The Regency Hotel Case AnalysisTeam 3

Ian Anderson

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Key Organizational Challenges

1.2 Evaluated Alternative Solutions

2. Analysis

2.1 Behavior, Personality, and Values

2.2 Perceptions

2.3 Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress

2.4 Motivation

2.5 Decision Making and Creativity

2.6 Team Dynamics and Team Processes

2.7 Communication Structures and Systems

2.8 Power and Influence

2.9 Conflict and Negotiation

2.10 Leadership

2.11 Organizational Structure

2.12 Organizational Culture

2.13 Organizational Change

3. 3. Problem Identification

3.1 Major Problem: Cultural Misalignment and Resistance to Change

3.2 Minor Problems Contributing to Organizational Dysfunction

4. Alternatives

4.1 Alternative 1: Gradual Leadership Transition

4.2 Alternative 2: Hybrid Leadership Model (Recommended)

4.3 Alternative 3: Comprehensive Leadership Development Program

5. Recommendation: Training & Development for Leadership Transformation

5.1 Connecting Training to Organizational Behavior & Change Theories

5.2 Structured Five-Phase Training Project Cycle

5.3 Revised Budget Breakdown for 700 Employees

5.5 Key Personnel Involved

5.6 Expected Outcomes of the Training Program

5.7 Overcoming Resistance to Change

6. Conclusion

7 References

1. Executive Summary

The Regency Grand Hotel located in Asia shifted from its traditional hierarchal management structure to an autonomous leadership approach. The hotel wanted to give more responsibility to employees, but the hotel made a transition and went into the hands of a US based hotel chain. Under strict managerial supervision of the new owners, employees struggled with decision-making and motivation which led to a lack of cooperation and poor service levels.

This analysis draws attention on the Organizational Behavior (OB) theories. The report analyzes the main issues, considers possible solutions and finally suggests a change process that would allow employees to have independence and the managers to be available and supportive to the employees. (McShane et al, 2020)

1.1 Key Organizational Challenges

The transition from a hierarchical structure to a leadership approach was not taken nicely by the employees. In the hotel culture, the hierarchical structure emphasized authority, and employees were not trained to step outside of their prescribed roles, which led to confusion and detachment. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 406)

The employees were stressed due to the low psychological safety, which made them afraid to make mistakes. The hotel did not enact the unfreezing stage of the change process, further increasing resistance and operational inefficiencies. According to Kurt Lewins Change Management Model unfreezing stage is about wanting to get people ready for a change. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 105)

The transition caused a decline in employee motivation and satisfaction at work. According to self-determination theory by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, motivation comes from three sources: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In this case the employees found autonomy more overwhelming then empowering. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 130)

According to Expectancy theory by Victor Vroom, employees are persistently engaged when they can see that their efforts lead them to have a performance reward. The lack of performance rewards contributed significantly to employee detachment. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 134)

This analysis draws attention towards different issues. The problems and its solutions are explained with multiple theories from Organizational Behavior. We start with analysis and end with an implementation plan, dividing it into multiple phases.

2. Analysis

2.1 Behavior, Personality, and Values

At the Regency Grand Hotel, the cultural aspect of authority and power distance determined how employees behaved according to formal managerial expectations. The organization's hierarchy created predictable behaviors that restricted employees autonomy and creative expression. When the organization tried to shift to an employee empowerment structure, employees engaged in avoidant behaviors until they could adjust to the sudden changes in the structure. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 129).

Employees build their professional conduct within a hierarchical structure. The sudden shift to employee autonomy forced them to experience extroversion. . To facilitate proactive behavior the organization called for a new perspective towards personality evaluation. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 129).

Employees possessed values that were well established within the hotels traditional hierarchical and structured cultural context. The move to empowerment compromised employees desire for clarity making it necessary for them to adjust to new system based autonomy, which caused conflict in the values. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 406).

2.2 Perceptions

The employees previous experience in structured environments had a powerful influence on their perceptions at Regency Grand Hotel. The shift to a model of leadership that relied on autonomy resulted in disconnection in perceptions for many employees. Their beliefs, as well as their past experiences and expectations, shaped their perceptions of the recently introduced autonomy. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 128).

