Nghiên cứu năng lực lãnh đạo của nhà quản lý cấp cao tại các khách sạn 3 5 sao trên địa bàn hà nội TT TIENG ANH

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY −−−−−  −−−−− HOANG THI THU TRANG RESEARCH ON LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY OF SENIOR MANAGERS AT 3-5 STAR HOTELS IN HANOI Major: Commercial Business Code: 934.01.21 ECONOMIC DOCTORAL DISSERTATION SUMMARY Hanoi, 2021 The dissertation is completed at Thuongmai University Scientific supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Nguyen Hong Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Viet Thai Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: Dissertation will be defended in front of the dissertation Committee at Academy level, at Thuongmai University on Ho Tung Mau Street – Cau Giay – Hanoi At…… hour… …date … month… year … The dissertation can be found at: - Vietnam National Library - Library of Thuongmai University LIST OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF AUTHOR RELATED TO THE DISSERTATION TOPIC Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2015), Human resources of Vietnamese Hotels – Challenges Integration, Vietnam Trade and Industry Magazine, No 6, May, 2015, pages 59 Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2017), The Forth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and challenges posing for and 5-star rated hotels in Vietnam, International Conference for Young Researchers in Economic and Business (ICYREB) Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2017), Human Resource management for small and medium – sized hotels in Hanoi in the present context, International Conference on Emerging Chanllenges: Strategic Intergration (ICECH) Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2019), Literature Review and proposal of the competency model with CEO of 4-5 star hotel, National conference “Enterprise human resource management in the context of International integration and Industry 4.0” Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2020), Identification of assessment criteria leadership competency of hotel CEO, National Conference “Improving the quality of tourism human resources in the context of Industry 4.0” Hoang Thi Thu Trang (2020), Leadership competency of star hotel CEO in Hanoi, International Conference for Young Researchers in Economic and Business (ICYREB) INTRODUCTION Rationale of the thesis Theoretically, leadership is demonstrated through a process in which an individual influences others to work together to accomplish a goal in the most effective way Leadership is considered as one of the key factors to ensure the survival and development of enterprises in the context of an increasingly complex, unpredictable and fiercely competitive business environment (Bennis et al Goldsmith, 2003.) Challenges from the internal and external environment require senior managers to be professional and effective in performing assigned tasks Numerous studies in the hotel industry show that leadership is one of the most important competencies of hotel managers (Sandwith, 1993; Tas cộng sự, 1996; Gilbert Guerrier, 1997; Nelson Dopson, 2001) Particularly, leadership is considered as the ability to turn ideas into effective actions (Sandwith, 1993) Therefore, the requirement of improving leadership skill is generally and continuously a must for senior managers to fulfill their own leadership tasks Moreover, studies on the leadership competency of senior managers at enterprises in general and at hotels in particular have been of interest to researchers globally The leadership competency of senior managers at enterprises has been researched and pointed out as: studies determining leadership competency through leadership qualities, leadership knowledge or leadership behaviors or studies assessed through a combination of these three components In the hotels specifically, researching on leadership competency is to assess the leadership competency mainly in terms of competency (general and professional competencies) or partially identifying with leadership competencies of hotel managers Therefore, it has formed a certain researching gaps on the leadership competency of senior managers at hotels, including a gap in determining leadership competency based on the characteristics, personal psychological attributes (internal) and the formation of leadership behaviors (external) of the senior management in accordance with the specific requirements to carry out leading activities from the thesis’ method of approach In fact, the hotel industry is a fast-growing industry Although COVID-19 epidemic has temporarily affected its growth rate, the trend of more and more hotels is no sign for going down in the near future It requires a huge amount of human resources, especially senior management personnel for medium and largesized hotels With such a huge demand of human resources, there is a shortage in managerial resources in the hotel labor market, especially senior managers, world-widely in general and Hanoi in particular In the context of the pandemic, a large number of skilled workers are forced to change their jobs due to lacking of work Therefore, when the tourism industry reopens and vaccine passports are circulated, it is forecast that the shortage of human resources, especially highlevel human resources, will become more serious In this economic and business context, senior hotel managers are facing great challenges in enhancing their capabilities, including leadership skill Some 4-5 star hotels in Hanoi have already established a professional personnel evaluation standardization However, many other 3-5 star hotels have not built a model for evaluating their human resources including senior managers to determine their capacability and take measures to improve competency of the hotel managers at all levels, especially top managers This creates certain gaps in the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Based on the theory and practices mentioned-above, the author has selected the topic of "Research on leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi" as thesis’ orientation Purpose: The research purpose of the thesis is to find solutions and recommendations to improve the leadership competency of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Thesis’ research questions: Which elements are included in the research framework for leadership competency of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels? Checking the constituent elements the leadership competency of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi? Describe and evaluate the difference of the factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi according to the selected control variables? What are the successes and limitations on the elements constituting the leadership competency of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi? What are the