Module 1 greater opportunities for the
CULTURAL DIVERSITY CULTURE company and the employees
IN TOURISM & HOSPITALITY (Sonnenschein 1997, 3).
Globalization combines people
Diversity means differences into a single world society.
Difference of age, sex, race, According to Tylor (1871, 1) the
religion and culture etc. first person to give the definition
People with different of culture said that culture is a
demographic differences complicated definition due to
working in the organization several different factors, such as
makes diverse workforce. knowledge, belief, art, morals,
And it is becoming more law, custom, and all other kinds
important for the organizations of skills or routines people may
to know about these differences have.
and how to manage it. Purpose of culture: is to explain
Diversity is also the common how to live, talk, think and do
issue in the workforce things.
environment, in some It gives guidelines for one’s life
companies employees often get to behave in a socially accepted
discriminated or misunderstood way and value diverse things. It
because of the diverse features clarifies what is correct, honest,
It is important for the companies true and important
to manage the diversity It also sets up rules and
workforce to value best regulations to society in order to
performance. Most important obtain stability and peace
aspect these days is to train the (Reisinger 2009, 105)
managers to handle the diverse Culture is the main force that
workforce. What is the managers brings people together
role in handling the diverse Creates uniqueness of the
workforce? cultural group as well as
communicates with one another.
What is Culture? Cultures are perceived to
One component of investigating embrace group work, sharing
culture involves processes of and teamwork.
globalization and cross-
cultural elements as a global “Universal Culture = most broad
cultural homogenization cultural level”
(same) . This refers to blending “Individual Culture = the most
different cultural practices into unique category”
one blended uniform of cultural
practices. Universal Culture - All
Cultural homogenization nationalities and humans with
usually disregards local cultural their diverse beliefs, ideas,
perspectives. (Huang & Trauth morals and values are part of the
2006, 260.) From a cultural point universal culture.
of view, globalization is the “All people have special forms of
process of increasing speech for special occasions
homogeneity of individual (Minkov 2011, 19)”
lifestyles within the organization.
It comprises different views and
Civilization Culture members who have it. As a
Civilization - is the broadest result, cultural traditions are
level of cultural identity that passed from generation to
people obtain. This cate- gory generation (Ford et al. 2005)
involves, for example, ethnicity (2)Subcultures - are non-
and religion national cultures that share
National Culture - is a more values and mental programming.
narrow culture. Generally, Diverse societies in which
culture refers to national culture, people originate from many parts
which can be called country of the world often maintain a
culture. National culture can be great deal of the original cultural
determined by a country traditions of their national
ofresidence, country of birth, or culture.
citizenship Consequently, individuals
“People’s behavior and perceptions frequently are part of a particular
are shaped by several other subculture in their new society.
cultures, Cultural Traits - set them apart
such as ethnicity, family, friends, from the rest of their new society
global environment, occupation, “A subculture can be distinguished
race, religion, and value systems. based on its members’ race,
(Reisinger 2009, 98.)” nationality tribe, religion,
geographic region, ethnicity,
Minor Culture components socioeconomic class, age, gender,
Industry occupation, politics, sexual
Organizational orientation, or a combination of
Individual Culture these factors.”
“Those three levels are more unique. United States subcultures - consist
They have the most diversity and of different ethnic groups, such as
differences due to the stimulus of African Americans, Hispanics, and
other categories” Asian-Americans, which are the
three major ethnic groups
Individual culture - is the most (Reisinger 2009, 41)
shaped by the influence of other “subcultures share a common
levels of cultures, which impact identity, food tradition, language,
personal beliefs, thoughts and and other cultural traits that come
values. (Reisinger 2009, 99-100.) from their common ancestor
background and experience.”
Layers of Culture (3)Cultural Universals - last
(1)Cultural Traditions - Most level of culture
common layer. distinguish a These mean learned behavior
person’s specific society. patterns that are collectively
Culturally shared traditions are shared by everybody.
like myths, ceremonies, legends Using age and gender to classify
and rituals verbally or people are great examples of the
nonverbally (Ford et al. 2005, universal attributes.
98) Some subcultures, for instance,
Shared Language - is very a likewise deaf subcultures, use
visible traditional cultural sign language instead of verbal
attribute. It is learned from language.
parents and other family
geographic background•
language(s) spoken •
marital/partnered status •
Cultural Distance - indicates a gap physical appearance • political
between different national cultures affiliation • race • religious beliefs
(Reisinger 2009, 111) • sexual orientation • veteran's
can be notified within status
organization, particularly within
hospitality industry. Hospitality Globalization and International
organizations, likewise Trends - is current trend
international and multinational It makes people moving work
tourism companies, likely hold and live with people with diverse
several different cultures within backgrounds
the property “Cultural diversity also can create
“Organizations should decrease the conflict”
cultural distance, especially between In hospitality industry, has great
their employees” dimension of cultural diversity
The cultural distance affects from staff, guest and tourist.
interactions between employees
from two different cultures. The Diversity can be divided into primary
greater the distance gap is, the and secondary differences
more conflicts appear and this Primary differences - are stable
lowers the rewards experienced factors that are distinguished by
from working together individuals, for example age,
gender and racial background
Cultural Variability - involves (Clements & Jones, 2006, 13)
both recognizing differences and These internal dimensions are
accepting them. Acceptance is basic factors that individuals live
a respect of culture and on a daily basis and define
appreciation of differences in personality.
culture, such as values, norms, Secondary differences - may
styles, behavior. The three tremendously alter, such as
layers of culture should be religious beliefs, class, education
valued and respected in a and experience. A final layer of
correct manner. diversity is associated with the
Diversity - relates to individuals organizational context involving
and groups with different the job or position held, seniority,
socioeconomic backgrounds and or status at work.
physical capabilities who engage
in a variety of languages • Primary dimensions - are also
People of all ages, genders, known as internal dimensions.
races, ethnicity and sexual These include aspects of
orientation. diversity over which, typically,
Diversity is a variety of: Human we have no control.
characteristics • Ideas • World- Secondary dimensions - are
views • Age • Experience • also known as external
Disability (mental, learning, dimensions. These include
physical) • Economic facets of our lives which we have
background • Education • some control over and may
Ethnicity • gender identity • transition over time.
4 Layers of Diversity
1. Level 1: Personality - openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion,
agreeableness, neuroticism.
2. Level 2: Internal Dimensions -
age, gender, sexual orientation,
physical ability, ethnicity, race.
3. Level 3: External Dimensions -
geographic location, income,
personal habits, recreational habits,
religion, educational background,
work experience, appearance,
parental status, marital status.
4. Level 4: Organizational
Dimensions - functional level, work
content field, division/
department/unit/group, seniority,
work location, union affiliation,
management status.
Cultural Diversity - can be
referred to as the variety of
human groups, societies or
cultures in a specific region, or in
the world all together.
Cultural diversity indicates a
mixture of both individuals and
groups with dissimilar
backgrounds, beliefs,
characteristics, customs,
traditions, and values.
