Opportunities to Improve the Cross-Cultural and Cultural-Awareness

¶ … opportunities to improve the cross-cultural and cultural-awareness training at Hilton Hotels International, Inc. This study was important because Hilton Hotels compete in 78 countries across six continents and hosts guests from virtually every country in the world during a given year. In order to continue to its efforts that began in the late 1990s to rebuild its eroded brand, Hilton Hotels has sought to exceed customer expectations at every turn.

To achieve this goal, the study examines how Hilton Hotels can identify existing resources and use them to their optimal effect in developing timely human resource responses to the need for cross-cultural and cultural-awareness training. To this end, Chapter One of the study introduces the company and the issues under consideration, followed by a SWOT analysis of Hilton Hotels in Chapter Two.

An analysis of the world's most widely spoken languages and their impact on Hilton Hotels in Chapter Three is followed by an examination of international cross-cultural issues in Chapter Four. Finally, a discussion of the main themes that emerged from the research in Chapter Five is followed by a summary of the findings and important points in the study's concluding chapter.

Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: SWOT Analysis of Hilton Hotels Chapter Three: Foreign Languages Chapter Four: International Cross-Cultural Issues Chapter Five: Discussion Chapter Six: Conclusion Communication Skills Used for Employees Training at Hilton Hotels Chapter One: Introduction The overarching purpose of this study is to identify opportunities to improve the cross-cultural and cultural-awareness training at Hilton Hotels International, Inc. In order to help achieve the company's stated goal to exceed guests' expectations in every way.

This goal is in support of Hilton Hotel International's plans to grow its business through continued expansion into new international markets where it already dominates in many regions. Today, Hilton Hotels International, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively "Hilton" or "the company") is a Delaware corporation that competes in the global hospitality industry (Goodwin-Gill & Talmon, 1999). The company has more hotels around the world than any other competitor.

According to Hilton's corporate Web site, "Today, Hilton welcomes guests in more countries than any other full-service hotel brand, with more than 540 hotels and resorts in 78 countries across six continents" (About Hilton, 2012). These numbers, though, do not reflect the total number of hotels in the Hilton brand hotel chains (see Table 1 below). In order to achieve this level of success, the company has implemented performance management systems with proven track records as well as informed human resource management processes that follow best industry practices.

For example, according to Duboff and Spaeth (2000), "Hilton Hotels came out of the terrible recession that rocked the hospitality industry in the 1990s to forge a new, aggressive growth strategy that more effectively leveraged the Hilton brand while at the same time reengineering business practices to regain a leadership position" (p. 81). Following the business maxim that in order to improve something, it must first be measured, the company used a proven method for this purpose as well.

In this regard, Duboff and Spaeth add that, "To put the new corporate strategy into practice, Hilton aligned its processes, people, and technology using the balanced scorecard [approach]" (p. 81). Given the company's far-flung global business operations, the use of the balanced scorecard approach was highly congruent with the company's needs.

According to Duboff and Spaeth, "[The balanced scorecard's] quantitative and nonquantitative measures give the company a snapshot of the critical factors that create value for all its constituencies -- customers, team members, owners/shareholders, strategic partners/vendors, and communities in which its properties are located" (p. 81). In addition, the company has forged strategic partnerships and alliances within and without the travel and tourism industry and has taken advantage of innovative marketing opportunities offered by social media networks such as Facebook where it maintains a prominent presence.

The company continues to expand its international offerings year by year and expects to add several new hotels every week for the next several years (About Hilton, 2012). In fact, all told, the company already has more than 636,931 rooms in 3,866 hotels around the world and one of every six hotel rooms currently under construction in Europe belongs to a Hilton branded hotel chain (Hilton Worldwide at a Glance, 2012). Despite the ongoing expansions and world-class service and brand, Hilton remains challenged by a number of problems in recent years.

In this regard, Duboff and Spaeth emphasize that, "A well-known brand name isn't enough. There has to be value behind the name, which is the problem that Hilton Hotels faced in the early 1990" (p. 125). In response to these problems, the company has launched a series of management reforms that are designed to improve customer service and elevate the Hilton brand to its once prominent position in the hospitality industry.

For instance, according to Duboff and Spaeth (2000), during the late 1990s, "Hilton Hotels adopted an aggressive growth strategy, one designed to leverage the Hilton brand while reengineering business practices to gain a leadership position in the hospitality industry. The Hilton initiative was built on ensuring substance behind the brand perception" (p. 125). The reengineering process at Hilton involved a comprehensive evaluation of all of the company's hotels that was used to identify opportunities for improvement, including the need for improved customer service at many locations and branded alternatives (Duboff & Spaeth, 2000).

