Since the beginning of globalization and the development of subsidiaries all over the World, the expatriate has become an element of security to protect the interests of the company abroad. However the expatriates are now facing several problems of adaptation with the external environment and the local people they live with. These problems produce a vicious cycle which can destroy the reputation, and finance of a company in the local environment. This case study highlights the difficulties faced by American expatriates in a Luxury Resort in the Caribbean islands. According to Hofstede, cultural differences can have a huge impact on the performance of a worker, especially in a relatively small environment. The Management of the company needs to formulate a program to train their expatriates, and set up a strict organization to reduce management problems and increase the commitment of its employees.
[...] Bibliography Morgan and Hunt (1994), commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing”, Journal of Marketing, Vol pp20-39 Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA. Jayawardena, C. (2000), "International hotel manager", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol No.1, pp.67-9. Jayawardena, C. (2001), "Challenges in international hospitality management education", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol No.6, pp.310-15. Jayawardena, C. (2002), "Mastering Caribbean tourism", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol No.2, pp.88-93. Solnet, D., Paulsen, N. [...]
[...] The Guest feedback program has not been implemented for several reasons: The assessment of the employees does not seem to be the norm in Caribbean islands, as shown by the system of pay for the local staff, which does not take into consideration the performance review. The Guests seems to be seriously disappointed by the lack of appropriate services in the resort. The deterioration of the services provided by the resort seems to be a cause of worry for the management, and but not the staff. [...]
[...] The recommendations related to the tensions between the expatriates and the local staff: The cultural differences are relatively high between the Americans and the Caribbean people, except for the power distance index and the masculinity (Hofstede), which are at close values between the two cultures. To reduce the differences, a communication program needs to be set up in the resort. The lack of communication is the main factor of disagreement between the two groups, and they must make an effort to understand each other. [...]
[...] These dimensions were studied in several countries around the world. USA and Jamaica represent the two best cultures in the case study. The results obtained by Hofstede with respect to these two countries, was the following: Findings This section is going to present the details of the problems that the resort is coping with. The section is divided into three parts, according the number of issues, and the performance of the expatriates, including the local staff issue and feedback program (III). I. [...]
[...] The government has placed the foreign resorts under the obligation to employ a certain number of local people, to bring down the number of expatriates, and limit sharply the redundancies during the slow season. This situation severely limits the resort's ability to retain the best workers, and to be the employer of choice. The local staff knows that the government is protecting their jobs, and acting as a guarantor. This does not inspire them to make an effort to keep their jobs and positions. The Resort seems concerned about this regulation which doesn't permit it to control its human resources properly. [...]
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