Question1

Basedonthecasestudy,Robertisanauthoritarianleader(Cole,2013).Duringtheinterview
forthemanagerialposition,heputheavyemphasisonhispersonalachievementsasaleader
ratherthantheteamsefforts.ThisisevidentfromthefactthathefrequentlymentionedI
duringtheconversation,butdidnotmentionanythingabouthisteamatall(Cherry,2012).In
hispreviousroles,heusedtotellhissubordinateswhattodoratherthantoexplainthe
objectiveoftheteam,whichsuggeststhatalldecisionsweremadebyhimselfasateam
leader.Healsoemphasisedthatheismanagerwhorunsatightshipanddonotbelievein
suitcasemanagement.Heisnotafraidofreprimandinghisstaffswhounderperform.These
instancessuggestthatRobertismoreinclinedtowardstaskmanagementleadership,where
hepaysmorefocusingettingtheworkdonethantolookafterthewelfareofhisstaffs(Kotter,
1990).

Inafastfoodoutlet,suchleadershipstylewouldnotpresentmuchissues.Customerswho
cometoafastfoodstoreonlyintendtograbamealasquicklyaspossibleandhencethe
mainchallengeforthestoreistoprovideaquickservice.Takingordersfromcustomersand
foodpreparationarethetwomostcommontasksinanyfastfoodoutlets.Thesetasksare
relativelysimpleandarefairlyrepetitive.Henceafastfoodoutletmanagerhastoensurethat
his/herstaffsareabletotakeordersandpreparemealsetsquicklybystreamliningtheentire
process.Withanauthoritarianleader,Robertcanmakesurethathisstaffsfollowtheroutine
processinordertoachievethedesiredlevelofservice(Rooke&Torbert,2005).Therewillbe
almostnodecisionmakingrequiredfromthestaffsandhenceinthecaseofafastfoodoutlet,
theleadershipstyleisdefinitelysuitable.

Question2
Inahospitalityenvironment,thereisnoroomforanauthoritarianleadershipstyle(Cole,
2013).
Firstly,thehospitalityindustryisadynamicenvironment.Hospitalitystaffsareconstantly
facingnewissuesfromdifferentcustomersandhavetoactprofessionallyandreasonablyto
resolvevariousproblems.Thisisessentialtoensurethatcustomersaresatisfiedwiththe
customerservicethattheyaregetting.Forexample,astaffworkinginahotelmayencounter
manyrequestsanddemandsfromcustomersstayinginthehotelsuchasroomservicesand
foodcatering.Facingasituationlikethat,thestaffhastomakesurethathe/shetrieshisbest
toperformhisdutyinordertofulfilthesedemands.Thereisnoroomforanauthoritarian
leadershipinthiscaseasthemanagerhastofocusonmoreimportantissuesotherthan
attendingtocustomerspersonally(Mukhles,2013).Therefore,itisbestforthemanagerto
outlineapredefinedfunctionforeachofhisstaffandallowthemtodoachievetheirgoalswith
theirownway.

Inaddition,itisimportanttokeepthemoraleamonghospitalitystaffshighinordertoensure
thattheyareableperformwellinfrontofthecustomers.Underthisperspective,amiddleof
theroadmanagementstylemaysuittheindustrywell,wheremanagerspayalmostequal
attentiontobothtaskcompletionandwelfareofhisstaffs.Havinganauthoritarianleadertend

toreducemoraleamongstaffsthefocusisonlyongettingworkdoneandthewelfareofthe
employeestendtobeignored.Thisisparticularlydisastrousbecausethestaffsaretheone
facingthecustomers,andunhappystaffstendtocausecustomerstofeelunsatisfiedor
unpleasant.Therefore,aleaderwhoishasempathytowardshis/herstaffstendtobeableto
createamorefriendlyworkenvironment,whichwillindirectlyimprovecustomersatisfactionin
suchsituation(Peter,1997).

