Cultural Diversity to the Industry-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Concept of Cultural Diversity and Role Played by it in Tourism and Hospitality Industry along with the benefits of Cultural Diversity to the Industry. Answer: Introduction Diversity is an important aspect which must be analysed and implemented in an organisation in an effective manner. It is crucial for employees of tourism and hospitality industry to understand the role of diversity management for interacting with other employees and customers in a better manner. This report will discuss the concept of cultural diversity and role played by it in tourism and hospitality industry along with the benefits of cultural diversity to the industry. Non-compliance with the cultural diversity can create an adverse impact on the performance of the industry. Different actions can be taken by tourism and hospitality industry for adopting cultural diversity. Figure 1: Cultural diversity Source: (Business in Rhyme, 2015 Selected diversity and importance of selected diversity in tourism and hospitality industry Cultural diversity has been selected as it is an important aspect and is of great concern for the tourism and hospitality industry. Cultural diversity can be understood as the sum total of the different individuals belonging from different cultural background, age, gender, caste, colour, religion, education, disability and skills. It is vital for the employees of the tourism and hospitality industry to understand the different cultures for providing better services to the customers and meeting their needs and expectations. Customers of tourism and hospitality industry are from different cultures and it is important for the industry to consider this aspect. Tourism and hospitality industry has provided a unique opportunity for gaining an understanding of the new cultural experience for the employees, tourists and guest (Pieters, 2014). Modern tourism and hospitality industry is dealing with the increasing globalisation or trade across borders. People are travelling all around the worl d which has increased the need for management of cultural diversity in the tourism and hospitality industry. Tourism and hospitality industry is operating in a culturally diverse environment. In the tourism and hospitality industry, it is vital for an organisation to consider cross-culture behaviour for enhancing the performance and gaining a competitive advantage over the others. Companies operating in the tourism and hospitality industry must consider and implement management of cultural diversity for growing at the global level. Cultural aspects act as a barrier between the organisation and customers and affect the performance of the organisation in this industry (Green, et. al., 2015). When organisations are not considering cultural diversity, this will results in monoculture organisation and limits the perspective of the organisation. Chances of growth and success of the organisation in this industry depend on the management process of cultural diversity. In the tourism and hospitality industry, customers or clients get attracted towards the different cultures of the different places (Bedi, 2016). Different individuals are from different cultures and for enhancing the performance of every individual there is a need to manage cultural diversity. Organisations in this industry are competing at the international level. The impact of cultural differences can be positive or negative on the performance of the organisation. Management of cultural diversity provides various opportunities to the organisations operating in this industry. These opportunities include strong employee base, strong customer base, innovations, transfer of knowledge competitiveness and high-qualit y services (Thitthongkam, 2013) Advantages to tourism and hospitality industry for adopting cultural diversity It is important for every organisation to consider the concept of cultural diversity as it affects the chances of success and growth. An organisation operating in the tourism and hospitality industry can gain various advantages by adopting cultural diversity. These benefits of adopting cultural diversity for organisations of this industry are discussed below: Employee satisfaction and motivation: organisations can adopt cultural diversity which will help in treating and interacting with the employees in a better manner. This will ensure that employees are satisfied and motivated. For example, Hyatt hotel is having one of the best workplaces around the globe. This has motivated the employees of Hyatt (Hyatt, 2016). Strong employee base and customer base: management of cultural diversity helps to provide a better environment and better services which help in developing strong employee base and customer base. It also results in reducing the cost involved in the recruitment process by developing effective workforce (Dike, 2013). Establishing a better relationship with the employees and customers: applying measures for managing cultural diversity will help in developing a healthy relationship between the management and employees and between the organisation and customers. This helps in generating trust and loyalty among the employees and customers. Improved customer service: satisfied workforce performs the roles and responsibilities assigned to them in an effective manner. This helps in providing better quality services to the customers and results in enhancing the satisfaction level among the customers of the tourism and hospitality industry. This helps the organisation of tourism and hospitality industry in developing brand image (Korjala, 2012). Competitive advantage: management of the cultural diversity in effective manner results in enhancing the competitiveness of the organisation. For example, Marriott is providing diversity management training to its employees for gaining competitive advantage (Marriott, 2017). Innovations and transfer of knowledge: multi-cultural workforce helps in sharing the