"Does managing diversity give management in the tourism and hospitality industry a competitive advantage"

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"Does Managing Diversity give Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry a competitive advantage over its competitors"?It is a common misconception that diversity in tourism and hospitality organisations is only about race or about the EEO. Diversity in tourism and hospitality is so much more than EEO although it encompasses the EEO's fundamental theories to build long-term business strategies (Hogh, personal communication, March 18, 00). Some tourism and hospitality managers are of the opinion that managing diversity will enable them to achieve a competitive advantage. This essay will explore three hotels in the tourism and hospitality industry and discuss the effects of diversity in their businesses in relation to gaining a competitive edge over their competitors.Diversity includes but is not limited to race, age, gender, religious background, learning orientation, work levels and functions, economic background, communication and learning styles (What every consultant needs to know about diversity and consulting and training, 00, p. 1). To gain a competitive advantage in tourism and hospitality organisations, as with any business, diversity must encompass all these differences to ensure the best possible benefits are achieved from their employees. When employees are managed to achieve their full potential the long-term business objectives of the organisation will not only be achieved but customer service will be excellent and thus profits increased resulting in a leading edge over competitors (Hogh, personal communication, 00, March 18).Working with diversity in the tourism and hospitality industry

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The tourism and hospitality industry encompasses many organisations that are primarily service industries. Schlesinger and Heskett remark that if you "put the people who deliver the service first, and design the business systems around them, you can use the service delivery as the centrepiece of your competitive strategy" (11, p. 7). If tourism and hospitality organisations are to do this they will need to assess their particular section of the hospitality industry and realistically employ people who can service their target markets and address the diversity of their customer base. Managers are nothing without their employees; but together they work differently to achieve the same business goals that the organisation wishes to achieve. Thus, it is imperative to ensure that,"Jobs are designed to stimulate employees to provide customer satisfaction, and thus enrich their working lives. Care selection processes include task analysis, identifying that service employees can have innate characteristics such as good communication skills but will still require ongoing training"(Tourism and Hospitality Management, 00, p. 45).Training is not only essential to the success of the service encounter itself but the relationship between employees in the organisation. Providing a dynamic diverse work force means a commitment to change for everybody working in that organisation to ensure professional harmony. That means, working from the manager down, employees become more open when they are involved from the beginning, and they are then able to understand how they can all benefit, and see how learning about other peoples diversities can change their own attitudes to work thus making their job easier, more enjoyable and harmonious (Corporate news at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1).Unfortunately because of the high turnover of staff in the tourism and hospitality industry in New Zealand this harmony is not always easy to attain and maintain ("Just passing through", 00, p. ). Destinations like Queenstown are typical of this scenario, they are desperate for staff as many of those employed are itinerants working to augment their travel funds, then they move on ("Just passing through", 00, p. ). This is a common trend in tourism and hospitality organisations all over New Zealand which was evident in a TMP Worldwide six monthly job index survey in November 001 which found among New Zealand tourism businesses that 7% reported annual staff turn overs of more than 15%, which the surveyors identified as danger level ("Just passing through, 00, p. ). Statistics such as these show clearly that tourism and hospitality organisations are able to experience diversity in the work place, however diversity does not mean that organisations are able to maintain standards of service while the work force is unstable, and if the workforce is unstable and standards are not maintained it will not be possible to gain a competitive advantage.Diversity at the Novotel QueenstownA field trip by the Bachelor of Hotel Management class from the Southern Institute of Technology, Invercargill to Queenstown last year revealed that this was an ongoing problem within the hotel industry. Front Office Manager Ken Davidson from the Novotel Queenstown reiterated that the turn over of staff comprising of foreign travellers had both positive and negative affects on the service they were able to provide to guests (personal communication, 00, May ). The positives he offered were mainly cultural awareness and the ability of transient staff to speak more than one language (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). The hotel often took advantage of overseas travellers on their OE wanting to work within the hotel because it meant that they were more easily able to converse with other guests of the same nationality and often they had a wealth of experience from other hotels all over the world which enhanced their ability to do their job (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). Mr Davidson went on to say that although working with people from different backgrounds and thinking styles was interesting and challenging it was not easy for some local employees to see the benefits when these employees only stayed an average of three months (personal communication, May , 00). This was a problem for all hotels in Queenstown some of which was due to the ongoing accommodation problem in the province (personal communication, 00, May ). The accommodation crisis in Queenstown meant that many New Zealand professional industry workers were not prepared to stay for long periods because housing was either unaffordable or unavailable (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). Whilst the transient staff put up with poor living conditions at camp sites and caravan parks because it was all part of the big OE experience, staff from New Zealand were less inclined to put