University College of Northern Denmark
Incremental Innovation in Business Model in Hotel
Industry in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
- Employee Motivation -
Report issued by: Elena Andreea Teslaru
Date of birth: 19.01.1991
Program attended : International Sales & Marketing
Class: bihj
Number of characters (with spaces): 73, 499
Number of pages (excluding appendix): 39
Delivery date: 2nd January 2015
Supervisor: Lene Husted Frandsen
Executive Summary
This project has been carried out with the intention of providing a solution for motivating
Tanzanian employees working in hotel industry in Dar Es Salaam. The pervasive resource used,
is primary data which consists of interviews carried out with African or international general
managers working in hotel industry in Dar Es Salaam. The topic is issued in the context of
business model, where by providing a suggestion for a training program, it is considered to
have carried out incremental innovation in the component of key resources of the business
model.
Throughout this report, it has been touched different cultural and organizational behavior
aspects. Moreover, it has also been pointed out the relationship between international
management and Tanzanian employees, which sometimes tends to be cumbersome, due to
cultural differences. With the help of theories and models chosen, it has been concluded that
Tanzanians prioritize differently the values in the society, compared to Western international
societies. On the organizational level, it has been demonstrated that African managers tend
to display a more participative management style, while the international managers tend to
display a more autocratic style.
Although the report issues a general topic for hotel industry, it has been used one specific
hotel - Peacock Hotel, as the main example, in order to give the project a more practical
approach. Hence, it is assumed that the solution targets Peacock Hotel, however, the proposal
can be recommended to other hotels as well, with the specification that the training program
to be adjusted according to number of employees who need to participate in such a program.
Consequently, the costs will also differ.
All in all, the report proposes a training program framework composed from the overall goal,
learning objectives, learning methods, evidence of learning, evaluation and reward.
Preface
The report has been prepared by Elena Andreea Teslaru, who is a student at University
College of Northern Denmark, at the department of International Sales and Marketing. The
theme for this project Incremental Innovation in Business Model in Hotel Industry in Dar Es
Salaam, Tanzania, where the subject of Employee Motivation has been chosen.
Reading Instructions
This report is addressed to supervisors, students, entrepreneurs in hospitality industry, and
any other person who has an interest in obtaining an insight into organizational behavior and
employee motivation in hotel industry in Tanzania.
The report contains references following the Harvard system; [Surname, Year]. These
references point to a bibliography in chapter 10. The bibliography contains information about
the source like author, title, year of release etc.
Figures and tables are numbered according to their location in the report as e.g. figure 3.1.
The first number denotes that the figure is in chapter 3 and the second number represents
the figure number in the specific chapter. Unless otherwise specified, the figures and tables
in the report have been produced by the author.
Throughout the report references to appendix will occur as [See appendix 1.1]. All material
contained in the appendix is made by the report author, unless otherwise specified. The
appendix is placed in the back of the report.
Abbreviations and word interpretation
Throughout the report certain abbreviations and words will occur with a very specific meaning
interpretation. Following, the abbreviations and words with a specific meaning are listed:
STR = Smith Travel Research
CEO = Chief Executive Officer
Mr. = Mister
CRM = Customer Relationship Management
OB = Organizational Behavior
CSR = Corporate Social Responsibility
international = outside the African continent
1. Introduction
1.1 The business model concept
2. Problem description
5
5
7
2.1 Why this topic?
7
2.2 The purpose
8
3. Theory of Science
3.1 Paradigms
9
9
3.2 Methodology
10
3.3 Collection of data
11
3.4 Theories and models
11
3.5 Criticism
12
4. Peacock Hotel
4.1 Business model - Peacock Hotel
5. Cultural Theories
13
13
18
5.1 Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
18
5.1.1 The four cultural dimensions
19
5.2 Edward T. Hall theories
21
6. Organizational Behavior Theories
23
6.1 McGregor’s Theory X and Y
23
6.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
25
6.2.1 Theory X and Y and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
28
7. Strategic considerations
30
7.1 Solution
30
7.2 Resources required
33
8. Implementation
8.1 Incremental innovation in business model
35
35
9. Conclusion
37
10. Bibliography
38
1. Introduction
It is no secret among the worldwide investors that the African continent is home to some of
the fastest growing economies and promises a wide range of opportunities for making foreign
direct investments. Although many investors are still doubtful about the potential that African
markets hide because of the poor natural resource assets, an increased attention is given to
the infrastructure and consumer sectors (10 Minutes, 2011).
There are many attractive incentives that shape the environment for worthwhile ventures,
which can be overlooked by skeptical entrepreneurs or investors. Noticeably, even if currently
approximately 20% of the people are up to fall below the global poverty line of $2 per person
per day, Africa is experiencing a thriving middle class. Another issue is that, there is a
tendency to believe that the profitable businesses are either in mining or oil industry,
however, as mentioned above, two important areas of growth are emerging: infrastructure
and the consumer market (10 Minutes, 2011). These are just a few arguments to be
mentioned, but proper and further research would depict even more drivers.
However, in order to succeed investors must demonstrate patience and look behind the
immediate returns or establishing a one-off project, and act as participating partners in
Africa’s long term development.
A worthwhile industry to look into, particularly in Sub-Saharan countries, is the hospitality
industry. The statistics show that the flow of tourists are increasing from year to year. This
fact is explicable, particularly due to the warm temperature all around year and unspoiled
nature and wildlife which can still be found in major parts of Africa.
The East African country Tanzania subscribes also to this great potential in tourism industry.
However, in this paper, a special attention will be given to hotel industry in Dar Es Salaam,
which has as a target segment the international business segment. The decision of
concentrating solely on this specific target group, was influenced by the fact that, despite the
great potential Tanzania exhibits in promoting leisure activities, in the particular city of Dar
Es Salaam could be found no tourism.
The hotel industry in Dar Es Salaam is thriving, even if in appearance does not look so. For
instance, the online research provided with 48 hotels, while being there I could observe that
the number of existing hotels is far greater. Moreover, the STR reports show that at least 6
hotels stay to be opened from 2014 to 2017. This observation raised the question about their
business model, and how does it look like, and how they survive without the online
promotion.
1.1 The business model concept
The concept of business model has invaded the business world, and many organizations which
paid specific attention to it, have learnt how to capitalize on this tool. This concept became
so ubiquitous, that many managers when asked ‘’what is strategy’’, include in their answer
the word ‘’business model’’. The omnipresence of the term indicates the high importance it
5
has on the world of work (Business Models as Models, 2010). One of the most outstanding roles
that the business model plays in an organization, is to offer a set of descriptors about how the
firm creates and delivers the value to its target segments in a profitable way. As these
activities are the foundation of an existing organization, more and more attention has been
given to researching into the concept, with the scope of improving the process of creating
and delivering value.
Accordingly, the business model design includes the modeling and description of nine building
blocks: value propositions, target customer segment, distribution channels, customer
relationship, key partners, key activities, key resources, cost structure and revenue model.
Recent investigations, have shown that an organization capitalizes on its business model as
long as it is perceived as a holistic aggregation of activities and not focusing on an isolated
building block (Towards a service-based business model, 2010). This indicates the special
attention that has to be given to the interconnection of the elements. This is primarily
because there must exist consistency between the company’s strategy and all its structural
elements.
Kindström (2010) suggests further, that once an organization decides to innovate in one of the
building blocks of the business model, the success of the change will depend on corresponding
changes in the rest of the building blocks.
6
2. Problem description
However, although the recent research provides deep understanding upon the business model
by emphasizing crucial steps that an organization has to take in order to be successful in its
industry, and it follows a logical flow, one must be cautious and check the methodology of
these findings. Although the emerging markets are gaining ground among the investors, the
outside entrepreneurs still lack a great deal of knowledge about how to do proper business in
these markets. This is due to the fact that researchers have turned their focus on prosperous
businesses with the aim of learning from their behavior and trying to create knowledge which
can be applied on other businesses as well. When randomly searching online on the most
valuable brands in the world, one can note that most of them belong to American or West
European countries (Forbes, 2014). Consequently, it is a natural behavior of the companies to
want to learn from the best.
Nevertheless, the opportunists who shifted their focus on the emerging markets, specifically
African markets, have understood that a so-called Western business model will not work the
same way in a Sub-Saharan country for example. With an experience of over 15 years of doing
business in East Africa, Mrs. Adam Fuller, the general manager of Southern Sun Hotel in Dar Es
Salaam - Tanzania, has claimed that the main challenge that international businesses still
face, is the repeated trial of applying first solutions to third world countries (See Appendix
1.4).
This big failure is rooted into how one perceives the solution to a particular problem, which
again is rooted into the culture of the individual. Worldwide organizations have discovered
that intercultural competences are a subject of utmost importance, and that is imperial to
acquire them in order to reap success in developing countries (ASME, 2011).
Bearing this knowledge in mind, I will stress out a different approach towards business model,
seen through the eyes of a competent international business player on the Tanzanian hotel
industry. This means that I will not rely entirely on the findings made on Western successful
business models, but I will use them just as an inspiration. The intention of doing so, is to
avoid to build a resolution based on Western culture.
Thereby, I formulate the following problem statement:
How can the business model of a hotel in Tanzania be innovated through a proper training for
its employees which enhances their motivation?
The research question suggests that a proper training towards the local employees of a hotel
with international management, will bring incremental innovation in the business model, by
delivering a better service sue to an enhanced motivation.
2.1 Why this topic?
The most outstanding mismatch that the reader will sense towards approaching the business
model in hotel industry in Dar Es Salaam, is the proposal of doing incremental innovation, by
7
actually making change only in one element of the business model which is contrary to what
was stated above. Although the reasons will be unfold while reading this paper, I want to
point out the main one which has driven my thinking to write such a report. That one is that
my experience among them was that I felt in a past time, which was known to me from the
history and fairy tales books, in the meaning that their lifestyle is a very primitive one.
Although I made the effort to maintain myself open and trying to act like them, I totally
failed. This is the moment when it dawn on me, that this nation has to be enhanced with very
small steps, course which is in totally discord with the rapid and fast changing business style
in Europe. This gap between the slow Tanzanian line of development and the rapid one in
Europe, can be minimized through investing time in understanding their culture. Further, the
next step is to make change in the business model, regarding the internal communication,
and so influencing the current organizational behavior.
2.2 The purpose
The goal intended with this report is to show how can be done incremental innovation in the
current business model of an independent hotel in Dar Es Salaam, with focus on international
customers. The innovation will be described through a change in the actual communication
between local staff and international management, which tends to be precarious. Briefly, the
concentration will be on creating stressing out specific activities that the training manager
should focus on, in order to motivate the staff to become better in delivering the service.
8
3. Theory of Science
In this chapter it will be described my approach to the project, how I perceive reality and
how this will affect my world both in the way I do research and the results obtained.
