Writing a Case-study: Seminar 1
a) Our final assessment for this module will be writing a case study with an executive
summary. Look at the assessment brief and answer the questions below.
1) What is the word count of the case-study with executive summary?
2) ‘You have a choice of three questions to answer and you must only pick one.’ Is this
statement true or false?
3) You must use at least four sources of evidence for your assessment. What sources should
they be and where can you find them?
4) ‘You must use Harvard Referencing and present evidence in a mix of direct quotations
and paraphrases.’ Is this statement true or false?
5) How should you submit your assessment and when should it be submitted by?
6) How many marking elements are there for this assessment and which are worth the
most?
7) When will you receive feedback on your assessment?
8) Is it OK for you to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creation of your assessment?
b) Look at the text about case-studies below. In no more than four sentences, provide a
definition and a summary of what a case-study is.
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A case study requires you to analyse a specific situation and discuss how its different elements
relate. The case can refer to a real-life or hypothetical event, organisation, individual or group of
people and/or issue. Depending upon your assignment, you will be asked to develop solutions to
problems or recommendations for future action. Your case study is often divided into sections with
headings and subheadings to ensure easy access to key points of interest. There are two main types
of case studies: descriptive and problem-solving. Descriptive case studies ask you to explore a
specific event or issue to identify the key facts, what happened and who was/is involved. They can
be used to compare two instances of an event to illustrate how one is similar to the other.
Descriptive case studies generally do not include solutions or recommendations as its main purpose
is to help the reader gain greater insight into the different dimensions of the event. For example, in
Nursing, you could be asked to select a medical clinic or hospital as your case study and then apply
what you have studied in class about wound care approaches. You would then identify and apply the
relevant theories of wound care management discussed in class to your case. A problem solving case
study asks you to critically examine an issue related to a specific individual or group, and then
recommend and justify solutions to the issue. For example, in Business, you could be asked to
describe an incident in the workplace. Your role as the manager is to apply your knowledge and skills
of key intercultural communication concepts and theories in management to determine the causes
of the conflict and propose relevant communication strategies to avoid and/or resolve it.
Taken and adapted from Monash University (2023)
c) Unlike an essay, a case-study can be split into sections. Look at the section sub-headings
below. Can you put them in the correct order that they would appear in a case-study?
Conclusions
Findings
Introduction
References
Recommendations
d) Now look at the sections of a case-study below. The case-study is titled ‘Problems and
solutions for intercultural communication in the Thai hotel industry.’ What section of a
case-study are they? The reference section is not included.
Case-study-section: ___________________________________
In order to solve the problems identified above, this case-study suggests two main solutions:
1. English language and cultural awareness training for staff.
2. The displaying of information about Thai cultural norms within the hotel.
Training in English language and cultural awareness aims to solve the first two problems outlined in the
findings section of this case-study: the English language proficiency of staff and non-verbal communication
issues. Studies, such as that conducted by Sermsook et al. (2021), have shown that staff within Thai hotels feel
that they need to improve their English speaking and listening skills to maintain effective communication with
non-Thai guests. These same authors state that ‘English courses, handbooks or applications…for hotels are…
needed for their [staff] English use improvement’ (Sermsook et al., 2021). In order to solve the problems
identified above, this case-study proposes that all staff take an initial month-long training course in English
before commencing employment, with weekly refresher sessions conducted twice yearly. Ideally, these should
be taught by fluent English speakers and as well as outlining core language skills (reading; writing; listening;
speaking), also focus on informal spoken English and non-verbal communication common in the English-
speaking world. Such a recommendation is based on similar programmes conducted in the Malaysian
hospitality industry, where English language training was immersive and also focussed on cultural elements
(the Malaysian Morning Chronicle, 2019; University of Kuala Lumpur, 2019). Here, training courses were
conducted by fluent English-speaking staff from the University of Kuala Lumpur with Malaysians who took the
course reporting feeling more confident in their cultural knowledge of English-speaking countries (University of
Kuala Lumpur, 2019). This case-study suggests something similar should be employed within the Thai hotel
industry, aiming to solve the problems of the English language proficiency of staff and non-verbal
communication issues.
In order to solve the problem of hotel guests’ lack of knowledge of Thai cultural norms, which they may
inadvertently break, this case-study suggests an advertising campaign which places information on Thai
notions of polite behaviour around public places in hotels such as lobbies, elevators and restaurants. This
advertising campaign would be made-up of posters which combine clear visuals with information in English, as
this is generally used as the lingua franca between guests and hotel staff. Such posters may remind guests
about notions of Thai politeness such as that pointing with the index finger is seen as rude in Thailand, as is
placing bags on the floor and putting your feet on furniture. This suggestion is based on a similar project
conducted in Vietnamese hotels by Nhung (2017) where guests were reminded via posters of Vietnamese
manners and notions of politeness. The results of the Vietnamese study suggest that staff felt more
comfortable within their workplace and that unconscious bias against guests who broke Vietnamese cultural
norms was lessened (Nhung, 2017). It is hoped that an advertising campaign within a Thai hotel context may
have a similar result. Reminding guests of acceptable behaviour within Thailand through visual posters is also a
non-confrontational strategy, important due to the lack of confrontation explicit in Thai culture which means
staff may not directly challenge guests who are perhaps affronting Thai cultural norms. As such, this case-study
suggests that the placement of visual information on notions of Thai politeness may help solve the third
problem identified in this case study, aiding intercultural communication in the process.