At first, employees felt autonomy had the potential to be a great opportunity, however, quickly after they felt confused and overwhelmed as they had not received any real guidance. The combination of unclear expectations regarding the transition to autonomy, coupled with meeting their new autonomy, resulted in uncertainty and anxiety about making mistakes. Mc Shane shows that employees garner their beliefs about change initiatives based on their understanding of the reasons for the change, including whether it is consistent with their own values. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 138).

2.3 Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress

Transitioning from a hierarchal management system to an autonomous leadership model initiated significant changes in emotions in the workplace. Employees, who were previously used to being told what to do, now suddenly had authority in their hands which resulted in both stress and anxiety associated with new responsibilities imposed on them. Employees felt fear and frustration as they tried to meet new expectations, in situations in which they received little to no instruction. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 140)

Workers developed a negative mindset around their leaders because they believed the change was too abrupt without enough preparation. The lack of psychological safety added to stress, as it is important that employees feel a sense of security when they make mistakes. The environment created led to a decrease in employee engagement and increased turnover. (Edmondson, 1999)

2.4 Motivation

The shift in leadership led to a dislocation in levels of employee's motivation. Self-Determination Theory identifies three main components of motivation which are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. (Deci & Ryan, 1985)

The leadership shift increased employees autonomy but did not provide them with sufficient competence to make decisions properly.Expectancy theory by Vroom (1964)explains that motivation occurs when there is an observable connection or link between the effort employees invest, the performance they deliver, and the outcome they receive.

The lack of organized feedback and performance recognition at the hotel reduced employee satisfaction with their work accomplishments and led nearly all employees motivation to drop. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 130).

2.5 Decision Making and Creativity

Employee control at Regency Grand Hotel revolutionized decision-making processes and enhanced innovation. Prior to the leadership change employees were used to a strict top-down hierarchy where management made the decisions and employee involvement was minimal. Employees expressed apprehension and hesitated to make decisions because the delegation of decision-making responsibility removed the certainty of contextual guidelines.

McShane states that individuals lacking decision-making competence can struggle with the decision-making process because they possess a lower level of confidence in their decisions. The outcome was lagging decision-making and poor decisions that lead to questionable solutions.

The change in leadership wanted to enhance innovative thinking, however, the employees who feared failure and had poorly defined job responsibilities limited their degree of engagement with the creative process in both apparent and subtle ways. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 149).

Due to issues with organizational psychological safety, employees shied away from participating in creative problem-solving protocols. Employees had a fear of being wrong or violating organizational expectations. As a result, the organizational goal of creating innovative thinking was significantly interrupted, as employees felt they did not have permission to contribute new ideas and tests of risk.

2.6 Team Dynamics and Team Processes

The Regency Grand Hotel experienced dramatic changes to team dynamics by changing its leadership structure from a hierarchical style to a more independent one. Prior to this organizational change, teams had defined processes within the team, which included each team member having a specific role.

Teams struggled with accepting employee empowerment because they were unprepared to start making decisions and because of unclear role definitions. With the change, teams experienced both increased role conflict, and confusion over the responsibilities of individuals and the team.

The Tuckman (1965) Team Development Model highlights the four stages that teams pass through, which are forming, storming, norming, and performing. Regency Grand teams were stuck in the storming phase as leadership did not provide a clearly defined direction when the teams formed, leading to ongoing conflict and ineffective collaboration among team members.

Trust and team cohesion diminished among the employees as they felt uncertain about how to work together in their new work context. The teams grappled with coordination challenges as unclear roles and insufficient decision-making support inhibited productivity and service delivery.

2.7 Communication Structures and Systems

The transition to autonomy caused disruption in the roles employees perform at Regency Grand Hotel. Communication was traditionally top-down, managers gave explicit instructions to employees to be provided. Autonomy required decentralized communication networks that were not present in this organization.

McShane concluded leadership is a key premise for organizational success, especially during periods of change, and that communication during periods of change is very important. The absence of a communication strategy resulted in frustration, confusion, and misunderstandings while contributing to shared information conflicts among employees and managers.

