Donna Klein and Marriott International (A, B)

Income Distribution and Life Chances
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?R=996057-PDF-ENG
Authors: Bollier, David; Pochop, Laura; Meyer, Kathleen A.
Source: The Business Enterprise Trust
Year: 1997
Company Name: Marriott International
Number of pages: 12

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Abstract:

In the early 1990s, Donna Klein, Director of Work/Life programs for Marriott International, surveyed hotel and resort managers and found they increasingly were relied upon to help employees cope with the stresses of their personal lives. Immigration, child custody, spousal abuse--numerous personal issues were requiring up to 50% of managers' time and fueling extremely high turnover among the company's over 100,000 lower-wage workers. While Marriott offered a traditional dependent care resource and referral service, Klein realized that this service was not particularly useful or appropriate for hourly workers. She understood that hourly employees needed help finding cost-effective ways to solve their personal problems and more one-on-one consultation to help them tap into their local resources. Shocked by the survey results, senior management asked Klein and her associates to devise a solution to address the problem. Teaching Purpose: Encourages discussion of work/life issues, particularly those specific to lower-wage employees. Allows students to think creatively about different approaches to real-life human resource dilemmas. Supplements available (from Harvard Business School Publishing).