appropriate solutions to improve the leadership competency of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi recently? The object and the scope of research - The object of research of the thesis is the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels - Scope of research: + Regarding content: The thesis approaches the leadership competency of senior managers based on Transformation Theory and uses the Be-Know-Do model of Campbell and Dardis (2004) tested in Vietnam by Tran Thi Phuong Hien (2014) The thesis does not consider the influence of personal characteristics of senior managers (demographics, work characteristics, ) on the factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers at the hotel The thesis also does not conduct research on the influence of environmental factors on the leadership competency of senior managers at the hotel + Regarding the geography: The thesis studies the leadership competency of senior managers at hotels in Hanoi that are classified and ranked from 3-5 stars according to hotel rating standards TCVN: 4391-2015 + Regarding the time: The thesis collects secondary data related to the research problem in the period 2015-2020 The suggestions on improving the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi mentioned in the thesis will be valid until 2025 Contribution of the thesis: The thesis can make contribution in the following aspects: Firstly, the thesis has contributing to the theoretical system of the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels The new point of the theoretical framework of the thesis is that based on the BKD model that has been studied in Vietnam, the PhD student has added and changed the components of the elements constituting leadership competency to suit senior managers at 3-5 star hotels through research review Specifically, the thesis has proposed to add 03 new components to be included in the research model of senior hotel management competency, including: 01 component of leadership qualities adaptability, 01 component of leadership knowledge - hotel expertise and 01 component of action leadership – strategic direction for the hotel The new theoretical framework on leadership competency of senior managers through empirical research is assessed to be suitable for the hotel industry Secondly, A new contribution to practice is that the thesis has tested the model of factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers at hotels and assessing the difference in factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers at hotels hotels in Hanoi The thesis does not consider the regression correlation of leadership competency of senior managers with business performance of enterprises like previous studies Specifically: to generally evaluate the situation of the hotel senior management team; to identify a revised research framework on the leadership competency of senior managers; to compare and clarify the differences among factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers based upon star rating, types of management (chain/independent), the way that senior managers self-assess and through lower-level managers and their employees’ evaluation The author also makes some conclusions about the advantages and limitations of leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi; accordingly, to identify the current situation of leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi The thesis has proposed four group solutions to improve leadership competency for senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi, including solutions aimed at senior managers at 3-5 star hotels themselves and for hotels to build up their human resources for senior management Thesis structure The main content of the thesis is structured into chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of research and theoretical basis on the leadership competency of hotel senior managers Chapter 2: Researching methods of the thesis Chapter 3: The current situation of leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Chapter 4: Solutions and recommendations to improve the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AND THEORETICAL BASIS ON THE LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY OF HOTEL SENIOR MANAGERS 1.1 Overview of research works related to leadership competency of hotel senior managers 1.1.1 Overview of research on hotels’ human resources Research related to hotel human resource competency generally involves issues such as: competencies required for hotel graduates (Baum (1990), Christou and Eaton (2000), Shariff and Abidin (2015)); competencies required for hotel staff (Hsu and Gregory (1995), Baum (2008), Bharwani and Jauhari (2013)) or studies on the competence of middle managers in hotels (Sui (1998), Brophy and Kiely (2002)), studies on human resource development for senior management in the hotel and tourism sectors (Nguyen Thi Thuy Huong, 2020 and Tran Duc Hai, 2020),… 1.1.2 Overview of research on the competency of senior managers In addition to the studies mentioned above, there have been models of the overall competency of the managers Known interationally and also in Vietnam, the model recognized in competency derermination is the ASK manager’ competence based on this model as Pham Cong Doan et al (2021), Le Quan and Pham Quoc Khanh (2012), Tran Kieu Trang (2012),… 1.1.3 Research overview on the competency of hotel senior management The research publication by Buergermeister (1983) first brought attention to the required skills and competencies to succeed in the hospitality industry Subsequent studies have reflected the changing roles of hotel managers and emphasized the growing importance of strategic and corporate management skills (Gilbert & Guerrier, 1997; Raybould & Wilkins, 2006) and reduce the importance of operational and technical skills (TAS et al., 1996) Researches on senior managers’ competencies have focused a lot on determining the competency of hotel general managers 1.1.4 Overview of research on leadership competency of managers and hotel senior managers 1.1.4.1 Research overview on leadership competency of managers When it comes to leadership competency, we can first refer to a series of works by Bass et al during the past 30 years since the 1970s Studies on leadership often follow four approaches In which, there are three approaches to each element: studies determining leadership competency through leadership qualities (Stogdill, 1974; Marlove, 1986; Kirpatrick and Locker, 1991; Smith and Fori, 1998; Northousen, 2004; Zaccaro et al., 2013, Crânciun et al., 2015,…); leadership competency expressed through leadership knowledge (Kanugo and Misra, 1992; Connelly et al., 2000; Mumford et al., 2000; Zaccaro 2001,…); leadership competency is demonstrated through leadership behavior (Kouzes and Posner (1993), Avolio and Reichard (2005), McCayley (2006), Sathe (2017) One angle