West Indies Yacht Club Resort

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West Indies Yacht Club Resort: When Cultures Collide Case Summary The West Indies Yacht Club Resort is located on the British Virgin Islands (BVI’s), and is known for its water sports activities and ecotourism policies. Comprised of thirty-six islands, the British Virgin Islands has restricted development and growth with mainly five upscale hotels, as well as strict government regulations concerning local staff employment and limited expatriate work permits. Although it has been operating successfully, the West Indies Yacht Club Resort has some alarming problems that have recently become evident and have seriously affected the operating performance of the resort. Jim Johnson, the chief manager, has invited Patrick Dowd, a management consultant, to determine the underlying problems and make recommendations about what actions could be taken to improve the situation. Identification of Symptoms Expatriate manager turnover: The West Indies Resort has hired and failed to retain three expatriate waterfront directors and three food and beverage directors in only the past two years. Guest complaints have increased from 10 to more than 30 per week over past two years: Guests frequently complain of long wait times, low motivation and service quality from local staff, unfriendliness, little to no response to requests for items or repairs, no anticipation of needs, and a bad first impression from not being welcomed upon arrival. They expect more for the amount of money they are paying for their vacation. Increasing level of tension between expatriate and local staff members: Local employees frequently “forget” to do their tasks, and managers are frustrated because they cannot discipline or fire employees for lateness, poor job performance, or even stealing due to strict local employment regulations. Pickering states that his coworkers are becoming more and

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