Communication across cultures? : an intercultural approach to customer service in the hotel industry : a study with globally branded hotels in the United Kingdom (original) (raw)
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The Market: International Journal of Business, 2020
Abstract Purpose – The study aims to investigate the presence of cultural diversity in selected global hotel brands in the United Kingdom, as well as the contribution of cultural diversity and how it impacts the operation of hotels. The presence of intercultural service encounters is discussed, alongside the intercultural characteristics of the hotel industry, finding that intercultural elements are more than well-established for internal affairs and internal and external customers of hotels. Methodology – A combination of data collection instruments and analysis approaches has been used involving semi-structured interviews with hotel management staff from different cultures and public space observations during check in and check out in the reception area and during dining at the café-bar and restaurant. Thematic analysis has been applied to interviews, public space observations and job advertisements using interpretive (hermeneutic) phenomenology. Findings – A global workforce in selected global hotels is seen as a competitive advantage under diversity management practices and contributes to overcoming intercultural challenges. Both British and non-British hotel staff acknowledge that provision of training and language support from their organisations would enhance their intercultural understanding and awareness. Although cultural diversity is highly valued, the participating hotels have not connected this value with the expansion of the intercultural skills of hotel staff in terms of learning and development and managing diversity adequately. Research limitations – The study has a normative character. Some of the arguments and interpretations should be established more firmly with cross-cultural research and examination of the international customer’s viewpoint. Practical implications – Equipping and expanding the skills of hotel staff with the appropriate learning and development opportunities should be seen as part of managing diversity in global hotel brands because of changes occurring in the global market and the industry. Originality/value – This study provides a framework for intercultural communication and intercultural affairs in the hotel sector. It fills a research gap in the United Kingdom by analysing hotel staff viewpoints on intercultural service encounters. Keywords – Cultural Diversity, Intercultural Communication, Managing Diversity, Intercultural Service Encounters, Hotels, Skills Paper type – Research paper Acknowledgments – The data for this paper comes from the author’s PhD dissertation (Daskalaki, 2016).
Journal of Intercultural Management, 2015
Hospitality organizations which are increasingly operating internationally create real challenges for their employees and managers to interact and effectively work with people from different cultural environments. Many problems may relate to intercultural communication between managers and employees as well as between employees and hotel guests from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the issue of intercultural communication has recently had an increasing reach in the hospitality industry.Cultural awareness, sensitivity and understanding of cultural differences should be perceived as a critical issue for business success. Therefore, the following questions still need answers from both academics and the business: What kind of challenges does the hospitality industry face in view of the multicultural diversity of its markets? What kind of managers’ skills and abilities, particularly in the case of entry-level managers, are strongly needed today to manage effectively multicultur...
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The multi-cultural management of international hotel groups
International Journal of Hospitality …, 1997
This conceptual paper examines the cultural influences that impact on international hotel groups based upon the premise that effective harnessing of cultural diversity should lead to success in the global marketplace. Pizam's "hierarchy of cultures' is applied to demonstrate how and where the national, personal, professional and industry backgrounds of founders, key decision-makers, management and employees influence practices in hotel groups. A framework is presented to demonstrate the various levels in organizations where culture has an influence and where a higher degree of cultural awareness is essential. Recognizing that hotel groups are part of an extended value system (including suppliers, buyers or customers, and relationships with other business partners), the paper assesses the cultural impact of these networks on hotel groups.
Managing Cultural Differences in the Hospitality Industry .. 26
Evangelos Christou is a Chartered Marketer and he is an active researcher, consultant and academic. He is currently employed as Acting Assistant Professor of Tourism & Hospitality Marketing in the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece and he is visiting lecturer in the University of Bolzano in Italy. He has management experience in the hospitality industry in England and Greece, and taught in Italy, Finland and Cyprus. Evangelos is actively involved in professional and academic organizations such as EuroCHRIE, the Balkan Association for Tourism Education & Research, and other. He is involved in a number of national and international research projects in tourism and hospitality, some administered by the European Union. He is the author of textbooks in tourism and hospitality marketing, advertising and service quality, and of papers in journals and conferences.
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This research utilised research findings to critically evaluate how cross-cultural marketing influences and impacts customers' expectations and service quality in the hotel hospitality industry, through a comparative study of the UK and Indian hotels' industries. Cross-cultural marketing in the hotel hospitality industry is still a developing aspect of hotel management, especially in the modern global culturally diverse community. In accordance with successful strategies in cultural diversity marketing and for business growth, hoteliers need to learn, analyze and understand the expectations of customers from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, there is a need to understand and develop a framework accounting for the work of monocultural and multicultural hotel teams in India and the UK that is oriented to customers' satisfaction and provide appropriate recommendations for practice. The research employed both deductive and inductive research approaches. The mix meth...
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