Management and Supervision
Skills for the G.M.
The G.M. Sets the Pace
G.M.s feelings & actions about issues will likely impact
hotel staff attitudes about those issues.
G.M.s personally direct only the work of department heads
and, perhaps, relatively few other staff.
G.M.s’ interaction with department heads directly impacts
how they interact with their own staff.
Influence
Level of morale
Employee
turnover rates
Desired product
& service quality
G.M.s Must Manage: Organizational Levels
Top-Level Management (G.M.)
Middle-Level Management
(Department Heads)
Supervisory-Level Managers
(Supervisors/Managers)
Entry-Level Employees
Of resources available, people (human resources) are the
most complex and important for success!
G.M.s Must Manage: G.M. Functions
Management
Function
Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Directing
Examples of activity: Working with
department head (if applicable) to:
Develop an operating budget or a marketing plan
Assign responsibilities for an upcoming banquet or conference
event
Recruit, select, orient and train new department heads
Supervise the work of department heads
Controlling
Take corrective action(s) when budgeted financial plans are
not attained
Evaluating
Assess the extent to which long- and short-range plans were
attained
G.M.s Must Manage: G.M. Skills
Conceptual
Interpersonal
Ability to collect, interpret,
and use information logically
Learning about a new, competing
hotel opening nearby and making
future marketing decisions
accordingly
Administrative
Ability to organize and
direct required work efforts
Ability to develop policies and
operating procedures necessary
for guest safety
Skills
Ability to understand and
interact well with guests,
employees, suppliers, etc.
Technical
Ability to perform
management-specific
aspects of the job
Forecasting guest demand for
rooms and establishing room
rates, etc.
G.M.s Must Manage: G.M. Relationships
Staff members
Other hotel employees
Yesterday: dictatorial
leadership
Today: facilitators
Tomorrow: empowerment
“Manage by walking
around”
External organization
G.M.
Others in community
Participating in
community social events
Joining professional business and
community service organizations
Attending school & athletic
events with their children
Meeting with community
government representatives
Guests
How the hotel can meet and
exceed guest expectations
G.M.s Must Manage:
G.M. Manage in Times of Change
Relative to their counterparts “yesterday” G.M.s must
Interact with a more diverse workforce
Emphasize teams rather than individual performance
Cope with fast-paced technology changes
Adjust to workplace changes (e.g., re-engineering, downsizing)
React to global challenges
Improve quality while increasing productivity
Improve ethical / social behaviors
Evolution of Traditional Hotel H.R. Practices
Traditional
Contemporary
Manager-focused work unit
Team-focused work unit
Manager is dominant
Manager is supportive
Emphasis on technical skills
Emphasis on employee facilitation skills
Manager seeks stability
Manager encourages change
Manager tells and sells personal views
Manager listens
Manager personally responsible for results
Manager shares responsibility for results
Manager personally solves problems
Team problem-solving is employed
Fear and pressure used to motivate staff
Pride, recognition, and growth are used to
motivate staff
Autocratic (dictatorial) decision style
Participative decision style
Individual behavior
Team behavior
Evolution of Traditional Hotel H.R. Practices
(continued…)
Traditional
Contemporary
G.M. forces compliance
G.M. earns the team’s support
What one says is inconsistent with what
one does
What one says is consistent with what one
does
Inconsistent “moments of truth”
Consistent “moments of truth”
Reactive management/supervision style
Proactive management/supervision style
Bureaucratic “rituals”
Flexible routines
Top down – one way communication
Multi-directional communication
Hierarchy of control
Empowerment
Power
Consensus
Short-term H.R. strategies
Long-term H.R. strategies
Management Basics: Planning
Vision
Mission Statement
Long-Range Plan
What the hotel will strive to be
What the hotel must do to be successful
and how this will be accomplished
Hotel’s goal for long-range (e.g., five
year) time span
Short-Range (Business) Plan
Hotel’s goal within a one-year time span
Operating Budget
Anticipating revenues and expenses
during short-range plan implementation
Marketing Plan
What must be done to generate revenues
anticipated by the operating budget
Management Basics: Decision Making
Before making a decision
Who is the correct person to make decisions?
Will a decision about a specific issue bring the hotel closer to
attaining objectives and goals?
How will the decision affect guests?
Is there only one acceptable alternative?
How much time and effort can be spent on the decision?
How does one’s experience help with decision making?
Must the decision please everyone?
What are the ethical aspects of the decisions?
Programmed decision
Routine and repetitive decisions
made after considering policies,
procedures, or rules
Non-programmed decision
Infrequent decisions requiring
creative decision making abilities
Management Basics: Decision Making Approach
Continuum of decision making
Traditional
Manager makes
decisions
unilaterally
Recent
Manager makes
decisions after
input from
others
Contemporary
Manager allows
team to make
decisions
Management Basics: Decision Making
(continued…)
Advantages
Considering broad range
of information
Generating more creative
alternatives
Whole team keenly
aware of issues and
problems
Disadvantages
Group
decision
making
process
Possible conflicts
May be forced to “take
sides” if alternative
opinions are expressed
Domination by staff
members with strongest
personalities
Achieving higher morale
Time-consuming
Easier implementation
Not applicable when fast
decisions necessary
Management Basics: Organizing Principles
Unity of command
Each employee should report
or be accountable to only
one boss for a specific
activity
Span of control
Limit to how many staff
members one supervisor can
manage effectively
Distribution of authority
Types of
authority
Used by
Advisory
Staff managers
Line
Line managers
(within departments)
Hiring and firing employees within a specific
department
Functional
Line managers (between
departments)
Executive housekeeper establishes table linen
laundry schedule with F&B dept.
