English Only 1

English Only

Audrey Paulette M. Ramos

HT222

Lyceum of the Philippines University

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I. Introduction

In the industry of Tourism, accommodation is one of the most important

components to keep the tourism industry running. Hotel industry does not only influence tourism

but it is also intertwined with many different sectors in the world. The possibilities of potential

guests or customers are endless because it is a global customer-related industry and for that

reason to be able to have a successful business, establishing a harmonious workforce is

extremely crucial. According to Muslihat (2017) on tips how to manage a team successfully, “the

most effective way to ensure that the tasks you set out will be delivered at top quality is to have

the right people doing them. A crucial step, selecting the most suitable group of people will

avoid any skill gaps within your team.”

In this case study, the Royal Hotel is having a dilemma in most of its employee who

came from a Hispanic race the Lounge and Bar Manager – Emily, raised her concern about these

employees. She said that it bothers her and believes that guests find it offensive. As stated by

Stocki (2016), “In a world where repeat business and brand loyalty is essential for success, first

impressions are everything. One bad experience dealing with an untrained staff member can

ensure that your guest will be booking a different hotel on their next visit.” To avoid

circumstances like these to happen, suitable solutions must be implemented to ensure the growth

not just the business alone but the workforce as well. In doing these possible solutions, it is to be

hope that barriers and conflicts inside the workplace must be resolve to sustain and create a more

diverse workplace. In this situation it seems that Emily is the person that does not like her co-

workers speaking in Spanish. If her assumption about the guest being offended was right then the

business will be affected.

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II. Background

The conflict started when the concern was raised by Emily Perkins the Lounge and Bar

Manager at Royal Hotel. She told Katherine Norton the Director of Human Resources if she

could establish an English only policy because of the Hispanic employees who speak in Spanish

at their workplace. According to her that it affects her and she assumes that it also affects the

guests negatively.

Discrimination in workplace happens between employers to employees, customers to

employees, employees to employees, and vice versa. These phenomena occur in many

workplaces in the world where diverse employees are in. It also happened at the McDonald’s

restaurant in Michigan where there were two Hispanic crew members Estefany Martinez-

Gonzales and Imelda Lucio Lopez. Their employer was requiring them to speak in English when

they are in the workplace.

The English only policy is very tricky and controversial to deal with because of its effects

on the employees and the management as well. On that condition if the management or personnel

requires an employee to speak in certain language without any legitimate policy or business

necessity, the management will be liable to any complaint that can escalate to lawsuits. To

prevent all sorts of discrimination, business necessity or the purpose of the policy being

implemented must justify the restriction to achieve the goal and to guarantee that the job will run

safely and efficiently. In line with Hopkins and Carley (2018), “Employers who adopt English-

only policies expose themselves to a risk of claims for discrimination. Since the circumstances in

which an English-only policy might be justified are quite narrow, employers should not adopt

such a policy before conferring with counsel, and any such policies should be carefully drafted

and narrowly tailored.”

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III. Proposed Solution/Changes

1. Can the Royal Hotel enforce a policy that requires all employees to speak English at all

times?

Royal Hotel can enforce the English Only Policy but not at all times. There are laws

about language discrimination that cannot be and must not be violated. According to

WorkplaceFairness.org, A rule requiring employees to speak only English at all times on the job

can violate the law, if it has been adopted for a discriminatory reason or if, is not uniformly

enforced, or if it is not necessary for conducting business. The Royal Hotel or any businesses can

require all of its employee to speak English at all times especially those employees who are

speaking other native languages because there is a law that the Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC) is implementing in the Immigrants’ Employment Rights Under Federal

Anti-Discrimination Laws that “a rule requiring employees to speak only English in the

workplace at all times, including breaks and lunch time, will rarely be justified.”

2. What advice would you give to Katherine?

As the Director of Human Resources the department where recruiting and staffing is

being held, Katherine is the person responsible for the employees. Katherine should immediately

address Emily’s concern regarding her co-workers by conducting a meeting. According to

Betterteam (2020), “Employer disciplinary action is a response by the employer to problems with

employee performance or behavior. It may come in the form of a verbal or written reprimand or

the loss of employee privileges. The purpose of disciplinary action is to correct behavior and
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document issues.” By conducting a meeting Katherine will be able to assess and resolve the

conflicts arising with her employees. In addition, she will be able to know if Emily’s suggestion

on English only policy is for the benefit of the hotel and not for the disapproval or prejudice she

feels towards her co-workers. With this Katherine can collect all the information needed to

establish the English only policy.

If Katherine attested that Emily’s concern is true and the employees speaking Spanish or

other languages have an effect with the hotel and customer’s satisfaction. Establishing an English

only policy should be implemented adherence with the law. Following the rules of Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission must be strictly executed.

3. How can the Royal Hotel help employees who speak different language work in

harmony?

To possess harmonious workforce that can lead to the success of the Royal Hotel the

management need to upgrade its training. Adding diversity training will create a big advantage to

the hotel. Diversity training is a process of educating and increasing employees’ awareness on

different cultures and the proper ways of treat them. The goal of diversity training according to

Srikanth (2020), “to make employees understand that even if there are differences amongst the

team members that they are working with, a little adjustment in one’s attitude will make for an

extraordinary team. To make them not only tolerant of the differences that they see around them,

but to value those differences as a part of successful teams.” This will also benefits the entire

employees and will reduce conflicts among them.

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IV. Recommendations

In this century companies including Royal Hotel should be open to diversity on the global

aspect and its employees as well. Hotel Industry must be the lead to diversity since it is dealing

with tourist from all over the world. A healthy workplace for diverse employees is a key to have

a successful business therefore conducting disciplinary actions to avoid conflicts to arise in

workplaces is an essential along with upgrading the employees’ training known as “diversity

training” to provide a better customer service.

V. References

Betterteam, (2020). Disciplinary Action. (n.p.). https://www.betterteam.com/disciplinary-

action.

Hopkins and Carley. (2018). New Regulations Heighten Risk of English-Only Policies

for Employers. USA. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=639f022f-f4ea-47a9-af04-

85920244bcad.

Muslihat, D. (2017). How To Manage A Team: 10 Tips For Success. Sydneysider,

Southern Germany. https://zenkit.com/en/blog/how-to-manage-a-team-10-tips-for-success/.

Stocki, J. (2016). 5 Reasons Why Guests Leave Your Hotel Unhappy. Michigan, USA.

https://travel.hostfully.com/5-reasons-why-guests-leave-your-hotel-unhappy-8dee42174ea6.

Srikanth, M. (2020). What is Diversity Training? and Why It’s Important. (n.p.).

https://www.infoprolearning.com/blog/what-is-diversity-training-and-why-it-is-important/.

WorkFairness. (n.d.). Language Discrimination. (n.p.).

https://www.workplacefairness.org/language-discrimination#6.