I see the world as a social construction of the reality, meaning that groups of individuals live
and interact in a social system, where over the time they develop mental representations of
each other’s actions. As all human activities are subject to habitualization, any activity which
is repeated frequently will end up in a pattern. Once this pattern is made available within the
group and are accepted or rejected, it becomes institutionalized. In other words, the pattern
becomes embedded into society, which will be used by the group as a characteristic
(Sociosite, 2014).
However, the patterns will be able to be uncoded only by the individuals of the groups who
geographically reside nearby, as they have the full capacity of apprehending the same mental
representations.
This is because the nature has played an important role in developing these mental
representations. In order to be better explanatory, I will use the example of how the human
being creates mental representations in relation to the objects they identify. For instance,
eskimos, have coined more than 40 words which all mean ‘’snow’’, and a tribe from Africa
coined more than 30 words for the color green (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001). Both people
have developed so many words for a concept solely, just because they had to distinguish
between different types of snow and different shades of green respectively.
In addition, the time is another strong influencer over the mental representations, and so the
world society gets renewed with every generation which breaths new ideas and concepts. This
is how the reality gets socially constructed.
3.1 Paradigms
In order to deliver an answer to the research question I will make use of the interpretative
paradigm, which implies a subjective view over the data collected, as one of the aim of this
project is to understand why Tanzanians behave the way they do. This is mainly because my
ultimate presumption is that, the world is largely dependent on the human beings, who at
their turn are individually unique.
In spite of that, the reader will also find characteristics of the functionalist paradigms,
corresponding to objective approach as I will also use quantitative data in order to explain
certain facts.
9
3.2 Methodology
“A methodology is the theory of how research should be undertaken, including the
theoretical and philosophical assumptions upon which research is based and the
implications of these for the method or methods adopted” (Saunders, Lewis &
Thornhill, 2003).
The following chart represents the structure of the project and shows the flow of content:
Business model
Key Partners
Key Activities
Value Proposition
Customer Segment
Key Resources
Technology
Channels
Human Capital
Articles
Cost Structure
Revenue Streams
Information
Secondary Research
Books
CRM
Primary Research
Interviews
Online resources
Personal Observation
Personal Experience
Analysis
Cultural Theories
Hofstede
OB Theories
Theory X & Y
Edward T. Hall
A. Maslow
Solution
Economic considerations
Implementation
Conclusion
Fig. 3.1 Project Structure
The chart depicts the flow of content in three colors, each color representing one part of the
report. Accordingly, the first boxes identified with blue color includes the introduction of the
topic, the description of the question research, the methods used for gathering the data and
10
factors which influenced the research. The first part of the project offers a theoretical
description of the subject in question.
The second part, identified with the yellow color in the chart, will deal with applying
organizational and cultural theories on the primary research gathered, with the intention of
understanding the behavior of Tanzanians both in the community and in an organization, in
this case a hotel. In order to adopt a more practical approach, it will be constructed the
business model of Peacock Hotel in Dar Es Salaam, which will be used as an example
throughout this report.
The last part, identified with the green color, will offer the description of the proposal, which
will be based on the analysis made in the previous chapters. Along with the content of the
proposal, it will also be presented a suggestion for implementation.
The conclusion will show the link between all the three main parts, stressing out the
importance of business model and how innovation can be done in one of the building blocks.
3.3 Collection of data
In order to make the current paper possible, I have conducted mainly primary research which
consists of 16 interviews with managers of different institutions, of each 10 interviews are
carried out with hotel managers in Dar Es Salaam, on a interview with Ana Andronachi Romanian citizen working in Dar Es Salaam, one interview with Davies Mazulu - Tanzanian
resident and citizen, one interview with Lathifa Sykes - the CEO of Hotel Association of
Tanzania, one interview with Naiman N. Mbise - the director of studies at National College of
Tourism, and two interviews with the representatives of two primary schools.
Although the latest interviews mentioned might seem irrelevant to the research question, the
data collected from these conversations will not be valid for the organizational theories but
for the cultural theories.
Additionally I will also use my personal observation and experience given by the interaction
with the Tanzanian people in two weeks spent in Dar Es Salaam, which will be expressed
through the lens of the theories chosen.
Moreover, the primary data will interfere with the secondary data gathered online, from
paper books, or from articles.
3.4 Theories and models
The analysis part will introduce first cultural theories, with the scope of understanding the
society and community of the Tanzanian people. By using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, I
will attempt to offer an insight into the effects of Tanzanian culture on the value of its
inhabitants, and how these values relate to their behavior.
Further, I will look at the Tanzanian culture through the lens of Edward T. Hall’s theory of
culture characteristics, which stresses out the drawbacks which can appear when two
individuals from different cultures interact in the scope of business.
11
After getting an understanding into the main values of Tanzanian people, I will try to get an
insight into how they behave in an organization, by the principles of Theory X and Theory Y,
proposed by Douglas McGregor. This theory will be combined with Abraham Maslow’s pyramid
of needs.
All the new knowledge attained at this point, will provide the answer of the research
question. The steps proposed in the last part of the project, will be developed in accordance
with the so-called SMART objectives, which give criteria for guidance in setting objectives.
3.5 Criticism
The theories chosen for writing this paper are not spared from criticism. For instance, the
researcher Galit Ailon claims that at the time Hofstede started making the research upon
cultural dimensions, there were many political instabilities in Europe, Asia and Africa which
made people very sensitive at the time of surveying (Academia, 2010).
Theory X and Theory Y are seen as valuable tools but claimers pretend that no company is run
in strict accordance with either one or another (British Library, 2014).
Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs based on the analysis of the biographies of
some people he admired, and considered them self-actualized. This means that from a
scientific perspective, the method he used is mostly subjective, and is based entirely on the
researcher’s opinion. Moreover, the biographies he used belonged to highly educated people
like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Alberth Einstein, Gandhi and others. Another
criticism against Maslow’s assumption, is that a person must first fulfill the lower order needs
before fulfilling the higher order needs, which might not always be the case (Simply
Psychology, 2014).
The interviews presented in the appendix have been carried out based on the guidelines
proposed by Steinar Kvale and Svend Brinkmann in their book Interview - Learning the Craft
of Qualitative Research Interviewing. The transcription of the interviews are reproduced
based on the notes and key words gathered during the interviews, therefore it is assumed that
the author has been biased when reproducing the interviews in writing. However, the meaning
of the data presented in this report has not been modified.
All in all, the choice upon the selected theories has been influenced by the alignment of the
author with the theories content and the self-reference effect.
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4. Peacock Hotel
Peacock Hotel was chosen to serve as an example for analysis mainly because of the following
two reasons: firstly, it is an independent hotel with a Tanzanian owner who hired international
management. The intercultural atmosphere created by the amalgam of employees working
together makes it suitable for the research question, where the organizational behavior can
be analyzed based on the interaction between individuals from different cultures.
Secondly, the sales and marketing manager of Peacock Hotel, Mr. Curtis Saha Lwembe showed
a more opened approach when came to talk about the business activities, compared to other
hotel managers interviewed. This fact facilitated the drawing of the business model.
4.1 Business model - Peacock Hotel
As a starting point, the business model of Peacock Hotel is presented.
150 rooms
Local farmers
Restaurant with Tanzanian cuisines
Fishermen
Indulgence in Tanzanian culture
Reasonable charges
Personal experience
Marketing
Employees
Refurbishing
International management
CSR activities
In-house sales force
Tanzanian night
Suppliers
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Phone calls
Social media
Webpage
Tanzanian nights
Door-to-door
International customer
Marketing
• Business
Salaries
• Leisure
Maintenance
Local customers
Investment (opening a new wing)
Room sales
Restaurant
Auctions
Renting or selling free space
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Value Proposition
Peacock Hotel is an independent hotel and has been opened 22 years ago. It offers 150 rooms
of which the customer can choose among the following types: budget, deluxe, junior suite,
executive suite and diplomatic suite (Peacock Hotel Limited, 2014).
Although the target group is the international business segment, the managers of Peacock
Hotel want to differentiate their business from the others around by offering to customers an
exclusive Tanzanian cuisine. Moreover, the customers can choose to participate in Tanzanian
night, which is organized every Wednesday and where they can try African food and enjoy a
Tanzanian performance. Furthermore, Peacock Hotel strives to offer the customers a personal
experience which includes a personalized attendance by trying to learn about them from the
first visit. For example, the personnel tries to observe and memorize what kind of habits or
dishes the customer prefers. Therefore, when the respective customer will show up at the
restaurant next time, he will first be offered the same dish/drink he ordered beforehand .
withoyught being asked this time (See Appendix 1.1).
Key Partners
As the most important key partners, Mr. Curtis has identified the local farmers where they buy
the raw food for the kitchen and fishermen, who provide seafood daily.
Key Activities
As the core product of Peacock Hotel is actually a service, the business is highly dependent on
efficient marketing to bring as many customers as possible in order to avoid the loss of the
perishable service. Hence, marketing is one of the most important activity of Peacock Hotel
which consists of reaching the customers via social media and face-to-face visits to
corporations (See Appendix 1.1).
The managers try also permanently to stay technologically updated, and according to Mr.
Curtis, every approximately half a year they make renewal in the tangible assets of the hotel.
For instance, the cutlery in the kitchen will be changed very soon. Noticeably, the managers
have also planned already to refurbish the rooms, project which will last approximately one
year.
Peacock Hotel takes care of its customers by questioning them frequently about their
experience. Consequently, they find questionnaires in the room which can be filled at the end
of the staying. More than that, they are asked at the reception about how they liked their
staying or the customers are questioned directly by the managers during the Tanzanian night
performance if they choose to attend.
Mr. Curtis claims also that Peacock Hotel is involved in several CSR practices, which mainly
consist of:
• donations to orphanages
• Christmas gifts for children
• cleaning program - 2 or 3 times a year all the employees go out and clean the area
15
• help the taxi drivers by giving them information about the arrival or departure of
customers, so they can drop or pick them from the airport (See Appendix 1.1).
Key Resources
When asked what is the most valuable resource of the hotel, the sales and marketing manager
expeditiously answered ‘’the staff’’. The employees are the interface of every business
representing an integral part of the organization. However, at the first sight it might seem
that once a business clearly established which is the most worthy resource, it means that
there are ongoing research on how to improve the efficiency of the respective resource and
how to better capitalize on it.
Nonetheless, when questioned further about which is the ongoing challenge that Peacock
Hotel face, Mr. Curtis responded that is the communication between staff and customers (See
Appendix 1.1). The cumbersome interaction is given by the difficulty the local staff meets in
anticipating the demands of the international customers, but also by the poor English skills of
the staff. As it can be observed, the intercultural communication raises an issue, topic which
is dealt in the present report.
Another valuable resource is definitely the international management, on which Peacock
Hotel relies with regard to developing a proper strategy to acquire customers. The business
depends also heavily on the in-house sales representatives, who make frequent visits to
corporations. Last but not least, there are suppliers which are an inherent part of the Peacock
Hotel existence.
