Business Communication in the service and experience industry 9788741265346

Table of contents :
Title
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Citation preview

MARIA LARSEN-ZARECHNDVA ANNA HAMMERSHDY MARIA KIRSTIN£ LOVEN

HANS REITZELS FORLAG ,....._____..

MARIA LARSEN-ZARECHNOVA ANNA HAMMERSH0Y MARIA KIRSTINE LOVEN

IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

. . . the service and experience industry Business communiCOflon m d 1 1sr pnnrrun ,. . I • Isle mot, . \nnallamnll'rshn·,~l.ln.lKarsttn c ~O\t:J1 'l a • ar,cn-Z.lrrchnm a, t ~art.~ JQJS and llan l',l'arzel Forlag, Cnnnng· Gr.lforasak GPS GllHip Pauued m Bosma-Hrrzrgl'' 111.1 20 l ~ ISB1 l 9-s-s---H26-5J4-6

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What this book offers . . . . .....

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PART 1:

COMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

CHAPTER 1

Must-have skills tor serv1ce professionals

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13

Mafia Larsen-Zarechnova and Anna Hammershey

Tlw; pubhcanon ma\ onl) be reproduced an accordanc~ wirh .1grecmctH "arh Cop, dan Tcks[ & ~ode and the Dam-.h i\ lin isrry of Educ.uion.

CHAPTER 2

Communication and serv1ce management and marketing theory . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Marta Larsen-Zarechnovo

CHAPTER 3

The fundamentals and concepts of communication

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Mana Larsen-Zarechnova

hansacu:t.cl dk

PART II:

CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

CHAPTER 4

Culture in the service and experience Industry: What IS culture, anyway? . . . . . . . . . . . .

MIX

-::t:.":bt FSC" C110418

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Anna Hammershew

CHAPTER 5

Different approaches to culture· Descriptive fheones

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Anna Hammershoy

CHAPTER 6

The complex approach to culture: Cultural Intelligence theory . . . . . . ............ 109 Anna Hammersho}

PART Ill:

COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE ORGANISATIONS

CHAPTER 7

Organisational culture 1n service and expenence compan1es • • • • • • •

Anna Hommershay

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FOREWORD

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

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Internal commumcatron

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Anno HommershcW

n rnternal communtcafron How to oes gn a • • strategy ThtnQS to consrder . . .

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Maoo Lorsen-ZorechnOL'O No tnarrer whet c we go, we usc Sl'IVtces every day, be

PART IV:

BUILDING RELATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS AND OTHER EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH MARKETING COMMUNICATION

. nd communicolrons plan development ...... 191 d CHAPTER 10 Bran rng a Mana K1rstme Loven

CHAPTER 11

lmplemenfrng the communrcafion plan ............. 20 1 Mana Klfstme Loven

CHAPTER 12 SeNrce failure, customer complornls and

cnsrs communication .

. ..................... 22 5

Mo"o Jwstine Loven and Anno Hommershey

EXTRA RESOURCES CHAPTER 13 Croffrng persuasrve messages Morro Larsen Zorechnovo

a practical toolbox .... 24 7

.............. .

About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . Index • • • • • • • • • • • • •

t

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on a tram com-

murc to work, a tnp to a tourisr desunmion, a match-day c:xpencncc, or a day of shopping and dining out wirh our fncnds. Some se1 VlCC!i rely more hc,wily on tcchnolob")' th.1n orhcrs, but customer servtcc always includes i iHeract ion b~t ween service providers and customers who not only buy srrvicrs, but co-produce rhem, roo. This book IS aimed .u st udem.s whose ambition i ro work m che service and e:-:pcrience industry. Irs srructure is based on four concepts

within con1municauon. I tP.r, service always in\ olves mreracnon bel\veen the service orgams.u ion and the customer H' guest. The Cmnbndge Drcnmzmy defines meet a en on a...... 'a11 occ{wnu rflhf'1l two or mm·e people or tbmgs commmucate tmth 01 n·.tc.t to ench othe> ~uvicc d1et\'forc alwavs , i ndudes communtcauon. Con1n1unicuion in it!" broader sense is verbal and non-\crbal , wrinc-n and or.1l, and c.1n take place b0rh inccrnallv (o r within rhc orgamsaLton), and cxccrn.llly. i.l'. between set\ tcc prm 1dcrs and customers, or bee\\ ccn the organisation and other Makcholdcrs. ~ccond, we rake the 'icw that many encounters in the setvtce indusrrv arc mtercultwC1l bv narurl'. There arc multiple aspens ro culcurc: nanonal , regional. profession.1l and or.;anisar.ional. Culrurc ts thcrel~"rl' an inrcgr~1l p.l!T of communication m rhe service and c:-.:perience md usrrv and is ...,gtvcn a 0~.,re.H deal of auencion m r 1 .., Pook. , Third, comnHmtC.Hton sktlls are crunal to your c.uet.:r 111 the scr' tee ~lnd cxp~n~no..• mdu!"tl'\' (or'' h.Ht'VCr parh) ou t'nd up raking!). In l)l dct ro -.,ulCt'Cd ,1.., a sen tel' professi01ul, rcchnical ~kilLs and coJnpetcnce.., 111 ... ak'>, nurkcring, r~\ t nue m.ln.lgt•menr or l'Vt'IH ~ Ianning art I

Before we let you go . . . . . . . . .

a·br 1 rography

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tmpo 1[,11 H . Blll th~.·~l' '"'"" musr be combined \\'tth communtCHton ,1 nd itllctcultur,1l..,ktll..,, tc~.11dk•so;, ofwhcthct \Oll willlw il1r ~ 1 .Krmg ... ,, Hh lll\tOmt'l's on .1 d.1liy ba..,t'> l"l' pro\ tding ~uppo1 r stn tn·~

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chl' b..1ck ofhct' \nodlt' l .lSpl'lr (.)f gl)l)d (l)I11J1ll111tC.Hinn skill .... J.s Tbr Oxfm·d Rtse,zrch F11 n·dop.tcclr, 1 cif ( ommrmrc tiW71 (20 16) remtnd.., t..... s rhar £h('\ h.n r a pthHtvc ~n~·n 011 , ()lJr st)Ct.llltfc and d.1ri~1~ ... uccc-. ... Pel'pl..:- "nh go.\.."'d · COll1111l1111l.1fll"ll ... k 11 ~ 11 l 11101 ~,. -.th.\.1..'-'-n . l 111 tt'tnh of rdanothlup" .lllllJ Ill'(\\"(.) I k Ill~ ,lllllJ It·n r I., 1·r ll'\\ er k' ~,·!.., t"f It" 1din~.. '" rlur's .motlll r ~::pod I ca ... ~.)n lt)J 'ou r~.' r~.'.hi .lnd k.lrn trom rh "l't)'-"'~k. ... •H

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SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE

8

WHAT lUIS BOOK OFFE:RS

9

ro a SLll-Ill lil lie,H il'll 1s the kev , effl•C£ '' l' fl)lll • c. h and fina 11 '• . · \nd t•'llrl ' .J At- ·rcnr (llllll11lli11C.lt1l)ll Or lll1SCOI11111Uc. I l "tnl'"" I'·'')r Ol IIHII l cc-.~lll 'u . i 1, 111 rcr.lClll'll~ , c.m cost 01 gan 1 ~nnon~ rl1c1r )11 l'\'l'rl 111 lllllll'l l Jl \ ( can • .1. 111 i dwir cusWI11l · n·puram'n ,Hll k :-. . w hcln lllllkrgradu:ne st udc11t~ Mudying .• 11 rh1s bOl) •11111 r . . . . 0\lra · ,.. 11 wnr (in.uc,l.s mcludmg bur nor lunued 1 ·-.. ld 1!.\pl·n~!ll't' nun. SL .. . sc:-nJu: Jl i rr:l\d sporr 1nd t'Vl'nts ~1nd leisure) learn I s ,jr,11trv. wunsm ,llll , , . . m ll> F (' •.. ilunl) bu:-;inc.ss communH.-.Hion pnnCJple.., nnd .lblHH rhc b.lsll IIHdlll ' V'-

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rhc .wdil·ncc of\- our m~ssage, includ. . . c:. rh l ·r Ltdtur.ll ' ~l'ci.1l. .1nd prote. . "lonal backgrounds ~ rho:sc.>, rom o ._ 111 ~ . til"l lno.;r l·ffccrl\ c nwdJa h..11 ll1l'"'"'.lge~ • dNl'l'llllllllh! · '. J a ] • ~,. nrcrculwr.llc-l>tnnHilliC.HIOI1 proce-;"'c" • ulh.lt?r~c 11l 1 11 c 1 • · Lll - Jrural 1 nrdli~,.cncl' in '\'Olll LOI1111HIIl1C.lt10n e lhllH~ ;::, • com~1llmCaring cft~cmrly m-.ldl' chc company and wirh dw cu~•

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cng~1gmg in non-vabal communic.u1on.

The book oiT~r.s an up-ro-dntc perspccriH~ on business communication in serv1ce .llld l'>.:pencncc organisations. Each chapter comams spL'cial features des1gned ro meet th~.: needs of .students .1nd lcnurrrs. fh c book supplement 1ts 1hrorcnca] prr.specrivcs w1rl1 numerous ex.1mplcs, and QR c-udc.s hnkcd to online co1uem and cxcrcJses, w make learning more dynan11c and practical. Some of rhe c>.:amplrs chosen arc inrcrnarional, \\'hile other~ arc loc.1l examples from Denmark," h1ch studenrs wdl recognise :1nd ra.sdy rclar~.: ro. \Ve have abo added lrarni ng objcC£ ivc.s, chapter sum manes and rdlecrion qucsrion. Lhat "ill help the students put communic.uion-rrl:Hcd rheory 1nro pracuce. The book con.si.st.s of four p.1n~ , divided into chapters. At thr end of rhc book 1s an ca.sy-to-follow guide ll1 rhc building bloc k.s lor pl'rsu.l•

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Sl\ C CO I1lllllli1J G H1 01l .

PART 1: Communication in the service and experience industry Parr I sets an overall .1gcnd~ for the book and e.\:plams why communication is coo impon:1nt to leavl' to chance in the ~ervicc and c..-..:prncncr organJ"iatlons. ll erc, \\'C link communication w1rh different asplYts of ... et vice. This p.ut L'xpl.1ins what communicarion .skills mcludc and pro\ tdc~ a foundnrion for underst.mdmg commumcarion proccs:)l'S.

PART II: Cultural influence in the service and experience industry Part II prm 1dt.:'\ a foundation for undcrsr~1ndmg rhc inllul'nCl' of culrure 011 the ...,e 1, 1ce :tnd l'\pericncl~ indusu' He1 c we prcsL'IH thr 1c,h.icr \\Jth C\\O dt!Tercnt.lpplO:tlhes w an Il l explain~ the signific.1ncc of orga1~isarimul culn~rc for mrcrnal · r'o some ot rhc char.1crensuc prmc1plr~ COil1111UlliC,l I I1 , •111 l i 1 11 0\,hli~~hrs o ~ · of communtc.uion "irh 111 modet n servict: .1nd cxpencnce org.1ms.1· d r1 1L... 1·:.t:. llJ··r t1on~ . l r 1ntro uce.s "-· w rhe co ncept ot inrern.1l commum-

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JOU'> uucrnal commu mcanon mcd1a and lr \ ;n. pr t.:., t:!H ., • J((l!l \[fJ(t:~ d d scu~s~!ol rhllr opp01 wnH ~~"' ch.tnnds Jn I

relaflons w1th customers and other external stokeg

PART IV BuI'dIn . . holders through marketing commumcofton • readet ant:nr ron ro commumc.HIOn \\ uh customP.Hl J\ Imngs r11c . ' •n 1nal .,r,1 keholdt:r s ,tnd d rscusscs br.md com m u meat'!\ r1lllt Ol Ilt J c.; C r ' , ar 1cn of form ~ an I mr.dr.1 used b) sr r' ret> and cx. . 111 "ano 11 , 111 rhcrr r;-..:ranal LOJ11llHt111 C.u to n s, :1nd cxpla 1 ns

" Ill .. a (IO!l I[ ptt' '>t '"' • pcrJdlLC 01 g"

'

hm' rhc.:'>t: can hr used w ft:,dop rclarron s htp~.

EXTRA RESOURCES. CraNing persuasive messages - a practical toolbox 1xrra rc,ourLt.:S prl'~enr u rr-fn~ndl) model and lools fo r '' nnng drJTrrcm bu 111~ts dlsCOlllll.s .111d spec tal on~r . . (0 (liS(t.)Jlll.'r~ li!'\111\T N r !'\l'l\iCL'\

Sen ices pc1tsh if they .1re not used by a parricular rime - 111 other words, services cannot be .scored for fuwrc usc

Effecnve communicanon can hdp servrce organrsattons m·e•comc the chal lenges assocrared \\ 1th these aspens ofsen·tce. \\ 'c wdl d1.scuss them below.

1.4 .1 Intangibility and communication skills Custo mers do not merc h pu t chase o.,cn ICes msccad. the\ bm bcnefit'i chat d1ev' belt eve a set, 1cc o rgamsanon can dcltn~ r T he benefit concept ~ rc.:; defined as 'the encdpju!Ltttoll ofthc benefits o_(Lt sen•ic:e o.ffermg m tht: wnsume,·'s mmd' (Hoffman & Bateson, 20 17).

CHAPTER I

BUSII\ESS COMMUNI

CATION IN THE: SER\ ICE AND ~ PERIENCE INDUSTRY

18

MUST HAVE SK LS

llt)l\ Ill ptll\ldltlg

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h~,.•JpfuJ e. ,,

..... _ EXAMPLE 1 2

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A 1 ~.,c.1 I fo~.ki m.u krr 111 Coprn h .l~l'll c1lll·d Tl"~l'\ l'h.1lkrnr ha m.tm· tt"~l)d s r.1lb. l':lfh o f whtl"h ., .111 llh:kpcn dcnt bu.s11ws-... Thcv h.n r dl'· L'l"~ llllllllll i(.Hirlg

nh Cll\(l)llll'l'.s. l".llll·d ' Budd\ '. The pmpl,'>l' t.s ro conrlt'Ct rhc bust llL' ' "L's a nd rnvilL' ~llt'srs (\) bl'llrfi r ti·om f\\l) drftl.·rcnr pr~.xiucr c.u cgo tt t:\. I 0 1 tnst.lnu.· dw \)\\ tll'r l)f. 1 ti~h !)tJ.nd ..,l•ll, "omc t .l\ 1.11 .md 'u ~~csr . . rh.u rhc l"l! SfOilll'r I~.Jnk .H dw s p cct.ll m hrl'Jd t) ll s.1k t\\l) sta nds do" n rhc ha ll .b t hr~ br\'.ld bnng om rhl· bc-;r tn l.l\'rar. Ifpo""rbk. rhe li"h 'i t J.n d 0\\ 11L'r \ \'.111.,., tlh' guc.sr ro rlw b.lkl' l')' .111d pr\)\ rdl'" rap" .1nd ad\ tee o n rlw '' .1\'. line, drrtl.· 1 ~.·m bu.smt.'sSL'S c o opl' I'J tl' ro n~.·.uc extra \aluc fo r rhc cusrc,nu·rs. E\·mnpa prol'ltit'd I~)' 1\fm7. l KhJtine l.Ot't;11 fOt) l f t) l

19

processes. ano pertormonces (Zenhoml et al 2018)

~('I' Ill'" ... hall' tlh' ll1lltm 111~ dl.1t':tCTl'ti,£JC's: Jlll.lngtbdl~

~

1\, insl'J',ll.tbdtn, lwtclog~.·nclt\ .md p~.·ri habiltn (\\'11t..t & l O\clock, 2.0 1-}. As \ l'll rl·ad 1 ht ough 1 Ill' charancnsnc bdo\\, please t hmk .1b~.'ul the role of go1.1d l"ommumcattOn -..kills m rlw dclt\ en of ~en tcr .

TORVEHALLERNE AND THEIR 'BUDDY SYSTEM

\dt"~pt:d ,1 lll'\\'

CHAPTER 1

"lH d 'so·, tc£'', \ m1 " dI \CC t h.u H comr~ t rl m rhc l .um >t n•ttmm (0 n t. nc l't\ molog) d1t t1on;u' 20 1-). The mc.1nmg ·.z< t of.;sslst.t11Ct help, ,1 /Jtfp(~tl llCt \\,l s 111 usl· .ls c.11h .1s 120ll. l'rmg oflwl1, trc.umg cull'llh'l., .ts 1f th e\ "~.·rc ~.ic.u gu~sts, .md hl·mg k1nd .1nd '' rlServices or Service offerings \.'l'llllng llllsts .ttl tllu Lt.H L' tlh' lmpott,llhl' oi l·ommuniC,'l-

..

·---·

OR S R C PR rES

INTANGI BiliTY

At lh cnrc. M'l'\ 1cr:-. ar~.· 1nt.mg1bl~. Thl'\ do not ha\ c ....., . . h.1pc. smdl, cnl~..,ur or ,1zc, and thus can not be ' rl'sr-

L'd' beh,r~.· purchasr, .ls \ ou \\Ould .1 nc\\ p.111 l.)f shOl.' ~'I' .1 C".lt l usll"lllll'ts h,l\ ~ ll) l'l'l\' on :-.o-c.1Jh.:d 'prl.'~llllsc . . ' 111.1lk b\ the Sl'I\ILl ('lt'~,lllt".ltll..)llll'~.'lhillW wh,H I( '' l11..) JrL' sh.umg d11.• st.'r\'IC't' C:\:pcncnct.' \\ Hh \'t.)lJ r('l llhL111Cl'. tlw f11JilrllllL' ~r.ttr-. .tbtlll\ lt.) C'Oill\nrs .ll'()llt th~.· ~rr\tCr ' l'\ pcnl'IK1.' and t h~.· bran i. -----~~

Reflection questions Th 111 k of t.)tlwr t'\,llnplt.·, "hn~.· chc prc,cnrl' L)f 0rhct cu-.wmcr' .wd r he ,,·,w rh~.· (ron tiltH.' c m p 1.,)\l't.'' (IC~ rcd dwm pl.:n cd .1 t. 1 H 11. a I tt."lt·

•

J ltm dtd

I( ,lflt.'ll \h rrsrdt:nr.... wirh a diff~.?rt:rH t'thmc background was understood and to establish a con._ csnmatcd ar .1bour 11.1 °o. OECD srari~nt~ !'ht)W rh.u structive partnership across cultural in 20 I~. 7,935 1mmi~ranr.s cunr ro D~.?nmark ro work differences' (Plum, 2008, p. 19) -(OLCD, 20 16). Tht' ~t.' tvict' hospiraltty .1nd roun.._m in1

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du.srrv nadtrion:Illr ~mploy immigr.uus. wluch mak~, tr .111 t•thnicallv divcr"c mdusrrv. Ir is dwreforc inncasmglv likclv rh.H ~\'l)tJ will bt? ..._~ \\'t)rkmg m .1. culrurallv and dcml"gr.tnhtcallv di' l'rr Adrnmnranon, or related n'laJor: no "ork experience r~qUired . CORE WORK ACTIVITIES Lt•adl'iJ:,

Lmc · \

·.Iff'S

Iemus

• Ullltzes mt~rp('rsonal and commumcatmn ~kdls ro lead. influence, and encourage others; ad,ocates ~ound financral bus~ness deCI· sion-makmg; demonstrat(' h ne~n tmegnn. lead~ b) example. • Encouruges and build, mutual rru~t, resprct. and cooperatiOn among ream rnernbl"'rs.

• "e" ('S as a role model to demonstrat(' appropnare beha\ 10rs. \uoen 1ses and manage!:> emplo) ers. l\ tanage- all da> -ro-da)t operatiOn::.. Undersnndc; emplo} ee po ·ir1on::. "ell enough to perform dutie.s 111 emplo\ee.s' abserl\.t: • Ct'll'brate.s su ees do the same" 1rhin the team. Primary Location: QAT-Qatar·Doha-Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Con· venrion Hotel

Brand: Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Position Type: Management Mamott International portfolio of brands includes both jW Marriott and Manion Hotels. Manton Horets, Marriott International's flagship brand, with more than

5~0 globa~ locations. As a host with Manion Hotels, you will help keep thts prom b d r . . . 1 rse Y e venng premrum cho1ces, sophisticated style, and

~ell-crafted details. With your skills and imagination, together we will

mnovare and reinvent the future of travel.

JOB SUMMARY Serves as the properry M 0 ury and oversees all property op. . anager on eratrons, ensunng that the h. h I I . . . rg est eves of hosprtal1ry and service are provtded. Represents property . 1ated Situation. · . any guest re· Manages the Ao management f . rn resolving . 0 questrons and dtrects guests within the lobb Serv

V:

of

servic:·issues~s as Guest Relat•ons Manager and handles the tracking

CHAPTER 1

31

Edumt an and Ex:perif·n~

SKILLS' DECODED

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F R SER\ CE PROFESS 0 i.lS

A1aintaining Guest Sen ict"s and Front Desk Goals

• Oe,elops spec1fic goals and plans plish }'Our work.

to

priomi:ze, organize, and accom-

• Handles complaints, settling d1sputl'S and resolving grievances and confliets, or otherwise negotiating with mhers. • Maintains a strong working relationship with all departments to support propern operations and goals and ro expedite the resolution of any problems that may arise through the general operatiOn of the property. 1

• Intervenes in any guest emplo~~ee situation as needed to insure the integrity of the property rs ma1ncained , guest satisfaction is achteved , and employee well bemg is preserved . • Ensures that regular on-gomg communication is happening with em· ployees to create awareness of business objectives and communicate expectations, recognizes performance, and produces desired results. • Comprehends budgets, operating statements and payroll progress reports as needed to assist in the financial management areas of department.

32

CHAPTER 1

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

1 • THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTR' t.' UST HA\E S ILLS FOR SH?VICE PROrESSIONALS

· 1Customer Sen'tce Ensuring ExreptiOM b .., and beyond for customer satisfaction • PrO\'! des sen~ces rhar are a O\ ~ •

and rerentton: ni-armg and assisting individuals to un. sen'lce bv commu '-' "' . . • derstand lmpro'-e guest nee'd s, providintto guidance, feedback . a nd md1v1dual coaching when needed. . • Manages dat·to· da>, operarions ' ensuring the qual1ty, · sta _· ndards a nd . . . the? expectanon_ . , of the cuc;tomers on a da meeting . . tlv•. bu!!IS. . 'spla)'lng outstanding hospitality skills. • Serves as a Iea der m d1 • Sers a positive example for guest relanons. • Respon ds ro an d handles guest problems and compla1nrs. . • Empowers employees- to prov1de excellent customer .servtcc. _ • Observes sen~ce behaviOrs of employees and prov1des feedback to mdividuals. • Strives to improve sen~ce performance. • Prm'ldes immediate assiStance to guesr.s as requested. • Ensures employees understand customer sen~ce expecrat1ons a nd parameters. • PartiCipates in the deH•Iopmenr and implementation of correcti\ e action plans ro improve guest satisfaction.

Implementing Projects and Polide.s • Implements the customer recognition/ service program, communicating and ensuring the process. • Ensures property policies are administered fairly and consiStently, d isciplinary procedures and documentation are completed ac(ording to Srandard and local Operating Procedures (SOPs and LSOPS ) and support the Peer Rev1ew Process. • Manages payroll admmisrrarion.

Conducting Human Resource Activities • Identifies the developmental needs of others and coachmg, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve therr knowledge or sk1lls. • Provides guidance and direction to subordinates, includmg sernng • pperfonnance .. . standards and monitoring performance. art1c1pates m employee progressive disciplme procedures • Us~s.all available on the job training tools for employees. • s.oht~ts employee feedback, utilizes an "open door" pol1cy and rc· VIews employee satisfaction results to identity and address employee problems or coneems. • Supervises on-going tra · · · · · · . 1nmg 1n1t1at1ves and conducts training when appropnate. • Participates in the em I ·mg creedback as needed. P oyee performance appraisal process, prov1d-

AddttJona/ Responstbtltt1es

• Pr"'vides mformauon to superv1sors, co-workers, and subordmates by telephone, m '' nnen form. c-matl, or m person . • Anai>'Zes mformat1on and evaluating results to choose the best solunon and solve problems. • Informs and or upda tes the executives, the peers a nd the subordinates on rell·vam mformauon 1n a wnd>' man ner. • 1\ 1am rains h1gh VIStbilit)' m public areas dunng peak times. • Understands and can 1mplemcnr all emergenq' plans mcludmg acCI dent, death. elevator, (heftS, \ 1c1ous cnmes, bombs: fire, etc. • Performs From Desk dunes m h1gh demand times. SLt,rce: Linkedln jobs

A-1am'ott International

CHAPTER I

33

Maria Larsen-Zarechnova

In this chapter, you will learn about: • the critical role of communication in delivenng serv1ces and experience-based services • connections between communication and theory of serv1ce management and marketing.

36

CHAPTER 2

N IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTRi BUSINESS COMMUNICATI O

COMti~ UNICATION AND SERVICE •1 ANAGEI.~ENT

AND ,' AR 'ETitlG THEORY

CHAPTER 2

37

INTRODUCTION 'n1eer' and cn~age wirh ..servict while rhev" 1 nor onk C usromer~_ ro d·3), ·Jl) " ... • • , 1 • -• r in rht:' st·n·icc org..lntsanon. Sen·tce c 111:\UJHp· _. 11 l are p l)'SICaJ )' pre..: !'it . . ... , . .. ._ • . . IS · d'lVl'd t'~lJ 1• 1,ro rhrt't" matn st.l~c~. nanlt h . pt vpuh. ha!'ic.:. ~cn•tcr [h.)n ·v'st-cncounrcr st~h!CS 1\\'iru &. Lovt·l,.1ck. 20 17). The ~IKOUUtt'r an d F v. " 1." mav ' , sr•liT before he or sht' ,1rri' t''-. wirh thl' cusfUSt0mcr t~'\·pt.:•rt' t:·n-" .1nd pl.lnntn~ ._. )\'''rt.I'"T f('Jllef d ~~\,( \. b a service or~amsanon ''-' rhe \'isir. and · connnuo · •. ,Jf-t•'r· lt'.l\·es. ~luch of rht~ 'befo re· .1nd '.1t: It " rl1e custornl'r · I

SERVICES, VALUE ADDED (o/o OF GOP) Denmark's servtce industry accounted for 75% of the economy in 2016

...

