Personal Leadership and Management Skills for Red Carnation Hotel

This report provides an in-depth exploration of leadership and management principles within the context of Red Carnation Hotel. It begins by examining the impact of organizational objectives, values, and culture on leadership and management roles. The report then delves into essential leadership and management skills such as social intelligence, planning, interpersonal skills, and prudence, followed by a self-assessment of the author's skills in these areas, including focus, problem-solving, communication, feedback acquisition, and reviewing. Task 2 focuses on assessing opportunities for personal development, including coaching, mentoring, formal training, educational opportunities, and reflective learning, culminating in a personal development plan with specific objectives related to time management, resource management, and negotiation skills. Task 3 involves reviewing the personal development plan, analyzing the effectiveness of skill development, and identifying areas for further improvement, ultimately concluding with a reflection on the overall learning experience and its implications for future leadership and management practices.

Personal Leadership and
management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Impact of organisational objectives, values and culture........................................................3
1.2 Leadership and management skills........................................................................................4
1.3 Self-assessment of skills........................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Assessing opportunities.........................................................................................................7
2.2 Personal development plan....................................................................................................8
2.3 Managing personal development.........................................................................................10
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
3.1 Reviewing personal development plan................................................................................11
3.2 Effectiveness of personal development of skills..................................................................12
3.3 Analysis of areas of development........................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
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INTRODUCTION
Leadership is an art of leading a group of individuals that are working towards shared
goals while management is a function which aims to accomplish the set goals and objectives in a
strategic manner. There are certain aspects which are needed to be considered by every business
organisation's leaders and managers before implementing any strategy or plan. Red Carnation
Hotel is an organisation that has a disciplinary working structure which has affected the nature of
working of leaders and managers. Objectives, values and corporate cultural influence are some
factors which have put high impact on the role of leadership and management.
In this report, aforementioned facts and evaluation of required skills for leadership and
management in the hotel are described in this report. A personal development plan will be
provided in this assessment so that organisational and personal objectives can be met with utmost
efficiency. This informative report will help in improving self-skills regarding leadership and
management. Moreover, individuals will become more beneficial for the organisation when
better strategies are developed and applied to functioning for Red Carnation Hotel.
TASK 1
1.1 Impact of organisational objectives, values and culture
Red Carnation Hotel has a brand reputation in the UK and worldwide. This recognition is
acquired when proper aim and objectives are communicated to the employees and workforce by
leaders and managers. Beliefs and values of individuals that are working together towards
collective goal and objective form the foundation of culture in an organisation. Impact of these
attributes on the role of management and leadership is quite deep routed (Bolman and Deal,
2014). For instance, the organisational objective of Red Carnation Hotel is customer focused and
its aim is to achieve maximum profits through the services provided by company.
Stakeholders are the most important components of a business functioning. Their
satisfaction level helps in understanding whether current strategies regarding the products and
services of Red Carnation Hotel are correct or not. Such an objective influences the leaders to
plan team roles and functions of organisation in such a way that profitability is increased with
enabling ethical operations. Employees are completely dependent on the actions and decisions of
leaders and managers (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). If leadership is not oriented towards
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company’s goals or objectives, then there are chances that overall performance of organisation
gets affected. On the other hand, organisational culture is another factor that put its impact on
leadership and management role. Charles Handy has described four types of cultures that exist in
an organisation. These include power, role and task as well as people culture. The compliance of
culture with leadership and management skills is important for smooth functioning of company.
For instance, power culture gives authority or power to take decisions in the hands of one or
more individuals. This makes the leadership to be dominant and more authoritative while
management is quite strict and less flexible (Avolio and Yammarino, 2013). However, role
culture influences leadership to be more cooperative and employee oriented while organisation’s
goals and objectives are not compromised.
Purpose and values which are established in company are significant components in
deciding the nature of leadership. Red Carnation Hotel being an organisation where ethical
governance and operation if influenced, leadership and management have to play the role of
contributors in achieving this purpose. Employees and all unsuccessful strategies hold their
leaders and managers accountable. This develops their role to be responsible and cooperative.
Business organisations are subjected to the external environment which is made up of different
components like government, societies, communities, etc. (Fischer and et. al., 2016). Leadership
and management play the role of company representatives while dealing with external
environmental factors.
1.2 Leadership and management skills
As discussed earlier, it is important for every company to design and develop an
objective that will help in getting a guided path for functioning. Leadership and management
skills are highly essential in order to meet the set objectives and goals. An individual's personal
traits and characteristics are highly important in contributing to company's functioning.