Customer Relationship
Peacock Hotel maintains the relationship with its customers mainly through online resources
or phone calls, but also thorough the old fashion style method, by simply talking to them. Mr.
Curtis mentioned, that Tanzanian night is a great utensil to get to know the customer better.
Channels
When comes to channels, Peacock Hotel uses both indirect channels - social media, and direct
channels - face-to-face visits.
Customer Segments
Mr. Adam Fuller, the general manager from Southern Sun hotel mentioned that there is a
wrong perception that there are a lot of tourists coming to Dar Es Salaam. According to him,
the international customers who fly to Dar Es Salaam and need for accommodation, are either
businessmen or in transit to Zanzibar (See Appendix 1.4). Consequently, like many other
hotels in Dar Es Salaam Peacock Hotel has as a primary focus on international business
segment.
Cost Structure
As the hotel is independent and its competitors are one of the most fearful on the market,
Peacock Hotel depends entirely on promoting itself in order to bring customers, reason for
which the managers spend a significant amount of money for marketing practicalities.
16
The salaries constitute also a substantial cost, as there are 130 employees working in this
hotel. Maintenance is another important cost, where 150 rooms have to be cleaned and
maintained every day.
Nevertheless, Mr. Curtis mentioned that the most significant cost that Peacock Hotel is
bearing at this very moment, is the investment in building a new wing of the hotel and
planning to begin the construction of a new hotel in White Sands Beaches, targeting leisure
customers exclusively (See Appendix 1.1).
Revenue Streams
Peacock Hotel earns its highest revenues mainly from the selling of the core service accommodation. Additionally, the restaurant is another revenue source, which also provides
catering services, as well as renting or selling some spaces that are in the property of Peacock
Hotel.
Although is not as significant as the previous revenue streams mentioned, Peacock Hotel has
ascertained a new way of gaining earnings - auctions. When time has come to renew different
goods, the managers of the hotel organize auctions in order to sell the used furniture (See
Appendix 1.1).
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5. Cultural Theories
This chapter will deal with cultural theories, having as a scope the understanding of the
human behavior in Tanzanian society.
Although culture has been defined in a number of ways, many theorists have predominantly
used one common term: learnt behavior. Thus, ‘’culture is a configuration of learnt behaviors
and results of behaviors whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the
members of a particular society’’ (Linton, 1945).
5.1 Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
Geert Hofstede has performed impressive studies of cultural differences in value orientations
which give the lector an opportunity to understand the range of cultural differences. His
approach is based on the idea that all persons carry a mental program or ‘’software of the
mind’’ which plays an important role in their behavior and attitude towards various situations.
According to Hofstede, this mental program is developed in early childhood and is reinforced
by the culture and it consists of three elements namely the universal program, the collective
program and the individual program (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001).
Fig. 5.1 - Geert Hofstede’s Mental Program (Adapted from: Rasmussen & Mikkelsen)
The universal program is that one belonging to all human beings irrespective of race, gender,
nationality and color and all understand the feelings that we all are born with such as love,
sorrow, joy and anger. The collective program is the element which is shared with other
18
members of the same culture, and what makes it distinctive from the universal program is the
way the feelings mentioned above are experienced. It is important to understand that this
program is learnt and not inherited. The individual program is unique to each member, and it
is partly inherited and partly learnt, what makes it difficult to determine how much of an
individual program is learnt and how much inherited (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001).
The focus in this paper, will be obviously on the collective program.
5.1.1 The four cultural dimensions
In order to characterize the Tanzanian culture, it will be used the characteristics of
Hofstede’s four dimensions.
Based on Hofstede’s research, the profile of Tanzania looks as following:
80
60
40
20
0
Power Distance
Individualism
Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance
Fig. 5.2 - Tanzania Cultural Dimensions (Adapted from: The Hofstede Centre, 2014)
Power Distance
Power distance is defined as ‘’the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally’’ (The
Hofstede Centre, 2014).
Tanzania scores 70 out of 100 for the power distance dimension. This means that Tanzanians
accept a hierarchical society where everybody has his own place. While visiting the Slipway
19
Hotel in Dar Es Salaam with the aim of obtaining a meeting with the general manager, the
receptionist was not able to give us his contact, as he was not around and she did not know if
she was entitled to, without consulting him. This situation clearly emphasized that the
subordinates show great respect for their superiors, and they expect to be told what they
have to do.
The organizations are centralized and the ideal leader is a benevolent autocrat and status
symbols for managers are both expected and popular. As a matter of fact, I could notice that
employees from the top management like Mr. Curtis - the sales and marketing manager from
Peacock Hotel, was wearing a label with his name and his position in the organization.
It is interesting to observe, that even if hierarchy is desired, Tanzanians make clear
distinction in statuses, but not genders who otherwise should be equal. For instance, in
Tanzania can be met a lot of women in charge of top level positions, both in organizations and
government.
Collectivism/Individualism
This dimension addresses ‘’the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its
members’’ (The Hofstede Centre, 2014).
The Eastern country scores low in Individualism, which makes it a high collectivistic society.
This means that Tanzanians’ self-image is defined by ‘’we’’ and not ‘’I’’. The decisions that
are about to be taken, will always have to benefit first the group and then the individual.
People in this country will foster long-term relationship with that one who takes responsibility
for fellow members in the group. Mr. Chhatry, the operations manager form Nikko Tower Hotel
mentioned that the staff under his subordination are extremely grateful when he teaches
them something new (See Appendix 1.2).
In an organization the relationship between employee and employer is based on moral links
where the management is of the group. This is confirmed by Mr. Curtis, who claimed that at
Peacock Hotel, all the staff are encouraged to participate with ideas which will benefit both
the business and employees as a whole.
In Tanzania the purpose of education is to learn how to do, as they cannot individually engage
themselves into a long-term erudition. This is also because people do not have long-term
visions but they are concerned with the present day only, and at most the day after.
Masculinity
This dimension intends to classify cultures based on what motivates people within a society.
For instance, if masculine, people will wish for being the best, whereas feminine, people just
like what they do.
Tanzania scores 40, which makes it a feminine country. People in this country work in order to
live, and do not live in order to work. Moreover, they believe less in external achievements
but they make choices which will improve the intrinsic aspects of the quality of life, such as
surviving to others, and showing sympathy for the weak.
20
In an organization, managers use more intuition than logic and strive for consensus. In case of
a conflict, the resolution is based on compromise and negotiation. However, Ana Andronachi
reveals that a conflict negotiation actually constitutes in trying to find a guilty person, and it
is common that a Tanzanian will try to be neutral by stating ‘’it wasn’t me’’, but in the same
time not pointing on a specific suspect (See Appendix 2.2).
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as ‘’ the extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that
try to avoid this’’ (The Hofstede Centre, 2014).
The number 50 that Tanzania scores for this dimension suggests that there is no preference,
however, it can be concluded that people lead themselves with the help of informal rules.
The fact that is specific to them not to have long-term visions, it can also be inferred that the
level of stress is relatively low towards what could happen in the future.
5.2 Edward T. Hall theories
Edward T. Hall was an anthropologist who made early discoveries of key cultural factors. His
research is particularly meaningful when a manager wants to attain a practical understanding
into how to approach intercultural communication. This is because Hall provides an insight
into how different cultures behave and communicate in different ways based on their values.
Low and High-Context Cultures
Briefly, a low-context culture is that one where is used a direct way of communicating using
clear words, whereas in a high-context culture, it is preferred an indirect way of
communicating (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001).
Tanzania subscribes more to a high-context culture, as by their nature, Tanzanians have a
tendency to please you and have it difficult in telling the truth if this is not an honorable one.
For example, the general manager of New Avon Hotel who is Tanzanian, communicated us
that the hotel is not generating much profit lately, but when asked about an ongoing
complaint they receive, he responded that they do not have serious complaints, on the
contrary he promoted the facilities they offer to the customers (See Appendix 1.3). This is
because, he could not detach himself from the status he possesses, and perceived us as
potential customers.
Moreover, it is not unusual that Tanzanians promise something but the next day they have
forgotten about it. This is not maliciously intended, but this is because they have a hard time
in turning you down.
Monochronic and Polychronic Cultures
This characteristic refers to the way the time is perceived by people. According to Hall, the
concept of time is culture-specific, and he distinguishes between monochronic and
polychronic cultures.
21
In monochronic cultures, human activities are arranged in a linear segment, meaning that
people concentrate on one thing at a time and do things in a very systematic way. Conversely,
in polychronic cultures, people do many things at the same time and the human relationships
are more important then the tasks (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001).
Tanzania subscribes to polychronic culture, where the time is just a framework for
orientation. Therefore, Tanzanian people do many things at once and are highly distractible
and subject to interruptions. While having the interview with Mr. Curtis at Peacock Hotel, the
general manager who is Tanzanian, interrupted two times as he needed some answers from
the sales and marketing manager.
Moreover, people from this country can change plans often and borrow and lend things easily.
For instance, still at Peacock Hotel the second meeting with Mr. Curtis, an employee
interrupted the interview for asking for borrowing his own car.
Personal space
Hall calls the study of the space ‘’proxemics’’ and in this case, it is about the bubble of space
that every person carries around and it refers to the distance a person prefers to keep, when
communicating with others. Hall considers this concept as very important in an intercultural
encounter and it is something cultural-specific (Rasmussen & Mikkelsen, 2001).
When dealing with each other, Tanzanians are not afraid of being physically as close as
possible to each other. They easily shake their hands with you or even embrace you if they
feel they are permitted. However, with the internationals they do not display the same
behavior so easily, not until they get to know the respective person. The reason might be
that, in the same way that Westerns have included Tanzania in the developing countries
category, the Tanzanians seem to look up at Western internationals, believing that they are
more knowledgeable and that deserve respect.
22
6. Organizational Behavior Theories
In an organization, the success lies in getting and keeping high-performing employees. In
great measure, the managers are those who are responsible for the way the employees
perform (Robbins, 1998). This means that an efficient leader will guide the subordinates such
as to meet the goals of the organization.
Further, it will be analyzed the management style that is mostly met in hotels which operate
in Tanzania. In order to understand how an ideal relationship between a leader and
Tanzanians employees would look like, it will be considered McGregor’s Theory X and Y and
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. With the aid of Douglas McGregor’s theories, it is expected to
reveal the most common management style that is met in the leadership of a hotel in
Tanzania, while the hierarchy of needs will point out what Tanzanians prioritize when comes
to their elementary needs.
6.1 McGregor’s Theory X and Y
Theory X and Theory Y provide an idea about the perceptions that managers hold of their
employees, and which consequently, will influence their management style.
McGregor suggests that in the organizations, it can be met one of the two management styles,
which is acquired based on the ultimate presumptions of the leader. Accordingly, Theory X
says that employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, they will attempt to
avoid it. When perceived like this, the leader will probably deploy an autocratic style.
