Ritz Carlton 7 Day Opening

Questions Relating to the Ritz Carlton Case Study

1. What is the essence of what the Ritz Carlton is selling?

1. How does the Ritz Carlton create Ladies & Gentlemen in only 7 days?

1. Should McBride change the 7 day countdown?

1. How would you experiment in this kind of business?

1. What is the essence of what the Ritz Carlton is selling?

To its customers, The Ritz Carlton is selling Excellence; A quality driven package of unrivalled personal service, attention to detail, anticipation of and taking care of every need, and above all, respect. To treat every customer as a Lady or a Gentleman.

When Patrick Mene joined The Ritz-Carlton in 1990 as the Chief Quality Officer, his primary mission was to integrate and prioritize the values and concepts of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria at all the company’s hotels around the world. MBNQA is presented annually by the President of the United States to organizations that demonstrate quality and performance excellence

 The “Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence” are listed as:

• Leadership

• Strategic planning

• Customer and market focus

• Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management

• Human resource focus

• Process management

• Business/organizational performance results

The Ritz-Carlton applied for and won the award again in 1999, becoming only the second American company to earn the distinction more than once. 

Leadership:

The management of the organisation has a considerable percentage of people who started their careers at the bottom rung, giving them a unique insight and relationship with every level of the company.  Their relationship with their staff has been noted as one of their hallmarks, treating every employee with great respect. Staff are encouraged to think independently, and to use their own initiative to make a difference.

Strategic planning;

Much research is carried out in the proposed location for each hotel, to determine the most appropriate services and approach which should be taken. For example, the Washington Ritz-Carlton, where the security of visiting political figures was paramount; the local Secret Service were consulted to ensure the safest locations of hotel entrance and exit points.

Customer and market focus:

The local requirements are as much a factor as the visiting client requirements. For example, the historic attitude that the Ritz-Carlton as an “English kind of  hotel” is of little importance in the modern Asian market. The decor here was adjusted to suit, including a 34,000-square-foot Japanese gardern and the introduction of a “Technology Butler” in Kuala Lumpur to give clients 24 hours assistance with any computer or technology problems.