Reducing Restaurant Risks

An industry with small profit margins can’t afford big risks or big expenses.  Restaurants and bars can protect themselves from: (1) losing their alcohol license (2) lawsuits (3) high insurance costs by having their employees trained in safe alcohol service – training every employee who sees a customer.  Here are steps to protect your business.

• Have standard incident report sheets.
• Make sure employees know to use those sheets for incidents such as confiscated IDs, guests who get sick, incidents of violence and intoxication.
• Train all employees (valets to busboys to servers) to recognize intoxication.
• Train all servers on safe alcohol service.

 Servers need to know the alcohol content of drinks and how to calculate how much a person is taking in.  They also need to know when and how to stop alcohol service and how to deal with unruly customers.

 It’s a matter of safety for the restaurant or bar and for the community.  No business wants to be sued over disability or loss of life.

Violence and Suffering in Mexico

The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity arrived in Juarez,Mexico the week of June 6 where more than 100 local groups coalesced to support the caravan and what it stood for.  On June 10, hundreds of people from Juarez and the US worked out a national citizens’ pact for peace, justice and social reform.  Why?  Shoot-outs, robberies, auto thefts and kidnappings – a part of the drug violence that plaguesNorthern Mexico. 

Here’s an example of what Frontera NorteSur reports:  “Standing out in their pink t-shirts, members of Mothers in Search of Justice milled around the quilt they are patching together that shows the picture of murdered loved ones and features written remembrances.  They call it the Blanket of Love.”

The suffering of ordinary Mexicans seems endless.  Where do they go to escape?  Not to the U.S.   We are enacting laws that force undocumented workers out of our states and, according to some anti-immigrant activists, with the express purpose of driving them back to their native countries, mostly Mexico.

 This is what awaits them.

 

Managing the old way? Getting the same results?

You try your best to get the best from your hardworking Latino employees but something is just not clicking.  What’s wrong?  If you are managing in the traditional American (USA) way, you may be doing more harm than good. 

For example, you may be too informal.  In Hispanic culture the supervisor or boss is given respect automatically.  A Latino employee may not feel comfortable talking to you as a buddy. 

You may need to dress the part of someone higher on the managementfood chain.  Don’t dress down to visit a work group.  Dress your role!

Do you use rough, abrupt language or use a very loud voice to speak to or manage those employees?  You will not be respected.

Why do YOU have to change?  Are you doing what you’ve always done and getting what you’ve always gotten?  You know that saying.  In order to cross the cultural divide, you can modify a bit your approach and get much better results.

Look for the next blog for more management suggestions.

Spain’s Way Out of the Economic Crisis

And speaking of Spain!  On our trip in September, I was surprised that every hotel we stayed in was full.  I had read that unemployment was 20%, especially along the southern coast.  We were never there but close and while I don’t doubt the statistic, I wonder if certain limited segments of the tourist industry are doing well.  And if the hotels are full, then the restaurants and other related businesses will be doing well.

Spain’s economy has been shaky and the object of speculation that it would go the way of Greece and Ireland.  Construction caused the financial implosion in Spain that it did in the U.S.  Yet an interesting article from Wharton School of Business’ “Knowledge” newsletter, titled “Innovation Combined with ’Internationalization’: Spain’s Way Out of the Crisis”, maintains that Spain doesn’t have to go the way of Greece and Ireland and backs that claim up with some data.  First, banking is a positive (not their savings banks though).  Spanish banking is viewed positively by such publications as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.  Second, major Spanish companies are winning contracts throughout the world to build infrastructure of all kinds from power plants to highway interchanges as well as technology projects.

Mauro Guillén, director of Wharton’s Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, notes that “combining innovation and internationalization is the only way out of the crisis because this is not a temporary crisis; it involve the readjustment of the very foundations of competitiveness.”  The strategy of corporate internationalization is the main recipe for counteracting the impact of the financial crisis on companies, according to Claudio Boada, president of the Circle of Entrepreneurs.

