Strategic Ground for Listening and

¶ … Strategic Ground for Listening and Organizational Effectiveness In the peer-reviewed article and models of the article, Exploring the Strategic Ground for Listening and Organizational Effectiveness (Brownell, 2008) the author provides insightful analysis into how leaders in the hospitality industry can transform their businesses by listening, creating effective strategic plans, and setting the foundation for a learning organization. The author contends that all effective leaders are listeners and motivate their subordinates with self-efficacy and promoting mastery of their areas of expertise (Brownell, 2008).

The author also uses the HURIER Model 6 stage learning process to successfully define the value of listening in the context of transformational leadership (Brownell, 2008). In addition, the frameworks offer valuable insights into how best to manage the learning and knowledge-based transformations necessary in hospitality companies to keep them relevant to guests over the long-term. Analysis It is debatable if innovation and process-based improvement driven by employee and customer listening is as consistently effective and reliable as this article contends.

The stratification of listening to the individual, team or interactional and organizational level is an excellent framework the author provides (Brownell, 2008). Yet for listening to be a catalyst of transformational leadership in each of these contexts, there would need to be an exceptionally high level of time committed by leaders to make these effective over time (Teare, Ingram, Prestoungrange, Sandelands, 2002).

Realistically, to transform listening to the extent the author contends is needed into a strategy element, there would also need to be the inclusion of knowledge-based networks as well (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000). Studies of knowledge-based networks indicate that there is a cultural shift that occurs from years of listening and shared responsibilities, leading to increased authenticity and trust (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000).

The author does not fully explained this aspect of the listening paradigms that are included in the analysis and serve as a foundational element of the HURIER Model 6 stage learning process model (Brownell, 2008). Despite these limitations of the analysis regarding a more realistic assessment of time commitments to make listening results influence the strategic direction of the firm, the research shows a firm grasp of the strategic planning processes for services companies.

The factors of an increasingly diverse workforce, influences of globalization, disruption of new technologies and the impact of socio-economic trends are all well defined throughout the analysis (Brownell, 2008). The strategic planning models are shown to concentrate on mitigating variation away from plans using listening strategies. This alignment of listening strategies and strategic plans stops short however in the area of globalization and cultural variation.

An example of this short-coming is in how the Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions is not used in this analysis to show how a leader listens across different cultures can have a major effect on the effectiveness of this strategy (Hofstede, McCrae, 2004). The five cultural dimensions Hofstede discusses is also not included from the standpoint of aligning strategies to the unique cultural requirements of different nations as well.

Including this in the analysis would have also made the listening competence of the HURIER Model more relevant to unique geographies and their respective cultural differences as well (Hofstede, McCrae, 2004). Most significant however is the need for anchoring the HURIER Model 6 stage learning process into the strategic planning process in a more agile, and market-driven framework. As it stands, the defining of the concepts in this article aren't as flexible to respond to market conditions as other learning systems (Teare, Ingram, Prestoungrange, Sandelands, 2002).

The focus on greater agility could also lead to more effective interpretation of listening results and the development of a more globally-based strategy for aligning strategic planning to cultural requirements (Hofstede, McCrae, 2004). That link does not exist in the models presented in the article and its related research as of today. Conclusion In the article Exploring.