11/19/13
West Indies Yacht Club Resort The West Indies yacht club resort had been a thriving resort since its establishment in late 1973. However, recently there had been an increase in the number of incoming complaints. The complaints were just one of the problems facing Patrick Dowd when he began his assignment at WIYCR. He also needed to contend with the lack of motivation amongst the workers of the resort, as well as the communication problems in the entire organization. There was an evident clash of leadership philosophy for the expatriates coming in to manage the resort. The high turnover of expatriates was also a major cultural issue. When Dowd arrived at the resort he was greeted by one of the few motivated workers in the resort. Dave Pickering was a rare motivated employee in a workforce that couldn’t find a reason to do work. Since all the employees were given a raise after a year of work no matter how well or poorly they performed there was no motivation to work (Shay 122). This clashed with the American organizational culture which was high on performance orientation whereas the culture of WIYCR was relatively low performance oriented. Since raises were given on a yearly basis there was no reason for employees to try to advance in a company. The resort would offer opportunities for advancement in the organization but would receive a weak response since no one wanted the added responsibility. Workers in the United States were competitive and strived for advancement. This was another cultural difference Dowd was faced with upon his initial review of the problems at WIYCR. This lack of motivation was one of the biggest problems. Without a motivated workforce there was no way to provide the best hospitality to the guests and keeping them happy. There could be several changes made to motivate the staff. The most basic of those changes would be to stop granting automatic raises. Another would be to set and train the employees on the expected standard of work. If there are no performance standards then an employee does not know what to measure themselves against. This will make raises an incentive to work hard and in turn improving the guest service at the resort. Although that may not work since Pickering stated that the incentive to make more money did not motivate workers on the property. Since money was not enough of a motivator maybe additional vacation time will help motivate the workers at WIYCR (Shay 125). The dissent over the lack of relationships with the expatriates shows the value placed on relationships in the West Indian culture so that indicates increased vacation time is an appropriate incentive. Poor communication was an issue that surfaced quite frequently in everyday operations at WIYCR. For a manager to disperse information they needed to personally speak or demonstrate what it was that they wanted accomplished since literacy rates were low (Shay 123). This also caused a cultural clash since the expatriates had come from a culture which had more of a top down approach. The manager would send an email detailing the tasks and the employee would execute the orders using their own independent judgment. Communication was not only a problem within the resort but also amongst the resort and the office in Chicago. Due to poor communication there were frequent overbookings of rooms causing distress among the employees at the resort who had to deal with unhappy vacationers (Shay 125). There are some adjustments that can be made to improve organizational communication overall to ensure higher efficiency. By hiring educated local managers and supervisors the resort can ensure that the message is encoded so that it can be decoded properly by the staff. If keeping expatriate managers is a necessity perhaps introducing a new position between managers and staff is the solution. The new position will be occupied by a leader and a communication expert in both English and the local dialects. Making communication seamless will help mark clear expectations and proper feedback. The proper way to ensure that communication can be improved overall is to invest in the education of the employees. Organizing classes and hiring experts to provide basic education to employees to improve overall literacy of the island and ensure a long term solution to the problem. In contrast to the United States individualistic culture where a yearly change of managerial leadership may not be an issue, the collectivist West Indian employees were unhappy with the constant turnover of expatriates (Shay 126). The staff felt they did not want to build a relationship with expatriates since they would leave after a year or six months. Since the expatriate managers were not stationed at the resort for a long time they would not have time to decode the problems and stop the increasing complaints. The managers would be less accustomed to the culture and more likely to manage from an independent management style which allows the employee to use his or her decision making to achieve results. The resort required management by walking around technique. It required the managers to be proactive and involved. To achieve these changes the organization can introduce longer contracts for expatriates. This would give them time to build relationships. Building relationships is key in managing in the Caribbean (Shay 121). It will be difficult to find employees who are willing to live abroad for long periods of time and WIYCR may need to offer higher wages or other incentives. This will also help improve talent coming over to manage since only the most dedicated would commit to long term contracts. A step that can be taken to improve the cultural sensitivity of the expatriates is to provide and require cultural training prior to leaving for the assignment to the Caribbean. This will help them assimilate in the culture of the resort upon arrival. Such training will enable them to micromanage as needed to decrease complaints and improve customer service. There are no issues with WIYCR that seem to be impossible to correct. The biggest hurdle will be the commitment required to achieve the suggested changes. When the yearly pay raises are eliminated there will certainly be initial backlash but with clear expectations the change should be painless. There cannot be immediate change in communication without a manger employee liaison. However, investment into employee education and training is the long term answer. Introducing longer contracts for expatriates will be a difficult obstacle since it will be a tough sell without proper compensation. Commitment to these changes and the proactive cultural sensitivity training for expatriates is key to decreasing complaints and improving the fortunes of WIYCR for Patrick Dowd.

Works Cited
Shay, Jeffery P. "West Indies Yacht Club Resort: When Cultures Collide." North American Case Research Association 21.3 (2001): 109-27. Print.