Conversely, Theory Y suggests that the employees are perceived as ambitious, self-motivated
and exercise self-control, and this might lead to a participative style deployed from the
management part (Robbins, 1998).
In order to get a better insight into the differences between the two management styles, the
following table is presented:
Theory X
Theory Y
• The average person dislikes work and will avoid
if he/she can
• He/She will avoid responsibility
• He/She prefers to be directed
• He/She is relatively unambitious
• He/She prefers security above all
• Effort in work is natural
• The average person displays self-control and
self-direction in the pursuit of the organizational
objectives
• Commitment to objectives is associated with
achievement
• He/She usually accepts and seeks responsibility
Table 6.1 (Adapted from Businesballs, 2014)
23
Following, it will be revealed primary data obtained from interviews with managers from
different hotels. The data presented is deliberately selected, pointing out on the information
which is in the scope of this project.
Considering Theory X, disliking work comes hand in hand with irresponsibility, feature which
belongs to Tanzanians, as Mr. Chhatry from Nikko Tower Hotel claims that he has to point out
very clearly what tasks the employees have to perform, but mostly, why they are important
(See Appendix 1.2). According to Mr. Chhatry, he has to explain to employees under his
subordination, what can be the consequences of their actions. For example, ‘’ if you don’t
handle a customer’s complaint on the spot, he will not return again’’. Therefore, he uses the
scenario method in order to persuade employees to take more responsibility.
Mr. McLachman, the general manager of Double Tree Hilton Hotel, pointed out that Tanzanians
are ‘’short-minded’’ and one simply have to tell them many times the same thing until they
grasp what one actually means. He also mentioned that, the biggest challenge that he faced
when he took over Double Tree Hilton Hotel was the untrained staff, who is not easy to
instruct, reason for which it happens often to prolong the training periods. According to him,
the training method they use is to simply show them how to perform the tasks (See Appendix
1.6).
The general manager of New Africa Hotel, Mr. Chaudhry claimed that there is a need of
intensive training in order to master the service, and for this reason they perform 1400
training hours daily, which corresponds 5 hours to each of the 240 employees working in the
hotel. The employees are taught how to use a computer, by simply holding practical classes,
where they are shown what to do. However, Mr. Chaudhry, who is from India, revealed an
important fact that describes the attitude of the Tanzanian employees towards an
international manager. When asked if there is something that he would like the staff to be
better at, he answered: ‘’If there is a complain, they should come to me and tell me, which is
not happening, because they are scared’’ (See Appendix 1.5). He explains, that if this would
happen, the problems of the customers would be fixed immediately, and hence, they would
reach higher customer satisfaction. This answer clearly demonstrates that the Tanzanians do
not like to disclose adverse facts, which can also be interpreted as irresponsibility.
Mr. Fuller, the general manager from Southern Sun Hotel, revealed that it happens to hire
from time to time internationals, in order for the staff to manage the communication with
the customers. By ‘’communication’’ he referred both to English language which is not
proficiently spoken by the employees, and to intercultural communication. He argued that, as
the target customer segment are the business people, some businessmen are more
pretentious then other, and implicitly expect the staff to treat them accordingly. For
example, if a British customer arrives at the reception, while already passed the passport to
receptionist for registering, he expects the attendant to have seen where he comes from, and
so, be cultural competent. Very concretely, the cultural competence could be translated into
addressing the British customer with his name, instead of just ‘’Sir’’ (See Appendix 1.4).
Serena Hotel proved to be the main competitor of almost of the hotels whose general
managers were interviewed. When asked why is it seen like that by its adversaries in the
market, Mr. Azad, the general manager, answered that it might be because of their staff (See
24
Appendix 1.7). Their strategy is to recruit unexperienced staff, who afterwards, are shaped
through intensive training. He claims that it is actually better that the recruiters not to have
any experience, as they will have no prejudgements at all regarding the job they have to
perform. The employees are trained into basic tasks, like hygiene for instance. He also
mentions that the success in making them improve the delivery service is into the fact that,
everything they learn through courses, they can also apply it at their households, where they
can see practical improvements. For example, how to cook, how to clean, how to arrange a
table.
The general manager from New Avon Hotel could not reveal specific data with regard to
personnel, due to language barrier. However, he claimed that the staff work satisfactory and
there are no complaints against them from the customers’ part. Nonetheless, when asked
about the occupancy of the hotel, he answered that the prevalent daily occupancy rate is
30%, where the best rate that they reach of 60% is during high seasons.
Mr. Curtis from Peacock Hotel claimed that generally, the employees perform satisfactory,
with the exception that they do not master the English language, which sometimes causes
inconveniences to non-Tanzanians customers (See Appendix 1.1). He also points out that the
decisions are team based, meaning that every employee participates in the decision process
with his own opinion, and it is important that everybody is comfortable with the final
decision.
When considering the situations which have just been mentioned, it must be borne in mind
that:
• the general managers from Nikko Tower Hotel, Double Tree Hilton Hotel and New Africa
Hotel are internationals from India, Great Britain and India respectively.
• the general managers from Serena Hotel and Southern Sun Hotel are from Kenya and South
Africa respectively
• the managers from New Avon Hotel and Peacock Hotel are both from Tanzania. From the facts and examples provided above, the following conclusion can be drawn. The
international managers have a tendency to deploy a more autocratic style, which is specific
to Theory X, while the Tanzanian managers deploy a participative style, which is specific to
Theory Y.
6.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In 1943 Abraham Maslow was pioneering the hierarchy of needs, a theory which still remains
valid nowadays, providing an understanding into human motivation, management training and
personal development (Robbins, 1998).
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is depicted in the shape of a pyramid, where at the bottom are
presented the most fundamental needs and the self-actualization needs at the top. He
distinguishes between lower order needs, which are represented by the first four levels, and
higher order needs represented by the self-actualization. According to him, the most basic
25
needs must be met before the individual will be able to meet secondary, the tertiary etc.
level (Robbins, 1998).
Figure 6.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Cult Branding, 2014)
Physiological needs
These are the physical requirements and are considered basic, but the most important of all.
Air, food, shelter etc, are crucial for the human survival. If these functions are not met, the
human body simply cannot function and will fail. Therefore, it is concluded that every
individual, who is alive meets these requirements.
Security needs
The safety needs include personal, financial and health security. According to Davis Mazulu, a
Tanzanian resident, people in Dar Es Salaam in general do not feel safe, as the authorities
cannot be trusted, and this is due to corruption. As an example, he mentioned that if an
individual who does not have networks in Police, and he got robbed, or something happened
to his family, it is very common that the police authority does not start any investigation
without getting bribe (See Appendix 2.1).
From the economic point of view, Tanzania is still one of the poorest countries in the world,
and even if the middle class is thriving, the economic uncertainty remains. Mr. Adam Fuller,
26
the general manager of Southern Sun Hotel, has revealed that an average salary for a
Tanzanian working in a hotel is 60$ per month in a local business, and approximately 120$ in
an international business (See Appendix 1.4).It is important to notice, that this amount of
money does not ensure a decent life, in the conditions that one has to cover shelter, food,
health and bribes.
In order to give the discrepancy between costs and income, the following basic monthly costs
are given for Dar Es Salaam:
Costs per month
Apartment (1 bedroom) City Centre
$621.05
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside City Center
$508.33
Utilities
$81.17
Transportation (one way ticket)
$0.24
Table 6.2 (Numbeo, 2014)
At the organizational level, Mr. Adam Fuller also revealed that it is not common that the
employers of a local business to insure the employees when comes to health. However, Mr.
Curtis suggested that there is no official document to prove that the employees of Peacock
Hotel are insured, but they can get the money refunded if they have used a medical service,
and prove with a receipt (See Appendix 1.1).
Tanzanians do not feel safe from the health point of view. Diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
or malaria are still prevalent among inhabitants (Avert, 2012). However, it is worth to
mention that these diseases are most met in rural communities where the awareness about
their transmission is low.
Social needs
According to Maslow’s pyramid, the next level to be fulfilled by every human being is the feel
of love and acceptance within social groups, regardless whether these groups are large or
small (Robbins, 1998). When analyzing Tanzanian culture using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions,
the collectivism/individualism dimension showed that people from this country are
characterized as a group society. This means that belongingness needs is crucial in Tanzanian
society, and inherently, this level is fulfilled.
On the organizational level, from the overall conversation with Mr. Curtis from Peacock Hotel,
it is interpreted that the employees seem to be more motivated and happy when they work in
groups. Here, it can be made a reference back to CSR activities, when groups are made in
order perform tasks like cleaning the area around Peacock Hotel or visiting orphanages. Mr.
Curtis pointed out that these activities are always performed with success.
27
Esteem
Maslow suggests that humans have a need for respect, and this includes self-esteem and selfrespect. People like to be valued by others and in order to gain recognition, they will engage
in a job or hobby (Research History, 2012). In accordance to this theory, Tanzanians are
generally believed to have low self-esteem and low self-respect particularly because of the
collectivistic society. In other words, the strength is given by the group, therefore when
acting individually they lose the self-confidence and believe about themselves that they are
not crafty enough to complete a task from beginning to end. Moreover, as shown in previous
chapter, Tanzanian culture is polychronic, meaning that people do not have a sense of a time,
and not only that they tend to engage in multiple tasks, but they also get easily distracted.
This means that it would be even harder for an individual alone to find a way to motivate
himself. Therefore, it can be concluded that is difficult for a Tanzanian to engage in a longterm job with the scope of gaining recognition.
Self Actualization
As already mentioned, Maslow ’s theory claims that the most basic needs have to be met in
order for the individual to desire to fulfill the higher level needs. As the previous level of selfesteem has been shown as being unmet, it is inherently concluded that Tanzanians do not
subscribe to self-actualization level either.
However, it is interesting to observe that Tanzanian people are not entirely faithful to the
pyramid of Maslow, meaning that it does not follow the same order when comes to lower
needs. In other words, it looks like Tanzanians meet only physiological and social needs,
leaping over the safety needs level. This is contrary to Maslow’s argument regarding that an
upward level cannot be fulfilled, unless the downward level has been fulfilled beforehand.
All in all, it is concluded that generally is a difficult task to motivate Tanzanians, as only the
very basic needs are met. In the hierarchy of needs pyramid, it is inferred that Tanzanian
people are placed at the bottom of the pyramid.
6.2.1 Theory X and Y and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y relate to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in how motivation
and human behavior are displayed in order to maximize the employees’ performance. In
relation to Theory X, the managers of an organization have a distant relationship with the
employees, which will become even more distant because of the authoritative management
style. In order to motivate the employees, the managers will have to use threat and
punishment as incentives, which instead of enhancing the self-esteem as desired, the
Tanzanians will get a even lower self-esteem, being incapable to develop the wish of gaining
recognition. Eventually, they will totally dislike performing the tasks, and will lead to an
unsatisfactory delivery of service.
