Multicultural Diversity in the

Workplace for the Tourism

Professional
Topic 6
Diversities: Simple and Complex
 Learning Outcomes

• Look more closely at two diversities: simple and complex, and other
diversities common in the tourism profession.
• Take appropriate action in dealing with cultural differences in the workplace
or with customers.
Case 1a: Nationalities and First Impressions

Guessing a person’s nationality just by looking at his/her color might be a tricky thing to
do.
There was a time I was being asked to guess the nationality of a hotel guest. His Filipino
companion asked him not to talk until I guessed what country he comes from. He was white,
looked like he was a six-footer with a big built, has light brown hair, and was quite friendly. I
started the guessing game with “Are you a German?” and the answer was a flat no. I continued
guessing: French, Russian, Dutch, Australian, New Zealander, and all the answers I received
were flat noes.in semi frustration I said, “What about American or Canadian perhaps?” and it
was still a big no. I apologized to our guest and said, “I give up.”
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

With a smirk in his face and a stern look he exclaimed, “I am proudly South African!”
At that time in the Philippines, it was such a rare occasion to meet someone from South
Africa. Little did I know then there were white South Africans. I thought all Africans were
black.
This interaction exposed me to some cultural diversities such as nationality, race and
language. Although this guest spoke English quite fluently, he was excited for me to hear him
speak in his native language called Afrikaans, one of 11 major languages spoken in South
Africa including English. Afrikaans is a beautiful language, I dare say.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

This South African I met in 1992 so loved the Philippines that he decided to make it his
home. He is now a permanent resident and a practicing hotelier. His Filipino wife is an
executive of an iconic coffee brand with over 500 outlets in the country. His marriage to a
Filipina made his transition to our culture and traditions even more meaningful. However,
despite over a two-decade-long stay in the country, he still does not speak Filipino. Why is
that? When Filipinos migrate anywhere in the world, the majority of our kababayans learn to
speak the language of their country of choice quite easily. The answer to this question is that
they do not see any need to learn Filipino since we all speak English. Only those who truly
want to learn our language go out of their way to do so.
 1. Never judge a book by its cover.
Case 1a 2. Remember that being African does not make you
automatically black. There are white Africans, and
there are many white South Africans.
3. Many foreigners who come to the Philippines initially
to work fall in love with the country and with
Reflections Filipinos. Many of them say it is very easy to get
along with us; that we are very friendly. Again, this is
not a myth, it is the truth.
 Case 1 4. By being able to speak English and communicate
with foreigners who cannot speak Filipino, we
facilitate the lives of most of them working in the
country.
5. Foreigners, like this gentleman, knowing that having
chosen to live in the Philippines and marrying a
Reflections
native requires that they start seriously assimilating
to our Filipino culture.
Case 1b: Nationalities and First Impressions

It is also a challenge to distinguish Asians such as the Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and
Chinese from one another just by looking at them. Their skin tone and facial structure share
some similarities. Filipinos, Indonesians, Thais, Malaysians, and people from Brunei have very
similar features aside form the color or their skin and hair. Hispanics from South American
countries like Argentina, Costa Rica, Columbia, and Venezuela have very similar features. The
Spaniards, Portuguese, and Italians are Caucasians but quite different from their European
counterparts like the German and the French.
 Among the top nationalities that visit our country as
tourists are:
1. South Koreans
Case 1 2. Chinese
3. Japanese
4. Taiwanese
5. Singaporeans
6. Malaysians
7. Americans
8. Canadians
9. Australians
10.British
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

In the country, most expatriates working in tourism-related establishments are hotel

general managers, airline country managers, golf club manager, executive chef, specialty
chefs airline engineers, and mechanics.
The hotel general managers and chefs are mostly Americans, Canadians, Australians,
British, French, Swiss, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Indian, Japanese and Chinese.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

When I was flying with PAL early in my career, among the nationalities I worked with were
Greek, Spanish, and the nationalities of all our station managers in each country we were then
flying to, which included Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesian, Thai, Japanese, Pakistani, Italian,
German, Dutch , Australian, and American.
At work, the nationalities I encountered were numerous inasmuch as PAL was flying all
over the world, to Honolulu and San Francisco in the USA, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
Tokyo in Japan, Taipei in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta in Indonesia , Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia, Bangkok in Thailand, Karachi in Pakistan, Rome in Italy, Frankfurt in Germany, and
Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

Besides the nationals from all these countries, many other passengers from other
continents would patronize PAL. The passengers I encountered included Africans from
countries like Nigeria, Uganda, and Ethiopia, Europeans from Spain, England, Switzerland,
and Austria; Scandinavians from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden; Arabs from Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman; and Asians from India, Korea,
Vietnam, Singapore, and China.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

One of the basic training programs we had to undergo while at PAL was a cross-cultural
diversity orientation program. I believed this helped me a great deal in all of the future
dealings I had with all these nationalities, both very good interactions as well as very
challenging ones. The good interactions always had to deal with a pleasant exchange of
information about each other’s countries and nationalities. People are always interested to
know more about other cultures. The more challenging interactions had to do with passenger
issues and complaints; and this where your training as well as your measure of emotional
quotient, plays a very vital role in your multicultural diversity engagements.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

