The Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimension Business Essay

This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section defines culture, its importance in international business and the various cultural dimensions for working globally. The next section describes the culture of India and U.K. and reviews the impact of culture on the working of Hilton Hotel Group in both the countries. Finally, it ends with a brief summary.

3.2 CULTURE

Hofstede (2003) defines culture as “the collective programming of mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from another.”

It is evident that people from diverse environment can misunderstand each other. When two people interact in an organization, culture characterizes their behaviour and attitude towards others. When a company plans to start a business in abroad, employees with good communication skills and with the ability to adapt into new environment are chosen to travel and interact with people of various cultures and nationalities. (Mead, 1992)

Table 3.1 World population percentages in terms of home region, language, and religion

Home Region %

Language %

Religion %

Asia 58.4

Mandarin 14.4

Christianity 33

Africa 12.4

Hindi 6.0

Islam 22

Europe 9.5

English 5.5

Hinduism 15

Latin America 8.4

Spanish 5.6

Non- Religious 14

Former Soviet Bloc 5.5

Bengali 3.4

Buddhism 6

North America 5.2

Russian 2.8

Chinese Tradition 4

Australia and NZ 0.6

Japanese 2.0

Primal-indigenous 3

German 1.6

Other 3

French 1.3

Other 54.4

Sources: www.census.gov ; www.adherents.com.

This table shows the division of world’s population according to Region, Language and Religion which are the major aspects of determining ones culture.

Taylor (1870) defines culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society”.

Culture plays a very important role in business. All civilizations have its own cultural elements like language, religion, values, attitude, customs, education, aesthetics and social institutions. (Czinkota, 2007)

Culture passes from one generation to the other, however it can vary from one group to the other. Every society has its own point of view and opinion about various situations; however, it acts as a barrier to communication. (Daniels, Lee and Sullivan, 2004)

3.2.1. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

Geert Hofstede Cultural dimensions

Geert Hofstede, a much known professor carried out the study of impact of culture on individuals at a workplace. It took him six years to complete this study as it consists of interviews of more than 100,000 employees from 70 countries.

According to Hofstede 2004, “the UK has 35 points in power distance, 89 in individualism, 66in masculinity, 35 in uncertainty avoidance and 25 in long term orientation”.

Power Distance -According to Hofstede, 2004, “Inequality exists in every culture; however the extent to which less powerful members of the society agree to the inequality differs from one culture to the other. Power distance is related to the different solutions to the basic problem of human inequality”

High power creates less communication amongst the bosses and employees whereas when the power is low, employees communicate more with their superiors for the decision making purposes.

Individualism vs. collectivism- Individualism is defines as the capability of a human being to only take care of himself or his family where as collectivism describes a group of people who look after each and every member of that group. (Hofstede, 2004)

These two dimensions describe the individualist or collectivist culture of a human being.

Masculinity vs. Femininity- The third dimension is one of the most dominating factors of a culture. Countries where men are considered to be more strong and tough and women are considered to be more delicate and soft follow masculine culture where as countries where men and women are considered equal in terms of strength and tenderness follow feminine culture. (Hofstede, 2004)

Uncertainty Avoidance- It is the level to which an individual can accept sudden changes and situations. Companies which have the tendency to admit unpredicted circumstances and dislike uncertainty have high uncertainty avoidance score culture whereas countries which take things as they come and are prepared for any change at any point of time have low uncertainty avoidance score culture. (Hofstede, 2004)

Long term vs. short term orientation – The fifth dimension known as the Long term vs. short term orientation was discovered quite later by Hofstede with the help of a survey intended by Chinese scholars. According to Hofstede (2004), “long-term orientation means focusing to the future whereas short term orientation is focusing on the present and past. In long term oriented societies, pragmatism, perseverance is valued more; in short term oriented societies, respect for tradition and return favours is valued more”.

TABLE 3.2 Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimension

Four Dimensions Degree of Sale

Individualism

Vs.

Collectivism

Masculinity

Vs.

Feminist

Uncertainty

Vs.