Question3
Tobeabletoeffectivelymotivatestaffsinthefastfoodoutlet,Robertshouldstudythe
MaslowsHierarchyofNeeds(Maslow,1943).Thetheorysuggeststhathumanaremotivated
by5levelsofneeds,rangingfromthemostbasicphysiologicalneedstothehighestlevelof
selfactualisationneeds.Inafastfoodoutlets,itissafetoassumethatthephysiological
needsofthestaffsarefulfilledanditwillnotactasaneedwhichwoulddriveperformanceof
thestaffs(Nitin&Boris,2008).However,theremainingneedsinthehierarchymaybeableto
motivatedifferentstaffsintheoutlet,dependingultimatelyonindividualcircumstances.

Firstly,RobertcouldensurethattheSecurityneedsofhisstaffsarefulfilledbyprovidingthem
withassuranceonjobsecurityandasafeworkingenvironment(Cole,2013).Thisis
particularlyimportanttoensureemployeesarenotconstantlyworriedaboutlosingtheirjobs
duetotheirpoorworkperformance.Thatwillcertainlydistracttheirattentionfromwork,
leadingtounsatisfactoryresultsfromthesegroupofemployees.

Secondly,Robertcouldalsocreateafriendlyworkenvironmentforhisstaffsinthefastfood
outlettosatisfytheSocialneedsofhisstaffs.Hecantrytobuildupahealthierwork
relationshipamonghisstaffs,encouragemoreinteractionsandmakeeveryonefeelaccepted.
Ifthatdoesnothappen,thenstaffsmaynotfeeleaseorcomfortgoingtoworkandtendto
losefocusatwork.Asaresult,hisstaffsmaynotbemotivatedtoevencometoworkandwill
definitelyaffecttheirworkperformance.

HecanalsotrytosatisfytheirEsteemneedsbyrecognisingtheeffortofhisstaffsinthe
outlet.Withproperrecognitionandrewardprocess,staffsgainconfidenceandselfrespectfor
thegreatachievementsoftheirworkandconsequentlybuildingupstrongselfesteems.One
exampleofthismaybetoimplementEmployeeoftheWeekprogramwhichrecognises
outstandingperformanceofhisstaffs.Thiswilldefinitelybeabletomotivateemployees
effectively.

Finally,Robertcantrytoencouragehisstaffstodevelopnewprocessesorproductsforthe
store.Hemayalsoimplementarotationsystemwhichwillallowthemexperiencedifferent
work.Thissortofcreativityandlearningwillallowhisstaffstotrydifferentthingsand
consequentlypreventthemfromfeelingboredatwork.ThisisinlinewithMaslows
selfactualisationneeds,whichsuggestthatprovidingemployeeswithrelativelychallengingor
newtasksisusefultoimproveemployeesatisfactionandmotivation.


Question4
Firstly,Robertwillhavetostudytheexistingteamcompositionatthefastfoodoutlet.He
needstounderstandthestrengthsandweaknessesofeachofhisstaff.Thisisimportant
becausehisexistingstaffshavedifferentcharacteristics,workattitudeandexperience,which
willbeabletocontributetothesuccessoftheteaminmanydifferentyetuniqueways.Ina
fastfoodoutletenvironment,itwouldbeidealifsomestaffswhoaregoodatcommunications
oraresensitivetonumbersareputinchargedoffacingthecustomersandtakingdown
orderswhilestaffswhoaregoodwithhandsonworkareresponsibleforpreparingthefast
foodquickly.Thiswillensurethatpeopleworkatareaswheretheircompetenciesare.

Secondly,Robertwillhavetoclarifytoeachofhisstaffthepurposeoftheirroles.Inother
words,heneedstomakesurethateachteammemberclearlyunderstandstheobjectiveof
theirroleandtheexpectationthathehasonthem.Aclearprocedureorprocessofworkmust
beproperlydefinedandexplainedsothatemployeescanunderstandtheirroleintheteam.
Withthat,itwillthenbecleartotheemployeeshowtheirrolesfitintothebiggerpictureand
howcantheybettercontributetothesuccessoftheteamwithoutbeingaburden.

Thirdly,Roberthastomakesurethathesetsandputsinaclearlistofkeyresultareas
(KRAs)foreachofhisteammembers.andmakesureeachteammemberiscommittedto
them.Thisisimportantbecauseateamwillnotfunctionwellifthereareteammemberswho
donotunderstandtheimportanceoftheircontributionandasaresultdonotperformas
expected.Gettingaclearcommitmentfromeachemployeeiscrucialsothatteamproblems
canbeidentifiedandresolvedearlybeforedistortingtheoverallperformanceofthegroup.

