The Ritz Carlton Company is a key player in the luxury hotel industry. The company owns and operates more than 80 facilities in 26 countries. This is quite a significant establishment. Its main competitors are Starwood Hotels & Resorts and the Four Seasons Holdings Inc. The company is, however, constantly on the lead, although there is steep competition among the key players in the industry.
In line with its objectives of corporate social responsibility, the company has a number of initiatives aimed at this goal. One of them is the community footprints program which was launched in the Middle East. This program seeks to actively improve and enrich the livelihood of people living within the location of the company’s facilities. In its own words, the initiative aims at engaging the community, contributing to the communities and inspiring members of these communities towards a better tomorrow. The main areas of focus for the program are conserving the environment, improving the lives of youths and alleviating hunger and poverty.
There are a number of strengths that this program possesses. For instance, it focuses on issues that are dire in today’s society. Environmental sustainability is the main focus of many institutions and organizations nowadays. Hence by aligning itself with this course, the company will make a good name for itself. The program undertakes initiatives such as restoring native plants and conserving species that are almost extinct.
This program is also easy to manage and run since it does not involve many logistics. Unlike complex projects, this one deals directly with the local people who are aware of their surroundings and can help run the program. For instance, the company uses locals to plant trees and hence, they do have to hire employees for these undertakings. In such a way, most of the money allocated to this initiative goes to the community and not the logistics and planning processes.
There are, however, weaknesses that this program has to deal with. Since the company is in the luxury business, it may be difficult to get in touch with people who need help, especially those living in poverty. The properties of the company are established in high-end locations, where people stricken with hunger and poverty cannot be found. Hence, the company has to deploy employees to work with the people in need.
As evidenced by the nature of the program, there are many people who are set to benefit from it. Students whose education will be funded by the initiative are among the beneficiaries. Other people will be fed and taught life skills such as cooking. This will go a long way in ensuring a more productive life for them. This program goes hand in hand with the long term goals of the company which include building a larger clientele and creating a unique brand that can relate with people from all walks of life.
There are few concerns regarding the initiative. One of the concerns is, however, pressing. The program is set to benefit about nine thousand students. This is a small and almost insignificant number, especially since there are so many students in need across the world. Surely, for such a company as this, they have resources to involve a larger number of students.
One of the things that could be done differently is including a larger number of students who will benefit from the program. Since the company has sizeable resources, they can work with more students than just the nine thousand. Also, the initiative should be spread to other continents, instead of being based in the Middle East only. This will create balance in the beneficiaries, and also spread the name of the company across a larger geographical base.