is to synthesize elements according to models such as: Be-Know-Do (BKD) of Campbell and Dardis (2004); Tran Thi Van Hoa (2011), Tran Thi Thanh Huyen et al (2020) based on the ASK model; Dang Ngoc Su (2011); Tran Thi Phuong Hien (2014) and Le Van Thuan (2019) study the BKD model in Vietnam The BKD model studied in Vietnam is the most basic basis for researchers to choose their research framework The studies of Bass and Zaccaro give NCS the clearest views on the expression of the qualitative components of high-level NQL in the research framework 1.1.4.2 Overview of research on leadership competency of hotel senior managers A number of studies have pointed out that the leadership competency aspects of the hotel senior managers include: Strategic orientation, initiatives promotion, determination, comprehensive development, opportunity seizing and flexibility (Chung-Herrera et al., 2003) Researchs have suggested that leadership is also related to cognitive skills as strategic thinking and openness to new ideas as well as selfmanagement skills as changeability and consistency (Jeou-Shyan et al., 2011) Some other researchers, when approaching leadership capabiltity, think that it includes many factors such as: strategic orientation, leadership ability, appropriate management styles (Kay and Russette, 2000; Kriegl, 2000; Kay and Moncarz, 2007; Siu, 1998; Brophy and Kiely, 2002; Brownell, 2008) and includes other elements such as team development, teamwork, and team collaboration (Siu, 1998; Agut et al., 2003; Brophy and Kiely, 2002; Connolly and McGing, 2006) Whislt the other studies provide with leadership competency models such as studies of Naree Weerakit (2007), Tavitiyaman et al (2014), Shum et al (2018), Nguyen Le Vinh et al., 2021)… It comprises of a group of capabilities or divides into general competency and expertise competency These studies are the basic basis for the researcher to select and change the elements constituting the leadership competency of senior hotel managers 1.1.5 Research gap Research gaps: Firstly, there have not been in-depth studies on the leadership competency model from the perspective of the leading function of senior hotel managers; Secondly, the studies have not shown clearly the difference between leadership competency in general and leadership competency of senior hotel managers; Thirdly, it is not clearly differed between leadership competency of managers at different levels in the hotel; Forthly, there are no studies that use a combination of factors constituting the characteristics of senior managers (regarding qualities, knowledge and actions) to evaluate the leadership competency; Fifth, there have been no studies on the leadership competency of senior hotel managers, specifically at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 1.2 General overview of leadership competency of hotel senior managers 1.2.1 Concept and characteristics of hotel human resources 1.2.1.1 The concept of hotel human resources Hotel human resources are the resources of all employees working at the hotel in a coordinating relationship with each person's own resources to carry out the production and provide hotel services to meet the needs of customers 1.2.1.2 Characteristics of human resources in the hotel Hotel workers have characteristics such as: mainly service workers; their working skills is difficult to be replaced by automation and mechanization; labor in the hotel as well as in the tourism industry is highly volatile during the tourist seasons; be diversified and highly specialized; the structure of age and gender of hotel employees is also characterized (average age is young, female workers account for a large proportion.) With such characteristics, it is required that senior managers understand the personnel’ psychology and characteristics of different departments and their own departments to take appropriate actions, motivate their employees, help improve the working productivity and make a difference in hotel services 1.2.2 The concept and the role of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels 1.2.2.1 The concept of senior manager of 3-5 star hotels Enterprise managers are people with managerial titles following by the law and regulations, they play the role of coordinating and maintaining the organization's operations and are responsible for the business results Senior managers of 3-5 star hotels are among members of the hotel's executive board, with the highest responsibility for the operation of entire hotel or a large department of the hotel 1.2.2.2 The role of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels Firstly, in the hierarchy in the hotel's management team, senior managers are amongst the most responsible for operating the hotel Secondly, senior managers are the decision-makers, leaders, administrators and communicators of the hotels Thirdly, regarding leader and management roles, senior managers keep both an administrative role and an orientation role in the hotels 1.2.3 Concepts of competency and leadership competency of hotel senior managers 1.2.3.1 Concept of Competency Competency is combined by one’s individual psychological characteristics that are suitable for specific requirements of a given activity to ensure that activity is done in a highly-effective way 1.2.3.2 Concept of leadership competency of hotel senior managers The leadership competency of a senior manager of a 3-5 star hotel is a combination of his/her qualities, knowledge and leader actions that he/she needs to be capable of building up, implementing project missions, having strategic vision for the hotel, having a good orientation to lead and motivate the hotel’s employees 1.2.4 Theories of leadership 10 There have such a numerous theories of leadership that have emerged from the early years of the twentieth century until now, specifically as: Great-Man Theory, Trait Theory, Contigency Theories (Situational), Style and Behavior Theory, Process Leadership Theory, Transactional Theory, and Tranformational Theory Based on the specialization of the hotel industry, the research framework on leadership competency of hotel senior managers is based on tranformational theory This theory emphasizes in changes and roles of leaders in building visions and leading the organization Leaders have to create changes and make continuous progress in the organization (Bass, 1990) 1.3 Research framework on leadership competency of hotel senior managers 1.3.1 Basis for proposed research framework 1.3.1.1 Research framework The research framework on leadership competency of hotel senior managers is built on the followings: - The Be - Know - Do (BKD) model of Campbell and Dardis (2004) and the appropriateness of this model in assessing leadership competency; - Verified research results on the use of BKD model in assessing leadership competency of senior management personnel in Vietnam; - The characteristics