The lack of feedback channels and the absence of a defined communication protocol made it unsuitable for employees to raise topics that required their voices be heard to be part of the solution. The breakdown of communication also stressed employees if they failed to see a way to discuss their challenges or request assistance to support employees as they navigate through periods of change.

2.8 Power and Influence

The move to employee empowerment at Regency Grand Hotel significantly changed power relationships. In the prior hierarchical structure, management was the sole decision maker because power was concentrated. The new decentralized structure has provided employees with more autonomy. The transition was implemented without the development of sound management practice to clarify power distribution.

The study conducted by McShane shows that power in organizations is derived from authority plus competence and control over resources. Rapidly losing power without an appropriate transition is confused and is less effective in organizations. The leadership did not effectively transfer its power in a gradual manner.

2.9 Conflict and Negotiation

The move towards independent decision-making at Regency Grand Hotel from its historically hierarchical organization created significant conflict. An independent work style meant staff would now need to make independent decisions rather than relying solely on direct managerial instructions like they had before. With role ambiguity and uncertainty about responsibilities the staff experienced miscommunication and disagreement.

According to McShane, Teams have conflict when team members have not had their roles and mode of collaboration clearly defined. Teams faced more than one challenge while negotiating, that was there was no clearly defined process for dealing with lodged complaints or differing opinions. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 402)

The hotel could have addressed their issues by implementing negotiations techniques like collaborative problem solving which would have provided common ground for the team to achieve solutions that benefit everyone. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 233).

2.10 Leadership

At Regency Grand Hotel, the leadership shifted from a directive management style to using coaching-based empowerment methods with their employees. However, the management of the leadership transition was due to their leaders not having the preparation to mentor employees and guide them through the organizational shift.

The potential effectiveness of transformational leadership centered on innovation and empowerment were limited by a lack of a defined structure that prevented the leaders from fostering motivation and engagement with employees.

According to McShane, leaders must understand the demands of the situation and tailor their leadership style to the employee's preparedness. If the leaders had utilized a participative approach, the change process would have flowed more effectively while reducing the resistance displayed by employees.

2.11 Organizational Structure

At the time the Regency Grand Hotel opened for business it established a centralized structure which concentrated decision-making capability in upper management. This hierarchy delineated roles and produced predictability of operations; however, that structure minimized employee autonomy and creativity. The hotel pivoted to a model where employees were empowered, creating a decentralized structure allowing employees greater autonomy in decision-making.

The change, intended to promote employee creativity and satisfaction, added ambiguity because of undefined role responsibilities and the lack of structured decision-making processes. When organizations venture into a decentralized structure with autonomous operations it is essential that organizations develop a clear framework to facilitate alignment. Without that framework roles were unclear relative to employee responsibilities, resulting in miscommunication and slow decision-making.

2.12 Organizational Culture

At Regency Grand Hotel, managers had most of the decision-making authority, which was a reflection of the high power-distance organizational culture which was built on requiring employees to take direction without questioning it. This organizational culture supported compliant behavior, which led to predictable results, but it also stifled independent decision-making and creative problem-solving from their employees. The highly structured and controlled organizational culture didn't provide the opportunity for employees to demonstrate independent decision-making or initiative.

This cultural or organizational culture shift from a centralized organizational structure to a decentralized organizational structure and empowering employees, which created conflict between the established culture and new leadership model. According to McShane organizational culture is to be understood as the collective values and beliefs that form assumptions which guide behaviors.

2.13 Organizational Change

The Regency Grand Hotel underwent a drastic structural transition from hierarchical leadership to a decentralized approach of management for the sake of greater employee autonomy and empowerment. The leadership transitions occurred without any prior preparatory measures as well as a customized plan to help employees adjust

The accomplishable steps of organizational change include three stages, first removing prior behaviors through unfreezing, then introducing new behaviors in the change phase, and finally locking in these new behaviors through refreezing. (McShane et al., 2020)

Due to skipping the unfreezing stage, the employees were not prepared for the transition to a different leadership style. Employees were resistant and stressed because the first stage of change was missing open communication and employee involvement.

According to Kotters change management model 1996, organizations must create urgency and gain employee support during the first stage of the change process. The hotel did not create enough support, which led to employee role confusion and whether the changes were beneficial.

