Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008 - (Page 6)

Checking In PERSPECTIVE & LETTERS H&MM July 21, 2008 | HotelMotel.com EDITORIAL 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 Managing employees takes sense of style IN THE details Running an effective team X and Y managers Developing your style Make learning continuous By Paul Heney Editorial Director M anagers are everywhere, and chances are you’ve had several different kinds over the years. I’ve worked under a variety of management styles, from hands-off to downright overbearing. It seems common sense that when we eventually ascend to the managerial ranks, we should try to follow the style of the management we’ve seen to be the most successful. Unfortunately, many people have never had a good role model. What’s worse, few companies have a speciﬁc, dedicated training program for new managers. We’re left to ﬁgure it out on our own or rely on other manager peers for guidance and advice. Years ago, I was introduced to Douglas McGregor’s concept of X and Y managers, and it has stuck with me. Almost 50 years ago, McGregor postulat- ed that there were basically two types of managers. See how his deﬁnitions ﬁt your current and former bosses. Where do you think you ﬁt in? X managers feel that the typical employee doesn’t like to work and that he or she will avoid doing work unless constantly monitored and threatened. They believe employees don’t really desire responsibility—just job security. As managers, they feel they must direct employees in all of their tasks, and, in turn, they come across as tough. X managers might be found yelling at employees, giving orders instead of delegating, acting vengeful, passing blame or retaliating at even the most well-intentioned criticism. Conversely, Y managers feel that people generally are interested in working hard and doing a good job—as long as they support and feel like a part of an organization’s goals. Y managers believe employees crave responsibility and look forward to using creativity, inspiration and imagination on the job. Y managers are quick to thank their employees for a job well done, and they often focus on team building and ﬁnding better ways to work together. While these theories are fairly simple in nature, they are rooted in social research—and their basic tenets ring true to most managers I’ve observed. So, how do you work on your own management style? I think a good starting point is to think about these X and Y styles, and ask yourself objectively where you ﬁt into the picture. Are you able to trust your employees to do their job? Do you give them the broader picture of what the team’s goals are? Do you allow them a say in how tasks are undertaken? In our industry, being a manager may entail running a team comprised of people from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, not to mention age ranges. So another important step in growing yourself is to realize that not everyone comes to work for the same reasons you do. Some people get out of bed in the morning because of the paycheck and nothing more. Others crave recognition. Yet others want a ﬂexible schedule to meet family demands. And some want to climb the proverbial corporate ladder, making steady progress through a series of job titles, raises and responsibilities. As you discern how your team members ﬁt into the big picture, you’ll realize that you have to make your own style unique, depending on your staff makeup. Let’s call it a modiﬁed Y. Your modiﬁed Y will change over time, as people come and go and as you learn from your mistakes and successes. Certainly, it’s in your best interest as a manager to read. Read management books, both old and new. Find a blog that talks about management or careers. Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist blog might be a good starting point, online at blog.penelopetrunk.com. Realize that your learning process as a manager should never come to an end. Anything less is a disservice to your company and to your team. pheney@questex.com Paul Heney, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . pheney@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3728 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Stephanie Ricca, EDITOR IN CHIEF. . . . . . . . . . sricca@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3791 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Jason Q. Freed, SENIOR EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . jfreed@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3727 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heather Gunter, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . hgunter@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3792 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Emily Hanna, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . ehanna@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3784 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Chris Crowell, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . .ccrowell@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3783 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Patricia Sheehan, EDITOR IN CHIEF, Hotel Design Ph: (216) 706-3753. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .psheehan@questex.com Amy B. Witek, ART DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . awitek@questex.com Rob Ghosh, ART DIRECTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rghosh@questex.com ADVERTISING/SALES/CIRCULATION 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 Matt Waddell, PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mwaddell@questex.com 2835 N. Shefﬁeld Ave, Suite 236, Chicago, IL 60657 Ph: (773) 880-2240 | Fax: (773) 880-2241 Mary Malloy, NORTHEAST, INT’L. . . . . . . . . .mmalloy@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3790 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Brian Levine, SOUTHEAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blevine@questex.com 757 Third Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Ph: (212) 895-8285 | Fax: (212) 895-8215 Jason Wallace, WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jwallace@questex.com 1461 S. 375 E., Kaysville, UT 84037 Ph: (801) 499-9999 | Fax: (801) 315-4137 Doug Kereszturi, CLASSIFIEDS, RECRUITMENT, DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dkereszturi@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3794 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heidi Spangler, DIR., AUDIENCE DEV. . . . . . . . hspangler@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3705 | Fax: (216) 706-3714 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Stacy Silver, BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR. . . . . ssilver@questex.com Ph: (954) 306-0747 | Fax: (954) 697-6265 J. Richard Casson, ASSOCIATE BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rcasson@questex.com Ph: (212) 895-8426 | Fax: (212) 895-8210 PRODUCTION 306 W. Michigan St., Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802 Jamie Kleist, ASST. PRODUCTION DIR. . . . . . . jkleist@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8855 | Fax: (218) 279-8812 Janelle Heller, SR. PRODUCTION MANAGER . . jheller@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8834 | Fax: (218) 279-8815 MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, LISTS . . . . . . . . .ilene@krolldirect.com Ph: (216) 371-1667 | Fax: (216) 371-1669 PERMISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 494-9051 Ext. 100 REPRINTS . . . . . . . . . . .HotelandMotelManagement@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 290-5460 Ext. 100 SUBSCRIPTIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE. .hspangler@questex.com Ph: (847) 763-9594 | Fax: (847) 763-9694 BACK ISSUES, SINGLE CURRENT COPIES Ph: (847) 763-9594 | Fax: (847) 763-9694 Forgot to pack your favorite issue of Hotel & Motel Management? Visit www.HotelMotel.com and go to www.HotelMotel.com/ digitalarchive to download, browse through and search the text of each issue, click on links in the articles and advertisements and quickly navigate to any page. Overtime tips work I want to compliment Peter T. Tomares on his guest column I read in the June 16 issue of HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT [“Trashing traditional front-desk shifts cuts down overtime,” page 19]. Our property has dramatically minimized overtime through several measures that have been quite effective. For my part, managing the schedule in the way you suggested not only will help us manage overtime, but it Mail Box Letters to the Editor hmm@questex.com also will address what I think is another growing trend for business travelers—early arrivals. The extra 30 minutes in the morning could help us set the house accordingly before major check-out begins. We have and will continue to bring in room attendants early to clean rooms that become vacant before 8 a.m. The additional staff around 2 p.m. gives the ﬁrst shift that much-needed brieﬁng and could provide enough bodies to deal with early arriving guests who have little patience with the traditional 3 p.m. check-in. I found the article very refreshing. PRESIDENT & CEO—Kerry C. Gumas EXECUTIVE V.P. & CFO—Tom Caridi EXECUTIVE V.P.—Tony D’Avino EXECUTIVE V.P.—Robert S. Ingraham EXECUTIVE V.P.—Jon Leibowitz EXECUTIVE V.P., CORP. DEV.—Claudia Flowers V.P., DIGITAL MEDIA—Seth Nichols V.P., HUMAN RESOURCES—Diane M. Evans Copyright 2008 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of speciﬁc clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; phone: (978) 750-8400; fax (978) 7504470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com; phone: (800) 494-9051 Ext. 100. Hotel & Motel Management does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Hotel & Motel Management welcomes unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations and other materials but cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping or return. Questex Media Group, Inc. provides certain customer contact data (such as customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses) to third parties who wish to promote relevant products, services and other op http://HotelMotel.com http://blog.penelopetrunk.com http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digitalarchive http://www.HotelMotel.com/digitalarchive

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

Contents Larkspur Hotels Branch Out with New Brand Starwood’s C.E.O. Maps Out Journey New Brand Leaders Share Hits, Misses Perspective Letters to the Editor Legal FAQ Training Trends Sales Clinic HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Special Report: 2008 Construction Companies Survey Guest Column Events Technology: Telephones Hotel Operations: Building Exterior Design: Televisions Transactions Awards Hot Products: Mattresses Supplier News Ad/Edit Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - July 21, 2008

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