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“Does Managing Diversity give Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry a competitive advantage over its competitors”? It is a common misconception that diversity in tourism and hospitality organisations is only about race or about the EEO. Diversity in tourism and hospitality is so much more than EEO although it encompasses the EEO’s fundamental theories to build long-term business strategies (Hogh, personal communication, March 18, 2003). Some tourism and hospitality managers are of the opinion that managing diversity will enable them to achieve a competitive advantage. This essay will explore three hotels in the tourism and hospitality industry and discuss the effects of diversity in their businesses in relation to gaining a competitive edge over their competitors. Diversity includes but is not limited to race, age, gender, religious background, learning orientation, work levels and functions, economic background, communication and learning styles (What every consultant needs to know about diversity and consulting and training, 2003, p. 1). To gain a competitive advantage in tourism and hospitality organisations, as with any business, diversity must encompass all these differences to ensure the best possible benefits are achieved from their employees. When employees are managed to achieve their full potential the long-term business objectives of the organisation will not only be achieved but customer service will be excellent and thus profits increased resulting in a leading edge over competitors (Hogh, personal communication, 2003, March 18). Working with diversity in the tourism and hospitality industry The tourism and hospitality industry encompasses many organisations that are primarily service industries. Schlesinger and Heskett remark that if you “put the people who deliver the service first, and design the business systems around them, you can use the service delivery as the centrepiece of your competitive strategy” (1991, p. 79). If tourism and hospitality organisations are to do this they will need to assess their particular section of the hospitality industry and realistically employ people who can service their target markets and address the diversity of their customer base. Managers are nothing without their employees; but together they work differently to achieve the same business goals that the organisation wishes to achieve. Thus, it is imperative to ensure that, “Jobs are designed to stimulate employees to provide customer satisfaction, and thus enrich their working lives. Care selection processes include task analysis, identifying that service employees can have innate characteristics such as good communication skills but will still require ongoing training”(Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2003, p. 45). Training is not only essential to the success of the service encounter itself but the relationship between employees in the organisation. Providing a dynamic diverse work force means a commitment to change for everybody working in that organisation to ensure professional harmony. That means, working from the manager down, employees become more open when they are involved from the beginning, and they are then able to understand how they can all benefit, and see how learning about other peoples diversities can change their own attitudes to work thus making their job easier, more enjoyable and harmonious (Corporate news at the Hyatt, 2003, p. 1). Unfortunately because of the high turnover of staff in the tourism and hospitality industry in New Zealand this harmony is not always easy to attain and maintain (“Just passing through”, 2002, p. 3). Destinations like Queenstown are typical of this scenario, they are desperate for staff as many of those employed are itinerants working to augment their travel funds, then they move on (“Just passing through”, 2002, p. 3). This is a common trend in tourism and hospitality organisations all over New Zealand which was evident in a TMP Worldwide six monthly job index survey in November 2001 which found among New Zealand tourism businesses that 37% reported annual staff turn overs of more than 15%, which the surveyors identified as danger level (“Just passing through, 2002, p. 3). Statistics such as these show clearly that tourism and hospitality organisations are able to experience diversity in the work place, however diversity does not mean that organisations are able to maintain standards of service while the work force is unstable, and if the workforce is unstable and standards are not maintained it will not be possible to gain a competitive advantage.
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