Martin Luther King/The Hospitality Industry

Martin Luther King/The Hospitality Industry

Diversity in the Hospitality Industry:

Applying the Philosophy of Diversity-Blindness Offered by Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King is not remembered as a great hospitality manager, but instead as a Civil Rights leader, but his leadership style can be applied to the hospitality industry when it comes to facing the challenges that diversity brings to the industry. While globalization allows the hospitality industry to increase throughout the world, it also creates an industry made up of employees and customers of all different types. Hotels, restaurants, and other establishments in the industry of hospitality now have employees and clients with different backgrounds, of different religious affiliations, and ethnic identities. While this is a positive change, allowing different perspectives to come to the hospitality industry, it also presents challenges, especially when it comes to diversity sensitivity. This paper will undertake the task of examining diversity in the hospitality industry, as well as finding solutions to challenges presented by diversity in the hospitality industry. By introducing King's philosophy, the benefits of diversity in the hospitality industry, and challenges presented by diversity in the hospitality industry, once can determine possible solutions to these challenges.

An Introduction to King's Philosophy

Many have studied Martin Luther King Junior's philosophy, but much of what he had to say came from his "I Have a Dream Speech," which was delivered August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 1963, the United States' journey to understanding diversity had just begun as African-Americans campaigned for equal rights under the law and the abolition of an unequal separate but equal policy. In fact, during the period in which King spoke, it was common for the hospitality industry to behave in a discriminatory manner. King (1963) even noted this in his "I Have a Dream Speech" when he stated that he and other African-Americans were weary from their journeys after being denied access to hotels and motels. Furthermore, African-Americans were often refused service at restaurants during the Civil Rights era, although they were able to work in many of these restaurants. Thus, while King's words specifically targeted the situation regarding African-Americans and whites, they can be applied to diversity issues as a whole.

Indeed, King (1963) stated that he had a dream "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." By stating this, King noted that it was important for people to be judged on "the content of their character" rather than the facets of their ethnicity, color, or religion that distinguish them from others. Furthermore, King draws heavily upon the Constitution of the United States in making his argument. He argues that the founders of the United States assured that every person be given opportunity and freedom, and that opportunity and freedom should be granted universally. While his use of the United States' constitution was certainly a strong support to his argument that roused so many in Washington, D.C., some who live in other parts of the world might not find it convincing. For those, it is important to note that Kings' words make a fundamental argument that all people should be treated equally. This is a universal right that should be guaranteed in every culture and part of the world.

Although King's words are in reaction to the struggle between blacks and whites, they can be applied to diversity in general. That is, the spirit of Martin Luther King's philosophy suggests that the public should be not only color blind, but also blind to the characteristics that make people different, allowing each person to be received with equal treatment. Once can understand that this was the true meaning of King's words by the conclusion of his speech, which states that "...black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands...(King 1963).

Unfortunately, King's vision has yet to be realized, even in the United States' school system, one of the forums at which King's Civil Rights endeavors was directly targeted. In fact, Shields (2003) noted that Henrico, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, faced a fight for Martin Luther King Day school holidays, as the white community, and school administration fought to keep children in school and the black community urged school to observe the holiday. In order to apply King's philosophy, then, it seems that all arenas must consciously make an attempt to honor it.

King's philosophy, then, was to apply a policy of blindness to diversity. He advocated valuing others by their character rather than their skin color, religious beliefs, ethnicity, abilities, and other features of their backgrounds. He suggested that having people of all backgrounds work together in harmony was the best course of action. His policy for this harmony has a foundation in equality. Thus, King's most prominent belief was that each person should be treated equally, given the same respect, and afforded the same opportunities.

Benefits of Diversity in the Field of Hospitality

Applying King to the field of hospitality is easy when one realizes the benefits that the hospitality industry receives from having diverse employees and customers. First, if a company hires a diverse group of employees, then it is more likely to cater to the needs of customers or clients. Today's global society ensures that diverse populations fill many places on the globe. If a hospitality company wants to best cater to its diverse customers, there is no better way then by hiring a diverse team of employees. Head of EBay's human resources department Beth Axelrod echoes this, arguing that diversity in the work place is important for every organization. She states that "It's important for a company's workforce to not only reflect the diversity of talent available in the world today but also to mirror the diversity of its customer base" (McPherson and Mendoca, 2008, para. 6). In addition, hospitality industries must allow for diversity in their search for talented executives because the pool from which they choose is a diverse one (McPherson and Mendoca, 2008, para. 6). Thus, King's philosophy of being color blind, or blind to diversity, exists here. If a company hires only those persons who meet a certain criteria based on age, religious affiliation, ethnicity, culture, and the like, then that company will probably not have hired the best talent available. Being diversity-blind in this sense allows organizations within the hospitality industry to reap the benefits of the most capable workers. In addition, diverse workplaces can even help foster good relations between ethnic groups. For instance, Khruschevand, Henthorne, and LaTour (2007) suggest that the time is ripe for the United States to enter Cuba as part of its tourism industry. By fostering this commercial relationship between ethnic groups that have had political difficulties in the past, the two argue that Americans and Cubans may begin to mend their rift (pg. 403).