Avoidance

Power Distance

Long Term Orientation.

High

Self Determination

Controlling Relationships

Formal Relationship

Social Difference

Commitment to future and use of tradition

Low

Collectivity

Care of relationship

Informal relationship

Social Integration

Personal Steadiness and stability

Source: Chang,2003 and Hofstede, 2001

3.2.2. HOME CULTURE VERSUS FOREIGN CULTURE

Tayeb (1998) says that the decision to become involved in international business depends, among others, on the size of the company’s domestic market, its production capacity and capability, and the financial and other resources that the foreign market requires. In that way, firms can be placed on an internationalisation scale ranging from domestic single nation to totally globalise.

The extent to which national culture becomes relevant to a firm can be shown in the following table. The company’ own home country culture is of high relevance, though the managers and other employees may not be aware of its influence. The relevance of other people’s culture becomes greater for a firm as it spreads its activities and products past its national boundaries to reach foreigners with different value systems and tastes (Tayeb 1998).

3.2.3 IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Understanding culture and its impact on international business is very important for the firm and its employees. Organizations differ not only on the basis of international culture but national culture as well.

According to Ball et al. (1996), doing business with another culture is not an easy task and to be successful, every foreign company should be aware and follow some rules that make their business activity more compatible. They state that there are six rules of thumb for doing business in another culture. Even if these can be important when doing business in the home country, they become more crucial when going abroad.

Johansson (2000) states that it should be kept in mind that even if adaptation to the foreign culture is good when it comes to future negotiations and co-operations, there is a limit for how far a manager should go to try to accommodate this foreign culture. Mistrust from the other part can be created if for example a manager is trying to adapt to the foreign culture and is doing this superficial and with lack of deeper meaning. This can lead to misinterpretation and seen as matter of insincerity.

When a company begins to work outside its national country, it encounters various environmental and cultural changes which is not the case in own country. If one does not understand these cultural differences, then he might to face barriers in the success of the organization globally. (Lane et al, 2001).

More international operations lead to more interaction and communication with people and companies working in different culture. Therefore, in order to operate productively, it is a basic need to understand or have knowledge of different cultural attributes and contrast. (Adler 1983).

Ferner and Quintanilla (1998), state that “companies need to operate as one organisation which face global environment although they are consisted of different subunits which carry the characteristics of the local environment they operate in and the companies also bring the cultural elements of the home countries which they originated in”

Since the study of national and international cultures has become of the most acknowledged topic, therefore, it is important to learn culture, its importance and impacts in international business.

3.2.4 IMPACT OF CULTURE ON INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

According to the article on Cultural impact on international Business, 2011, Culture influences international business in many ways. When culture and business interrelate with each other, it directs to the growth of fascinating circumstances or situation. When diverse cultures come together at an ordinary point with business as the podium, the spar is bound to happen. But most significantly, such circumstances assist us in becoming accustomed to demanding situations. Various societies or nations around the globe pursue different gestures and manners. The technique to see a difficulty might vary from country to country in the world. The global business culture, altogether, is an assembly of a variety of industry tradition, cultural power and the consideration development followed in different countries. Below are discussed the impacts of culture on an international business on the basis of body language, communication, time etc.

Body Language

Every country follows a different culture, which can be clearly found or seen in the behaviour and body language of its people. In order to work internationally, accepting the facts about underneath gesture or motion becomes essential. There is likelihood that people can get the wrong impression about the actions of different cultures. Thus, it calls for an accomplished planner to handle tricky state of affairs for the duration of conference. (Moran et al,2011)

Communication

communication is another aspect of culture that affects the international business. Different countries have different ways of communication. The words and vocabulary used by a few people might sound unkind to others. The pronunciation of some words could have a different impact on the cultural ways of communicating in the commercial sector. This can also act as an obstacle in the progression of business communication. (Moran et al, 2011)

