C-International Hotel is one of the leading hotel chains worldwide, with over 50,000 employees serving over one million customers: Principles of Management Assignment, UOG, Ireland

C-International Hotel is one of the leading hotel chains worldwide, with over 50,000 employees serving over one million customers across 40 countries. With 150 hotels throughout the world C International Hotel is known for its excellence in hotel services; both business and resort accommodation. Currently, with COVID-19, its current strategy is aimed at increasing its average revenue per room occupancy by offering more and more value-added services.

Rolf Smith, the winner of the 2015 Hospitality Procurement Leader Award, was brought in to be the Global Supply Chain Management Director and Chief Executive Officer of C- International, Johannesburg. His role is not only limited to the management of procurement and supply chains for both goods and services but also fundamentally transforms several fragmented supply chains into a single global function.

C International Procurement was set up in 2010 with its headquarters in Geneva. Through lean procurement techniques, it was expected to achieve efficiencies and substantial savings on products such as room amenities and furniture as well as kitchen and restaurant equipment. It also runs a China Sourcing office in Beijing, with an objective of 15% year-on-year cost reduction.

Rolf Smith, joined C- International in 2004 and has 25 years of experience in supply chain management. He occupied various functions in the supply chain, planning, and operations in various countries. He was highly admired and appreciated in his teams and has an excellent understanding of how important communication, information sharing, and empowerment are to success.

When Rolf Smith joined C- International as Global Supply Chain Management Director and Chief Executive Officer, the staffs were uncertain of the impact he would have, the changes that would be made, and whether their jobs would be at stake. To bring the transformational change, Rolf used an inclusive process, which involved workshops with procurement and supply chain staff as well as consulting the key internal stakeholders across the organization.

He used persuasion, communication skills, and influence to gain the buy-in for his plans across the whole procurement and supply chain. Great achievement! Rolf and his team’s efforts and dedication resulted in C-International gain full advantage of its global scale and achieving ‘world class’ savings across the business.

One of the key drivers behind these successes has been Rolf’s interpersonal skills. It is noted that the information in this case study is for assessment purpose only and do not reflect the respective positions of the organizations or individuals concerned.

Questions:

1. Based on the above case study, propose the best fit leadership style that Rolf would have needed to adopt when transforming the C-International global supply chain. At least 3 leadership styles may be applied.
2. With the growing concern about the impact of the spread of Corona Virus on businesses all over the world, critically analyze the range of leadership skills and key traits that would have been required by Rolf to have made the supply chain transformational project a success.