In relation to Theory Y, the managers of an organization will try to create synergy between
them and the employees, which relates to Maslow’s needs of esteem and self-actualization.
Therefore, the managers will provide the optimum workplace through morality, minimizing
28
prejudices and acceptance of facts. In this case, the Tanzanians will feel that they work in a
team, and eventually will perceive the performing of a task at the group level where each of
them has his own responsibility to take for the good of the group.
29
7. Strategic considerations
This chapter will consider the new data obtained from the analysis part and aims to solve the
problem stated in the second chapter. Therefore, it will be briefly presented the results from
the analysis, followed by the proposal and implementation.
7.1 Solution
The question research addresses incremental innovation in the business model of a hotel in
Tanzania, by improving the staff motivation with respect to performing the tasks required.
When asked what are the most important assets of Peacock Hotel, Mr. Curtis, the sales and
marketing manager, answered that the human capital is the most valuable, followed by
technology and information about customers and competitors. As found that Tanzanians in
general lack motivation to perform the job tasks such as to reach the maximum efficiency, it
has been decided to approach the organizational behavior which is also influenced by the
values gained from the culture or the such-called collective programming (Rasmussen &
Mikkelsen, 2001). The culture has been addressed particularly because this paper focused on
culture differences between international investors who tend to be more and more present on
Tanzanian markets, and Tanzanians who work for an international business. Therefore, a
motivation training program is proposed.
The learning methods developed for the training program are based on SMART concept, an
acronym which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (Top
Achievement, 2011). Moreover, the results obtained from the evaluation of Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs have also been considered, as there is a desire to enhance the security needs of
Tanzanian employees, factor which is expected to increase their overall motivation upon
work. Furthermore, as the training program is developed for a hotel running in Tanzania,
where it has been shown that a participative management style is preferred, the learning
goals have been proposed accordingly.
It is recommended the program to be applied for three months in the first phase, followed by
analyzing the new outcomes obtained, and based on these considerations, new adjustments
to be made. The reason for this period of time recommended is that international
management will not be able to predict with 100% accuracy the behavior of the Tanzanians
employees. It is important that international management be also opened for learning and not
expecting immediate return from its employees. Moreover, in order to ensure a maximum
efficiency of the training program, the international managers must be determined to invest
their time with the same desire of improvement as the employees are expected to do.
The training program will be carried out five times a week, with a specific activity for each
day. One day activity will last five hours.
30
The training program framework will look as follows.
Goal
Learning
objectives
Obtaining
intercultural
competences
and motivation
to make use of
them
1. Displaying
motivation
in
delivering
the service
2. Awareness
and
understandi
ng of
cultural
differences
3. Intrinsic
willing to
please the
customer
Learning
methods
Evidence of
learning
1. Theoretical Scenarios
course
about
culture
2. Playing
roles
3. Training
employees
as CEO’s
4. Job rotation
5. Stressing
out the
relation
between inhouse
training and
out-house
training
Evaluation
Reward
Comparison
between
customer
satisfaction
surveys (from
prior and after
the training
period)
1. Incentive
payouts
2. Medical
coverage
Table 7.1 - Training program framework
Goal
The overall goal of the training program is to understand what a intercultural competence is,
but most of all, why it is so beneficial to the hotel as a company.
Learning objectives
Displaying motivation in delivering the service. After the training program, the Tanzanian
employees are expected to be smiling and welcoming every customer, and being ready to
fulfill any requirement of the customer on the spot, if possible.
Awareness and understanding the cultural differences.Tanzanian employees will be expected
to have a knowledge of the different cultures, particularly those cultures which are specific
to the most returning customers, and act accordingly.
Intrinsic willing to please the customer. Tanzanian employees will be expected to have
aligned themselves with the overall objectives of the hotel, and being more attentive to the
customer needs and desires.
Learning methods
The learning methods have been developed based on the cultural theories which pointed out
what Tanzanians value most, and on the particular situations described by different managers
working in hotels in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania.
31
Theoretical course about culture. Once a week, the Tanzanian employees will be introduced
into new culture features from a theoretical point of view, as it has to be created a
framework for the following practical activities during the rest of the week. The course will
be approached from an organizational behavior perspective, meaning that the focus will be
on intercultural communication and how a conversation can become precarious if one does
not step aside on its own cultures. Business cases with focus on culture will be presented.
Training employees as CEO’s. This learning method has as a scope to make Tanzanian
employees understand why it is important to make decisions and how decisions will affect the
entire organization. The idea of training them as CEO’s, is expected to motivate them to
make decisions on the spot if it occurs the situation with an unsatisfied customer. It will be
pointed out what will be the effect of an unsatisfied customer on the overall business.
Moreover, by sharing knowledge about the activities of the top level management, it is
expected to create a closer relationship between staff and international management, as it
will be created an atmosphere of transparency.
Playing roles. The roles will emphasize international customers and based on the culture they
come from, they will play scenarios about how to welcome and treat them. This method
learning is expected to keep them focused, due to the fact that it is an interactive learning
process.
Job rotation. Job rotation is a very practical approach, and addressees the method of
learning by doing, method which has been mentioned several times by the some of the
managers interviewed, see chapter 6. Tanzanians are expected to stay focused during the
learning process, as they will have to learn new things with every new task.
Stressing out on the relation between in-house training and out-house activities. Mr. Chhatry,
the operation manager of Nikko Tower Hotel, pointed out that Tanzanian employees are very
grateful when they are taught something useful, see chapter 5. Therefore, the last day of the
week will be reserved to expanding the knowledge gained at the workplace to Tanzanians
homes. For instance, the job rotation will allow the employees to work in different
departments, inclusively restaurant where they can learn about table arrangement, cleaning
or even decoration. They will be encouraged to do the same for their homes. Moreover, the
Tanzanians are invited to open conversation, where they can spell out a concrete problem
they face at home, if it is related to activities like food, cleaning, arrangements etc.The
Tanzanians are expected to get motivated through the fact that the employer will show care
for their households and families. Consequently, they have the possibility to increase the
comfort of living at their homes.
Evidence of learning
Scenarios. As Tanzanians are characterized as a collective society, see chapter 5, it is
important that the learning take place only in group, and so the evaluation. In other words,
the employees will never be evaluated individually, in order to avoid a degradation of their
self-esteem. However, it will always be pointed out his individual role and responsibility in
the group. Therefore, it will be created scenarios where Tanzanians will have to play roles,
and displaying a behavior specific to the culture they are required.
32
Evaluation
Customer satisfaction surveys comparison. The best way to evaluate Tanzanian employees
motivation, is by simply comparing the results of the customer surveys obtained prior the
training with the results obtained from the surveys carried out after the training.
Reward
As Maslow’s theory has revealed that Tanzanians do not meet all the low order needs on the
hierarchy of needs, it is recommended to establish a reward at the end of the training
program, if the outcomes are satisfactory. As it was pointed out that Tanzanians lack both
financial and health security, the employees will be offered payouts and medical coverage.
The incentive payouts will exclusively depend on the budget of each hotel business. It is
expected that by offering this type of rewards, Tanzanian employees to become extrinsically
motivated.
7.2 Resources required
In order to be able to implement the training program mentioned above, it is required the
following resources: training manager, budget, room where the participants can be hosted
and overhead facilities necessary to presentations.
Although the training program is not developed for a specific hotel business, the resources
consideration will be evaluated for Peacock Hotel, the hotel chosen as the main example.
Peacock Hotel has 130 employees, where 28 are in top level management (See Appendix 1.1).
Therefore, it will be assumed that that all the rest of 102 employees will take the training
course, and a budget will be made accordingly. The reason for proposing that all the
employees should be trained is with respect to innovating the current business model. In
order to do so, it is recommended that all the employees to get the same new vision about
the tasks each of them perform and about the overall business.
It is proposed to make 3 groups of 25 participants, and a group of 27 participants respectively.
It is not recommended to put a higher number of participants in the group, in order to make
sure that the time is sufficient for everybody to express an opinion if there is the case.
The management of Peacock Hotel can make several different decisions with respect to how
to train the employees, for instance, if training a group every three months, or training all
the groups in the same time. In this case, it will be assumed that all the groups will be
trained at the same period of time, but at different hours in the day. Training all the
employees in the same time, will allow the job rotation to be put in practice right after the
first week of training. Therefore, as the training will take place at different hours in the day,
it is assumed that the first group can already occupy the job positions of the second group
and so on. As a consequence, Peacock Hotel will need to hire four training managers, one for
each group.
It is assumed that Peacock Hotel disposes on room and overhead facilities, as they have held
employee training by now.
33
It is recommended the participants to be offered a meal in order to enhance their motivation
to participate and stay focused during the learning process.
A regular Tanzanian meal at Peacock Hotel costs approximately 20.000 Tanzanian shillings,
consisting of rice and season vegetables. When converted, 20.000 Tanzanian shillings
corresponds to 11.65 $ (The Currency Convertor, 2014).
A training manager monthly salary is rated at approximately 500 $ (Salary Explorer, 2014.
Therefore, a budget will be constructed based on these numbers.
Salary per training manager per month
$500
No. of total training managers
4
No. of total months
3
Total salary training managers costs
$6000
Average meal price
$11.65
No. of meals per participant per day
1
No. of participants
106
No. of total days
60
Total meal costs
1248,3$
TOTAL COSTS
7248,3$
Table 7.2 - Training program budget
The total costs for the training managers salaries has been calculated as follows: 1 salary per
training manager X 4 no. of training managers X 3 months.
The total costs for meals has been calculated as follows: 1 meal price X no. of meals per day
X no. of participants X no. of total days.
Number of participants include 102 employees who need to be trained and the 4 training
managers.
Number of total days has been calculated as 5 days training per week X 4 weeks per months X
3 months.
Total costs has been calculated as the sum of total salary training manager and total meal
costs.
However, the very total costs of the training program will be slightly higher, as there will also
be included the rewards offered to participants. The value of the rewards will be established
by the managers accordingly.
34
8. Implementation
This chapter will show what has to be done prior starting implementing the training program
as well as during, and after the training has been carried out.
Step 1. Researching and getting in touch with appropriate training managers who have
experience in working with Tanzanian employees. It is recommended that the training
managers either to be Tanzanian themselves, as there is the advantage that the employees
will feel more comfortable with somebody who understands their culture, or the training
manager to have a vast experience in working with Tanzanian or African culture.
Step 2. The sales and marketing department will analyze the flow of customers, and will
propose a period of time for training when the occupancy of the hotel is not at its top. The
reason for doing so, is to avoid as much as possible that the customers will feel the rotation
of the employees.
Step 3. The human resources department will plan carefully how the groups will be made.
One group should include employees from all departments, such as that the running of the
hotel is not interrupted. This means, that while one group is participating in the training
program, there will still be employees available to occupy the needed positions. Moreover,
employees work in shifts, consequently, the well running of the hotel should not be
interrupted.