Time

The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about time in business in Punctuality. Britishers and Germans are very punctual and follow a time-bound schedule. The various ‘time-cultures’ could be one of the major factors for creating differences amongst people from miscellaneous ethnicity. Multinational Companies follow a schedule for meetings while doing a business and the way in which meetings are handles could also be the cause of having different point of views.(Moran et al, 2011)

“It is necessary for corporate houses to understand the social conditions of different countries, to successfully tap the respective markets. Being sensitive to the values and beliefs of different cultures of the world is necessary”. (Leung 2005)

The marketing executives sent abroad to operate business out of the country go through various problems and difficulties in trading with the commercial tradition and customs of that country. To target the international market and customers is not an easy task. It requires qualified experts who are trained and talented to deliver the best of their capability to the clients.

3.3 CULTURE OF INDIA

India is a vast country which houses diverse cultures, ethnic groups and races. The immense population of more than a billion people has resulted from invasions, relocations and inter-marriages that took place over the centuries.

According to an article published in the Inter science Management Review (2012), the various customs and traditions followed by people reflects in the business mores of India. With the advent of technology, the companies have now started to venture out into international markets. It has thus helped the human resources and the organizations to get exposed to diverse working environments across nations. India has greatly benefited by this turn of events as the gap in the work culture of India and other nations has thus decreased to some extent.

INDIAN WORK CULTURE:

First and foremost, the Indian etiquette calls for Namaste being a fundamental mode of greeting or saying goodbye. Recently though, education has brought about a reform in this practice as men and women now prefer to shake hands.

Due to their politeness and respect towards their guests, Indian people have trouble saying no. This aspect of their nature may act as a hurdle in sealing of contracts or doing negotiations. Paramount respect, courtesy and generosity is showered upon guests in India. It is a utopia for the international travellers. (Rai and Neelankavil, 2009)

Rai and Neelankavil, 2009 also state that one of the major drawbacks of the Indian work culture is that there is no management of time. Indians don’t score too well in terms of punctuality; long delays in meetings, cancellation or rescheduling of the same are a common sight. This has found its roots in the basic mindset of people and the Indian culture.

Another major failing of the Indian work system is the general slack of work in the Government offices which leads to delays in meting out results, excess of the red tape baggage that leads people not to have confidence in the system. Therefore, any transactions in India call for a huge amount of patience to be able to meet with the results.

The article published in Inter Science Management Review, 2012 also states that Despite other shortcomings, Indians fare well in matters of the English language. The adeptness of the average middle class over the language is laudable. There is absolutely no hitch in sending and receiving of official letters, emails or faxes.

The office environment in India is usually very formal and there are no personal relationship between the bosses and the subordinates. The decision making in almost all of the private companies is from top to bottom, which may take a long time for the decision to be made and implemented. This accounts for the general lack of management inside the working sector. Most of the Indians carry their work pressure home. They put in extra hours at work hence losing the work-life balance. This creates more pressure on them as the workplace demands are entirely different from that of the family. All this is done in an effort to earn monetary benefits and climb higher on the ladder of hierarchy of the workplace. Indians generally don’t make good mentors, they are soft critics and don’t stand up against something wrong as much as they should. This is thought to be because of the process of appraisal, the appraiser demands positive feedback despite the gaping holes in management and work. The lack of dexterity of the appraiser is usually the main reason behind lack of the much needed critical review. Indians have a hard time coping with changes of any sort, be it changes in management or work timings. A lot of time and energy is required for Indians to bring the change to practice.

3.3.1 IMPACT OF CULTURE ON HILTON HOTEL, INDIA

One such new path is the concern with national culture. Whereas traditional IB research has been concerned with economic/legal issues and organizational forms and structures, the importance of national culture – broadly defined as values, beliefs, norms, and behavioural patterns of a national group – has become increasingly important in the last two decades, largely as a result of the classic work of Hofstede (1980). National culture has been shown to impact on major business activities, from capital structure to group performance Gibson (2002).