Social Intelligence: Effective leadership can be examined by evaluating the social
intelligence quotient of leader. A person's capability of developing an understanding about
different social situations is social intelligence (Hallinger, 2013). For instance, two people are
fighting over their personal matter and this is ruining the working atmosphere of Red Carnation
Hotel. The leadership skill that is required at this point for getting quick solutions is social
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intelligence and patience. Leader or manager must be able to deal with both the parties with
patience so that culture and working environment would not get adversely affected.
Planning: Strategies are the stepping stones in achieving business objectives. Hence, a
significant skill that is essential for smooth organisational functioning is planning. When actions
are strategically planned and executed, there is a scope of getting space for alternatives and other
options. While on the other hand, ineffective leadership often occurs due to insufficiency in
planning (Shattock, 2013). Analytical approach to planning helps in gathering information from
all the perspectives and then devising a plan which shall support development.
Interpersonal Skills: Leadership and management can be effective if there is a mutual
understanding between employees and leaders. For instance, there is an increased flow of
customers during off-season for Red Carnation Hotel. In such cases, the requirement of
interpersonal skills is realised. Managers have to deliver their commands and orders to
individuals so that customer needs and requirements will be easily met. They are also called as
soft skills of a leader which has greater effectiveness (What's the difference between leadership
and management?, 2017).
Prudence: Also referred as wisdom, prudence is the ability of a person to visualise
situations from different perspectives and then reaching to the conclusion. Leadership involves
making judgements. Different sets of people show various behaviour depending on their
acceptance level towards a situation. If cautious and prudent decisions are taken, then chances of
effectiveness increases (Hallinger and Wang, 2015). Moreover, acceptance of the leader by his
followers is increased when he takes correct decisions and strategic steps. All such skills and
competencies help in meeting organisational objective with development of good organisational
culture
1.3 Self-assessment of skills
Leadership and management skills which I have been witnessing in myself are described
ahead. Being a responsible employee of Red Carnation Hotel, I have been playing a significant
role by dedicating my skills and competencies to development of the company.
1. Focus: Every individual requires one skill which can help in eliminating barriers
effectively. This single skill is focus. I have high concentration power and capability to
perform without getting diverted from external forces. This competence is focus.
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Leadership involves focus and awareness about surroundings and their functioning. It
helps in making decisions effectively.
2. Problem Solving: Different types of situations require special attention and specific skills
to deal with. Problem solving skill can be considered as a strong leadership and
management attribute because it helps in assuring that tasks or activities going in the
company won't be hindered or stopped if any sort of blockade or problem occurs. I have
depicted problem solving skill in difficult situations which were addressed by me and my
colleagues (Shattock, 2013).
3. Effective communication: Communication takes place between two or more people
through various mediums. Professional ethics allow formal communication with verbal
and non-verbal orientations so that clear transfer of information takes place. For instance,
a new salary policy has been formulated by Red Carnation Hotel. It is my duty to
communicate whereabouts of this policy to my followers and other employees for
establishing effective communication.
4. Acquiring feedbacks: I have depicted my key skills which depict relations with
leadership and management. Personal skills and competencies can be enhanced when
organisation adopts appraisal systems and feedbacks (Hallinger and Wang, 2015). For
example: I have been working with Red Carnation Hotel since 3 years. My performance
and professional background has improved steadily with different leaderships in power.
Gaining information from feedbacks be it negative or positive, I will be benefited in
inculcating improvements in my working style. As a result, betterment of personal skills
takes place.
5. Reviewing: I have a in-built tendency to experience and review my work from different
perspectives so that flaws are easily detected. Red Carnation Hotel being a brand cannot
compromise with damages caused to the business due to negligence caused by
employees. I have been reviewing appraisals and performance development of employees
so that defects in strategies can be actively eliminated.
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TASK 2
2.1 Assessing opportunities
There are various ways or opportunities in which personal development can take place
which would in turn produce better leadership and management skills. These opportunities
include coaching and mentoring. Leadership is an assistive journey (Kimani, 2014). Red
Carnation Hotel cannot transform all by itself if only the leader is working and rest other
employees are idle. Hence, coaching and mentoring for employees is required. On the same
hand, there is a great need of developing techniques which can help leaders in enhancing their
skills and qualities for better productivity and profitability.
