Human Resources Development Practices at Ritz-Carlton Hotel - Case Study Example

Introduction This paper will look to analyze the HRD practices at Ritz-Carlton Hotel by looking into areas of training and development which needs to be provided. The paper looks to provide a training program where stress will be given on program objectives, training needs, benefits and an evaluation plan which will help to act as a guide for the future. This will thereby tend to fulfil the future human resource needs and will determine the different important areas they need to focus on so that overall development of the business becomes possible. Identified Learning Need Ritz-Carlton Hotel for their success has to aim towards addressing the leadership gap which they are witnessing by creating a culture which facilitates the process of filling the learning gap so that leaders can be generated for the future. Addressing the leadership development process will help to fill the different gaps which the business is facing and will have a positive impact on the present and future performances. It will help to address issues associated with succession planning, understanding customer needs and wants and creating leaders who will be able to guide and lead the employees to carry out the different roles in the most effective manner (Darling & Leffel, 2010). The overall impact of such a decision will be witnessed in the bench strength as it will improve and will help to ensure that the business has a steady and regular supply of employees and leaders for various position within the organization. The Plan The issue which Ritz-Carlton Hotel is facing has been identified after looking at the manner in which the organization carries out its functions. The different mechanism which were used are observation, questionnaire, consultation with key personnel and interviews which brought forward the actual human resource issues in Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It was clearly identified that the hotel lacks leadership and faces an acute shortage of trained and well experienced employees. Lack of proper planning and aligning the human resource goals with the goals of the organization is seen as one major obstacle which has hindered the entire process of carrying out different activities. This thereby requires having proper training programs and identifying the skills and talent of each individual employee so that they can be shaped to carry out useful roles and lead as front line managers. Since, Ritz-Carlton Hotel works in the service sector so it becomes imperative that the different departments and functions align with one another so that better functionality can be developed. This will help to use the different resources in the best possible manner and will provide a framework through which service delivery standards can improve. To be able to match those standards developing the required training program which fosters towards “Strategic Development of Employees and Leaders through learning and development” is aimed at (Jay & Alec, 2012). This will require gathering information from different sources and using them in a manner where it helps to consolidate the position and provides an opportunity to deliver better results. The organization already has different training programs and strategies in place which has been developed to ensure that employees are better positioned to carry out the different roles. My role is to analyze some of the training programs and to identify the manner in which Ritz-Carlton Hotel has looked to shape up its human resource policies. Since, it is difficult to ascertain with complete assurance the different roles which employees and leaders carry out so it is imperative that the different roles are better analyzed, which will help to understand the different dimensions which needs to be worked on. This process would mean task analysis which will help to ascertain the core areas which needs to be focused on. The process would help to understand the different facets which needs to be analyzed while looking at a complete group and will tend to improve group performances. To identify the individual training needs of employees and leader it is imperative that every person is seen in isolation and the areas of contribution and areas which needs to be worked is analyzed. This will help to understand the different roles and provide an opportunity to match those with the required skills. Carrying out individual person analysis can be done through supervisors or peers who will help to gather the information quickly and provide better opportunities to shape up the skills of employees. The learning needs might also differ based on the different stages where the employee is in his carrier. The key role will thereby be to address the different needs for different roles at various levels so that employees’ performances improved and their degree of contribution is better. The process would lead towards determining the most effective training method which will provide employees with the required opportunity to shape up their performance and develop those skills. The result would be less wastage and better performance which will help Ritz-Carlton Hotel to meet its different employees need in a much better way. Advantages of Effective Leadership Development Program The leadership development program will help to improve the performance of the organization as employee turnover will improve and employees will be more satisfied. This will also help the organization to carry out the process of succession planning as useful position can easily be filled with employees capable of performing at the highest level. The organization will also be saved from the additional cost of hiring and searching for new employees as the different needs will be easily met. On the individual front the employees will be able to witness the required change in their behaviour and will be able to contribute positively towards their goals (Henrich & Hansford, 1999). Individuals will get an opportunity to move higher up in the hierarchy and will be able to work on different fundamentals through which overall development would become possible. In addition to it employees will find career mobility, develop better network which will help them to carry out different roles and responsibilities and will lead towards overall employee development. The process would thereby result in improving the manner in which different decisions are taken and will be beneficial for both the employer and employee thereby ensuring larger gains for both. The leadership Program Since the development of a leadership program is huge the paper will focus towards a part of the leadership program which would be create awareness among people and make people aspire to take new roles and responsibilities which will include understanding the customer. This will help to provide better services and will focus on employees who are new within the organization and require the specialized training so that they can carry out the different roles and responsibilities in the best possible manner. The main objective of the program is to develop and shape the skills of employees so that they can act as leader and carry out their roles and duties in the most diligent manner. Since, the work of a leader is complex and involves different risk it would thereby prepare the employees better to take up different roles and responsibilities within the organization. The objectives will be clearly communicated to the