Cross-cultural experimental literature examining the influence of individual characteristics has evolved, yielding greater sophistication and specification to our understanding of culture’s influence. Much early cross-cultural work tested only for the main effects of culture – often using national culture as a proxy variable for a given cultural orientation. That work, exploring the influence of the presence (a main effect) of a given cultural orientation, laid the groundwork for more complex experiments to follow, which test how differences in the levels (a moderating influence) of a cultural orientation (even a primed, temporary one) influence behaviours or perceptions. The research of Gelfand et al. (2002) examined

both the main effects and the moderating effects of individual characteristics on the Hilton Hotel in India. Using national culture as proxy for cultural orientation, their results support robust findings of self-serving biases in individualist cultures (Thompson and Lowenstein, 1992), where ‘the self is served by enhancing one’s positive attributes to stand out and be better than others’, but find relatively less bias in a collectivistic culture, in which ‘the self is served by focusing on one’s weaknesses to blend in and maintain interdependence with others’. However, they also measured individual self-construal, and demonstrate that independent self-construal are higher in India and are positively related to self-serving biases. Thus, not only is a main effect of culture on the working of Hilton Hotel in India, but the examination of individual self-construal helps to explain why such an effect exists. Research of this type is especially valuable given that much of the theory underlying business research has been developed and tested exclusively in Western contexts.

Diversity: Most organizations in the India, particularly large ones, strive for consistency, standardization, and agreement, largely from the misleading assumption that the elimination of divergence/diversity automatically results in efficiency and success. This traditional view of organizational structure assumes that contradictions are to be first prioritized, and then eliminated, so that everything will run smoothly. We have all known managers and executives who need their subordinates to agree with their decisions, tell them they are doing a terrific job, and avoid challenging their authority. While this may be organizationally neat and psychologically comforting, it is stifling, stagnating, and, over the long haul, counterproductive.

Experimental research focusing on the moderating influence of individual characteristics contributes to this literature because it directly tests whether these processes, biases, and behaviours are indeed universal phenomena, or whether they are specific to Western populations. As Oyserman et al. (2002b) point out in their

Meta-analysis of research on collectivism/individualism, cultural priming is one of the most promising areas of cross-cultural research. The theoretical underpinnings of priming stem from social cognition research, which shows that accessible knowledge influences behaviour, and that temporarily accessible and chronically salient knowledge produce equivalent effects in the laboratory. Thus, priming techniques ‘create an experimental analogue of chronic differences between cultural groups by temporarily focusing participants’ attention on different cultural content or

values’. (Hong et al., 2000)

Examples of this research would be the study mentioned in an earlier section, as well as which primed participants with cues that were or were not congruent with their cultural orientation (e.g., using pronouns such as ‘I’ and ‘me’ for an independence priming or ‘we’ and ‘our’ for an interdependent priming) and examined the influence on factors such as cognitive speed and accuracy, memory, and attitudes. Results across all the experiments indicate the existence of a chronic cultural orientation, and one that is more malleable in the face of a primed orientation.

3.4 CULTURE OF U.K

There are about 3.7 million businesses in the U.K which includes 75% of jobs in service industry like hotels, restaurants, travelling, shopping, computers and finance. This sector consists of more than 20 million employees and 22 percent of British workers work more than 48 hours a week. (Pryce, 2007)

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (2007), the United Kingdom is one of the most developed countries in the world and being a leader in trade as well as the leader as the financial centre. It is seen as one of the largest five economies in Europe, with banking, insurance and other business services being an integral part of it. As the United Kingdom is a part of the EU, most of the institutions and policies are in accordance with the regulations laid out by the EU. As the UK has a monarchical constitution, the government rarely gets involved in the matters of economy, its main concern is with improving public services like education and health (The Economist, 2007). A large number of international and global enterprises find home in the United Kingdom (Ferner and Varul, 2000). Due to diverse work environments provided by these global enterprises, the British companies get to experience the work culture provided by the international markets and manage it efficiently. An argument provided by Ferner and Varul (2000) states that the British enterprises have a niche above other companies in terms of development of customer friendly policies and structures. Also, these enterprises play an integral role in globalization of industries, thus placing UK in the top realm to play the role of international operations armed with international companies.

