Impact of Cultural Differences on Hotel Hierarchy - Research Paper Example

Report: Impact of Cultural Differences on Hotel Hierarchy Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3 Background of the Research…………………………………………………………….3 Research Aim…………………………………………………………………………….4 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………...4 Literature Review……………………….…………………………………………………….....5 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….…………..…9 Research Approach & Design…………………………………………………………..9 Data Gathering & Sampling Procedures……………………………………………...10 Limitations of the Research……………………………………………………………11 Conclusion…...………………………………………………………………………………….11 References…………………………………………………………………………………….....13 Introduction Cultural issues have become a crucial determinant in the hotel industry. The hotel sector brings together the different parts of the world together and for that reason, cultural diversity is an important factor for hotel chains. As globalization has become one of the major trends in the past few years affecting various aspects of world’s development, the hospitality sector is undoubtedly one of those areas influenced by it. In this process of globalization, the hospitality sector has become global and cultural diversity has become an essential feature of it. Customers would think that quality service is being delivered to them if the employees can understand them better. Whether it is food, services, employee policies etc, the global requirements need to be considered in all operations. Background of the Research While cultural diversity and incorporating the trends of globalization is indispensable for the hotel industry, various cultural conflicts occur as a result of this cultural diversity. These misunderstandings are of various types and due to various reasons. Every culture has a different set of beliefs and norms and when people of different cultures come together and work, differences are bound to arise. These differences become more challenging in an industry where customers to be dealt with are also from different cultures and have different demands. While various inter-cultural challenges are faced, one such issue is the impact of cultural differences on the hierarchy of a hotel. People from poorer countries usually have lower positions and from the developed have higher positions. This creates a barrier amongst the higher and lower level employees and creates many problems regarding cultural differences as what one may think is right as part of their culture, the other might not. Research Aim This study aims to determine the impact of cultural differences on the hierarchy of a hotel. The findings of this study would be very helpful in determining how the barrier between high and low-level employees can be reduced in the light of cultural differences. Cultural diversity if managed properly can help to increase organizational performance (Kemp & Dwyer, 2001). There are various levels in an organization where culture has an influence and where a higher degree of cultural awareness is essential (Roper & Brookes, 1997). This study would hence facilitate in understanding how this diversity can be managed in a batter way to become a pro rather than a con for a hotel. Finally, it would also aid in giving better understanding to hotel managements as to what kind of inter-cultural training programs they can incorporate at various levels to bring a positive change for the overall benefit of the organization. Research Objectives Based on the background and aim of the research, the research objectives of the study are stated as: To understand the impact of cultural differences on the hierarchy of a hotel; To determine factors which increase these barriers and how they can be reduced? To suggest recommendations as to how these differences can be resolved and how cultural diversity can be turned into a positive rather than a negative factor. Literature Review Recent global trends have had an impact on almost every sector of the industry. The hotel business is one of them. As economies of developing countries go through economic and other crises, unemployment rate increases and a labor flow from developing countries to developed countries take place. The hospitality industry is a labor intensive industry. As the hospitality industry grows in developed countries, they have a need of labor force and they take in these new immigrants for their specific requirements (Kusluvan, 2003). This is the basis of people from different cultures working in one place. While cultural diversity exists in various organizations belonging to different industries, but in a service-oriented business like a hotel chain, these cross-cultural differences become more highlighted. Cross-cultural differences could be of various types and at various levels. Let us first understand the basic root of these conflicts. Every individual grows up in their culture considering it to be logical and the most superior of all cultures (Alred, Byram & Fleming, 2003). When people are exposed to other individuals belonging to different cultures, they try and understand these cultures, maybe respect them, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are shaped by their own culture and that’s what their actions are based on. When people work in organizations and come across people of different cultures, cultural conflicts are bound to happen. Being introduced to new cultures they feel challenged or intimidated and they don’t want to accept them (Alred, Byram & Fleming 2003). In such situations, cross-culture conflicts arise and especially in organizations where people from various cultures are present and their work is related, they are bound to face these circumstances. The hotel industry is one of those which require a great amount of labor, and they as per there requirements they hire immigrants and people from different culture and hence cross-cultural conflicts