of products and business activities of the hotel industry, the level of influence of senior managers on employees; - The results of qualitative research of the author, elements forming leadership competency resulted from qualitative researchs include: adaptive qualities, hotel expertise and strategic orientation actions for hotels From the above-mentioned, the research framework consists of components with elements presented in the followings 1.3.1.2 Research hypothesis H1: There is a difference in the leadership competency components (BE, K, DO) of senior managers at 3-star, 4-star, 5-star hotels in Hanoi H2: There is a difference in the leadership competency components (BE, K, DO) of senior managers at chain-managed hotels and independently operated hotels rated 3-5 stars in Hanoi area H3: There is a difference in the leadership competency components (BE, K, DO) of senior managers at 3, 4, star hotels in Hanoi as assessed by senior management and through reviews of other subjects 1.3.2 Leadership quality (BE) Leadership quality of senior managers are specific personal characteristics necessary for senior managers to attract, influence, etc to make employees listen and follow The quality includes: flexibility, dare to take responsibility, sensitivity, creativity and adaptability 1.3.3 Leadership knowledge (KNOW) Leadership knowledge is the knowledge accumulated through the training and self-training process of senior managers to help them perform their leading 13 * Surveyed objects and their characteristics: Survey two groups: Sample 1: Senior managers (67 persons); Sample 2: Middle and junior managers, employees (134 persons) (4) Processing and analyzing data *Data processing The collected data will be aggregated into an Excel file and filtered to ensure the reliability and accuracy * Data analyzing 2.2.2.1 Steps to analyze survey data - Testing the theoretical framework and research hypothesis by using SPSS 22 software to test the reliability of the scale, analyzing the EFA exploratory factor - to assess the suitability of the research model Using testing tools to test the research hypothesis according to the control variables used - Descriptive analysis to assess the current status of the factors constituting leadership capacity of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 14 CHAPTER 3: THE STATUS OF LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY OF SENIOR MANAGERS AT 3-5 STAR HOTELS IN HANOI 3.1 General overview of the hotel business and the status of senior management personnel at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 3.1.1 Overview of hotel business in Hanoi The accommodation business in Hanoi has made great contributions and impacts to Hanoi's tourism industry In terms of structure, the number of accommodation business units has developed in line with the city's tourism development The business indicators regarding room capacity, revenue from tourism, etc are quite good In 2020, under the serious impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, many hotels faced great difficulties in business due to temporary closure or the authority’s restriction of several business activities In the first months of 2021, while the epidemic situation is still complicated and not thoroughly controlled, 3-5 star hotels have converted quite well: many hotels have registered to be paidquarantine places, or added more new business methods to maintain their operation although the capacity and revenue are not high 3.1.2 The status of senior management personnel at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi The general status of senior management personnel at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi is defined as: Firstly, foreigners hold the position of accountable managers for a large proportion at 4-5 star hotels in Hanoi; Secondly, senior managers who hold Bachelor and Master degree account for a very large proportion; Thirdly, the shortage of qualified domestic staff at large-scale hotels still exists; Forthly, the professional level of senior management of 3-star hotels is not consistent; Fifthly, expat senior managers have more advantages in practical experiences in hotel management and operation and also be more well-trained than Vietnamese senior managers; Sixth, there are not many senior managers whose major is senior management, mainly in 4-5 star hotels 3.2 Results of analysis of the current status of leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 3.2.1 Check the reliability and factors included in the research framework on leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Step 1: Assess the reliability of the scale Reliability of the scale of leadership quality - BE: This scale includes 16 observed variables (BE1 to BE16) The results showed that the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of leadership quality is 0,853 (greater than 0,6), and all observed variables have a total correlation (Corrected Item-Total Correlation) from 0,349 or greater than 0,3 Thus, the scale ensures reliability 15 Reliability of the scale of leadership knowledge - KNOW: The scale includes observed variables which are included in the analysis After analyzing, the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of leadership qualities is 0,779 (greater than 0,6) and all observed variables have a total correlation (Corrected Item-Total Correlation) of 0,469 or greater than 0,3 It can be concluded that the scale is reliable Reliability of the scale of leadership actions - DO: The scale includes 16 observed variables which are included in the analysis After analyzing, the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of leadership quality is 0,897 (greater than 0,6) and all observed variables have a total correlation (Corrected Item-Total Correlation) of 0,499 or greater than 0,3 It can be concluded that the scale is reliable Step 2: Analyzing the exploratory factor EFA The results of step are shown in Figure 3.1 Leadership quality Adaptability Daring to take responsibility Sensitivity Creativity Flexibility Research on leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 st Leadership knowledge Knowing about the leading activities Professional knowledge about the hotel Leadership actions Strategic orientation for the hotel variables: star rating of the hotel; management form of the hotel; object o Creating aControl shared vision Setting example for the employees Develop and transmit enthusiasm to employees Figure 3.1: A revised research framework on leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 16 3.2.2 Analysis of the current status of leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 3.2.2.1 Leadership quality - In terms of leadership qualities of senior managers of hotels by star rating, there is a difference in the composition of leadership qualities of the 3-star hotel group compared to the – star group Figure 3.2 