Hence, the UK could be expected to be the place with the most number of globalized companies with leading role of international operations.

3.4.1 KEY CONCEPT AND VALUES OF BRITISH CULTURE

According to an article on International Business Negotiations 2005, United Kingdom consists of a blend of four cultural and ethnic backgrounds named as England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Such a multicultural country persists to bring together its rich culture and modern attitude. The understanding of the basic principled business standards of the United Kingdom is very important for any company that wishes to operate business in such an inherited and reputable country.

Indirectness – The most important aspect of British culture is its way of approach and communication. In the U.K, people are known well for their graciousness and good manners like courtesy, politeness and civility. While undertaking business in the UK, it is seen that straight questions obtain indistinct answers and the exchange of dialogues takes place in detail. In order to understand what one really means to say, it is necessary to take note of the nature of voice and facial expressions. (Whittaker, 2009)

‘Stiff upper lip’ – “The term ‘stiff upper lip’ is often used to describe the traditionally British portrayal of reserve and restraint when faced with difficult situations”. All business meetings and deals are done with entire regulations and customs. Any positive or negative form of emotion should be neglected in the british work environment. (Whittaker, 2009)

Humour – A vital element in all aspects of British life and culture is the renowned British sense of humour. The importance of humour in all situations, including business contexts, cannot be overestimated. Humour is frequently used as a defence mechanism, often in the form of self depreciation or irony. It can be highly implicit and in this sense is related to the British indirect communication style. (Whittaker, 2009)

The United Kingdom is renowned for its colourful history and strong sense of tradition that has been shaped by a colonial empire, both civil and European war and a constitutional monarchy. The fourth largest trading nation, the UK is fast becoming Europe’s leading business centre. Supported by a long-established system of government and economic stability, the UK is an attractive base for overseas business, offering skills in areas such as research, development and technology. However, in order to operate successfully in the UK business environment, there are a number of important issues to take into consideration both before and during your time there. (Kenna and Lacy, 1995)

3.4.2 IMPACT OF CULTURE ON HILTON HOTEL, U.K.

There are quite a few Hilton Hotels in the U.K. The most important cultural factors that affect the business of Hilton Hotel in U.K. are as follows:-

3.4.2.1 PRICING

Price plays a key role in creating customer value and building customer relationship, as well is one of the four elements of the marketing mix and an indicator that affects buyer choice. Many companies today compete with each other with different prices in both the domestic and the international market. Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue; all other elements represent cost (Kotler et al. 2007).

Pricing is one of the most complicated decision areas encountered by Hilton Hotel, U.K. Market prices at the customer level are much more difficult to control in international markets than in domestic market. The pricing of the Hilton Hotels in the U.K. in general is more complex and critical than those located in India.

According to Chee et al. (1998), the price is critical because it affects the firm’s ability to stay in the market. The price is also complex, because of the diversity of markets, with their different environment such as, political, legal, social, technological, consumer characteristics, etc. Thereby, price is an issue that can affect the international business and the company’s co-operations in the foreign country

3.4.2.2 NEGOTIATIONS

According to Tayeb (1998) language is one of the major issues when it comes to negotiations with trade partners from other cultures. Although it is not always indispensable to know the partner’s language, several studies shows that a link exists between successful company performance in winning new business in foreign markets, and the ability of the company to conduct its business in the language of the customer.

Tayeb (1998) also states that there are some aspects of culture that manifest themselves in a negotiation situation. Foreign partners not only speak languages other than one’s own, but also have a tendency, for cultural reasons, to think in different ways and have different priorities in the way in which they do business. For example, some people prefer to do their business meetings with foreigners in a formal way, and would be offended to be addressed by their first name; some might believe that the use of an informal style and first name would signal to the partners that they are trusted. Two partners from these different cultural backgrounds could easily misunderstand each other if they negotiate without a previous knowledge of one another’s assumptions and values.