The company's current branded hotel chains consist of the following set forth in Table 1 below. Table 1 Listing of Hilton Branded Hotels Brand Brief Description Luxury Waldorf Astoria The luxury brand offering a unique service experience and the world's landmark hotels. Conrad A world of style, service, and connection for today's sophisticated traveler. Full Service Hilton Hotels and Resorts The company's flagship brand, with more than 540 hotels and resorts in more than 78 countries across six continents. DoubleTree Offering genuine comfort to business and leisure travelers in over 250 locations.

Embassy Suites A superior all-suite lodging value for both business and pleasure. Focused Service Hilton Garden Inn Upscale, affordable hotels engineered for value and comfort. Hampton Moderately-priced hotels delivering consistent quality, value, and service. Homewood Suites Casual, affordable all-suite properties that help guests feel at home. Home2 The company's new, stylish all-suite brand of extended-stay hotels.

Source: Adapted from Hilton Brands, 2012 The company has also launched an ambitious expansion program to add to its existing facilities throughout the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia where it maintains some of its most luxurious accommodations (Keating, 2006) as well as throughout major markets in Asia and Africa (Hilton Worldwide at a Glance, 2012).

In sum, the company operates thousands of hotels on six different continents, an issue that requires an analysis of its operating environment to better understand its customer service needs, and these issues are discussed further in Chapter Two below. Chapter Two: SWOT Analysis of Hilton Hotels Background and Overview According to Cravens (2000), the main purpose of a SWOT analysis is to identify key issues that can provide business managers and investors with an informed view of the enterprise.

In general, the SWOT analysis attempts to identify the respective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are related to the enterprise's operating environment while strengths are the positive aspects that are internal to the enterprise. By contrast, Cravens (2000) notes that weaknesses are those negative aspects that are internal to the enterprise, opportunities are positive aspects that are external to the enterprise and threats are regarded as being negative aspects that are external to the enterprise. Application of SWOT Theory to Hilton Hotels International, Inc.

An application of the SWOT components to Hilton's current situation is provided in Table 2 below. Table 2 SWOT Analysis of Hilton Hotels SWOT Category Analysis Strengths 1. The company has recognized the constraints to the provision of consistent, world-class customer service in recent years and has taken aggressive steps to address these issues (Duboth & Spaeth, 2000). 2. The company has leveraged its several global brands in innovative ways to capture new market share in the mid-range and near-budget-hotel markets as well as expanding its offerings in the luxury sector (Thompson, 2001). 3.

The company has a sophisticated supply chain network and the IT infrastructure that is needed to support it (Duboth & Spaeth, 2000). 4. The company has a dedicated and experienced executive leadership team that supports change where it is needed. 5. The company possesses an enormous talent pool of language speakers from all over the world that could be used to develop in-house language training resources as well as empirical observations concerning salient cross-cultural issues. 6.

Finally, the company has a well-matured balanced scorecard performance management system in place that can help identify opportunities for improvement. Weaknesses 1. Despite ongoing efforts to provide relevant cross-cultural awareness training, there remains a need for more effective methods to ensure optimal use of scarce HR training resources. 2. There are some rigid hierarchical levels and a well-entrenched middle-management bureaucracy that tend to impede company-wide cultural-awareness and cross-cultural training initiatives. 3. There is a lack of coordination and alignment of efforts between Hilton's IT support services and end-users. Opportunities 1.

Growing middle class and upper-middle class consumers in emerging nations, especially China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia and others all represent potential new customer bases. 2. Innovations in human resource training approaches have created an opportunity to apply these to the company's cultural-awareness and cross-cultural training requirements (Hampel & Hauck, 2004) as well as which languages should receive special focus. Threats 1. Skyrocketing fuel prices are driving airlines ticket prices up, causing many consumers to postpone or cancel international travel plans (Seymour, 2010). 2.

Ongoing threats of international terrorism continue to plague the aviation as well as the travel and tourism industries (Moss, Ryan & Moss, 2007). 3. Regionalized violence may cause travelers to become victims and reduce future demand (Tarlow, 2003). 4. Increased security measures at airports may result in some consumers reconsidering international travel for pleasure (Minert, 2006; Dotson, Clark & Dave, 2008). 3.

These same threats may diminish international travel for business purposes when other alternatives are readily available such as teleconferencing (Bradley, 2003; Mackay, 2007), online forums (Pemberton, Cereijo, Tyler-Wood & Rademacher, 2004) or other emerging technologies that can replace the need for face-to-face meetings (Goldstein, Mowry & Campbell, 2009). As can be readily discerned from the above analysis, there is a great deal of overlap between many of the SWOT areas, with threats in one area representing corresponding opportunities in others, and vice versa.

For instance, if the company is experiencing a decline in room occupancy rates in a given international destination market, it could respond by promoting its domestic marketing offerings in ways that could provide some new customers and some other positive results such as repeat business in other venues (Wahab & Cooper, 2001).