The change effort was fragmented from insufficient leadership and a missing feedback loop regarding employees' disengagement which lead to doubts about taking on new responsibilities, if the change was rolled out in phases and adequate training and effective communication with leadership support was engaged employees would have been fully prepared to embrace the new culture.

This example illustrates the importance of having structured plans for organizations undergoing change that actually increase the chances of success and reduce resistance for change.

3. Problem Identification

The Regency Grand Hotel had disorganization once there was a sudden transition from a hierarchical structure with traditional leadership to a structured empowerment-based approach. The leadership's vision and the organization's culture were misaligned, leading to resistance from employees, distress in the workplace, communication failures, and performance deterioration.

Here is a more in-depth analysis of each of the key issues, the causes, explanations with OB theories, and difficult changes that followed.

3.1 Major Problem: Cultural Misalignment and Resistance to Change

Regency Grand Hotel encountered its most significant challenge as it attempted to move from a traditional, hierarchical system to a new empowerment model. The cultural divide created employee confusion and resistance that caused disengagement and ultimately produced inefficiencies in operations, service inconsistencies, and reputational risks. Employees felt fear trepidation when moving to a system based on autonomy or lack of command-and-control - which damaged trust in leadership and reduced employee motivation and performance when proper transitioning occurred.

1. Rationale for the major problem

Organizational culture is an important base that underpins employee behavior as well as beliefs and work expectations. "Organizational culture is characterized by deeply embedded values and assumptions of culture that require an approach to change that considers long-term changes. At Regency Grand the authority structure sustained a high-power distance culture which placed all key related decisions with managers and employees worked in a structured workflow. When employee autonomy was implemented suddenly the structure was blown apart and confusion and resistance due to fear emerged. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 406).

The main challenge developed from employees being trained to follow orders rather than act autonomously, while their expectations for working together were shaped by their corporate identity defined by their previous practice. There is ambiguity and hesitance in taking ownership of decisions when managers do not effectively prepare them to do so, because they believe they would be lacking in direction from the managers. Culture change requires shifts at three levels: the formal policies, structures, and official beliefs; as well as the deep-rooted beliefs held by employees about their work, according to Scheins Model of Organizational Culture. Regency Grand only changed the formal structure of leadership, while the employees still operated with the same expectations and beliefs around authority at the workplace. This misalignment between what management wanted, and the mental models of the employees created significant resistance, ineffective workflow, and ultimately disengaged employees.

The cultural conflict caused a significant amount of damage, as it created discontent with the psychological contract employees hold with the organization. The psychological contract that exists between employees and their organization is disrupted when leadership implements inconsistent rules, as employees seek predictable norms in the workplace to eliminate uncertainty and stress (Rousseau, 1995). Employees pushed back against the change because their leaders did not provide clear communication, training, and the appropriately equipped support mechanisms. Trust in leadership was damaged when the necessary support structures did not materialize.

2. Consequences of Cultural Misalignment

Several organizational levels encountered significant issues due to a leadership transition that was not aligned to the existing cultural values.

The sudden shift to autonomy made it too difficult for many of the employees to adapt to new leadership styles or methods, so they chose to leave rather than adapt. Consequently, the hotel had to invest more money in hiring and training, which made retaining more experienced staff a challenge.

Due to uncertainty about their new role, employees hesitated to make decisions independently, which caused delays in customer service and inefficiencies. In this sector, the need for speedy resolutions was necessary but resulting operational bottlenecks and inconsistencies in guest service developed.

The role confusion and the employees' fear induced hesitation resulted in a decreased level of customer service, which triggered negative reviews and lower levels of guest satisfaction. Service quality is an imperative in hospitality, which means that the inconsistencies in guest experience resulted in Regency Grand's mismanagement of its competitive advantage.

The managers absence of explicit guidance and support led to employees perceiving the leaders as incompetent, which subsequently decreased employees confidence in the management. The lack of strong leadership resulted in employees feeling unsupported during the organizational change, which in turn caused role ambiguity and increased disengagement in a work setting.

The combination of high employee turnover, better service standards, and ineffective operations led to economic pressures that diminished organizational profitability and reduced competitive advantage. The luxury hospitality market demanded Regency Grand to make cultural improvements to remain a viable competitor.