3.5 SUMMARY

In today’s time of globalisation, international business is getting bigger and escalating for both multinational as well as local companies. Due to this, cross cultural matter have gained a lot of importance. In this literature review, the main focus has been to discuss culture, its importance and impact on Hilton Group of Hotel in India and U.K. This chapter has been presented to help the reader understand the basic theoretical concepts which helps in the findings of the case study and answering the research question.

This part of the thesis helped us in understanding the relationship between culture and international business. Development in the fields of technology and communication etc, companies from various cultures have started working together, thus making culture an important subject of discussion in International Business.

This chapter discussed the Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions named Individualism, Power distance, Uncertainty, Masculinity and Long-Term orientation. It also explains the working culture of India and U.K and the impact of culture on the business of Hilton Hotel, India and Hilton Hotel, U.K.

In international business negotiations, it is important to learn about the counterparts‟ culture and thus ameliorate the problems that can arise in the course of the negotiations. From this study, we can see that there are marked differences in the Indian and British negotiation styles which stem from cultural differences among the two countries. Knowledge of these differences will enable negotiators understand the negotiation behaviour of their counterparts with a view to making negotiations proceed with more ease. However, it is also important not to allow cultural stereotypes to determine the relationships with the potential business partners. This is because individuals may have their own distinct culture which does not always mirror the country’s perceived culture.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is designed to illuminate the research methodology of this study. It is divided into various parts that explain the different research approaches, research methods, research design and the examination of data collected. In particular, the methodology adopted to choose the sample and analyse the data will be discussed. The writer will also explain the limitations of this research and ends it with a brief summary.

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is defined as an arrangement of answering the research questions in order to collect the correct information. It aims in obtaining the clear objective derived from the research questions, data collection method, limitations and ethical issues. (Saunders et al, 2007)

Conducting a research is not an easy task. It involves various preparations before carrying out the research work for example it requires a research design to get an idea of how the data will be collected. It is a general plan which is structured to get appropriate answers for the research questions.

This research study involves the use of descriptive research so that the reader gets an absolute understanding of how this research is carried out and technique used for analysing the data.

4.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY

Research strategy is the main deciding factor that helps us in choosing the suitable research approach and facilitates us to assess the research proposition. It is defined as the “general approach to research determined by the kind of question that the research study hopes to answer” (Gravetter and Forzano)

The three types of research strategies are explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. This research involves in-depth interviews with the management of Hilton Hotel in India and U.K to get the answer to the research question. The questions of the interview were formed on the basis of the cultural difference and impact on the working and business of Hilton Hotel, India and Hilton Hotel, U.K.

4.4 RESEARCH APPROACH

The most commonly used research approaches known as deductive and inductive approaches are explained below:-

Deductive Approach – Deductive approach, also known as the ‘top-down’ approach is used for gathering common to definite analysis like laws, rules and principles etc. Thus, the knowledge of a particular field/area or the theory in relation to that area helps in deriving a result of the hypothesis which can further be used to transform the theoretical concepts into a researchable article. (Bryman and Bell, 2007)

Inductive approach – The inductive approach is the opposite of deductive approach. It is used for gathering definite to general observations. It is also named as the ‘bottom-top’ approach. When the researcher concludes the inference of the analysis of the theory, the result is then stored into the findings related with the research area.

(Bryman and Bell, 2007)

To investigate the impact of the cultural difference on the working of Hilton Group of hotel in India and U.K., the researcher will makes use of both the deductive as well as the inductive approach.

4.5 RESEARCH METHODS

Qualitative Research Method

According to Miles and Huberman 1994, “Qualitative research is conducted through an intense and/or prolonged contact with a field or life situation”.

Qualitative Research is conducted in our day to day circumstances of groups, organizations, society etc. It is concerned with the quality and not the quantity. This type of research comes into use to recognize the respondent’s behaviour and performance in life.

Quantitative Research Method

Quantitative research is used to measure the data. It is often carried out using two methods: survey and testing by the respondents to perform the analysis. It is more concerned with the quantity and not the quality such as it focuses on the characters, properties and observed values. (Nan, 1995)

Quantitative research consists of questionnaires, in-depth interviews, projective techniques etc. to collect the data.

