PALARIS COLLEGES
San Carlos City, Pangasinan
COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Second Semester 2020-2021
MODULE
in
MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY
IN THE WORKPLACE FOR
THE TOURISM
PROFESSIONAL
CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE
Culture
Culture refers to the socially constructed and learned ways of behaving that identify individual
and distinct social groups. It is a shared practice of a group of people. These may include the
following: beliefs, values, knowledge, assumptions, experiences and ideas, customs, rituals, symbols,
myths and legends of the people in the community, social activities, economics, politics, agriculture,
industries, laws and ways of justice, security, health, environment, education, and religion.
Culture shapes a person’s identity and influences the way how he/ she thinks, behaves, and
forms his/her values system. It is a dynamic based on new developments in society that can impact a
group of people. These are passed on from one generation to the next, and some of the elements
may change over time.
These elements of the culture are transmitted or passed on to other generations through a
combination of communication, oral and or writing (language), and art (such as music , song,
storytelling, painting, and dance), and they are institutionalized as acceptable for the current group or
community. Oftentimes, the change in culture standards from generation to generation would result
in gaps in the understanding of the different age groups.
Elements of Culture
The selected elements of culture that impact the tourism professional are the following:
1. Art
2. Beliefs and Values
3. Geography
4. Language
5. Law and Politics
6. Religion
7. Technology
8. Social Organization
Art
As mentioned by Price (2018) in his blog, “The Importance of Art in out Society”, art is an
expression of the creative ideas and imagination, and the artist can choose a medium to express their
craft. Artists can translate their imagination and ideas into something tangible, and these are valued
by other people as they appreciate and comprehend meaning from the works of the artists.
These creations, physical objects or visuals, can be held, viewed , and reflect a society’s
development at a particular period. The paintings, artifacts, clothing. Music, sculptures, dances, plays
literature, architecture, and other man-made creations hold meaning or significance to a group of
people.These pieces of art use human creative skills that express or apply imagination and may
typically take a visual form that can be held or touched, such as painting or a sculpture. They are
works produced to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. These may also
include songs and dances that can reflect an era or time period that a group has experienced in either
the past or present.
Some consider art pieces valuable as they were created by artists who are recognized by their
people. In some instances, an art piece is easily identified as coming from a particular place or person
and may bring good memories of that place or person.
As tourism professionals, there may be a need to become familiar with the different art pieces
in the community as these can be a part of the tourism knowledge that customers expect from the
tourism enterprise.
Beliefs and Values
People choose their source of inspiration and it can be based on beliefs and values that are
shared by many people in the group. As these beliefs and values are adopted by many followers, they
are passed down to the succeeding generations.
Humans are social beings from birth. The circle of community grows from the immediate
family, to the extended family, to neighbors, to friends in school, to the church, and to other
organizations. This circle grows through the years as a person establishes relationships with other
people. Each person has their own set of values formed from Childhood that will continue to change
as they interact with other people. These beliefs are reflected in the attitudes and behavior that are
exhibited that are exhibited by the person. These experiences contribute to the sense of who each
individual is and how the world is viewed from different perspectives.
Values are based on ethics, principles, beliefs. Standards, and qualities that a person or a
group of people may hold in high regard. The significant people who will mold set of values of a
person are those who make an impact on their early life and can guide the way how their decisions
will be made in the future. In some instances, if the values are not strongly ingrained in a person, due
to conflicts in the way it is practiced, that person will vacillate in the way that a decision is made,
depending on what will be beneficial to them. These values guide how a person will live, make
decisions, and nurture and keep relationships.
As tourism professionals, there will be a lot of opportunities to work with people or serve
customers with various backgrounds, from the young, people with disabilities, senior citizens,
physically challenged or vulnerable and.or those who may live a lifestyle that mainstream society
views as different or unacceptable or maybe unusual based on the upbringing that they experienced.
Tourism professionals are expected to provide products and services as required by their enterprise.
They should understand and aware of differences in personal values. Beliefs, and attitudes of both
colleagues and clients in group settings and are prepared to adapt to the professional values of the
tourism profession. Values can influence many of the judgments that are made and the support given
to colleagues and customers. As tourism professionals, our worth ethic should always be driven by
supporting the organization’s and customer’s values.