3.2 Minor Problems Contributing to Organizational Dysfunction

Cultural dissimilarity caused the primary issues but also caused a variety of secondary issues due to the badly run transition. The new issues led to inconsistent delivery of service while disrupting operations and the employee morale at the same time.

1. Lack of systematic employee feedback approach

The transition towards autonomy left employees with no systematic way to evaluate performance. Before decentralization, employees had unmistakable accountability through management communications. Following decentralization, employees were left confused regarding performance expectations and standards. Aguinis contends that feedback is essential to developing positive behaviors and maintaining employee growth, but Regency Grand overlooked this point in their push for autonomy in the workplace. With limited feedback systems, employees disengaged in their work and did not have a clear understanding of career advancement opportunities. (Aguinis 2019)

2. Poor Leadership Training for Middle Managers

Managers lacked training in coaching responsibilities under employee empowerment and consequently received no training. The Kotter Change Model (1996) emphasizes that strong leadership is required for employees to navigate an organizational change. Managers at Regency Grand were apathetic and lacked confidence in their new roles. The lack of strong leadership and mentorship characterized by strong leadership, also primed to deprive employees of the essential components of mentorship, which led to frustration and feelings of disconnectedness where independence as provided on the floor.

3. Lack of rewards

Regency Grand wanted to promote employee autonomy to improve motivation but did not include sufficient incentives for employees to participate in the decision-making process. Expectancy Theory suggests that employees will perform better if they see a clear link between their effort and rewards, yet employees at Regency Grand were given more responsibilities without any added rewards or opportunities for promotion or advancement. The absence of additional rewards when employees were given additional responsibilities caused some resentment among the staff.

4. Single person decision making

While the goal of empowerment was innovation and efficiency, it led to employee isolation instead of a collective approach to problem solving. McShane suggests that high functioning organizations balance employee independence with formalized collaboration, so employees feel they are supported while still making effective decisions. Regency Grand's lack of mentorship programs and peer-review processes allowed employees to operate in isolation, which caused service to be less efficient and consistent throughout the organization. (McShane et al., 2020, p. 238)

6. Implications if the major problem is not addressed

The organization will face long-lasting adverse impacts that are damaging to its people, leadership potential, customer satisfaction, and business continuity if Regency Grand Hotel fails to address the conflict between its leadership empowerment strategy and its traditional hierarchical culture. If the misalignment is not corrected, stressful working conditions will continue, morale will continue to decline, service quality will continue to decline, and financial stability will become increasingly unstable.

A significant outcome will be ongoing disengagement from employees and increasing turnover rates. Employees experiencing ambiguity and poor supervision will leave the workplace to join a company that has clear expectations and support. The lost productivity and dedication to work will drive up recruitment and training costs that will erode the profitability of the hotel. Workplace stress levels and burnout will increase even further as workers experience mental fatigue from ambiguity regarding their job, inadequate support from managers, and anxiety about making mistakes. The workplace will face decreasing productivity levels and perpetuate a negative work environment that employee cannot stay at and be productive.

Erosion of trust by employees and lack of proper transition guidance by managers will cause the hotel's leadership tier to weaken. Employees will begin to distrust management, resulting in poor organizational decisions. The lack of vision will create obstacles for the Regency Grand to successfully achieve organizational change or improvement down the line. The organization is unable to sustain long-term viability because poor mentoring and training does not develop future leaders and creates a weak leadership pipeline.

If this issue is not tackled soon, it will create a service of lower quality, and thus dissatisfaction with the service. When service employees become disengaged and demotivated, the quality-of-service decreases, and this leads to negative experiences for guests. Without structured workflows and communication, there is inconsistency in customer service, resulting in dissatisfaction and more negative reviews and complaints. This problem will impact on the hotel's reputation and cause a decline in bookings and repeat visits. Once Regency Grand develops a reputation for poor service, it will allow competitor hotels to gain a competitive advantage, making them even less likely to be able to get new guests.