I

·n-. 1. t.: rak··~ .. '"' pllt-·' ' " l)£1 rht' various dt~tt ... ..ll pl.uft1tm.s char l'Xtt'th.i rhe cusr0 mcr journt>y. It is .1lso important ft) remt•rnbcr rh.u ~-l)mp.lny communication, in all irs l"(Hnpl~Xlf}'. will intlucncc the \.-usrt)JllL't ... perceptions and the company brand: r~r • t~Xpt•r1·t:

' ' Everything on organisation does, reflects and helps shape its brand Emplo~'­ ees ore brand ambassadors, 24 hours a day The1r mteroctrons, online and off, with people outside the organisation affect public perception. This has an impact on a customer's desire to purchase the company's products or serv1ces - and on a job candidate's desrre to work for the orgamsaflon.

In this chapter, we explore various considerations a.bou t comrnunication in the service industry. Services represent an irnporrant and growing contribution to most econo mies. In fact, seen frotn a global perspecti\·e, the majority of all new jobs are generated in rhc s~rnce sector (\X'irrz & Lovelock, 20 17). Encyclopedia Britannicu defines the seiYtCL' industry as:

' ' on industry in that port of the economy that creates services rather than tangible objects. Service industries include: banking, communications, wholesale and retail trade, all professional services such as engineering, computer softwore development, and medicine, nonprofit economic activity, all consumer services, and all government services. (Encyclopedia Britonmco, 20 17)

For instance in 2016 D k' · · f enmar s servtce Indus try accounted for 75°o o ' rhe economy (The world bank group, 20 17). In Brirai n in 20 16, i r wa> around 80%; in the EU, 74% (Cadman, 2016).

Serwce mdustry m Denma!'l1

2.2 FROM SERVICES TO EXPERIENCECENTRED SERVICES e-..:r~nr do service~ adapt ro cver-ch.ln\!u1g ronsunll'l' ne~d' and trend~) Som~ rt> t'archrrs link the economil" devrlt')pmenr wirh rht.' ~' olurion of srrvtce~ inro men1orablr Arc sen t(l'\ changing over rime? To what

L'Xperirncc:\ (l\ ladsrn, 2 0 l 0). Interested in learntng what is going on in the 'experience economy' world? You can follow B. joseph Pine II, the co-author of 'The Experience Economy' and 'Infinite Possibility: Creating Custom~r Value on the Digital Frontier' on Twtner ar @joepine for hts latest updates.

(Towers Watson 20 11 )

2.1 SERVICE INDUSTRY

Figure 2.1

Pine and Gtln1or~ ( 1998) US\.' rhe exam pi~ of a binhdav cake ro ~xpl.lin rh1.., c\·olunon. In the past. It was nptcally a morlwr \\'lh) \\'Ould make a cakl· from \(T.uch. buymg all rhc lngred1L'nts, mt=xtng rht·m rogl'ther and rurntng them Jnto y urnm\ crowd-pkast'rs. A~ morher~ gor bustt:r. rhe\ would order c,1ke from bakeries and ....~roct'tT \tOrcs. rnaktng rhe cake more exp~n~l\·e. Today. \\'ith n,·o-tncomc Experience economy 1s where 'a housl'holds, famtlies ma\ struggle ro find rime ro plan, organ1se and hold birrhda\ parrtcs ar home. Insread. rhev company intentionally uses services book a professiOnal ev~nt. ar ,,.htch a pL'r\onaltst"'d cake ts as the stage, and goods as props JUSt one stngle dernenr. Thl',. are \nllmg ro pa,· more ro to engage Individual customers 1n a outsource rhe C\'l'IH ro professiOnals who can ... rage mcm- way that creates a memorable event' Ol·ablc cxpcnences. \\ 'hat used to be a mere commodtt\', like sugar, Hour. ere.. ha~ now become an detnl'llt of a ml'morabk e:--.:periencc rhar creates an ·emorional connl'cnon ber\\·een thl' parl'nts. rhe children and rhl' guests.

..

Although rhc example abo,·e rna\· seem ourdatl'd, 1r clearly L'xplams the essence of rhc e.\pl'ril'nce economy. \\'hl'rl' '.1 comp.m.J' i1ltention.t!!J' uses sermccs tls the Jtttge. .nul goods ~ts props, to t'1zg,zgc mdit'ulual customers h1 .1 ll'tlV tiJttt creates a memomble et'e11t' (Ptnc II & Gtlmorc, 1998). ~

38

CHAPTER 2

BUSINESS COMMUNICATI ON IN THE SERVICf: AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTRY COMM UNICATION AND SERVICE

~'ANAGE ME NT

AND .iARKETING THE:ORY

CHAPTER 2

39 Take a Ioo k at an Oth ...nr article ' published by the Forbes' . comriburor . . Newman (2015): hnps://wwvv.forbes.com Sltl's daruelnewDamel . ? OlS/ 11 /24/whar-i~·the-expenence-economy-should-} our-busi/ I f b . man . ness-care/ # 1e01 f.2cc 1dOc. Newman grves examp es o . us . messes that oxpcrience management mastered cusw mer ..... :-. C\1\ 1) pnnCJples. Accord. . h'1m,ma naoing mgro b ..., customer expencncc 1s not opnonal, bur essennal.

I 1jt'~ITh and

K~,.b [('l".l {.2on--) 'irw rhc ~..·xprncnc~ t'Conom\ a s a srag~ for rlh· "il·~agner. ()~,.•signers .1r~,.• r.wglH ro li.St' .111 fi,·~ ~~nse to communiClt~ .1nd t1..'~ .HT.lng(• \\'('~rtb, anef:1cts, ~h.lpe~. 1.:'0l~.mrs and \'mbols to ct~..·.u~ a £1..")r.ll ~. · xpenencc-. Th~,.·, ab~,., ~X~"Llln wlw c~.'~mmumc:nion t.s .u

rh~..· hr.11·r "'r rh~..· ~. ·xpen~.·nce Fu·sr . C\.)mmunic.lrion form~ an inre~ral .... p.1n 1JlthL' rxp~.·r~~..·nct· itst'if ~~..~.·ond . organi~.lril.''n~ liSt' Cl'~mmtmic.Hi~.)n tt'l lllt~IlL1t t-U'\Ct"~lllt'l l'Xpl'l'lt'nc~.·~ £hmugh careiul planning t'~f r.1ngible .1nd mr.ln~tbk -.~n ·in· l'llmcrn~ in the service ddiv~..·ry '' . . r~..· rn (Pullm.1 n &.. l1 rver, tht~ 1" ea . . tt:r ...,,11d than done, a~ dll'rc c.1n be a gap bet\\ ccn the cusromcr C\pecc.Hton~ and che1r actual percept ron'\ of the expct tenced scn·tcc (\\'trtl &. Lo\ dock. 2017, Kotlc1,john &Jamc ..... .2010, Hudson & Hud"ion, 2013):

CHAPTER 2

40

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE S ER~ ICE AND EXP ERI ENCE INDUSTRY CO .1MONICATION AND SER\ ICE ' A AGEMENT A D I ARKETI G THEORY

CHAPTER 2

41 Figure 2.3 UndeiStandmg expectatiOnS and perceplions mS81V1ces

WHAT THE CUSTOMERS EXPECT IN THE WAY OF SERVICE

Plca.-.1." no rice rhar rommunicaaon is explicitly n1enno ned as o ne of rhc dcrl?nnman b, ycr a peer related ro comm un tcanon appear 1mplicJdy in orhcr dercrm manr , roo:

A SERVICE QUALITY GAP

WHAT THE CUSTOMERS THINK THEY GOT IN THE WAY OF SERVICE

1

Access lhe ~::~se and convemence or occessmg the serv~ce

2

Communication keepmg customers Informed m o language they understand hstenmg to customers

3

Competence hovmg the SkillSand knO\'rledge to prov1de the serv1ce

4

Courtesy

I

In rhe case- where exptxrarions arc nor mec the caust? of rhc problem can be tound by idt?ntit}'ing. anah'~mg and then minin11'i1ng the gaps. THE CUSTOMER

THE SERVICE PROVIDER Communications w1lh customers

pohien~s

respect constderolton fnendliness of stoH at oil levels

,

Service delivery gap

Design gap

6

Reliability provrdtng cons1slent. accurate and dependable servrce. dellvenng the serv1ce that was promtsed

standa ds a;')flned in local serv1ce charters, accuracy a! records accuracy of communtty charge brlls dorng JObs nght the first trme, keep1ng promtses and deadlines

7

Responsiveness betng ~... Jtng and ready to prov1de serv1ce when needed

resolving problems Qufckly, provrd1ng appOintment times

8

Security physical safety. finonc1o1 secunty; confrdentroltty

provid1ng services tn a safe and secure manner

9

Tangibles the phys1co1 aspects of the serv1ce such as equ1pment. fac1lit1es. staff appearance

up-to-date equipment and facthhes. staff uniforms

10

Understanding the customer knowing 1ndiv1duol customer needs. recognis1ng the repeat customer

toilonng serv1ces where practical to meet Individual needs

,.-__;L...A.- - - . .

or servl(:e

Percephons ofseMce

Service desl'gn and speclflcoflon

Servtee delivery

Expectations of serv1ce

Understanding customer expectations

Internal communication gap

Understanding gap

Figure 2.4 The service quality gap model (Audit Scoffand, 1999)

To identify the gaps, we need to know our customers, e:\pecrattons and perceptions of the service we provide ro rhen1. Thts can be done through marker research sun·eys, following our customers' onl1ne dtscuss_ions and listening to their suggestions, or by traming customer senttce emplo)'ees to 1· ·t , t.s en to customers comments. The managetnenr can then redesign service deliver)' and standards. Regardless of" hat the service is there are 1 . 1 some e ernencs t 11at determtne servtce quality.

staff behavmg politely and pleasantly

the reputation of the serv1ce in the Wider commumty, staff generating a feeling of trust w1th cuslomers

., ---.;..._:__""'

Expectallons

all staff knowrng and able to do the1r JOb

Credibility trustworthmess, reputohon and image

Service quality

gap

'pla1n English' pamphlets and brochures commumcollon motenal tailored to the needs of IndiVIdual groups (ethmc mrnonhes VISually 1mpoued etc ) suggestions and complamts systems

5 External communications gap

('

neighbourhOOd offrces one stop shops con· venrent operahng hours 24 hour telephone access Internet access

Table 2.1 Determmants 01 servtce quoit~~ and e.xamples (Audu Scotland 1999)

42

CHAPTER 2

BUSI NESS COMMUNICATION I

I

THE SER\ ICE A

O E PERlE CE I OUSTRY OMML:

I

CA~

0

m

SER\ CE MA 1\GEME\T

t

ET

CHAPTER 2

43

Reflection questions 1

( o mmun K.Hit"~Il

,l th.i

Undl•r:-;t.md-

l t"~Ibh.it r \\ hnr drte1 mm.lnt(s) ,.)f 't'IYICr qualtn rhc nr\\ blllldtnb .1111..i rlw mr..:•nor dt'"tgn rq rt''l'IH.

2. DI:o-C'll.:\~ "har rhr unp1 ''' c~i arrhir~.·rrurl' and

lllt~·n~.u·

dcstgn mm

unphnrh fl)llltlllllll(atl' t\' C'lhll"~Ilh'rs. \'\ har t"'tht•r dtll'lllllll.lnt:s .1nd dinh:'ll.:->h.11h ~.,f sl'l' ace qu.llll' m.n dh' custl"~llh't, .ls~llllh' ro bl ht~h (h rt.·-.rauranr &. -.rcakhou~c challl "ath 49 rcs-

bt :i/111.~.' (,1)1 20 IJ)

FrL'IH

~

Example 2.2

tH. l h'IS tel Ol't'l·fl1l)ti11St

~

.tnd tmder·dtfuu (I lt tt.hl"' ll &: l l ud~\.)11,

-rauranrs m Denmark, S" l'den,l,crman) and Non\ J.\ tknsl..' n '.s Bt.111HI\ 201 7). In i\o,embl'r 2013. rhc managl'menr mo\cd one oflt\l..'\ l.., u ng

rc.srauranrs 111 Aalborg mro a big ht\tonc down tO\\ n buddmg, .1nd 1 t'· opened a spacious ne\\' 1esrJ.UI".ltH \\'lth .1 "cpar.ue rake-a\\ ,1\ dt\ •~ H.1n (H.m...,en, 20 lJ ). Ar rhar wne, i r "a... rhc btggcsr rcsrau ran r in r he clu i n. The butldmg cdebrarcd che area's ht.•riragc and rhc rcsrauranr.., 111Ccrior highltghred modern, slel'k J.nd ... ophtsncarcd dc-.tgn. ~

Figure 2.5 Source· Mette FrecJsklld Design ApS, Denmark

~

2.3.2 The customer journey, touchpo1nts and communication J\ varit't)' of tC:'~t.' b .11'(' .l\'ailJbll' r'-' hd p b u stnl''> '>l''> u h.k r:...r.1nd .llh.i tl lu,

trJ.tl' d w ~.· ~pt• r icntl.. c,f c-.Kh indi\'tdu.ll Llh toma m a .St.'l'\'lCt' "'rg.1msanon . Ex.1mpk-. tnd u dc t hl· st.'tYicc blul'pnnr, cu -.r0 ml' r jt.HII'IW)' nupptng and 1..'\~W IIt.' ll u: m.1pping. Figure 2.6 V1sua1tsmg JOumev

..

me customer

44

CHAPTER 2

!CATION IN THE SER~ ICE AND EXPERIEN CE I DUSTRY BUSINESS COM I UN COMM UNICATION AND SER~ ICE MANAGE ME T A. 0 .~ ARKET '-JG H£0R)

Tr'c•c. ·no~.ir I~ r.t kt, c1lt•Jr p 0 inr of "ic.' p.1rrure m .1 mer:tphor rhar hc.•lf's l1 ' . · d f "n·icc.·~ wirh ,1 ' I0 1111lc.>)' tbrougl :1 ~·en'tre org.w1.,.u1011 • 1 romp.ln' c. c.' I\ c. n " :--c.: . . . I · . ) iu -n'n F'h.l,c.''· . rhc.:· 't' n ICC' compn~mg t ll' mn c. " " - l lu.'uruer nsdf and ". ~ut~c.:~ .. . ~ (\X'lnZ & Lc."''.l'h."~ck 201 ). l lh' ' ' h lr 'j< urnc, f osr-encounrll .. d ) Wil inw rouchpmnr' ro 'hc.'''' where l hc.' rusr ' lllrr 1 ~ rhrn L'fc.' kl n 1.. c. 1011 inrc.>racrs ( 1..r. rc.'nulll · ·'lll •Hc.:'' ·llld l'l1\!.1~l'' ... ... ) \\'lth ,1 ' l ' l \ l L' c.Wg.llll~~H .. rirha hum.m ~c.:'tYicr-prc.)\ 1\.k r c.1r tc.-chnc."~lo~ . r 1r-t: !>l'l:i '_\ ' -r l• I 111• r 1· ~.-••~ llv ' md ,lCCllt,Hd\ . rhl'!->c.' c.1n F'l'l' l1h"~ £ l' rhc imnl'l'.lf'F'rc."~.1Ch bc.,rh 111 thc.:• ro r.1l ~e t ' llc.' cxnl'ntancL' 0 t- J l tl'-r (."~lll'r-ccnrric C.: r c.:'tKc.:' .111 d in tl'"~lh.-hf'Otnr-. In 1\ ur I\ . \\'l' \\ dl dbru ...... in ic.•r.ul rhc.:• r"'uchpomr' Jnd rhctr l111 k tl) (\"~mmu­ Empathy 1s the capacity for understanding, nic.uic.'n. lr h.b b"'c.:'n pro' t' n d1.H prc.widmg surh q

betng aware of and being sensitive to feelIngs thoughts and experience of another Without hovmg these full~' communrcoted

rn on obJectrvely explrcrt manner (Mernom-Webster drctronary, 20 17)

S\'~[l'lll.ttiC lll':~hr!-

IIH0

CJCh ..1nd

l'\

L'I'V

llHt'l'.l("( l{)(l

• brrwren rhc.· 'c.:':' ILl' or~.1ni.s.ut"'n .llh.i .1 cusrc.'mcr, .1111011~ "'thc1 bcndir~. lk't'st' c.•mp.uhy .1 mon~ mJn.tgc.:'i" and fronr-hnl' l'lnplc.'' l't'~. Emp.uln i~ indl't?d .1 v1rJI dl'mcnr of comnHlt11C,ltlc.'n . 71Jt' 1\fer17 Wl -\\"ebstrr D1criv1lu)' (20 17) define . . l' lllp.uln .1 ....

" the capacity for understanding, bemg aware of and be1ng sensrtrve to feelmgs, thoughts, and experience of another without havtng these fully communrcoled mon objectively explicit manner.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING Ex.unple 2.1. J( u~£·11 '., /3o fhus .md tt:S 7~t•w mtcnor Thl' th:'wh "'l'eill'~.i rr -..rJuranr',l utldin~ ,,,ll, m rhc} t\' t'ntcd cx.unplc, l't'prl'-..l'IH rhc.:· T.lll~tble~ ~.hmt'll!->H. n. ~ h'ving rhr rot.lur.liH r rhc up\!t".hk EKiltl1c.:'s .m i m.tkmg .tn llt''"·tlc liHl'l'ltH' m :n lead dw nt-..rom• t'l ., r~.,, .1~!'\tlllh' .1 h1~h ll'\ d c."'f lll=tltt\' 111 c.'rhcr rt'"~'Lrt' t'.g. ~.- usn'm~r ~t' t \ lc.l' 111 ~l'lh.'t".ll lc.c.ur.Hc.:' communic;'lttl''ll ~_,f cusl""llll'I nrl'~..l -.. l' rh(' " .11 lt't ~.."r \\ .lllt\'"' l \' \ c.h"~ki n-~ ... t.tCt Rdt.1b1111v .-tnd C\"~mnnuHC.H '""ll dt•tt'l'tn 11 1.11 1{ :-; ).

CHAPTER 2 REFLECTION QUESTIONS Sc.'I"VICl' Cl.)llSlllllpti('\ll ?

\\' In ({I.)L'" ll."~l111l1lll11C'.ltiL"~ll ll1.lU1.'1'

ddl\L'l'\' \)f :-.1.'1'\•ICl':--? \'\ '}n d ot·~ tt m.H lL ' I' ("' d11.' ddi\'t'n l't l'Xpc.'l'IL'th.t'' Slh'ul~.i d wr\' b~.· .1 d1t: t~· t l' ll Cc.:' bt• t w~.·~.·n l lw ".w .. in \\ hllh t~"'t \\'.trd-t.Ki ng ~.·mph-') 1.'c.' ' t l."~tn­ nn1nlc..Hl'. dq t.'lldlll~ l"'ll \\ fll•liw1 tlh'\ c."fl'J t\l'l 'l' t\'iCL'~ l."'l ' c.'X J"'l'llt' lh c-.? \\ ln ''In no t? 3 \\ h,H (mh_,l~l'' ... ,li'L' l hc.'l'l' bt'(\\ L'l'l1 ((\llll1ll1 111L,HI01l ,ltld: a r lw s l' t ' tt L' q u.1l i rv? . b rht' cu-.tc.)ll1l' t •l (."~ llt Ill'\ L'\.pt'nc.> ncl' 4. BtO\\ ' L' rhe th t'(."'l'ic.·~ and 111'-.'dd\ '-'f "c rvicl·~ m .l n.l~c.:'llll' tH .1nd nu rkcrm ~" - 11ltlud i n~ d1'-'~L' thJr we re t1l"~ t d t,c u ~sl'd in ch i~ ch.tpt l'r. \\ h.u .llc.' rh c.· lmk.l ~C\ explicit and unplt~.·i c bctWt't'll thl'm .1nd commun11.ar ion? I-:.xpl.11n yo ur' tl'\\ potn r. 2

lO rill'

~

Empathy is on~.· of rht• component\ of l'mononal i nrd ligl' IKL' ("l'L' Chapter 1). Emparhy is considered robe the dnvmg ... forc.c bchmd bus1ness communication in ...,gencrJI. t\s '\'ou can see from the dt scu v-o~on of the service quality gap model, it comprises a dtmcn-.IOn of scr vtcl' quality rhar i!) evaluated by the customers

KEY TAKEAWAYS Communication I'\ an . ., · 01 gan1c component of anr sen 1ce cncounrcr and of rhe service orga ·, · al . ntsanon m gener . \' \\ 1th oth~t s Of rh1s commumcatton ritne, think about ho\\' nlltch of rht-. ume you spend on. a) n:admg: b) writing; c) talking: .ln'-1 ~

'-'

3.1 COMMUNICATION AND THE INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE One thing rhat makes this book different fron1 o ther r~xrb ook:-> on communication is rhar it highlights the intercultural pcr-,pccnvc on communication. Personal and cultural tdentity are inherent pat r ... of any communication (Chen & Lin, 20 16). \\'hen we con1mun1GHe .•lnorhcr person's vantage point, knowledge. assumpnons, expenenccs. pracnccs. thinking style and so on cannot sm1ph be taken for granted. All of rhese considerations will affect the way you greer the per. . on, the way you use your body during conversation. your eye contact. the amount of silence in your conversation, whether \'OU talked \Inntlt~l­ neously or in rums, how you referred ro one another, how \·our conversation was brought ro an end. Besides these, rin1e, place. ,·our r~­ lationships and man\'I other psvchological social hisroncal eletnent ... ~ will play their role) roo. I

Figure 3.1 What impacts communicatton

'

1

I

'-"

\..

I

I

....__:

""""

d) ltstentng'

The amount of rime spent on profc.., ... tOnal con1munication depends on , ·our role in rhe service organisanon. Bur needless ro say. there ar~ few jobs our there that have lirrlc need for con1municarion. Constdenng that we spend ...o much tin1c con1n1unicaring. miscon1tnunicanon happens quire ofr~n. roo. \\'c \\ tll now define (Ommunication and spent)' rhc vanous form!) and rvpes of con1mumcarion. \VL' \nll rhen re\'lC\\ the rhcone.., and n1odels of comn1umcanon.

WHAT IMPACTS COMMUNICATION

3.3 WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

TIME RELATIONSHIPS PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASPECTS

PLACE HISTORICAL ELEMENTS SOCIAL ASPECTS

This textbook 1s con cerned '' tth commurucation tn sernces m the age of experience ccono1n\, and therefore 1t 1s unportant ro clcarl\ define v;har we tnean lw commumcanon. There are tnan\ defimnon.., our there, sotne of whtch arc presented bclO\Y. Do \ 'OU sec an\' comnH.1n patterns or 1dcas? Google Search return~ the followtng: komju :m kctJ1~)n l

49

50

CHAPTER 3

, N JHE srRvtcE AND exPERIENCE INDUSTR' BUSINESS COMMUNICATION I THE FUNOAMFNTALS ANO CONCEPTS OF COM MUNICATION

CHAPTER 3

51 Figure 3.2 Defmtfion ond ongrn of 'commumcat/On

communication

Reflective questions

Ongm

ddinumns. \ommurHc:umn as nfl~..·n \'1~\\c..:d as .1 \~'mpll·:-.: .lthi h•n.tnu~..- prl'C't''s-. k.ldtn\! tl' tlw l ' ohm on ,,f nwaning.t\l£1h'll~h ~..kflnit h'tb ptl'sl'IHcd .ll'l'' t' \'.ln. rlh'\ sull have much in ullllllH'Il ( "'lll!'kllli.'IH I lh'~l' \\'il h 2 3 llC\\' lkhnll illlls ~.,,f fl'tnllHllllC.llll)ll (u.s~..· f'll'l~·.:-.si~'n.d hll'~"· c:-..:pl·n~·' h'\\ P~'mt.-; .1nd .lc.h.i~..·mrr public.Hil'~n"' fn.,m c;~.,,l,~ll ''h lhll.tr). T.lkll\~ tlw f'l'lll( o( ~..h·p.lrlurl' Ill thl' \',ll'hlll~ ddinrt tOtb ltl'tn thi-. rh.ll'tc·r .md rlwsl' '-'r' lllll' chuirc: th ""'l'll in dw

LATIN

LAID!

(Oinmun.,...,m

rornmun

tu

cornmumrot n ENGLISH

• from Old Fronch COif!UniCDCIOn, from lnlm commumcat10(n- ). from tho verb late Mlddle Engll!lh COifl/TIUIIIC8ffl to s~ro' (see communtcato)

Tmnslatlons, word ongtn, and more definitions

1. li~t l lh'

.1bl''l'

r.d ~.·h.ll'.lC'h'rtslt\7:-. of C'l''ll1111lllllr.ni~'ll 2. idl'IHi0• k~.·, l'km~.·nts ofrlw commttmC'.Hll'l1 J'n'ce ........

Thi:-o bring:-. u:-o w l'lll' of rh~..· kc\ Jdt'.l.S rl'~.1rd in~ l"l)lllllHinir.ui 1)n, 'sb~znn..~ tbt• mt•mung oj)our mc.,-~·,r.f!.t'.

C'1..'1H

I .e .

F~..)r rlw put l''-'"'-'" Figure 3.3 Vanous defmtflons at communtcolton

' ' Aprocess by which information is exchanged between mdividuols through o common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.

(l)mnu rnic.Hil'll ll l1\\ l'\ ~.·r, t hi-. :'

-

Ll t

1.."() ll1 tn

.

(.)f

t hi~

lh.H llhll'l'

chaph.'r, ir i..; r' en morl' nnpon.1n1 tl) dl·firh' mak~..·~ .1n tmp.Kr, '-'~' '\!'-)'-)d' C"l'tnnHtlltt':tuon. r~.'mplc~ l h.111 111\.'1 l'h ''-',lrchtn~ Cc1r .1 ddinittl)ll

lllll (',l( I\) 11:

Memom-Webster Online Orcllonory

' ' Communication is o collaborative process of using messages lo create and participate in social reality. The Commumootion Age· Connectrng & Engogrng

' ' The importing or exchanging of information by speaking, wriftng, or usrng some other medium. Oxford Encyclopedia Online

' ' Communication as the process of generating meaning by sendtng and receivtng verbal and non-verbal symbols and signs that ore influenced by mulhple contexts.

organt~ational

context,

within service organisations, it can often be referred ro as organisa• L

Clonal or internal corporate communication. \\'c wdl communication in detail in Chapters 8 and 9.