Spain: From North to South

The Heart of Galicia

 

Having just returned from my 13^th (!) trip to Spain, my head is still spinning with images and reactions and thoughts.  You’d think that I would be less affected by Spain after so many visits, but al contrario, amigos.  My husband and I went to the northwestern region, Galicia, then to Madrid in the center and last to Sevilla and points south.  Since it was his first trip, I wanted him to have a broader picture than visiting just one area would paint. 

Galicia is rainy, green and Celtic.  Fortunately, it did not rain while we were there.  They eat turnip greens!  Besides Pulpo a la gallega (octopus Galician style – my favorite dish), I love their scramble of eggs, turnip greens and shrimp.  Our favorite meal was in Padrón just south of Santiago de Compostela.  I should explain that S. de C. is where St. James is buried in a crypt in the huge old cathedral and it is the end of the 500 mile pilgrimage route across Northern Spain.  Anyway, we hopped a bus to Padrón and had ‘comida’, the big mid-afternoon meal.  We had Pimientos de Padrón – little green peppers fried in olive oil that taste like fried okra – and pulpo in olive oil and grilled vegetables drenched in olive oil.  Maybe this is going to be the olive oil diaries.  Or, how I ate my way through Spain!

Segovia

 

Madrid is enormous and full of historic places and museums of all types.  We went to the Prado and saw paintings by Velázquez, Goya and Bosch, all favorites of mine.  But wait!  First we ate.  In the Plaza Mayor.  Lots.  And really good paella.  We also had a great meal with friends, Madrileños all, at a well-known chef’s restaurant, la Bodeguilla de Pedro  - lots of great tapas at 9:30 PM.  Late for us, early for them!  We took a high speed train to Segovia (a day trip) and saw the great Roman aqueduct and the castle with what must be the deepest moat of all time.  The ‘castillo’ looks as if it were the pattern for Disney World’s castle.  Lucky us – still no rain, just cool with a light breeze.

The "Alcázar", a Moorish fortress

Another high speed train and we are in Sevilla!   This city has a tremendous Moorish influence and the third largest cathedral in the world.  Just ask us!  We climbed the minaret of the cathedral (it used to be a mosque) and sweated as if we never had done any exercise.  In the cathedral we also saw Columbus’ tomb.  I think that his body made a few world cemetery tours but it’s believed that this is where his remains are.  I had my worst meal here and one of the best.  I won’t talk about the worst except that dried up shrimp in tasteless rice doesn’t do justice to Spanish cuisine.  The best was an accident.  We were wandering through the ‘barrio’ to get back to our hotel and found a short side street with a little pub (called ‘bar’ in Spain) that had street side tables.  We had French – no – “Spanish” fries with a great white mayonnaise-y sauce – not aioli but something like.  Just good all the way round, and, we were eating with the barrio folks.  That’s the best!

We rented a car and drove to Ronda, one of the White Towns of southern Spain.  I had to call our hotel, El Molino del Santo, to find out how to get there.  It’s at the end of a road in a small village near Ronda.  Google it!  Lovely!  It’s a former olive mill on a hillside (or maybe mountainside) nestled on a little stream.  There are hiking trails up into and around the mountains and, as one Brit told me, they are the loveliest mountains in southern Spain.  Another of our best meals was at El Molino.  They have a fantastic kitchen!  We had the best paella of all and the most tender pork loin ever.   And the staff got some really tasty gluten-free breads just for me!  They do understand Celiac disease in Spain. 

El Molino del Santo

We had two adventures. 

One: climbing up the mountainside and meeting an elderly man who was up in an olive tree with a saw, pruning the tree.  We were curious about the fellow and the olives so on the way down we stopped and chatted.  He proudly said that he was 86 years old – in a little olive tree that was clinging to the side of the mountain!  He told us all about his trees and the price of olives and how to harvest and which olives were which.  Delightful! 

