Part 1 Current Organizational Design and Company Background
Organizational History and Formation
Isadore Sharp, the creator and founder of Four Seasons, opened his first small hotel in 1961. He realized at this point that the creation of new hotels had two polar options. The first option was to create a small, comfortable hotel with simple amenities. However this did not tailor to the needs of business travelers, who required a larger hotel with more extensive amenities such as an abundance of rooms available for larger companies to be accommodated, quality communication facilities, access to dining, and offices for meetings. Sharp’s revolutionary idea was to combine the ideologies behind these two very different types of hotels. “He envisioned a medium-sized hotel: big enough to afford an extensive array of amenities, but small enough to maintain a sense of intimacy and personalized service” (Martin ¶4).
During the process of designing this new and distinct hotel structure, it became apparent to Sharp that focusing on the service aspects of the industry would skyrocket him above competition. Therefore in conjunction with offering luxury architecture and décor, he decided to focus predominately on outstanding service to guests. Today, Four Seasons does just that. It is the world's leading operator of luxury hotels and resorts. They currently have 85 properties in 35 countries. The goal of Four Seasons remains to offer customers a luxurious travel experience by offering the highest standards of hospitality. On the operational division, these standards are transmitted through intensive standardized and departmentalized training of employees. This training stresses the importance of employees to practice quality of service, build trust and connections with guests and offer thorough 24-hour personalized service.
Current Structure of Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a vast corporation that currently manages and operates many...