Running Head: SB ARCHITECTS PAPER

Opal Ruiz
Seminar on Organizational Behavior and Development
International College of the Cayman Islands
Instructor Dr. David Marshall
December 15th 2016

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SB ARCHITECTS REFLECTION PAPER

During the San Francisco seminar, my fellow students and I had the opportunity to attend
a presentation by SB Architects on November 10, 2016. The presentation was facilitated by the
firms President Mr. Scott Lee and Senior Vice President Mr. Mark Sopp. During the
presentation, Mr. Lee advised that SB Architects has been in business for more than 55 years and
has offices in both San Francisco and Miami (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10,
2016). SB Architects employs approximately 100 employees with 55 based in San Francisco and
45 in Miami (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). SB Architects is more than
just a typical architectural firm as they ensure that not only are buildings beautifully designed,
but are also highly functional (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). SB
Architects prides itself on producing and delivering projects which are exciting, immersive,
inspiring, original, and socially authentic (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016).
In addition, Mr. Lee advised that the firm mainly focuses on designing resorts, spas,
communities, and multi-family residential structures (S. Lee, personal communication,
November 10, 2016).
SB Architects has a very unique and team oriented organizational culture. The firm is
very focused on the health and wellbeing of its employees. According to Mr. Lee employees
participate in weekly team workout session such as yoga which promotes team building and a
healthy lifestyle simultaneously (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). Such
team building activities can result in job satisfaction (Robbins & Judge, 2014). As stated by
Robbins and Judge (2014) feedback, social support, and interaction with colleagues outside the
work environment are closely related to job satisfaction, even after taking into consideration the
characteristics of the job itself. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between how well

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employees enjoy the social aspects of their workplace and their level of job satisfaction.
According to Robbins and Judge (2014) job satisfaction refers to a positive feeling about ones
job as a result of evaluations of its characteristics. Moreover, job satisfaction is also associated
with increased productivity and reduced employee turnover (Robbins & Judge, 2014).
Mr. Lee also advised the firm has an excellent benefits program which is designed to
attract and recruit the most talented employees (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10,
2016). According to Mr. Lee SB Architect employees are also entitled to receive performance
bonuses in addition to participating in a 401k matching program (S. Lee, personal
communication, November 10, 2016). Furthermore, an additional benefit provided to SB
Architects employees is the flexibility of being able to work 9 hours per day and get every other
Friday off from work (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). This basically
means that every other week employees work for four days per week as opposed to the typical
five-day work week. This is essentially a type of flextime policy which supports employees to
maintain a healthy work life balance. According to Robbins and Judge (2014) organizations are
increasingly creating opportunities for work life balance programs. Additionally, research
indicates that employees want to work for organizations that provides some level of flexibility in
their work schedules so that they are better able to manage conflicts between work and family
roles (Robbins & Judge, 2014). Furthermore, organizations that enable employees to balance
their work and family roles are better able to attract and retain a capable and motivated
workforce (Robbins & Judge, 2014). Therefore, SB Architects benefits by incorporating work
life balance programs into its organizational culture as such programs enable the firm to attract,
motivate and retain talented employees.

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SB Architects are the designers for the newly opened Kimpton Hotel in Grand Cayman,
Cayman Islands (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). According to Mr. Lee
SB Architects was successfully chosen from a list of 50 other architectural firms (S. Lee,
personal communication, November 10, 2016). The process involved SB Architects presenting a
proposal for the architecture design of the Kimpton and then presenting it to Dart at an interview
in Miami (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016). The architectural design
proposal was well received by Dart and although alterations were made to the initial design, SB
Architects were successfully awarded with the contract to design the Kimpton Hotel (S. Lee,
personal communication, November 10, 2016). According to Mr. Lee the construction of the
Kimpton started in 2012 and the resort consist of 260 rooms and 62 condominiums (S. Lee,
personal communication, November 10, 2016). As stated by Mr. Lee it took approximately
4,000,000 labor hours to build the Kimpton (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10,
2016). The Kimption is uniquely designed so that most rooms have an ocean view and roughly
70% of rooms can see the lights from George Town (S. Lee, personal communication, November
10, 2016). The Kimpton is the most newly developed hotel in the Cayman Islands in over ten
years, and it facilitates new experiences for tourists as well as the local community (S. Lee,
personal communication, November 10, 2016). As mentioned by Mr. Lee, Dart is developing a
long-term vision in stimulating and driving the Cayman Islands towards stability and economic
growth (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016).
The recent opening of the Kimpton Hotel has had significant implications to the people
and economy of the Cayman Islands and will continue to do so for years to come. As previously
mentioned, the Kimpton is the newest hotel to be developed in Cayman Islands and is also the
islands first pair of 10 story buildings (S. Lee, personal communication, November 10, 2016).

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The hotel has been four years in the making with an excess of 900 people involved in working on
the construction project (Whittaker, 2016). Furthermore, Jackie Doak, Darts Real Estate
President states that Dart has delivered on its promise of providing an economic stimulus
package which has enabled major infrastructure developments, and a new resort, as well as
created employment for many people in the aftermath of the global recession (Whittaker,
2016). Furthermore, Alden McLaughlin, Premier of the Cayman Islands states that he
cannot say enough regarding the positive impact this $300 million project has had on the
economy of the Cayman Islands. Mr. McLaughlin states that local people and businesses
were hired to construct the Kimpton and equally important the hotel will also enable longterm employment for a substantial number of Caymanians for decades to come (Whittaker,
2016). Moreover, Moses Kirkconnell, Tourism Minister states that the opening of the
Kimpton translates to an immediate 8 percent boost in Caymans room stock (Whittaker,
2016). As mentioned by Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell more room stock results in
more jobs at the airport, more taxis and tour buses, more jobs in the hospitality and
restaurant sectors, which ultimately enables Caymans GDP to increase as a result of the
tourism sector growth (Whittaker, 2016). Therefore, by designing the Kimpton SB
Architects has directly had an impact on the Cayman Islands as its design is now a reality
and is a tangible product that can be experienced by tourist as well as the people of the
Cayman Islands for years to come.

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References

Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2014). Essentials of Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Whittaker, J. (2016). Hailed as jewel of tourism sector, Kimpton opens doors. Retrieved from
https://www.caymancompass.com/2016/11/15/hailed-as-jewel-of-tourism-sector-kimptonopens-doors