The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is known for its 91 luxury resorts in 30 countries—and 40,000 employees whose top mission is the genuine care and comfort of its guests. The Ritz-Carlton philosophy embodies teamwork, which it strongly believes has a profound impact on productivity and employee engagement.

The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center is an organization that offers courses to business professionals outside the company who wish to learn more about and benchmark how Ritz-Carlton provides its award-winning service levels to guests globally. The center also teaches seminars about the company's effective strategies for employee empowerment and teamwork.

When it comes to holding meetings, Ritz-Carlton expects each meeting to include agenda items, promote efficiency, and detail clear accountability and responsibility for specific issues. Respecting time is of paramount importance, and meetings should start and end on time. “Do not place additional stress on your colleagues' day by making them late for their next engagement” is the norm at Ritz-Carlton. Active listening is also encouraged, and the company asks that all employees respect the ideas of colleagues by listening carefully. Rather than simply waiting for colleagues to stop talking, digest what is being said to ensure the greatest amount of success.

Daily briefings are conducted at the beginning of each work shift to communicate company values and announcements pertinent to operations. Most important, the company encourages a philosophy of giving one another the benefit of the doubt. “Praise in public, coach in private” refers to a company principle of discussing mistakes in private rather than in a group forum or an e-mail. At the Ritz-Carlton, kindness—rather than criticism—is an important part of the company's philosophy when it comes to teamwork and providing exceptional service to its guests. And who knows—kindness can increase that feeling of luxury during a stay at the world-famous Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. Does the Ritz-Carlton work environment sound like the type of place you would like to work? Why or why not?

2. In an environment that acknowledges mistakes and encourages open communication, discuss the types of risks a team member might take to accommodate a guest.