up with inconvenience (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). Novotel have tried to combat part of the staffing crisis in places like Queenstown by creating a web site, which can only be accessed by staff on computers in and around their hotel chain throughout the world (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). This computer system advertises job vacancies throughout the world which creates opportunities for staff to move on and up throughout the chain after they have been with the company for more than six months (Davidson, personal communication, 00, May ). This system allows the diversity of staff that is so desperately needed in the hotel chain to be representative of their client base (personal communication, May , 00). For example a staff member in Japan puts his or her details into the computer and searches for vacancies in his or her particular field, the computer will automatically bring up vacancies where the hotel requires Japanese speaking staff with his/her particular qualifications (Davidson, personal communication, May , 00). This means that the hotel is able to make the best possible use of any staff wishing to look for employment in another country, they have to stay a minimum of 6 months and they already know exactly how the hotel systems and procedures operate and they are representative of the target market in that hotel (Davidson, personal communication, May , 00). Where the target markets are represented by staff from the same or similar cultures, the hotel can then provide better services designed to for fill their wants and needs and gain the competitive advantage so necessary in their industry.All the tourism and hospitality services in Queenstown have similar problems maintaining their staff levels due to transient staff and lack of accommodation. It is the writer's opinion that the diversity of staff available, while having a positive effect with the benefits of being bilingual can have very negative effects on the infrastructure of the business. Hotels in particular are in a constant state of retraining, recruiting and restructuring to compensate for the turnover in staff. The writer further believes that businesses like hotels may well benefit from bilingual employees often gaining a temporary competitive advantage over their adversaries but real advantages come from a stable diversified work force. If the Novotel were able to employ a Japanese Tour manager for example, based on the target market being Japanese tourists on tour packages, the hotel would undoubtedly appeal to those responsible for making the bookings from Japan. However without the collaborated effort of management and all the employees to understand the Japanese culture this one person would very quickly amount to nothing much more than tokenism. Diversity at the Millbrook Resort QueenstownMillbrook Resort in Queenstown took up the challenge of diversity with the use of mature adults, predominantly woman, in their workforce. Millbrook had also been faced with similar problems associated with staffing as the Novotel in Queenstown (Neville, personal communication, 00, May 8). By offering staff incentives in the form of reduced rates to play golf at the world renowned golf course, the Millbrook Resort immediately appealed to the older generation, many of which were semi-retired women, or women with older children who lived in and around Queenstown, and who played golf! (Neville, personal communication, 00, May 8). The employment of women and mature adults by the Millbrook Resort was a good business strategy because the women and mature adults they employed were representative of their client base. These employees are stable, non-transient and a large percentage of them work because they choose too, not because they have too. These more mature employees were able to converse comfortably with guests when necessary and put the guests totally at ease. Many of the guests that occupy a large percentage of the housing at the Millbrook Resort at regular intervals throughout the year are older, so an older, stable local workforce was preferable to establish long-term relationships with their guests. This initiative has proved invaluable, the guests keep coming back and Millbrook Resort is one of the top resorts in New Zealand. In this instance more mature men, and mature woman specifically were the diversity that Millbrook needed to succeed in retaining a stable workforce and a competitive advantage. Diversity at the HyattUnlike The Millbrook Resort the Hyatt chain of hotels had to take a much more aggressive role to implement company-wide diversity initiatives (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). Hyatt has 06 owned or franchised hotels and resorts in countries, employing more than 0,000 people thus ensuring that diversity is one of the Hyatt's core values (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). The Hyatt's diversity initiatives fall into five basic categories commitment, accountability, training, measurement and communication (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1).In order for the Hyatt to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals it was important for the hotel to be seen as taking an active role in the community to accommodate its diverse cultural minorities (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). The Hyatt chain has hotels in many metropolitan cities which are "cultural melting pots", so its sees itself as having a responsibility to the community to represent those cultures at the hotel (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). The Hyatt's diversity training programs gives the employees the tools required to address the guest's needs without a manager being present (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). The employees are there to provide an exceptional experience to the guest, the diversity program helps the employees to deal with possible barriers in providing this service (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). The training benefits to the employee becomes two fold, firstly by, enhancing the guests experience, the employee has huge amount of job satisfaction and secondly, the guest rewards the employee in the way of gratuities. Most importantly, from a business point of view, the hotel is rewarded by return business and good word of mouth and a happy diverse workforce (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1).The Hyatt's commitment to diversity training has paid off for the company with a number of awards in 00 the most prestigious of those from Fortune Magazine who named the Hyatt as one of"America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities," for a 4th straight year. Hyatt