Report on the Investigation of West Indies Yacht Club Resort

Report on the Investigation of West Indies Yacht Club Resort (WIYCR)

I) Investigation Summary

In British Virgin Islands (BVI), there are mainly five upscale hotels and WIYCR is one of them which is famous for its boat collection as well as its top of the line sailing instruction programs. The resort staff is composed of expatriate managers and local employees. This results in cultural communication problems and arises issues on cross-cultural management for the managers. After the investigation, there are mainly four problems including the high level of expatriate turnover, the remarkable rising of the number of guest complaints, the tension between the expatriate and local staff, and finally the lack of motivation of the locals in their work. All the problems above are not caused by the lack of technical or professional staff, however, they can be explained by cultural differences within the organization, and the strict regulations imposed by the local government. The followings are the brief causes of those problems.

1. High turnover rate of expatriate: expatriate managers are frustrated with the performance and practices of local employees. And they do not have enough international experience and cross-cultural communication and sensitivity training.

2. Rising number of complaints: overbooking the resort due to the communication problem between head office and the resort, and as a result the resort is understaffed and offering a low quality of service to the customer.

3. Tension between expatriate and the locals: mainly due to the cultural differences between them. Also the labour laws of BVI increase job protection to them, it is difficult to lay off an unqualified staff.

4. Lack of motivation: locals get paid on hourly basis and get a raise each year without a review, they are not concerned about the extra money such as tips.

II) Possible Solutions

The possible best solution to the cultural differences within WIYCR is to promote cultural unity by changing the mindset of WIYCRЎ¦s expatriates, leading to a working environment with harmony, thus increasing overall performance. We need to consider the implementation of overall change in WIYCRЎ¦s culture in short term and in the long run separately. As Christmas peak season is coming, we must focus on implementing steps in trust building and working as a team. In the long run, main focus is placed on improving the communication and relationship between the resort and head quarters to improve the overall efficiency. However, reward system is not in the recommendation as it is not a very effective measure to change the working attitudes of local workers, due to the fact that they enjoy the relationships with coworkers, family and friends rather than monetary or other rewards. Moreover, we can do nothing to the regulations and labour laws as they are imposed by the government.

1. Building