Managing disciplinary application in the hotel industry

Abstract

The problem of managing discipline in the hotel industry ranges from senior managers failing to manage discipline correctly, to junior/middle managers having insufficient practical experience and confidence to discipline effectively and justify the decisions they have made. Senior managers therefore lack confidence in junior/middle management's ability to manage discipline. The objective of this study is to provide senior management with simple, workable solutions to manage discipline correctly. This will enable senior management to delegate the management of discipline to junior/middle management correctly; to improve the confidence of junior/middle management in the management of practical discipline; to improve the confidence level of senior management in the ability of junior/middle management to manage discipline; and to .improve the ability of junior/middle management to correctly and confidently justify disciplinary decisions they have made. The study recommends that: senior management should take the lead and initiative to allocate time with junior/middle management to plan how to manage discipline effectively; the success of senior management's performance should be measured by how well junior/middle management achieve the performance competence to formally and practically manage discipline; senior management should provide structured feedback, coaching and counselling to junior/middle management on their performance; and senior management should coach junior/middle management on how to justify disciplinary decisions. The cost of this change, namely, coaching and influencing people, is not monetary, but one of commitment. It is the choice senior management should make. The choice is to want control or to coach, namely, to use power to change or influence change, to compel or develop people to take responsibility and ownership for what they were employed to do.