The hotel will experience negative financial performance due to reduced productivity and inefficiencies and revenue losses. When defined roles and communication channels are ineffective, the possibility of duplicate tasks with errors and inefficiencies increases, raising costs of operation. Legal risks and labor disputes could emerge as significant issues for the hotel due to employee frustrations, employee turnover, and the potential for workplace rule violations. Regency Grand's business continuity faces severe risks because of financial concerns and reputation issues with organizational ineffectiveness of higher and higher order, which prohibits rebounding from financial difficulties and maintains a competitive position in the luxury hotel segment.

Regency Grand requires urgent action to avoid dire long-term implications. The organization will experience increased employee turnover and incessant workplace stress, all of which will result in diminished productivity and loss of reputation leading to lost revenue and market share. The hotel will need to establish a well-defined change management program, which will highlight gradual cultural change, in addition to skills development in a leadership program while implementing psychological safety guidelines and line of communication. By addressing these issues directly, Regency Grand will limit the time spent out of an at-risk circumstance and regain the position of a premier luxury hotel.

4. Alternatives

4.1 Alternative 1: Gradual Leadership Transition

Rationale:

The new plan sets out a gradual plan to shift from the hierarchy-based system to the employee autonomy system. The organization realizes that providing employees with empowerment has to happen gradually rather than abruptly. The gradual transition allows employees to adjust with ease while they gain decision-making ability with consistent support from their manager. The gradual transition also allows them to adjust their collective values and expectations, which treats entrenched cultural behavior. Given the high power distance context in which employees frequently follow top-down management approaches, this process is also easy and effective.

Pros:

Utilizing a stepwise transition process decreases surprise shock and creates intervals that support formalized training and skill building. As organizations plan progressive learning opportunities, benefit realization continues to evolve when conducted cautiously and cautiously. The advantage of a stepwise transition method is that leadership teams can create targeted milestones and feedback stages at every level of the implemented phases of transition to measure progress and make necessary changes.

Cons:

The downside of using a stepwise transition method is that it decreases resistance to acceptance, but it also prolongs empowering organizations or organizations themselves. The reason that longer implementation training is frowned upon is that the certainty of change increases meaning that it takes longer for employees to operate from beyond the transition period. This method tests resources the most because it leads to ongoing training and continuous assessments, always pulling feedback from management and designed length of time of observing the level of overall performance measures.

Evaluative Criteria:

The criteria for assessing this alternative includes looking at whether it is culturally congruent and adaptation speed and training program effectiveness. This alternative scores well on cultural congruence in workplaces where employees show substantial resistance to change due to existing cultural norms. While the method picks up speed in terms of adaptation, it may still slow down the change process when rapid change is desired.

4.2 Alternative 2: Hybrid Leadership Model (Recommended)

Rationale:

The Hybrid Leadership Model represents a fusion of traditional hierarchical authority with managed autonomy of employees. It requires managers to develop from directive leadership to mentorship and coaching practices where managers give employees increasingly more decision-making authority over time while maintaining structured supervision as a safety measure. McShane argues that the success of leading innovation and change is to keep the elements of stability and innovation appropriately balanced to allow for stability in hybrid leadership, while reaping the benefits of empowerment of the employees and decentralized decision-making.

Pros:

This model finds a balance by allowing employees to take on greater responsibility, while still being around their familiar support systems. It enhances psychological safety because while Managers are not necessarily in support roles, they are readily available to support and guide employees. Employees gain greater confidence in decision-making when they immediately call upon a mentoring system to alleviate their uncertainty. Employees have been shown to have better performance outcomes and higher engagement levels once their responsibilities and decision-making constraints are clear to them.

Cons:

Introducing a hybrid model is not simple. Organizations will want to develop specific policies regarding when employees will be able to use their discretion and make decisions autonomously and when it is best to let managers get involved. Moving to a coaching style will require great retraining for managers who had formerly relied on a more authoritative approach. Without this management, role ambiguity may leave employees confused about when to ask for assistance, potentially creating delays in decisions.

Evaluative Criteria:

The effectiveness of this alternative depends on the ability to maintain cultural continuity and minimize personnel dependence. Success depends on cultural cohesion in concert with clarity of roles, speed of implementation, and levels of employee involvement. The Hybrid Leadership Model provides both rapid and lasting benefit as applied to these criteria for effectiveness. Different conceptions of balance in this model is most effective when maintaining current culture is as important as introducing changes.

