Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

participate in the decision-making
process and are delegated the
authority to make decisions.
FOM maintains a hands-off policy
and delegates by default much
decision-making authority. FOM
gives little direction and allows
extensive levels of freedom.
New employees who must quickly learn
work tasks; difficult-to-supervise
employees who do not respond to
other styles; temporary employees
Employees who must follow set
procedures; employees working with
dangerous equipment or under spe-
cial conditions
Employees with high levels of skill or
extensive experience; employees
who need to make significant
changes in work assignments;
employees who want to voice
complaints; employee groups with
common problems
Highly motivated employees such as
staff technical specialists;
consultants
•
Bureaucratic managers. Bureaucratic FOMs “manage by the book,” with an
emphasis on enforcing rules. Problems not addressed by the rules are referred
to higher levels of management in the hotel. The bureaucratic manager is more
of a police officer than a leader. Because the emphasis is on rules, not cooper-
ation, rules become more important than work outcomes.
•
Democratic managers. Democratic FOMs want to include employees in the
decision-making activities that affect them. They focus on subordinates and
the role that they play in the hotel, and they search for ways to help employees
find satisfaction in their jobs. There are some potential disadvantages to the
democratic approach. For example, decision making is likely to take longer, and
mistakes are more likely to occur. Also, once this style has been used in the
front office, it is difficult for employees to accept another approach (e.g., when
a new FOM has a different leadership style).
•
Laissez-faire managers. Laissez-faire FOMs use a hands-off approach and do
as little supervising as possible. Front office employees make decisions with lit-
tle, if any, supervisory input. This approach can only be used with highly moti-
vated and experienced staff.
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