While these diversity issues note how all businesses can be benefited by diversity, the hospitality industry can reap specialized benefits through having a diverse employee and customer/client-base. As the name suggests, the goal of the hospitality industry is to provide services that make a customer or client feel comfortable, whether that it is a meal or an overnight stay at a hotel or motel. Organizations within the hospitality industry that best understand diversity and incorporate King's diversity-blind attitude will be those businesses that are most frequented and who will obtain the best employees. Those from diverse backgrounds who know that they will received equal, personalized, and comfortable service from an organization are likely to return to that organization or refer their friends and family. In addition, a diverse customer base makes for a diverse suggestions base. Those who have diverse customers will be more in the know about trends and opportunities to cater to more customers because they are receiving suggestions not just from one group, but also from many. In much the same way, having a diverse employee-base will allow for a diverse amount of abilities and perspectives. Employees from different backgrounds may be able to give unique ideas about improvements, as well as ways in which the organization can expand its customer base. Sandra Dawson, a U.K. businesswoman, agrees, suggesting that in board meetings, when more than one woman is present, the dynamics of the meeting change (Meaney 2008).

Thus, diversity can benefit the hospitality industry in many ways, including improving the customer base, allowing for suggestions for improvements, and increasing the perspectives that an organization can utilize to make decisions.

Challenges Posed by Diversity in the Hospitality Industry

Despite the fact that diversity can be so beneficial to the hospitality industry, they can also pose significant challenges. From the hiring process through policy changes through the assessment of individuals and data, challenges posed by diversity infiltrate every area of the hospitality industry. For the purpose of this paper, though, we will look at three main areas in which diversity poses challenges to the hospitality industry: communication deficiencies, biases, and harassment.

Communication Deficiencies

Many of these challenges can be related to communication deficiencies. In other words, when people from different backgrounds are thrown together and asked to complete a specific task, it can be difficult for them to effectively communicate their wants, needs, and desires. In some instances, these communication deficiencies are the result of a language barrier. In others, cultural understandings of the way a task is performed, the time needed to complete a task, and the importance of the task in relation to other tasks, for example, can hinder communication. Cultures also have different models of what they think is polite or appropriate in a certain situation. When people working together are from different cultural backgrounds, different understandings of the appropriateness of behavior in situations can lead to delayed work or frustration among team members. This can also be seen in the employee-consumer or customer relationship. When an employee is of a different cultural background than a customer or client, the client may feel that the employee is being standoffish or rude, when the employee is only acting in conjunction with her cultural background and vice versa. In this era of globalization, communication deficiencies become even more complex when overseas companies are looking to implement a product or service in the United States and vice versa. Sometimes, companies based in one part of the world make wrong choices about how to market their product or service based on the culture of the consumer base. Kim (2005) makes note of this when he discusses advertisement by exhibition. In his discussion, Kim writes that overseas exhibitions often take time to produce affects because of the differences between cultures, among other reasons. Kim suggests training is appropriate for those hosting exhibitions overseas (Kim, 2005, p.1). In the hospitality industry, communication deficiencies can be extraordinarily problematic. In order to run an efficient restaurant, manage a hotel, cater an event, or prepare a school lunch, employees must work together as a team. This is necessary for the organization within the hospitality industry to operate smoothly and efficiently.

Bias

Bias, or having presupposed ideas or preference for a certain group, is another challenge presented by diversity in the hospitality industry. Bias can lead to problems with employees and customers. The hospitality management team who shows bias toward a certain group of employees is liable to face legal action, or be judged unjust managers. Bias toward employees can discourage employees to share different perspectives, which will ultimately grow the business. In addition, bias toward employees can result in having employees that are unfit for work in certain jobs, as only the favored group is promoted. In addition to bias toward employees, bias toward clients or customers can be dangerous to the hospitality manager. Hospitality management teams who purposefully or inadvertently express bias toward one group of their clients can make the establishment a harsh environment, encourage clients to give bad references, and incur legal action. Bias is often unrecognized by those who are involved in it, but its existence can be reported through data. One example of bias is the fact that women in economics tend to receive less tenure positions than men (Ginther and Kahn 2004). Similar biases exist throughout the business world and hospitality industry. On the other hand, applying King's diversity-blindness eliminates bias. This creates for a much better work environment for employees, and since environment has been positively associated with organizational commitment, or identifying with the organization's purpose and values (Feinstein and Vondrasek 2002), using diversity-blindness to eradicate bias may increase employee loyalty and decrease turnover.

Harassment

Naturally flowing from bias, harassment occurs when people use the bias that they have developed to act in an unacceptable manner toward other employees and customers. Harassment can be composed of many behaviors, which is why it is so difficult to define. Harassment can consist of making racial slurs, threatening employees, or even treating certain employees or customers differently than others. The type of harassment with which many are most familiar is sexual harassment. Sexual harassment takes place because of diversity issues involving men and women and different ethnicities. Sexual comments, gestures, and touching are all considered sexual harassment. According to Farrar, Hardigree, and Sammons (2003), diversity in the workplace can help explain why sexual harassment has been so difficult to conquer in the hospitality industry. They state that because women, men, and people of different ethnic groups define sexual harassment differently, it is difficult to pinpoint a definition. This is a major problem, though, as the authors note that the hospitality industry is subjected to more cases of sexual harassment than other industries (pg. 1).