experiences and knowledge of each other among the workforce. This sharing of experiences and knowledge results in developing employees and enhances innovations and creativity. Contributes towards enhanced productivity: when employees are working as a team and performing the operations by coordinating with each other, then it results in enhancing the performance of individual and overall productivity (Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2010). Cost and consequences to tourism and hospitality industry for not accounting cultural diversity Every organisation must adopt cultural diversity for managing its employee base and attracting customers. Failure to manage cultural diversity will result in adverse impact on the performance as well growth and success chances of the organisation. These consequences to the tourism and hospitality industry for not adopting cultural diversity are discussed below: Depletion in the quality of the services: international organisations of the industry are facing issues due to differences in the culture of employees. These differences in the culture of the employees affect the quality of the services offered. Conflicts among the employees: cultural differences among the employees of the organisation increase the conflicts between them. These conflicts may arise due to differences in the language, background, age, caste, tradition, religion, gender and other cultural aspects (Dike, 2013). High employee turnover rates: non-adoption of the cultural diversity increases the chances of conflicts among the employees and affects the quality of the workplace. This results in an increase in the employee turnover rates and cost involved in the selection and recruitment process of the organisation. Decreasing satisfaction level among the employees and customers: differences may arise among the workforce of the organisation due to lack of support and coordination. This decreases the satisfaction level of the employees and creates an impact on their performance. Depleting quality of the services decreases the satisfaction level of the customers (Thitthongkam, 2013). Decreasing productivity: productivity and effectiveness depend on the quality of the workforce. For the management of the quality of the workforce, it is vital to adopt cultural diversity. Lack of proper communication: communication channel adopted by the organisation may get affected due to the non-adoption of the cultural diversity at the workplace (Bedi, 2016). Actions taken by tourism and hospitality industry for adopting cultural diversity at the workplace and in the operations In the international organisation of this industry, a workforce of the organisation is diverse and customers or guests are from different cultural background. It is crucial for the management to establish proper measures for implementing cultural diversity for establishing a healthy relationship with the employees and customers or guests or visitors. Cultural diversity management plan must be formulated and adopted by the organisation (Gong, 2008). Training needs to be provided to the employees for coping with the cultural diversity and performing the roles and responsibilities as a team. Training to the employees will help in eliminating the language differences and will promote unity and team spirit among the employees. Every organisation of the tourism and hospitality industry must focus on the individual attitude and behaviour, skills and practices adopted by the managers and values and policies adopted by the organisation. These three aspects or elements help in determining the culture of the organisation and management of the cultural diversity in an effective manner (Patrick Kumar, 2012). Managerial skills and practices need to be applied for changing the behaviour of the employees towards cultural differences and promoting cultural diversity at the workplace. Mentoring programs must be conducted at the workplace. These mentoring programs help in motivating employees for adopting different cultural and working as a team. Awareness about the cultural diversity must be spread among the environment of the organisation. This awareness will help in developing an understanding of the employees (Podsiadlowski, et. al., 2013). Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that management of cultural diversity is important for every industry. Diversity management has contributed towards the growth and profitability of the industry. For tourism and hospitality industry, diversity is crucial for employees as well as for the customers. Every industry operates at the global level and need arises to manage the diversity. This report has discussed the role played by cultural diversity in an organisation, advantages of adopting cultural diversity, consequences of not adopting cultural diversity and measures which can be taken by the tourism and hospitality industry. References Australian Multicultural Foundation. (2010). Managing Cultural Diversity. Australian Multicultural Foundation. Bedi, A. S. 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Marriott. (2017). Embracing Global Diversity Inclusion Thriving in a diverse marketplace. Marriott. Accessed on: 18 August 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/social-responsibility/global-diversity.mi Patrick, H. A. Kumar, V. R. (2012). Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges. SAGE. Pieters, C. (2014). Effective Management of a Culturally Diverse Workforce in five-star multi-national Hotels: A Case Study, The Westin Dublin. Dublin Business School. Podsiadlowski, A., Grschke, D., Kogler, M., Springer, C. Zee, K. V. D. (2013). Managing a culturally diverse workforce: Diversity perspectives in organizations. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37, pp. 159175. Thitthongkam, T. (2013). Roles of Language and Culture towards Customer Satisfaction in the Competitiveness of the Thai Tourism Industry. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management, Volume 2, No. 1.