(Domton & Zelley 2014, p 2)

lklo\\ , Wl' ~,.,ffer you rh c lll.'Ct'""·uv building blo'-k~ ro hdp pntKlplc!\ oi rommunicati0n to u . . c.

)'Oll

pur rhe

3.4 COMMUNICATION DIMENSIONS

Communicotron tn lhe Real World vl .ORtchord G. Jones Jr.

\\/hen we speak about communication in an

' ' "Good communtcatlon means different thtngs to dtf1erent people tn dtlferent sttuottons. Accordtngly, stmply odopttng o set of particular sktlls is not going to guarantee success. Those who ore genurnely good communtcotors ore those who understand the underlytng pnnctples behind communtcotion and ore able to enact, appropriately and effectively, porttculor commumcotton skills os the siluotton warrants

dtscu~\ tnternal

\Ve can differentiate bet\\een the dtffcrcnr n·pe., and form-; 1..1f communtGHton bJ.sed on, h.lr L'Xample, rhctr oncnrart0n, Llw p.urtt's mvolvcd (111tl.'I'llJ.} 01" l.'Xll'l'llal), tlO\\ ofcOI11n1UIHCJ.tl011,levd offonnahty, Or llSl.' of word' \\ ·c can disringlll~h between' anous "a\.., otrd.tying mcssag.. es, roo. Below, we present ... ome common ways of cl.l~sJt)ring commumcarion (Blundd ct al., 20 13)· vt:rbal and non-verbal. wrirten and oraL Internal and external. formal and mformaL digital and analogue:

BUSINESS COMMUNICAliON IN

CHAPTER 3

52

THE SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTRY THE FUNDAMENTALS AN D CONCE PT S OF CO MM UNICATION

~

Figure 3.4 eommumcat1on dtmens10ns

Verbal and non-verbol

"' Orol and wntten

"' Formal and Informal "' Digital and analogue

In SL'I'\'Ke pr~.wision, rh~.· SL't'\'ic~ qualiry indud~.·~ r.ut-

gibk .1nd tnra.ngtbl~? d,.•mctus (s~c Chaprl"r 2' l\.l11l-\erb.tl rtOml"r cu~,•.., ~..g. tlwir bod\ lJnguagl". can help rhem gam a benet undl"rsranding ot cusroml"r nel'd' and cone L'I ns rson A fo1 m:-. .tnd send:-; a mr:-,sage rhar 1 rec~::t\ rd, intt•rprclcd, .1nd .111~\\'l't\'d by per.stm B.

•

\o ret Uo/(1\ttst bel. Cm1'111rmic,111lm in '11Je Connse D.mtsb Dtctl01Ja1)', (~)'1dend.t!. Accessed 011 I- \cwember 20 I 7. Ar·.lil.zbll• at http: di'IIStored.znske.dk mdex.pbp?suleldr:::. I 085..J8

Reflection questions · ~.,lfrlll'vant.)ll' ll1lkil'ls t)r"C'l>mmunir.tBdorc \W cng.tgt• 111 •1 1..i 1 ..,~..u~sion •·

n·(111 r 1w r \\ .l' C.lll 1··l, 1.. ) L10 r L:1 11 l1.."~d •n

\\\"'tdd llkc ttl tn\ 1ft.' vou ro ~..·xplorc - 1 n1c, 1..11.. J .. , .... r Ill' cI.1-. ... tc.l ·' ",f CI..)Jllmun tc.Hwn lt"rcd bdo\\'. U.smg .. hbr.trv s"'-lt•ll1r SOUI'C'l'S 01. G 00~Tl. t: .._ l " ' • colll'ct infornunon on .1nd comp.ll't.' the · rn c> lll J ....... , ~. ot-c•)rtHnun icuion t-l) II owu1~T ... • ' indudmg .._ 't.;.U,llis.uions 1..)f c.1ch rh~l)ry/ modd. 1 •

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•

•

•

1

~

1. \\lhar do rh~..·-.c rh(·orH.'S .111d modd.., hm•t' in

CL)I11l11on? \\1hl're

do

the\' dift~·r? I

2. Can ,111 ~-'f rhl'm bl· u-.t•d ro cxpl.tm comn1untC \\ 'hy/ wh) nnr'

•

111

"ol'l' ltL' com-

• The t'.Irlil'sr m.1ss contrnunican~..)n model. called ·. \JJ -. Lork·\ l\ lode! ofCommunic.Hion', '' htch rL'pt~..•sents cornrnunic.uJOn lwrwcl'n .111 orator and a Iar~cr .1udtencc. '-'

3.9 THE THREE VIEWS ON COMMUNICATION c.1n ,.il'\\' communic:Hi,·e rncountu-. .. r diffrrenr ll'H·b .1r1d from (ilftl.-t ~nr pl'r:-;pt>cti\ ~..·~. ConununirJ.rion profe!\~ion.tl!' nnd scholars ro,.:i.tv ~..·mplL))' r h rl'c prim.try pL'rspt'criH·s (i.e. vie\\'s on rommunic.uwn): 1) (0111111lll1iC,l(ion .lS ,1('(1011 OJ' t1'.1l1Sllll'i\ll'C0nd

pl't'ICL'~Sl'.S .

\\'.1\'

'

\,)f

vit•win~ Cl'lllmu-

..

'

Thl'rr arr t)(hrr c.\~mpk·s t.1fcommuntC\HIOll .ls ~l non . Think .1bour .111 unf(,rrun~Ht' sicu.trion t1f st·nd111g an ele~..noniC lt•Ltt'l ot ~ppltc.H1on for ,111 inccrn.ship pt)\IUOn .111d 11l'\'Cl hcaung ft o m the emplo\ cr. An .1n ofcommunic~rion - C't".lft ing and \endmg an e-m.1d - has raken place, •ver ir fc>llow.s .1 linl'.u· p.nh , and one maJor que,non t"L'maJ n ' h.1:-. tommunir.uion cruly occuncd' \\'hat 1f rhts c-marlended up 1n thl' !link folder of rhe potrnri.llemploycr or 1t "a.s deleted b, ll11\£,1ke' Now imagitw rlur you rexr yolll colleague, t'\:pb.tmmg that you nu.~d ro call in sick, and .1sking him to srand 111 for \"Ou on .vour shift. Bur wh.tr if) our colleague did nor re~d the te-..r becau~e he k·fr his mobile ar hornr? 1 \X har you can probably conclude from the abtWl' is nor only that consciou.s I'('Ccipr of the message 15 CrUCial, but ai\O that COI11111llll1C.l· ri\.m can lw regarded .1s effective o nh when it 11\ 'L'') up to the follm' 111g rt'quireml'nt.s: a) ir 'entaiLs the s uccessful rransmtss to n of in fo1 marion': which take~ place b) when rhc rransmisston of the mesc;agt's J"i nor dtsroned; and c) when rhe mc5sage not onlr rcache~ tts intended destination (rhe receiver), bur also when Its mcan1ng 11\ mterpreted as the sender inrrndcd. ~

If one or more of these conditions are model f.11ls down:

11111\~mg, ...

the rrans mt s\1011

Figure 3.12

INTERACTION

Sender (Receiver)

Messages are exchanged

------~

Receiver (Sender)

Ir ... ug~L'~ts ch.u Wl' c.111 l'e~ard communicarion .1s l'ITl·crivl' wlwn .1r1 l'X'"'"' change of intl.-.,rmarion r~kt''> pl.lcl' 1r me.1ns rh.u thl· st'lhil·r ~~..·nd~ rill· ll1e\.'>fl~l', thl' mess~~l' .... .. is thl.'ll reCeiVCd bv dw l'l'Cl'iVt'r ,lnd tht• l'l'C'l'l\'L'I' rt>phes ro the origin.tl St'nder. It unphes char rlw ~wr.so ns involved imo rhis (L)Illmunicativ~ t'ncounrer rake rurno.; a~..rmg .1s lht' ..'>endcr .1nd rhl' recl'iver of rhl· 111L''>Sa~es .. Buildmg.... furrhet tH1 rhc t':\,lmpk" .1bovc, it means.. rh~l vou he.lr from Vt)Ur coll~a~UL' and lw tL'Xt.s ,vou b.tck t•irhrr ~ ~ .1gret>ing to c.t k~..· \our shifr 01 sugg~\tmg antHht•r .l ltern.uivl', or you ger a JOb offer from thl· emplo\ ~r. J.nd \ 'O ll \end .1 tlun k HHl ll•rrer, tl...,nnally .lcLepnng rhe post non .

..

Ca n th1"' ~ lt glulv more ad\'anced model be o.;ufficienr ro undet\t,lnd rhe co mple'XHtt.'') of human commumcarmn 111 the 'it'l' h .. C mdusrry? Re..,ea rchc"" (Hansen, 2014, Bo' ee & Thtll, 20 16) argue rhar this view on communtcation is sti ll nor o.; u ffioenr ro t>xp l~i n wh.lt t1uh happens when \\'l' communicace: ' ' For groups, and small businesses and multinational corporations to non-prof· its and government agencies. If people don't communicate the right informa-

CommunicaltOn as mteractton

62

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN

CHAPTER 3

THE SFRVICf AND l!.XPERif:NCE INDUSTR'r TH£ FUNDAMlNlALS AND CONCEPTS OF COI.'t.WNICATION

Iron to the nghl peoPie ollhe nghtlunes, rn the rrghl ways, lhrngs ore go1ng 10 roll aport. DrrecIrons ore nolloflowed customers oren I sotrsf1ed clients oren 1 served regula IIons oren 1obeyed' and general chaos often ensues 1

,

In ~'ICkr l\' b\'llt'l undc!st.lnd !Ius VIC'\\'t,fthr l"l'llllllllllt~.:uann kt u.s fit'' ~.ldinl' MlC"t,liC"(}Jl.Struni"'n:

pr0Ct'

s,

(Coursero)

' ' Bnefly, soctal construc11on (SC) ossurnes lhol people construct (1 e creole, rnc1ke, mvent) lhe1r understandings of the world and the meonmgs they grve to encounters w1111 ollwrs, or vorrous products they or olhers creole, SC also assumes thai t11ey clo 111rs JOintly, m coordrnotion with olhors, rather lllon lndrVIduolly.

Reflection questions t .(lllllllllllll.l(ll'll •l·" •l l~!itHl

i!'

•

•

•

which ,} . 1 .1 I11 l .,,. •1 :;.~,~..· Ct) ' 1 t't'tl'l\ l't. but dh't t' t:-\ 111., .._~ll.ll'.ltH ~..·~..· 1 h.11 llw "l.'fhi l'l' ~1.'111.1'> .llll'''·h:!t' I~_ .ll. 1 l 11 • jj,·~,kll\t'lt'l.l ,llld nothin~ i~ 1\'tllnt~..·d lt' the .scnd~..· . In I

. , IJ}~ . _ l ,} 11 ~l.)fl}l

.1 tHll' \\,1\

•

tl)ll1Jl1llllll',)(ll'll Ill .

(Leeds-Hurwrlz. 2016)

1

•

Cl'lllllHtni~·.Hil'~ll .ts tt".llb.lC'Ul'll, tht, llll'.llb llh' 'nmm·uctwu of ~J,.nt ci uJt•,m mg' cmd tmder.,t.mdm.~ bNu'Ct'IJ two or more mrlu'Uiu,z/.'' ( Uurk \ppltl'd

- ., • l)lll'-\\',1\' Cl)lllllllllll\.•Hitlll llCtlii'.S bl'C.lliSl' ll( l hl' dhlift' ll 1

ofth~.· nwdium .llld rh.tlllh'll,fcommuni~.-,HilHl. Print (nt'\\'sp.tp~..·r .td.s,

11 \tJ:o-, , ...l. 1-) \.., ch.uuwl ... 1

1', 1 tllh'-w.n• n'mmunicHit'll I 0

llll'dium, as

.11\' .Sl'llh'

fi~it.tl

&. \ '" \ l.th,tn, 20 17). t \m!'t ructtl.lll

'-

pt ~'C"l's.s g~..l~''

but indud..-.~ l~t.llltl':O.:l, rd.Hion.s1ups .1nd twn-v~.·r­ b.ll communic.H itHl .tnd \\ r .111 k1ww hnw difficult it (',lll stlllll'Ullh'.s be [0 .Sl'p.ti',Hl' llh'.ss.l~l' ft'lllll pt'~: and 'arr • arc shared b\-' all •human • J-.s· cultural pacrerns (1b1d.). . an d an~ t.\\amp c:. of universal • L

4.1 DEFINING CULTURE The firsr ching rhar comes to mind when we hear rhe word 'culture' I\ usual!\' , national culture. e.g. Dantsh, Spamsh or Japane\e culture Nanonal cultures a1c otren associated With symbols, as 111 the illusnauon belo\\': figure 4.1 Symbols of notwnol cullure Photo credit Colourbox

••

•

75

\\'c c.m .1bo t.1lk about bigger geographical rrg10ns rhan narion-srates,

c.~. \Vcsrern ndn1re. In the .same? way, we can talk

Europt?an , ;hian lW t\fncan cuhurt?s. On the orher hand. within a single nation rhere ai'L' different rcg1onal cultures. In Denmark, \\c can diMingui.sh bL't\WCn ' Copt?nh.lgrn culrurL'' and ~Jurland culture'. Apart fr0m geo...graphical idrntinc.uiL)ll , therL' arc professional fields that havt? rhci1 0\\ n di~tincr cull u raJ idetHitics Researchers in rhc field of rouri.sm and ho'ipttalirr (c.~. \\ 'oods, 1989· Pizam, 1995), poim our rhar dift~renr mdusrrie.s, ..,ud1 a.. a1rl111es and re:-;taurants, have rl1L'Irown distinct cuicure\ \nd then of course, there is rhc level of L1 company or organisation. which allows us to talk about organisational or company culture. The abovL' show.s rhar the concepr of culture is nor easy ro under'>tand or define. In fan , Ravmond , \\' illiams warns u.s char 'culture' is one of tht? most complicated words m rhe English language. In 2014, rhe ~krnam-\V~b!-irer dicnonary proclaimed culture robe rhe word of the year, b~cause ir was the word most frequently looked up by online d1crionan' , U'\L'rs ahl)llt

Back in 1952, it was noted that there were 164 definitions of culture (\\'ebb et al , 2000), and that number has grown since. Thi\ 1s because the concept of culture is uc;ed m daffcrenr di degree. who IS nor famtltJr Wl[h tht.' Dantsh srudv culture (e.g. cast.'- and problem-based learning. msrcad of rotc lcarmng and mcmonstng). "dl have ro undergo acculrurauon on .se,·erallcvcls. The student "til ha,·c ro learn abour rhc counny's general cultural patterns, but also th .lCademtc culrurc. On cop of that, rher \\'Ill ha\·c co learn rhc culrurc of

rhe specific unl\·erslt\' or collcgt.' concerned. Another cxample is a newcomer in an orga 111 snrion. who wtll ha,·c ro learn the companv culturL', ~ . whtch constsrs of both the \\Ttrr~n rules and rt.'gularions ('Consummg alcohol dunng working hours ts nor allowed') and the trn..,pokcn ndL'"' ('You arc nor ~upposed roe-mad your colleagues ar rhe weekend', ' \\'t.' always bnng a cake ro work on our btrrhday').

EXAMPLE 4.1

80

CHAPTER 4

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE

SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY CULTURE IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY WHAT IS CULTURE ANYWAY?

CHAPTER 4

81

'tudenr and rhL· finc..·w. emplovln rhe abovl' ex.unp Ic. L'lOt 11 rhe forci~n .... . '. J t .uno thc 1r ,.,. will luve ro unuc..•rgo r11c..• rnrocess ot acculruranon to . ct: rc..•specnve culrure'i Acculturanon. IJke enculCultural diversity is the differences in race, efh-

nicity, nationality, religion or language om~ng venous groups within a community, orgomzotron or notion (Reisinger, 2009 p. 32)

rurarion. happens through sod rhe number of natiOnal and inrernarional 'tstrors. in the form of arhlcte.s, their suppon re~un~, -..penaror.s and med1a rcpresentatiVL'S. The national Oan1sh sporrs reams, be it football, handball, cycling or badminton, all ha,·e etther ream member~;,, coaches. managers or club owners from '-' countne-.. other than Denmark It ts clear char the individuals \\'ho plan and manage these events requtrc e:xcellent communicanon -..kdls. Your profcs man\' US films and reality. shows broadcastcd 111 Denmark. It has also bec01ne parr of the Oan1sh language and 1s \ndcly used in con1mon con,·crsation, as well as m rhe Danish mcd1a. This four-letter word IS srdl considered vulgar, offensive and unacceptable in polite con\'Crsanon. both 111 Grear Britain and the US.\. HO\\'l'Vl"'r, Dantsh chddren also grow up \\·i rh the non on that English swear words are ok to usc. Kate Xander tv1clltsh, author of Holl' To Lwe m De1lm,rrk \\Tttes: 'It cctn be jctrnng for Fngll5b speakers to hem· snhtll blonde chtldn:n swe,tr like battle-hardened Af,rrmes t~~hde lldults stcmd rd£v b_y, but 11'1'ite it oJrto cross-cultmi.tl misrmderstandmg' (t\.lcllrsh, 20 13 ). But irnagmc travelling ro rhc U1\., che USA or Australia for a srudv, tour. a semester abroad or an internsl11pnor even·bod\· n1ay~ be generous enough to ascnbe your usc of four-let" ter words to 'cross-cultural misunderstanding'. Instead, vou will most likel}· secn1 unprofessional and spectacularly rude · perhaps nor rhc impression you intended to convey! I

~

'

'--

~

82

CHAPTER 4

OUSI NtSS COMM UNICATION IN IH

E Sf RVICE AND EXPEI~I E N C( INDUS I RY CULTURE IN Ttl£

Jl .....UtJl'~[:-1 tt) LHII' (lHilll 1')', \\ l' l'Xj'PI'l Olll' Clli • t\fh·r .11~I , lll _ 1rl 11.•11 L"XJ"~t'l'lL'IlC"l'~ .ll'l' o1w nl £Ill' rc.l!'L'll S 1 h.u tour. Wl'l'. . • . ;1 J1l'\\' d·l !)(Ill,111011 . TlHirist~ C"lllll(' to Dl·nm.trk to L'~Pt'I'IL'Ilc\• IS[ \ 'l!il£ ll) l.lslt' (ill' lor.tl l he cult u r.1 II h'JI.·r.tgl, (lik l • •ll'Chitl'lllll'.tlllWllllllll'IHS), . . - 1 r 1h' 1l>L-•11 •11 11 w-.nlwrl' dl'!'lgn llt'ms .111d to t-ood , t t, ll'l' ·r • CL' buv , D.tnt:-;h . · _ l 11l. J) •1111 •~! 1 \\'' 1,v t,fltt'\.·. Ic •i.s ilHt't'l'sltn~ rh.11 wnh !lw .trrivC.\:}'CI'Il'llll' • ' • • , . 111· 'q 11 • which m.tkl'.S us 'lncrc:tstn~h .tltkc, .ts lhl'll )l'n .se 11 1 I 0 t- g1l l ll,l 1I.S, ' 'pu r.s H. ~ \\•l' 11..1, l. •1 ~\'J\)\\'JJllT~ lll'l'd to -..~L'. l.tSll' .tnd lHJ\' sonwtlting lol·,1I • : . • • B\'

.

.

AN[)

(J.flERI~ NCf

INDUSTRY

W~IAI

IS CULTUIU ANYWAY? CHAPTER 4

83

,

\\'l'kOilllll~ llllllll.Hllll 1•

.llld .wdw1111 c. Glt)b,tlis.H Joll, to qu speClhcallv 111 rerm' of promprness, rh-: ~c;vice provider':-~ .urirud-:, L'tC (Truong&. 1-\.111~. 201 0). Let us rah· a look ar ,uch concept'> .1s (OUtt~"' and polltrness 111 rlw following L'Xample.

EXAMPLE 4.5

BREElY OR BAD MANNERED? D~lllL'~

are considered by people from orher cultures as L~xrr~.?mch ~rr.lighrfor\\'ard .1nd informal (Truong & Kmg. 20 10) in th~tr commu...., mcuion. They don't h.we J. poltrl~ form oL1dd rt?'s (the pl)IICL' De, as opposed ro rh~.· informal du, is usuallv resen·cd for ralkmg ro the membt?rs of lhc ro~·al family). Danes normally do not address .1 gue'r by callmg them 'Sir' or ·~t.u.iam' (unlt:>ss 1r is an tntt?rnanonal fi,·e-star horcl and rhe communication language 1s Engltsh). Tht:>y rardy use rhe gut?st\ last name, e.g. Hr. Jen:-;en or Fr. Hansen. t\ 11 thl'se conv~.·nnon\ \\'Cl"L' considered rhe norm 50-60 ,vears ago, but nor in modern Damsh com'-' municarion. So \\'hat is left? Rt:>cenrl\', , one of the authors \\'as '''airing ro board an imcrnational flight ar Aalborg Airport. The Danish airltne employee in charge of the passporr check before boardmg sroppt?d ont? passenger with rhe words, 'Hey, you are nor suppo~ed to go there!' Ir really does noc help rhar rhcrt:> is no word for 'please' 111 Dant!'h, and rhe\ seem w be quire sparing when it comec; to usmg ch is word in English, roo. A recent surv~y carried our br \ 'tstrDenmark arnon ~T tnternanonal rourisrs in Denmark shows thar rhe Brirish guesrs gcneralh· con\tder the Da~1cs ill-mannaed. The Swedes. on rhc ot her l;and, enJO}' rhe mformahry and soak in the Damsh h.)'gge. ~

I

85

4.6 THE DARK SIDE OF GLOBALISATION

. H

CHAPTER 4

~

di:.;cu.ssr\.i 111 Ch.1pru· l. globJ.lis.Hion contriburr:-. to migra[lon and incrra:->l'd di\ l'rsiry m rh~.? workplacr. \\'r \\ n.nt"' prl'\ 1 oush~ rhar ,, orkpbc~.· dl\ ~.·r:.;irv c.1n havr posiri\'t.' and th'~:triv~.· ourconH'' ">Oll"ll'rime.s ir c.1n be .1 'LHII'CL' 1.1f inspir.Hton. J.nd soml•tinh's it c.111 be •1 b.uricr ro dh·criv~.· et1mmunicarion. EncL1lltlC1.'r' "ith pt?opk who '''1.' p~.·rc~.·ivt? w be '-iifferL'IH ftom u' can rl'\ulr in 5ft!7'l'cJtJ•ping .1nd prepul1cI!S a~.1insr rh~.'!\1.' people. ~omt:>nm-:s we ev~.·n discnmin.ut:> Stereotype: o widely held but a~.1in:-;t them. Dtscrimmanon can t.1ke d1fl't:renr fiwm.s , fixed and oversimplified image or ltkl· 1\Kisr .JOkL'' and remark'\, '>l1111CUI11L'~ unmrcnrion1deo of o port1culor type of person al. \\'~,• mighr durin~ t:>varday com'L'rsaril"'n , ignor-: the .... 'dift~~reru' pt.' I "on, making him or her ' invisible'. Ima~ 111 e or thing (Oxford dictionaries) ...., a group of Damsh colleagut:>' ar lunch strring nr.:'\t r~' a non-Danish colleague who doe') nor 'peak t''r und~.·r:-;rand Dani~h. If all corwL'r.sarion rakt:>s place in Dam ... h. dw d1tfer~.·nr' per~on becomt.: ... effecnvdy in\ tstblc Orht?l form' of commumc.ui~)n rh,u ~.·xdudr rhl' 'dtff~.·rt:>nr' col1~.·.1gut:> mcludc Withholding inti.""nn.uil.'m , 1.H· cre.uin~ .1n .Hmlhphere or t:>ngaging 111 acnvine\ 111 "hJCh rh~.·y c.1nnot p.11 rtc1p.ue. ltkL' mvning a reetoral ~luslim ro a dnnktn~ event. As

..

..

~

~'

One ot rhe most nonceable negan\ 1.' conse~lllL'Ilce' ot globaltsanL)n ts global rerronsm. Thro., ropK 1s of p.unculat 11.'1~,•, ancL· ro rhe globJ.l rounsm .1nd e\ enr mdusrn. Brutal terrorist .ur.h.:ks bv lsl.unic funda' mental1srs brc1.'d fear and mt-;rrusr of all ~luslims Ofrl.'n , ~tuslims ar1.' collecrivdv as fundamcnlJ.lisr:-;, and rh~.· dT~.·crs of such ... r~.·' .srereorVf)Cd , reoryping for world peace and cultural undersranding .u~.· port..~nnally catasrrophic. lklO\\, \\'l.' prt?senr an example of h~.1\\' this stt?rL'~)rypin~ can have an impact on tht? hn~s of~lu,lun pet.)ple (Ex.unple ~L6). ~

~

WHEN FEAR BUILDS UP . . .

EXAMPLE 4.6

,\ l\ lusltm healrh \\O rker \\as detained ar a L'K all-pl)l't and quesrioncd u nder te rn.1ns m la\\'s after a cabin cr1.'W member sported her r~.·admg a Srnan cul t u re book on board her hone) moon flight. Faizah Shaheen was rt?tu rn tn ~'"T from honcvmoon in ~ larm.uis. Tu rke\. \\'hen ~he was stoppt..•d by Sourh York~hire PoliCe at Doncasrl.'r Atrpon She \\as pu llL·d over because a Thomo.,on A1n\ ay.s cabin crt?\\' mrmb~.·r L)!l her outbound tlighr a forrnighr earlter had reporrt?d her for susptctOU'\ behaviour. Police officers que,noned her for IS minures under Sdu~d­ u le 7 of t he Terrorism Acr and told her rhr ..;uspinons rdared ro rhr holidav , book she had been reading .. Syn.z Spt:lzks: Art and Cultm·e fmm the Frontliuc. The a\\·ard-winning book 1!-1 a collection of rss.n '· ... bon I

86

CHAPTER 4

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN HIE ~~fRVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY CULTURE IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY WHAT IS CULTURE A.NYII.AY? CHAPTER 4

KEY TAKEAWAYS \\'h.u have." \\c.' l~.·:ll'ncd ~l'' f.1r? Lulrurt> C".ln hr m.tnit~·:-rC"d on d fferrnr 1 kvc.·b. frc.'m ~upr.t-ll.Hion.ll r~gic.'n" ro pl\"'f~·:-sic.H , I fid"h .md C\'~mpa111~,·s. I lum.111:- .11\' ll 1.'\ c.'r rultlll\.'-lr~,·~,· .1nd .11\" affretl'd b,. nc.'l c.'~nlv , • 11 1 c i~.)n.tl , L'ut (.lllll'~ng ncllc.'a"') r~gion.tl .llh.i pr'l'fi.~:'lc.'n.tl rulcur\':-o. Our c."trltur.tl h.kncirie" .1r~,· nor h\t'd. bur thud Our ,nu~.·ri~.·.s h.nc.·Lw~.·n intlut'llc."l'd bv ~lr\' rn~.tgc."

