Answer

Interview recording

Introduction

1. Tell me a little bit about your firm.

Okay. Our firm is a tourism firm known as African Safaris Ltd that organizes tours for our clients to various destinations within Africa and a few other destinations across the world. We employ around 500 employees in different capacities across the organization, but the greater number of our employees is the tour guides. Our firm is ranked among the best tourism firms by IATA and other tourism organizations for the efficiency of its operations as well as the good customer service provided to clients.

Intercultural communication

2. What is your view on intercultural communication within your firm?

Our firm prides itself on the diversity of its workforce as it employs workers from different cultural backgrounds in the different areas that it operates in. The firm employs workers from each of the regions where it organizes tours and integrates these employees into its global workforce in order to have them work effectively as a team. The firm has a culture of tolerance where our employees are taught to respect the different cultures of other employees by learning about each other’s cultural backgrounds. The firm strongly believes that the cultural diversity within the firm is what makes it very effective in serving its customers and being a global force to reckon with in the tourism industry.

3. How does your firm communicate with its employees from different cultures?

The official language of communication within the firm is English, although French is also accepted as an official language in some areas. Therefore, the firm does not experience any challenges in communicating with its employees from different cultures as they communicate easily through the two official languages.

4. Does your firm encourage the use of local languages?

The firm prefers to hire tour guides that are well versed in the local languages of the different areas that they serve in order to ensure that the tour guides can communicate easily with the local communities. The firm embraces this practice in order to have harmonious relationships with local communities in the areas where the firm takes tourists for organized tours. Initially, the firm did not have this practice and suffered greatly due to communication barriers with local communities in most areas as the firm’s employees did not understand the local languages.

5. How do the firm’s employees overcome the local language barriers?

In cases where none of the firm’s employees speaks the local languages, the company usually hires a translator who acts as a go between for the firm and it clients on tours within various local areas. The firm’s scouts usually go ahead of any tour groups to assess the area and determine whether there is need for the firm to hire a translator or not.

Persuasion and motivation

6. Tell me of the various ways in which the firm keeps its employees motivated.

The firm keeps its employees motivated by ensuring that they have adequate freedom to tackle the challenges that they face on a daily basis. The firm encourages its employees to take on difficult tasks and does not frown on failure as failure is encouraged. Therefore, employees are always eager to take on new challenging task as they know that they shall not be reprimanded if they do not perform the task perfectly. This culture has ensured that the firm has launched numerous creative initiatives for its clients as opposed to its competitors whose employees operate in a more restricted environment. The company also offers rewards for excellent performance to its employees who showcase extraordinary customer service skills.

7. In this age of stiff competition, how does the firm persuade and attract new customers?

Given that the company operates on a global scale, the firm is able to persuade and attract new customers by offering them a greater tourism experience than jus sightseeing. The company’s organized tours allow the tourists to engage with local communities and participate in local activities that allow them to learn more about the cultures of the places that they visit. The company works closely with local communities to ensure environmental conservation and to allow its tourists to have a firsthand experience of the life lived by the local communities. The firm also attracts new customers through traditional advertising methods as well as through new media channels such as social media and web marketing. The company also advertises through travel agents who interact with travelers and tourists on a daily basis, which also attracts numerous clients to the firm.

Presentations

8. How does the firm utilize presentation as a marketing tool?

The tourism firm utilizes presentations as a marketing tool especially while marketing group tours to targeted groups of tourists such as businesses as well as learning institutions and other types of institutions that engage in group tourism. The firm uses presentations to market its tourism products to institutions that send groups of their members on tours, which include businesses and schools among other institutions.  The company employs sales representatives who are well-equipped with the right presentation tools to effectively market the firm to groups of customers that would like to go on tour with the company. The sales representatives are well trained on the use of presentations to market the firm’s services to prospective clients and generate new business for the company. The presentations can also be used to generate repeat business for the company from previous clients.

Groups, meetings and discussions (formal and informal)

9. How do the firm’s employees utilize groups, meetings and discussions

The firm’s employees usually work in groups to accomplish most of their tasks. For example, when organizing a tour, the employees work in groups composed of drivers, team leaders and tour guides in order for the tour to be successful. The sales and marketing team also works in groups to target specific customers for the company such as institutions or even individuals that might be hard to convince. The managers within the organization usually organize meetings and official discussions in order to engage with the employees and chart a way forward for the company. Informal discussions usually take place between company employees where they might discuss their jobs or other topics not related to their jobs such as their hobbies.

Trust and/or conflict resolution issues

10. How does the company build trust with its employees and clients and how are conflicts within the firm resolved?

The company builds trust with its employees and customers by strictly adhering to an ethical code of conduct within all its operations. The company operates in an ethical and transparent manner where all its operations are transparent and open to public scrutiny, which builds a culture of trust and honesty. The company resolves conflicts among its employees through an internal mediation committee that is made up of managers and HR staff. The mediation committee is responsible for handling all types of conflicts that might arise at the workplace in a manner that restores peace within the organization. Conflicts with customers are resolved through the customer service team.