My superiors in PAL were majority Spanish-speaking Filipinos or Filipino-Spanish

mestizos. Since I was also considered a Spanish mestizo, it was not very difficult to deal with
them because I could easily speak Spanish. I learned how to speak Spanish at home where
Spanish, English, and Filipino were languages spoken. Spanish was also a required subject in
my elementary and high school.
There were many times I thought I was luckier compared to the other crew members who
were pure Filipinos. But was I really luckier? I am not, because at the end of the day we were all
Filipinos first and foremost, and our top management was very aware that nurturing a
distinction between pure Filipinos and Spanish mestizos was not going to be beneficial for an
efficient, productive, and motivated cabin crew.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

Despite the disparities in nationalities among the crew (Filipinos, Filipino-Spanish, and
Japanese), there was unity, understanding, and respect for one another. We were one team. As
a matter of fact, it was this diversity among us that made our passenger service excellent. Our
service, after all, was international.
In the hotel industry, I came across French, German, Swiss, Italia, Austrian, Dutch,
American, Australian, Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, and Chinese chefs. I also came across
British, Spanish, Australian, Irish, Indian, Japanese, Canadian, and American hotel managers.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

At the Hyatt Regency Manila in 1985, I had two very opposite experiences in dealing with
expatriate chefs. One of them was a German national who was very stern and very serious. He
rarely smiled. He was not an easy person to engage with. While he just recently graduated
from one of the finest hotel schools in the world, Le Roche International Hotel School of
Management; the other chef, a Malaysian, was just starting his career in the kitchen. The
Filipino staff had many difficulties dealing and working with the German chef but found it so
easy to work with the Malaysian. So, how did these two chefs differ so much they solicited
opposite reactions from Filipinos? Germans, just like the Swiss, are highly disciplined and
rigorous workers. They are very precise in the things they do and almost always on time, very
punctual at work and prompt in the submission of work-related reports and assignments.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

The German chef was simply being himself! Because he was simply being himself, we
Filipinos could not understand why he had to be so strict and stern. Filipinos, as we all know
and is something we should not be proud of, are not very punctual. We come to work late and
we find many excuses why we cannot submit reports on time. I am generalizing of course, not
all Filipinos are so. Therefore, because of this disconnect, there was conflict in the kitchen very
often and I had to referee the conflicts that always arose. A total waste of productive time.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

The issue at hand was almost always about getting things done on time and precisely how
you were taught to do so. The chef was right in insisting his cooks and chefs shape up or ship
out. This was a case where I took advantage of the situation by informing our Filipino chefs
that this was all about simply doing our jobs well and doing them promptly. What is wrong
with that? Nothing. What was wrong was how the message was being communicated by the
German chef. Filipinos are hyper-sensitive by nature and detest being reprimanded, much less
being shouted at. I had a serious one-on-one advisory talk with the chef and told him that “it
takes two to tango,’ and, therefore, he had to learn how to tango, the Filipino tango that is.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

I impressed upon him that he was right and that the hotel expected him to do his job,
including instilling discipline among the ranks. However, this time he was disciplining a bunch
of Filipinos and the way to make them follow the leader is by inspiring them to do so, not
instilling fear in them; otherwise, the kitchen would always be in a stalemate situation.
The chef understood and decided to heed my advice and change his strategy completely.
He began talking to each cook individually and implemented a mentoring program that
include showing them how things should be done if they wanted to be great chefs in the
future. He toned down his rhetoric and instead started becoming friends with everyone.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions
His new approach was accepted by all, and because he was willing to humble himself for
the sake of unity and efficiency, the Filipino staff gave him more that 100% support after his
transformation.
The Malaysian chef on the other hand was the exact opposite. Perhaps it was because he
was younger and just starting his career or maybe because we could say he was one of us
Asians, but he was very friendly and approachable. He was also very eager to know more
about the Philippines and Filipinos and learn how to speak Filipino. This chef eventually
learned to love the country and its people, and as matter of fact, married a Filipina. The chef
decided to make the Philippines his permanent domicile and is now a Filipino-Malaysian. He is
one of the most successful expatriates who has decided to make the Philippines his home. This
chef speaks Filipino fluently and proudly speaks it.
Case 1: Nationalities and First Impressions

Looking back and having known this Malaysian chef since the Hyatt times to this day, I
can say that his quiet demeanor and great ability to inspire others led to his very successful
integration with Filipinos and the Philippines. When foreigners lead the way in the pursuit of
this integration, Filipinos give way, accept, and support this foreigner all the way.
 1. Different folks, different strokes. This best describes
how people of different nationalities generally differ
Case 1b in their manner of dealing with other nationalities.
There are a multitude of reasons for this and the
most notable are the environment they were brought
up in, the culture and traditions they assimilated
through the years, and the education they received
Reflections about how to go about living in this world.
2. Whatever nationality you belong to, when at work,
work must be carried out efficiently and effectively;
productivity does not recognize nationalities.
 3. Sometimes, the end does not justify the means. In
this case, the German’s chef’s objective was
Case 1b productivity, and who can debate that? It was the
manner he was delivering the message that needed
some tweaking for that objective to become a reality.
4. Filipinos, like many other Asian nationalities, are
quite sensitive, especially at work. We take things
Reflections personally instead of objectively, oftentimes
resulting in a productivity deadlock.
5. Good leaders are those who can inspire their teams
to be their best, all the time, even in their absence.