Two:  we saw on a trail map that there was a cave with prehistoric paintings further up the mountain.  So, instead of resting as we planned, we went to the cave.  Fortunately we drove because, had we climbed to the cave and done the cave tour, we would have been totally wiped out instead of partially wiped, as we were after the cave adventure.  There was a limit of 25 people on each tour and five kerosene lanterns.  After our first climb up steps and down, one of the lanterns was dropped and then there were four.  Occasionally the lanterns became quite separated and we were in almost total darkness . . . on stairs . . . made of slippery rock and with steep drop-offs here and there!  The paintings were like 25,000 year old graffiti.  There were quite well drawn bulls fighting, as well as deer, enormous fish and then hash marks to keep track of fertility.  I kept imagining some shaman walking out and leading a rite-of-passage ceremony. Walking up and down the slippery steps, in semi-darkness, not far from crevasses and pools, was exhausting, perhaps from fear and tension.

There you have it.  Not even half of the experience but at least you get the culinary flavor and a bit of the ‘ambiente’ of Spain 2010!

Harmony on the Job (Not Music!)

 

If you are managing or working with teams of Spanish-speakers, it will help you to understand “compañerismo” or collectivism.  The Spanish-speaking workplace is characterized by interdependence and harmony.  Perhaps we could call it comradeship or “buddy-ism”.  Latinos are very open to the idea of teamwork and anything that will benefit the group which means;

• They can be very uncomfortable with leading or ‘bossing’ their buddies. 
• The needs of the group are more important than individual needs.
• Team goals are better than individual competition.
• Explain the benefits of accepting a promotion in terms of benefits to the family.

 

Although Latinos are very group oriented, they still like and appreciate individual communication.

Caution:  remember that cultural norms do not apply to everyone in that culture!

Immigration Facts . . and More

The U.S. Border Patrol has increased from 2,000 in 1979 to 20,000 this year.  The border is 2,000 miles long.

The number of Mexicans who managed to get through in the year ending in March 2009 was 175,000, down from 650,000 in 2005. The Border Patrol has increased from 2,000 in 1979 to 20,000 this year.  The border is 2,000 miles long.

The number of Mexicans who managed to get through in the year ending in March 2009 was 175,000, down from 650,000 in 2005.

Smugglers charge $3,000 + per person.

Immigrants who have crossed the border commit violent crimes at a rate of four to eight times less than U.S. citizens.

More immigrants are now leaving than are coming in.  The Census Bureau and the Department of Homeland Security reports that the number of illegal immigrants has gone from a high of 12.5 million to 10.8 in the first quarter of 2010.  The number is still dropping.  According to studies in Georgia, that is true for Georgia as well.  Dr. Jeff Humphries of the Selig Center at UGA predicts that when Georgia’s economy improves, that population will move back.

Remember that although the U.S. southern border is with Mexico, not all who cross are from Mexico but from Central America as well.

In Arizona, the majority of Latino crime is drug-trafficking.  Think of supply and demand.  Supplies (illegal drugs) come across the border.  The demand is in the U.S.   Neither activity is legitimate, legal or acceptable

Got time?

Of course you do if you are of Spanish-speaking origin!  Latino culture values people over time – and over money.  If a friend asks you for some time, you are willing.  In U.S. culture, time is money and we are dashing from project to project, sometimes forgetting the people that we rush past in the process.  As always, please remember that this blog about Latino culture (and U.S. culture) uses generalizations.  These statements are not true for everyone but are true in general.

 Latino culture views time as fluid or flexible.  In the U.S. we see time as linear and segmented.  In the workplace that can create problems.  If there is a project deadline, explain carefully and repeatedly what the deadline is and why it is important.  Not only will those employees meet the deadline, they will feel empowered by your trust in them shown by your explanation.

 Latinos do not believe that time is money.  Work is money!

