is director of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration at the University of New Orleans, where he teaches courses in hotel and restaurant management and tourism. He holds a B.S. in engineering, an M.B.A., and a doctorate in economic, all from Tulane University. Before assuming his current position, he was assistant dean of the University of New Orleans College of Business Administration, in charge of the M.B.A. program. He has also worked in various management positions with the General Electric Company and was previously on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Emory University. G. Kent Stearns holds a B.S. from Michigan Technological University, an M.B.A. from Xavier University, and a J.D. from Chase College of Northern Kentucky State University. A member of the faculty at the University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, he teaches hotel law and accounting. What management style is most effective with hotel and restaurant employees?EVERYONE AGREES that management has the responsibility for providing effective leadership to employees. Many managers, however, are puzzled and confused when it comes to choosing the most appropriate style of leadership. This is a question of great importance to the hospitality industry. People-related problems are, and always will be, of major importance because of the labor intensiveness of the industry and because service, either directly or indirectly, is the indisputable ingredient for success. From the local fast food outlet to the international luxury hotel, employees make the difference. Most conscientious managers in the hospitality industry read articles or attend seminars on &dquo;people&dquo; management. To their consternation, two things often happen: the leadership techniques of the textbook and the classroom do not always work in practice, and competent experts often suggest conflicting solutions to personnel problems.Although frustrating, this confusion is more understandable when we consider the complexities of people and the imprecision of management as a science. Management is not an exact science. It tends to be &dquo;soft&dquo; and not capable of measurement as precise as that in the &dquo;hard&dquo; sciences like physics and chemistry. But it is a science; it is more than an art.Our industry's people problems are compounded by this confusion and also by the lack of systematic leadership research pertaining to the hospitality industry. The purpose of this article is: (1) to bring some order to the seemingly conflicting opinions concerning leadership style;(2) to report on the results of hospitality-industry field research as it relates to problems of leadership; and (3) to suggest a strategy that can be helpful in choosing the most appropriate leadership style for your organization.
Leadership and the SituationThe characterization by McGregor of contrasting leadership styles as Theory X and Theory Y has become well known to practicing managers. A Theory X manager is autocratic and...
An important concern to any educator in the Decision Sciences field is the improvement of the teaching of his courses. One factor influencing the effectiveness of the learning process is the textbook chosen and its ability to convey to the student the principles of the subject. The purpose of this paper is to present a survey of the readability of Operations Research and Operations Management books currently widely used at universities throughout the country. The Flesch Reading Ease Score is employed to rank tests based on their authors' writing style. It is suggested that the readability index be considered as one factor in the textbook selection process.
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