The Fijian Experience

Case Summary

Mr. Brett Taylor is the owner-manager of Shangri-La Fijian Resort (FIJIAN), a 30-years-old resort located at Yanuca Island that can accommodate 450 room resorts and has about 800 local staff. In the hotel, indigenous Fijians were mostly front liners due to their natural warm personality compared to the Indian ethnics which were posted to the engineering department. Mr. Taylor is facing a dilemma concerning his workers about issues on local customs and practices which are causing a negative implication to the company.

​Moala Tukana, the first Fijian to graduate from the internationally renowned and reputable Larzene Hotel of Switzerland works as the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager in the Food and Beverage Department in the 5-star international hotel. Moala was respected among his co-workers because of his kind and respectful attitude. The management believed he had the potential to be one of the future leaders at FIJIAN. The working atmosphere in the hotel changed when one of Moala’s staff, a local waitress named Salome Suacake was accused of stealing money from customers through their payments for meals and drinks. Salome reported that she needed the money to finance the building of her church in the village. As a supervisor, Moala admitted that he was aware of Salome’s misconduct and faced the similar charge for abetting crime as well.

The Fijians are strictly guided by their customary practices and undoubtedly faithful being Christians. Moala knew that his ancestors owed a debt to Salome’s ancestors which meant there was an unbreakable relationship or a bond between the tribes. By virtue of such a bond, Moala was hailed as Salome’s Tau. Tau allowed Salome to do as she pleased in Moala’s home including the hotel which geographically is located on the same island of Moala’s village. This relationship was uncommon and even unknown among the other tribes, and this was the main reason why Moala could not report Salome’s action to the management. Moala was strictly guided by this traditional practice and apparently Salome used this reason for her misconduct. The village elders appealed for Moala to be reinstated without any loss in seniority and privileges because they believed Salome took advantage of the bond, and the money stolen was not for her own use but for the church.

Problem Statement

Misconduct at the workplace

Salome was stealing at the workplace. She was caught red-handed taking money from customers by Brett Taylor, General Manager and owner of the FIJIAN. For the first two month, she had shown a good attitude and performed well in her duty. However, during her third month, she was changed and started to steal money to raise funds for building church. Salome acts innocently in her wrong doing because for her she is not stealing it for herself but for the sake of the villages. She knew Moala will not take any action against her because of their ascendants ties and took advantage of this to steal money from customers.

Moala Tukana, the restaurant supervisor, ignored the stealing incident by Salome Suacake because he was her Tau, a person committed by the ancestors to support her. Moala Tukana noticed Salome stealing of money but he did not make any report or take any actions against her. In other words, he failed to fulfil his utmost responsibility of which he was supposed to audit the cashiers and perform spot checks on the waiters and waitresses without prejudice. But again, because his ancestors owed Salome’s ancestors a debt, he cannot prevent Salome from stealing or reprimand her because of this unbreakable bond or relationship.

Cross-cultural decision-making dilemma

The decision-making dilemma faced by Brett Taylor, an American who was an expatriate, involved his staffs at the workplace and was related to the local custom issue. His decision needed to be fair to the staffs, the company’s values, besides needing to consider the customary practices and religious beliefs upheld by the indigenous. He also wanted to avoid any insubordination and abuse by his staff on this issue. In fact, the Hotel Workers union had appealed on Salome’s behalf that the church unduly influenced her to raise funds and claiming that the money she stole was not for own usage. Moreover, the elders of the village appealed that Moala be reinstated without any loss in seniority and privileges.

Strong religious and cultural influence among the villagers

All the indigenous Fijians are Christians and the hold of the church over their lives are very strong. Sundays were strongly enforced as a rest day and only a few industries were given exemptions. The church leaders also exerted immense influence over the people. Besides that, the indigenous Fijians are also very strictly guided by their customary practices. For example, Moala was hailed as Salome’s Tau because Moala’s ancestors owed Salome’s ancestors a debt, which resulted in an unbreakable relationship or bond. The strong religious and cultural influence can also be seen when the village elders appealed to Brett Taylor on behalf of Moala, and how Salome was stealing money because the church influenced her to raise funds for the church building.

The main problem of this case study is employee misconduct at the workplace caused by the taking advantage of religious beliefs and traditional practices and customs.

Alternate Strategies

Relocating Salome Suacake to another department

Salome Suacake stole money when she was working as a waitress in the restaurant. By relocating her to another department such as the housekeeping department where she does not have to deal directly with customers and money, the incident can be prevented from being repeated. Salome has not been a bad employee from the start. She has performed pretty well for the first two months. By giving her a second chance, she can prove that she is not a bad employee and only stole the money for the church. Furthermore, FIJIAN is a company that respects the local values and culture. By giving Salome a second chance, the respect that other staffs have towards Brett and the company will increase and will motivate them to work better.

Issuing a warning letter

A warning letter should be issued to both Moala and Salome Suacake on