Next,Robertneedstoputinplaceaproperrewardorrecognitionsystemtoacknowledgethe
contributionofeachstaffsforthesuccessoftheteam.Anyformofreward,regardlessof
value,willbeasignofappreciationbymanagerstoemployeeswhichwillserveasa
motivationforemployees.Itisimportantthattherewardsystemrewardsallteammembersfor
theircontribution,whichwouldotherwisecausedissatisfactionamongteammembers..This
willmakehisteammoreenthusiasticandmotivatedtoperformwell.Theflowoneffectofthis
wouldthenbeanenergeticteamwithgoodlevelsofteamwork.

Finally,Robertmustmakesurethatheconstantlymonitortheperformanceofeachteam
member.Heneedstoobservetheperformancesofhisstaffsandputincontrolswhenthings
donotgoasplan.Ifemployeesarenotperformingtotheexpectedstandard,itisimportantto
providethemwithtimelyfeedbacktoavoidanymisunderstandingandtorectifythesituation
immediately.Thisisalsoveryimportanttomakesurethatthedysfunctionalteammember
doesnotaffectthemoraleandperformanceofotherteammembers.

Question5

Inordertoestablishaneffectivemonitoringsystems,thereare4crucialstepsthatRoberthas
tofollow:

Firstly,Robertneedstodeterminespecificqualitiesthathewantstomonitor(Cole,2013).
Ultimately,thesequalitiesshouldbedirectlyrelatedtoorareproxiestothegoalsthatheis
tryingtoachieve.Inthecaseofafastfoodoutlet,thesequalitiesmaybedailysales,
customersatisfaction/feedback,averagetimetoserveacustomeretc,dependingonthe
goalsandKRAsthathehassetfortheteam.Thesequalitiesorproxieswilldetermineif
everythingisgoinginaccordancetotheplan.

Oncethespecificqualitiesorproxiesareset,hethenneedstodecidehowtomeasurethem
(Cole,2013).Thesemeasurementsshouldbeeasytoperformsothattheycanbedone
accuratelyandwithoutmuchtrouble.Healsoneedstomakesurethathehasallocated
sufficientresourcesforthemeasurements.Inthisscenario,Robertmaychoosetopersonally
monitortheamountofcustomersservedwithinaday,orthenumberofcomplaintsagainstthe
outletreceivedwithinamonth.Whenthemeasurementmethodologiesareallset,thenhe
hastoperformmeasurementsregularlytoobserveandmonitortheperformanceoftheoutlet
(Bruce&Timothy,1994).

Next,Robertneedstointerprettheoutcomeofthemeasurement(Cole,2013).Thisinvolve
comparingtheactualoutcomesbasedonthemeasurementstotheplansorgoalsthathehas
set.Thespecificqualitiesorproxiesshouldserveasearlyindicatorsifeverythingisgoingas
planned.Hence,thisstepiscrucialtoidentifyanydeviationoftargetsattheearlystage.For
instance,Robertmaywanttocompareiftheaveragetimetoserveeachcustomerhas
actuallyfallen,whencomparedtowhatitwasbeforehesteppedin,andwhatwasinitially
plannedfor.

Finally,Robertneedstoplanandexecuteremedialactionsthatwouldputthingsbackon
trackiftheyhavedeviatedfromtheintendedgoals(Cole,2013).Again,thismayserveasa
goodopportunitytoreviewifanoverlyambitiousgoalortargethasbeenset.Otherwise,
identificationofthecauseisnecessaryandadditionaleffortisrequiredtoensurethatthe
situationimproves.

Question6

Inordertoeffectivelymonitorandsupportteammembers,Robertneedstomakesurethathe
playstheroleofaneffectiveleader.Thereareafewaspectstothisstatement.

Firstofall,Robertneedstomakesurethathebuildsandmaintainshisteamsothatallteam
membersarecompetent,understandthepurposeoftheirroles,committedandfeelmotivated
tocontribute.Thisisimportanttoprovideeachstaffacohesiveandproductivework
environment,whichwouldultimatelyencouragethemtoperformwellatwork.Itisalso

importanttoencourageteammemberstoworkwellwitheachotherbypromotingthe
importanceofteamwork,notindividualism(Cole,2013).

