Organizational culture and change

OrganizationalCultureand Change
ORG/581

Organizational Culture and Change

Marriott International is a leading lodging company that has grown drastically within the last century. Currently the company maintains “…more than 3, 700 properties in 74 countries and territories worldwide” (Liberty Group, 2013, para. 4). The company remains “…grounded in a set of core values: put people first, pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity, and serve our world” (Marriott, 2013, para. 1).

Marriott’s relentless focus on innovation and action fuel the ways they do business. With the most powerful brand portfolio in the world, Marriott sets the bar for the hospitality industry. The company is seeking to expand the company’s presence in Cartagena, Columbia.

Cartagena de India is located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast and is one of the most attractive and lively cities in South America. The city is among the top five cities in the Columbia (Mai Travel Site, 2010). The city has one of the lowest crime rates in the country providing visitors with historical, adventure, and walking tours. The city is close to the beaches and offers fishing, snorkeling, and camping (Mai Travel Site, 2010). Marriott’s objective is to build a five-star resort; however the company is experiencing cultural, political, and problems with the current management system.

Marriott is preparing to open a new resort, but the company first need to develop a strategic plan that will improve the organizations ability to make decisions, improve organizational learning, and develop the organizational culture that will meet the strategic objectives of the company. The management team will address the internal politics, power, and methods to manage conflicts within the management team.

Strategies to Establish Organizational Culture
According to Jones (2010), an organizational culture is defined “…as the set of shared values and norms that control organizational members’ interaction with each other and with suppliers, customers, and other people outside the organization” (Jones, 2010 p. 179). Marriott believes that if the company takes care of the employees, the associates will in turn take the same care with the customers. Human resource representative, Patricia Rainey (2013), stated that “ you don’t have to do anything earth-shattering to be excellent, just work hard at the small things” (Core Values & Heritage, 2013, para. 9). Thisphilosophyallows the company to provide high qualityfoodand service at a fair price with exceptional customer service. Marriott believes that success is never final and that the business constantly must work to improve, innovate, and create ways to meet the changes in customer needs (Core Values & Heritage, 2013). The ability to act with integrity and uncompromising standards in each aspect of the business is a foundation of that enables Marriott maintain a status as a Fortune 500 company. Using Marriott’s established organizational culture, the application of values and norms will be extended into the Marriott Resort in Cartagena de India, Columbia. “ Values are general criteria, standards, or guiding principles that people use to determine which types of behaviors, events, situations, and outcomes are desirable or undesirable” (Jones, 2010, p. 179). Cartagena is a popular resort area that prospers on tourism. “ Culture thus affects an organization’s performance and competitive position” (Jones, 2010, p. 179).

Organizational changes needed to meet company objectives
Although Marriott Resort expands into Cartagena, Columbia there will be no change in how the managerial structure is implemented compared to the prior openings of Marriott Resorts. Decisions about how to distribute decision-making authority in an organization change as an organization changes—that is, as it grows and differentiates…how to balance authority is not a design decision that can be made once and forgotten; it must be made on an ongoing basis and is an essential part of the managerial task (Jones, 2010, p. 106). There will be centralized managers on-site to take care of the flexibility of customers needs while the decentralized managers look at long-termgoals. The goals are similar to the past and the decentralized managers will strive to open the resort in Cartagena, Columbia. By adding additional Marriott Resorts, the company will expand the managerial hierarchy to become taller. Adding a new location the company’s portfolio requires the hiring of new managers, supervisors, and employees. The new associates are hired to staff and support the daily onsite resort labor functions.

The Marriott of Cartagena will have to change the organizational operations based on the culture of the area, the customer wants, and the safety of both employees and customers. Strategies for improving organizational internal management structure While Marriott as a company is growing, the central location of the resorts can stay at a fairly flat hierarchy to help with issues a large company usually will have to deal with. Companies run into issues such ascommunication, motivation, and cost. Allowing the Cartagena, Columbia resort to focus on the local business and run as an independent branch will allow the resort to maintain a flat hierarchy, thus lowering the number of issues that the company will see at the top. The internal management structure needs to stay small and precise. With the number of employees in the Cartagena resort, only one main manager will need to report upward to the Marriott main offices. Three shift managers will help to keep things organized and report to the main manager while supervisors of each shift can help to keep the associates on track. By limiting a manager per shift, there will not be shared responsibilities but provides multiple jobs completion by each associate. Table 1 provides the hierarchal structure that will be used at the Cartagena resort location. The easily understandable and upward structure of reporting enables associates a clear understanding of who is the direct reporting manager. According to Jones (2010), “… studies have shown that when more authority andresponsibilityis given to managers and employees, they are more motivated to perform their organizational roles, other things being equal” (p. 124). Managerial Hierarchical Structure for the Marriott Cartagena Resort Conclusion

Understanding the culture, political issues, and a necessary managerial structure enables Marriott International to make a sound decision when deciding to open The Marriott Cartagena Resort. The city of Cartagena, Columbia is historically a profitable location for resort entrepreneurship and will allow Marriott International to expand into the country of Columbia. Marriott has a proven history of providing what the customer wants and needs concerning accommodations and customer service, but no matter how successful a company is the entry into a new country offers its challenges. The low crime rates and affordable labor rates makes The Marriott of Cartagena, Columbia a win-win for the local Columbian economy, Marriott International, and prospective or returning Marriott patrons.

Reference
Core Values and Heritage. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. marriott. com/culture-and-values/core-values. mi Jones, G. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Liberty Group. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. libertyg. com/partners. php Marriott. (2013). About Marriott Hotels and corporate business information. Retrieved from http://www. marriott. com/marriott/aboutmarriott. mi Mai Travel Site. (2010). Cartagena in Columbia South America. Retrieved from http://www. maitravelsite. com/world-destinations/north-central-south-america/colombia-south-america/cartagena-colombia-south-americas-finest-city/