11

h - mu • J ' r" l • 11 c.iL'Ilt .C 'flurd':> Thmk

ofcen

of knowledge. combined with rhe hy.srcria of rhc.• m,,...,..., medi.1.

r~.·sulrs in .1 two-dimen~ional, black-and-white ima~e of a \\or ld .....

populated by good guys and bad gu,·s. The danger of pr~.'JUPrejudice usually refers to an dJCL'S and srrreorypes is that \\'C unconsnou.sly [end to .sc.•c.•k irrationally unfavourable or hostile confirmarion of our prejudices, because 'throug,h ~-('/ectit•e per· attitude towards the members of ception, u•e te11d to notice Cl'ents and behar•tom· that confirm our another group. (Guirdhom, 2005, stereoiJ'Pel· ,wd filii to notice infonlhttion that dtscon{irms them' p. 20) (Thomas & Inkson, 2009, p. 70). Dtscnm inauon 1s understood as ',u!)' sittt£Ztwn in which ,1 group or inclit'ldua/ is treated Discrimination is any situation in wh1ch a group or individual is tmfiwom,Ib!J' on the basis ofarbitn.zry• grounds, especid!Lv prejudice' (Guirdham, 2005, p. 20). treated unfavourobly on the basis How cnr1 \\'C fight prejudices? The answer 1\ bv mcrea.sing of arbitrary grounds, especially ,. ... our knowledge and awareness about our own and other culprejudice (Ibid.) tures. In connection with this, we will discuss the cheorv and application of cultural intelligence in Chaprcr 6. '

L,,- )'LHil' PL'I'Mm,1l

l'\.pc.'l'lc.'lltl'.S \\ hc.·n .ln~\\'c.'nng rht'l question.

si~nific.1ncc of culture tor rh~ .SL'rvic'l' '-'

i nduscry? Provide scvc.•ralc.•xamplc~ t\ lack

I

111 r some cnnquc: of rhcsc: rht'Ot It''\ ~

BUSINESS DRESS CODE IN DENMARK 'The informal arrirude of rhe Dane~ IS c\prc:sscd in a genc:rallv rdaxc:d~ bur ~rill conscrvarivc dJl''\\ code. \\"htlc many men prd~r a sutr and rie, iris nor uncommon ro see bu~mc:~~men in more cac;;ual clothmg. ~..,pc­ cially when meeting conracrs rhcv alread\ know. \Vomcn also drc:..,s rd• arivdy casually. however, iris always adnsablc? ro pa\ some arrennon ro rour chotec ofclothes and err on rhe conservari\·L, \tdc. \\·h~n vou ar~ in Denmark, rhe t.'asic.sr and ~ar~~t wav ro dress~~ 111 a pohshcd \ c:r understared way. You Jre cxpc:cred to appear profes~tonal and \\ ~ll d 1c..,..,cd , and vou should keep l'VL'rvrhmg low-kcv. Nearness and cleanlme..,~ arc essential. Sul[s arc nor a~ common as rhey are fo r example 111 rhc U~. bur In dotng business "'' th l11gh-rankmg cxccunve, rhe1 are "'peered '

Source!: bttp·''bu~inesscrclt r:c 1 h d .,, · u . 01~ nort ern-europe/ enmark-busmess-culturej demnarkbushzess-etiquettef, accessed on Jub• 12 2017

5.3 EDWARD T. HALL'S CULTURAL THEORY Ed\\ ard T. Hall wa:-. L)lll' of rhc carh scholars tn rhr fil'ld of culture and communicarwn. He was a LS anrhropologl'-l whost? work linked communicanon "tth culrurc One of ht'i mosr t:1mou!' srarc?mcnrs is lCu lrurc I\ communicanon and commumcarion 1.s culrurc' (H.1ll, 1959 p. I 91 ). Hall wrote rhar cu lrurc t.., comple\, con..,tc;;rs of many inten clart.'d clements, and has a profound mtlucnct: on our Culture ts commun1catton and II\ es. Before rrvi ng ro undersrand other culrures, '' e should commumcatlon 1s culture (Hall rhcrefore undersrand ou r O\\ n. In 1976, Hall Clme up \\'l[h 1959 p 191 ) an tee bet g as an analogy of culture· "hdc rhcn· art' -.omt' \'JStble, consnouc; cll'tncnts of culrurc (e.g. arr, archirccrurc, bchavtours and habtr..,), rhcrL' arc manv mot c uwisiblc and uncon, ass'tttllprtons abour ..,df. space SCJous clemc:nrc;., such as norms, ' a1ucs, and nme, ere (see hgurc 51 bdo\\}

, I

94

CHAPTER 5

BUSmESS CO ,f .~u · CATIO~·

1

THE SERVICE Af, O EXPERIENCE t:OUSTRY 0 FFfRE , f APPROACHES TO CULJU!)E OESCR p· , f lHEOP. E

Figure 5.1

Monochrome cultures

Edward T Halls tceberg ana ogy ofcu iure

Time rs expenenced n o I near .'lfJ'{. \'lith o post presen and o future Memoers of o monochronJc cu ru·e lend lo do one thrng at o f me and see 11me as o resource lho1 con be spent m wasted T1me commitments and dendltnes ore •mponant, and bemg on tune 1s expecled

Language Folklore Fine arts Dress

Uterature

Holidays and festiVals

Food

Beliefs and assumptions

family roles

Relation lo authority Core values Manners lnterprefatlons

Self-concept

B1oses Beauty ideals family values

DIFFICULT TO SEE

Body language Concept of cleanliness

Approaches to health and medicine Pnde

Arti1ude tov.'Ord school Gender roles

EASY TO SEE

Humour

Rules of conduct Competitiveness

Concept of justice Notions of modesty

Attitude toward the environment Expectations

Childrearing practice

Work ethic Gestures Thought patterns P8fSOnol spoce Aes1hetlcs

Table 5.2

It 1s occep-:ob e mo1 several oct lms

Ed.'IOfd T Ha Is cu 'J.HO dmerJStons

o·e corr ed out s mu oneous y re ~ t onsh ps W: 'n peop;e ore more rmportonl than deocll nes Punctual t does not hove tne some vo ue os rn monochrome cui ures be ng late even m o bus ness con•ext rs occeptab e

Examples of monochronlc cultures Svntzerlond, UK. Germany Canada USA, the Scondrnav10n coun1ues low-context cultures

High-context cultures

Commumcohon IS d1rect and strarghtforword, most mformohon IS transmttted verbally. there IS lrmlled use for non-verbal communrcotfon Facts are more Important tnon feelings rt con be smd rhot members o11ow-context cultures call o spade a spade. even 1f the truth 1s unpleasant

Commumco'1on 1s md1rec1 messages

The some as the monochrome cultures

ore not er.pllctt and often must be dedu:ed by subtle clues and the undeJstandmg of the context. e g rhe relottonshtp between the commumco1ors 01 the SpecifiC Sttuat on In Vlhtch tne commumcohon tokes place Feelings ore •mportanr. therefore messages that con hurt feelings or make one of the commumcotors lose 'face' ore undesirable Unpleasant truths ore avoided (see Example 5 2) Examples of high-context cultures The some as the polychrontc cultures, plus Japan

E.T. Hall researched the culrural dimenstons of trme and context in relation to diffrrrnr national cultures (Hall & Hall, 1990). \\lith rega rds to their relation to rime, hr distinguished between monochro nic and ... polychronic cultures, and wirh regards to comn1unication stvles, he • divided national cultures into bigh-context and low-context. The dimensions of Hall's cultural theory arc presented in Table 5 .2 bdow. It is interesting to norl' char rhe majority of the national cultures in the world, according ro f fall, are polychronic and high-contcx r. The ... tendency for more polychronic and high-context preferences 111 com• • r:1untcanon grows as we tra\'d from global North to global South and f~·om global \X'e.st to global East Oapan being a notable L'Xccptton). In Euro_pc, for example, ir is the Northern European cultures that Hall classtfics as botl ~t . · d 1 · 1 monoc H omc an ow-context, whereas Sou rhan • .. n and Eastern European Ctllttli."S a · an d 111g · 11-conrext 1 ~ • . . . • c 1 ore po1yc 11romc (e.g. I•rancc, Italy, Spain and Romania). ..

WHAT IS ALL THE BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH ABOUT? Jens works for an outbound travel agency in Denmark (a monochronic and low-conrexr culture, according to E.T. Hall) and is trying to establish cooperation with a tour opt?rator in Vietnam (a polychronic and high-conrexr culturL~). _lens find s the communication with h is Vietnamese counterpart rather tr~·mg. first of all, it i.s a long rime br forl' ]en s ren~ivcs a response to hts mails, and the responses alwavs St:L'm fuzzy and evasive. For l'xamplc, whL~nJens asked ,,·herhcr rhc \'tt?tnamese tour opl~raror can handle the local transportation and ,1skcd for a price quare for bus rransporration bcrwccn rhe airport and a number ofresons in Kao Lak , rhc an.swerwas 'It is possible'. In spHe ofrhi s, rh~.· prices were nor provided . ~.·ven after Jens asked for th~.·m three times. 'Seriouslv,' he rhinks to himself. ' how difficult can it be to say ''Yes, we can do here's the price" or "SotT)'. _fens, we cannot hdp you rhl'n~." \'\lhat is all the bL·aring.... abour the bush about?'

i;,

95

Polychrome cuttures

Exomp es o1 polychrome cultures Aston cultures (exoept for Japan), Laltn Ameucon cultures Middle Eastern cuttures Afncon cultures

Examples o1low-context cultures

CHAPTE R 5

EXAMPLE 5.2

96

CHAPTER 5

BUS ·ESS COM MUNICATIO

I • THE SERVICE At. O EXPERIE t. CE u~ DUSTRY OIFFEREt, T APPROACHES TO CULTURE DESCR p· IE lHEOP. ES

Reflection question \Vhar could be rhc reasons for the Vi~rnan1ese TO's evasive and slo\\'

-

. communtcanon:

E.T. HaJJ wa:; one of the pioneers of intercultura l con1municarion, and his idea rhat human communication and behaviour a re determined by culture inHucnc~d many culture researchers that cam e after him. including Gc?CIT Hofs tede and Fans Tro m penaars. He was also the first to introduce the Jdea of cui rural dime nsions according to which cultures can be compared, rhus making cross-cult ural srudie.s possible (Otten & Geppert, 2009, p. 7). Hall'~ work is srill verv in fl uential in business studies and can be I

directly applied ro the service indus t ry. In a .20 10 research paper b\' Truong and King, the a utho rs com pared rh e cu ltural values of lJS rourisr.s and Viet namese service p roviders. O n e of rhe differences idenrified w,l!) the relation ro rime. In Viernan1, hurrying is a sign of impaLience, and che relationship to rime is m ore flexi ble tha n in the US. where commitments are important and punctual service is expected (Truong & King 20 l 0, p. 29). This observation is a reflecnon o n monochronic (USA) versus polychro nic culture (Vietnam ). Exatnple 5.3 below presents ano ther example that illus trates Hall's theory.

Hall al o tnve:stigaced the nnporrance of the non-\ crbal elemenrs in inrcrculrural con1municarion , fo r example the way people percel\ e their soc1al and personal space. In 1966 he comed the term proxenucs (Browacy~ & Price, .2011 , p . .283) ro descnbe this aspect o f non-verbal communication. Acco rding to Hall, per~onal space 1s o ur personal rerrirorv with invi~ ible boundaries, and intrusion into th 1s rerntorv bv J oth~r~ makc.s us uncOJnforrable. \\' hen our personal space is ,.iolarL'd, 1r can dam.1ge communication, as we feel anxiety. The s1ze of this per~onal space is individual and inf1uenced by our gender, age, p~r­ sonalif)'. our relations hip to rhe ' intruder', rhe :specific siruarion and rhe culture~ involved (ibid.). Hall argued that individuals in dtffercnt national culrurcs would have different preference~ regarding what ._ ..... consti nnes cOinforrable personal space. The Arabs have the smallest personal space, followed by Indians and Paki~ranis, South Euro peans and South An1ericans. Hall called them ' high-contact cultures' (Chri~­ ropher, 20 12, p. 94). Asians, on the other hand, as well as CanadiJns, Australians and Northern Europeans, have large personal spaces. Proxrm ics can also apply ro the workplace, for example in rhc us~ of office space. Here t hen: can also be cui rural differences. In the British and US rradi rion , a personal office and a reserved parking space are constdered ' perks' (ibid.). Proxenucs can also have .u1 effect on busint•ss communi cati on: imagine what you r work hfe and relationship ro es wo uld be li ke if vou felt rhar ,vour p~rsonal space \Ya.s ,vour colleagu "'constanrlv violated ! I

•

I

~

#

EXAMPLE 5.3

ARE WE ON RUSSIAN OR GERMAN TIME? In a study ti·01n 2009. Schilling and Kozin address the attitudes to ri me of Russian immigrants to Gennany. A Russian rnigrant in Gennany who o perates a tra\·el agency emplo~·s only Russian en1ployees, but the customers arc primarilv . uishes between , German. The business owner disrinc.T ' Russtan rime use' and 'German time use' (Schilling & Kozin, 2009. p. 11-12). Russians are polychronic. not keen on planning, and very flexible with rht•ir time use. Gennans, on rhe other hand, arc monochronic - the\· plan their vacations in advance and are adarnanr about punctuality. Th~ Russian business owner in rhe study recognised that pleasing a foreign ct~sromer requires both an understanding of the customer's preferences wrth regards to service and an adjustment to n1eet these needs without completely changing his O\\n tin1e use preferences. He also detnanded a h. 1 verv hil"'h level of fl ··b·1· fi : t;:. ex1 1 •ry rom rs emp oyees: 'They have to be able ro ~wttch between rhe G · h 'l · · erman ttme, w 1 e working with the Gern1an customer~ and the Russian tt"me •h'l b · · . , . · • \\ l e etng among then1selves or workmg \\'tth rilL' Russtan customers.' (Schilling & Kozin, 2009, p. 12) ~

Exercise 5. 1 Imagine a res taurant in wh iCh the manager rn ~s to mak~ the mosr of 'the space by cramn1ing in as many rabies as poss1blt'. The guests have to sit verv close ro each o ther. '

• •

How might rhar a ffect the bc.T. uests' dining c\perience? ~ ~ How rnighr that affect rhe waiters' work?

To sumrnarise, Edward T. Hall's rheor·~· can snll be applied in the modern international and intercultural business t'rwironments. including the service indusrrv. However. irs shortcomings must also be poin ted out. Hall uses natil~ns as a unit fo r distinguishing cultures, e.g. Australian or US culture, but docs not take into account tlw numero us culrur· · L . -c · ra c"al us• f""~Opularion a1 vanatwns L'et\\'een d thcrenr er h me. 1 •ar1 \.:i rdi,,.io t:groups within the nation. \X'e should also remember that we adjust o ur

CHAPTER 5

97

1' l .... •,

98

.- .

-

- '

~

· d me-~on che soeafic s1ruanon a.nd ro \\hom \\e commumcaDon crepen ' are spea!ang

5_4 GEERT HOFSTEDE'S CULTURAL THEORY T h e D ur:ch p ro ht:.....~:> ~-or Geen HoErede 1s p robabJv rhe most '' cll-known an d mo~r-quo [t:,.d cuJruraJ ~ rheonsr m bu -tness -rud1es. Hofstede's und ers,an ~ d h n.:;. or. . culrure dra'' son che defini rion proposed by Klud·hohn

m 1951: ·cu1rure cons1srs 1n parremed

f...Jrhe e Culture JS e cori2Ci1 e progrommrng on the mrnd moi

\\"a\ ?S

of chinkinb and reacnng;

ennal core of culrure con si-rs oi-,rradin~nal (Lc hJstonc.aJ1\' den\ ed and selecred) idec1s ana espeCialJy rhe1r an ached ,aJues' {K1uckhoh n in Hofsrcde. 2001. p. 9). H ofsrede suggesrs rhar people of dl.ffcren r cu1ru:re~ IJa\ e Gh ' 'Cfierenr ' menra] progrmnmes· dc\'eloped 1n earh· childhood in the fa1nd} and Iarer lieinforced th rough ociaJ insrirurion., such a.s educa-

dlstmgUisnes ths mambers of one group or category of people from non al ms n ru rions and '' o rk o rganisation s. T hese Incnral onofhe( (Hofstede, 200 1, p 9) programmes refl ccr. to a cen am e~\Tenr. rhe narion aJ cul tures o f the individuals. and arc expressed in fundan1 enra1 va1ucs in diffcrenr narion s. H o Etede's definition of cuJrure is ' rh r coUrcti\'l• programming on rhr mind rhar d istinguishes rhe members of one group or carcgory of people from anorh~r' (Hofsrede. 200 I . p. 9 ). Gcerr Hof.. ar~ucs that cultural dimL·nsion" allow us ro L'xpbin and prl.·dict parrcn~s of thought and bl'i1aviour and makl' political and business cooperation across culturl.'S more effective.

Compare tor example leg1slahon and moral oftlfudes rn different socretles regardrng drugs, homosexuality, some-sex marriages and premorrtal sex

5.5 CRITIQUE OF HOFSTEDE'S THEORY Each nation included in Hofsr~?dl·-; ... tud\ the list of nations get$ longer every year) can be mcasurl.·d accordmg ro thesl.' dimension~ . The scores are a\•ailablr on Hof.'itedc s ot1icial web\tte https:/ / " \\'W.gt'err-hof'itedc. com/. According to Hotsrrdc. the countn scotl'\ on the dimensions are rel.uivc, so the score.., on national cultures can be only used meaningfully by comparison.

Although Hlona.l ~ul­ rurcs who arc both Danes).

Ill

I. .lnHmg

J· with

J " • :i 11 Hh.11\1t t • :..

dit1~rin.._T:::- culn1ral

backgrounds' (Kun, 1988 ....

p. 12). \Villi.1111 Gud\'kunsr ( 1998) de,·dL"'Pt'd .1 rheon known ,1s '

lnrerculfural communication con .mxil'rv unccnainry managc.?"mcnr rhl.'ory (AU~ l f) , wh1ch ' be defined as 'direct, toce-to-toce c..\:plains how indi,·iduals communicate \\'ith h~.1st culture communication encounters bememl..,er.s whc.?"n they l.'nrer a nc.?"w culrurc.?". According ro lween or among 1nd1viduols with Gudvkunsr. \\'hen peoplt:> communic.ue with strangt'rs. LI\U• d1ffenng cultural backgrounds' allv from difft:>renr cultural background.s, rhev often c\nt?': I· t (K1m, 1988, p. 12) cnce high .., levels of anxierv and uncerrainry. as tht')' can nor predict how rhest.' ·srra.ngt:>rs· will react and whar ro t'Xpt'n of them. In order ro reduce unccrratnt) and anxiety, tht• indi,·iduals can eirht•r seek mot\' informJrion abour the culrurallv dift~rent persons. or try ro avoid all communication with such people, in order to a\'Oid potenrially uncomfortable sirua.nons. Thev may also de,·elop srereon pes ro try ro predict the beha\·tour of pt•ople whom they percel\'1.?' a!'> culruralJy different. That leads ro mtsmtcrpretanon and nusundcr.srandmg (Reisinger, 2009, p. s-). ~

~

People can seck dtffcrcnr straregtes to reduce uncL'rt'"1intv and anxtc· ry about stranger!\ from or her cultures. For example, when vou lack infonnarion about a different culture (for example the Chinese culture), you can eirher uo;c: ~

;

CAN YOU TALK TO A HOMELESS PERSON?

EXAMPLE 5.5

Anna, .1n t'duc-.Ht'd m1ddlc-cb~.;. 30-n:-ar-old, i.s t'U£ in the local park ,, ~dkm~ her dog ~he mcer.s a man \\'lth a puppy. and .1s rhe two poocht''\ sntff around and pia) .. \nna stares casually chatting w:irh the man. Sht' asks him if he lives nr.1rby. The m.1n calmly replie.s rhat he is homeh?ss, and rhn£ i~ the rc.1 . . on why he decided ro get a dog: for companion.ship and prorecuon. This piece of infor:marion gi\'es Anna quirt?' a shock: she ha... ne,·er ralkt•d to a homdess person before; she has ne\'cr srood so dose.?' to one! Ht'r mind srarrs racing: does ht:> rake drug!-i? ls he dan~t·rou-.) • kr uncenainty about ho\\' to ralk ro rhe homeless man becomes so great thar shl.' cannot lind a single rhing ro .sav to him. '~lumbling .1 hasry goodbye. she rctrt?at'\ ro the.?' safety of her .lparrmt?'nc. Back ar home sht' fel'ls ashamc.?"d of her bdla,·i,)ur and wishL'.S she could have.?' st.1yed and ralk~d to the.?' man longa ro learn more abour h1s hfe. ~

~

Reflection questions 1. How would ,vou have behan:-d 1f H)ll were in Anna's rnlacc and \\'hv? ,

.

2. \'\1har strategies could Anna ha,·e used to overcome ht?'r anxietv about talking to homdcss people in the furure? ~

Exercise 5.3 1. a passive srrarcgy (watch news on TV about Chinese culru re, or nor Sl'ek any information at all)

2. an acrivc stracegy (se~k orher sources of information, e.g. ask som~ Chinese people to tdl rou about Chinese beha\'IOur) 3. an inreractin· strategy (if you are uncerratn about how to deal \\Hh the Chinese people, seck direct interaction wi rh them 111 order ro understand their behaviour) (Retsmger, 2009, p. 57). One point of critiqtt• ,.,, • · · 1 t: c may ra1se agamst Gudykunst's theor\' ts r 1ar nor ever}•bod}' fc ..1· , • . . .' c s unccrtalllty or anx1etv when con1muntcanng \\'l(h other people whom ,.,. • , •· b ~ ~ d· • t: pcrcctve to e dtffcrent fron1 us. Some 111 1vJduals can be comforrabl· . . . . . . c tn Sltuanons where they are commumcar. mg WHh 'differene p. I· \v' cop c. ,ve can also add that mtcrcultural mccr·

Thmk about a cultural or sonal group wirh whtch you arc unfamiliar, and whtch mducL'S some sort of anxietY• or uncertainty in vou (a rehg1ous group, ethnlett\", people of a dtfferent \C:\ual preference, a soCially marginaltsed group ltkc drug add1crs, ere.). Imagmc that you wdl have to tnteract wirh a member of this group through work

1. \X'hy do rou fecluncerrainry and a.n:\tcry aboul this group of people? 2. \X'har strategies seem like realistic wars of changing about thts group of people?

\'Otl r

feelings

105

CHAPTER 5

E SER~ICE .. ND EXPERIE •Cc INDUSTRY BUSI ESS CO ·' .~U ICAT ON IN TH "'

DIFFERENT APPROA.CHES TO CULTURE DESCRIPTI'o E THEORIES

106

3. .r\ customer a~k~ rou for information that vou should know, bur for ~ome reason you don 't know ir. You don't want to ap~ ear incomJ.wrcnt, o) ou just make up .:-.omerhin~. v 4. A colleague .1sks )'OU for an h(."n~sr opinion of Lhe rq)OIT ~hr has wrirrcn. You think rh~ report is var bad, bur ro avoid huning her f~.·dings. )'lr.tdtn~ .111d port•ntially "i.lngcrous' (11 id .. p. b~). •

"

' ' The relational approach to culture and to cultural complexity and the Ideo of cultural complexity suggest that every individual embodies a unique combrnaHon of personal, cultural and social experiences and thus that ultimately any communication ond negot1ofion is Intercultural. (Browoeys & Pnce 201 I , p 127) In rhts lhapra. we will pr~s~m dtf1~-, t:nt applicurnn~ of £lw compk:-.: approach.

I

I

'

n

'

Reflection question Think nfl'X.tmpll'S t""~fculru r.tl par.hi('\.l's \ Ou h.t\"l'C'l'llll' .1C'tl""~'-s in

\lHir I

Ont' ~\.pl.tn.Hit'n pr1..1\ h.kd by d1L' .luthl"''" for rhl' l' \hll' lll"l' l""~f ru lrur.tl p.uado\.~' •., rh.u dlt kr l'll£ v.tlliL'\ Cln u'C\ht \\ 1rhin .1 narion.tl cul tur~.· for l'~\.,1111 pk-. .uti t udt'-' tmv.trds sex d i ft(>r Cople are mad ab ur Ju~rm ltU (",lll ft':l\. t' l Bit:'bc:-r'-. drl'ad:-. Ill . \ \ Totl.~r.. \pru -+ 2016. J\',lil.lble ,u: ;""0

I

h nps: \\'\\\\·.usa r 0L1m·.rom

An nhcr cx.1mJlr lughh~hrin~ rhe impt1nanc~ t1f C('IHI:'Xt is l.1nguag~

U~l'. cl!-i :--ht \\'11 m E~amplc 6.3 Ldow.

EXAMPLE 6.3

APPROACH TO CULTlJRE Cl.ILTURALI •"' Ell GE CE . 'HEOP.Y

THE N WORD The word ·mggl'r' is con idt red e:xtremrly oft~nsi,•c in the modrrn l ". AmcriLa.Il En~lish. The onhne '"iirrit11l.lt; Dictwn.'11')'.COm defint:'$ tllr ..., rrrm a~ ·probably the mo~r offrn~ive '' ord in English. hs dl"gr~ e of offen~iveness ha~ increa.sl'd m:lrkt·diy in recent yea:' alrht'ugh it ha!-i l el:'n u ~rd in .1 derogarorv manner since ar le.l'>t dk RL·\ olurionar\' \'\'.1r.' 1r ~~ ... ' aLso considl'rcd a r.1boo word and s('ltl1c?nme~ 1 ~ferrt~d tnt in Cop~nhag~n You want ro re\ olunom"c thl~ way an old-fashiont~d ~

Reflection question Can rou think of Sl)tne words or syn1bols char can be understood or

interpreted differenrly depending on the context?

