INCLUSIVITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY SELECTED STATE-OWNED HOTELS

Abstract

When someone leads, they inspire others to take actions that advance the objectives of the organization as a whole. Leaders enable organizations to achieve their goals by directing operations and persuading their followers. They assess how effectively an organization’s resources are put to use to achieve its goals. Collaborative leadership is a management style designed to break down barriers between an organization's superiors and juniors. The collaborative leadership style replaces control with trust and active presence. In this study, the dimensions of collaborative leadership were inclusivity, joint decision making, shared responsibility and open communication. The hospitality industry in Kenya is vulnerable to external-environmental difficulties that affect how they function. Generally, the study sought to analyze the effect of the inclusivity on organization performance in the hospitality industry in Kenya; A case of state-owned hotels. The study was anchored on the collaborative leadership theory. The descriptive research design was employed in this research. The study's target population consisted of 145 employees from both Golf Hotel, Kakamega and Mombasa Beach Hotel. The sample size in this study was computed using Yamane Formula. The pilot test respondents were drawn from Rondo Retreat Center, representing a select group (10%) of the target employee population which is made up of 14 employees, their ideas for improving the questionnaire were taken into account and the respondents were not included in the main study. The study utilized primary data. The study findings revealed that inclusivity as a dimension of collaborative leadership has a significant effect on organizational performance. Top leadership should create an environment that celebrates diversity and promotes a culture of openness and acceptance, where employees and their ideas are valued and utilized; people partner within and across departments; current employees feel that they belong, and prospective employees are attracted to the organization; people feel connected to each other and to the organization and its goals. The study recommends that more components of collaborative leadership approaches (respect for individual input; flexibility and adaptability) be studied in the future, and performance and productivity measuring should be established, to create a comprehensive picture of the relationship between the collaborative leadership approach and organization performance.