterized by fairness, flexibility, courage, creativity, employee satisfaction,
and competence.
Cross-cultural Leadership
This type of leadership is followed by the leader managing an organization with
employees from different cultures and beliefs. In this style of leadership. All job
responsibilities are organized and regulations are formed on the basis of various cultures and
religions. This is normally used by organizations and companies working at international
level.
Leadership style adopted by DeCocinis
Advantage
The new management used the democratic style of leadership to effectively manage
the workforce. DeCocinis used to conduct a monthly meeting with the managers of the
departments and used to discuss the performance of employees as well as the problems faced
by them. The information shared during this discussion was used in deciding the rewards and

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 11
recognition of employees during annual employee's meeting. Thus, it is clear that DeCocinis
used to consider the opinion of his team members but took the decision as per his own
understanding. It also improved employee satisfaction level up to 96% in 2001 which was
70% at the time of acquiring the business (Osabiya, 2015).
Disadvantage
It was proved a time-consuming process for the management as it was not easy to
implement a number of ideas provided by managers of different departments. Also, this could
be the also the reason for migrating of some experienced employees as only 300 experienced
employees stayed with the company till 2001.
Ethical Leadership
Ethical Leadership is a leadership that is followed by respect for ethical beliefs and
values, right and dignity of others. In given case study, the new management applied ethical
leadership to ensure that the dignity and respect of the employees may not get affected in any
manner.
Trust
DeCocinis developed an environment of trust in the workplace that led to
development of trust among managers and employees. The sense of being trusted by the
managers also used to prohibit the employees to perform any unethical work. This also
helped in increasing the customer experience as workers were dedicated by having an
understanding that their managers trust them and any unethical act can lead to break that trust
(Manzoor, 2012).o
Respect others
This trait of ethical leadership was followed by the new management to create an
environment where workers and employees could respect each other and could not perform
any such act which might have resulted in feeling disrespected to anyone. This step helped a
lot the hotel in increasing the positive customer experience and employee satisfaction because
employees started to trust each other as well as they were able to respect the needs and
expectations of customers in the same way. This impacted on their performance in a positive
manner (Meng & Boyd, 2017).
Ethical behavior:
A leader must possess below mentioned three ethical behaviors to manage a team in
an effective manner:

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 12
Honesty
For adopting the ethical behavior, a leader must be honest and loyal. Honesty is
important to be an effective and unethical leader. Honest leaders are always respected by
their team members and followers. A leader should always present the real and true fact
irrespective of its harmfulness and criticality.
Community Building
An ethical leader is required to consider the purpose of his team along with his own
purpose at the time of making strategies for achieving the objectives. He is required to work
on the basis of the interest of the community.
Respect
An ethical leader is required to have the sense of giving respect to his followers and
also his superiors. If the leader of a group respects his team members then he automatically
gets the same in revert (Malik, Javed, & Hassan, 2017).
Strategies for maintaining relationships with stakeholders
Encouraging participation in decision making
To maintain good relations with stakeholders, the management is required to involve
both internal as well as external stakeholders at the time of making any important decision
that can impact the profitability of the business. This is important to make them realize that
their concern is also important for experiencing the better results. In case of any wrong
decision, the management also gets free from the fact that stakeholders were not informed
about the same (Yamsul, Surachman, Salim, & Armanu, 2013).
Understanding their needs
The stakeholders require regular and consistent service and communication. But they
are also intended to keep this communication targeted and personalized. This need should be
analyzed by following the process of prioritization and informing them only relevant
information timely. The management should escape by providing unnecessary and irrelevant
information to the stakeholders (Furlich, 2016).
Conclusion
On the basis of above report, it can be concluded that Mark J. DeCocinis managed
and led the change in management very effectively and adopted all such styles and theories of

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 13
leadership which resulted in a positive manner. It can also be concluded that results of change
management cannot be predicted as it depends upon the type and nature of the workforce.

LEADERSHIP THEORY, STYLE AND ETHICS 14
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