Coaching and Mentoring: This process involves development through learning from a
coach. This person shall provide effective methods through which the leader can get himself
trained and advised on different matters (Grainger, 2014). For instance, the leader of Red
Carnation Hotel is not so capable for taking decisions in judiciary matters. In such cases,
coaching and mentoring by a legal advisor shall help in developing legal skills.
Formal Trainings: Company itself provides training facilities which are regularly
imparted from time to time. These types of trainings are called formal and are limited to office
campus. Progress is monitored from time to time in this type of training and whenever
organisation authorities recognise that there is a need for providing learning opportunity, then
formal trainings are organised.
Educational opportunities: Leaders and managers can explore learning opportunities in
educational institutions which are capable of delivering knowledge that shall enhance
competencies and skills (Persson, 2014.). Colleges and universities often develop programs
which give special allowances to employees and other company staff to either come and learn or
gain knowledge through distance learning education.
Reflective learning: Every individual irrespective of their functioning position has to
develop critical thinking which will help in analysing different situations and providing better
results in terms of performance. Reflective learning models and techniques is one such
opportunity or approach which helps individuals to develop their critical thinking skills. The
techniques involved in reflective thinking model include maintaining a journal or log and
recording each and every activity that has been addressed by the individual during his/her day
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(Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell, 2013). The person then has to evaluate his decisions from all
dimensional aspects and then understand the places where he was right or wrong.
All these opportunities if appropriately implied then personal development and
enhancement of leadership and management skills is effectively done.
2.2 Personal development plan
Following personal development plan shall help in implementing changes or
improvements in current functioning strategies. Moreover, better contributions in organisational
goals and objectives will be experienced through this plan (Mujtaba, 2013). Following objectives
have been set for attaining better leadership and management skills while working in Red
Carnation Hotel:
 To enhance time management skills required in scheduling and organising certain events
or daily operations.
 Resource management skills have to be improved for achieving organisational excellence
and utilising resources effectively for Red Carnation Hotel. Identifying and implementing activities that will help in attaining better negotiation
power.
Activities Timescales Objectives and aims Resources required
Getting acquainted
with maximum
number of tasks and
being subjected to
rigorous pressure of
completing within
stipulated time can be
beneficial.
1 month Time management
skills.
Support from leaders
or hotel authorities,
record maintaining
book or log.
Business activities can
be monitored and
supervised by
individuals regarding
3 months Resource management
skills.
Maintain personalised
inventory records for
understanding their
usage and
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the resources which
are implied in
everyday use. It helps
in understanding the
characteristic use and
quantity of resources
which are unused are
also classified.
applicability.
Regular interactions
with suppliers and
internal stores shall
help in developing
better bargaining
power or negotiation
skills (Millar, Chen
and Waller, 2015).
Individuals must not
leave this function on
anyone else and
perform this job all by
themselves
2 months Negotiation skills.
To save maximum
capital without
compromising in
quality and quantity of
product.
Calculator for
performing accurate
estimate of total profit
or loss which is going
to happen because of
the negotiation.
Access to knowledge
and information
regarding current
prices and product
varieties is essential.
Business organisations require certain particular skills and competencies when it comes
to leadership and management. Amongst these aforementioned skills are necessary for every
individuals. Better negotiation will help in acquiring resources and profits without being in much
loss. Moreover, effective time management skills help in accomplishing tasks which are assigned
to individuals (Griffin, 2013). It also helps in enhancing capabilities of individuals as a result
avoiding overtime.
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2.3 Managing personal development
Once a personal development plan has been implemented, it is important to manage and
monitor the activities that are planned. Without effective management, the chances of getting
appropriate results is minimised. In order to decrease this risk, certain processes or procedures
are to be initiated and implemented in the current strategic functioning. These include continual
review and reflection, appropriate learning, generating and evaluating feedbacks and maintaining
records of failures and achievements (Thorpe, 2016). When a person manages all these activities
according to the personal development plan, then strategies and processes which are formulated
for betterment become more successful.
Continual Review and Reflection: Leadership and management can be effective only
when leaders and managers have the habit of reviewing their activities. When continuous review
and reflection is performed, mistakes and errors that are committed in the process can be
diagnosed and rectified on time. Personal development plan can be successfully implemented
when sequential planning and effective review is performed.
Progressive learning: Great leaders have stated that learning is the first step towards
success. Hence, leadership and management skills must be focused towards progressive learning
so that aims and objectives are effectively accomplished. It is enabled when continuous projects
are handled or allotted to individuals (Daft, 2014). It helps in setting a continuous flow of
information without getting disturbed or mismanaged.
