The Four Seasons Hotels Management Essay

Isadore Sharp is the Founder; Chairman CEO of The Four Seasons Hotels Resort .He was born in Ontario, Canada in October 8, 1931. Sharp is one of Canadas most successful businessmen. He completed his graduation in architecture from Toronto’s Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.After working in real statesfor five years, he decided to take a new direction and pondered the idea to build a hotel on his own. He was just 29 years old when he opened his first 125 room motor hotel (motel) in Toronto which went well€¨Anonymous,2009).

Mr. Sharp,has build and managing a chain of 83 hotels that includes some of the world’s most impressive properties across 35 countries in 5 continents. Consistently ranked among the best hotels in the world, the Four Seasons earns annual revenues in excess of $200 million. Doing thing in his own way Sharp has transformed the idea of service and quality of hotel industry.Mr.sharp was not interested in following his competitors path, he developed his own management techniques and style which facilitated him to create the world’s largest network of luxury hotels. Sharp was mainly focused on quality not the quantity. He belived in building medium sized hotel with excellent service and quality.In 2009, he authored a book name “Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy”, which gives an insight of the story of his successful five star Four Season Hotel chain(William Morassutti,2009).

Mr. Sharp has obtained and earned so many achievements and awards in his field till now which includes Order of Canada, the second highest honour for merit and many more Lifetime Achievement Award .He isHonorary Director of Scotia bank,Clairvest Group Inc., Canadian Unity Council, Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, and Mount Sinai Hospital. Mr. sharp has given Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from University of Guelph, 1992, University of Toronto, 1994 and York University, 2009(Businessweek, 2012).

2.Leadership

What is leadership? Leadership is widely used to seek advice from actions such as doing, guiding, or guiding people; starting action. Leadership makes and/or allows a viewpoint for what must be done, why it is important, and how it can be achieved. It is someone who is aware of current government and company circumstances, possibilities, and issues. Leadership needs therefore having the right mind-set along with the right viewpoint. Leadership is an important function of control which allows to improve performance and to accomplish company objectives. Leadership is very important in taking effort, motivating, offering support, creating assurance, creating relaxation, creating fantastic office, and co-ordination. Leadershipis important in every organization at every level to improve their growth & win the competitors. Organizations want leaders, who are value inspired individualities, who can control the circumstances by making the surprising happens ,develop organizations, win the employees’ commitment with the DNA i.e. purpose, viewpoint and ethical concepts, create better design with proper work way of life and lead the individuals towards the success of company objectives and objectives(Sanjay Saxena, 2010).

Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the behavior and work of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal. Leadership is the potential to influence behavior of others. It is also defined as the capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members to want to achieve the visions(Anonymous, 2009).

According to Keith Davis, “Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals.”

Leadership is an inter-personal procedure in which an administrator is into impacting and directing employees towards achievement of objectives. It signifies a few features to be present in a person such as intellect, maturation and character. It is a team procedure. Leadership contains two or more individuals to interact each other. A leader is involved in forming and moulding the behavior of the team towards success of business objectives. Leadership is totallt depend on situations. There is no best style of leadership(MSG, 2009).

Leadership and management are the terms that are often considered synonymous. It is essential to understand that leadership is an essential part of effective management. As a crucial component of management, remarkable leadership behaviour stresses upon building an environment in which each and every employee develops and excels. Leadership is defined as the potential to influence and drive the group efforts towards the accomplishment of goals. This influence may originate from formal sources, such as that provided by acquisition of managerial position in an organization.A manager must have traits of a leader, i.e., he must possess leadership qualities. Leaders develop and begin strategies that build and sustain competitive advantage. Organizations require robust leadership and robust management for optimal organizational efficiency (md, 2012).

All the good leaders are good mangers but not all the good managers are good leader, it’s not necessary that an effective manger can be a good leader. There are many administrators,supervisors and executives who performing their responsibilities very effectively without being a good leader. Managers follow what has been told by their leader, they think about their department where as a leaders thinks about the whole organization. Managers deals with ongoing ,day to day challenges and complexities of organizations. Managing requires costing and planning and leading requires creating a mission and vision for the organization. Management requires structuring the organization, staffing it with capable people, and monitoring activities; leadership goes beyond these functions by inspiring people to attain the vision. Good leaders lead their people towards ultimate vision and help as well as motivates them in obstacles whatever come in the way(Patricia Coleman, 2007).