General assessment of the qualities of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Source: By the PhD candidate’s researching A detailed look in the leadership qualities of senior managers by star rating shows that: Although the quality of senior management personnel at 3-star hotels is still rated in a good scale, it is not really commensurate with the requirements of hotel management The most low-rated aspects are the flexibility and adaptability of these senior managers (only about 3.6/5 points); The qualities of senior managers of 4-5 star hotels are all rated on a good scale of 4.0 or higher, except for the sensitivity quality of senior managers of 5-star hotels (3.9 points) There is not much difference in leadership qualities of senior managers at 4-5 star hotels in Hanoi - Referring the leadership qualities of senior managers based on the assessed object: the average value in the assessment of senior managers of 4-5 star hotels and their subordinates is closer There is a significant difference in leadership qualities as self - assessed by the senior managers of the 3-star hotel and assessed by their subordinates and staff - Referring the leadership qualities of senior managers at hotels in the form of management, senior managers in hotel chains are rated much higher than senior managers in independent hotels in Vietnam regarding all leadership qualities The biggest difference is flexibility (BE1-BE4) and adaptability (BE11-BE13) 3.2.2.2 Leadership knowledge Senior managers of 4-5 star hotels are assessed to have relatively good professional knowledge and leadership knowledge, the lowest score is 3.94 on the ability to create jobs and find suitable co-workers to the jobs well through encouragement A large number of senior managers at 4-5 star hotels are foreigners, well trained, have strong knowledge of hotel management and have a deeper knowledge of leadership than Vietnamese’s managers There is not a big difference in the assessment of hotel expertise between senior managers and their subordinates Particularly, in terms of knowing about 17 leadership activities, the point assessed by subordinates is significantly lower than that assessed by senior managers themselves Senior managers in independent hotels are assessed to have much weaker leadership knowledge than those in hotel chains 3.2.2.3 Leadership actions Strategic orientation for the hotel and setting example for the employees are two actions that are considered outstanding by senior management personnel of 5-star hotels in Hanoi Senior managers of 4-star hotels are better able to create a shared vision than senior managers of 5-star hotels The leadership actions of managers of 3-star hotel is not really good The rating for senior managers assigning works to their lower-level employees to complete their tasks is the highest (3.81/5 points) The weakest point is that they not often share the factors that affect the achievement of the hotel's goals (3.53/5 points) Strategically oriented actions for the hotel, senior managers and their subordinate staff have quite close ratings, reaching a good level of nearly points Setting example to the lower-level employees is the biggest difference between the assessment of senior managers and of others: managers self-assessed at an average of 4.2/5 points while lower-level managers and employees only rated 3.8/5 points Strengths in leadership actions of senior hotel managers in chain management are strategic orientation for the hotel and the role model for their subordinates Incorporating with more criteria on hotel class, the leadership actions of the senior management personnel of 3-star hotels in chain and in independent operation are very differentiated, especially there is a gap in the assessment of senior managers with lower-level managers and employees Overall assessment of leadership actions at 3-star hotels operating independently from subordinates is at average rating (3.32/5 points) They rated the lowest about the sharing of factors affecting the hotel's goal implementation (3.07/5 points), and the ability to adjust strategies of senior managers (3.15/5 points) 3.2.2.4 Compare the differences in the factors constituting the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Conclusion of hypothesis H1: There is a statistically significant difference between the factors constituting leadership competency of senior managers at 3star, 4-star and 5-star hotels in Hanoi Conclusion of hypothesis H2: There is a statistically significant difference in the leadership competency components (BE, K, DO) of senior managers at chain-managed hotels and independent hotels of 3-5 star rating in Hanoi 18 Conclusion of hypothesis H3: There is a statistically significant difference in the leadership competency (BE, K, DO) of senior managers at 3-, 4-, and 5star hotels in Hanoi which is self-assessed by senior management and by others 3.3 General assessment on leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 3.3.1 Successes and reasons From the information on the current status of leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi, it can be seen that the successes are as follows: - The education level of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi is quite good - The leadership competency of senior managers is assessed quite good, especially the leadership competency of senior managers of – star hotels and chain-managed hotels - Each element constituting the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi has outstanding points and meets the requirements of current hotel management - The important leadership quality needed for senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi are identified as: flexibility, sensitivity, daring to take responsibility, adaptability and creativity The strong characteristics in leadership quality of senior managers include: + Daring to take responsibility and flexibility are the most highly assessed in the leadership quality + The leadership quality of senior managers in 4-5 star hotels are all wellassessed Senior managers are fairly accurate in assessing their own quality in relation to their lower-level employees + Senior managers in the hotels operating in chain model are assessed to be flexible in hotel operation and management - The strengths regarding Leadership knowledge of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi are as followings: + Senior managers of 4-5 star hotels are assessed to have relatively good professional knowledge and knowing about leadership activities Senior managers of star hotel is highly assessed for their professional knowledge + The senior managers of 3-5 star hotels operating in chain model have very good professional and leadership knowledge They confidently have the knowledge to perform their leadership functions - Leadership actions of senior managers at 4-5 star hotels are rated relatively well These