Mixed Research Method – “Mixed research method engages philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of collecting, analyzing, and mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches in many phases in the research process.” (Creswell and Clark, 2007)

It involves the use of both the qualitative as well quantitative research methods in one study or a sequence of studies.

Since, this research aims to investigate the difference in culture of India and U.K. and its impact on the business of Hilton Hotel in India and U.K., in-depth interviews were conducted with the management team of Hilton Hotel, India as well Hilton Hotel, U.K.

4.6 DATA SOURCES

A data source is the method from which the data is collected. It is of two types: Primary and Secondary. The primary data is generated from the questionnaires and the interviews conducted whereas the secondary data comes from the books, articles, journals and other applicable literature. Primary data is used in developing new hypothesis and the secondary data helps in building an academic environment. Both primary and secondary data are a reliable source of collecting information and use of both the sources can provide the researcher with a consistent conclusion. The data collected from both the sources can be checked against each other in order to attain a suitable end result. (Saunders et al, 2009)

4.7 DATA GATHERING INSTRUMENT

Questionnaires are considered as one of the most common methods of collecting data in business studies as it is very beneficial. The most important advantage of using questionnaire as a research method is that it can be easily managed, consume less time and reduces cost as compared to the other methods (Ghauri et al, 1995)

This research study required the use of quantitative research method. A questionnaire was designed and used as the measuring instrument. The data was gathered using the questionnaire and in- depth interviews were conducted with the senior management staff of the Hilton Hotel in India and U.K. to understand the impact of cultural difference on its working.

4.8 POPULATION AND SAMPLE

Leary (2004, p.118) defines sampling as, “the process by which a researcher selects a sample of participants for a study from the population of interest”.

A total of four in-depth interviews were conducted with the senior management staff of Hilton Hotel, India and Hilton Hotel, U.K.

The Interviews were conducted only with a few staff of Hilton Hotel as interviews with the entire management of Hilton Hotel in both India and U.K. would have been very costly, time-consuming and impractical.

TARGET POPULATION

Target Population is the first step of sampling process. According to Malhotra and Birks 2003, “target Population is the collection of elements or objects that possess the information sought by the researcher and about which inferences are to be made.”

The sample used in this study was selected from employees in various job roles, comprising mostly Project Managers, Developers, Solutions Consultants, Systems Architect and management job categories.

4.9 ACCESS

Saunders et al, 2009 states that it is quite understandable that to gain access to the management of a company or organization is the most difficult task while carrying out research in business studies or environment.

Paroutis and Pettigrew (2007) argue that in order to gain access to the associates or management of the company, the most important fact that should be kept in mind is the trust factor as it requires valuable support and crucial time of the respondents. In order to get affective results, the respondents must participate in the meetings and workshops where the researcher can have a thorough study of them at a time. On the other hand, Johnson et al, 2007 argues that it is in the hands of the researcher to gain access in regards to a person’s observation through well designed questionnaires and interviews.

Thus, for this research, the researcher had to make use of a significant strategy of getting access regarding the available relevant resources like time and money. Therefore, the most suitable way of gaining access to the team was through brief information of the purpose and importance of conducting this research

4.10 DATA COLLECTION

As mentioned above, a questionnaire was designed that helped in conducting in-depth interviews with the senior employees of Hilton Hotel in India and U.K. Each question was chosen with awareness in connection to the aims and objectives of the research study.

Hence, the statement provided by Saunders et al, (2009) that the use of questionnaire to reduce the number of participants facing trouble in answering or assess the questions in a small scale study proved to be true.

4.11 DATA ANALYSIS

The quantitative and qualitative data was observed very carefully to conclude the final result for the research question. To analyse the quantitative data, SPSS ( Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software was used. The data collected was in the numerical form which was put into the system which measured the correlation between the selected variables and is handed in the findings chapter in the forms of charts, tables and graphs. On the other hand, the qualitative data was analysed through open ended questions and thematic patterns. This type of analysis helps in gaining understanding of a specific observation. (Saunders et al, 2009)

The researcher characterized the themes in order to make the structure of the study more evident by answering the research question. The answers were then categorized to form a combination to understand and explain the general view of cultural impact on the hospitality industry especially Hilton Hotel in India and U.K.

