Exploring leadership into the future: A Tourism Industry

Exploring leadership into the future: A Tourism Industry


Literature Research Case Study Report

Introduction

Business leaders face a worry list of issues that is unprecedented in modern times. The global list of issues include: environmental sustainability, climate change, financial crisis, shifting economic and political balance, a renewed intensification around European debt problems, Japan’s possible return to recession, high oil prices, monetary policy tightening in China and other emerging countries, slowing growth indicators in the US, the US debt situation. At a national level in Australia, the worry list includes: the introduction of a carbon tax in 2012, rapidly rising energy, water and raw material costs, trade skills shortages, a high Australian dollar, and the fundamental shift in business operations and activities resulting from technology advances.



When an organization faces a serious crisis, leadership is required to guide the organization through this phase and ensure its survival (Mumford et al., 2007). In situations such as this, however, leadership cannot simply be a repetition of practices previously regarded as ‘good leadership’, as these may well have contributed to the failures that led to the crisis or a failure to respond adequately to the crisis. The new context imposed by a crisis situation transforms not only the social milieu in which leadership is embedded (Osborn et al., 2002), but also the cognitive processes, resources and strategies that must be utilized by leaders to resolve the crisis (Mumford et al., 2007). These changes create a significant impact on what is required for leadership effectiveness, and thus they need to be addressed in leadership development if leadership development activities are to increase the capability of organizations to deal with crisis situations (Probert & James, 2011, pp. 137-138)



Initially, familiar leadership practices may be the default position that enables the organization to deal with challenging events. However, over a longer period, these old leadership patterns, which may even have contributed to the crisis, and may be unsuitable for the future of the organization, require review. A crisis, whilst initially reinforcing tried and tested leadership practices, may paradoxically provide the impetus for this review as the residual anxiety generated by the crisis may be sufficient to prompt the organization to re-think several assumptions, including its leadership model (e.g. Balogun and Johnson, 2004). We suggest that renewing the organization’s leadership concept, which comprises all the assumptions an organization has embedded in its culture about leadership, is the most important role of leadership development initiatives (Probert & James, 2011, p. 146)



Business leaders need new thinking, practice and paradigms in the face of such crisis situations if businesses are to survive in the new environment as result of the global and national issues mentioned above.



Tasks

 Your group is to select one industry to research.  Research the industry and write a case study report that:



1.     Describes the current state of the industry you have chosen;

2.     Describes the existing leadership from the lens OF PERSON, PURPOSE, POSITION and PROCESS within the industry;

3.     Reviews current national and global crisis issues confronting the industry.

4.     Discusses the impact of these issues on the industry over the next 5-10 years. Your concept(s) must be justified and supported;

5.     Discusses the future shape of leadership for your chosen industry resulting from 2 and 3 above.

6.     Provides recommendations as to how these leadership challenges could be responded to;

7.     At least 20 relevant references must be cited in the report.