Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Founded in 1960, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is dedicated to perfecting travel experience

through continual innovation and the highest standards in hospitality. Moreover, it is currently

operating 117 hotels and resorts, and 45 residential properties in major city centers and resort

destinations in 47 countries with more than 50 projects under planning or development. Four

Seasons consistently ranks among the world`s best hotels and most prestigious brands in

reader polls, traveler reviews and industry awards.

Four seasons was listed by FORTUNE magazine as preferred place to work in, Four Seasons

consistently earns recognition as an employer of choice internationally for hiring and

developing local talent in every location where it operates.

Four Seasons employees around the world are guided by the Golden Rule – the simple belief in

treating others as one would like to be treated. The company hires for attitude, one that is

consistent with the Golden Rule, and trains for skill.

"Our employees carry out exceptional work every single day at our hotels and resorts around

the world, always providing the highest levels of service and creating lasting connections with

our guests," says Ed Evans, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Four

Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "We are committed to providing a great place to work for all,

providing our people with the resources, support and environment that they need to thrive."

Four Seasons hotel in Beirut, during the fourth quarter of 2012 was facing tough economic

times due to the economic recession that strike the country and the political crisis that was

associated with assassinations. Given such a condition the Four Seasons executive committee
held an urgent meeting with the participation of the general manager in order to sort things

out. They came up to a conclusion that cost be driven down in order to survive. All recruitment

has been stopped, the par level in the different department was kept on minimum, and

employee was given their vacation that has been on hold. Moreover, different department was

run with minimum staff.

All the measures taken were not enough, and the head office asked to go further in reduction.

The newly hired employees were laid off, head of departments also were laid off some of which

have spent more than five years with the company. Head of weak departments and employees

were notified by mail that they are required to attend a meeting with their director on

Saturday. Their director then informs them about the situation and then heads with them to

meet the human resources director. He also informed them that the layoff may take place again

in the future if needed. After the meeting they were informed that they have to leave and they

will get paid the notice period according to the Lebanese labor law. 

Afterwards employees that were laid off, the human resource department tried to keep track of

them by calling each personally to check if he found a job or not yet.

Questions:

1. How would lay off impact Four Seasons Hotel? Could something have been done to

avoid it? Discuss your answers 

2. Was the layoff done in an effective manner? What are the aspects that you would do in

a different way if you were assigned to implement the layoff? Provide support for your

answers
 3. In your opinion what is the criteria that was used to layoff head of departments? Discuss

it`s effectiveness and short comes?

4. Would work at Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts? Justify your answer.

Answers:

1. The layoff was against the work culture of the organization, which was known to esteem

its representatives and was one of best work environments. The demonstration will

influence worldwide picture and partners perspective on the association. The layoff

could have been avoided by giving the representatives of choice to work at lower

compensation till the circumstance improved, or leave on the chance that they wish so.

Accordingly, could have kept the representatives from an abrupt activity misfortune

which is one if the last things one would need in the midst of downturn and emergency

circumstance.

2. Abrupt calling of the workers and requesting that they leave is definitely not an expert

way. As the organization was knowing the circumstance for some time, the workers

more likely than not been given some an opportunity to make their elective game plans

of occupation. It would have made them adapted for such a move and they would have

endured lesser injury of partition and loss of occupation, and their future days would

have been fairly agreeable.

3. In any framework, the heads must assume the liability and lead from the front in Crisis

time. Laying off the heads previously implied that everybody must bear the impact of
 emergency, similarly as they partook in the advantages in great occasions together. Had

is not been the situation, the resolve of the active representatives would have been a lot

of lower that could likewise influence their future expert lives.

4. Since it was an emergency circumstance, the organization can’t be accused for the

activity. All things considered, it is superior to closing down whole business in the nation

and laying off all workers. The abilities and preparing furnished by the organization

alongside presentation to works class arrangement of cordiality will consistently stay

with the representatives and will help any place they decide to work.

Along these lines, I would work with Four Seasons in the event that I get opportunity,

accepting it as a confined occurrence that couldn’t be avoided.

1.

Layoffs are a means for an organization to cut costs. A layoff differs from a discharge in several
ways. With a layoff, employees lose their jobs because a change in the company’s environment
or strategy forces it to reduce its workforce. (Four Seasons hotel in Beirut, during the fourth
quarter of 2012 was facing tough economic times due to the economic recession that strike the
country and the political crisis that was associated with assassinations.)

Layoffs have different impacts on the organization, as following:

 Powerful impact on the organization.

 Affect the morale of the organization’s remaining employees, who may fear losing their
own jobs in the future.
 Affect a region's economic vitality, hurting the merchants who depend on the workers
patronage to support their businesses.
 Affect the perceptions of the safety and security of an area.
 Investors may be affected by layoffs as well. The investment community may interpret a
layoff as a signal that the company is having serious problems. This, in turn may lower
the price of the company’s stock on the stock market.
 Layoffs can  hurt a company's standing as a good place to work and make it difficult to
recruit highly skilled employees who can choose among numerous employers.

