The elements of the TQM System at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
The TQM (Total Quality Management) system adopted at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel includes several components; among them one can single out empowerment of employees, the development of leadership skills, teamwork, feedback, appraisal of performance, and the adoption of the so-called gold standards. These are the main components that should be discussed.
First of all, the management of this hotel stresses the idea that employees should not be confined only to their workplace roles when they have to address a certain challenge or a problem faced by a guest. For instance, a room attendant does not have to consult senior management if he or she has to solve a guest’s problem (Partlow 21). Overall, employees are encouraged to take initiatives and make independent decisions. Moreover, the company emphasizes the leadership skills of their employees. These people must be able to take initiatives without having to ask the permission of the senior management.
Secondly, this company also focuses on teamwork (Partlow 21). According to their approach, teams must include people who play different roles in the hotel, for example, managers, room attendants, food and beverage managers, receptionist, and so forth. These professionals can better decide how the hotel can better meet the needs of clients and eventually improve the quality of services.
Furthermore, they believe that feedback and continuous assessment of performance for ensuring high quality. In particular, they always receive and analyze reports that show where the company did well or what areas need improvement. For example, according to one of such reports they needed to reduce the so-called cycle time, or the period between identifying and satisfying the need (Partlow 21). Furthermore, they conduct rigorous assessments of suppliers and employees who have to meet the standards that the company sets (Partlow 22). Finally, the TQM system of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel includes the so-called gold standards (Partlow 18).
These standards specify the rules of employees’ behaviour, especially when they are dealing with customers’ requests. These practices ensure successful implementation of the TQM model in this organization.
The importance of leadership and empowerment in TQM
Both empowerment and leadership are important for TQM model. First, such concept as empowerment means delegation of authority or power to subordinates. This notion implies that an employee has the opportunity to take decisions without authorization of the top-management. Such delegation of authority ensures that a company is able to respond to various internal problems or threats from outside (Hill and Huq 1025).
The principle of empowerment is very relevant to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The employees of this organization are encouraged to take new roles and responsibilities when they understand that a client faces a specific problem or asks a question. In particular, a room attendant should be knowledgeable about the hotel operations while answering the questions of the customers. For instance, such a person should know about foods and beverages served in the hotel or even recommend a restaurant to a customer (Partlow 18). So, their employees are encouraged to take new roles, and this is an example of empowerment.
In turn, such concept as leadership is also an inseparable component of TQM. In this context, this word can be interpreted as the ability of employees to participate in the decision-making process (Sims 112). Moreover, this term means that front-line workers can communicate with top-management (Bagad 135). Leadership is a critical component of TQM because it allows employees to make recommendation that can improve the quality of the company’s products, services, or business processes.
The management of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel also attaches important to this issue. In particular, they form cross-functional teams in which various professionals work closely with one another in order to identify the practices that can improve the quality of services. Moreover, they set goals and develop action plays. Thus, this company promotes both empowerment and leadership.
Works Cited
Bagad, Victor. Total Quality Management, New York: Technical Publications, 2008. Print.
Hill, Frances, and Rozana Huq. “Employee Empowerment: Conceptualizations, Aims And Outcomes.” Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 15.8 (2004): 1025-1041. Print.
Partlow, Charles G. “How Ritz-Carlton Applies TQM’.” Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly 34.4 (1993): 16-24. Print.
Sims, Serbrenia. Total Quality Management in Higher Education: Is It Working? Why Or Why Not? London: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995. Print.