This study considers the role of leadership within the hospitality sector as a key tool in raising performance levels. Hospitality is unique in its service-based approach, which relies on employees to ensure effective service. Post-COVID-19 and Brexit, the hospitality sector has seen a shift in reliance towards a home workforce, and as such, retention has become an area of greater importance. This case study investigation adopted a qualitative approach to consider the perceptions of six managers within a UK-based luxury hotel. Semi-structured interviews were used to draw out their experience of approaches used to ensure effective delivery in their areas of responsibility. The research concludes that a shift in leadership approach (from autocratic to democratic) is a necessity to retain staff, particularly as the shift to a greater reliance on a home workforce due to COVID-19 and Brexit starts to impact the sector. There does, however, remain a need to be more autocratic in certain situations to ensure the quality of service. Subsequently, communication becomes critical in the building of relationships. The research considers leadership approaches from a managerial perspective and is based on individual perceptions. Traditionally, research has been conducted from an employee perspective.

This paper provides new evidence on human resources management within the public sector. We explore the impact and mechanisms of the education and skills of tax inspectors on tax uncertainty using data from A-share-listed companies from 2009 to 2016. Our findings show that tax uncertainty is negatively correlated with the increase in human capital in the tax inspection bureau. That is, tax inspectors with higher levels of education and those who are certified tax agents help reduce tax uncertainty. Further analysis demonstrates that the impact of tax inspectors on tax uncertainty is most pronounced within large-scale and long-established firms.

Ostensibly, theories from the eastern and western worlds have emphasized different aspects of character, while in India, greater importance is attached to character building. We must understand that character building establishes surroundings for the human being with distinct values and virtues persisting inside him. This study attempts to explain the importance of the character merits of young managers in mitigating volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) challenges encountered in a business journey. This scholarly effort, with a framework of being reflective and expressive, attempts to capture empirical and qualitative data, hence presenting a model and explaining the connection between the character of young managers and VUCA. The authors initially mine on what character implies and how it could be plausibly examined. Character, as a manifestation, is qualitatively distinguished as a sum of one’s bent of mind, embracing the brighter part of good qualities and consolidating a frame to capture the countenance of a genuine personality. We must understand that for organisation’s growth and sustainability, it is vital for the human resources department to maintain a training methodology that is systematic and focused on character building.

Employee Engagement (EE) has become a crucial element for the success of any organization. While psychology has conducted extensive research on EE, accounting has yet to give it the attention it deserves. This systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to explore the linkage between corporate governance (CG) practices and factors that drive employee engagement (EED) in greater detail. The review identified several key factors influencing EED: board composition, audit committees, top leadership expertise, network power, other stakeholders’ supervision, and above-board application. In particular, the study revealed that effective CG practices have positive EE consequences, such as increased staff morale, job satisfaction, and productivity, and decreased employee turnover rates. The study underlined the importance of an employee-centric culture that encourages empowerment and fosters a sense of belonging in achieving maximum business success. It suggests that companies must create a work environment that promotes EE, provides opportunities for growth and development, recognizes employee contributions, and fosters open communication and collaboration. By leveraging these insights, companies can enhance their business operations and achieve maximum success by fostering a culture of EE and empowerment. The study concludes that businesses prioritizing EE as a core value can create a sustainable competitive advantage, increase their reputation, and attract and retain top talent.

In today’s competitive and complex business environment, achieving business excellence requires a combination of effective methodologies and strong leadership to drive and sustain organizational transformation. Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a proven methodology for improving operational efficiency, relies on effective leadership for successful implementation and lasting impact. This study examines how the integration of Lean, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management (TQM) shapes leadership strategies that enhance organizational agility, resilience, and responsiveness to market dynamics. It highlights the crucial role of leadership in fostering collaboration, optimizing resource utilization, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement. The study introduces the Structured Lean Leadership Framework as a strategic tool to develop the leadership capabilities essential for LSS success, addressing challenges such as weak leadership commitment, resistance to change, and communication barriers. Through the application of the DMAIC framework, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis, the research aligns LSS with business objectives, customer needs, and sustainability goals. Additionally, it explores how combining LSS with Agile methodologies can improve operational efficiency, governance, and innovation, helping organizations better navigate future challenges. This research offers valuable insights for executives, practitioners, and researchers, supporting leadership development, data-driven decision-making, and long-term value creation. Future studies should focus on validating the Structured Lean Leadership Framework, exploring Agile-LSS integration in regulated industries, and examining the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on LSS and leadership.

Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been an evolution in the paradigms under which the industrial worker is perceived and dealt with. These paradigms can be briefly listed in the order of their evolutionary stage as: the food-gatherer, the economic man, the social man, the resourceful man, and the enterprising man. Each of them is a combination of two basic paradigms in different proportions, namely, the outsider paradigm and the partnership paradigm. Obviously, the paradigmatic perspectives of management about their workers will have a significant influence on how they treat their workers, which may become especially conspicuous during recessions and other kinds of hard times. It was in this context that we designed a study to understand the human resource strategies of companies during a period of recession. Data for this study was collected through the content analysis of 46 published cases, wherein we developed the ratings of two sets of variables, namely: the external and internal environments of the company and the strategic actions taken by the respective managements. A surprising finding of the study is that the correlations between the environmental factors and the strategy factors were small and non-significant; moreover, the correlations involving the external environment were smaller than those involving the internal environment. Hence, it may be inferred that strategic actions are influenced primarily by the paradigmatic perspectives of management rather than environmental factors. In order to identify the different types of paradigmatic perspectives, we have further carried out a cluster analysis to develop a taxonomy of paradigms. The results showed that there are five sub-paradigms, which are: (1) Pacifiers, constituting 35% of the sample; (2) Modifiers, constituting 22%; (3) Molders, constituting 17%; (4) Enhancers, constituting 15%; and (5) Exploiters, constituting 11%. The limitations of the study and the implications of the findings are discussed in the concluding part.