Geography
Cultural geography looks at the forms of differentiation as well as the material culture of
gatherings that tie together people’s ideas in the the region and make culture of gatherings that tie
together people’s ideas in the region and make them sound. Apart from the way societies perceive
space, this is how cultures are distributed over certain land areas. (Crang, 1988)
Geography refers to the various forms of natural or man-made physical landscapes affected by
human activities and how people arrange the physical space around them. It includes buildings, roads,
fields, cities, and various land and water forms like mountains, coastal areas, and any physical
landscape that underwent artificial or natural change.
For tourism professionals, the geography of where their colleagues and customers come from
may have an impact on the relationship that they will have in the workplace or in the provision of
certain products and services that customers may require. Certain activities like climbing a tree,
trekking up a mountain, swimming, planting tress, or being familiar with the products of a particular
area may be easier to do for some. These are some examples on how a certain geographic source
may affect a tourism professional. There may be questions about plants and food from a certain
geographical location, and the information may be readily provided by someone who grew up in the
same or neighboring area.
Language
As long as certain group of people agree on how to understand certain words of terms, it is
possible to have a common language, and therefore a shared culture. By the same token, linguistic
differences can make it difficult to communicate with people from various societies or places.
(Barken, 2012)
Language is very important as this is how culture is communicated to colleagues and
customers. Transmission of culture from one generation to another or from one member to other
members of a group of people in a society is also done using language-either written, spoken, or a
combination of both. Culture is preserved, changed, or transmitted to colleagues and customers using
language.
Each culture has a unique language that is passed on by each person to the next generation
and the following generation. The language can be defined and can be compared to express one’ s
view and to forward one’s opinion. The accent, or the unique speaking style, may give someone an
indication of the origins of a person.
For effective communication to happen, the sender and receiver in any communication
process must share a common language.
There are around 180 dialects in the Philippines, more than 1000 dialects in Southeast Asia,
and at least 6500 languages spoken in the world. In the Philippines alone, a word used in one province
can mean something different in another province. With the multitude of languages and dialects
spoken locally and internationally, there is a need to identify the most acceptable language in
tourism.
In 2019 article published by Babbel magazine titled “ The 10 Most Spoken Languages In the
World,” a distinction was made between the top 10 most spoken languages by native speakers
(mother tongue) and the top 10 languages by total umber of speakers (can use and understand).
However, the list varies as many languages are common, except they change in rank.
The Top 10 Most Spoken Language
by Native Speakers by Total Number of Speakers
1. Chinese-1.3 B 1. English- 1.132 B
2. Spanish-460 M 2.Mandarin Chinese-1.117 B
3. English- 379 M 3. Hindi-615 M
4. Hindi-341 M 4. Spanish-534 M
5. Arabic-315 M 5. French-280 M
6. Bengali-228 M 6. Standard Arabic-274 M
7. Portugese-220 M 7. Bengali-265 M
8. Russian-153 M 8. Russian- 258 M
9. Japanese-128 M 9. Portuguese-234 M
10. Lahnda- 118 M 11. Indonesian- 199 M
In the Philippines, aside from Filipino, English is considered as an official language. In
Southeast Asia, the lingua francia is English. In the United nations (UN), an intergovernmental
organization that has 193 sovereign states, the official languages in all their conferences and meetings
are Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian, and Spanish, and these would always be present in translations.
It is to the advantage of tourism professionals to be able to use English, written and spoken, as
it is used by the greatest number of people. The workplace and customers will be local or
international, and their will always be an occasion to communicate with them. It is good opportunity
for tourism professionals to learn another language besides English, as being proficient in another
foreign language can be an advantage in terms of qualifications and/or can get increase the salary of
the tourism professional. The selection of the foreign language can be based on the tourist arrivals,
unique customers being serviced by the enterprise, and other variables. Understanding and
misunderstandings are often traced to miscommunication, and language plays a major role in this
process.
Law and Politics
There are several approaches that link culture to law. One is the historical school which looks
at law as a product of the culture of a nation and as part of the daily practice of its people. The other
is the constitutive approach which looks at the law as part of the constitution of a culture; thus, the
constitution of people’s minds, practices, and social relations. It also sees the law that the courts
create and apply as a distinct cultural system wherein its constituents comply with. ( Mautner, 2011)
Many of the laws in a nation are developed by lawmakers based on the acceptable practices of
the members of the country. The concepts of right and wrong and fairness and injustice draw from
cultural practices in a particular area that may be gradually accepted as practice in a bigger area.
As a professional, one must be aware of laws and politics that apply in the country where
their work is undertaken, especially in the delivery of products and services to colleagues and
customers. In many instances, it is better to be a political, especially in issues that may be contrary to
the indivi