Step 4. Schedule a meeting with all the employees where they will be informed about the
training that is about to take place and explain them what is the training program about.
Step 5. Start the actual training program when the proposed time has come.
Step 6. After the three months training period, it is recommended to have one month gap
from analyzing or taking any steps with respect to the training program, as during this time,
customer satisfaction surveys will be collected.
Step 7. Comparing and analyzing the customer satisfaction surveys, which will have been
gathered prior, during and after one month training.
Step 8. The top level management will analyze the entire business model, and will establish if
any changes have been made with respect to particularly customer relationship, revenue
streams or even customer segments.
8.1 Incremental innovation in business model
Researchers and managers keep emphasizing on the close link between employee motivation
and performance, where an increased motivation leads to an increased productivity (Bright
Hub, 2010). In the case of hotel industry, as discussed in this report, an efficient employee is
productive when serves the customer in such way that he is pleased, and not only that he will
consider to return to the same hotel, but he will also recommend the hotel to his
acknowledgements.
35
Being pleased with the service received will automatically improve the customer relationship.
A good relationship with the customers means a more open relationship, where the exchange
of information will happen naturally. In other words, the customer is willing to provide
suggestions which can help the management of the hotel to improve even more the service,
and staying in trend with the changing needs of the customers.
Moreover, once the pleased customer is willing to recommend the same hotel to others, the
management can pay close attention to who are these new potential customers, and so,
discover new customer segments. As hotel industry is characterized by its perishable core
service, it is crucial that the managements keeps up with acquiring new customers, but in the
same time, with maintaining a good relationship with existing ones. Succeeding in these two
activities, high or desired revenue streams are achieved.
As many of the managers interviewed for the scope of this report, the employees are the
most valuable resource, see chapter 6. Therefore, their motivation in performing their tasks
at the workplace, will have an effect on the revenues. All in all, it is concluded that
incremental innovation in the business model of a hotel should start with employee
motivation.
36
9. Conclusion
This report deals with incremental innovation in the business model of a hotel in Dar Es
Salaam Tanzania, where the innovation occurs in the human capital component, by enhancing
the employee motivation. The problem has been addressed from cultural and organizational
behavior points of view, where it has been analyzed the relationship between Tanzanian
employees and international management, and the relationship between Tanzanian
employees and African management.
In order to give the report a more practical approach, Peacock Hotel has been chosen as an
example throughout this report, where its business model has also been presented.
To answer the question research, it has been mainly used primary research, which constitutes
in interviews with general managers working in different hotels in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania,
interview with a local Tanzanian, and an interview with a Romanian citizen working in Dar Es
Salaam. The data obtained from the primary research has been combined with secondary
research, and then analyzed through the lens of the following theories: Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions, Edward T. Hall’s theories, Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, and
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
The main value that Hofstede’s cultural dimension revealed about Tanzanian people, is that
they are a collective society and that they always relate to the group and not to the
individual. For instance, if a decision is about to be made, Tanzanians will analyze how the
changes will affect the group, and not a specific individual. Edward T. Hall’s theories have
shown that that Tanzanians prioritize the relationships before the tasks.
Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y have revealed that international managers have a
tendency to display a more autocratic management style, while African and Tanzanian
managers have a tendency to apply a more participative management style. Abraham
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs demonstrated that Tanzanian people are stuck into lower order
needs, and consequently, they lack the motivation to reach a high self esteem, need which
corresponds to higher order needs, placed at the top of the pyramid.
The results of the analysis laid the foundations for answering the question research, which
constitutes of developing a training program with the intention to enhance the employee
motivation in hotel industry. The training program has been assumed to be developed for the
employees of Peacock Hotel, in number of 102. Therefore, there will be formed four groups,
who will be trained for a period of three months. The description of the training program is
followed by a suggestion for implementation, which points out the steps which must be taken
before and after the actual training starts.
In the case that the training program is implemented and the results desired are obtained, it
is assumed that it has been made incremental innovation in the business model of a hotel,
with focus on human capital, where a more motivated employee becomes more productive.
37
10. Bibliography
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39
APPENDIX
Appendix 1
Appendix 1.1
Interview at Peacock Hotel - 30.10.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Curtis Saha Lwembe - sales and marketing manager
Interview Setting: The interview was conducted in the meeting room of Peacock Hotel
(Start of interview)
Interviewer: What is your main customer segment?
Interviewee: We focus on business international customers, but a significant percentage of
our revenue comes also from local customers.
Interviewer: Why business segment?
Interviewee: Because there are no many tourists around here, the ones who come most of the
time are in transit to Zanzibar.
Interviewer: How many rooms you have to offer?
Interviewee: Currently, we have 150 rooms, but we are building a new wing. We are also
planning to open a new 5 stars hotel in White Sands, which will target exclusively, the leisure
customers.
Interviewer: How many employees you have?
Interviewee: We have a total of 130 employees.
Interviewer: How many employees occupy management positions?
Interviewee: 28 occupy management positions, and they are both internationals and
Tanzanians, but the personnel is only local.
Interviewer: Why only local?
Interviewee: Because we promote Tanzanians values and we would like to stay as traditional
as possible.
Interviewer: What about the management?
Interviewee: We hire international management in order to manage the communication with
international customers.
Interviewer: Is there any ongoing complaint that you face from your international customers?
Interviewee: Yes, they complain mostly about the communication. Our staff does not speak
perfectly English, so it is hard for the staff to predict their wishes.
Interviewer: Do you do anything in this respect? Trainings?
Interviewee: Yes, we are carrying training with respect to how to treat better customers, but
is hard to motivate them to learn English, though we offer them some courses.
Interviewer: Do you encourage the employees to participate in the decision process?
Interviewee: Of course, any kind of decision is taken in the hotel, it has to please them as
well.
Interviewer: What kind of benefits have the employees, except salary?
Interviewee: Well, we offer them a meal every day they have to work. Sometimes they can
eat even if it is not a working day.
Interviewer: What about medical insurances?
Interviewee: We don’t insure them, but for instance, if something happens to one of them,
and needs medical attendance, if they bring the bill from the hospital, we will refund that
money.
Interviewer: How do you measure the satisfaction of the customers?
Interviewee: We place surveys in the rooms, so when they leave, they have the possibility to
fill the survey. They are also asked at the reception how they felt at Peacock Hotel, but we
also like to do it in the old fashion style, for instance, we have conversations with them
during Tanzanian night if they participate after they are invited. Tanzanian nights are a
perfect relaxed moment for having such conversations.
Interviewer: Who are your major competitors?
Interviewee: Serena Hotel and Southern Sun.
Interviewer: How do you differentiate yourself from the other hotels?
Interviewee: By offering them a personal experience.
Interviewer: What does it mean ‘’a personal experience’’?
Interviewee: First of all, both the staff from the reception as well as those from the
housekeep department, try to memorize their names, so when they meet them, they will
address them with their name instead of ‘’Sir’’. In our country, is more respectful to address
somebody by his/her name, instead by their function. Or in the restaurant, the waiters will
try to remember what a returning customer prefers. So, next time when he wants to serve
something, he will fist be offered his ‘’favorite’’ dish or drink. Moreover, all the staff in the
hotel learn as much as possible about the other departments, such as anybody can answer to
most of the customer questions. For instance, a housekeeper, is able to answer you what is
special in the restaurant menu today.
Interviewer: What else do you offer?
Interviewee: We offer reasonable charges, and a traditional Tanzanian experience.
Interviewer: What does it mean a traditional Tanzanian experience?
Interviewee: We try to stay technologically updated, but in the same time not to lose
Tanzanian values. For instance, we offer a Tanzanian cuisine, and every Wednesday we have
the so-called ‘’Tanzanian night’’ which constitutes in Tanzanian food, drinks and a show
performed by local people. Anybody can participate.
Interviewer: Where do you buy the raw food for the kitchen?
Interviewee: We buy everything local, except the furniture which can be from India.
Interviewer: Who are you key partners?
Interviewee: The local farmers and fishermen.
Interviewer: What about you key resources?
Interviewee: Definitely, our staff is number one, but also our in-house sales representatives as
well as international managers, who build the strategies and the directions.
Interviewer: How do you acquire customers?
Interviewee: Our sales representative carry face-to-face visits to corporations, but also via
social media. We also do a lot of marketing activities at fair trades for example.
Interviewer: Do you practice any CSR activities?
Interviewee: Yes, we actually do a lot. We make donations and visits to orphanages, 2-3 times
a year all the personnel is mobilized in teams and clean the area nearby. We also make
auctions, for instance, once at approximately 6 months we replace things in the hotel, it can
be TV’s, it can be cutlery in the restaurant and so on. So we bid them first to the employees,
and then further to auctions. For Christmas we offer gifts to children. We also help the taxi
drivers to et clients, by telling them information about customers who are about to arrive at
the airport, or who have to go to the airport.
Interviewer: By the way, how else do you earn revenue beside selling accommodation?
Interviewee: We have some spaces around the hotel which we rent, we have a conference
room, catering and restaurant.
Interviewer: What about the costs?
Interviewee: Currently the most money we spend on, is on the building of the new hotel,
followed by the salaries of the employees, maintenance of the hotel and marketing activities
of course.
Interviewer: Thanks for your time.
Appendix 1.2
Interview at Nikko Tower Hotel - 30.10.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Mr. Dinesh K. Chhatry - operations manager
Interview Settings: The interview was conducted in the restaurant of Nikko Tower Hotel
(Start of interview)
Interviewer: On what customer segment you focus?
Interviewee: We focus on business segment.
Interviewer: Local or international?
Interviewee: Both local and international, but mostly international.
Interviewer: The personnel hired is local?
Interviewee: yes, only local.
Interviewer: What about you, if I may ask?
Interviewee: I am from India, and I am here for 4 years.
Interviewer: So, how is your relationship with the local employees, considering the cultural
differences?
Interviewee: Well, we have a good relationship now, but I did not gain their trust
immediately. You know, at the end of the day, we are all humans, and they are very grateful if
you teach them something they didn’t know.
Interviewer: How many employees you have?
Interviewee: 73.
Interviewer: Do you perform any trainings?
Interviewee: Yes, of course, we need to improve the service delivery continuously.
Interviewer: In order to be hired at this hotel, is it required any education in hospitality?
Interviewee: Yes, definitely. All the personnel have a background in hospitality.
Interviewer: What is your main challenge in dealing with the Tanzanian employees?
Interviewee: Well, sometimes I have to tell them the same thing many times. AndI have to
repeat that if you don’t handle a customer’s complaint on the spot, he will not return again.
Interviewer: By the way, do you have any ongoing complaint from the part of the customers?
Interviewee: Well, you know, us as a service provider, we try to offer the best to the
customer, but it also depends a lot on how the customer receives the customer.
Interviewer: What do you mean by that?
Interviewee: You know, some times the customers forget that they are in another country, and
they expect to be treated as in their own culture. This means, that the customer should also
make an effort, when evaluates the quality of the service. But as a steady complaint, it was
the poor electricity.