Comparing the findings with the literature

After the Primary data was analysed and the conclusion was retrieved, the researcher correlated the secondary data from the literature with the findings to look for the similarities and inconsistency. It was necessary to link the secondary and primary data until the researcher was satisfied with the conclusion so that a convincing and legitimate result could be drawn.

4.12 GENERALISABILITY AND RELIABILITY

It is highly recommended to notice that since the sample size of the research was comparatively small, the findings and results cannot be generalized. This matter was resolved by using both the numerical as well as the theoretical data by the sampling process. The research was conducted amongst the expert professionals of the applicable division of the company; therefore, more dependable and consistent answers to the research question were derived.

4.13 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

Validity and Reliability in a research study are the most important and negligible factors that deal with the trust of the research, findings and conclusions and should not be forgotten to mention. (Saunders et al, 2009)

Threat to the validity of this analysis could come from testing, record, appliance, humanity and uncertainty of the contributions. Talking about this study, the researcher realised that small sample size and limited access was a matter of difficulty. Although some measures were applied while doing the research as the researcher was aware of these hazards. All the participants were the employees of the company and had to follow some terms and conditions and were restricted to the influencing policies, customs and traditions of the company, therefore their point of view could be biased.

To validate the research, the researcher presented very transparent and understandable information on the purpose of the research, aims and objectives and the importance of conducting this research along with the justification of the liberty to take part or pull out them self from this research.

Finally, in case of any uncertainty or support, the researcher offered his personal contact details like email and phone number to the employees of the company.

4.14 ETHICAL ISSUE

Saunders et al, 2009 defines ethics as “how suitable the researcher’s behaviour is towards the people who are the subject of the study or the people who are affected by it.”

The researcher made sure that all the respondents were made aware of the need and purpose of this research and agreed to take part in completing the questionnaire wholeheartedly. The data that was collected from the questionnaires and interviews was not to be disclosed to anyone else apart from the researcher and required no name to be addressed to as only the researcher would have the access to all the information.

Cooper and Schindler (2008) stated, ethics are “the norms or standards of behaviour that guide moral choices about our behaviour and our relationships with others”.

Other ethical issue to be well thought-out was the amount to which unconstructively acceptable answers could be extracted and the level to which opening the information to everyone could make the participants uncomfortable.

The author feels that studying about the cultural impacts on the Hilton Group of Hotels is not an ethical issue since it is only being researched to understand and benefit the readers with the knowledge of the cultural difference and its impact on the hospitality industry of a developed and a developing country.

4.15 LIMITATIONS

Along with the advantages of this study, come a few limitations. There are a few subjects of concern that must be discussed and brought into notice as they act as a threat to the validity of the results and findings.

Below are the limitations that were faced by the researchers in conducting the research:-

The sample size was small as compared to the total number of employees working in the organisation

Due to less time and finances, the area under discussion could not be studied in detail

It has always been difficult for the respondents to devote their valuable time in answering the questions while working

Since the sample size was small and only contains the information from a few experts of the company, the findings cannot be generalized

There is a matter of concern with the reliability of the findings because of factors like instruments, history etc.

Considering all the limitations mentioned above, it has come into account of the researcher that there exist flaws and drawbacks that offer these restrictions for the achievement of the present thesis.

4.16 SUMMARY

This chapter discussed the various research strategies, research approaches, research methods and the types of data sources that were used to gather all the data and the related answers to the research question of this research study. It also explains the ethical issues, limitations, validity and the reliability measures the researcher had to face while conducting this research.

In order to get an appropriate answer to the research question for this study, the researcher made use of the quantitative deductive approach as well as the qualitative inductive approach by taking help of a well designed questionnaire and conducting in-depth interviews with the senior management staff of the Hilton Hotel in India and U.K.