advantages stem from the following reasons: - Hanoi has a strong attraction of domestic and international human resources It makes Hanoi's HR quality higher than other provinces Hotels in 19 Hanoi have access to high-quality human resources, including those who play the role of senior managers in 3-5 star hotels - The State's policy system related to human resource development in the tourism industry has been promulgated and has greatly supported the current human resource development - The hospitality and accommodation industry is considered nascent but also has a certain period time in operation The organizational system of state management of tourism’s human resource development has been gradually formed - The People's Committee of Hanoi supports the development of tourism institutions/colleges and professional associations in the area to implement the policy of strengthening human resources in tourism based on social needs, including human resources at the management level of hotels - The hotel's senior management is a group of human resources classified as high-quality in Hanoi Therefore, the development of this team (including quality - competencies and quantity) is always the top concern of the People's Committee of Hanoi - Some hotels (especially some 4-5 star hotels) have taken the initiatives in training, creating resources and improving the competency of senior managers for themselves in both short- and long-term development strategies - Some senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi themselves have realized the importance of leadership competency in the current context 3.3.2 Limitations and causes Besides mentioned-above successes, the leadership competency of senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi still has the following limitations: - The leadership competency of senior managers of independent 3-star hotels in Hanoi is rated the lowest among senior managers - The leadership quality of senior managers at some 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi are not commensurate with the requirements and expectation of their employees Among the elements of leadership quality, sensitivity is the quality that helps hotel managers "capture people's hearts" and run the business more effectively It is especially important for managers in a highly communicative environment such as the hotel industry However, the hotel's senior managers only met the basic expectation which is not highly assessed by lower-level managers and staff + The quality of senior managers at 3-star hotels which is the most lowrated includes flexibility and adaptability In independent 3-star hotels, lowerlevel managers and staff think that senior managers only achieve an average level They lack flexibility and adaptability in leading the hotel - Regarding leadership knowledge, some senior managers not have enough knowledge to have the ability to manage the hotel 20 - Leadership actions of senior managers in 3-star hotels are not assessed as good The senior management of the 3-star hotel is not yet interested in creating a shared vision with the subordinates The weakest point is that they not often share information that affects the goal achievement of the hotel The leadership actions of senior managers at independent 3-star hotels are rated as average They have not truly met the requirements of hotel leaders in the current context The above limitation comes from the following reasons: Firstly, the phenomenon of competing for human resources among hotels is quite common Normally when a big hotel goes into operation, they often have a policy to attract talents, skilled employees by offering higher salary As such, high-quality personnel of the hotels with a smaller scale are often in danger of shortage Secondly, the current status of vocational and tourism education in Hanoi still have many shortcomings and there still lays a large gap between the size, quality, profession and the real human resources’ need of enterprises Thirdly, many hotels have not had adequate perception about the importance of high-quality human resources so that their investment fund has not been properly allocated to develop the high-level management personnel Fourthly, due to the shortage of management personnel, a large proportion of senior managers are expats Although they are well-trained and highly professional, cultural differences make it one of the definite barriers in their hotel management Fifth, some hotels (especially independent 3-star hotels) not conduct the evaluation of the senior managers Sixth, some senior managers working in hotels (especially independent 3star hotels) themselves have not been properly aware of their leading role in the hotel’s management and operation and also their own leadership competency 21 CHAPTER 4: SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY OF SENIOR MANAGERS OF 3-5 STAR HOTELS IN HANOI 4.1 Hotel development trends and requirements for improving senior managers’ leadership competency in 35 star hotels in Hanoi 4.1.1 Development trends of the hotel industry in Hanoi Based on the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030, the Tourism Development Action Program for the 2021-2025 period, the general trends in Hanoi’s tourism make the hotel industry have certain changes as follows: In terms of products, hotels continue to create new products to better meet the customers’ needs There is a transformation in creating products with the support of technology such as smart rooms, online seminars, Currently, digital transformation in service industry is an inevitable trend Regarding the customers, due to the impact of COVID-19 (especially when its effects coming to an end has not been defined), the priority market is domestic customers Regarding the type and structure of hotels rated by the star class, the trend of expanding of 3-5 star hotels which increased in the previous years could be slowed down by the influence of COVID-19, but it will soon rise up again in the near future High-end hotels may be acquired and restructured by foreign investors And also coming into the market are boutique hotels that meet the needs of personalization, touching the customers’ emotion 4.1.2 Competency requirements for senior managers of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Based on the Strategy for Development of Vietnam's Tourism Industry to 2030 and the Plan No 191 dated September 30, 2020 on the implementation of the Strategy for Vietnam's Tourism Development to 2030 in Ha Noi City Interior,, the requirements of building up the leadership competency of senior managers are specified as followings: Firstly, it is necessary to form Hanoi’s human resources for tourism, first and formost are the senior hotel managers who always have to master new knowledge Secondly, it is necessary to equip these senior managers with professional knowledge, ability to promote and motivate