Likewise, growth in new emerging markets would introduce additional cross-cultural and cultural-awareness needs for company executives and employees alike, making the need for a standardized but flexible approach to the provision of the training services a timely and important enterprise. Part of this enterprise involves identifying which languages should receive special attention during these training initiatives, and these issues are discussed further in Chapter Three below.

Chapter Three: Foreign Languages Companies competing in the international hospitality industry are faced with a polyglot of languages and dialects among their clientele (Jayawardena, 2002), and with corporate operations in 78 countries on five continents, Hilton is certainly no exception. In fact, the company's operations include the major industrialized nations of the world, as well as many emerging countries, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, with China leading the way.

At present, the world's most widely spoken language is Mandarin Chinese with more than a billion native speakers; Spanish is the second most widely spoken language with nearly 330 million speakers, followed by English with slightly more than 320 million speakers (Most Widely Spoken Languages, 2012). A breakdown on foreign languages by the number of speakers (includes all speakers not just native) is provided in Table 3 below and depicted graphically in Figure 1 below. Table 3 Breakdown of the World's Most Widely Spoken Languages Language Approx. Number of Speakers 1. Chinese (Mandarin) 1,213,000,000 2. Spanish 329,000,000 3. English 328,000,000 4. Arabic 221,000,000 5. Hindi 182,000,000 6.

Bengali 181,000,000 7. Portuguese 178,000,000 8. Russian 144,000,000 9. Japanese 122,000,000 10. German 90,000,000 Source: Most Widely Spoken Languages, 2012 Figure 1. Breakdown of the World's Most Widely Spoken Languages Source: Based on tabular data from Most Widely Spoken Languages, 2012 The breakdown of global languages shown in Table 1 and depicted in Figure 1 above indicates that Hilton's language requirements include all of the world's languages, with the most frequently used being Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, English, Arabic and Hindi, in that order.

Although no universal lingua franca exists, it is reasonable to suggest that the four (or five) most widely spoken languages would represent the majority of Hilton's guests each year, but it is also reasonable to suggest that other guests from virtually every country in the world spends some time with a Hilton branded hotel at some point in a given year. Understanding what languages are spoken and having a working knowledge of them can be an indispensable asset for executives and front-line employees in the hotel industry.

In this regard, Harrison (1999) emphasizes that, "In order to be competent in cross-cultural situations, an appreciation of general and specific cultural differences is not enough: specific knowledge of the language used in the host culture also is essential" (p. 17).

While English has become a virtual lingua franca in many parts of the world (it is used in international airlines operations for instance), as well as a major international business language, it is important to keep in mind that not all hotel guests in any region will speak a single language or that a single language will be used for all communications in cross-cultural settings (Harrison, 1999).

As Harrison points out, "An overwhelming majority of the world's population neither understands nor speaks English and for most of those who learn it as a foreign language, it remains precisely that" (p. 18). Not surprisingly, there are some profound cross-cultural differences that are a natural concomitant of the language differences that exist among and between these guests, as well as the executives and employees who serve them, and these issues are discussed further in Chapter Four below.

Chapter Four: International Cross-Cultural Issues One of the harsh realities of competing in an increasingly globalized marketplace in the need to understand and appreciate the differences in cultures that will be encountered, particularly in industries such as the travel and tourism industry where international travel is commonplace. For instance, according to Reisinger and Turner (2002), "As the tourism industry becomes more culturally diverse, future tourism and hospitality managers should understand that their customers from different cultural backgrounds.

All international destinations catering to travelers from culturally different countries must recognize the need for multi-cultural awareness and skills training" (p. 323). Interestingly, cross-cultural and cultural awareness training are increasingly necessary in workplaces where different cultures interact because this is one area in which trial-and-error and experimentation do not pay off. Indeed, York (1999) maintains that most people tend to become worse rather than better at cross-cultural communications over time without training.

According to York (1999), "Increased contact between different cultural groups does not seem to eradicate cross-cultural conflict in domestic or international cross-cultural environments. In many cases, workplace conflict seems to increase when members of different cultural groups must work together" (emphasis added) (p. 10). Without effective cross-cultural training programs in place, then, organizations of all types and sizes that have staff members from different countries working together run the risk of the disruption of their operations in ways that will adversely affect customer service.

In this regard, Reisinger and Turner (2002) recommend that all hotel employees participate in obligatory cross-cultural training sessions to improve their ability to communicate with guests from other cultures in a sensitive and effective fashion. In this regard, Reisinger and Turner note that, "Several training programs are available that teach appropriate interpersonal skills and cultural awareness skills. We suggest multicultural training that begins with language and cross-cultural communication training" (emphasis added) (p. 323).

