HMD 407: HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR Exercise 4: Individual Culture Case Study [10 points]

Overview:

The Shangri-La story began in 1971 with our first deluxe hotel in Singapore. Inspired by the legendary land featured in James Hilton’s 1933 novel, Lost Horizon, the name Shangri-La encapsulates the serenity and service for which our hotels and resorts are renowned worldwide. Today, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group. They are also regarded as one of the world’s finest hotel ownership and management companies. Owning and/or managing over 95 hotels and resorts throughout the Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East, and Europe, the Shangri-La group has a room inventory of over 40,000.

One thing special about Shangri-la Hotels is their service standard – they ask their employees to serve guests tea/ menu kneeling down. Kneel down service is a service style practiced across all Shangri-La’s as it is reminiscent of our Chinese roots on how tea is served. Guests love this special treatment. Shangri-La has implemented this service in China. However, Shangri-La faced a problem of asking their employees to implement this service standard when they first open their hotel in Australia.

Consider one Hofstede culture value, explain why Australia employee, compare to Chinese employees, are more likely to resist and refuse to implement the kneel-down service.

3. What is the cultural value score for China and Australia, respectively? (2 points)

4. Does China or Australia have a higher cultural value score? (1 point)

China

Australia

Your names and student ID numbers:

Overview:

Hostage and manager. These two words that you would not usually expect to hear spoken in the same breath. However, during the first few months of 2009, workers at manufacturing facilities of 3M Company, Sony Corporation, and Caterpillar Inc. in France took managers as hostages. French workers have long been known for their aggressive and radical responses to what they feel is wrong or harsh treatment. Although kidnapping your boss isn’t legal, a French sociologist who surveyed 3,000 companies found that 18 of them had experienced an “executive detention” in the prior three years. These french employees took their managers as hostages because 1) they are angry with the layoff decision, 2) they want to negotiate better severance (separation) packages and benefits for laid-off employees.

Yet, these hostage situations are rarely seen in China. Even when employees face layoff, they move on without taking aggressive actions.

Consider one Hofstede culture value, explain why French employee, compare to Chinese employees, are more likely to take extreme actions when they are being laid-off.