The first basic function of the leader is to develop his work-group as a team. The responsibility of a leader is to create a friendly work-environment by keeping a close view of his subordinates competence, needs and potential abilities. The second function of leader is to act as a representative of the work group. The leader of a work-group is to expect to act as a link between the group and top management. The leader is expected to communicate the problems and grievances of his subordinates to top management in desired circumstances. The third function of leader is to act as a counsellor of the people at work. The leader is expected to guide and advise the concerned subordinate when he is facing problems in connection with their performance at the work. The concerned problem can be technical or emotional in nature. The fourth important function of leader is time management. The leader function is to check the timeliness completion at different stages of work and also ensuring quality and efficiency of work performed by the group. The fifth most important function of leader is the proper use of power. The leader should be intelligible and observant enough to exercise his power in relation to his subordinates in different ways as per the needs of the situation. The leader can use powers like reward power, coercive power, or expert power, formal or informal power to stimulate positive response from his subordinates (JyotiMalhotra, 2009).

Leadership styles are different approaches by which a leader may fulfill his or her leadership role. These styles may be defined in an infinite variety of ways. Different leaders have different leadership styles which differs in the manner and approach in which they provide direction to the people, how they implement the plans and how they motivate the people. The three old styles of leadership are:

Authoritarian or Autocratic

Participative or Democratic

Delegative or Free Reign

A leader who informs his employees about what needs to be done and how it needs to be done is an Authoritarian and Autocratic type of leader. Such a leader never takes advice and suggestions from others. This style of leadership is useful in situations when the leader has all the information and resources to solve the problem efficiently and only needs the work to be done by his employees. This style of leadership helps in saving time. This style is successful only when the employees are thoroughly motivated to do the work. A good leader knows when he needs to use this style and when not to. If the leader has time on his side and wants to gain the commitment of his employees and motivate them, he should use the Participative style of leadership

A leader who involves one or more of his employee in the process of decision making by taking his opinions and suggestions in how to do the work, uses the Participative style of leadership. Although he takes the opinions, the final decision remains with the leader and he can chose not use the suggestions if he thinks that it doesn’t help the cause. A leader who uses this style should not be considered a weak leader but on the contrary it’s a sign of strength. Using this style, a leader gains the respect of his employees.This style is used when the leader doesn’t have complete information and other employees have some information which will be useful for achieving the goal. A leader should always employ employees who are knowledgeable and skillful as the leader is not expected to know each and everything. This style helps the leader to become a part of the team and it helps in getting towards a better decision.

A leader who allows the decisions to be made by his employees uses the Delegative style of leadership. Although the decisions are made by the employee(s), the responsibility of the decisions rests with the leader since he is the person in-charge. This style is used when the employees are knowledgeable and skillful enough to analyze the situation and can determine on their own about what needs to be done and how to do it. A leader should always prioritize the tasks and delegate some of his work to his employees as he cannot do each and everything. Such a leader should not blame others when things don’t work out well. This style should be used a leader only when he can completely trust the decision making capabilities of his employees and has confidence in their knowledge and skills. A good leader uses this style very wisely.

A good leader should always incorporate all the three styles but most leaders have one of the styles as the dominant style.

NEW Leadership Styles

Transformational Leadership

Charismatic Leadership

Transactional Leadership

Transformational leadership is one of the most popular leadership styles in the changing world and focuses on effecting revolutionary change in organizations through a commitment to the organization’s vision.

Transformational leaders sell the company’s defined vision, usually a radical vision, that departs from the established one by many ways, such as: Articulating the vision and explaining how to attain the vision in an appealing manner, Establishing high levels of personal integrity to gain trust and inspire the members, Applying passion and energy at work, and injecting such energy and enthusiasm to followers, Leading from the front to demonstrate attitudes and actions for followers to emulate, Motivating and rallying followers by constantly listening, soothing, and enthusing, Developing a shared vision and appealing to people’s inborn desire to attain higher levels related to love, learning, leaving a legacy, and the like.