Secondly,Robertneedstodemonstrategoodmanagerialroleandprovidepropersupportto
histeam(Cole,2013).Inafastfoodenvironment,heneedstobeveryproactiveinhisteamto
makesurethathisteamiswellrepresentedatanorganisationallevel,monitoringandearly
detectionofproblemsintheteamoramongteammembers,ortobeabletoallocate
appropriateresourcestodotherightthingattherighttime.Hemustbedeterminedtolead
theteamtosuccessanddevelopthepassionofotherstaffmembers.Failingtodosowill
demotivatestaffsandinturncausingoverallteamperformancetodeteriorate.

Asamanager,itisalsoimportantforRoberttobeaneffectivecommunicator(Cole,2013).
Hemustbeabletorepresenthisteamwhendealingwithpartiesexternaltotheteamand
makesurethatwelfareoftheteamareaddressed.Heisthepersonwhowillestablishgood
relationshipwithotherpartsoftheorganisationsothattheteamcanoperatesmoothly.He
mustalsobeabletoprovidefeedbackeffectivelytohisteaminordertomakesurethatteam
performanceimproves.Anapproachableleaderisalsoeffectiveasstaffswouldnotbe
hesitatetovoiceouttheirissuesandopinions.

Finallyasateamleader,Robertmustcreateavisionforhisteamandhelpteammembers
understandthevision(Cole,2013).Heshouldalignthegoalortheteamwithpersonal
interestofotherteammembersaswellsothateveryonefeeltheneedtoperformwellintheir
role.Hemustalsoencourageteammemberstobecommittedtotheirrolesandinorderto
gainthemostoutofhisstaffs.

Question7

Thereare5aspectstoeffectivedelegation.Themainobjectiveofdelegationistofreeupthe
workloadofmanagerssothattheycanfocusonothermanagerialissues.However,effective
leadersarealsoabletousedelegationasameantodeveloptheirstaffs.

Firstly,managersneedtodecideonthetypeoftaskwhichcanbedelegatedtostaffs(Cole,
2013).Naturally,thedecisionshalltakeintoconsiderationthecapabilityoftheirdelegates,
urgencyofthetask,andthewillingnessoftheirstaffs.However,aleaderwouldalsoconsider
ifthenewtaskwouldserveasalearningopportunityforhisstafftodeveloporrefineskills
withinacceptablerisk.Inthecaseofafastfoodchain,Robertcanfreelydelegatenewtasks
toteammembersastheriskarerelativelyminorandcanbeproperlymanaged.Whilethis
maynotsoundsignificant,itwillallowhisteammemberstoacquirenewskillsand
subsequentlybemoreeffectiveatwork.

Thenextaspectofeffectivedelegationistoselectadelegate.Aleaderwouldinthiscase
considerifhis/herstaffhaspreviouslyexpressedinteresttobeinchargeoritwouldhelpteam
memberstounderstandtheroleofotherteammembersinordertopromoteteamwork(Cole,

2013).He/shewouldalsoconsiderthepersonalinterestoftheemployeesifsuchnewtasks
wouldbebeneficialfortheirlongtermcareerprogression.Ifitisproductivetodoso,aleader
wouldselectadelegateandprovidenecessarycoachingtoensurethatthedelegateisableto
learnanddeveloptoachievethetaskobjective.InRobertscase,hecanagaintrytodelegate
someofhismanagerialresponsibilitiestoshiftsupervisorsorotherpotentialemployeesto
keepthempassionateabouttheirworkandconsequentlyperformbetter.

Afterdelegating,themanagermustalsoinformstakeholdersaboutthehandoverof
responsibility(Cole,2013).Aleaderwouldtaketheopportunitytoexpandthenetworkofthe
delegatebyintroducingnewpeopletohisstaffs.Thisisalsoindirectlyadevelopment
opportunityasemployeesareabletomeetnewpeopleintheorganisationandconsequently
standabetterchanceincareerprogression.ThisisalsosomethingthatRobertcanachieve
andtherebyimprovethemotivationofstaffsworkingforhim.

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