ranked # 1 overall on the list. It is notable that the Hyatt has the rd most diverse workforce on the list. In addition, Hyatt was ranked rd in managerial diversity among all companies. Hispanic magazine rated Hyatt as having one of the "Top 5 Recruitment programs" in its February 00 issue. The Black Collegians Top 100 Employers Survey ranked Hyatt # 4 on their list (Diversity at Hyatt, 00, p. 1).Recognition from the community in the form of awards means companies like the Hyatt have achieved what they set out to do, employing a diverse workforce that reflects the community in which operate (Diversity at Hyatt, 00, p. 1). Achieving this goal has given Hyatt a worldwide reputation as one of America's best companies for minorities in rankings based on information about recruiting and employment practices (Diversity at the Hyatt, 00, p. 1). This recognition means support from a diverse range of guests and businesspeople all over the world and proving that diversity is economics or turning "difference into dollars" ("Diversity Economics", 00, p. 1).It is the writers opinion that American companies like the Hyatt have had little choice but to make diversity in the workforce work for them because they are open to lawsuits and very rigorous EEO laws. In New Zealand we work under the Human Rights Act and the EEO, whilst there is an opportunity for employees in New Zealand to seek recompense for being unfairly treated there is not the huge payouts associated with lawsuits in America. For this reason countries like New Zealand are probably behind in their efforts to truly integrate diversity into their business strategy. Global diversityGlobally the world is changing and people are making their homes in countries far from their birth. There are a number of reasons for this, war, the pursuit of a better life, mixed marriages, and the ease of travel to name a few. Countries have had to become culturally sensitive and set aside racial discrimination and learn to work harmoniously with people from all walks of life. Although New Zealand is only a small country it also has become a "cultural melting pot" in densely populated areas like Auckland, where one third of the population of New Zealand reside. In areas like Auckland, businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry are afforded a diverse stable workforce simply based on the population alone. For this reason a hotel run in Auckland because of the human resources available, will operate quite differently from a hotel in Invercargill. Invercargill is a small city that is very traditional in it's thinking and rather antiquated. Invercargill has not the diversity of cultures living in its communities to have this reflected in their workforce. However, some may argue that Invercargill's diversity is the number of young students working in the hospitality industry and the stable older workforce who have been in their jobs for years.Regardless of the part of the world or the fundamental principles that exist in those communities, every organisation in order to be successful must recruit the best possible employees (Diversity benefits organisations and communities, 00, p. 1). This means training and communication so that organisations work towards making all their employees feel valued and their differences best utilised to achieve the organisations goals together (Diversity benefits organisations and communities, 00, p. 1).In ConclusionIn the constantly changing, fast paced, competitive arena of hospitality a diverse workforce can provide an environment in which each employee has the an opportunity for personal potential while working with the team to achieve the organisations goals.Diversity is not about just addressing morale or legal issues. The bottom-line is that the tourism and hospitality industry is faced with a shrinking labour pool at all levels because of the lack of well trained professionals and the transient nature of the industry which often results in a temporary workforce. Diversity can provide the industry with the opportunity of recruiting from a wider section in the labour market that includes women, and minorities. Thus, maintaining the ability to retain employees, spending less on retraining and improving staff morale, which ultimately leads to a harmonious workforce, satisfied customers and a significant edge over your competitors.Those organisations that meet the challenges of diversity by capitalising on the diversity of the community by integrating them into their workforce will find that by means of education and training from management down, the organisation will benefit from the diversity of skills and experience that different cultures and people of different working orientations can provide (Starting your diversity and inclusion team, 00, p. ).A diverse workforce will improve the image of the organisation, show its credibility in the community and demonstrate that it is an equal opportunities employer and ultimately turn 'difference into dollars'. ReferencesCorporate news at the Hyatt, (00). Retrieved May 6, 00 from http//www.hyatt.com/corporate/hyatt/index.jhtml?ssnav=0 Diversity at the Hyatt, (00). Retrieved May 11, 00 from http//www.hyatt.com/corporate/index.jhtml Diversity Economics, (00). Retrieved May 1, 00 from http//www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0EIN/00_July_0/8851010/p1/article.jhtml?term=diversity+in+hospitality+gives+competitive+advantage Hogh, Human Resource Management Class Lecture, 00.Mr Ken Davidson, Front Office Manager (00, May ). Personal communication in the foyer of the Novotel Queenstown to the Bachelor of Hotel Management class, Southern Institute of Technology Invercargill.Neville, Public Relations Officer (00, May 8). Personal communication in and around the grounds on tour at the Millbrook Resort Queenstown.NZPA-Reuters, (00, April1). Just passing through. The Southland Times, p. 6. Schlesinger, L.L. & Heskett, J.L. (11). The service driven company, Harvard Business Review, Sept/Oct. Southern Insttiute of Technology. (00). BHM 04/1, Tourism and Hospitality Management Study Guide. Invercargill. Starting your own diversity and inclusion team, (00). Retrieved from http//www.diversityunit1.com What every consultant needs to know about diversity consulting and training, (00). Retrieved May 6, 00, from http//www.simmalieberman.com/articles/consultantdiv.html Please note that this sample paper on "Does managing diversity give management in the tourism and hospitality industry a competitive advantage" is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on "Does managing diversity give management in the tourism and hospitality industry a competitive advantage", we are here to assist you. 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