Transformational leadership has much in common with charismatic leadership, with the major difference relating to the scope. While transformational leadership focuses on organizational change, charismatic leadership may not have such a focus(N Nayab,2011) .

Charismatic leadership is leading by dint of personality and charm, instead of relying on any external power or authority.

Charismatic leaders seek to fulfill organizational goals by instilling devotion. They scan and read the environment in which they operate to pick up the moods and concerns of individuals and larger audiences, and then hone their actions and words to suit the situation. They engender the trust of the people through visible self-sacrifice and take personal risks in the name of their beliefs

The major behavioral attributes of charismatic leaders include: Sensitivity to the environment and member needs, Articulation of a clear-cut vision shaped to the situation, Effective use of body language and verbal language, Personal risk taking and unconventional behavior, High self-belief, Displaying confidence in follower’s ability.Charismatic leaders have the potential to elevate and transform an entire company. The danger lies in using such powers to create a personality-based cult that misguides people(Bass, B. M., 1985).

Transactional leadership bases itself on getting things done through a clear chain of command and works on the assumption that rewards and punishment will motivate people.

Transactional Leaders negotiate a contract with subordinates that creates clear structures, makes explicit the requirement, and installs a formal system for rewards and discipline. The subordinate gets a salary and other benefits and the company gets complete authority over the subordinate in return. The subordinate becomes fully responsible for the allocated work and receives rewards for success or discipline for failure.

Transactional leaders follow a management by exception approach, wherein they do not give much attention to routine issues or excepted performance and rather pay attention to present issues.

The major characteristics of transactional leaders include Reliance on standard forms of inducement, reward, punishment, and sanction to control followers, Motivating followers through goal setting and a simple and straightforward approach of rewards for desired performance and discipline for failure, Reinforcing subordinates to complete their side of the bargain successfully(Magnus Tegborg, 2011).

Among all the modern management styles, transactional leadership come the closest to traditional leadership styles, but it remains one of the modern leadership styles in a changing world, bearing some similarities with transformational leadership. The difference between transactional and transformational leadership is that while transformational leaders adopt a ‘selling’ style, transactional leaders adopts a ‘telling’ style.

“Long-term success is never achieved on our own,” – Sharp.

“The phrase ‘a self-made man’ is a myth – all along the way we need support.” -Sharp

Mr. Sharp, the leading luxury hotelier in the world, didn’t become so all by himself. In the 50 years of service in the hotel industry, he has developed a leadership style for himself which is unique and has encouraged his employees the world over to completely devote themselves for the betterment of the company in all regards. He has created a working environment which has been built on trust, credibility and integrity. This has inspired his team to work with more dedication to cater to the needs of the guests in all of his hotels across the world. Mr. Sharpe realized very quickly that this is the secret which will help him to get the best results for his company.

He believed that in order to achieve significant productivity gains, he needs to empower his employees to a certain extent. One of the first tasks that he did was to create a united purpose amongst his workers. Sharp knew that neither he nor anyone else could command the dedication of his employees. As per Mr. Sharpe, a Leader requires persuasive powers so that his employees can follow that he has established. This persuasion has to be built upon the essential foundations of credibility and trusts. Right through his career, Sharpe strived to earn that credibility from his employees and never once did he take that for granted.

“We earn credibility only when employees see that what we say is confirmed by what we do, and when our actions consistently further our stated goal” he says. “We have to share information truthfully, openly and fully. And we have to earn trust before a sense of common purpose can emerge.”

“The reason for our success is no secret. It comes down to one single principle that transcends time and geography, religion and culture. It’s the Golden Rule – the simple idea that if you treat people well, the way you would like to be treated, they will do the same.”