The usefulness ofch~ complc~ approach is that ir pro\ td~..; an in depth understanding of communication pan erns in parncular con1munHtC~. because it emphasises in\'esrigarmg communt canon in contc~t One way of doing so is via the t heof) of cu lru ralmtclligencc, dl'vcloprd by Elisabcrh Plum and assoetatC'-t, \\ h!Ch is p rc~cntcd E. Plum defines culture as 'a in rhc next section. practice shored by people in a

communtty' (Plum, 2008, p. 55)

115

st 1 rt-up

~

familv-run hord 111 Blokhu" IS 1 un. 3. You work tn an mrernanonal hotel chain in Sofia, Bulgari.L You arc approached b~ the local counsm orgam..,anon, Vi...,trSoli.l, "ho want.., ro c~rabli ... h a partner\hip agrc~mcnr wah \'OUr hotel. 4. You work at a mcdtum-o.:,11ed mdcpendent hotcltn Bw..iapc-.r. Hungary. You arc a sales manager and ,·ou are having a met'Ling wHh the head of you r IT ... en tee (he 1'-> \·our comparrior, also a l lungarian). 5. You art' Austrian and work at a large tndcpendenr horeltn Sal.1.burg. You work as a food and be\ ~rage manager, and you arc rrying ro resolve a confl1n w1th rhc head chef. who I ' Slovakian. Check you r answers against out interpretations at rhc l~m.i of rhc ch.lptl'l'.

THE CO MPLEX APPROACH TO CULTURE CULTURAL INTELLIGE NCE THEORY BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

116

CHAPTER 6

Culrural rncounrcrs can br po,irivt' .u1d ~uccl's"ful .1nd res ult 111 cross-culrural colbborarion, bur thl')' can also r~"ulr in n)nt1ins. lr is . ·nrial nor tt) .."'iw Uf' when a contlia occur-. In other Wt)J'd~, vou c~~l ::;;, ' should ncvl.'r say 'I rril·d cwr)•rhin~. bur rhL'sc Ind1.1nsj iT peopl~.·f~)ld ~cczcr.s from rhl· b~.1ard of dirL'CttWS .1n.• JU"t tmpo.,-.1bk to talk tt)'. ~ t\ccordin~ ro Plum, t.)lll' common mtsrJ.kL' dunng cultutalcnct.)lln.... tcr!'i j~ w arc.1ch wo much impt"~n.mcc to cultural diiTcrt.•nc\.'s It c,111 bt: d:mgrr0 us w owrpl.l)' the culturt: card ro JUsnfy bt)th tht• Lonllicrs and the Jack of cmhu~iasm ro solvl' rhL'm: 'It's _1usr pomrle.ss ro try to explain ir ro rhcm (whocvi.'I' "d1l')''' may be). rhc culrur.1l d1ft"l·rl'ncL'S arc roo big'. Here, again , wr wanr ro remind you of thL' dangl'r of ~ tl'­ rcoryprs, l'\ rn if rhcy .uc 'sophisticlrt'd '. The same .lppltt:s tcd on the dcscttp· constructive partnership across cultural nw approach to culture. Plum follm\-. rht: complex understandmg of culture, and dd1nl's culwr.1l intelli- differences' (Plum, 2008, p 19) •

-

gence as:

4..

" The ability to act appropriately in situations where cultural differences are Important, and the ability to make yourself understood ond to establish a conslructive partnership across cultural differences

Cultural self-awareness

CHAPTER 6

(Plum, 2008, p 19)

Culru ral intd ligence ts a spt'CI.11 form of uuclltgcncc lh4u indudl's horh emotlotul and sou.1l inrelltgencc (Plum, 2008, p 47). \\\· '' rott.' Jbour emotional m tclltgencc and 1ts imponance for service prokssiOIUis 111 Chaptt: r I. Cu lturalHHL'iltgcnce 1s rhc rL·fore a product ofrhreL' Cl)mpo'"' ncnts, or di mensions: intercultural engagement. culruralundL'rstanding and in tercult ural communication. ThL'sC rhrec dimensions relate ro the emotional. cogmtivc and practical aspects of cross-culrural encounters. Table 6.1 bdow presents an ovcrvic\\ of thL' dimensions.

118

CHAPTER 6

BUS

THE CO ~Pl E

THE SER CE A 0 E PER lE CE NDUST R

ESS COMMU ICA.. 0

APPROACH TO CUlTURE CULTuRAl IN TEl

G£ ·CE .. HEORv

CHAPTER 6

119

. Hcrpl~1 ,, l ctwt:cn rhc tlucc clcrnenr -a11 cnhcr a ·, ~ h 1 l u . ~ t:ar~.: a po a nrgari' ~ nrdc. a~ tllu. t:rared m Example 6.-! helm,

Table 6.1 ree d men-

The s OJlS or cu::ura

-

Hl\C

or

rte oem:e Theemo• ooo d :JWlS}OO

Cu tum understnnd.ng

lnlercutturnI commun100t10n

The cogn t e d menston

The proctJool ochon dimenSion

• r.•

:-u• oo ro engoge m a cu ruro encounter a" tude ro at.:urol d rar~ des e rn be ,., tn poop e who ora d "ernn1 tmm us • The ot:l 1\ to Mnd!e our mvn and others emot!OOO reochons because the~ con hm-e d fferem mean ng n d ".erenr culrures • Requ 1es emotJonol matunf\ cunos ry and des re to Jenm o00u1 peop e who ore drfferent from us • Sho\'t'S o clear connection to Goleman s emotional nta lrgence (see Chapter 1)

• Requ res knm-. ooge of \'OUr own culture genera cu :ural knO\\oedge spec i c cu ruroll\no\'\ edge and he m e ttlol cu tumJ dr erenoes Pia\ m cross-cu tu•ol encoun•ers • Understand ng that we am all offec:oo b'j cultures takmg a step bocJ.: and oskmg ~'ho om I? 'Ill ch CtJitures define me? • See .rng tnformonon abou! d ffarent cultures findmg d fferent sources of cultural kncm1eoge • rn•erpretmg cultural ~nences Vhol 1s gorng on here? How con I rnterpret ·wtJof rs go1ng on? What ore fhe posstble explonotrons? • Includes wntten ond oral verbal and non-verbal oommunrcotJon • Berng aware ot the cultural aspects of commumcotJon tumrng off the ·cultural outop1Jor • lnc~udes the physrcol and spotml component (e g chOice of on acceptable, non-lhreotenrng locotron for a cross-cultural meetmg). • CUlturally 1ntellrgent communrcollon rs not possible Without the other two d1mens1ons.

It i~ imponanr ro 1\'llH?mber lhar rhese three dimensions do nor c~i~t indepl·ndrndy of each orlwr. but arc intcrrl'lared and reinflwce each od1cr, for bctrer or for wor.sl'. Figure 6.2 The Cl model; after Plum (2008)

Intercultural communication The action dimension

THE INTERPLAY BETV~EEN THE THREE Cl DIMENSIONS EXAMPLE 6.4

Tlle negative circle ar a utnmerhou_c rcnra] a~TcnC\ 011 r}l" \.ou arc w "rkm\! .... o • c '' e t coa r )f Dt:nmark. Your customer~ arc pnmarily Dane~. bur \'Ou al have 0 Nonwgian .1n :i Gcnn.u1 gue-.rs. You do nor speak Grnnan , cry \\"t'll, an d •\lHl rhmk rh l' Gl'fllMJb alwa,·s ha\l' a lor of rrqu 1rn1.: 111 c... 11 t !I an d rcqur r.-. and that thcv Sl'l'lll hard to plca.s~. You tf) ro avo 1d Gennan ~u~romcr" .u1d a~k )'t"llr colll'aguc ~ to rake caraf-finn ) our opinion rhar tht>\· are ·dit1iculr' cu tornl!r.s.

The positive circle Your ... n~~..:, job is ar a Coprnh.1gen hord in rhc hou~ekrl'pmg d~parr­ m~nr. ) ou are rhe onlr D.1 1 sh p~..t son rherc. All of thr orhrr cmployl'C.S an~..i inrern.s arc from BuJg.1ria and Romania. Ar fir~r. vou .trc a bit • uneasy. '\X'har Lln raJk about? \\'ill tht·rc.~ bl' languagr is~ur:oi?' Hm you decide to mak~ rl1l' b~st of ir and rake rhe rimt> ro gcr to knl)\\' rhc other girlC\ ~om~ speak D.1111..,h bur with rhc others you h:n-e ro .speak Encrlish - and vou realise it'~ .Kruallv ~ ~ nice ro F)racrict> ~\'l'Ur Engb~h. You get to know .some of rhe girl.s bl'rter, and you become friends with two of rhem. Thev invite vou ro visit their familit>s next summer, and vou spend rhrec unforgettable wrt>k.s travelling the le~s rourisr:v, tJiacl's in r Bulgaria and Romania. \X' hen rhe summer i.s O\ cr. you have l~anu a lor about these two cultures, and l'Ven .somt> phrases in both languagl's. You are now looking forward to workmg with Bulgarian:-; and Roma• • mans agam.

'''l'

j

J

I

~

I

~

Reflection question Cultural understanding The cognitive

dimension

Intercultural engagement The emotional dimension

Have you ever c\pcricnccd either a postnvc or a negarivc circle with regards co pcrccpnons and commumcanon wirh a specific cultural group?

120

CHAPTER 6

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN TH[ S(RVIC£ AND EXPEtm.NC£ INDUSl RV

TilE

C0 ~1PI EX

APPROACH 10 CULlURf CUllOI?AL INH lliG£:NC£ HIEOI?Y CH APTER 6

121 IIHl'I'Cllit llr\"'' 1h'll \c.'ll rc.',1l f t J1t • l''~''· 1r11nll•s r •11 c.n l' • ,\'t)ll ('",111 '-l'l' ( h.ll ifVc.'lll' ' c.'lll"C.'liiHc.•r ' 1t •111 1• hn\ , • 111d ,vc.HI •sc.'c.' dw ~Wlc.'IH i.11111lc.'r"Ctdt_ ur.d :t I cng.1gt'll • •b =t btHiwr tH , 1 burlic.·n , dwn )'tHI ,1\'0tli c.>ppt'l'(llllHll's ft,,. 111lt'l'fldtur,1} Cl'llli1HIIlit .ltitlll .llhf l.tck .111 impl'tll:- tc..' impl\Wt' )'tllll' rultur.tl \llhkrsr.111cf111g. On thl' otlwr h.trtd. ary~)lJ m.lkl· dw t'lftll '( (\) t'ng.tg(' in lh'W (td[llr.d c.'lll"l'lllHl'l's .uhf ~.lllllllhur.llundt·rsr.tndlllg, )''-'lll' 111lt' letdtu 1• •1 Il'll~. 1 ~enwnt .111d l'lll hu~a.bm li.'r !ll'W culrul'.tlt'llfc.HIIlh'l'~ hn'O illf's ' ~u·,, 11 gcr. 1h .111 l'.\l'l'fisL', \'c.'ll c.111 .11-.,) 1.1kc tlw t \\'\) :1bc.wc ~CL'Il.tric.'s .1nd rurn rill' fir~t int'' .1 ptl\ltl\l' circlt'. .tnd thl' ~L'U)Ihilllltl .tnc~.lli\L'Pill', Let us .tl~,, '''L'k .l\~.1111 .H 1 lw E .\.tmpiL' 6.1 .tb,Hil l hl· pn,)r ~l'l'\ IC\' vc.'ll h.H'l' rt'Ct'ivcd \\'hil,• tr.tvt'·llin~ in Ru ... si.l. l( y,,u h.tVt' h'w intL'tetd' n 11 .tlcnga~t'llh'lll, rhcn LllL'Sl' nc~ati\'C l'Xperit•ncc:- will ju~t lc:t\'l' }''-HI fru~rr.Ht'd and m.ty e.wsc.· }'tllt 10 gtvl' up ''11 l{ussi.1n ,.. ult ur,·. It~ L'll 1 hl· othl'r h.md , ,\'tHI st.w, mc.'l iv,nl'd, ,)nt•n .llh.i ruriL'lls, !'>l'l'k rult ur.1l ttllr dt'l'!-it.mding .1nd pt)s-.iblc.· l'xplan.Hions ((,r }''-'ur l'Xpl·rit'IKt'.s, .md kl't'J' cng3ging ... .. ... in ill(l'I'Cultur.d n'mnnmic.ui,,n widt diiTl'rL'IH nwmhcr~ nf

Trovollrudo

4

I

-------,

' Clubs

,_--------------

.

( Lodgmg )

1 I

I --

-------. ---l\ss1sled :

Deshnohon rnurkeltng

Time shore

.

1

: livtng

fOCI hly

·----------

:

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

the Russi.1n rullut'l\ ynur O\'L'r,liiL'XpcriL'IlCl' "ill he posit iVL', .tnd in 1h'-• end you will h.wc g.tincd some intl'resring cultur.tl ,1nd ~ori.d in.s1ght.s irHo the count rv.

1\uhnes

Bus & COOCh

Even Is

Tounsrn plmmmg & development

Cor rental

TOURISM INDUSTRY

p;~ny IL'\ cl. Example (l

)

Cu ltur.tllntl'lligcn cr t henry c.tn be applied

Vl'I'Y

broadly. ;\ ny Wl)rkpl.tn·

in the .service and l':..-pcricrKl' industry is .1 multirultur.tl workpl.tCL' with a multirudl· ofpoternial ntltural encounter~. and we.: c.tn pranisl' our cultural intelligenCt' with collca~ues ti·om difll.•J'l'lll Lkp.tnnwms,

suppliers :tnd pannL·r~ from diffen:nt professional b.tekgrounds .111d wirh cusromrr~ of different gender and ethnic origin. t\s Wl' wrotL' in Chapter 1. the tourism and travel. ho.spit:tlity 3nd event Jndu.strit•.s arl' fragmented, and in many cases rely on networks .md pan nershi ps to provide effective !)ervice to the guests. It is important to remember th:H in this industry, we rely heavily not only on thr communicarion with the guests, but with other stakeholders- among others, our suppliers, business partners and the public sector (such as municipal governments and dc.stination management organisations).

hl'lnw illu.st r.lll'~ hn\\ Cl may hl' .tppliL'd arrn~s

I I I I I

1 I

I

Local I travellers 'I

----------------

I

I

1 I

I

M1nronts

--------------Students --------

I

1

I I

I

1 I

Fig. 6.3

Tho relallonstllp be/ween lwsptloltly, lounsm and travel mctustrv (Momson.

,111 t' nu rc o rga ... lli.S:ltl n n .

2013)

HURRAH! THE CHINESE ARE COMING!

EXAMPLE 6.5

In dw rcn·nt years, a IHtmlwr L.1C EuropL·an de~tin.uinns h,1,,.

hL'l'll fn-

cw~ing on dw growing Chin(·se tourist m.trkt•t. In Ucnm.uk, Chuwst'

tourists are cnn.srlh·red .1 dcsirabl"· segment. Fnr l'.'\.tmplc, \Vondcrful Copenh:tgen has dt•vt·loped an entire project c.11led Chin:l\'i.l lO help tourism, hospitality and or her service comp.1nil'.S provide .1 benc1· service to ChineSl' guests. You run a middle-sizl' hor'-·1 in 1\.trlws, .111d vou W3nt to make sure char vou arc tnrcF1,11cd for thl' Chinest' ...,guests who will be staying with you ne\t season ~mce your hotel h.ts ne\'l'l' received Cht ne\e guests before, cultural uHclligl'llCl' lll'l'ds to be l'lll· ployed acroc;s the whole compan) All of your staff .1n· l'Xcitcd about the po.ssibd u tcs \Vhat collective acrtl.)llS could you takl'?

I

------------------

I

TRAVEL INDUSTRY

•

6.6 THE APPLICATION OF Cl THEORY

I

I

\Vl' r.1n pr.tctiCt' cultttr.tl intc.•lligL'IlC"l' in pn~nnal.1nd wrilll'll c.-omnntnir.Hil)ll, .tnd in comnHinicttion .lt illdividu.ll, dc.-p.tl'lllll'IH.tl. 111 d Cl'IH·

I

---------· Commuters

1

f emos

Reslouronts

'--- -~-----

I

l\llrC1C:II011S

I

•I lnshluhonol : 1 tood serv1co ' I

I

Tro1ns

,

l. You start, together with your employee~. by evaluating your producr and service, and discussing the cultural influences involved. Do you have experience in dealing with international guc~ts, or mosrly wirh

the locals? \Vhar about your and your employees' language skills? Docs your property have a particular local srory thar you can share wirh the guests? How can you better promote your local heritage?

I

122

CHAPTER 6

THE COM PLEX AP PROACH TO CULTURE CULTURAL 1 TEL

BUSINESS COM .IUNICATIOr IN THE SER\ ICE AND EXPERIE NCE INOUSTR\

LIGE NCE THEORY

CHAPTER 6

123

2. You decide ro use rh~ ChmavM roolktr for insr tration, brGlll ~ It prondc.s £L' )d rtp:- abour lhHcb, u~eful phrase 111 Chmc c and 111 _ formation abour Chu1c:-.~ credit card~. On the O£ h~.·r hand, ) ou ha,·e noncrd rh.u H dr cnl c:- Chm~~e touri:-;r!' as l1ne big group, and) \.1ll d~.~e~dc ro tm~.sngare furrhL'I' fL'l' lllL)re infornution about your pro-

C h 111 gr:- brn' cl?n dq,anm~?nts . A new ~rrarcg\' or p. d d an~• ~ . . , ro uct c 1lange b.-.t\\'C" ,rou11.:i rcqutrl' romtnumcarwn and coonerauon r ... en a 11 o f r11c d rnenrs. Thal rt'quire:> cultural inteiii .."riKC fron' th, r rr par ;: • t..: op manage'll( rhe hL".1d.:-- of thl' dcpanments and rhc L'mplovec-.· Oll , , ·' ·

:\pCCTJ\ 1.' gut"s h .

rc.1d :-.t.Hlll orl11.·r r~..-porr.; (prd~rabh· more I'L'Cl'IH \.)IlL'~) .1bour .s~.·gmcm.uiun ~.,,f rhl' Chi ned ront>s. rhar [h~y nl'VL'r C\pl'Cted alcohol ro be irn·oh-cd snKt' rlk p.u (Ill pant-. .1rt> under 21. '-

J

""'"

"

.I

..

......

'-"

1

Reflection questions 1. \'X'hat dimcn\ton of cultural mtelbgencc could be improved hac? 2. How would rou handle th1"' s1tua.non after rhc US group leader ap-

proached ,vou?

Finally, iris unpor ranr ro rcmen1ber rhat E. Plum de..,crncc management graduate emplo\ edina 0\10 You have been asked to work on a desnnation dt•,·dopmenr proJeCt together Wtth a rcprcscntanvc from che local municipality, a freelance wcb-dcstgncr and two tourism professors from the localuniversny. \X' hat cultu ral encounrcrs can vou cnvasage here, and how can yo u usc cul t ural intcl ltgcnce ro ensure fruitful cooperanon?

125

Chapter 7 Organisational culture in the seNice and experience compantes •

Chapter 8 Internal communication Chapter 9 How to design an internal communication strategy: Things to consider

Anna Hammersh0y

In this chapter, you will learn about: • the role of organisational culture in company communication • the role of management in creating service culture • elements of organisational culture • a technique of organisational culture analysis.

130

BUSI ESS CO~'M li ICATIO

CHAPTER 7

IN THE SER\ ICE AND E PERlE• CE INOUSTR'

ORGANISATIO 'AL CULTURE IN SERVICE A 0 EXPERIENCE COMPANIES

CHAPTER 7

131

INTRODUCTION The ~oa1 nf ... l'n·ace Cl')Illf"'·lni"'" ... ,,b,•inu.slv. t ) pro\ rd"' go d ... l~n 1cr. Bur,, hl"r'l'" dol'' ...'l..l' d ... rn·icl' :-ran? Ho'' c.1n '' '-' "'n~urc a cc,nsi~tl"m)v hi:t!h ... h ,.l.. l of :-en te-e? l-h''' can "l' l' l'l ' L' th.u .111 em ph'' l'l'~ nuke rill gul'~r.:-; ft·rl "de" nh:' .1r all rhr tf'lh:h f"''-'liH~? NICE (Nl'\\' ltliH'\ .Hi\'L' Cu~r"'mcr Exp"·ril'llCc~) i~ .1 n:lth"~ll.ll pll)Jt'Ct in D"'nmark. ,lJtlh'~.i .H uniring tht' h~..1spit.11irv .1nd El'lii'IS11l C'l)tnp.lllll's, \\it h ,1 VIC\\' (\.)W,ll"ds imp!\'\ in~ ~llt'S[ S~l \ l(t'' .llh.i l.l't',l( Ill~ lll~l11("1r,1bll' C'xp~.·ririKc.'.s. Tht! pr~..'Jl'Ct h.ts f'I('dth.t'd .111 ~:\:paiL'IKl' ~.i~.·cl.lr.ui~..'n . chc firsr -.r.Hl"llll'IH 1..1f" hich i.s rirlcd 'l \.J."L'Ill'ncc-f~xtbC'd C'l"~mpanv culrure'. h 1.s ~.irscnbC'~.i .1 .... folio\\ .s: 'Tog.ct''"" we del'dop cl comp.n~v cultun, tb.u puts tbc gue::;t ,md the ,f!.uest expcnt•1zceji1-st '\ICE Op/,•r 'et~·r~·mdnifest). l kr" , Cl)lllp.uw culrure 1.s .st''L'Il a.s th~.· fir~r . . tq tl) CI'L',uin~ .1n tx..:-rlll'IH gu~..·-.c cxpt'ril"nct•. Jan Gunn.u~sl)l1, will) coined rht• ''ord 'h~..1srm.tnship', \\THr.s dut 111 s~.mh' com l ani~s ir .Sl'l'lllS rh.u the cmpk))Ct'~ find it tl.Hut·al c~..' ll' gno~.i hosrs (Ciunnar. . ~~. n & Bk)hm. 20 13). \\' h~n .11lemplt'' Ll'.:o; an .b if it i~ tht• mosr narural rhin~ to pro,·id~ l'Xcdlrnr scrvic" .llhi ro m.1kr rhci1· gursr.s fed wdconH', ir mt'.llls rh.u rhL'St' .urirudt•s .1nd b~..·h,l\'iours brcnmr p.ut L1frlw compan) 's ")'~·ll1l..,, .111d how were1 ht:n

,

1

alL' rh~

lwst b.tl.mcc betwel'n qualiry and eft~cri\l~ncss. ~l:lrun tand a nd .ln:tlvse the culture. \Vc wdl .h.idrc~~ some suggcstit.ms o n cui ru ral ,tn~1lv.si.s in th~ Ill':'\{ scnilm. ~

J Martm s approach Ia argamsuf10nal culture (based on Martm, 2002)

f()lmol practices

~

I

I

Figure 7.1

Disneyland Shanghai, photo cred1/ Cnstma· Ate:wndro Triton

136

CHAPTER 7

ORGAN ISATIONAL CULTURE IN SERVICE AN D E ' XPERIENCE COMPAN IES

, E SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTR) BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN TH

.S FIGURING OUT YOUR COMPANY CULTURE 7

ROll cunure

There IS a strong emphos1s on defining roles rules P tv\tvl • r~ures and chon nels of communtco!lon There 1s o strong culture o1 defi ed • m respons1b1hty ond cIear departm ent bound ones The orgomsohon s struct col ure IS h1erorch1·

Aef118Yement

Commumcollon ts direct and eftect1ve This culture IS ryplcol for 0 small rom1ly busmess or a stan-up. lis partiCipants hove the sam e goo1sand obJectives and the structure 1s somehmes descnbed as beln 1L· 'f g lr\e a om1ly'

POW&r cunure

The structure of lhe orgamsot1an IS a web m \\,..,Jch po•uor • '" " "' IS cen1ro 11sed Important commumcollon comes from the centre whereas other m con be 1gnored essoges

support cultUre

All the members of the orgamsation are commtned 10 1ts Ideals and values and ore personally mvolved Commumcohon w1th1n such compames Will always reaffirm the values The structure con be descnbed as equal partnershiP

Figure 7.2

... I•

u-..r

5 Culfure and philosophy

~

137

Table 7.2

cunure

The seJvtoe management system (SMS) after Narmann (2007)

CHAPTER 7

Hamso11 s model 0 • cu,fure ~'pes (Tumer 2003 pp 33-34)

You c.1n usc other nwrh('"is to .1rri\'l' .1r an undcrs und in ~ of vour C'l'"~m w ' pany culture. For l'X.lmplr, llltL' lYiL'W'\ can bt• ( .lrried L'ut wirh rh r l'mployccs .1nd thl' m.uug l'mcnt. Borh participant .1nd nc,n-paru ci p:mr obscrv.nion can bl' liSl'd . DttYcrl'lH d.ua-collecn on tcchn iqlll'~ ell\' thcd to apprl'l'rvice tomp.lm start" with understandrng the importance of the cmplon•cs, as thev art' pt•rsonallv involved \\ ith rhc transacnon~ with the ~uc~·as. Emplo\'L'l'S. 111 fan, should br rrcared like customers (Hurrow.s, Powers & Reynolds. 20 12, p. 686). i

~

This idea is depicted in rhc srrvicc-profir chain, '' hH.h 'esrablisht•s a rchuionship betwc~:n profirability, customer loyal[)•, and employee sansf.'lction, loyalry, and productivitv'. In rhis framework, resl.'archcrs argue rh:u 'high-quality .supporr services and policies thar l.'nable employt"·rs to deliver results to customers can be linked ro profir

Rich.1rd ~onnann (2007) wrirl.' ... that one of rhl.' t'"'t'nri.ll dl.'m~nts of rhc culrurc of . . ucLessful ser\'lcc-oncnred bu'm'-'"'1.'" ,., \)ril.'nrarion rowards quality and e\ccllrncc, \\ h1ch must bt• ob~t'IYl'd ar .111 k' d . . rn rhc sen rcc t'ntl'l pn "L's, 1n C'>ptYn\ c of the posltltHl th.u cmployt·~s .md managl'rs hold ~Om I.' compante~ focu~ on nurruring .1 str0ng !'l'n icc culrure rh.u anracr.s the best wo1 ke1 s tn th(' tndu'\tr)', rhus b('coming 'besr places ro work' (Bi rnc1 &. Brown, 2008, p. 42). t\ .strong ~ervict' culture is ont> in '' h1ch 'an apptl.'ctation tor go0d srr\'iCl' exists .md where givin~Tb b. .Tood !'.l'n ICC to inrern~1l. as well as t>Xrt•rnal. customers is considered a natural wav of life and one ofrlw mo ... r rmporr.mr norms by C\'eryonc' (Gronroos, 1990 (in Bttnc1 &. Brown, 2008, p. 46)). For example, the Nord1c hold chain Sc.wd/( ,,·on rhc prt•srtgious ~1\\'Jrd Denmm·k S Best PIdec? to \\rork 111 2018 Tht> 3\\.11 d help, boo . . r rlw l'mplorees' morale, and 1s an c\cdlent PR fot the durn. Th~ company consistently works ro develop the1r company values and m.111agemenr tools. They 1nvest Ill cmplovcc development through uuern,1l rraining programmes and actuallv named rhc1r cmploV('l' handbook kulturbo· • gen (The Culture Book). t..!

