Introduction
This assignment will be based on management. Mr. Jeff Brower, the general manager for Ritz Carlton, Georgetown, is the manager who was interviewed for this case study. The phone interview was conducted on 16th February, 2013. The research was able to gather enough facts and figures needed for the assignment. Additionally, the internet played an imperative role in providing supplementary information. For instance, the internet was vital in verifying the information provided by the general manager for this commercial institution.
Short history of Ritz Carlton Georgetown
The name Ritz Carlton refers to a hotel company which is parent to a chain of luxurious hotels spread across the globe. It is important to note that the chain name of these hotels is an auxiliary of Marriot International. Ritz Carlton Georgetown is located 3100 South Street Northwest in Washington DC.
The luxury hospitality outlet is situated at the intersection of K Street and Wisconsin. It is only a ten minute drive north of the famous Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport. That notwithstanding, the hotel is only eight minutes from the USA white house and next to the National Mall and the Smithsonian Institute amongst other historic places (Zibart, 94).
The company’s management structure
Ritz Carlton Georgetown has a well defined organizational structure with all its key employees having definite responsibilities. The company is headed by the general manager.
He is assisted by the executive secretary. Other members of the top management of the company include the director of sales and marketing, chief engineer, resident manager, financial controller, human resources manager and the food and beverage director. Members of the middle management under the residential manager include the front office manager and the executive housekeeper.
On the other hand, members of the middle management who fall right under the food and beverage manager comprise of the catering director, executive chef, restaurant manager and beverage manager. Officials in the junior management include the reservations manager, front desk manager, guest service manager and the PBX manager. Other officials in this category are the housekeeping manager, laundry manager, sous chef, steward, banquet chef and the administrative assistant (Prideaux, and Laws, 123).
Flow chart of the organizational structure for Ritz Carlton Georgetown
Skills needed for hiring and promoting managers in terms of human skills, technical skills and conceptual skills
Human skills for hiring and promoting managers
The human skills needed for promoting or hiring a manager in this facility include perfect communications skills. This not only involves the ability to talk and be heard but also the ability to command respect amongst juniors. This aspect is very important for a candidate aspiring for a managerial position as it enables him/her to implement organizational policies through his/her juniors.
Aside from the communication skills, the company also focuses on general hygiene and the level to which a candidate is presentable when hiring or promoting employees to managerial positions (Prideaux, and Laws, 129). A hospitality outlet is always considered as an image industry and hygiene comes first. Since managers normally act as a reference point to junior employees, personal hygiene is mandatory. Other human skills observed include ethics and outgoingness.
Technical skills for hiring and promoting managers
The technical skills needed for promoting a manager here include the ability to develop job-specific and technical vocabularies. This is always achieved by being present at quite a number of professional meetings and reading widely (De, 86).
Through this, an employee is always kept at a fresh outlook of his/her job and is able to learn recent technologies that can play an imperative part in enhancing customer service and company operations. Good tecnical skills needed for promotions and hiring also include the ability to meet guest needs by unequivocally explaining procedures and giving directions.
These include rate assignment, guest registrations, establishment of guest payment methods and room assignment amongst others. A good manager should also have excellent planning and evaluating skills. The company focuses on these factors to enable the managers incorporate viable emerging technologies into the systems of the company in order to enhance guest satisfaction (O’Fallon, and Denney, 74).
The management at Ritz Carlton Georgetown also takes into consideration other general skills like operating company equipments. These include vacuum cleaners and buffing or polishing machines. A competitive candidate for a managerial position at Ritz Carlton Georgetown must also be familiar with general cleaning procedures and routines of the company.
Conceptual skills for hiring and promoting managers
The conceptual skills needed by the company include the ability to come up with innovative ideas. People who possess strong conceptual skills must have good cognitive abilities that enable them to tackle problems in a creative manner. The company’s management needs people who have the capability to examine complex situations and come up with precise, efficient course of action (Evans, William, and James, 293).
The company’s approach to developing employees and managers
The company has managed to standardize its services for decades now. This has been championed by the fact that it is a chain of the mother Ritz Carlton Company. Chain hotels normally have universal services across all the available outlets. Maintaining olden trends is not an easy thing to do. However, this is a setback that can be overcome by a dedicated team of managers from the general manager to the junior managers. This is exactly what happens at Ritz Carlton Georgetown.
The company uses well tested managerial policies to train their employees. Considering the fact that quite a number of Ritz Carlton chain hotels have been in operation since time immemorial, they have laid down certain viable, standard procedures meant to be observed by incoming employees and this includes managers. This has thus played a significant role in fostering the commendable managerial skills at Ritz Carlton Georgetown.
The company’s culture
The Ritz Carlton as a company has a unique culture that applies to all its outlets including the Ritz Carlton Georgetown. It bases its success on three fundamental aspects. These include the right location, the right product and the right personnel. Ritz Carlton Georgetown has since applied these three vital aspects to stay at the helm of hospitality industry in this region.
The hotel is strategically located to attract just the right clients and ensure that it always has business. Additionally, it offers just the right food and beverage products and services needed by its clientele. That notwithstanding, the company also thrives to employ just the right personnel needed to offer utter satisfaction to its clients. These cultures are the key elements to the success of Ritz Carlton Georgetown.
SWOT analysis of the company
The SWOT matrix is a planning strategy used in the evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a business organization. Ritz Carlton Georgetown has quite a number of strengths and opportunities. For instance, the most outstanding strength is its strategic location. It is located next to historic places including the white house, the Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan International Airport, the National Mall, the Smithsonian Institute and many others (Evans, William, and James, 72).
Besides, Ritz Carlton Georgetown enjoys an international fame due to its links with the mother Ritz Carlton. As a result, clients are more likely to spend their time here as compared to other hotels in the surrounding. Another advantage the company enjoys is the fact that it is a five star hotel and thus offers top quality services and products.
On the other hand, Ritz Carlton Georgetown has weaknesses and threats too. One of the main threats is the flocking of hospitality outlets in the market. This is quite a challenge. However, the company has formulated measures to counter this. It has since ensured that the quality of its services and products are superb. Another challenge is the emerging trends. This is a challenge because the hotel has to undergo renovation especially in its management systems in order to conform to the current technologies (De, 28).
Industry trends of the company and the manner in which management has reacted towards them
Emerging trends in the company include the incorporation of computer systems in the management of hotels. Today, managerial decisions in hotels are aided by computers. This is indicates that if a hotel was built before the emergence of these systems, relevant upgrading has to be done in order to meet the emerging trends.
Ritz Carlton Georgetown was built before some of these systems were first used in the industry. As a result, it has to do necessary adjustments in order to incorporate the systems in its daily operations (Zibart, 334). Even though this is quite a challenge, the company has successfully fitted into the new trends.
Conclusion
Ritz Carlton Georgetown is a luxury hospitality industry that faces challenges just like every other commercial enterprise. Despite the challenges, the company has beaten all odds and thrived to be at the helm of the industry in Washington DC. In conclusion, therefore, amidst all the difficulties, ranging from management to external setbacks, the company still stands tall (O’Fallon, and Denney, 34).
Works Cited
De, Bono S. Managing Cultural Diversity. Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer, 2011. Print.
Evans, James R, William M. Lindsay, and James R. Evans. Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western, 2008. Print.
O’Fallon, Michael J, and Denney G. Rutherford. Hotel Management and Operations. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2011. Print.
Prideaux, B, G Moscardo, and E Laws. Managing Tourism and Hositality Services: Theory and International Applications. Wallingford: CAB International, 2006. Print.
Zibart, Eve. The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.c. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Internet resource.