“…. the fundamentals of our culture, which is based on the Golden Rule – to treat others as you wish to be treated,” -Isadore Sharp

Mr Sharp reached the level of luxury he is providing by following this simple principle. By anticipating guests’ expectations beforehand, he has climbed the heights of hospitality industry. As an example, they were the first company to put shampoo in the bathrooms, 24hour room service, onehour pressing, overnight dry cleaning, terrycloth bathrobes, soft toilet paper, complimentary shoe shine, kids and teens programs, no smoking floors.  And the list never ends.

“But the essence of leadership is simply the ability to unite, direct and motivate.  And there are many different qualities to leadership:  mental toughness, judgement, conviction, patience, enthusiasm.”- Isadore Sharp

Mr. sharpbelives in three most important leadership qualities which are unity, direction and motivation.

Crisis Leadership

Crisis Management means to identify the various damages and/or dangers that can arise due to a crisis of any sort and to make plans so to limit the damage and the actions and tasks that are needed to be performed during such a crisis. In common terms it means to be prepared to face any crisis and deal with it. Crisis Management involves high leverage skills that are necessary so to corporate recovery at the time of a disaster. Crisis leadership skills are needed so as to define the crisis in such a way that it is beyond the obvious, forecasts the intended and unintended consequences of any decision and also anticipates the effects that the crisis has impacted on various stakeholders. It should also assess the impact of the crisis on core assets and follow the values and guiding principles of the organization and, your own ethical standards that may be tested to the limit.

A defining decision is required for each and every different crisis. Most of the times the initial information being provided is incomplete and usually wrong and there are many rumors that are floating around. Usually action is taken without much time being given for considering the consequences. Every move, every action that is being made is watched which creates a stressful environment.

Crisis leadership is more about who you are than what you know. A leader who lacks character, ethics and integrity cannot efficiently perform the crisis management. An effective crisis leader is one who acts deliberately and efficiently without wasting much time so as to achieve the results effectively in the end. He must possess high moral values and have high ethical standards.

The five guiding principles for managing crises

Well-being of people first, with caring and compassion

Assume appropriate responsibility

Address needs of all stakeholders in a timely manner

All decisions and actions based on honesty and ethical guidelines

Available, visible and open communication with all impacted parties

A leader needs to demonstrate care as it is the most important trait than all other leadership traits combined, according to research by the Center for Risk Communications. If the leader comes across as a person who is uncaring, then people will become annoyed. Caring during crisis response is not a feeling. Caring is a set of corporate and personal behaviors that stimulate the perception in impacted stakeholders that you and your company truly care.

A leader needs to have a vision for the crisis resolution. Without a clear and compelling vision for response and recovery, he will not be able to adequately lead the people during times of crisis.

The most important action of a leader is a two-way efficient communication. A leader should always listen carefully to the information that is being presented to him and to give clear and precise orders to the employees. It also involves his qualities of speaking effectively to the various stakeholders.

With no prior notice, you must make on-the-spot decisions and implement rapid-fire responses when crises unexpectedly strike. Your people will be stressed-out and deadlines time-compressed. Information will be inadequate and the high-consequences of your responses could determine if people will be harmed, careers ruined and your company seriously damaged.

In applying effective crisis leadership principles, it recommends that you look at three rules of thumb to focus your response. First, identify the core assets of the organization that are potentially at risk. Are people in harms way? Is there possible damage to your company brand, reputation or shareholder value? Will the ability to deliver goods or services be significantly disrupted? Secondly, identify all stakeholder individuals and groups who are harmed (real or perceived). Do your best to address their needs and concerns. And third, anticipate the potential progression of events and reactions by stakeholders.

Crisis Leadership Moment #1

Imagine that it finally hit! The avian flu has just been confirmed to be contagious. One of your traveling employees has just been diagnosed with this dreaded disease after returning home. Your workforce is fearful that they might have been exposed and most are not personally prepared at home for an outbreak. But, you need them to carry out the company’s business continuity plan. Employees in mass want to take time off. What do you do?

With the avian flu scenario, consider first addressing the well being of your most important asset, your people. Provide masks, gloves, and hygiene protocol within the workplace. Get your hands on cash, food and water. If you don’t already have these things, move fast. The early bird gets the worm during crisis management. Once your people are addressed, focus on stakeholders who might need priority attention. It could be customers, or your suppliers and distributors. Prioritize and do what you can to address the needs or concerns of all impacted stakeholders. Those stakeholders that you don’t adequately address will likely be the problem areas. Anticipate their needs by imagining what you would want or expect if you were in their position.