Example
Develop orientation program for all hotel
employees
Management Basics: Delegation
Delegation benefits for the
G.M.
Allows the G.M. to do
most important things
first
Effective process to
train employees
Allows more work to
be accomplished
Improves controls
What work might be
delegated by the G.M.?
Work that others can
do as well as the G.M.
Work that is less
important than other
work
Work that should be
learned by more than
one person
Management Basics: Delegation (continued…)
Steps in effective delegation
Organizational climate necessary for delegation
Assign specific duties & responsibilities to employees
Grant sufficient authority for carrying out assignments
Supervisor & employees agree on expected results
Communicate responsibilities to minimize confusion
Managers make feedback system to measure progress
Management Basics: Flow of Communication
Multi-directional communication
G.M.
Vertical
Comm.
Department Heads
(Executive committee)
Managers/
Supervisors
Horizontal
Comm.
Managers/
Supervisors
Employees
Formal channel (example): coaching
Informal channel (example): grapevine / rumor mills
Management Basics: Motivation
Poorly motivated
staff
Inconsistent performance for required quality or quantity standards
Guest dissatisfaction
Increased operating costs
More motivated employees’ leave
Hotel suffers
Management Basics: Motivation (continued…)
Strategies to motivate employees
Follow sound management advice
Effective orientation
Train correctly
Manage a professional hotel
Supervise as you want to be supervised
Encourage effective communication
Manage a friendly hotel
Help your employees succeed
Management Basics: Leadership
Effective leaders will:
implement the property’s Mission Statement
have an objective & measurable “picture” of hotel’s desired
future
help others develop the knowledge and skills needed to
attain hotel’s vision (e.g., orientation, training, and
coaching)
utilize the empowerment process
develop team of staff committed to hotel’s success
achieve a reputation for quality service consistently
delivered to guests
cultivate a reputation for fairness and honesty
Management Basics: Discipline
Discipline: activities reinforcing desired performance
or correcting undesired performance.
Steps in a progressive discipline process
Oral warning (no entry in employee’s record)
Oral warning (entry in employee’s record)
Written reprimand
Suspension for specific number of days
Discharge
Team Building Tactics
Self-directed team
To be a good team leader,
the G.M. must
More control over work
responsibilities
Have high standards and
expectations
Make work assignments
within the team
Support individual members
and maintain trusting and
respectful relationships
Schedule themselves
Practice participative
management and solicit input
from members
Evaluate each other’s work
Assign compensation
increases
Demonstrate that own personal
goals and individual team
member goals should not be
placed before team goals
Share credit for team successes
G.M. Competencies
G.M.s never have a daily routine; every day is different
Actual daily activities undertaken by a G.M. vary from dayto-day & month-to-month as well as from property-toproperty
Daily involvement in guest relations are quite visible
G.M. is on duty eight or more hours daily and is often oncall even when not on the property
G.M. Competencies: Employees
Possible interactions with employees: positive examples
Daily conversations with long-term staff
Learning employees’ suggestions about possible operating improvements
Welcoming new staff to the team
Congratulating personnel about significant events in their families’ lives
Mentoring younger workers
Following employees’ careers as they are promoted within the organization
Providing non-job related advice when requested
Observing employees at a company picnic enjoy themselves
Observing staff who participate in community organizations/activities
G.M. Competencies: Employees
Possible interactions with employees: negative examples
Disciplining or terminating staff
Confronting staff known to be stealing
Learning about illegal acts committed off-property by staff
Assigning work responsibilities to cover “no show” employees
Discovering employee “sabotage”
Supervising staff violating hotel policies, requirements, and rules.
Comforting an employee whose child has passed away
Observing an intoxicated employee attempting to come to work
Explaining to staff why they did not get promotions they sought
G.M. Competencies with Guests
Possible interactions with guests: positive examples
Interacting with frequent guests
Receiving spontaneous “Thank You Notes” from happy guests
Observing hotel guests celebrate significant family / professional
occasions
Providing service / assistance to guests
Receiving input from guests who genuinely want the hotel to be
successful
Interacting with guests as peers at community / professional meetings
Providing accommodations to guests stranded by adverse travel
conditions
Receiving guest input about hospitable staff members
Interacting with frequent guests
G.M.Competencies with Guests
Possible interactions with guests: negative examples
Interacting with police called to hotel for disturbances or illegal guest
activities
Guest deaths in sleeping rooms or in the hotel’s public spaces
Dealing with visibly intoxicated guests
Preventing on-site prostitution
Preventing guest theft of money, products and/or services from the hotel
Preventing property vandalism
Calming irate guests stranded by adverse travel conditions
Discovering overt guest room damage
Interacting with police called to hotel for disturbances or illegal guest
activities