Interviewer: In which period of the year you have a big flow of customers?
Interviewee: All around the year, except Christmas time, and midt June, when business men
are in holidays.
Interviewer: How do you maintain the relationship with your customers?
Interviewee: We converse with the loyal customers via social media, we send them greetings
and invitations to Tanzania.
Interviewer: What kind of kitchen you offer in the restaurant?
Interviewee: We offer Indian, Chinese and African cuisine.
Interviewer: Where do you buy the raw food from?
Interviewee: We buy local, sometimes we buy steak from Nairobi, when the suppliers run out.
Interviewer: Why you don’t import anything from outside Africa for instance?
Interviewee: Because you can find everything here. Rice, spices, seafood.
Interviewer: Do you practice any CSR activities?
Interviewee: Yes, we make donations regularly, we help the community in emergency
situations. For instance, last year there was a flood, and we provided food to all the people in
the area affected by the flood. These activities are part of our program called - Salvation
Army.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time.
Appendix 1.3
Interview at New Avon Hotel - 31.10.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: General manager of New Avon Hotel
Interview Settings: The interview has been conducted in the lobby of New Avon Hotel
(Start of interview)
Interviewer: Which customer segment do you target?
Interviewee: Both leisure and business segments.
Interviewer: Are you a Tanzanian yourself?
Interviewee: Yes, I am from here.
Interviewer: I see that you are placed right vis-a-vis Nikko Tower Hotel. Is it one of your
competitors?
Interviewee: Yes, it is.
Interviewer: So, how do you face the competition? How is your occupancy?
Interviewee: Approximately every day 30%, from what I have seen.
Interviewer: For how long you work here?
Interviewee: I started one month ago, and now I am trying to learn about the hotel.
Interviewer: But the daily occupancy is around 30%? When is the best season for New Avon
Hotel?
Interviewee: All the year except December, January and June.
Interviewer: What is a good occupancy for New Avon Hotel?
Interviewee: Approximately 60%.
Interviewer: And with this profit, do you manage to cover your costs?
Interviewee: No, but the owner has other businesses and he has the money to cover the costs.
Interviewer: But why such an occupancy rate? Is there any ongoing complaint that you
receive?
Interviewee: We do not receive much or serious complaints, just the normals. But we offer
our customers good food in the restaurant, spa and fitness.
Interviewer: What is a normal complaint?
Interviewee: Customers who arrive late, complain about not having the restaurant open 24
hours.
Interviewer: How many employees you have?
Interviewee: We have 30 employees permanently, but we hire part-time as well.
Interviewer: Do you receive any complaints against the way the service is delivered by the
personnel?
Interview: No, there no complaints against our staff. They are very good employees.
Interviewer: How many rooms New Avon Hotel has?
Interviewee: We have 60 rooms.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time
Appendix 1.4
Interview at Southern Sun - 31.10.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Mr. Adam Fuller - general manager
Interview Settings: The interview has been conducted in the restaurant of Southern Sun.
(Start of interview)
Interviewer: Who is your customer segment?
Interviewee: Business segment, of course.
Interviewer: Why ‘’of course’’? Why not leisure customers as well?
Interviewee: Because there is no tourism here in Dar Es Salaam. Tourism represents only 2 %
in African countries. People have a tendency to believe that because African countries are
poor, the tourism is cheap, and it is not true. The flight tickets are expensive hotels, are
expensive, safari are expensive. Last year came approx. 1000.000 tourists, from which 40%
were businessmen. 10 % of the leisure customers are due to the transit who are forced to
spend one night in the hotel.
Interviewer: But why tourists come so rarely here? What is the problem?
Interviewee: One of the biggest problems is the transport, is very difficult to move around the
city, as there are no bus connections. Then is the poor electricity and the lack of water.
Interviewer: But about the beaches nearby, I understood that White Sands is an amazing
resort?
Interviewee: It is true, there go many tourists, but majority are local.
Interviewer: Tanzania is a very beautiful country, and I did not expect to find out that tourism
is so poor. I thought actually people come to Tanzania, for its nature and unpolluted climate.
But why an international manager, who runs a hotel in Dar Es Salaam does manage to attract
leisure Western customers for instance?
Interviewee: The biggest problem with entrepreneurs is that they try to implement first
solutions to a third world country.
Interviewer: So what is your suggestion for them?
Interviewee: One should always have a backup solution. Do never rely on one option.
Interviewer: What should an entrepreneur have a backup solution for? What is the main
challenge of running a hotel here?
Interviewee: For the electricity and for the water.
Interviewer: How did you manage these?
Interviewee: For the electricity we bought a generator, so if the electricity drops, it switches
automatically to the generator. The customer should barely feel the switching. For the water,
we installed machines which purifies it.
Interviewer: May I ask where are you from?
Interviewee: I am from South Africa, but I am doing business in Was African countries for 15
years.
Interviewer: Is Southern Sun an independent hotel?
Interviewee: No, is part of a chain with 15 hotels.
Interviewer: How many employees you have?
Interviewee: 170
Interviewer: All local?
Interviewee: No, we cannot afford to have only local, we have also international managers as
we need to manage the communication with our customers.
Interviewer: What do you mean by ‘’communication’’? English?
Interviewee: The local staff have poor English skills. But this is not the single problem. I am a
Southern African myself, but I was born in England. And I know, for instance, how pretentious
English men are. So, if a British customer arrived at the reception and has given his ID, he
expects the receptionist to have met his name and his country.
Interviewer: Do you carry out trainings?
Interviewee: Yes, we do mostly in IT.
Interviewer: Why it is so difficult for Tanzanian employees to deliver a better service? What
do they lack?
Interviewee: I guess motivation.
Interviewer: What about salary? What is the average salary here in Dar Es Salaam?
Interviewee: In local businesses is approximately 60$ and in internationals like this,
approximately 120 $.
Interviewer: Isn’t this a motivation for them? I mean considering that a lot of Tanzanians do
not have any kind of income, 60$ or 120 $ can mean a lot?
Interviewee: Not really, this is valid for the people in rural areas, but here in the city the
middle class is thriving and the costs of living are very high compared to what they earn.
Interviewer: But beside salary, they don’t have any other benefits, like insurances?
Interviewee: It is not common for an employer to insure his employee here in Tanzania. If
somebody needs medical attendance, usually the employee should manage himself.
Interviewer: What about your supply chain? Where do you procure the goods?
Interviewee: We buy mostly local because we support the community. Sometimes we buy raw
foods from Kenya when here the suppliers run out, but Kenya and Tanzania work as one
district. When these run out too, we import from England. For instance, the gem we have at
our table is from England.
Interviewer: Do you do any CSR activities?
Interviewee: Yes, actually CSR is one of our main concern as we want to help the community,
but it is crucial also because Southern Sun is listed on the Stock market, and we want to
attract investors.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time.
Appendix 1.5
Interview at New Africa Hotel - 4.11.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Mr. Siddharth Chaudhry- general manager
Interview Settings: The interview has been conducted in the general manager’s office.
(Start of the interview)
Interviewer: Which is the primary customer segment you focus on?
Interviewee: We focus on international business men.
Interviewer: How many employees you have?
Interviewee: 240.
Interviewer: Are they local?
Interviewee: Mostly, yes.
Interviewer: Do you carry out trainings?
Interviewee: Yes, we train them every day, a couple of hours a day. We train them mainly in
IT. From 15:00 to 17:00 every day they learn the basics of the computer.
Interviewer: How do you do that?
Interviewee: In groups they work with a supervisor who show them what to do and what those
specific functions mean. And we do one thing at a time, in order to make sure they have
understood.
Interviewer: Do you train them also in service?
Interviewee: Yes, we carry out 1400 training ours a day to all the employees, which
correspond 5 hours to each employee. 2 hours of the daily training are dedicated to IT
learning.
Interviewer: Why so intensive training?
Interviewee: Because we need to master the service, customers want better and better
services.
Interviewer: Do all your employees speak English?
Interviewee: 99% understand English. They don’t speak it very well, because their main
language is Swahili. So sometimes, employees get help by somebody in the hotel who speaks
good English and Swahili. And so they, translate to each other, until the meaning of the
customer is understood. However, these employees who don’t speak well English stay in the
back office. They are first train in back office, and then they can go and serve the customer.
So, everyone you in front office, will be able to communicate with you in English.
Interviewer: From other hotels, I have heard that one of the complaints they receive is that in
general personnel is slow in delivering the service. Is it the case for New Africa Hotel as well?
Interviewee: Sometimes it happens, but in general we are doing it better then our
competitors.
Interviewer: Who are your competitors?
Interviewee: Serena.
Interviewer: Back to your employees, is there something you would like them to be better at?
Interviewee: Something to be better at? If there is a complain, they should come to me and
tell me, which is not happening, because they are scared. If they would do that, every time
when there would be a complain, there would also be the chance to solve it on the spot. Like
this, we would have fewer unsatisfied customers.
Interviewer: Why do you think they are scared?
Interviewee: I really don’t know… But we are working on that.
Interviewer: As you target international customers, of course there are people coming from
different countries and cultures. How do you manage to please them all?
Interviewee: We are serving our customers for 17 years, and of course we have gathered some
data, which tell us much about them. But most of the customers are Indian, I am also from
India, so… we manage pretty good.
Interviewer: How do you differentiate your hotel from the other competitors?
Interviewee:By offering good food, and not only. We have chefs from India, we have chefs
from China, continental chefs, but still, food is not everything, it does not matter as it used
to matter 20 years ago. The way how the food is made is important to customers, that is why
we have chefs from different parts of the world, so we make sure, that their favorite food
tasted like in their own countries.
Interviewer: Where do you buy the raw food?
Interviewee: We buy only local. Chefs go in the agreed markets and select the fish, the
vegetables, the meat.
Interviewer: How often do you procure raw materials?
Interviewee: In general we procure for the day in course and for the day after. We have big
freezers, where we store the fish for instance.
Interviewer: What technological challenge you faced lately?
Interviewee: Well, when I arrived here 6 months ago, we had a pretty good wifi network.
However, when customers were using it, it was not working at all. So we had to invest a lot of
money in order to fix, so now we have the best wifi in Dar Es Salaam.
Interviewer: Is this your first job in Africa?
Interviewee: Yes, it is. Before I worked in New Delhi.
Interviewer: And how do you find it?
Interviewee: I like it very much. I like to move from place to place and learn as much I can.
Interviewer: So, you take a very personal approach to your job.
Interviewee: Yes, I do, I like challenges.
Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time.
Appendix 1.6
Interview at Double Tree Hilton Hotel - 3.11.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Mr. Ian Lachman - general manager
Interview Settings: The interview has been conducted in the lobby of Double Tree Hilton
Hotel.
(Start of the interview)
Interviewer: What is your main customer target group?
Interviewee: We serve international business customers mainly.
Interview: Why?
