Impact of Hofstede Cultural Dimensions on Profitability of Hilton Hotel

Running head: DISSERTATION
Impact of Hofstede Cultural Dimensions of Employee Behavior on the Profitability of the Multi-
National Corporation in the International Environment: A Case Study Hilton Hotel
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1DISSERTATION
Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ......................... whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the............... [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

2DISSERTATION
Abstract
The workplace is the most diversified place that comprises of employees from different religious
and cultural background. In addition to, hospitality industry has employees from different
cultures that highly influences the way each employee communicates with the fellow employees
and provide service to the customers visiting their hotel. The aim of the research is to investigate
how cultural dimensions of the employee behavior impact on the profitability of the multi-
national corporation such as Hilton Hotel in the international environment. The cultural
dimensions of employee behavior include power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and
masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance index and long-term orientation versus
short-term orientation. As business is becoming highly global, cultures around the world are
getting more and more interconnected. In the case of Hotel Hilton, this suggests that the
managers will have to work with employees having different cultural background. Such strong
connection with their respective cultures, they often fail to see how culture affects their behavior
and thinking pattern. In order to understand and study the difference in thinking and behavior
pattern, Hofstede’s cultural dimension is considered as a significant tool and mechanism that
helps in comparing and contrasting the cultural differences and similarities in respect to the
employees. Hofstede’s cultural dimension is said to have an impact on the belief of power
inequality among the existing employees, individual image of the employees and gender
discrimination among the employees due to which the behavior of the employees take a troll and
the organizational profitability is questioned. For the gathering of data, secondary data collection
process will be used, and the themes will be analyzed by considering information of different
secondary resources such as journals, articles and internet facilities. This research will also help
in shedding light on the potential issues the employees face due to cultural dimension at

3DISSERTATION
workplace and possible methods or strategies for overcoming the challenges and ensuring
profitability in terms of existing customers, new customers, product and multi-national
customers.

4DISSERTATION
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................6
1.0 Background............................................................................................................................6
1.1 Rationale................................................................................................................................7
1.2. Research aim.........................................................................................................................8
1.3. Research objectives..............................................................................................................8
1.4. Research questions................................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................10
2.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................10
2.1 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................10
2.3 Meaning of Hofstede’s cultural dimension..........................................................................11
2.4 Impact of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on the profitability of Hilton Hotel...................11
2.5 Concept of profitability........................................................................................................13
2.6 Hofstede’s cultural dimension and employee behavior.......................................................13
2.7 Hofstede’s cultural dimension and organizational profitability..........................................14
2.8 Relationship between cultural dimensions on the employee behavior and profitability of
Hilton Hotel...............................................................................................................................15
2.9 Summary..............................................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Research methodology.................................................................................................19

5DISSERTATION
3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................19
3.1 Research outline...................................................................................................................19
3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................20
3.2.1 Reasoning the use of positivism philosophy................................................................20
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................21
3.3.1 Reasoning the use of deductive approach.....................................................................21
3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................22
3.4.1 Reasoning the use of descriptive design.......................................................................22
3.5 Research strategy.................................................................................................................23
3.5.1 Reasoning the use of case study research strategy.......................................................24
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................24
3.6.1 Reasoning the use of secondary data collection process..............................................24
3.7 Data analysis technique.......................................................................................................25
3.7.1 Reasoning the use of qualitative data analysis technique.............................................25
3.8 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................26
3.9 Accessibility issues..............................................................................................................26
3.10 Summary............................................................................................................................26
Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings...........................................................................................28
4.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................28
4.1 Thematic analysis................................................................................................................28

6DISSERTATION
4.2 Summary..............................................................................................................................32
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations...............................................................................33
5.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................33
5.1 Recommendations................................................................................................................34
5.2 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................34
References......................................................................................................................................35
Appendices....................................................................................................................................41
Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................41
Reflective log.........................................................................................................................41
Appendix 2.................................................................................................................................43
Personal Statement.................................................................................................................43

7DISSERTATION
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Background
The workplace is the most diversified place that comprises of employees from different
religious and cultural background. In addition to, hospitality industry has employees from
different cultures that highly influences the way each employee communicates with the fellow
employees and provide service to the customers visiting their hotel. The concept and impact of
cultural dimension is studied by referring to the model developed by Hofstede. As mentioned by
Mazanec et al. (2015), the cultural dimension by Hofstede mentions that society’s culture highly
influences the value of the members and eventually the way they behave with their surrounding
people.
The word multi-national itself suggests business organizations operating in more than one
nation and has employees from different cultures. As mentioned by Rienties and Tempelaar
(2013), different cultures result in conflict among the employees that affect the profitability of
the organization. For this study, Hilton Hotel has been considered that is a global brand and
flagship of the American multinational hospitality company Hilton. According to 2017, there are
more than 570 Hilton Hotels and resorts operating in 85 countries and across six continents. This
suggests the company has high cultural dimension in terms of employees. As commented by
Minkov, Blagoev and Hofstede (2013), employees are the backbones of the business
organizations that represent the company in the eye of the customers are the pillars that
determine profitability of the firm.
As business is becoming highly global, cultures around the world are getting more and
more interconnected. In the case of Hotel Hilton, this suggests that the managers will have to