their teams to meet the diverse requirements of customers along with the development of science and high technology in 4.0 revolution 22 Thirdly, it is to train hotels’ senior managers how to make tourism more dynamic, flexible and diverse Forthly, it is to improve self-leadership and leadership competency and skills to train their staff to meet and improve the customer satisfaction in services’ consumption Fifth, senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi must be the core to make a beautiful image of their own and of the entire human resources of Hanoi’s tourism Sixth, senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi have to be necessarily high - quality human resources 4.2 Solutions to improve the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi 4.2.1 Solutions for senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Upon the importance of each constituent element, the author offers solutions for senior managers for hotels in Hanoi (mainly focusing on 3-star hotels operating independently) as follows: 4.2.1.1 Using self-assessment tools to improve the qualities of senior managers - Help managers realize their own qualities through self-assessment tools of personal competency and qualities; - Enhance their qualities with leadership training courses One of the courses that is quite suitable for senior hotel managers, recommended by the author is the leadership course of "Agile People", a community of flexible people, started from June 2019 in Sweden (https://agilepeople.com/wsb) 4.2.1.2 Self-improvement and self-training of senior managers To enhance the leadership knowledge, hotel senior managers have to: - Visit, survey and study about hotels in Vietnam as well as worldwide - Join groups, seminars to share experiences in hotel management and operation to collect information and improve vision; - Search for information on the mass media, books on the subjects of leadership and operational management of reputable hotels; - Participate in training courses for professional hotel managers or hotel leaders 4.2.1.3 Improve the leadership actions for senior managers For 3-star hotels, it is necessary to define basic standards and minimum response levels for each leadership actionto ensure the values that impact hotel staff 23 Firstly, motivating employees This action is determined to include two main groups of actions: boosting enthusiasm of employees and employee development COVID-19 has made a lot of changes in the morale of employees Concerns about job stability, income and health status affects considerably on managers and employees’ mentality Especially 3-star, medium-sized hotels who not have enough business activities to exploit, the influence of the business enviroment is much harder Senior managers must be more flexible in motivating their employees and lower-level managers Secondly, setting example for subordinates Senior hotel managers have to clearly understand the values and the business principles of the hotel which to instruct their subordinates to act and behave accordingly (For example: principles of communicating with customers, colleagues, etc.) Thirdly, building a shared vision To be able to share the vision, senior managers have to thouroughly perceive the vision of the hotel; then using their sympathy, enthusiasm and effective communication skills to entice subordinates to share the views and show them the effects of together sharing views and visions This ability can be divided as envisioning the future of the hotel and sharing those visions with subordinates If it is done well, both senior managers and their employees will have the same goal of striving and have a better connection with the hotel, minimizing job hopping Last but not least, the utmost way for senior hotel managers to improve their leadership competency is to determine to continuously study to keep up with the rapidly changing business environment Moreover, with their determination, they can create a huge spillover effect to their entire hotel staff Investing in human resources always pays off in the long run Therefore, senior managers themselves have to focus on self - training Only when senior managers have the ability to manage the hotel and well organize their work, the hotel can attract, recruit and develop competent people 4.2.2 Using multidimensional assessment method to improve the awareness of senior managers about themselves It is necessary to evaluate the leadership capablity of senior managers in a multidimensional way (Kaplan and Palus, 1994) The greatest benefit of multidimensional assessment is that the information is more comprehensive and objective (Mohrman and Lawler, 1992) The results also have higher reliability than the one-way assessment (Wohlers, Hall and London, 1993) 24 However, there are three factors affecting the results Senior managers must have a desire to be evaluated by their subordinates; Senior managers must see the assessment as an opportunity to improve their own capabilities; and they need to have confidence to overcome changes and difficulties after the assessment In summary, it is appropriate to use the multidimensional assessment method in raising awareness, thereby improving the leadership competency of senior managers of independent 3-star hotels and other hotels in need Within the scope of the thesis, the researcher proposes the factors to be included in the assessment according to Table 4.1 For 3-star hotels with limited resources, senior managers can flexibly adjust to take effective and resource-saving steps for the hotel Table 4.1 Suggestions on factors to evaluate the leadership competency of senior hotel managers BE KNOW DO - Creative - Knowledge of leading - Strategic orientation for the - Flexible - Sensitive - Dare activities - to take - responsibili ty - Adaptation - hotel Professional knowledge - Creatng a shared vision of the hotel - Motivating employees Social knowledge (if (training; passing on needed) enthusiasm; empowering; Knowledge of appropriate compensations communication and benefits, ) (if needed) - Setting example for subordinates Source: By the PhD candidate’s researching 4.2.3 Recruiting senior managers for 3-5 star hotels from domestic and foreign labor market Hotels should use two channels to attract candidates for high-level working positions such as: Personal relationship and recruitment channel through "headhunting - professional personnel recruitment" services Focusing on the recruitment process of senior hotel managers is to prioritize managers suitable for the vacant recruited positions Many hotels only focus on professional competency when recruiting senior managers, but disregarding the overall competency (especially leadership) A must-have of a senior manager is leadership competency; while the professional competency can 25 be supplemented by experts or the senior managers can be trained and provide themselves with