It is important to note that such training initiatives are just the beginning rather than the end goal of these programs because there is always room for improvement and the company, like other chains competing in the hotel industry, experiences an inordinately high rate of turnover in some of the countries in which it competes. To its credit, the company has long recognized the need for cross-cultural training and cultural awareness for its executives and employees.

For instance, in an interview with the manager of the company's flagship 3,000-room Hilton Hawaiian Village, Peter Schall, Thompson (2001) emphasizes the highly internationalized nature of many of the company's operations, making the need for cross-cultural communications an essential element in Hilton's business model. According to Schall, "I believe particularly in our business, the hotel industry, that we are a very international business. If we want to deliver services to our customers we have to understand their varied expectations" (quoted in Thompson, 2001 at p. 84).

Moreover, there are countless variations in the language skills currently possessed by the executive and front-line employee base in a hotel chain that can make the difference between a satisfied guest and the loss of a valued long-time customer and the negative word-of-mouth publicity that can result (Bierman, 2003).

Therefore, an opportunity exists for human resource managers in the company to survey existing language skills to determine current resources that can be used for cross-training purposes, as well as to identify specific language needs in a given hotel or sector that require additional recruitment resources. The importance of this type of ongoing assessment is made clear by the Hilton Hawaiian Village's manager's observation that, "We have a very international team member base.

We have team members working at our hotel from Hawaii, but many come from other countries, from the Philippines, Asia or Europe. If we don't appreciate the host culture and we don't understand the Hawaiian culture, and we don't understand each other's culture, then how can we work together as a cohesive team?" (emphasis added) (Schall quoted in Thompson, 2001 at p. 84).

Taken together, it is clear that there are a number of challenges involved in developing timely and responsive human resource training offerings that address the specific needs of a given hotel, especially for major competitors such as Hilton Hotels International, Inc. And these issues are discussed further below in Chapter Five. Chapter Five: Discussion The company has several alternatives available that can promote improved language skills among its staff, as well as numerous commercial cross-cultural training programs that can facilitate foreign language learning.

For instance, according to Nielson (2011), there are a number of free and commercial online foreign language resources available, as well as "many software applications marketed as complete language learning solutions, from free self-study courses such as the BBC's online language offerings or LiveMocha, to for-pay options through companies like Rosetta Stone, Auralog, and Transparent Language" (p. 110). These types of self-study methods have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies as well as the U.S. government to good effect in recent years.

For example, Nielson also notes that, "Products from companies like Rosetta Stone, TELL ME MORE, and Transparent Language have been adopted by agencies across the U.S. government as they attempt to find a scalable solution to make language training available to individuals for whom in-person instruction is impractical or impossible" (p. 111). Most language training authorities, though, agree that these alternatives do not fully replace the need for face-to-face learning opportunities, but they do supplement such training in important ways if they are used correctly (Fernandez, 2009; Waters, 2007).

Furthermore, these computer-based alternatives are highly cost-effective, particularly if they are developed in-house using an organization's existing resources. In fact, despite the much-touted advantages of language-training products such as Rosetta Stone, Nielson (2011) found that, "this method of language training yielded very limited proficiency gains in only a handful of learners" (p. 112). Moreover, these products are not cheap but can rather licensing fees can run into the tens of thousands of dollars for commercial users (Leslie, 2007).

Despite these constraints, it is important for Hilton Hotels to provide language training opportunities where they will do the most good, and this suggests that the world's four (or five) most widely spoken languages should be the primary focus of future training initiatives. For this purpose, the efficacy of self-taught computer-based programs varies according to the language being taught as well as the motivational level of the individual learner.

Based on her analysis of completion rates and proficiency levels achieved through the use of Rosetta Stone in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish among various U.S. government agencies. The results of Nielson's (2011) study are shown in Table 4 and depicted graphically in Figure 2 below. Table 4 Proficiency Levels Achieved Using Rosetta Stone: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Language Proficiency Level Achieved Arabic 13 Mandarin Chinese 5 Spanish 3 Source: Nielson, 2011, p. 113 Figure 2. Proficiency Levels Achieved Using Rosetta Stone: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Source: Based on tabular data in Nielson, 2011 at p.

113 These findings suggest that self-taught foreign language training programs such as Rosetta Stone might be more suitable for the company's operations in the Middle East where Arabic is widely spoken, while foreign language training opportunities in other operating regions should rely on alternative approaches, including traditional face-to-face and classroom instruction. This conclusion is congruent with Nielson's observation that, "The truth is that learning a language is far from simple, especially for adult learners.

Research from self-access centers and online learners indicates that independent language learners require support, guidance, and access to a wide-range of materials and resources in order to benefit from self-study" (2011, p. 112). Therefore, by developing a series of language, cross-cultural and cultural awareness training using an integrated, top-down approach that draws on the valuable in-house expertise and experiences of the company's human resources, it will be possible to achieve the company's stated goal.