Equality and Diversity in Human Resource Management - A Case Study of Marriott International Inc.

This discussion focuses on the different human resource policies of Marriott and their effect on the development of the organization. The discussion includes an analysis of the policies used by Marriott for their human resource management development, including equality and diversity, workforce composition, recruitment policies, and development of human resources. The policies are analyzed based on specific, measurable, achievable, result-focused, and time-bound criteria. Marriott's policies have resulted in a diverse and inclusive workforce, with a strong focus on gender equality, disability inclusion, and youth engagement.

Running head: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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1EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary:
The purpose of this discussion is to look into the different human resource policies of the
Marriott International Inc. and the way they have developed the strategic planning and
management policies accordingly. The discussion will also do an in-depth analysis of the
different policies used by the Marriott group for their human research management
development. Finally, a conclusion is added to summarise the discussion and achieve the
result of the discussion.
Table of Contents

2EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Findings and Analysis:...............................................................................................................3
Equality and Diversity:..........................................................................................................3
Workforce Composition:........................................................................................................4
Recruitment policies:.............................................................................................................4
Development of Human Resources:.......................................................................................5
Analysis of Human Resource policies:..................................................................................7
Specific policy:...................................................................................................................7
Measurable Policy:.............................................................................................................8
Achievable Policy:.............................................................................................................8
Result focused policies:......................................................................................................9
Time bound policy:............................................................................................................9
Strategic Development:........................................................................................................10
Recommendations and Conclusion:.........................................................................................11
References:...............................................................................................................................12

3EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
Marriot International Inc. is one of the world’s largest lodging hospitality providers
which has more than 6500 properties in 127 countries and has an annual turnover of $22
billion. It has its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland outside of Washington D.C. A global
company of more than 90 years, Marriott is headed by a family leadership (Marriott.com
2018). However, to maintain and administer such a large organization, a strong human
resource infrastructure is required. Moreover, the organization also requires to have strong
policies and frameworks for the running of the organization. The purpose of this discussion is
to look into the various human resource policies of the organization. The discussion will also
focus on the various strategies and policies of the Marriott International and discuss their
effect on the development of the organization.
Findings and Analysis:
Equality and Diversity:
Equality is a broadly used term which has different implications in different perspectives.
Equality in workplace allows everyone the right to be different at the workplace. The equality
in workplace dismisses the discrimination based on culture or colour and gives everyone the
freedom to value their own beliefs and ideas.
Diversity is a broader definition of equality which represents a work culture which values the
identity of diverse individuals. It represents the culturally diverse workforce that is present in
an organization. The inclusion of different values and culturally different individuals benefits
the society and the organization. The diverse workforce means that the organization
encourages different ideas, skills and resources and hires talents from a wider society. This
helps the organization to capture broader market and a good reputation in the society.

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Workforce Composition:
Marriott International Inc. has a very supportive and inclusive work environment
which makes sure that the associates working in the company achieve a high amount of job
satisfaction and thus lead to a higher retention of employees. Marriott currently employs over
206,116 associates worldwide (Marriott.com 2018). The male associates comprise about 48%
of the workforce while the female associates comprise about 52% of the workforce. The
workforce further comprises of 91% full time associates and 9% of them are part time
employees. Moreover, the company has recently hired about 59238 employees globally
(Marriott.com 2018). The huge number of workforce as can be seen from the data requires a
strong human resource management system for attraction, recruitment and retention.
Recruitment policies:
Diversity and Inclusion policies are key aspects of human resource management
system that can be adopted by an organization for its development. The policies ensure that
the hiring process of the organization has a broad view while selecting candidates and hire a
variety of people from different cultures and ethnicities (Deane 2013). The recruitment policy
should not compartmentalize its opportunities for only a section of people and include
everyone who are eligible. These policies help in the overall development of the organization
due to several factors. Inclusion of diverse culture propels universal acceptance of the
organization and gives the organization to venture into new markets. Diversity helps in the
inclusion of talents and fill the gaps of the organization. Moreover, interaction of different
cultures and backgrounds help in the exchange of ideas which contribute to the development
of the company. Moreover, the organizational infrastructure can provide opportunities to
different people and develop a high-performance work structure inspired by a global
participation.

5EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Marriott being one of the largest hospitality providers of the world and having
business around the globe has been encouraging diversity and inclusion in their organization
since a long time dating back to 1927 (Marriott.com 2018). Marriott considers diversity and
inclusion policies as their fundamental business ethics and gives immense importance to the
development of strategic business goals in accordance with those. The company that
prioritising the values of others and their well-being is the main objective of the organization
and this type of positive outlook towards the betterment of the society creates the cultural
heritage of the organization.
Marriott maintains a motto of UNITY and Family which aims at developing a diverse
unified workforce and it looks forward to support the recruitment, retention and the
sustainable development of the individuals as a family (Marriott.com 2018). This helps the
Marriott International to work and expand in the global markets, where they encourage to
work with local communities and develop a positive environment of well-being.
Development of Human Resources:
Marriott is one of the prime leaders in the hospitality sector which thrives on one of
the growing industries of the world, which is travel and tourism. In order to enhance the
business growth Marriott has developed policies to enhance human resources. Marriott has
always promoted employment opportunities and has taken up the challenge to reduce
unemployment and underemployment which are caused on the basis of lack of proper
training, inequality and diversity.
Marriott has partnered with different non-profit organizations all over the world to
properly train the youth and assist them to build their career in the hospitality industry. Their
focus is not only on the youth but their programs also include the diverse populations, disable
individuals, women and refugees.

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Marriott has taken a long time strategic plan to counter these problems and at the
same time expand its own business to different cultural locations around the world. It has
surveyed that everyday millions of youth are facing unemployment globally, while at the
same time the hospitality sector requires more talented youth with the increasing demand in
the global travel and tourism sector. Marriott uses these two problems to develop strategic
policies by which it ensures proper training and development for the unemployed youth and
provides them with good career opportunities in the Marriott hospitality industry. This is how
Marriott plans and addresses the global issue of unemployment and ensures a better future for
the youth.
Moreover, Marriott also has a strict policy of promoting diversity and inclusion in its
human resource policies. The vision of the organization clearly states that it the people and
their talent which is the primary concern of the organization when they recruit (Marriott.com
2018). The ethnicity or the cultural background of the people does not matter in terms of
recruitment. The long term strategic policy of the organization creates opportunity for the
different people in different cultural locations by inclusion of partners, associates, guests and
suppliers. This allows them to successfully operate in different locations and learn different
cultural values.
Marriott plays a huge role to promote gender equality in the society. There are many
parts of the world where gender equality is still a far-fetched word and efforts to promote
them is a general global issue. Marriott promotes gender equality by partnering with different
non-profit organizations and help the women to develop the required skills to create
opportunities for the women in the hospitality industry. Moreover, Marriott also supports
women to take up business and own hotels. They provide support by encouraging women
franchisee and supporting women-owned business (Marriott.com 2018). These type of

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strategic planning helps Marriott to develop and promote women equality in their workforce
and also globally.
The human resource program of the Marriott has a special strategic planning for the
people with disabilities. Marriott believes that they can make a difference in the world by
providing jobs to people with disabilities which can provide them with a moral boost. The
organization has a strategic plan regarding this. They work in collaboration with the Marriott
Foundation for People with Disabilities’ Bridges from School to Work in order to develop the
required skills for the disabled persons (Marriott.com 2018). Proper training provides the
disabled persons with job opportunities in the hospitality sector and their inclusion in the
work force provides them with the morale boost and helps them to lead a better life. This type
of beneficiary work is part of the strategic plans of the Marriott to enhance their human
resource framework.
Analysis of Human Resource policies:
Marriott has one of the most diverse workforces in the world and its success lies in the
differences of the workforce. This is a strategic business policy maintained by the
organization. This has resulted in Marriott’s achievement of the World’s Best Multinational
Workplaces (Marriott.com 2018). The recruitment policy of the Marriott includes the
following policies.
 Empowering diversity and promoting inclusion.
 Developing methods to understand different cultures and bridge the gap of the cultural
differences.
 Tie up with partner organizations who support inclusion programs from different
communities.

8EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
 Empowering a workforce strengthened by multicultural recruitments (marriott.com
2018).
Specific policy:
Marriott international encourages the inclusion of women in the workforce. The
organization programs look forward to providing more opportunities to women. The Marriott
also encourages the inclusion of disabled young men for fulfilling their vision of providing
career opportunities to any talented individual without any biasness and for the empowerment
of the society. This has let Marriott to strengthen their policies of recruitment and maintain its
reputation as an employer of choice. This also help them achieve longer employee retention
globally.
Measurable Policy:
Marriott has partnered with different organizations globally to achieve a status to of
providing opportunity to a global population of youth and veterans. Annual reports by third
party organizations who do survey on the different global workplaces has constantly reflected
Marriott’s success as the perfect place for work. A global report by Great Places to Work has
named Marriott as one the best places to work by awarding it with the title of World’s Best
Multinational Workplaces (Marriott.com 2018). This is based on the survey of the
organization by inspecting the different locations in which the organization operates. The
Marriott believes that their work is not done yet, and their success is not their final
achievement. This drives them to work even more hard to develop better policies regarding
management of the global human resources.
Achievable Policy:
Marriott has developed an achievable global inclusion policy which lets the
organization develop a sustainable partnership model all around the globe. Marriott believes

9EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
that a large number of globally diverse partners can help it to run their business successfully
all around the world. This program was launched by the Marriott back in 2005, to encourage
people from diverse cultures to come to the hotel business and make the potential investors
for the organization’s successful expansion into different cultural regions around the globe
(Marriott.com 2018).
These types of meetings are held by Marriott twice a year as Ownership Educational
Summit in order to promote hotel ownership and educate new investors about the potentials
of the hospitality industry and the benefits of a Marriott franchisee in the global scenario
(Marriott.com 2018). Marriott has successfully achieved good responses from this policy and
has created a globally diverse network of hotel owners who work with Marriott and has led to
their expansion globally. The achievement of the organization lies in the 800 plus
independent hotel owners who are now the franchisee of the Marriott hospitality framework.
Moreover, the organization aims at creating a network of 1500 plus hotels under this
franchisee program by 2020 (Marriott.com 2018).
Result focused policies:
Marriott focuses on the creation of jobs and promotion of youth engagement in the
hospitality sector. One of these policies includes the partnership of Marriott with National
Academy Foundation. Marriott has actively participated in the Clinton Global Initiative in
order to assist 10000 students in 3 years and has committed 30000 volunteer hours for the
development of the future of these youth for their inclusion in the hospitality sector
(Marriott.com 2018). The Marriott has also opened the Marriott Hotel Port-au-Prince to
generate 200 jobs for the local community. These types of policies has let Marriott achieve
their desired results regarding their vision of developing a globally diverse human resource
infrastructure for the benefits of the society. Herein lies the corporate responsibility of a
global organization like Marriott.

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Time bound policy:
Marriott is specific in formulating policies. It takes small steps during specific periods
of time, setting up achievable targets for its development. Several of its recruitment policies
has varied in different countries during specific time periods. In China, Marriott has
voluntarily assisted 100 colleges to help develop 20000 training opportunities for the
development of the human resource among the youth during a time period of four years
(Marriott.com 2018). Marriott has also voluntarily developed sustainable environmental plans
to enhance environmental development by planting 7000 trees.
Strategic Development:
Strategic plans and objectives are the key planning structures that are used by the
organizations for developing long term policies for the development of the organization.
However, there are difference between strategic plans and strategic objectives. Strategic
objectives provide the different structures for the development of the strategic plans
(Huczynski, Buchanan and Huczynski 2013). The strategic objectives are small stepping
stones that the organization sets to achieve a larger purpose in the long run. They are directly
related to the organization’s vision and mission and helps in the better understanding of the
policies that are to be developed to achieve the purpose of the organization.
The strategic objectives are the planning fragments that the Marriott can use to
develop a sustainable human resource system and achieve the company’s vision of building a
globally diverse workforce. Firstly, Marriott should focus on the employment of
professionals who have a diverse cultural background so that they can create a better
relationship with the customers from different cultural backgrounds. Secondly, the
organization can develop an inclusive training module in different parts of the world to
encourage the youth and help them with new job opportunities in the hospitality sector for the
development of the globally diverse workforce. Thirdly, the organization should learn to

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amalgamate policies of recruitment which can include people from different backgrounds. It
can encourage women empowerment by hiring more women and make a workforce devoid of
gender biasness. Lastly Marriott can develop methods to encourage the sharing of knowledge
and talents via its global inclusion framework to develop a more culturally strong workforce
which can find solutions to different problems faced by the organization.
All the above discussed methods are different strategic objectives which the
organization can use to develop a global human resource strategy by which it can plan and
carry out different programs and schedules in different parts of the world. This can help the
organization achieve a long term solution for the problems that they can face regarding their
vision of creating a policy which promotes diversity and inclusion all over the world in their
work places.
Recommendations and Conclusion:
The above discussion does an in depth analysis of the human resource policies of the
Marriott International Inc. It explores the facts that how one of the largest hospitality groups
of the world promote the aspects of equality and diversity in their work force. It has been
seen that Diversity and Inclusion are two of the main factors that the organization encourages
during its recruitment process. It explores the different communities it works in and tries to
include people from all sectors of life in its work force. The company focuses on the talent of
the people instead of discriminating on the basis of their gender or culture. In doing so it
encourages the communities’ active participation in the workforce of the organization and
this leads to creation of job opportunities and reduce unemployment. It also helps the
organization meet its demand of employees for the rising tourism and hospitality business.
The organization also promotes training and education in the communities to help the youth
gain the proper skills required for the job in the hospitality sector. The organization also

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promotes women empowerment and encourages women to take part in the business and
actively develop their careers. Hence, it can be concluded from the above discussion that the
company follows a proper diversity and inclusion policy which also promotes equality and
diversity in the community. Its policies are highly beneficial and promote the development of
the community. The human resource management is highly sustainable and nurtures the
society for future development.

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References:
Deane, B.R., 2013. Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (Vol. 33). John Wiley &
Sons.
Huczynski, A., Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A.A., 2013. Organizational behaviour (p.
82). London: Pearson.
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Marriott.com 2018. Marriott International Hotel Development. [online] Marriott Hotels
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