The Ritz-Carlton is an outstanding hotel providing luxury service to its guests. In contrast with the standard goals oftypical business hotels—to provide a home away from home—the Ritz-Carlton decided to take it a step further and provide luxury accommodation to industry executives, meeting and corporate travel planners, and other af¬ fluent travelers.The chain is based in Atlanta and runs 25 luxury hotelsthat pursue excellence in each market. Recently the hotel company was awarded the U.S. government's Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The award praised Ritz-Carlton for its participatory leadership, thorough information gathering, coordinated planning and execution, and trained workforce that was ready "to move heaven and earth" to satisfy its customers.Thinking about control, what types of control mechanisms did Ritz-Carlton need to achieve excellence? The corporate motto is"Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen."All employees are expected to practice the company's "Gold Standards/'These standards are made up of a service credo and the basics of premium service, including processes for solving any problem guests may have. The difference between this luxury chain and other hotel companies is that its employees are "certified" after the common basic orientation followed by an on-the-job training.This certification to work for Ritz-Carlton is rein¬ forced daily by frequent recognition for achievement, performance appraisal, and daily "lineups." Annual surveys are given to make sure the employees know the quality standards the hotel company expects ofthem as well as to determine their level ofsatisfaction with the company.One year 96 percent ofthe employees surveyed ranked excellence in guestservices astheir primary duty.Workers are empowered by the company to do whatever it takes to solve any sort of problem a customer may encounter. Employees are required to assist their coworkers in deal¬ ing with a guest satisfaction issue, leaving no room for any excuse as to why a customer problem was not solved on the spot. In this way,the guest is truly treated as a king; guest satisfaction comesfirst—always.5 Discussion Questions

a. In what ways does Ritz-Carlton use control to ensure high-quality service?

b. How does the company maintain and foster its employees' high level of commitment?