Evaluating and generating feedbacks: Individuals that are a part of entire strategy or
project are the most important people when it comes to feedbacks. Leaders can explore their
opportunity of being on a responsible position by accessing feedbacks which can be collected
using questionnaire forms or surveys or even from open sessions (Rosemann and vom Brocke,
2015). These must not be limited to the leader himself but Red Carnation Hotel can use this for
their customers and other stakeholders. In this way one can easily understand the nature of
impact that has been experienced by followers and subordinates whenever a decision is taken.
Maintaining records: It is advisable to consider recording and tracking systems. The
possibilities when severe critical consequences can occur is quite undefined. Red Carnation
Hotel may or may not face any issues in its functioning when certain individual is working as the
leader or manager. But there are chances that conflicts or clashes may occur. In such situations,
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track records help in understanding the situation much better and also helps in taking effective
decisions. Individuals can maintain their records using logs or journals or even diaries (Burke
and Barron, 2014). A sense of self control is experienced when records are maintained and
results obtained will be more effective.
TASK 3
3.1 Reviewing personal development plan
The personal development plan which is prepared in this assessment aims to improve
specific skills i.e. negotiation skills, time management skills and resource management
capabilities (Mujtaba, 2013). Red Carnation Hotel can improve its leadership and management
competencies when objectives are clearly defined and designed. This personal development plan
has clear objectives which is in accordance to SMART principle that is being specific,
measurable, attainable, time bound and realistic. All these activities that are planned for
gathering improvements are in accordance with this principle. It is important to provide a time
limit so that unnecessary lethargy and delay doesn't occur. Effectiveness of every activity will be
improved when time limit is provided. Hence, in this aspect, the personal development plan is
quite accurate (Johnston and Marshall, 2016).
Original objectives and the achievements are quite close. This indicates that precise
results are obtained. One can easily understand and learn the techniques that are involved in
negotiating with suppliers or distributors for providing resources at least possible prices. On the
other hand, time management skills are less improved because of no specific activity (Chopra
and Kanji, 2010). Instead, the activity which has been described in the personal development
plan is more burdening and exhaustive. Employees won't be able to cope with this work pressure
in the hotel and as a result, their interest towards working will decrease. Hence, it is important to
review the time management improvement program. This objective is henceforth not achieved
because of lack of specific working techniques and procedures.
Considering the objective of attaining better capabilities for managing resources, the
organisation has witnessed visible changes in its financial reports (Northouse, 2012). These
changes are positive and contributing in meeting organisational objectives and purpose of Red
Carnation Hotel. Leaders and managers can gain the capability of managing inventory and
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allocating specific resources in necessary amounts. Red Carnation Hotel's supply chain has
improved which means the objective of improving resource utilisation capabilities is met.
It is important for reviewing every plan or strategy because there can be hidden errors or
flaws in defined strategies or plans (Anderson and Anderson, 2010). These errors are easily
detected when a review procedure is initiated. It also helps in understanding or getting an insight
about the objectives which have not been accomplished or achieved yet. For instance,
considering the given personal development plan, out of three important objectives only two
were successfully achieved and one failed. This means that there were certain loop holes in the
functioning strategy. Hence, it is important to review and evaluate business strategies and action
plans for betterment of the organisation and less wastage of resources (Hwang and Ng, 2013).
3.2 Effectiveness of personal development of skills
Red Carnation Hotel as mentioned before, is a brand icon in the hotel and service
industry. The only thing that is required to maintain this brand reputation is effective strategies
and efficient human resource (Müller and Turner, 2010). Every individual that is providing
his/her services in the organisation must be able to contribute in such a way that organisational
objectives are accomplished. Effectiveness of a proposed strategy or action plan can be measured
using the speed or process which is implied in meeting objectives. For instance, the personal
development plan was not able to accomplish the goal of improving time management skills.
This skill is highly significant for management and leadership both. Managers cannot function
properly if their time is not managed. They have to perform the operation of scheduling and
planning daily activities which cannot be possible without effective time management operation.
Hence, effectiveness of skill is decreased (Connors, 2011).
Benchmarking is a process of setting standards and comparing one type of business
process with others' or competitors' strategies. For instance, Marriott is an influential competitor
of Red Carnation Hotel. Different benchmarks are set by every company once they have
achieved something. It is possible than Red Carnation sets the benchmark of giving high quality
services in spa and beautification. This means that competitors have to meet the requirements of
this benchmark and then develop or improve their strategies (Baron and Morin, 2010). Activities
which are involved in development of a company must be evaluated for understanding the level
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