1

If the employees have a strong sense of belonging to the companv, or idcnrif)•ing themselves \\1th the company, rhey will do rhcir bl'sr to achic\'e rhc best results for the1r cotnpanv. If the company " "L'l'n as aurhen tic and prcsng10us, the employees'' ill be proud of idennt)'lllg themselves With the company they work for. Ir ts easier for cmployL·es

Figure 7.3 The sen rce·prolil cham focus on mtemaltmks

142

CHAPTER 7

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTR\

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE IN SERVICE AND EXPE RIENCE COMPANIES

CHAPTER 7

143 to h.it>nrif,. rlll·msrl"es with £111..' c..'r~.lnt.s.uic..'n if rlw Ct'mp.mr's v.1luc..·.s and philc..bophy arr in litH' wirh rlwir own pc..t sc..l 1.11 \',lfth'.S. Th1s ts \\'ht•n rlw fc.."'tmal, t'SPL'f-' t lw tllllt' ft'l' rlw tl..':sr of rlw lissen. 20 I7 p 17h). In 1992,jt~>..ii Brlm·ndl "t'l'~ll'. Vt'n' , .1ntlv: r ,

' ' In a competitive marketplace, effective serv1ce is often synonymous w1th effective communication; managers must not only make their messages clear, they must also develop and marntoin pos1t1ve relat1onsh1ps with both guests and employees. A manager's communication skills ore the most powerful tools for Improving both mdlvidual and organizational performance. {Brownell, 1992, p 5)

It i~ d~.tr £ h.u communication is a centralmanagl'llll'lll functton. In t:1n, m.m.1gers spend most ofrheir [in1r communicaring, mosrly facc:-tn-facc and verb.tlly (Corndisscn. 2017. p. 176). Effective management l\ effecti\'~ communic.uion, a~ leading and managing is accnmpltshed l.trgcly rhrnugh communication acciviti~s (ibid.). A service company needs ro establish a consiscenr level of service, and the employee~ need to haw thi~ knowledge through on-the-job training, standard opcra[ing procedures (SOPs) and various employee manuals and checkhsts from hrgtcnc requirements to complaint-handling protocols. Only once rhc employees have acquired a solid knowledge of the company, from its' t\tOn

l'lt

, ~mg.1p . .w ...• t\irlin . .·~ .u-...· stt-.Hl'gtc.tlly 1mp\)('LUH m

rhe Cl'lllP·lll)''s in t l' n1.1l n "~Ill m u n ic.u il)ll .md tt.uni n g l''l'gr.l nHlll's. Thl' comp.lll)''s ~ix n . . r~..· v.1llll'.S .ltl' "ommunic.th'd to .lllcmpl'-))'l'l's .u fl,ur diffL'I\'Ill 'touchpoint,· durin~ thl'lr ~mpll')'llll'llt: wlwn till')' fir~t Jl'in rill' comp.1 nv, whc:n rl11..'\ .Htc:nd rhl' l~""'~ur-nh"~lllh tr.lining pro~r.li1Hlll's, whl'll thl')' ,1( {L'lld U)l pl"''I,HL' l'\ l'll(~, .llhi ( ht\"''ll~h l.·~)l plW.ll\' ('OJllllHllli· cation ch.tmll'ls such .1 ... Outlook. thl' intcrn.ll m.t~.lZIIh'. Tlw .tim is w make sut'l' rhc . .·mpk)\ l'~s not l)nly ll'u)gnt~l'. but ' li\'c' tlw v.thtl's.

Sottrrt': Cboug 2007 Leading or dir~crin~ L'mploy~t's uKludt>~ ditTt>n'nt ~ituatll.1tb (ltu rows. Powers & Rl'' nt)kb. 2012. pp. oSJ-654): 1. Giving orders 2. Providing instruction' on how ro carry out work-rt.'I.Hl'd .tctivity 3. Training .tnd gtudmg en1ployccs Ill m.lSlL'ring complex .tcriviti~!-i 4..Motivating the ctnployee-, to do rh~ir work willin~lv • 5. Evaluating the etnpl ovccs' performanct:', eitht.?r through rccogmrtlm •

.md reward, or through puntshmt•nt.

All these management functton-:; uwoh c communication. Il c.w aho be said that communication berw~cn the managt.>rs and the employee') can take place at severallcYels. Plca-;c "ce Table 8.2 bdow:

153

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

154

CHAPTER 8

Table 8.2

Commumcaflon at several levels (Brennan & Wmlar. 2001 (OS Cited tn Turner. 2003, p 46))

BUSINESS COt.' .IUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

Empower

The employees are g1ven o degree of freedom to lake octron or make deciSIOnS

Involve

Employees are mvolved 1n dec1s1on mokmg or development of new concepts

Consult

Employees can shore opm1ons or provide leedbock Employees are listened to bullhe management makes no commrtment lo aciran

Inform

Employees ore provrded wrth rnformahon or dolo

Instruct

Employees are grven orders, or nyg1ene and safety mstruchons.

The lXPl'lrl'd :-.c.mdard l)fprovided Sl'rvice can bl' ~k.scribrd inmanu::ll.s anld .S.~Ol,.s •111,i •achicwd through ""' v.ui~.)u.s rraining cour.Sl'.s. The h~.)rd giant 1hlwn has dcvdoped .1 dct3ill·d document tided CODE of COilduct, which is rhc inrrrnaril)ll,ll company·~ gll)b.1l policy for working .u Hilron. lr include.s :-;ecri~.)nS on rhc gl'l1l't".ll st.111dards l,)f bcha\'iour expected frl>m cht'' emplo)'el'.S, bu.sinl':-;s erhics (from rh~· u.se of snCJal media ro rul~·s .1bour .1ccepring rips) .tnd glob.1l ciriZL'nship, mcludlng sr3 ccmencs and guidelinL'S l1ll rh~· pn1[cCTion of human rights, the prevention of briber'\' .llld hum3n rr.tfficking .•1nd .so on. This document is both .wail.1blc inrl'rnally for rhc empkwcl's and anessibiL' ro rhc gcnl'ral public. Note char rhis inrern:1l communic~Hion tl'chniqul' .1l...,o bl'conh.'s a cool of L'.\lernal communicanon wirh the gL'llL'ral publ1c \ou can read llilron 's code of conduct at rhl' following link: hr.rp::.:/ j www.u nglob3lcom pacr.org/srsremf arrachmL·n rs/ cop_20 J4/ 96921 / originaljHilron_Code_of_Conduct. pdf? 1405629750 J

Reflection question Choose a service, sporr or evenr companv with which you are famili.1r whcrher lhev h3vc an offinal set of rules. codl' of conand invesrigarc ~ ' duct or other regulations for employee~. F1nd our how (hesl' rules arc communicated £0 chl' employees.

155 ()()PS ... THIS WAS NOT IN MY SCRIPT!

EXAMPLE 8.3

. Hello there, ,vou'rc calkin~..., ro ~like fro 111 1\'tc mora)lle Ex.. . _.,~ [rhe name ha~ been changl·d]. I can sec vou had , , cnl'nu.:~ . _ • a ) cars subP . . 11 n.1 our e\'enrs 111 20 l t . and I am wondering if vo ,cnprw . . . ~ _ • u wane ro . sub,cnprton 111 2018 It vou rcnl'w rhc subscri,)r· J , rhe 1 r lOll [O~Ia\' Cc•nnlll t: -,d. I •' _ ffcr VOlt .1 .) n IS COlin t. ,rc lan L1 • . ,) 11 •

Salcspct~~

I

l,

•• 1= US(l)ll1 1 • •

C

r .. r h 1..., i~ nor a ._good time ... i\ tv' farlwr h~u ,s .1·tt"t r .... s-.. , i .~ r1" · .~t: ~

J\\'3\'. ;

S.tkspcrson: (long fWUJe, whill' tbe s,tlcsperson isfetreruhb• lookmgfm· the rz~t.ht n·sponse j 11 the gript. 11Nn, chcc1ful(y) \Veil rhen, h3vc a grear d;:ty! Bye!~

Reflection question Have you ever experienced a service employee failing m1serably because he or shl' followed a scri pr rhar wa~ nor appropriate?

Some service compan1e~ rJ.ke pride in nor folio\\ ing sutpr . . bur insrcad encourag~ ~mplo\ ees to commumcare aurhenttc~tll). Bl'IO\\ 1IL'a~t' look at rhe example below, with a salesperson calling a custorner on rhe phone in order to sell him a subscription:

CHAPTER 8

• The registrarion process'' Ill be cotnplcted wirhin four minutes, including queuing rin1c {Tal bore, 2006, p. 10). Borh in this and other cases, Four Seasons sr.1ndards arc de!-iigned 'as a road map, not a script. I·or example, rhe phrase 'speak clearly in a friendly manner' encourages each rcccprionist ro usc words rhat feel narural to hin1 or her (ibid.) .. \c; you can sec, in rhis case rhe employees

INTERNAL CO MMUNICATION

156

CHAPTER 8

BUSINESS COMMUNICAl ON IN THE SERVICE ,\NO EXPER ENCE

I N OUSTR~

ha' e ro folio'' ccrtatn rule , bur rhey ab ' ha\ c r" usc rhclr common -ar.t: ~ttrhemicallv l·t'"~rc agam. 1t ts dear that rhl· sensl! an d comrnuml.. ·~ • • ... "011 1... ( 1n ked ro d1c com pan\ 's org.lmS.HlOnal -ar 1 11 cop-d O\\·n commur l. ., · ~ cu Irurc. It 1s tnd eeuJ parr ' of 1:ou,· ·"''"·1s" · ns' C'ulrurc to h1rt.: ba ('don arcuud~ and tnl!i[ rhat rhcu· cmplm e'-'"' ,,·til do rhc1r bcsr to provtd~ ourtandmg . crYtce to rhr guc ·rs. _ . ,. The workmg hours,("\ .1lu.1non ()f rff,)n an :l mntt\'.ltlt11l '..)I employ"' i and commumcared t\.1 r hc l'l11~'k'}'Cl'~ dH\.Htgh conccs can ll' ensure traer ·, bonu!>eS .tnd inCl'IHI\ cs, wh1ch dll L'mpll1)'l'l's .liM) Ih·~d [\) be ..1warc of.

8.3.1 Using different channels in downward communication In CV('I) da\ top-dO\\ n communicariL,n. rh(' managl·ment of brggl'r compamcs ,,.,uu e different inrcn1a.l ch.tnneb ror.s h.n 1.! ro be aware of rht-= 11 f] 1 t-.lan~h:,l · • ·' 1urua 111 u.,ferenr ch.u1nels. The mess;1~cs rhev !-end as pr·t . \' ... fdl cc o ,. . ~ · · ar\.: pcr:-.ons 0 ~ n •rsL"Hl.tl soc1.1l me~·ha net\\ nrks can mHuence rl 1..,·.

vta r11e1r r'" · . t: u unagc ar '· ·rJl~-i 1 jh• ~~v~n rhar marw :-oupen 1sors .1nd subord 1•11 at" • ' • lS are now \\ur". L'!'r ~ • , ~ . r ·d 011 Facd"'-)l)k .1nd Lmkedln and can !"ee rach \.Jth"t·' ... conn'-c 'l s llh:~sagJ.~r ..... 1 nd lt ke..;. Plc.lSl' .Sl'e Exampk 8 5 below UP'-'~ l-• • • (;:,,

BAD SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES Asupervisor vf n t\)Urisn~ org~msarion. who had a p.1rricul.lrly lurd and busr week in prcpanng tor the high sc.l\on at th(' dcsrina(lon, wnrcs on her Faccbook page 'Thank God H s l ndav! I thought I'd dil' rhis w~ek!' \\lhik this sounds ltkc an mnoccnt me~ . . a~e , ir can send n bad signal ro rhc cmployel'!'. \\'ho have bl.'en workmg JUst a.s hard .lnd need a morale bo,..1St and som~ word~ of praise and cncour.1gen1l'JH. A spons dub ha.s been gL1ing through a difficult rime for sC\'L'ral months; it has lost flHlr game~ tn a row and has e'\p~ricnccd budget curs due to the lL1ss ofke\· ...,pon~orsh1ps The plm crs .1rc ha,·in~..... a cri~is of confidence ,1nd morale 1s low. The dub owner-; ha\'l' fired the managt•r and appointed a new one. r\s pan of the sabry pack.1gc, rlh· nt.'\\' manager 1s g1\'Cl1 a company car. The first updat~ he m.1kes on his social mt?dia reads: ·The old Becm~r 1s our. rlw nt:\\ ~lcrc '" tn rhe garage! :)' While ir IS mcc to cdebratc a personal success. llnagtne the message that this statement send..., to the club', pla.\'ers and t:1ns!

Reflection question

#

Can you provide exatnplcs ofhow a managl'r\ communic.Hion through personal channels 1nay intluence their profe...,sJOnal communic.uion?

8.3.2 Downward communication of change and bad news Ir 15 easy to communicate the positi\·c development wirhin chr compa-

ny. Sometimes, a negative devdopn1enr within the company or in the company's external environment makes the managemcnr realise thar rhere is a need to change rhe companv's practices. This usually leads to • uncertainty and fear an1ong rhe etnployees. These emotional rcacnons can be caused by any disruption of the normal routine in the companr operations. Such a disruption can be caused by a change in the company

EXAMPLE 8.5 1

I

INHRNAL COMMUNICATION

158

CHAPTER 8

BUSINESS CO MM UNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

l-lmno~,' m O~"t't-.Hll.lllal r~.,utilll's .tnd rhl' ,,,}ltC I1 m1g~llt r·qtltr•"' l ... •1 • t:r t:mJI~vt·cs' pracricc-., rhr mrrc"iucri~.)n ,,f quality pn,c~. dur\'s, n•br.1ndm~ ere. The emplm er might fear rhar rhcv h~\\'l' n> IL~·u·n llt'\\ ~ktll-. and or "ork mor~ rh3n Lh f >rc. Clungr m.u1.1~rnu•n t 1 ~ Ill'"' l"1.'Ilsh."kr\·ct .1 key lc:td(·r~hip coml t·r~.·nr~.· (Ba rn.m :--, 1\ma-. & RL'\'lll.'lds. 20 12, p. o~4 I kt e. rhe lC'mmunirnci~.m \\' ll h rhr rmpk') ~~.·.; mu~t bl· rJmd~ . ckar .lth.i 1 'llt• . . ~ "' > (L' in' ~,,h 1.' rlw ~.·m,,l~.wl~.·~ in the impkml·n. , 1 1 r{ 1011('!) • I • • Sl .. ~l•l. \.I • ( S 1 1 t I t.H 1011 o( ch.mgc ,~,;t h.u dwy c~111 ft.·~.· I l''\\'lll'r:-.hq' ~,,r rih' rh.tn~e 1''\'C't''\s~,·, ,\:; ,,ith all~.HI~l't pt"t'rcs:--cs. rhis lwr~.'nh'~ nh'l't' ~.iitliculr inl.1 rg~.· c~.,mp.t ni~.·~ :111 d org.tni~.Hi('lth, .h dw inf~wnution h.t:-; rn lk' l't'llHlHtnic.n~.·d h' difft•rent ll.· ,·rb and dcp.HTilll'llb. S'-'llll.'lll11l'S .lCTl'\SS tlw C'lHtmry 1.'\1' 1..'\l..'n uu~.·rn:.(ILmnlh . 1.:..\ :lmph· ~.6 l dow ~ lwws hL,,, ..1 hLH ~.·1 h.uhil~.·d rhc· c~.'mmumcnuon J roress a . . soci:nc~.i \\'ith .1 pt\)"iun Ct' llC'rpt ch.tn~~.·. s rrnre~v.

I

1

EXAMPLE 8.6

THE CHANGING CONCEPT AT COMWELL REBILD BAKKER Comwcllt~

d

l1g ch.un in Denmark, \\'it h 75 IH'tt•ls ~p~.·ri.tl isin~ in difl-..·r...

ctu pt'odurt.s .md !-it'' l'Vir~.·~. such .1s tl'll'l.'ting.; .tnd husinl.':-;s ltHtrism . !oiJ'.l

and \\l'llncs!i, rotn.llllll .1nd ~ournll't wc~.·krnLh, t'll.. ( l'\tnWL'II l h1td in J{cbdd B.1kkl r 111 N~.,nht'rtl D~.·nm.ll k prt'\'H.Ht!\1}' t~'Ctl SL'd on co t pnt.ltl' .uhi priv.Hl' ~·\l'lll~ ••1nd h,td .1 tradllttm.ll l'l.'l'll1S-.llld rc..;;t.Htt'.lnt u'll cqH. In 2012, tlw m.u1.1£l'tnl'tH tkcided th.H it w.1s ttnw l'-' 1. h.tngc rlw1r conrt·pt. Thl'y \\l'l'l' inspirL.'d by tlw Pll'Pl'ny\ pinul\'~que !('IC.Hion. surI'Olllhicd bv hdlsidr fl,re~t, .1111..i dL·ndl"d tl' turn it intl' a spot r ht'tcl. lr now oflcred nhHlnt.Iin-bikin~ .Ktivities. ~wimming .. .1nd ,lllll.l-.ll't't'bic~. a.s wrll.1.s .1 number oflirtws:- .1nd ream-building .K ti\'itil'" with profr~.stonnl instructors. The prcvwusly rr.Iditit,n.ll c.1loric-rich Ihnish cooking m rhc rcst.ntr.liH g.wr \\'.1)' ro a lighter, hl'ahhil·r sdcctilm inspired b) me dern Nordtc cuisine athi local ingrt•dirnts. It .1bo l)prtwd a sp1.1ns b.1r with a sclrct ion of pr~.Hrin-rich sn.Kks .1nd hlmw-m.tdr juices. This radical change of the concept t"l'qu ircd com mitnwnt ft om all thl! dl·panmrJHS, from reception ro F&B to sa les .1nd markcttng. It also mcanr hiring new employees, e.g. fitness mstru~..tnt'\. 1 he ch.lngrs WL'I'l' can·it•d out through dialogue .1nd tonsu l t;.H tt)ll \\ n h .1ll thL' dt•p•utmc-ms. All oft he empln\'n'S w~..·re enu.Htraged to en me up wl(h .suggestions fnr the new vision for tiH~ n·vamped hotl'l brand. Thl' ptacess was nm without clullengcs, as d1c oldt•r, L'Stablishcd employees

CHAPTER 8

159

~ 1111 nk .ll'lWt', .tlth~.'llgh thert' \\'.ls :>'->11\t' l\'~isra 11 ,..,., I rhc l :\. r . . • "1. to t H.' new 11 ' tlw rh.uh!t' w.l~ gt'lll.'l'.lllv F'lh•Hth' and re\'itah . ·d ·I I conCl·pr, . , . st~. r 11.' wrt·l. ~. _, 111 n,tlllt'S m.w .tb1.' lace .uiv~...·r~l.' C'11Tllnhta 11 -, -l i·h)\\ l'\' l t, l. \. r ~ . . • l.l s ~u'- l as neg• or rhc- llt'l.'d f~...,r d"'"'lb_ tZt ng .tnd l'lllt)l >vl~,,.. 1,1)0 1(:-;, rc. 11 kd rh.lll)!.t'S, J[I\L'Il'l· ~ t l

lw 111 an:tgrm~...·nt nnt:-;t ~.)pt f~...,r .1 'lacc-r~.,-f.1 c~.· C'l'tnmu 11 ·_ • Hcrl\ . t~..tnon . _11 ll"-i tl'mnntntc.H L' L"'.1d Ill'\\'~ pt·r~on.lllv £1.' th, t 11,1- \ apptl'·ll ·. . . ,, . • l s. . , n ~,,r. "'{ 1·,, 11 ._ com m llllll .HI 0 n pt .ll Uu " h.wl.' .111 tllli'Ort lll t 1·11 tltl g:tlll:">•• " ~ . , r ' 1. 11LL' L'l1 ~r ll' l i l '"'l'l'L' ll' whtch L'tnph)\ l.'l.''- ttu.st rht•tr man.l~l'l's tnd 1 1 . , £ t _ ~ _ · • • • 1.1.: (.)· .11. c t

1

,,~~.·t:n .ts dll' l'l.'!\t \\,1\ ~...'t pt~.)\tdmg (t,,:dtbk l('~lllmuntcHtl)tl (\h,ht.l, l~l,,nwn&. t\ltshr.l, 2014, p. 18-).

(~.,mnwn 1 r.HH'll Lh.H ts runl'l\ , d~...·.1r, .tnd lwtw~t \\'illt\'ducl' unc\'r· r.unt)' ,llh.i rl',ll i\ kt'( ings \\ uh '-t.ltf .llll,)\\ tlw l'lllplo) l.'('s to l.'llg.tgl' ll1.1 diak)guc .111 d tl..' .1sk quc~ttl)llS l(l t hl.· tn,ln.tgl'l1h.' nt. l k.ntng l'.ld Ill'\\, din~cd)' fl'l'\lll tlh' tll.1ll,l~L'l11t'IH \\ tll .1!...0 pt\'Vl'IH l'lltlll)lll'~ ti\'\11) ~pt\',ld­ tn~ rhn.,ugh rht' gr.tpl·vinc .1nd thcrd'y lllC'IL'.lsing f-.-.11 .md .mxil'£\' ,1,

I I

.

dl·srribrd in T.1bll· K 1. It hdp" thl.' empl"')'L'L'.S if d11.· m.m.l~l.'llll'nt de:trlv l'xpl.tins dw l ~'llSl.'qUL'n(L'S t)f thl.· tw~.H i\t' dL'\l'l~'pnwnr .llld how rlwv plan ro t'l'llll'1.i} dw sJtu.ltwn. It t.1kcs cour.tgl' ft'l'm dw tn.lnJgl' llll'nt w comnntnic.Ht' b.1d ne" s, but honc'l\ .1nd tinwlinc~:-; .11\' the 1-.l'\ tt' rl'r.1 inin~ .. rlw ~mplt)\ ccs' Ull'-t .1nd ll'spcn, .1nd ll' tL'l.tining.. dw kl'lmg.. ~,,flompam tdl'llllt\ . Unt(,rtun.uelv, nc.'t .1lltomp.111iL'S t\'Spond to .md nHnmuntcatl' ch.tllengc~ to th~· cmplo\t'L'S t'qu.tlh \\l'll. Ex.1mpk 8dc.;rribl'S hl'" h.1d nt'""

t.ln

be cnmmuntL.Hl'd Pl'Oth·.

I

~

questioned and resisted the new managrmenr idl~as. It took a while for rhc 'old-school' employees ro cmbi'.KL' .111d commit to t he new Cl)nn•pt. Dinlogul!, discussion and involvement of all the L'mployers in the dcvdop m~nr process were the key ro the succrssful implcment.uion of the new horel concept.

HOW NOT TO COMMUNICATE BAD NEWS A largt' Sc:lndinavian sen

Ill'

comp.Hl)', 71mr ~ ~u t~ice~· lrhr naml' Ius

been changed J, h.1s hL'l'n c'\pcnt'ncing pt c,blt•ms due ro ~nm·tn~ competition in rht• m.ukt't .\fret rrvtng difft•rcnr srr.Hcgil'S, the t\)p managenh.'nt decidt•d to do" n..;;i'lc th ".1lcs forCL' by 20%. t\s a result. l'\'ery fifth person in tht• \,llc" dt'pannlcnt "a" tn be firt•ti. The general announn•mt•nt was tn.1dc ro rhc etnployl'L'" on a llltbv. ,\II of d1l' ..,,llcspl'opll· werl' c.1llcd 111 to an mdt\'1du.1J mccung.. "llh the dcp.ll rmcnt head on the followtng l\tonday, "here rhe\ would llnd our \\hcrhcr they would be fired or not. As a result oftht\ Ct'mmuntc.HtOn dcnston, the entire deparuncnt went home to then· f.untltL'S and spt'nl dll' L'nttrc \\'Cl~kend wondering whether rhe\· still had a JOb

EXAMPLE 8.7

INTERNAL COt.• .\UNIC4TIO,

160

CHAPTER 8

BUSI NESS COt.'MU !CATION I

THE- SERVIC E A 0 EXPERIE NCE INOUSTR'

161

_ rnL"lratl' ... hn:--nnas prr~en£! ' t\nL"lther vear a r)t r on I h tt·rter llJ r . . . r ~ a s opper . ··r"d [('.:-deer tndrvrdu.ll Chn.:-rm.1~ g1fr~ for ca.-} 1 l"Illpl m ec. 111' 1 t • .. \\'3:• l • 'Y"l·rrnr t"lCC.l~l0n, an cmp over who pm 1·11 1 ll"l£ () . 1 :ilt 1 overnme On a \. • ~ "ltl tn imnorranr C\'l'Ilt \\ ,b \!IVt'n an l"~...:rra da\' .1 ff 1J · . k 'Ot 111\! l • r .. • " · ""~ 1~ upl'r\'J\\ . ~ 'tltt•d him with .1 gifr C:ll\.1 t\."lr dinner for rwo lt a11 ttp __ -(lr l''l''-l .. • · ~La 1e rc~:r:nu.tn. , r •wd ,1d Rn1-Carlron, ackno\\·ll'dg1ng cmploycl''·.' ronrnburrons ~~ imporranr. The hotel group rccogntscs rhat cmplo\ L'L'" nt.'l'd \'altd,ltJOn and reassurance that rhcv ha\·e done a good JOb. The cmplO)'L'l'" of thL· Ritz-Carlron. who arc called 'Ladte \"t)UJ' organ is;t t ic..)n hc:ldmg:> \\'here do \'ou w.111r robe? • Can \'OU think. o( .111} IC tniriatt\ cs that c.1n !'iuppot r ~'our busine\s?

• Do rhl' IC ..,o, ho\\?