Interviewee: Because people who fly in Dar Es Salaam, is because of business. There is
nowhere to go here, except White Sands. If tourists come to Tanzania, they go to Arusha,
Kilimanjaro, or safaris. If they want beaches, they go to Zanzibar. So, the so-called tourists,
are those who actually are in transit for another flight.
Interviewer: As an international manager, what is one of the main challenges you faced here
in Dar Es Salaam?
Interviewee: In the beginning it was the untrained staff. It was very difficult to get them to
train. Then it was and it is the theft. Our customers, get robbed, and this is a problem we
have still not solved it yet.
Interviewer: Why was a challenge the untrained staff?
Interviewer: Because, in the beginning we were running trainings where we were explaining
and telling them what to do, but they are a bit short-minded, and we had to tell them many
times until they were grasping the meaning.
Interviewer: The employees are local?
Interviewee: Yes, most of our personnel is local.
Interviewer: And how do you manage the current untrained staff?
Interviewee: Well, it happens to prolong the training periods for some of the employees, and
we simply show them how to perform the respective task.
Interview: In what do you train them?
Interviewee: We train them 45 days in each of the domains of hygiene, food safety,
housekeeping and engineering.
Interviewer: And since you deal with international customers, how is the communication
between local staff and international customers?
Interviewee: Not that good, not that bad.
Interviewer: Do they speak English well?
Interviewee: Not all them, but most of the personnel who is in front office, they speak
English.
Interviewer: What did you learn from being among Tanzanians?
Interviewee: That you have to have patience. One must have a lot of patience when working
with Tanzanians. Nothing goes according to the plan. If you plan something in the morning, it
might be that you end up with something completely different from what you planned.
Interviewer: May I ask where are you from?
Interviewee: I am from Great Britain.
Interviewer:Thank you for your time.
Appendix 1.7
Interview at Serena Hotel - 4.11.2014
Interviewer: Student Elena Andreea Teslaru
Interviewee: Mr. Rahim Azad - general manager
Interview Settings: The interview has been conducted in the general manager’s office.
(Start of interview)
Interviewer: I would like to start, by asking you where are you from?
Interviewee: I am from Kenya, I work here for three years, and I am 30 years old.
Interviewer: On which customer segment you focus on?
Interviewee: We focus on international customers 95 %.
Interviewer: I have understood that you are a very strong competitor for the other hotels here
in Dar Es Salaam. Why is it so?
Interviewee: Ouh, do they say that?! And they still don’t know what is coming…
Interviewer: So how do you do it? What is your most valuable resource? Why are you so good?
Interviewee: We are not good, our staff is good, and it is the most important resource we
have.
Interviewer: Why are they so good?
Interviewee: We train them into basics about every department. In cleaning, in restaurant…
Interviewer: But everybody around trains its staff, and apparently they don’t offer the same
good service. The staff is local?
Interviewee: Yes, only local.
Interviewee: Concretely, how is the training happening?
Interviewer: We do online courses, which are video based. They take five months online
courses, then they have online tests and they get certified, then they get three months
practical training. The thing is to teach them something they are happy about, also outside
the workplace. For instance, we give them courses in hygiene, something that they should
take care of also when they leave work, at their homes.
Interviewer: Do the potential employees have to have a background or experience in
hospitality?
Interviewee: We actually like to hire people who don’t have experience at all, because then
we can train them the way we want, and they will have no prejudices at all. They can come
from high school, or they could have not gone to school at all.
Interviewer: How do you create value to the customers?
Interviewee: At this very moment, the market is not competitive at all… But still, when the
customer arrives at Serena Hotel, they get good wi-fi, which is not easy to find in Dar Es
Salaam, a good service, and they find a nice team here. Moreover, we inform the customer
about what he can find here, we don’t lie. So what he expects, he gets.
Interviewer: What kind of complaints you get here?
Interviewee: You get a complaint if the service is not right delivered. But if there are
customers from West, they might complain if the service does not correspond to West.
Interviewer: So can you name a difference between African service and European service?
Interviewee: African service is more friendly. Of course, it might be a bit slower compared to
Europe, but here is more warm.
Interviewer: Is there any problem with the communication between staff and customers?
Interviewee: We teach them English. Sometimes there are little inconvenience, but then we
teach them, and everything is fine.
Interviewer: How do you stay with the occupancy for this period?
Interviewee: Around 80% at this very moment.
Interviewer: Is there anything you would like your staff to be better at?
Interviewee: Quicker service, I think speed and consistency is an issue.
Interviewer: How do you track the customer satisfaction?
Interviewee: Customers get an survey e-mail, and then we send the feedback from the
customer to the company survey, and they analyze them.
Interviewer: How do you try to acquire new customers?
Interviewee: Well, every of our customer who comes here, in this region, has a contact, for
instance a local office, and this is how they get to us. But mostly, we reach them online. 80%
of the customers are acquired online.
Interviewer: If it would be to say what are you very good at, and not so good at, what would
it be?
Interviewee: Well, we have new restaurant, new spa… the product is yet to change. I think we
are good at looking after our customers.
Interviewer: And something that you are not very good at compared to your competitors?
Interviewee: We have good food.. But maybe we need more international exposure.
Interviewer: But your cuisine is international?
Interviewee: Yes, both international and local.
Interviewer: Where do you buy your food?
Interviewee: Local, 95 % is local.
Interviewer: Where in the country you buy it?
Interviewee: Here in Dar Es Salaam.
Interviewer: Why you don’t import anything?
Interviewee: Because everything is fresh.
Interviewer: What is your relationship with the partners in the supply chain?
Interviewee: We have a business partnership,we are very strict when comes to the food we
buy, we carry hygiene controls..
Interviewer: Serena Hotel does that?
Interviewee: Yes.
Interviewer: What CSR activities you practices?
Interviewee: Ouh… Too many.. It can be seen on our webpage. On what hand is the
environment, where we plant trees, on the other hand is the community. We support the
albinos financially, because maybe you know, they are being told that they have been cursed,
so they don’t have a normal life. We also make gifts for Christmas to orphanages.
Interviewer: What do you spend money on here at Serena?
Interviewee: Utilities, electricity and gas.
Interviewer: What is the biggest challenge you face right now?
Interviewee: Is the renovation of the hotel. When we are done with that, we will be so much
better.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time.
Appendix 2
Appendix 2.1
E-mail to Davies Mazulu - 30.11.2014
1.
WHAT IS TANZANIANS’ PERCEPTION OF TIME?
Tanzanian a do not have discipline on Time as they do believe life goes on as it’s by not
bothering much how can time affect the situation accordingly
2. HOW THEY PERCEIVE THE FUTURE? ARE THEY WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE?
The do believe future will figure out itself they more worried about God words and political
situation more than life its self
They do worried about future but not much on important things just normal stuff especially if
they have been told by some people that something might happen in the future.
3. DO TANZANIANS HAVE TRUST IN AUTHORITIES? WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE POLICE FOR INSTANCE?
No, Tanzanian don’t believe in Police. Unless they have people who work in Police. If somebody
gets stolen, it is not uncommon, that Police do anything if they don’t pay money to them.
3. WHAT IS THE GENERAL OPINION OF TANZANIANS ABOUT WEST?
When comes to western countries Tanzanian think western are more developed and no matter
how hard we will try we will never beat westerns hence low self-esteem and there are much
signs of giving up especially for young generations
4. WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON WAY FOR A TANZANIAN TO GET A JOB? (NETWORK,
OR APPLYING CVS, ETC)
Nowadays there are many ways of getting jobs in Tanzania but recently internet has taken over
due to massive improvements in technology compared to few years back
5. WHAT TANZANIANS WANT FROM THEIR JOB?
People wants money, especially graduates consider a good package as a factors, this may be
influenced by high living standard where by other countries do consider other factors such as
career developments
6. DO THE TANZANIANS COMPLETE THEIR TASK IN TIME WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN
ONE?
Depends with the situations but most of time due to poor techniques and motivation, people
tend to be losing their work spirit and esteem (poor performance)
7. WHAT IS THE GENERAL OPINION ABOUT EDUCATION?
People tend to go to school because they have no choice but honestly speaking now days
education doesn’t promise good life as it used to be before, There are lots of graduate out there
who are struggling to get into jobs, This makes no good picture to young generation as they do
believe no matter how hard you put effort into studies you will end up with no job of your dream
8. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT WORKING WITH WESTERN PEOPLE? (I THINK
YOU SAID YOUR BOSS IS AMERICA, RIGHT?) MOST OF TIME ARE BEING TOLD WHAT
TO DO, OR YOU MAKE DECISIONS BY YOUR OWN?
I am working with international organization whereby my boss is from western countries
although he keep telling me what to do but when comes to my position I have a room to make
decision when is necessary and she always take it on board if it works to save the organization
9. DID YOU MEET ANY CHALLENGES WHEN WORKING WITH WESTERNS FROM
CULTURE POINT OF VIEW? WHICH ONES?
Yes sometimes I get challenged but there are no one to be blamed as I am very good in
diversity work situation .one of the biggest challenge I have seen so far is having many top
bosses from western country.
10. IN AN ORGANIZATION/COMPANY, HOW TANZANIANS SOLVE A CONFLICT?
Managers and bosses mostly solve problems
11. IN AN ORGANIZATION/COMPANY, WHAT EXPECT THE MANAGERS FROM THEIR
EMPLOYEES?
Efficiency, hard work, commitment .
Appendix 2.2
E-mail to Ana Andronachi - 16.11.2014
1. WHAT IS TANZANIANS’ GENERAL PERCEPTION OF LIFE?
In general, Tanzanians see life as a non-comlicated process and due to that, they focus a lot on
enjoying each moment of their life. This can be seen from the numerous traditions and
celebrations that they have during the year.
2. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT WORKING WITH TANZANIAN PEOPLE?
I have been working with Tanzanian peopLe for almost 6 month now and I can say that it
requires patience and understanding of their behavior. It is completed different from the
European style and I think that the best advice in this case would be that, as a white person
coming to work in Tanzania, people always have the tendency to believe that the way they do
things it is the best ways and they lack the patience of understanding other mentalities.
3. IN A COMPANY, HOW TANZANIANS SOLVE A CONFLICT?
Tanzanian people have a really funny way to solve conflicts by stating the following phrase: 'it
wasn't me". Most of the times that throw the guilt on each other. I haven't sen until now another
way of dealing with conflicts.
4. WHAT IS THE GENERAL OPINION OF TANZANIANS ABOUT WEST?
White people are seen as muzunga and they are generally associated with large amounts of
money. People in Tanzania tend to belive that white people are entering their country to steal
them and to take their rights, so most of the times the perception is not the best one. At the
same time, white people are seen as good investors who can open a lot of opportunities in
Africa.
5. DO THE TANZANIANS COMPLETE A TASK IN TIME WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN ONE?
From my own experience, 80% of cases they lack in completing the task on time.