occur. Cross-cultural conflicts have various facets. Cultural conflicts can take place during a service encounter when the customer is from a different culture and the person providing service is not able to understand him (Mohsin, 2006). It can also occur within an organization between employees working together. The most common form of it is that when people work together, they have conflicts over ideas, work ethics etc. This problem becomes more intensified when the conflict is between two different levels on the organizational hierarchy. It is common practice and seen in many countries that large hotel chains which have a large number of culturally diverse employees, high level jobs are rule by people from developed countries and low level jobs by people from developing countries. A study taken place in Canada is reflective of this trend. It was found that the top management had a domination of white employees of European heritage, while low level jobs had a diverse set of employees. Similarly, front office operations would be held by White Canadians while other departments like house-keeping etc had people from Philippines, Portugal etc (Christensen-Hughes, 1992). While this type of a hiring trend doesn’t necessarily imply a negative trend, it does lead to cultural conflicts. Immigrants who are coming from developing countries are not that educated or do not meet the requirement level of certain jobs so majority of them are willing to and are hired at lower level jobs. Moreover, from an international point of view, sometimes the requirements of certain top level jobs are such that people of European background or from developing countries are hired. So, while this is not taken as a negative factor, it does exist that higher level jobs and lower level jobs have a certain ethnic concentration and both coming from different cultures a culture barrier is formed and if not addressed properly lead to various problems. These problems can be due to various factors which are as follows: Management Styles: People from different cultures have different styles of management. The problem comes when these manages try to impose their style which they have learned from their culture on the sub-ordinates. Like European managers have an autocratic style and sub-ordinates who are from different countries and not used to this kind of style may experience job dissatisfaction. Moreover, managers may be applying rules to the hotel as per its requirements of the specific country it belongs to, but they assume that the sub-ordinates would understand and follow these without them having proper understanding of it. Sub-ordinate Behavior: Lower level employees coming from different cultures also have different ways of taking instructions from their managers. While certain employees may find it easier to deal with the autocratic style of a manager and may have the courage to talk back or discuss with the supervisor. Others may maintain a silence and the supervisor would treat their silence as agreement. A similar problem may arise with dealing with employ appraisal. Based on their different cultures, a subordinate could take an average appraisal as criticism or in a very negative way, while another would take it as motivation for improvement. Language: Lower level employees like those working in house-keeping or chefs are sometimes hired even if they are not that fluent in English. Reason for that is that HR people believe that these would not have much interaction with customers and they have performance related criteria for their hiring rather than language. But by not understanding English, which is the main language for communication, many employees suffer because of inadequate or lack of communication. Hence, we see that cultural differences in organizations become a bigger problem when employees are at different levels and conflicts occur in understanding management styles, instructions, appraisals and also the needs of that particular organization in that particular country. This last factor becomes more important in the hotel industry where a greater quantity of labor is present and that also culturally diverse and dealing with customers also has to be done keeping the cultural factor in mind. To reduce this cultural gap and to make use of cultural diversity, organizations need to concentrate on two steps: Firstly, the organizational culture needs to be communication properly to each and every employee of the organization. Managing organizational culture is one of the most popular forms of managerial intervention (Ogbonna & Harris, 2002). This is useful, because the organization may have a complete different set of norms and beliefs according to their type of industry and country, and most employees may not be aware of it or it may be different from their beliefs. In such a case, they should have a proper guideline to work on so that cultural conflicts may be reduced. Intercultural training programs should also be held at hotels for employees at all levels so they can better understand other cultures in respect to their own cultures (Li, 2008). The basic aim of these programs is to make them understand how each culture is different and none is superior to other. Moreover, it aids employees in working with people from different cultures and understanding them. Methodology The research aim of this study is to find out the impact of cultural differences on the organizational hierarchy of a hotel. In this section, the approach, design and strategy of the research will be discussed. All other areas of the methodology will also be outlined. These include data collection, ways of sampling and their analysis. Furthermore, the validity of the results of this study will be provided and the various limitations of the findings of the research will also be discussed. Research Approach & Design While we took qualitative data i.e. collecting information from various sources like books, journal