 Most organizations  search for alternative cost  reduction methods  before turning to layoffs.
Attrition is a common strategy. Other approaches include freezing employment, not renewing
contract workers, and encouraging employees to take time off voluntarily. The major alternatives
to layoffs are:

 Employment Policies:

The first alternatives to layoffs that managers are likely to consider are those that intrude
the least on the day to day management of the business. These  alternatives usually focus
on adjustments to Employment policies.

Employment policies are such as reduction through attrition (an employment designed to
reduce the company's workforce by not refilling job vacancies that are created by
turnover),  hiring freeze (an employment policy designed to reduce the company's
workforce  by not hiring any new employees into the company), cut part-time employees,
reduced work hours.

 Changes in Job Design:

Managers can use their human resources more cost effectively by changing job designs
and transferring people to different units of the company.

They may relocate people to jobs in different parts of the country where the cost of living
and salaries are lower.

Companies can also use job sharing when it is possible to reconfigure one job into two
part time jobs. 

However, highly paid workers may be demoted to lower-paying jobs.

 Pay and Benefits Policies:

Pay freeze (Manageress can enforce a pay freeze during which no wages or salaries are
increase), cut overtime pay, use vacation and leave days, pay cuts and profit sharing or
variable pay

 Training:

By retaining employees whose skills have become obsolete, a company may be able to
match newly skilled workers with available job vacancies. Without this retraining, the
workers might have been laid off.

 As a conclusion the layoff was against the work culture of the organization, which was
known to esteem its representatives and was one of best work environments. The
demonstration will influence worldwide picture and partners' perspective on the
association. The layoff could have been avoided by giving the representatives of choice
to work at lower compensation till the circumstance improved, or leave on the chance
that they wish so.
 Accordingly, could have kept the representatives from an abrupt activity misfortune
which is one of the last things one would need in the midst of downturn and emergency
circumstance. 

2.

The unexpected call for the workers and requesting that they leave is definitely not
an expert way. 

Once the Layoff decision has been made, managers must implement it carefully. A
layoff can be a traumatic event that affects the lives of thousands of people. The
key issues that managers must settle are notifying employees (give 60 days
advance notice to employees who will be laid off), developing layoff criteria
(determining who will be laid off can make consistent fair decision based on two
criterias: seniority or performance), communicating to laid-off employees(it is
crucial to communicate with the employees who will laid off as humanely and
sensitively as possible), coordinating media relations (impending layoff can be
very dangerous to the workforce Moral as well as the organization's relationships
with customers, suppliers, and the surrounding community), maintaining security,
and reassuring survivors of the layoff.

Therefore, as the organization was knowing the circumstance for some time, the
workers more likely than not been given some opportunity to make their elective
game plans of occupation. It would have made them adapted for such a move and
they would have endured lesser injury of partition and loss of occupation, and their
future days would have been fairly agreeable. 

3.

The managers responsible for determining who will be laid off can make consistent
fair decisions based on two important criterias are seniority and employee
performance.

 Seniority: Is the amount of time an employee has been with the firm, is by far the
most commonly used layoff criterion.

Employee performance: Using performance as the basis for layoffs allows the
company to retain its top performers in every work unit and eliminate its weakest
performers. 

In Four Seasons Hotel the head office asked to go further in reduction based on the
seniority criteria (The newly hired employees were laid off, head of departments
also were laid off some of which have spent more than five years with the
company).

Otherwise, the head office decides to go for reduction in the future based on
employee performance (Head of weak departments and employees were notified
by mail that they are required to attend a meeting with their director on Saturday.
Their director then informs them about the situation and then heads with them to
meet the human resources director. He also informed them that the layoff may take
place again in the future if needed).

The two main advantages are:

1. Seniority criteria are easily applied; manager simply examine all employees
dates of Higher to determine the similarity of each
2.  Many employees see the seniority system as fair because managers to play
favorites under a seniority based decision and the most senior employees
have the greatest investment in the company in terms of job rights and
privileges

However, there are disadvantages in which the firm may lose some top performers
as well as a disproportionate number of women and minorities who are more likely
to be recent hires in certain jobs.

4.

Since it was an emergency circumstance, the organization can’t be accused for the
activity. All things considered, it is superior to closing down whole business in the
nation and laying off all workers. The abilities and preparing furnished by the
organization alongside presentation to works class arrangement of cordiality will
consistently stay with the representatives and will help any place they decide to
work.

Along these lines, I would work with Four Seasons in the event that I get
opportunity, accepting it as a confined occurrence that couldn’t be avoided.