It is the nature of some cultures to think short term and others long term. It is generally regarded that Americans are short-term thinkers. “I need it YESTERDAY.” “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” At the other end of the spectrum is the Japanese culture which emphasizes patience and connecting past to future. The German culture falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. So imagine how the managers of a German hotel and an American hotel might reach different conclusions regarding the same situation.

Each manager notices that the carpeting and furniture in his or her hotel is showing wear and replacement is to be considered. They are aware that replacing these items means capital expenditure that will lower the profitability picture of the hotel. Furthermore, the work will mean some rooms will have to be taken out of service and guests in nearby rooms may be disturbed by the sound of the workers and the smell of the glue used to fix the carpets to the floor. But a run-down hotel will cause some guests to consider staying elsewhere next time they visit the area.

Should these managers proceed or wait? To make a good prognosis we need another critical piece of information. In Germany a hotel manager stays in a particular hotel for an average of seven years. But in the US, the large hotel chains rotate their best and brightest managers on an average of every 13 months.

Now it should be clear. The German will make the changes to protect the viability of the hotel over the long term. But the American might well decide to postpone the work and let his successor deal with the disruption and impact on profits.

Because of this issue, several of the large hotel chains have created their own corporate office with full responsibility for refurbishment of their properties and a budget separate from that of the individual hotel. This win-win solution insures that the hotel brand remains strong.

In short-term oriented cultures expect more employee turnover and a tendency for companies to purchase the new technologies they need from other companies which specialize in R&D. Sure, they pay more than if they invented it themselves, but there is reduced risk of a time-consuming and expensive development of a technology that never becomes a profitable product.

Herb