9.1 KEY ELEMENTS OF IC STRATEGY

lh.H

1lr~n . \\ ith the' l\tOn and

llllllatt\'l'"i ..

1111\\JOn -

.tnd if

• How can \our IC boo.sr. c.~. cmplovct' eng~h"'L'l11c.'tH (insc.'l'l .uw ~ ~ ~ I

I

goal that your bustne"'" may c..'veruualh \L't for irs JC .srrarl'g)')? 3. How can ,vour orcrani.s.Hton ~ b~Tl't there? • Can you dctine spectf1c objccti\·c.·s:> For insrancl.', in connrcrron with bett\?r and f~l.stcr dis.semmanon of rhc mosr up-ro-datl' news, you rnight .set an objective of\'OLH L'mployecs opening onscreen alerts within rwo hours and rcspondmg wirhin four. • Jr is up ro CVL'n· organisation to ..;.cr trs own objL·crivcs. For example: • lnforrni ng staff n1ctnber5 about recent news t:htt'l' • lmprovtng con1rnunicarion bet\\'ecn dc..·parrmcnrs abouc cus~ torncr needs • Increasing collaborative working acros..;. deparrments and skillsers • Boosting cn1ploycc Ioyalt)' or other benchmarks. depending on the service organisation and 1ts mission and vision. • Can }'ou 1·d ennfy · what a.cttons · musr be ra ken 1·n order ro ~gcr there? • In this context, rcrnctnbcr the SMART objectives: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant1 and rin1e-bound (Hoffman & Bareson, 20 17).

CHAPTER 9

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170

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BUSINESS cm.•Mut.ICATION It THE SERVICE AND EXPERIE CE I DUSTRY

CHAPTER 9

171

Mobile-friendly

4. How will you know your organisanon i~ rherc?

For C\'ery objecnve. It is a good idea co consider rhr sprcific merncs \'OU want ro u~e ro C\'aluare rhe ucccss of rhc ~elected ~trategy and how often •vou want to mea~ur~ irs effect~. There are no hard and fast rules of communication, ani therefore iris es~cnria1 to be en neal and disccrnmg about your evaluation criteria. For example, you ma\' , wi~h ro analysr he'''' much rime ir rakes each employee ro open ~1nd or respond ro an e-mail gucrv Or you may wish ro monitor how many rimes your employees posJn\·dy share Stl""ric.s from rhe local inrrancr porr.ll. I

9.2 IC STRATEGY: WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER rcHecr upon rhe an.swcrs ro the guesrion.s abovr, there arc other aspects to brar in mind when it com~?s to IC srraregy.

_ dav~ going rnobilc is the kev, as n1anv oroan 1·sat h 10 ns want their T e~e · " -· '"' to access. e.g. recent news from their mobtlc d evtce · .. entp10,\.,.r, c.: ...., I

"

,:,

•

Encourage feedback or rwo-wav? Consider \\ hether vour or(tanis..,r · n ~ ~ · ... 10 wants ro nt· , · ,..,r ..., 111 plove~!\ sav get their feedback. If •so ' rhe t'mplo"t:t.:s "" .• c h01re . l1t:" , ~ .1nd ....., t) ,.. \\'a\'

1

1

of media and channels n1usr be taken into account, too. \X'hen conducting an IC audit, consider\\ herhcr the management encourages a ~·onsranr flow of feedback t-i·om rht:tr employees - borh with rrga;d ro cusrom~r.s, bur also when ir comes ro communicating wirh rh'""'em internally.

1\s you

Involve employees Verifv and tesr-drive. Aiming ar a 'ltnaiJ aud1ence at fi rc;t mm \,1\ e bu\Inesses a lor. It may sometin1es seen1 ro managt'ment that a specific 111reracnv~ n1edia channd thar C\'Cl"\'One is talking about l \ a great communicarivl' solution - and )'L't, 111 every IC snare~', the L'mplovees or rhe intended recipients of rhe con1n1unicanon mu~t be in focus S0 why not use them to 'test-drive' your IC '>tratl'g)' 111lt1atives? \\.har do employees prdcr? In the tl'sting you can use a variety of data-collection rnethods, like interviews. focus groups and so on. Ler employL'L''> inrorm the rnanagemenr about their preferred method-; of communicating internally. \\'hat channels and 1nedia do they prefer? \\1htch ones do rhc management want thern ro use? Are there any conflicts then~?

Tone and style Next, it's all about thl' tone and srvlc of ro u r IC. Do the managemenr send winy c-tnails? Do they use emoricons? Or docc; rour organisation stick to a serious and p rofessional tone? After al l, tr ha.., ro reflect your organisation's iden riry, aka rhc organ isation's ON. \ , and ir has ro be accepted by the employees. J

.

..

Targeted messages Make your comtnunicarion targeted It IS ltkdy that \'Our workplace is somt>what diverse. as the average worktorce consl . . t!> of people wirh a range of cultural backgrounds, educanonalle,·els. demographics and orher differentiators However. Benz (2016) "»ugge~rs that ir 1s \\orrh...... ,,hde spending tirne defining emplo\·ee pcr-;onas. when it comes ro IC srraregy. and then creating I11C\sages that resonate with rhrsr personas: " Personas ore on essential component of a communications strategy, because communications need to be delivered in ways people con understand, and through medic channels (e.g. postcards v1deos e-moils) that work for them .

Going social How social is rou r IC srrategv? Dtd vou know rhar back in 20 12 the McKmse~· Global Insnru tc report (Chut, er al, 2012) concluded thar social rechnologtes can boost \\'Orkcrs' p roducriviry by 20-25%?

HO\\ TO DESIGN AN INTERNAL CO .!MUNICATION STRATEGY THI

172

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIO

CHAPTER 9

IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

~GS TO

COUSIDER CHAPTER 9

173 Figure 9.2

SocJal technologtes m the '1.'0/kp/aca ana employee productn 71}

Improved communrcatron and collaboration through social technologies could raise the productivity of Interaction workers by 20 to 25 percent. % of overage \..'orl·:\'·leek

Increased valueadded trme

lnreroctron workers IOSkS

Reodrng and onS\venng a-marl Seorchrng and gothenng rntarmallon

28 •••

Commumcollng and collaboralrng rntemotiY

Productivity improvement, %

7 0-80

25-30

5 5-6 5

30·35

•

19 ••

A crowded ond no1sy rnformotron envrronmenl With an mcreosmg number of communrcotron touchpornts whrch ore not always cons 1stent and coordrnated creates conrusron msteod of re1ntorcrng understanding

Dectsrons rego·d,ng the cho1ce of mtemol communrooflon toots ore often random and vulnerable to 'shiny-obJect-syndrome', I e they do not always consrder the orgamsatron's overall commun1cohve Objectrves, vts1on ond m1ssion nus also complicates the eva!uatron of the commumcalron oulcomes

Internal communrcatron 1s not o one-way, 'broadcastrng' commun1cotron Rother, 11 needs to flow rn t•-vo directions, enabling employees to prov1de feedback and 1nput.

The 1nterno1 communication landscape 1s becomtng more creotrve rn 1fs use of v1suals and multimedro content However, rt IS st1ll essenfral to create mtemat messages rn o vonety of formats m order to match the demographics and communication needs of venous employees

'••

14 •• ••

•• •

3 5-5 0

25-35

Role-specrflc tasks

39

4

0·6 0

10-15

Total

100

20-25%

20-25

Thar mcan.s rh.u ir may be fnurful to consider mrcgr.uing soci.1l pbrform:-; inro ,\'c.)llr IC .srrarc~v... md('ed. ir '" prob,1bly a mu.sr for any modrrn rc srr:Hc.'g\'. Comn,mic..;, C3J1 U~L', l.'.g. fc.)l'lllllS, frc.•ds ..1nd bk)gs ro r boosr rhc Sc.Ki.1l clc.'llh'JH ofrherr IC {i\lanninc:n. n.d.). -..J

Budget Lasrh·, , what is rh r communication budgrr? Thi~ book is nor abour rhc nuts and bolrs of making serYice and cxpc:ric.'rKe busmesse-. economicallv~ fra.siblr. bur 'vou \\ riJ nonethdess need ro consrder how much each 1h• ,J in \'I.)Ur future workplace, 1rrespccrivr of rh~ f\''"C' ,f .. _ . I app l l l i r t sc 1vacc en·-· \'Oll work tor. rcrpn::.t: • i

I

(Towers Watson, 2011)

\\'h.H , ehtcll~s d~> scn'ICl' L"~rgCll..,, the pro-. .llh.i Ct"~ ll :->.

9.4.1 E-mail E-mail is on~ of rlw most "ommonh llSl'd medt.l dun nels in bu..,tncc.;s world rodav,, .1nd i~ urH.il·rgoHHT v a dramatic t1 an..,fol m.1ti1.)11 011g111al'lv. e-maib were conceived .1s a shore clt?nron1c mc~~agl', but 111 roday'.s business world rhey h.1Vl' .supplanrt?d rradtnonal krtL'rs, faxes and - ot: ten ' sadlv and face-ro-face conn' I sations. , - rdeohon"' r Despite irs populariry. employee~· comm un icatio n 1.'-llhlil skills leave much to be desired. Howcvl' r, there arc no un iversal rules on how ro usc e-mail. In some GlSt?S, service organisation" mav introduc~.· their own internal guiddines. but orht:r\\'i~e there arc jLI\t conventions for composing ('·mails, and rhe hope that they will be tollo\\ cd. ~

i

..

Reflection questions \Vatch rhis humorous video on c-mails by Tripp and Tylor. Have you ever ~xpcrit•nccd similar problems? \X1hat do vou rhink arc the rypical concerns when 1• t comes to using e-mail at work? I

CHAPTER 9

_

,

rhc rccipit•nt's rime. Thts Rl •-=n~cr ·· r

1s

rhc golden rul,

l)f

1.

arw comanuntC.ltion. bur in .1 bu-., workday, ir 1s a musr. Only inch:dc rdcvanr inforrn~rion . Pur effort mro wnrmg conu . . e and informati\'e e-mails rh~r do not rake ages to read, digt:sl :tnd rc!'>pond ro. Rt.>mrmb~.·r. less is U!'\U.lll)' rnorL'.

2.

nor confus~.· l'·mail wirh a rexr message or Insranr ~~~ssaging. In e-mail corr~.·spondcncc, follow the convf•nrions of busin~ ...: lt·

...

"

Dl)

rrr-\\'riting: s r~rr off wirh an appropriatL salutation (Dl'ar, Hello,

ere.) and conclude with a rde,·ant Bcsr rcg.uds. Regards. ere.). Pro\·ide - bur only if I t 1.., ncll rhe1r pr~.·fl'rn:d .tbbrl'vi.ui~'n.s. 7. Onl\' arr.1ch fil~.·.-> \\'hen n~.·~.~.· ... ,.try. Dt,ul,lc-ch~ck wh~.·rht:r .1ny act.lchmrnr~ ch:u vou mcnr11.m m y~."~ur e-mail .1r~.· rhcrc brt"l"'r~ you • r'r~ . . . . ·s ~ l'Ill:i'• a Tuning is unporr.uu. Wll. C~.,n.stdcr \\'hen i.s rhe bc::.t time w send \rour e-mail. Rc~prcr w~,..,rking hour!'>. 9. Rrmembrr grammar and puncc u.tritm. Your wriring rrprc.scnr.!- you a~ an emplO)CC and i:s indicariv~.· of)our atnru~.h" co ,,~,>rk . Let your uHern.ll (and. of cour~r. exrrrnal) e-mail corrc~pondcn cc make a po ... arivc tmpr~sion on rhr rccipicm. 10. u~c ·-mileys' \\1.sdy. Thac :ur b0rh pn-'~ and con~ t"'f u~mg smtJc,' cmo'•~ 111 vour inranal e-mail corre:-;pondcnct:. Th~.· pro t::-. rhar ' J • wrinc?n C'('~nununicarion dot.'S nor C\.)nvrv , f~din~.s .1nd L'monon" . and rhrsc .small t:1ces can help n1u .hi~.i .111 exrra dimen\wn ro \·our e-mail. Hl)\\'t'\'t'r. you nerd w constdcr wl11.·rh~.·r the rectpn~nr of rhr rnt.•.ss,wc undcrsr .1nd ~ \·our emoriCt111 in cx.Kd v r he sa me \\a\ a-. \ ou intended ir Rcrnembl'r. if •vou nced co communtcatl? bad new, m an e-mail, no amount of emojis wilil'VL'r soften rhr blow. Anochl'r • very unporrant .1spccr is the pcrc~.·prion '-'f cmoji.s in the intercultural cornmunic.uion encounter Some rt.'Scarch (G likson. et al.. 20 17) '''an1s u.s about rhe po:-;siblt• ncgati\'1.' ~.·ft~·cr.s t)f emop-.. especially when communicating formally for businl'ss purposes, and fi.-,r thl' firsr rime - you m.1y be pcrc~ivcd as less compt.'Ct.'IH, and the rt.'CCI\'t:r mav nor necessarilv regard vou r mcs,.l . .'Tl' as warm a and more pt.>rson a I. ~

~

,

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,

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11 . CAPLOCKS, italics. underlining or bold? A\·oad using ALL OF THEA1 AT ONCE! To reall~· m~1ke an impact in your mt:s...,agc, \ 'Oll do nor J1l'ed to play with formarnng. lnsre~d . focus on che contL'\t nnd on formulating your ideas clearly and ronct.sdy. To hdp ,·our readL·r understand a longer e-mail) Wit' paragraphs and, tf relc\·anr, headings, bur do nor o\'erdo ir. As a rule. an e-mail is a te~\t message. and docs nor ll'nd itself naturally to formarcing. 12. Disconnect! \'\'hen possible, consider lt.'aving rour desk and walking over co the colleague you wanted to e-mail. \X'rirren words mav • come across as distant and cold. Set e-mail-free hours ar work. Spend rime wirh your co-workl'rs face-ro-facc in order ro fosrer relationships.

. vlt)r (20 12). a speciali!'r in lcadcrshap and comn 1 htrkY aJ . . .... ~ . ". "' lunacanon . I ld .;F"'cak.Jng . .stlt.:,!\.St::\ the nnporrance of bustrle a~untng a • . . ... ~ . . . ss wnrmg can br appltt:d to vmmls, among other rhmns Sh I r 1 kill' r 13 • E· . e c atms rhrse ~ktlls ' bm thar·. lhar coIll Pa me". all roo o ttcn neglect ...

COmpany is only os good os its written messages [ ] Very often, the '' your enttre worKflow depends on your writing sk1lls.

Exercise 9.1 Using e-mail for giving feedback to a tell oW colleague Be.sidcs routine messages, you may also ar ~omr point nc~?d ro gi,·c: feedback ro your peers, both positive and negari' r. The way m which \'OU plan and destgn feedback can have a big impact on your operational networking m the long run. Your feedback may b~ oriented roward.s expressing your view on a solution to a pr~.·ssing problem, or 1r mighr solely deal with }'our peers' behaviour ar \\'('Irk. Mosr probably. ~·o u \\'tll gladh- share positive feedback- bm remember robe stnct.'rc and rd~· on facts and c\·h.icncc For 111\tance. instead of saying 'You art.~ a getn, Soren! ·. be speufic: 'St."'rcn I reallv apprectat~ rhr positive attitude that you displa\'ed m rhts projecr. despate ourvrrv tight schedule'. Bcmg specific \\'Ill definitely reinforce your mt:ssage and make ir more conet·ete. However, sometimes vou mav need ro ~ave ne~ariw feedback, for instance to .1 difficult colleague. Hen:, rhe trick .., isroaddrcss the beha\·iour and the impacr ir may have on rhc ream and n:s ouccomes, rather than address personality. This 1s easier satd than done, especially in writing. Ftrsr, browst.' the b~.Tuidance below on \,...:giving negati\'e feedback: """ ... 1

I

I

...

Code 1

~

• QR code 1 Blair English • QR code 2 Blair English back exercise • QR code 3

I How to \\'rite fl'cdback tn L'-mads I \'\'riting feedback 111 e-matls: Ganng feed-

Code 2

I I 0 cxan1plcs of effective employcl' feedback

Now that you understand the prinnples behind giving feedback in rhe workplace, practise it by drafting a feedback e-mail based on the scenario below. \Vas this a difficult task? Explam why/ why nor? Rem~mber that the recipient of your feedback cannot hl'ar your rone of VOice and see your body language - so pa~· attention to rhe \'ocabulan: you choose. Use standard e-n1ail writing conventions. e.g. CAPS LOCK

Code 3

178

CHAPTER 9

Ho\., TO DESIG N AN IN TER NAL COMM UNICATIO N STRATEGY

~

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIE NCE INDUSTRY

HIINGS TO CONSIDER

CHAPTER 9

179 mtan~ 'shourin~ .... ·. rht• u~t" L)f smiiLT ~KL'~ and ~imilar L'm o ri co ns will crrarc .1 po~Hi,•r imprrssiL)Il, and ~l' on. P robablv , nor auromaricalh• ; f igure 9.4 Scenarro adapted tram 'Haw should I deal With o rude and trrcJ..y colleague?' by Sarah Abell 25 May 20 10, The Telegraph (Abell, 20 I 0)

SCENARIO You've been working for five years in your current JOb and normally enjoy 1t very much. It is a creative and competitive environment , and everyone is, for the rnosr parr. encouraging and supportive. After some recent rescructuring, however, you end up in a new ream and you find one of }'Our colleagues very difficLJir. The person is disruptive, comrollrng and creates a bad atmosphere. For example. the person will react in a rude and bullying manner when under pressure, hares It when someone else has a good idea , and undermines you in from of other colleagues. The person is negative about earlter produced \vork (projects, reporr.s and so on), bur does nor contribute with any constructive tnpur on how to improve it at all. Furthermore, the person is alwa)'S late for the meetings at which you discuss possible improvcmenrs. Unfortunately. the person rarely docs this in front of your boss. As a ream leader, you need to deal wirh this situation.

·nternol or private network of on organisation based on int ] ,, (on I _ ' ernet lechnolo1 tronet is meant for the exclus1ve use of the organisation and . gy. n 11s (lnternol) OCI·ates like employees, members, sometimes customers and ass ' suppliers. ocr onory Online n.d.) {BUSIOess 1 1 •

•

. r 1 . 311 L't·:-~ m.11n trl •

•

serVILe"> .Ht' an mre~ratcd r-mail 1·110 , . l'ht' . ...., , ~ .S}'.stl"l11, dara , o.;c·u ch .1nd rerneval tuncttons mtormation int , . . .;cora~ may rcsulr in a .sir uarion in which thing~ arr cxpccrl'd, bur not dmw. Good wrirrL'Il communication . . ktlls, rhcrcft)rl' . .uc crn.tinly u~~..·ful hrrL'. C.1n rradirion.1l nwt•ring!' .1dopr a ne\\' fonn.H and takl' on innovative forms? Busirwss E' ~..·nrs Denmark -.ays 'n·.. , · and i nt rod U(t'\ u~ to ~teecov:.uit1Jl, or rhc D.1nish t\kt•ting Des1gn : I

I

-

....

rurn on mvestmcnr. Visit l\tcerovation's homrpagc ro learn morr abour thest• dements and read case sr ud1cs: https:// www.visltdemnark.com/ denmark/ meer ovati on-nu kin g-dcn mark-best-place-meet Figure 9.6 The fiVe elements ot 'Meelovat1on'

Responsible Thmkmg

Acllve Involvement

• locollnsp1rohon

Creot1ve Setups

Return on Investment Meosunng ROI on meelings 1s not JUSI slrolghtforward Therefore, we hove collected vor1ous tools to help you calculate the spec1flc y1eld of your meetmg

Reflection questions think rh.H cuhurc (national, rrgional dcpanm.. [)o \'l1ll . .... • • l:ll(a1, pro1 _ 1 1 nd so on) has .uw 1mpact on th~ wav m~etinlTS .... ,. . tl''-~JI..)na

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. rl'tfOI'111l'd? Jusuty your Vl~\\'POtnt

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:i and ...give examnl•' r l: ~. ~l'\t. srudr rhc white papl'r bv Profe'.sor R1chard D. t\rv~\'. PhD 2 ...,s Schl1ol. Natil1nal Unt\'Cr~tt\'· of S1ngapore ritl,t:Ll~ '"" ''!' " su~tnL. . ... , l\ lancr'. \\' nte un vour kt•\· tilk ' ) r-•1cc Hus1 ness l\ ken ngs Face- (1..... r • ·eaJ

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,,.avs from r!Hs paper. '

hrrp:/jwww.cole"rr~ in in g.cotn / " p-co ~~tent Jup loads 20091 10/~ kct::l'I!"-Why- Face-to- h1 ce- Bust n ess-l\ leett n gs- ~ t,l ncr-a -wh i te-pa pc r-by0;.RKhard-t\rvcy- 1.pdf

9.4.4 Memos Atnl'morandum. aka mcn1o. is a legal document rccordmg rh~ imporlanc dt.!tatls of an agn·cn1ent. It 1s usually passed from Olh' person to

another or to a group of persons in the same compa1w or organisanon (Ftnacial Times Lexicon , n.d.). As a medium of intL'rnal communt(ation. memos arc less con1mon these da\·s. \\'l' do SCl' a tendencv. for companies co gradualh· s\\'itch to a 'paperless office'. whl'I'C the) minimise or attctnpt ro totally clitninatc printed documL·nr.s that .uc il!mrd ar passing on infonnation. Howe,·cr, the usc of memos can still .

be observed. This is wh.u Anna \\'arson , n1all n1anagcr at a leading real estate master developer and a n1ajor contributor to realising the vision ofDubai, says about memos: I

" At my office, a memo is a Word document which IS printed, signed and stomped. When you get one, you know it is an alert it IS senous The memo is usually dated, it has on official number and that number is entered into the registry, so there is a lot of work associated with producing memos and making a record of it. 1 have only seen memos in quite bureaucratic companies; I hove not seen memos in contemporary companies, who go paperless, who switch to digital signatures and video formats for disseminating information from managers to employees.

CHAPTER 9

181

182

CHAPTER 9

HO\\ TO DESIGN AN INTERNAL COZ..'MUNICATION STRATEGY BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE I DUSTRY

THINGS TO CO• SIDER CHAPTER 9

l . ,c ,rc: no ~horr.1~e of oprion:-;, bur rhev musr l)" . ~ . is nrH''... . . c £1\'en carefhtrt . it"rarit'n if an IC ~trarrgy IS ro ytrld rht• de~irl'd resuJr.ful con~''" ·'·

9.4.5 Other tools Among or I1cr mean lhc followmg: ...

()f .-... ~ v 111111

183

_ llHl'rn.1Jly, umcanng

'''c: would hke to li~r

• Insranr mcs.:-.agtng ( I~ r) ... • Norict.>bo.u· i ·or digtr.ll boards • Training '(\~'Illil.S • Ncwslrr rrr~ • Phone calJ, • ,~\ 1ana0\Trmcn r me.s~.1gc, .. • Dc.skH)f alcrr..s .md rirker..s • )ffiinc pnnr media for c.unp.1ign~ • SratT m-vt:y~ and quizze~ • Fonun!i. ft...rd,, and blo~s • Collal orauvr and projl'.:r-managemcnr tl"'~ob '-'

• Applicanon!'> and .:-.ofr\\'.1rc for bl)l"'lkings, in\'l•nr0ry conn\)! .1nd order placing • Orhrr mdu . . r ry-.!'pecific digital plartorm-. L'.g. rcbrionshi p-rnanagenwnr !)\• .sr\?ms.

Ct..•rur.ll portals h.tvc .1lsc.) scar red ro gain momenrum, nor only among t;, , ho~oiraJirv, r , roun.sm, lct\ure and spore organl'\.HtOtb. bur abo 111 IL'CT n 1c, on how ro measure 1rs rffl'cts ntusr bt' dd1nt>d The k~...·y is to t>n s ur~...· ri 1ar the cho~cn roob nuke rhe workt10\\ ~moothl't and hdp b'-1m . tmagl' and bra nd are ~,imilar, in rlw sethl' rhar a brand id~nrr ..... '.' {Oi . ) 1.s....... ·'·l'J01th•md t"t.''i.>rencr bran d equH}' r . to tbe u•bole. brm lit! or,zttnbrtt'· 'J ,~pro. . ··.,offi'"'(J7'\i?11'iCepr01'1nl!1; .md IIJ p.l1'/1Cttf.zremph.zsi~e,·b,. r r·r'decfl'l' a ~t'71'1H • t' • .. - , 1lep:s

ofthe 5;,.,·ice n•!.1titte to compt•titors · (Palmer.. 20 I 1. p. 261 ). ~:brand can be l'Xrn·mely imporranr ro a comp,mr, azH.:i H ,.., H'r)' much m rhl' compa· t" ... ·r ro build and mainr.1in .1 stn)ng ny,s m t J..!> • brand. In rh1s ch.1pr"r t: , \\~ look ar rht' concepr c..1f branding and how 1r ts ,,:Tcart•d and dc,·l'loped Once wr ha,·e an underst.1ndins: t)f the brand concepr, "l' will rhen starr ro devrlop our communication plan.

•

'' Unique des,gn sign, symbol, \'lords, or a combmotion 0 , these, employed rn creating on 1mage that defines o product and differentiates 1t from its comoetr• tors. over time, th1s rmage becomes associated Wlfh a level ot credlblltty, quality, and sat 1staction 1n the consumers mind .. (Inc 2018)

Ofparricular inreresr 111 thi~ definirion i.s rhc rxrra \'alul~ created for rhe con~umcrs. ba.sed on rhc associations ro \\'hich rhc br.md name nan1r or logl1/svtnbol can crcarr a freli 1w~ •1·\"'t.:~.~. r 1' sc ~ • • If .1 .sin~k '""' qualirv and credibility before rhc actual purcha e. rhen rhis lrfe is for one generation; a 1s. t)fcour~e. in rhe comparn··s rnrerrsr. gOOd nome is forever.

:)f

10.1 WHAT IS A BRAND? Lee us srarr wirh alirrle rdlrction l'Xernse. \X'h.1r immed1ardv comrs ro mind whrn w~ Si.l\' 'Disnl'V'? , \\'rire down vour .1ssooLu1ons. Ho\\' abour when I sa~· 'Apple'? Or 'Coca-Cola'?

.