Crisis Leadership Moment #2

You learn that one of your facilities has been emitting low-level toxic substances for an undetermined amount of time. It is the company’s fault due to a prior decision to delay replacement of a faulty system in one of your facilities. But, it is quickly remedied. Possibly, employees, visitors and others have all been exposed to a small degree. Most likely, the exposure was minimal with no harm.

Unfortunately, a similar situation occurred at the same facility last year. You reported it to the authorities and the media, in learning about it, exagerated the story, blaming the company for putting people at risk.

If knowledge of the present toxic emission were unveiled publicly it would likely cause serious reputational and legal damage to your organization, now that it has happened again. But it would be worse if discovered later that you tried to cover it up. Possibly, your position within the company is on the line, as well. Only you and a couple of trusted subordinates know about the emission now. Do you proactively go public and risk the feared personal, reputational and legal damage or try to resolve the situation quietly with (hopefully) no public harm done?

The toxic exposure scenario involves information that is known to you, but not to those who may be at risk. It would be easy for uninvolved advisors to recommend that you come forward immediately and let the chips fall where they may. Its hard to hide damaging information and is best to follow the guiding principles of taking responsibility in an honest and ethical manner. In general, good crisis management will require protection of the greater good over personal concerns. With that said, there are times in the real world of crisis management when the decision is made to conceal known information. Right or wrong, if the damage of being forthcoming is considered too much to bear, some people will decide not to come forward. If you are tempted to conceal, you must come up with a rationale that will pass the ¿½reasonable person test. Consider confidentially getting a multidisciplinary group of advisors to discuss your best alternatives. Possibly, a specialist in toxic exposure should be consulted. Anticipate the reactions of people who perceive harm if they learn of your concealment. If you do not feel comfortable defending your rationale on the front page of the newspaper, you are taking a serious risk that could take you and or the company down. Lying and concealing information are two ways to escalate the severity of your crisis. Think: Arthur Andersen, Bill Clinton, and Martha Stewart.

Crisis Leadership Moment #3

Two bombs hit your facilities simultaneously in different locations with a note from an activist group taking credit. Do you close all your facilities throughout the enterprise as a safety precaution? If so, for how long? If not, what are alternative responses?

Now, make those decisions that may have life and death implications. Act in a manner that will be scrutinized later. Take that risk that may define your career as an excellent leader when the organization needed it most…or an inept manager with poor judgment under pressure.

The scenario of a simultaneous bombing in two work locations was presented. Your employees and customers (if they come onsite) will have the natural fear of reoccurrence. The issue emerges of not wanting to reinforce the violent acts of a hostile activist group. Shareholders may have fears that their investments are not secure. The media may sensationalize the story and even look for ways to blame your company. Your job of crisis leadership is to anticipate these and other reactions by impacted stakeholders and address their needs. A strong physical security response may be needed to help assure employees and customers. Possibly, an aggressive approach to help apprehend the offenders would be effective, like offering a generous reward for information and arrest. Methods for efficiently giving and receiving communications would be a vital component for dealing with this crisis.

Bibiliography

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Sanjay Saxena, 2010 ; Leadership , PHI Learning PVt. Ltd.

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md, 2012; http://forum.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/index.php?topic=7146.0

Clay Parcells, 2011; http://www.task.fm/difference-between-leadership-and-management

Jyoti Malhotra, 2009;http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/72990-Functions-leadership.aspx

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http://www.fourseasons.com/about_four_seasons/isadore-sharp/

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/962/Lesson-1-Leadership-Is-Not-To-Be-Taken-Lightly.html

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/962/Lesson-2-Success-Comes-From-Pursuing-A-SinglePurpose-Goal.html

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/962/His-Finest-Season-Sharp-Creates-a-Life-of-Luxury.html

Fifty Seasons of FOUR SEASONS and counting !