Profit & Solutions Management Research Publication Series
Researched & Written by Deb (Debadip) Bandyopadhyay
The dwells upon the management issue, which the general manager of one of the best globally recognized hotels Ritz-Carlton in Washington D.C. faced in the contemporary business environment. The dilemma, which the manager is facing, is the feasibility of the traditional Seven Day Count Down approach to establishing of operation and training, questioned by the Millenium Group Manager Mr. Collins. The reality shows that the operation in the new hotel will be of a higher scale and will introduce some unexplored areas to the Ritz-Carlton manager, but overall, the process and deliverables remain unchanged. With that in mind, McBridge found himself in the position of choice between “giving the voice” to the USD$ 700 million investor in Ritz-Carlton managed properties Mr. Collins and breaking the tradition or maintain the Seven Day Count Down system and pursue well-tested strategy with the new enterprise.
Ritz-Carlton Hotels are the top-end world-wide leading establishments with the twofold focus: on individual customers, whether leisure or business travelers and the event management, which builds on a large part of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels profit over the past decades. Based on the business model, which sets quality and exclusivity the key constructs of the hotel differentiation and market positioning strategy, the company aims at capitals and high-end locations, such as downtown, historical center and other geographies, which allow the company offer absolutely unique and the best experience for the clients, who are not price-sensitive and are ready to pay for exclusivity and comfort, which Ritz-Carlton is able to provide (Reiss, 2009).
. The business model of the Ritz-Carlton in general can be seen through three major focus areas: people, experience and affiliated partnership. On one side, the chosen business model demands a lot of attention to the quality and preparation of the hotel personnel, and, thus, Human Resource Management (HRM) is in the heart of the long-term planning of the company. Training and personal preparation come along with the time-consuming site selection, facility renovation and concept development, as it is seen critical for success. Secondly, Ritz-Carlton pursues the market customization strategy, which enables unique and personalized experience for each of the hotels, ensuring that the experience is unique for each client. Finally, HRM and business model development strategy is part of the strategic partnerships with local governmental and nongovernmental bodies, which allows hotel staffing and exclusivity of the services, such as unique restaurants, bars and other facilities on the territory of the hotels (Jeszey and Dunk, 2003).
Seven Day Count Down process is the hallmark of the Ritz-Carlton operations and the approach to delivering to the commitment of quality and luxury, which customers expect from the company. The approach places training and talent development in the heart of the strategy and pursues investment-heavy HRM strategy. This rigorous process of identifying committed individuals through coaching, mentoring and training allows the company bringing in into every of its establishment very high level professionals with aligned corporate vision and behavioral patterns expected from the organization.
Many professionals within the company as well as assessors of this approach, who look at it from outside, can find numerous advantages as well as areas of concerns in the selected strategy. First, focusing on the pros of the Seven Day Count Down approach, it is critical to mention that this strategy allows shaping the behaviors and attitudes, which are specifically outlined as essential for customers´ satisfaction and that allow the organization build on the strong corporate culture. It is evident that Ritz-Carlton takes training and learning very seriously and growing quality staff from within the core of the organization provides several major benefits: competency measurements enabled by structured approach to training and development, building on learning organization, which allows innovation and creativity within the company, development of self and mutual respect culture and leadership capabilities among staff. Moreover, through day two today seven the company provides future service professionals with explicit opportunity to train in practice the elements of their daily job and some of the critical and difficult situations, which may occur (Korjala, 2012; Penner, Adames, Rutes, 2001).
On the negative side of the Seven Day Count Down approach is, surely, the cost of this operation as it places Millennium Group as well as Ritz-Carlton in very vulnerable financial position, raising significantly the cost. Secondly, the timeframe of the training process can become a challenge for the company, especially, when it comes to opening operation, which significantly differs from the standard hotel operation, which Ritz-Carlton is used to. When Collins questions McBridge about the feasibility to ensure flawless service after seven days of training, he specifically outlines the above. The point that should be made here is that at times, the tradition and belief in already established approach prevent companies like Ritz-Carlton from looking at the contemporary challenges in business with new and innovative standpoint. While it is not possible to state, whether Seven Day Count Down is the right choice, it is also not possible to eliminate the possibility that this enterprise is the point at which the company should re-evaluate its operation establishment strategy and leave the tradition behind in building the operation to maintain its quality and standard overall (Penner, Adams and Rutes, 2001).
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Reiss R. (2009). How Ritz-Carlton Stays at the Top. Forbes [Online]. Retrieved 21 October 2014, http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml.
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