employees and the program will be linked to the daily duties which they perform so that they can themselves see the changes which the program would bring. This will motivate the employees and will create the required zeal through which employees would be more committed and would look towards accomplishing the different work in a better way. The leadership program will slightly different from the other traditional program which lays more impetus on off the job training and providing inputs based on classroom teaching. The learning instead will be focused towards on the job training where real life situations will be analyzed, hypothetical situation would be created and the manner in which employees act in different situations will be analyzed. This will help to understand the innovative skills which the employees have and will help to ensure that the process looks towards improving the manner in which different skills are being possessed and used by employees. Decision regarding whether the training programs should be sourced from outside sources or within the organization was considered. After giving due consideration to the fact a decision was arrived that the leadership training program materials can be sought from outside sources. It is on the premise that the cost which they are providing is very competitive and will also help to save time. Given the time and money constraint a decision was taken to ensure that the program would be sourced from outside. Care and precaution has further been taken while sourcing the program as due consideration has been given to ensure that the program is being tailor made to the different needs of the organization. This has thereby resulted in certain changes to be done to the actual leadership program and has provided an opportunity to use the program in a better and efficient manner. Further, using outside sources has provided an opportunity where different experienced and knowledgeable person can be used during the training program which would thereby provide better inputs which would thereby help to execute the training program in a better way. Taking help from experts would help to reduce wastage and improve the efficiency which would thereby transform into improving the overall mechanism through which training is provided and would result in developing the skills of the employees in the best possible manner. The process in which leadership training would be provided won’t have an impact on the outcome of the result as similar program was being used earlier which provided positive results. Senior managers and executives also underwent a similar program designed for them which was executed from external sources. The impact of such a decision was positive as the change in the behaviour of employees was positive and they were able to execute the different roles in a better way (Cipolla, 2010). The program was also moulded based on the needs of senior management and topics like risk management and managing wastages were being carried out. This had a positive outcome on the overall result as it brought about the required change in the executive behaviour and helped to garner the required change through which overall efficiency and effectiveness of the employees was witnessed. The program will focus towards improving the skills of the employees at different levels and different skills. The focus would be towards management, leadership, conflict management, customer management, managing work, work-life balance and behaviour modelling. The present method which is being used is one where complete reliance is on classroom training and very little importance is given to on the job training. The method would be slightly changed as it will focus towards both on and off the job training where more importance will be given to on the job training. The learning instead will be focused towards on the job training where real life situations will be analyzed, hypothetical situation would be created and the manner in which employees act in different situations will be analyzed (D’Netto, Bakas & Bordia 2008). The overall program will be carried out over a period of 12 months and will look towards sharpening different skills so that employees turnover improves. On the completion of the entire exercise the employees will find themselves in a relative better position where they will be able to understand the different angles which hold its importance while working and would lead towards multiplying the overall effectiveness through which different activities are carried out. Continuous changes and improvement will be made to the training program as different additions and changes will be carried out on a continuous basis. This would help employees to encounter new things and will provide an opportunity through which overall development and improvement in the process would be enabled. I would further look to have a training program which focuses on different aspect and facets and looks to provide people with an opportunity to shape their learning. I would look to include certain key areas in the training program which will include use of video conferencing for work-life balance; creating real world hypothetical situations so that employees are able to work under those situation and take different decisions; role playing and case study mechanism focusing on key areas; theoretical training which will be off the job training and mainly focus towards on the job training where employees will be observed and directed when they actually carry out the different work (Cable & Judge, 2006). The overall effectiveness of the training program will largely depend on the manner in which people are able to receive and accept the different information which is being passed on. This will require using different methods like audio-visual method, use of print media, creating of hypothetical situation as so on. The entire focus would be towards proper delivery as it will determine the outcome which the activity provides and will help to improve the overall manner in which employees learn and store different information (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). The overall process since it has its reliance on, on the job training so special focus will be given to observe the employees so that their different behaviour are properly identified and based on it the required changes in the training program is made so that overall effectiveness through which different training is provided is ensured. I would further look to have assessments being carried out so that the employees obtain the required signature from their superiors regarding their performance and manner in which changes were made. This will help to understand the gains which the business was able to achieve from it and will help to focus on core areas. This would also entail towards making continuous changes in the program and designing the program based on the different needs. The process will help to provide feedback from the superiors which will ensure that changes can be made to the training program so that it is tailor made fit to the different needs of the employees and helps to provide a framework through which overall working effectiveness is gained and better control towards different work is improved (Khatri, 2010). This would lead towards ensuring that the gains surpasses the cost associated with it and will thereby help to multiply the overall effectiveness of carrying out different activities. Implementation of the Program The implementation