4.3 Alternative 3: Comprehensive Leadership Development Program

Rationale:

The Overall Leadership Development Program seeks to create long-term transformational change in organizations through significant investments in managerial and employee learning. The plan will, at its most fundamental levels, change culture within organizations by training managers and employees to work within an empowered organization. The program's model combines comprehensive training, coaching, and independent learning experiences to create transformational leaders who will work within contemporary practices that support employee autonomy. McShane notes that true cultural change takes some change of managerial behavior as well as changing core values of the organization, but maintains that it is possible through significant development programs.

Pros:

By implementing an organization-wide program, the groundwork for a sustainable change in culture has been established. The program supports managers in becoming supportive mentors and simultaneously increases both worker agency and self-assurance. The organization experiences a fundamental shift in its core values and operational behaviors that promotes innovation and constant improvement during this extended process. Employees who experience the development process become more flexible and engaged which enhances performance and lowers turnover.

Cons:

The main drawback of this option is its time commitment and high costs. Although such programs offer significant potential benefits to operational capability over time and operational challenges are likely to remain for the time being. This is an approach that focuses on developing long-term capabilities, which also means it does not offer quick fixes for disengagement and inefficiencies in performance.

Evaluative Criteria:

The assessment of this solution happens to include a long-term focus on cultural alignment while also considering implications on the sustainability of the leadership model and employee development. The methodology presents strong potential for substantive systematic change; however, the methodology has lower short-term implementation efficiency in comparison to the others. The Hybrid Leadership Model shows high sustainability and cultural alignment for organizations seeking to invest in creating long-term transformation but will not result in a short-term viable solution to resolve an urgent matter.

Each of the alternative solutions focus on the shared concern of internal leadership conflicting with the hotel's historical hierarchy. The Hybrid Leadership Model emerges as the best alternative based on the assessment of cultural alignment, employee buy-in, implementation efficiency, and long-term sustainability. The system presents a perfect balance between the organization's structure and autonomy for staff to support the needs of their staff and intelligently advance their staff towards empowered decision making.

5. Recommendation: Training & Development for Leadership Transformation

5.1 Connecting Training to Organizational Behavior & Change Theories

The Regency Grand Hotel's Training and Development Model establishes a bridge between a typical hierarchical leadership and the decisions made using individual autonomy. This model hinges on the use of internal resources which mitigates the costs associated with utilizing outside consultants and provides the hotel with some level of transformational benefits despite the financial constraints of the hotel. The use of Situational Leadership Theory in the program illustrates how leaders need to adapt their approach based on employee developmental levels to allow managers to transition from being authoritarian leaders to leadership that is supportive of employees.

The training model must use incremental behavioral shifts because employees in the hotel demonstrate various levels of readiness for autonomy. The transitional process employs Lewins Change Model that APA and Tannenbaum includes to prepare employees for the change they are going to undertake, support employees with guided assistance in the transitional process, and coach employees to reinforce behavior in long-term conditioning. Kotters 8-Step Model provides a structured approach to keeping employees engaged while facilitating longer term change.

Because work culture has typically maintained its traditional hierarchy for a number of years, members within the organization tend to resist change. Not Invented Here Syndrome has been shown to be one reason why employees resist change that takes place externally, therefore, training programs use peer coaching and collaborative learning strategies. McShane et al.'s (2020) Perception & Values Theory suggests that individuals' deeply-held values take time to change; thus, training programs will utilize modules that will specifically address moral sensitivity and ethical decision-making so that employees can adjust their workplace behaviors to help align with the new leadership standards.

5.2 Structured Four-Phase Training Project Cycle

The training program has four key stages that allow for quantifiable, structured learning through practical application in the field.

The first phase (Weeks 1-4)focuses on developing training objectives and preparing internal trainers. The HR department identifies experienced managers to deliver the training that lessens the organization's reliance on external consultants. The organization conducts a thorough assessment of employee skills to assess their skill sets, identify areas of resistance, and to implement training programs that address employee actual issues.