 The majority of recent immigrants have come from the countryside where, in most countries, time is not rigidly segmented.

 Since in their view, only the present is knowable, there is not a tendency to future thinking and not much planning for the future.

As time-stressed U.S. workers, we tend to cut the pleasantries when informing or instructing people.  That is a deal-killer in the Spanish-speaking world.

Uh-Oh! Miscommunication in the Bilingual Workplace

Misunderstandings in the workplace can come from a variety of sources.  The following are examples that are based on cultural differences.  None of the cultural references are to “bad” cultural patterns or norms, just different practices and understanding.

Gestures differ from country to country, from culture to culture.  What is normal and communicative in one can be offensive in another.  For example, the thumb-index finger sign for “OK” is highly offensive in Southern Latin America and it seems to have spread as far as Mexico.  

 Humor on the job can be a problem too.  Businesses make a mistake when they simply translate a humorous ad from English to Spanish or an English joke or cartoon to Spanish for the newsletter.  It’s quite likely that neither will be understood.  Humor is very culture based and tricky to translate. 

 Gender relations in the workplace can be tricky too.  Spanish speaking men can be effusively complimentary to women in the workplace, much more so than the norm in the U.S.  They mean nothing offensive but it may be necessary to explain to the recipient that the behavior is meant to be harmless and to person doing the complimenting why that kind of over-the-top behavior (in the U.S.) isn’t wise.

Learning about the cultures represented in your business in order to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunication can really improve the workplace environment, preventing mistakes and offenses.  It is really worth doing!

Diversity Among Latinos

Diversity Among Latinos

 

Latino Diversity?!  Aren’t Latinos all the same?  The answer is a resounding NO!  Latinos are as racially and ethnically diverse as any group of people on earth.  Latinos are of European, African, Native American and Asian descent.  In addition, the term Latino is not widely used among people from Latin America even though it is a term to describe people from that region.  How should you refer to a person of Latin American Spanish-speaking origin?  First by the country from which they or their parents or grandparents immigrated.  The country of origin is a source of great pride and patriotic feeling. 

 

If you need to refer to the larger group (folks from Latin America) or use a general term, perhaps Latino would be best.  Many Latinos have strong feelings in favor of this term versus the term Hispanic which is also common.  This is another division within the Spanish-speaking community.  Some feel really strongly about Latino and others prefer Hispanic.  “Latino” does express ethnic pride.  The term Hispanic refers to the Iberian Peninsula but was used in the Nixon administration by the Census Bureau to be able to count – Latinos/Hispanics!  There are national organizations like the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Latino Elected Officials.  So both terms are used.  What’s a non-Latino to do?  Go with Latino and throw in a “Hispanic” from time to time.

 

There is also diversity or hierarchy that relates to the length of time an immigrant has been in the U.S.   The “newbies” are often looked down on by those who have been in the U.S. long enough to know their way around.  Not only is that generally true, but those from certain countries may feel superior to others because they believe that their culture and their version of Spanish is better.  There is a real pecking order of countries for Latin Americans and Latino immigrants. 

 

Language diversity?  Yes.  Spanish is the language of most of Latin America, of course, but parts of the vocabulary can be different from country to country as the accent can be different, even within a large country like Mexico.  Then you have the indigenous languages which are not variations of Spanish!  These languages existed long before the Conquistadores arrived, bringing Spanish with them.  For example, there are many Mayan languages.  Some Guatemalan immigrants speak only their Mayan language and not Spanish.

 

It is good to recognize that there are all economic levels among Latinos – working class to professional.  There are wealthy sophisticated Latinos, hard-working hourly Latinos and all in between.  In fact, Latinos are the most entrepreneurial group in the U.S. as of last year and are starting new businesses at rapid rate. 

 

What’s this all about?  It’s about breaking the stereotype of a single “Latino” image.  There are many differences and it is not wise to assume that one version fits all.