of the program will be mostly focused towards employees who are new and relatively inexperienced so that their skills can be shaped up and different aspects which has to be focused on can be analyzed. The training mechanism will be a combination of different methods which will be used in different phases so that a complete change in the behaviour of individuals can be noticed. Using a process of lectures and role playing will also help employees to work in different positions which will help them to understand the difficulties which different position provides and the different steps which have to be undertaken so that overall productivity is maximized (Sevari & Kandu, 2011). This will ensure better interaction with the employee and will help to improve the overall process through which different work is being carried out. For the enhancement of transfer learning primarily two method will be used which will be off the job training and will include lectures and self learning and the other will be on the job training. Using different methods will help to focus on all areas and will ensure that the learning outcome is achieved as it has been desired. This would thereby result in bringing the required changes in the behaviour of employees and will create the required opportunities through which better development of the employees would become possible. The process of off the job training will include lectures, role playing, audio visual impacts, discussion and computer based training. This will thereby mainly focus towards providing the theoretical knowledge which will facilitate in the process of carrying out different activities and will act as a guide through which performance of employees will improve while working. To ensure flexibility people will be allowed to undergo the training even from home where they will be supplied with materials, video disk, online sources and even the use of different applications (Busine & Watt 2005). This will help to ensure better work life balance and will provide an opportunity for employees to work under a common objective. The process will also be facilitated through the use of online learning where experienced person will look to help the new comers by providing different information and guiding them regarding the manner they need to act. This will help the employees to gain good knowledge which will then be tested through the process of on the job training. The process of on the job training will help to test the learning. The learning will be focused towards on the job training where real life situations will be analyzed, hypothetical situation would be created and the manner in which employees act in different situations will be analyzed. This would help employees to take risk and explore different options through which overall dimensions of decision making would improve. This will help employees to understand customer behaviour as well and will help them to focus on areas which they need to lay attention so that customers are better satisfied (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2009). The process would lead towards large scale transformation and help employees to work in different ways through which overall productivity will improve and wastages would be reduced to a large extent. The present mechanism has hardly any presence of on the job training mechanism. Since, this process requires mentors and supervisors who look to act and supervise the entire work so the process will be aimed towards understanding those facets and looking towards making large scale changes so that the overall productivity is improved. This will help to bring the required changes as employees without the fear can use those in hypothetical created life situation and can analyze the different impact which it has on different decisions. This will help employees to take different decisions at different juncture and will help to develop leaders for the future. The process would also lead towards improving the overall effectiveness through which different business process is carried out and would have a positive impact on the overall working style. Assessment & Evaluation The present framework which is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program lacks certain aspect which needs to be concentrated on. The program needs to be developed based on reaction, learning, behaviour and results. The overall process of assessing the change should be based on the above factors as it will help to understand whether the process of providing training was effective or not. The present training program will focus on continuous evaluation and having a process which continuously monitors the results so that the changes and development can be visualized. This will provide an opportunity to make timely changes at the right moment and will provide an opportunity through which overall changes will be witnessed. The manner in which the program was effective and the changes which the program has brought will be noticed through the process of looking at different developments which has taken place. Standards will be set and the performance will be matched with those standards before and after the training program. This will help to understand the different areas which were focused on and the manner in which the program resulted in bringing the required change in the behaviour of individuals. Further, evaluation will also be carried out through the process of continuous observations so that the different developments are better noticed. The process would also look to engage into consultation with the superiors, peers and others so that the changes which the employee has been able to undergo can be clearly understood. This will help to analyze the different dimensions through which the business has looked to focus on and will help to provide a steady supply of employees who will be capable of carrying out the different work in the best possible manner. The process of evaluation will also look at having actual feedback and working on those in between so that at the end of the training program the changes are clearly visible which will help in the development of employees for better performance. Conclusion This paper analyzes the HRD practices at Ritz-Carlton Hotel by looking into areas of training and development which needs to be provided. The paper provides a training program where stress will be given on program objectives, training needs, benefits and an evaluation plan which will help to act as a guide for the future. This will thereby tend to fulfil the future human resource needs and will determine the different important areas they need to focus on so that overall development of the business becomes possible. It helps to identify the core areas which need to be addressed and the manner in which the program will help to provide employees capable of handling different responsibilities and the manner in which the overall performance will improve. This will shape the entire working scenario and help the business to plan for the future and ensure that their overall improves and customer satisfaction is enhanced. References Ahmad, S., & Schroeder, R. G. (2009). The impact of human resource management practices on operational performance. Journal of Operational Management, 21, 19−43 Busine M & Watt B. (2005). Succession management: Trends and current practice. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 43 (2), 225-237 Cable, D. & Judge, T. (2006). 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