articles etc for the background of our research, to determine its results another form of qualitative approach would be used. Observing the actions of various individuals who go through these changes and cultural conflicts being on different levels of the hierarchy, would be the best way to understand these changes. This is known as the personal observation method. Had a questionnaire or interview method had been selected for collecting data, the results would be heavily reliant on the responses of the individuals involved and in this case, those responses have a good chance of not being very accurate. This is because employees at both levels would be hesitant to give this information. High level managers would not want to reveal the problems being faced, while low level employees would be scared to disclose these problems to an outsider in the fear that something of this sort would have an effect on their job. Hence, the personal observation method would be very useful as it would not be necessary to rely on the willingness and ability of respondents to report accurately. Another reason for selecting this method is that the biasing effect of interviewers is either eliminated or reduced. Data collected by observation are, thus, more objective and generally more accurate. In this way the research design is planned as such that the factors and important variables would be highlighted from behavioral patterns. Furthermore, the relationships between various variables and their understanding can also be gained from it (De Vaus, 2001). Data Gathering & Sampling Procedures For a qualitative study and especially for the method chosen, a lot of time and patience is required. But with this time and patience given, behaviors of employees could be observed and better results for the study can be obtained. The sample size would be around from 6 to 10 hotels the employees of which would be observed at various levels. The simplest method would be observing them in restaurants of hotels where waiters, managers, cleaning people all are present. Employees at other levels of the hotels would also be observed. No particular criteria would be set for the employees other than the fact that they should be from different cultures as much as possible to get a varied point of view. Results of these would be collected and then various variables and their relationships would be studied. Since the observation method is being used, after evaluating results if information of some sort is missing, incomplete or needs more attention, more attention can be paid to them and observation can be carried out again to complete and enhance the results of the study. Limitations of the Research Certain limitations to the research study and findings are as follows: While various information has been collected from related books, journal and other sources, studies on the cultural impact on hierarchy seems to be limited or they are discussed in alignment with other issues and not exclusively. In data collection, while both kinds of employees and from various cultures would be observed, all sorts of information especially related to the cognitive process of the employees may not be able to be captured. Conclusion The hospitality sector all over the world is faced with challenges of cross-cultural conflicts at various stages and is constantly assessing their strategies to deal with these changes. While, cultural differences and conflicts occur in various different situations, the aim of this study is to highlight the impact it has on the hierarchy of a hotel. How it affects the hierarchy and the communication between lower and higher level employees and to what extent is the topic being researched in this study. A qualitative approach has been chosen for this study which will use the personal observation method to collect information by observing processes at work. This will help in understanding the problems employees are facing without them having to face the pressure of answering questions. Although a few limitations to the study exist, but overall this study and its findings will be helpful in understanding the impact and how these barriers can be reduced and conflicts be minimized for the better functioning of the organization. Moreover, it will help employees to better understand cross-cultural differences and using that in a positive manner can also be beneficial for an industry especially the hospitality sector. References Alred, G., Byram, M. & Fleming, M. (2003), Intercultural experience and education, London: Cromwell Press. Christensen-Hughes, J. (1992, April), Cultural diversity: the lesson of Toronto’s hotels, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly. Dale, B.G. & Coyle, M.P. (1993, May), Quality in the hospitality industry: A study, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 12, Issue 2, Pages 141-153. De Vaus, D. (2001), Research design in social research, London: Sage Publications. Kemp, S. & Dwyer, L. (2001, March), An examination of organizational culture – the Regent Hotel, Sydney, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 77-93. Kusluvan, S. (2003), Managing Employee Attitudes & Behaviors in the Tourism & Hospitality Industry, Nova Science Publishers Inc. Li, X. (2008), A Framework for Intercultural Training in Hotel Workplaces, Auckland University of Technology. Mohsin, A. (2006, May), Cross-cultural sensitivities in Hospitality: A matter of conflict or understanding, Department of Tourism Management, University of Waikato Management School. Ogbonna, E. & Harris, L.C. (2002, January), Managing organizational culture: insights from the hospitality industry, Human Resource Management Journal, Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages 33 – 53. Roper, A & Brookes, M. (1997, June), The multi-cultural management of international hotel groups, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 16, Issue 2, Pages 147 - 159. Read More