Leona helmsley and leadership in Hospitality Industry

Leona helmsley and leadership in Hospitality Industry



Leona helmsley and leadership in Hospitality Industry

Introduction

Effective leadership requires a great many skills and abilities, some that must be used individually and many that have to be brought together collectively depending on the situation and the circumstances. For those in the hospitality industry, the demands of operating a hotel or restaurant dictate that managers exhibit a wide range of leadership qualities that changes as they interact with guests, front line employees and other managers. When there is a downturn in the economic climate, a reduction of demand in the marketplace, and when there are erratic events that negatively impact the normal flow of business, there is an even greater need for managers to take leadership action. (Foti, R. J., & Hauenstein, N. M. A, 2007)

Explanation

Leona helmsley and her leadership behaviors

Leona Helmsley, a self-made businesswoman who helped run the $5 billion New York real estate and hotel empire of her third husband before being convicted of federal income-tax evasion, died yesterday at her summer home in Greenwich, Conn. She had a heart ailment and was 87. Mrs. Helmsley's lust for media attention and her combative style earned her the tabloid nickname "the Queen of Mean." By any standard, she was a woman of moxie and accomplishment -- a college dropout who as a 42-year-old divorced mother began a successful career as a real estate broker. In 1972, she married Harry Helmsley, whose property management business included dozens of apartment complexes; office towers such as the Empire State Building; and a nationwide chain of hotels. Mrs. Helmsley assumed the presidency of the hotel component and displayed an autocratic manner that she emphasized was geared to better customer service.

In advertisements for the luxurious flagship, the Helmsley Palace, she presented herself as tiara-crowned royalty with captions that read, "the only Palace in the world where the Queen stands guard." She was subsequently shown in the ads polishing silver, making beds, and tasting the cuisine. "I wouldn't settle for drab-looking food," she said in one caption. "Why should you?"

Mrs. Helmsley's personality became a central part of the tax charges and her popular lore. Several disgruntled employees testified that her exacting ways scraped away the dignity of everyone on her payroll, from the cleaning staff to the top executives. One of Mrs. Helmsley's personal maids testified against her during the income-tax evasion trial in 1989. The maid said Mrs. Helmsley had boasted: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." Mrs. Helmsley denied having said that, but her reputation for high living made the comment seem convincing to many, and it proved a damning statement at trial.

Most of the charges stemmed from Mrs. Helmsley's ostentatious devotion to her husband. She threw lavish, celebrity-studded birthday parties for him with the theme "I'm Just Wild About Harry;" once bought him a $45,000 clock; and spent millions of dollars overhauling their Connecticut mansion, Dunnellen Hall, on 26 acres near Long Island ...