The Impact of Employees’ Perception of Leadership Styles on Their Motivation: A Phenomenological Assessment in Jamaica’s Hotel Industry

Abstract Many employees in Jamaica’s hotel industry feel that leadership in management prioritize operational success over employee motivation, which negatively impacts their job satisfaction and can result in migration to other companies. The hotel industry in Jamaica is important for the country's economic development, and leadership style plays a crucial role in employee motivation. The goal of this phenomenological study was to examine how Jamaican general managers' leadership styles impact employee motivation in two hotels in Montego Bay. Specifically, this research aimed to understand the lived experiences of hotel employees with their General Managers' leadership styles and how those experiences shape their motivation. Currently, there is limited empirical research on the impact of leadership in the tourism sector, especially in a Jamaican context and I aimed to begin to lessen that gap. In this phenomenological study, 57 employees from both hotels were interviewed. Ryan & Deci (2000)’s self-determination theory was used to conceptualize the ways in which different leadership styles, particularly the transactional, paternalistic, maternalistic and transformational leadership styles, regulate motivation in employees. I demonstrated that the theory can be helpful in explaining the impact of these leadership styles on employee motivation. The study found that transactional leadership style influenced external motivation, paternalistic and maternalistic leadership style influenced a more integrated regulation of motivation, and transformational leadership style influenced intrinsic motivation. Understanding how employees are motivated can help leaders in the tourism sector to retain a committed staff. Keywords: Leadership, employee motivation, tourism, Jamaica

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Robinson, Omar Garth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Moss Breen Kuzelka, Jennifer

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://cdr.creighton.edu/handle/10504/153936

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/153936