Did you norice whar happened? It's likdy thar the mere mcnrion of these brand names broughr up some associations for ,·ou. ~ta\'bt' rou •

•

So rht• good ne\\·s

thar a strl)ng brand name .1dds \'J.IUt' - Japanese Proverb rh~ bad nl'\\·s ts rhar bulldmg a strong brand rake a long nmc. HL)\\'l'Ver, you can sa\'C some rune..' and rfforr by following ... orne? of rhe rc..>commendations and b,- carefully developing rour communication plan. IS

•

thought of a favourite carroon or a Dtsne\' \\'orld expeA brand Identity (or brand equity) is rience from your childhood- rhe fedmg ofbemg a princess or a superhrrt) came right back ro ,·ou. For .\pple, 'a shorthand reference to the Whole perhaps rhe compan~··s logo came ro mmd. or pt'rhaps bundle of ottnbutes provided by a Sreve jobs or an iPad. l\ laybe you love Apple? - maybe:\ ou service offer or service provider, and don'r- bur you probably experienced some kmd of rc..>ar1n particular emphos1zes benefits of rion. The same wirh Coca-Cola - ma\'l1e ,·ou saw rht• far the serv1ce relative to competitors.' • Sanra in his red cosrurnc. or the characterisnc fcmininr (Palmer, 20 I I, p. 261) shape of rhe classic botrlc. One thing ts cerrain: rhl'St' ..... three brands are nor unfamiliar to ,·ou. You assonar~ rh~ ' names and logos with something. This is what a srrong brand d 1 "' · · d t' I . oes. t creates assoCJartons an t't' · tngs jusr bv menrion · h .. . ~ . • mg r c name or secmg the logo. I·or rhar rea.sl)Il. sen•1ce organisations . · . ~ i t . · are\ ery mteresred 111 creating a strong branl. tW· cause a helps costum h b ... "" . ers to c oose etween similar compt•tin~ (PaJmcr, 2011 ). " st>rvtrc~ The hisrorv of bra d " b h· . a hot ' iron n. mgd goes ack to farmers who would burn r t.'rr catrle With l 1 • m or er to mark them as their property. Thl' srm· )O (or logo, J f you will) . ld h I \\ou t en tell others who owned the carr t'.

10.1.1 Creating a strong brand When a company \\'!shes to creatc a strong brand, H should be aware of the componenrs in rhe brand. Bern· (2000) ~uggt·srs the followmg model for understanding how a brand 1s cre.ued:

Company's Presented Brand

•

•

\ \ \ \

External Brand Communications

Customer Experience with Company

,, ''

,, ,

~ , ,

Brand Awareness

''

,o\

\

\

'

\

''

1',

''

''

''

~

Brand Equ1ty

\ \

''

\ \

', ~

"

Brand Meonrng

Figure 10.1

Brand eqwty model

194

CHAPTER 10

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN

THE SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

BRANDING AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 10

_ mainly through adH'rrising, .service fa. • Compall)' ,s pres£,nted bmnd '

Th~ brand is shaped by the following rhree clements, defined by CorneIJ·.... . .._cn (20 17) a~:

ciliries. and per.sonnd.

lb.nmd com 1111micatimzs - from word-of-n1outh and pubhcir-., ')· These are outside the firm 's control. · nc.t with compmzv - what the customer ._goes throu .snl1 • Cttstomt>J" exPene "J when inreracring \\'ith the companr. ,.. - th~... 'abilitv, to n.•co\.,.msc and recall a bl'and wh··n ,. nran d ,1u•,u·e''.o~ o ... •

195

.

Extt"11lil

•

gJ\11?11

a CUt?.

,

•

• Br.md mea 11 iug _what comes to rhc customers mmd when a brand

• Vision _ semor tnanagernent s asptranon., tor the organi~arion. .

'

.

.

• Otlture - the or~anisatio~ 's valucsj as felt and shared by ,111 employ.'"' see . ,," (for more 1nformanon on organt">ational cultt11-......., pleaSl n:.. Chapter 7). • Jnwge - rhe inlpres">ton rhar external stakeholders have of the or-

ganisation.

is memioned.

• Bra1ld equifJ• - the degree of markenng advantage rhar a brand has • over irs compctJtors. Although i£ rmgfu seem that the company has little control of irs brand equi[)'. one should nor underesnmarc the possibility of affecting borh rhe cu~romer's experience and rhe external brand commu. nicarions. Later on, in Chapter 11. we will explore in more derail how we could plan the communication throughout all the rouchpoinrs of rhr customer journ~y, in ord~r to pro\ ide a good customer experience. As long as we conrinuc ro focus on the custon1er experience, ir ts ltkdv that word-of-mouth will have a posttive irnpact on our brand equl[y.

10.1 .2 Corporate branding Another popular way of viewing a brand is ,·ia the concept of corporate branding, as developed by Nlajken Schultz and l\tary Jo Hatch. Under their Corporate Branding 1\1odd, the brand identity is shaped by rhc company's corporate culture, strategic vision and i rnage. ~

Figure 10.2 Corporate Branding MOdel

To map thL' corporate brand\ ~rrengrh, and to ~sess whether a company's actions will create alrgnrnent between these elt?ments, we must ask certain questions. In doing so, we are measuring rhr alignment berween first the vision and the culture (in other word .... between manag... ers and employees), second bet\\'ecn culture and &mage (or employees' \'alues and c.xrernal stakeholders· perceptions), and third between vision and image. This t!nables us ro determine \\'hether the management is taking the organisation in a dtrecrion that tts stakeholders support (Cornelissen, 20 17). '-'

Vision-culture gop

Culture-Image gop

Vision-image gap

Does lhe organisation practise the values it promotes? Does the orgonlsohon's vision inspire oil of its subcultures?

What images do stokeholders associate with the organization?

Who ore the organisation's stakeholders?

Are the organisation's vision and culture suffic1enNy differentiated from those of its competitors?

In what ways do its employees and stakeholders interact? Do employees core what stakeholders think of the organisation?

What do the stakeholders wont from the orgomsohon? Is the orgomsoflon effechvely communicotmg its vision to Its stakeholders?

Exercise 10.1 Figuring out a company's corporate brand One of your friends, a student of sen·icc, hospitality and tourism, is currently in an internship at a large event c01npanr. She is srrugglmg to map the con1pany's corporate brand, and it is difficult for her to figure our exacrly HO\X' she should do ir. She knows she should ask questions - bur how? Should she interview people? \X'hat should she ask them? \Vhar kind of interview n1erhod should she usc? How about other infonnation? \X' hat is relevant? She asks you for hdp. Discuss in groups what a n1ethod for 'measuring' the corporare brand might look like.

Table 10.1 Corporate Branding Gaps

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IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTRY

BRA NDI NG AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN DEVE

LOPMENT

CHAPTER 10

197

10.2 DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED SERVICE COMMUNICATION PLAN . . }low a -strong \X'e have JUSr seen . . brand is cr~ar~d . - and w~ ha\ L s. t; ._n

\ .ts:on tnt1uence a branq • w' ' ·e how corporate cuI[ur"'t.: and the con1pan\' • . d eeper 1·n··ro the compmn' now dH! :.; J_·, prese7ltea brcmd ... - the forn1aJ , ~xtern a1 ~ · • 1 .. rhc sender signal char rherc arc values in life ocher -' chan rhc purely monetary? • A1odesf)': Docs rhe sender signal a certain self-crino ... m? • Humour. Js rherr a glimpse of hurnour in rhe n1essage?

thL'

sender show commirmenr?

, Attthenticif]•: Docs rhe sender seen1 present in a natural and authennc way, or do rhey appear robe playing an (unreliable) role? • Presence: Docs rhc sender se~n1 ern pathetic and truly present? • /tJtri~uc: Is the s~ndt•r capable ofin\'olving rhe recei\·cr in an intrigu~ ~ ing... and cornpclling way?

The role of che ~endcr is far frorn trivial. B\ rd1ccting upon , 0111 e of rhc above quc'itiOn\, \ ·ou can significantly strengthen your communi• canon.

Exercise 11. 1 Can \'OU think of any con1n1 unication vou have .seen char failed on one or more of the above-rnenrioned points? Can you think of any communication that succl'eded on all point~:> I

\X'ir:h regards to humour, it is imporranr ro remember rhar the messages a company creates do nor translate well fron1 one culture ro another. \~'e have robe especially careful when it cotnes ro humour. \\'har is humorous in one culture mav, be offensive in another. Dcnrna1 k hal) L xperienccd rhar rhc hard way after publishing the infamou') cartoon~ of the Prophet .Mohammed. An international service organisation should therefore exercise cultural intelligence (see Chaprer 6) in irs m~ukermg communication. And, of course, we should remember the \\lbo ot our communication plan: know your rargcr group! Consider the following example.

EXAMPLE 11 .1

Exercise 11.2 Watch chis promotional vtdeo for Ruth's Hotel in Skagl'n. \Vhar image are they arrcmpring co convey:> \\.hteh 1n1ages do they use to communicate their message? The hotel's target group consists of affluent. mature guests. Do you chink rhar rhetr stgnarure melody, which is used in the video, is consistent with rhe in1ages used and the rarger group? https:/ / www.you tube.corn/ warch?\ =SUkztoR7adA

DANISH HUMOUR- IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY One of the authors has a Netco foodsrore close to her home. \X' hile rhe store was constructed, they pur up a sign saying: A new Netto is on irs Wa}'' \XI ' · ere work.mg on ·1r! Note the humorous .picrure wirh rhc two dogs. ln Denmark this is JUSt a funny picture, bur consider whar effect ir might have in counrries that may have different s:andards for what is deemed appropriate. Example and image proz,ided by A. HammersiJOy

Netto 11.2 THE MESSAGE

)

- VI•IM:Jder pi~

Presence Is the sender present in tl . . . . le conunun1canon in a wav ~coon? • rhar convcvs ~ con~

The objective and the n1cssage are closely related. The objective is about what kind of change the sender wants the receiver ro undertake. The objective can be separared into three different categories: knowl~ edge, attitude, and behaviour. Depending on the category, the message should be adjusted ro rhe objective. Ensure that your messages arc not too complex- rhe greater the co1nple..xiry, the higher rhc risk of there~ ceivermissing the point (Andersen &Jorno, 2013). In order to be compelling and punchy, a rnessage should meet rhc following three criteria: • Sbort: The message should be short and simple and usc a minimum of words.

205

206

CHAPTER 11

IMPLE MENTING THE COMMUNICATION PLAN

IN THE SERVICE AND EXPERIE NCE INDUSTRY ON BUSI NESS COMMUNICATI

•

· . Ttlt: ·sl:·n ldl:"r ~should r 1\onndfltJC. I)

exprc'\S an atti rudt? that is i mmcdiare-

ly recognisable ro the receiver.

. . . • Cl.um: The message .should convev an InVIt·t:r;n t~nd support thm·e jmn7U')'S, c~m/ mstitute ntltund chmge mu/ contimwu.>· impror•c•mcnt to sust,zin tiN initiatit't'S tit sc,dc' (Rawson er al. , 20 1J ). So nor on lv should \\'l' look at ' rhe single rnuchpoint.s and rhe rommunicarion we choose at e.trh one, YtHr h.tVl' rww

customer Aeflon

Make resotvO·

lion

Give Amve at hotel

bogs to bollper-

hu r ll'l' s ho uld .!I so keep an eye on r he Iink between rhe rouch poin rs, in ordl'r ro ensure nn inregrared approach rhar ddivers con.sistl'nr me.s· sages. Luckily, w~ have tools ro hl'lp us in rhi!) process- one of which is

Chock in

son

I

I

Onsrage/ Visible COntoct Employee Actions

service

Rocetve fOOd Stgnl!lp

shower

Check 001 Ond

leave

,

Line of lnferactfon

,

Greet and toke bogs

Process registration

Deliver

Deliver

bogs

fOOd

Process checkoul

line of Vlsiblllfy

• Bockstoge/ Invisible Contact Employee Action

'I

Make r8SetvO· lion tor guest

'---__.r

1 _

Toke bags to .___,

room

Toke load order

Une of Internal Interaction

rlw .service blueprinr model, which vou rna\' have come across before. I

Bill lobby Hohll exJellor Parking

..

'

Reservation

system

..

Registration

system

Prepare 1--....1 food

RegiS· IT01i00

system

i

224

CHAPTER I I

BUSINESS COMMUMCATION, I N •I HE SERVICE AND EXPERIE NCE INDUSTRY

• , 1n..;e-. from rfw wrll-d~signcd cusromer A good ru.sromcr exprrremt: • . ~ . • . , . " .· , ..., II compmll'IHS of che cu~toml r t:Xpl 11c.n~l' have 1 ourne\' Ill '' h' c 1 a . . J ' .l.srarrmg b"cn carefullv consr d"1. h:.....d · In rt?rm ofcommumcanon, . .. po 111 r l ro ~1n.1lysc for d·u-. could br ro ll'l, rh,c .scn.·rct? blucpnm , , . . rhe . cusr 0111 l'r .d...t:nn f). rhc cusronH·r v.1Ju~. .md Ill)\\ H 1.s .suppon~.·d lw expcncncc .m d h.

(.)

all components.

Exercise 11 .6 Ma kl' a srn.1cr aL"~ 1lll"f'r · 1•11 c for •1 mu,~.·um of •\'our choir~.·. Drsruss _ th~.· f"~oknowl~.·d~l' trom ch s• re n n aJ f..11 Itil.e i l )Jill~• ' llld ho\\' r\'OU c.m• usc • 'Vl1lll' • • ':' 1 sccnon ro :mggt:. ~r diffrrrnr rommumrarron Ill d1tTcr~.·nr. IIHcracrions· ' -s·cuss WH 11 t JlC cu.s [olll l'"'I'• [) 1 • · lww companv ' pn.Kl'S:o-l'S c:m l'l[her sunnorr r t • • or di curb rhc commumranon.

Maria Kirstine Loven and Anna Hammershftjy

KEY TAKEAWAYS In rh 1s ch.IJHCr, \\\' h.wc looked ar rhe rcn1Jining lill'l'c \\ "ofrlw service marker in~ .. (('llllnlllnicarit"I1 model: ho\\'1, \\'!here .llh.i \\rhc11 \\ l' h.:t\l' pn.) \'ldl·d pran ic.ll wol.s co dt·rcnnii1l' the channds .md means commuIIJC',l(Jl)fl, ,b wl'll .1s .1 praccic.:tl tool ro an:.tlyse ser \ rn' 111.11 kering commumc:uion .1s a wlwl~.· rhrough rhe lens of rhc cw.ronwr l'.:\~wricnce.

or

I

-

CHAPTER 11 REFlECTION QUESTIONS 1. \X'hy should )'l>LI rdlrcr upon your rok as a .sender? 1 2. \X har IS rhe ditTcrencr bl·nn·cn Lo~os. Parhos and Erhos? 3. \X'har arc tlw bcncfirs and challenges of rlw dirtcn•nc llll',ln~ of com'"' mun1carion (spokl'Il word, writrl'n word, visuals. bod\ lan~u.1~e '-

and sound)?

...

..

good ide.t for a scrvicl! comp.ln\ tt) look ar its m.u k~.·tmg comnHJniracion through dll' lens ofdw cusronwr l'~'Xperienll'?

4. \X'hy IS ir

In this chapter, you will learn about:

.1

• critical incidents in the service encounter • why customers complain and what outcomes they expect

• understanding a conflict and how to handle it • identifying a crisis and how to manage crisis communication.

226

CHAPTER 12

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN TH E SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUS TR Y

SERVI CE FAI LU RE, CUSTO ME R CO MPLAINTS AND CRISI S CO MMUNI CATION CHAPTER 12

INTRODUCTION

. :i . solitrion to rhe problrtn 4· hn( a . l 'Ill

The intangible .uH.i in~cparable n~uurt? of St?rvices gives rise ro rhc high probability of failurc:s occurring, leaving custon1ers d issaristied {Pahncr, 2011 ). From rhe cu:-.romer's perspective, a service failure i:s any situarion where something has gonL"' wrong, irrt?spectivc of responsibilirv The facr rhar servtce.s :1rr inscp:1rable from rhe custonwr make.s it Wr\' ditnculr ro hide .servtce failut\'S from then1. lt 1s mevirabk char scrvic~ £:1ilures will occur fi·om rime to tune, .1nd the\ can vary in graviry ~j0111 very serious to rather trivial (P.llmer, 201 1). In an\' case, the srn ILL' company and the servicL' employee should know ho\\ ro recover from a srrvice failur(~. I '

Bur why i:-. recovery from servict' failurl' so itnportatu? \\' hy can'r we just live with the tact thar ~ome customers are not .sarisfil·d and focus on the ones who are? Two perspL'ctives arise here: fir.sc. it is murh more expcn.stve to win a Ill'\\' customer rhan to retain an existing one: and second, the possibili l)' of negarive branding ts a very serious rhre:u. In a world of .'iOCial media .1nd an incrL'.1sing U5e of customer l'L'Views, lhe power of the cuMomer is growing. All con1panies working with services should include service recovery in their operations. In or her words, ·... complaint h,mdling should be seen as tl profit cente1; not a cost cellter' (Lovelock & \\'inz, 2011, p. 376). This philo~ophy has been adopted by VisirAalborg, a destination management organisation 1n the north of Denmark. A few years ago, rhey developed a set of guidelines for betrt.'r hosrmanship. The following example shows how thev address the issue of complaints. I

EXAMPLE 12.1

A COMPLAINT IS A GIFT According ro VisirAalborg (20 10), 90% of dissatisfied guests choose nor to complain to rhe company, bur instead share their negarivl' expcncnet' rhrough word of mourh or on social media. Onlv 32% choosr ro _retur-n_aher a poor e.:~perience. HowL·ver, if you encourage gue~rs ro \'t>tce rhe1r -o 111 I · · ~ow 'II · .. . t P CliJH~, .:> .11.1 w1 n.>tu rn. Jf you Its ten to r he guesls, t 2% wtll return and if)'Olt •1-l · r 1n1n1e · d'tare 1y, 9.:>'t!J -·" ot- rI1r . ' • l on t 1w comp1am gucsrs w11l return. -

. \r1· -1'tAalboru (20 10), Verdenskltzsse

Source. ·'

'""

12.1 CRITICAL INCIDENTS Since rhe scrnce ts both intangible and relies on the people performing tr, in terms of both the provider and rhe receiver of the service, incidt'nts anse all the rime 111 a sl'rvice encounter (Palmer, 2011). Some of rhese modents plav a very itnportant role in the customer's evaluation ofrhc sernce encounter. Critical inndents are those rhar lead to cirher an c~pcoally sansfving or an espenally dtssansfnng service expcril'nCl' for rhe customer (Palmer, 20 11). Based on thts, it ts very much in rhe rompanr's mrercst to define these mctdents, either in order ro prevl'nt fuwrc serv1ce failures, or to budd on the mcidenrs thar crearc rlw suc'essful custorner experience. \\'e can use the san1e methodology to tdcnti~· criticaluKtdcnts as we

used m Chapter 11, nan1ely the process of mapping and \"t5ualtsing the customer JOUrney. B~· dotng so and then addtng the (for tnstancc) ten mosr frequent coin plat nts, vou end up wtth a very good overview of the most important cnncal inndcnts. Tht-; ktnd of analvsts provides the basis for a devdopn1ent of the critical modents. In other words, analysing exactly where in the custotner journey rhe most frequent complaints arise gives you a good opporruniry to change the inreranion and prevent future complaints. The example below shO\\·s how critical mcidents are used m pracnce in rhc tourism tndusrr~'·

I

VisitAalborg uggests that SC'rvicc providers follow seven srcps w turn a complaint into success: l. Listen to the guesr 2 " Ask que>tions to make sure you understood the problem

3. Apologise

Inform the guest w 1at \\:t ~appL'n nexr S how long tr \\'tll rakL' ro solve rhe problem 6.. TcII t h.t: b'"Tuesr . '-' 7. Thank the gue\t.

CRITICAL INCIDENTS: JAPANESE TOURISTS IN AUSTRALIA Rack in the l 990s,Japan cse tounsts were a sigmficant and high-spending rounsm market segn1ent tn Australia. Ho\\'ever, they were constdered 'difficult' by Australian rourisn1 and hospttahrv mdusrry wo~·k­ ers. In order to identify what kllld of'problems' rhe Australian sen'ICC providers experienced, thcv were asked to talk about their encounters wirh Japanese tourists. Th~ cri rical incident technique was applied ro responses about both difficult and positive interactions. For exampl:, Service providers were asked the following question: ccm )'Oil think oj a difficult, dist,-essing or unpleas,mt experience ilwoft,ing a }ttp~.mese tourist that

EXAMPLE 12.2

227

228

CHAPTER 12

BUSHIESI) COMMUtiiCATIOtlltl THf SERVICE AND EXPEPJErtCE lriOU T~y

SERIICE fAILURE CU5TOMfP. COMP LAINTS A 10 CP.JSJ CO .. "' MMU HCAliON

229

,,011 rcce1JtlV e1JCOW1ll.>red durmg

your work' \Ve are mte,·ested m th" d , t 1ncr ent tbcmsell'l.·s u4Jrcb can occur by accrdent, umhout ll bcmu anyone s .r,, l . , .t't Jwlt l. llle same rechruquc \\as used about 'imood1 and poc,Hivc cxanH>Icc; f l 0 It). ccracc1on \\ 1th chc j.1panesc guest.,.

Compto n ro ftle ~-Mee Ftrrn

Afrc:r lhe cnncaJ 1ncidcru., were Cl'lJlcncd, chey \\ere analvu f ,ut.:( and mterprc(cd by bJcuhuraJ md1v1duals \\rilh knowledge of both J apa. ncsc and 1\uc;cralaan cuhures. Th1' resulted Ill the crc:n 1011 of..,, cu. 1 rural sunularor' rhac could b\! used for trammg 1\u.,rralian crnplovccs co deal wJth Japanc~e guescs. Fo1 example, l he: Japant:sc gue.,tc; \~ere generally described as 1dcal cu~tomer~, because they never complnmcd Auscralaan ~crv1ce provider' therefore assumed rhar the JnpancCie lllU 'it be ~ausfied wnh rhc ~crv1cc rhcy were rcceiv1ng. I Jowcvcr, the culcural mrer·prelatlon of thcar bchav1our showed that the jnpane~c., ftkc mo t couno;c~, arc dJc;sarrc;fied wuh some aspects of rhe service. flo\\'e\cr, the\ arc lnghly reluctant to complain, and ering con1 pen.sation ro the victints' farnilir.s, which r. u~rd an~er 1 among fiunilit.•. who feh rhar no arnounr of rnoncy could 111 •1kt• up for rhe loss of rhei r loved ones.

EXERCISES .· · 1 incidt•tu and lKlW can it be used to impr brand .1nd a\\·aren.Hillllcs, \trong stattsucs) or .1p~w.1l ., )rscron~ ,llhi l• U:>l 1l , JllliJL'll(L . , .· LJ 1Iv throu~h s u·nng tmagcn or colours. In O[h'I \I 'I •1 ' ~ .._ ro r.,r~b ll vour audtcncl.'\ attentton. Yt)llr mess.1~r \'(HI nt'l'~otJ t)t :utr:tcr • • , ... cr \\ 1..1 - ' ' • f-111 want to tUS[ J11Jkt' )'Olll ,Hll l • , , no: .. n 1 - ltltl'rt'St I~ · ..:.11 1 '1 tTt•ctiVL' 'sta~e. Onct.> ·\'Oll haYL' caughr vour .ludt""" _ •• '. , · , l )lJ have to brin~ I hrs •~ wl1l·rc rncc's .urrnuon,) • .... t 'scan nable' and to stTLJCtlltT ll 111 a \\'J\' rhar \HHtld make ir t' or to conr.Kt \ 'O ll (Ta}'lor, 2005, p. 200). ,\t [hts .stage the audience should Sl'l' de.1r bl'nt'• firs to rhl·m: why rhnl'fit.s [hat thnct>) . \'Olll'

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A Anton is the bt.>h,l\'ioural stage. It is soml'[inws n'fl'ITL'd ll1 .ls Call to Anton. J Jere you include si1nplc and clear statt'llll'llts th.H can

GOOGLE AD - AIDA Experil.!tKt' .1 luxurious scay .u Luxury lltHt•ls ~lallon.· .1! Amenities: Free \~'i fi , Swimming Pool, gourmet dining. 24/7 co ncil'rgt''.

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CHAPTER 13

1

SUSINES COo!. MUN CATIO

CRAFTING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES

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A PRACTICAL TOOLBOX

CHAPTER 13

255

bu inc...; mes ages. In rhc prcviou!) st~p t co moll'ting r ""'·ct:p , ca- ·arcd r1lt:• fin,r drafL Now rhr rune h:t come to fine-tunc ir. \ 1U hJ''' l rt'· or·k t1~. as alrcadv been done m the prcccdrng steps It 0 f (1lC \\ tO'\[ . I t 1 snCl' nk~ ·\'OLI apfl.OX unatrlv" 2.5% of your nme to compere r 1c me sage. ntl\ ra , ~

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CHAPTER 13

257

258

CHAPTER 13

CRAf l i NG PE f~SU ASI VE MESSAGf S

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN TtlE SERVICE AND EXPERIEN CE INDUSTRY

CHAPTER 13

c.1n usc imagt~" or Vl'l'bal descriptions that wdl evoke emorions in your .spcL'ch or p1'l'\l'nr.uions. Storytelling dates back ro prehi~toric cavemen , when tht'}' m.1de drawings of tht•ir hunts. \Vc tell sroncs l'\'t'ryday: in prrvart• or bu.sint·~s ~ct rings. Stories arc , 1 part of human c'.:pcricncc. Add an clcnwnr btntng about F,):lln . · i "J'\'('IS. . _ 01 . •11 wonc who 1~ deallllg \\' It h a cusrumcr and hears . (lllO( ~l :i Ii I J£ , like tht· : th c ca,c of Polan d. Pr:,gue Eronomrc p:tpers, 2 ' 174.

n2 ), p p. 160.

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Jen>J)•cholo.'(l', 78. I, pp. 52-SH.

Man in, j., 2002. Organis,lfion,tf Culture: A1Ltpping the Terntm. Thousand Oaks, London , New I )dhi: Sage Publications. ...

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McSwerncy, B., 2002. I fof'itcde's of Narion:.tl Culcural DitTcrenccs and Their Consequences: A Triurnph of Faith - A Failure of Analysis. It rmw n Uelations, 55 ( 11), l January, p p. 89-118. Mcng, H., 2013. Vartens bedste sen•ice - Licence to thrill. Rungsccd Kysr: Mcng&Cornpany :t/s.

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