Beginning with supervisors and ending with employees at the group level,Phase 2 of thetraining program takes place over time, broken into three developmental levels(Weeks 516). At the manager level, the training focuses on developing their skills in coaching for effective leadership, making ethical decisions, and utilizing motivating techniques for performance-related coaching. The second level focuses on enabling employees to manage and enact decision-making in real-world scenarios and customer service interactions with an autonomy-based training model. This phase also engages teams in team-building activities in order to support the use of their new skills in teamwork and other collaborative work contexts.

For Phase 3 (Weeks 1720),the evaluation phase includes assessment of the effectiveness of the training through application assessments, employee feedback sessions, and behavioral assessments. Employees will use practical case study assessment and case study resolution to demonstrate their ability to independently and autonomously make decisions that align with hotel values. Managers continue to view the employees progress through their assessments while feedback from trainees and trainers helps continue the process of adaptability to learning.

For Phase 4 (Weeks 2132),monthly coaching sessions with peer instructor mentoring and recognition initiatives will cultivate and strengthen the application of the training results. Managers will continue coaching during work hours to reinforce active use of newly acquired skills in real-time work settings. Employees with demonstrated leadership ability will be offered opportunities for career advancement which reinforces their loyalty for the innovative leadership model.

5.3 Revised Budget Breakdown for 700 Employees

With Regency Grand Hotel continuing to be in the red, the training program is redesigned to also be financially sustainable. The overall budget has been updated to $250,000 through significant savings from eliminating travel, and the use of internal trainers.

5.4 Phase Key Activities Revised Allocation

The cost savings strategy reduces travel and accommodation costs for $40,000 in savings by hosting training sessions on-site, and the cost of facilitating learning from external consultants for $60,000 in savings by using internal managers selected as trainers. These savings will be repurposed to develop internal training materials to create a sustainable leadership development program.

5.5 Key Personnel Involved

The program must be implemented from a multi-tiered team structure for success. The HR Training & Development Team will oversee program coordination, including coordinating the training materials content and aligning them with business goals and leadership principles. Senior managers and department heads conduct practical training for employees, based on work experience. Employee representatives serve as a resource in the process of developing a learning environment based on feedback that promotes employee engagement in their development.

5.6 Expected Outcomes of the Training Program

The training process will lead to dramatic behavior changes in the organization at all levels. Managers will change from authoritative managers to coaching mentors, thereby increasing employee engagement and retention. Employees will develop greater decision-making skills and self-management that will eliminate operational inefficiency and bottlenecks. Team building activities within the training process will improve employees' ability to communicate and to work collaboratively with one another which will positively impact morale and improve service delivery.

The program seeks to reduce long-term turnover costs through growing employee satisfaction and retention. When employees feel empowered and valued, they will have the incentive to stay longer with the organization and reduce the costs associated with hiring and training a new employee.

5.7 Overcoming Resistance to Change

The training program delivers structured learning while recognizing that employees might resist change because they have established views about hierarchical structures and authority. According to cognitive dissonance theory employees encounter difficulty when new expectations clash with their established behaviors. The training program incorporates workshops on values alignment and moral sensitivity alongside adaptive leadership skills to help employees adapt from their current understanding to the new leadership requirements.

The organization addresses resistance by implementing new changes in a gradual manner which prevents employees from experiencing overwhelming change. Managers demonstrate essential behavior patterns that emphasize how autonomy leads to more responsibility with structured support alongside accountability. Leaders use consistent performance discussions along with coaching sessions and positive reinforcement strategies to establish new behaviors and gradually eliminate resistance.

6. Conclusion

Regency Grand Hotel adopts a low-cost leadership transformation model that uses structured and evidence-based approaches. The program is based on Situational Leadership Theory, Change Management Frameworks, and Perception and Values Theory to help managers and employees successfully adopt decentralized leadership models.

The existing business model functions independently through the development of internal leadership capability, removing the reliance on costly external trainers as would exist in traditional training contracts. This five-step model enhances learning and allows for continuous adaptation that creates permanent behavior change and improved operational effectiveness.

This approach recognizes the financial constraints of the hotel while allowing for continued development of hotel leadership, which creates a more flexible and stronger organization that is more reliant on its employees for development

Annotated Bibliography

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