No Socializing with Passengers Policy

The socializing activity between passengers and employees is a sensitive issue. Some of the employees are allowed to communicate with the passengers, while others are restricted from this activity. This creates dissentions between crew members and affects their morale. The managers must decide whether to allow other crew members to socialize with passengers, or to restrict this activity.

In order to make a correct decision, managers must take into consideration the fact that customer satisfaction represents the focus of the company's strategy. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct several surveys on passengers in order to identify their opinion regarding the socialization with crew members. This is because some of the passengers like socializing with crew members and enjoy their company, while others prefer not to mix with the staff.

Based on the results of these surveys, the managers must make a decision regarding this issue. In case most passengers state that they enjoy socializing with crew members, the managers should expand this policy to all crew members. However, if an important percentage of passengers prefer not to socialize with crew members, it is recommended to restrict the socializing policy. In other words, crew members should not be allowed to socialize with passengers in excess of their job descriptions, unless requested by some of the passengers. This is intended to reduce discrimination between crew members, given the fact that such discriminations affect their morale.

Cross-cultural and Social Misunderstandings among Crew Members

The crew members that work on board of Allure come from different countries and environments. The social differences between them are significant and affect their relationships and their work performance. These differences lead to certain types of discrimination that affects their activity. For example, individuals from poor countries are discriminated by those from developed countries. Those that come from countries where certain traditions are considered awkward are made fun of. Women are also discriminated, and sometimes they are sexually harassed by other crew members.

The company should make it clear that such practices should not be tolerated by Allure Cruise Line, and people that want to work for the company should understand this. There are international rules and regulations that address such issues (Brislin, 2008). Therefore, the company should develop a set of strict rules regarding the behavior of employees, present this plan, and ensure that crew members understand it. In addition to this, this set of rules should establish the punishments in such situations.

Cultural Challenges and Stress among Specific Cultural Groups

As mentioned above, the cultural diversity on board of Allure has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the crew members that belong to certain cultural groups have developed a series of problems and issues with other groups. This is the case of Jamaicans and Filipinos. The hotel director has revealed some of the behavior between these groups. The Jamaicans tend to be loud, individualistic, oriented towards entertainment, while Filipinos are collectivistic and quiet. They enjoy different leisure activities. However, members of these groups must work in the same departments and must properly integrate (Moran, 2007).

The problem in this case is that we cannot correctly analyze the situation because the information is attributed to the hotel manager that can be subjective and might not reveal important aspects regarding the behavior of these groups. Therefore, it is recommended to study the behavior and performance of members of these cultural groups. The Human resources manager should assign this task to objective...

Based on these observations, managers can determine whether the hotel manager's opinion is correct and certain measures are required (Hopkins, 2009).
It is recommended to discuss this situation with members of the two groups by organizing interviews and focus groups intended to identify their motivations. In accordance with the findings of these techniques, the managers can elaborate strategies intended to reduce the tensions between these groups and to improve communication.

Mafias on Board

The mafia term used to describe this situation seems to be inappropriate on the board of a cruise ship, but it is used in order to describe the relationship network between the company's employees. The career advancement on board of Allure seems to depend on the head of the dining room. The person in case promotes crew members based on their nationality. This is an obvious cause of discrimination that affects employees' morale.

Although it is unlikely that the managers can prove this situation, the fact that most crew members have observed this behavior should be enough proof in this case. In order to properly address this situation, managers should assign some of their subordinates with observing this process. If their assumptions are correct, they should discuss the situation with the head of the dining room and listen to his opinion.

In addition to this, the management should develop a series of strict performance standards that employees must meet. The HR manager should supervise the performance evaluation of crew members. This reduces the influence of the head of the dining room on this process, and also reduces discrimination between employees. This is intended to improve the motivation of crew members.

Relevance of the case study

The case study regarding Allure Cruise Line is relevant to the practice of the business environment. This is because the company is characterized by a multicultural workplace, which is similar to many companies, as a result of globalization. Numerous companies experience the same problems as Allure does, although they address different activities. The problems discussed in this case study refer to cultural issues that affect human resources and require thorough analysis in order to identify their factors of influence and their effects. In such cases, managers must use various skills regarding people of cultural differences. These work environments require strategies that are able to properly address these aspects and that ensure their development.

Reference list:

1. Improving Employee Morale: Motivating your Employees (2010). Essortment. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://www.essortment.com/improving-employee-morale-motivating-employees-25829.html.

2. Guffey, M. et al. (2010). Business Communication. Nelson Education Ltd. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://books.google.ro/books?id=W6DCJ0cLf3MC&pg=PT22&dq=communication+challenges+work&hl=ro#v=onepage&q=communication%20challenges%20work&f=false.

3. Brislin, R. (2008). Working with Cultural Differences. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://books.google.ro/books?id=wLFls4bED1QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultural+differences&hl=ro#v=onepage&q&f=false.

4. Hokins, B. (2009). Cultural Differences and Improving Performance. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://books.google.ro/books?id=jPkPgi4RPdoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultural+differences&hl=ro#v=onepage&q&f=false.

5. Moran, R. (2007). Managing Cultural Differences. Butterworth Heinemann. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://books.google.ro/books?id=VtHjGqs-8WUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultural+differences&hl=ro#v=onepage&q&f=false.