this over a certain period of time In the meantime, the ability to think, have a clear vision, gather and lead others often takes a lot of time to be built up 4.2.4 Creating a pool of senior managers for the hotels from internal resource of 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Practice shows that the shortage of personnel in the labor market for hotel industry is happening, especially for senior personnel Therefore, to build the future high-level management team from the internal resource is the key for hotels to succeed To create on-site resources, hotels should learn and implement the following programs: Learn from "Young leadership program, leadership seeds"; Use the promotion line for a clear career path; Succession scheme - also a widely-used tool in detecting and training the next potential leaders 4.3 Recommendations On the government’s support, in order to create high-quality human resources, the author recommends continue to encourage tourism training under a specific mechanism (including a major in Hotel Management.) For Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the author recommends the followings to create a premise and supporting tool to improve the hotel's senior management competency: - Develop guidelines for the development of high-level management in tourism industry, specifically in the hotel sector, in terms of scale, quality and structure - Construct or strengthen the training of high-level management for tourism businesses, including 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi - Open short-term and long-term intensive training courses based on the needs to improve leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi and other provinces in Vietnam - Adjust the professional standards, develop a more specific set of professional standards for each group of hotels upon star class, up-to-date the standards to be closer to the international standards being applied to the international hotel groups located in Vietnam For Hanoi’s Department of Tourism, one of the important solutions is to increase awareness of the authority about enhancing the abilities of senior hotel managers through the following activities: 26 - Create a clear orientation, strengthen the policy-making, form a legal framework and mechanism for the development of high-quality tourism human resources while ensuring the close connections between the state management agencies with vocational institutions or universities/colleges, tourism enterprises in training, fostering and employing high-quality human resources - Focus on further developing the staff who specialize in tourism to create effective training programs for the hotel managers - Coordinate between the city's management agencies in charge of tourism with its districts/towns in developing high-level hotel management human resources - The Department of Tourism shall take responsibility for building a database system on tourism institutions and enterprises operating in the sector of tourism, especially detailed information on human resources, tourism resources and Hanoi's hotel senior management personnel - The Department of Tourism needs to define its role in state management in the development of hotel’s human resources, especially the high-level management and set targets on the rate of training of each hotel as the mandatory requirements, to encourage and enhance hotels to train their staff in a professional manner 27 CONCLUSION After completing the research, the author has achieved which are presented in the novelty of the thesis In general, the thesis has achieved its objectives and solved the posed questions However, there still lay some limitations as follows: Firstly, in terms of the competency of the hotel's senior managers There are several models being used to assess the senior managers’competency divided by the general competencies and the professional competencies However, in the thesis, the author only evaluates one aspect of senior managers which is leadership competency, has not evaluated the overall competencies of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi area Secondly, due to the COVID-19, numerous hotels had to temporarily close, their revenue and number of guests decreased significantly Performance factors such as business results, branding, customer satisfaction, staff stability, etc are not accurately reflected Therefore, the author cannot use them as mediate factors to evaluate the leadership results of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels It is not possible to analyze based on the linear regression model to determine the level impact of each factor in the research framework on the leadership competency of senior managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi Based on the limitations and results of the thesis, it can open up new researching directions, such as: - Research and evaluate the management competency of hotel's senior managers or the hotel GM group - Study the impact of each component on the leadership competency of senior managers/general managers at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi or changing the research object to 1-5 stars or 1-2 stars when the business returns to normal after the pandemic - Research on the relationship between the leadership capacity factors of senior managers, employee job satisfaction and hotel performance In order to complete the thesis, the PhD student would like to first express his deep gratitude to the two instructors - who are dedicated guides and always stand by the side to guide and encourage the PhD student when he encounters a deadlock in his research PhD students always feel lucky because they always receive the enthusiastic support and help of teachers at the Postgraduate Management during their studies, completing their records at all levels during their studies In addition, to complete the thesis, the PhD student also deeply thanks to managers at all levels, staffs at 3-5 star hotels in Hanoi, experts in the field of research and development tourism, the tourism managers at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Hanoi’s Department of Tourism have supported and provided reliable, accurate and appropriate data for tourists thesis Sincerely thanks! ... surveyed 3- 5 star hotels in Hanoi The total number of hotels surveyed is thirty -5 star hotels out of sixtynine hotels in Hanoi Of which, 26.67% are 5- star hotels, 30 % are 4-star hotels and 43. 33% ... and research hypothesis Step 3: Qualitative Research – Khung lý thuyết sử dụng Interview with experts for the 1st and 2nd kiểmtime định nghiên cứu số vấn đề nghiên cứu Test the theoretical framework,... leadership capacity of senior managers at 3- 5 star hotels in Hanoi 14 CHAPTER 3: THE STATUS OF LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY OF SENIOR MANAGERS AT 3- 5 STAR HOTELS IN HANOI 3. 1 General overview of the hotel business