Case-study section: _________________________________________
With the expansion of international tourism into south-east Asia, local businesses have had to interact with
more multinational customers than ever before. This has been a particularly important issue in Thailand with
40 million international tourists visiting the country in 2019 alone (Thailand Business News, 2023). Thus,
effective intercultural communication is an important factor needed for Thai businesses to succeed in the
future, especially in hospitality. However, problems in intercultural communication have been identified within
the Thai hotel industry, which this case-study aims to provide solutions for. The case-study will first outline its
main findings showing the problems in intercultural communication in the Thai hotel industry before offering
recommendations, ending in a conclusion which summarises its main points.
Case-study section: _____________________________________
All in all, this case-study identified three problems for effective intercultural communication in the Thai hotel
industry, namely:
1. The English language proficiency of staff.
2. Non-verbal communication issues.
3. Guests’ lack of knowledge about Thai cultural norms.
The first two problems may lead to misunderstandings between staff and guests, resulting in communication
issues. Here, the misinterpretation of English colloquial language is a key factor, particularly as English is
generally used as the lingua franca between Thai staff and non-Thai guests. Similarly, the cultural nuances of
non-verbal communication may be overlooked or misread during intercultural communications, resulting in
poor outcomes for both staff and guests. The third problem identified in this case-study was hotel guests lack
of awareness of Thai cultural norms, which they may inadvertently break. This could lead to making Thai staff
feel uncomfortable in their workplace and unconscious bias against certain guests, particularly if such
behaviour is not challenged due to the non-confrontational nature of Thai politeness.
In approach these problems, this case-study suggested two main solutions, namely:
1. English language and cultural awareness training for staff.
2. The displaying of information about Thai cultural norms within the hotel.
The first solution aims to tackle the first two problems identified in this case-study. An immersive initial month-
long English language training course is suggested for new Thai hotel staff, ideally delivered by fluent English-
speaking tutors and followed up sessions conducted biannually. This course would focus on cultural elements
from English speaking countries alongside wider language training in order to engage with the problems in
communication noted via the English language proficiency of staff and non-verbal communication issues. The
second solution aims to engage with guests’ lack of knowledge about Thai cultural norms through a visual
advertising campaign which will present information about Thai manners throughout public areas in the hotel.
It is hoped this will both educate guests on acceptable behaviour and tackle unconscious bias on behalf of Thai
staff towards certain guests.
Overall, tackling such issues in intercultural communication within the Thai hotel industry is important due to
the growing sphere of international tourism in Thailand particularly and in south-east Asia generally. It is
hoped that by adopting the solutions given in this case-study, Thai hotels can succeed more thoroughly as
businesses
Case-study section: _____________________________________
Three main problems in intercultural communication within the Thai hotel industry have been identified:
1. The English language proficiency of staff.
2. Non-verbal communication issues.
3. Guests’ lack of knowledge about Thai cultural norms.
Firstly, the English language abilities of staff may cause major issues in intercultural communication as English
is generally used as the lingua franca to communicate between Thai staff and non-Thai guests. According to
Jhaiyanuntana and Nomnian (2020), such things as the use of colloquial language by native English-speaking
guests may mean misunderstandings could occur if staff do not fully understand the meaning of such words.
Here, Hawkins et al. (2019) have stated that such misunderstandings may be magnified due to Thai cultural
norms which try to avoid confrontation, meaning that Thai staff may not admit to foreign hotel guests that
they do not understand the meaning of what is being said. Thus, English language proficiency of hotel staff is
an important problem which hinder effective intercultural communication.
Secondly, non-verbal communication issues between staff and guests could lead to problems in intercultural
communication. Priestley (2022) has shown how non-verbal interactions such as gestures, head movements
and eye-contact-use differ across the globe, effecting notions of politeness and appropriate communication.
Moreover, specifically within the Thai hotel industry, Jhaiyanuntana and Nomnian (2020) have stated that
misunderstanding or ignoring non-verbal interactive queues ‘can constrain and hinder effective
communication.’ Overall, it appears that being able to pick up on non-verbal signs during hotel exchanges is
essential for successful intercultural interaction.
Thirdly, guests’ lack of knowledge in regard to Thai cultural norms may hinder effective intercultural
interaction and lead to unconscious bias against such guests or certain nationalities from Thai staff. One such
example is pointing with the index finger, a common gesture in Western countries but highly offensive in
Thailand (the Singapore Post, 2018). Similarly, shaking hands is considered unhygienic in Thai culture but is the
normal gesture for salutation in much of the rest of the world (Australia Business Today, 2019). Within a hotel
context, Thai cultural norms such as never putting bags on the floor and avoiding placing your feet on furniture
may be broken by foreign guests who do not realise that their actions may be seen as rude. In summary, the
breaking of Thai cultural norms by non-native guests may offend Thai people and cause issues for intercultural
communication.
e) Look again at the example case-study. Think back to what you learnt about essay writing
in semester A. What do you think are the similarities and differences between a case-study
and an essay? Think about structure, writing style and use of evidence. Add your ideas to
the table below.
Similarities Differences
References:
Monash University (2023) Writing a case study. Melbourne: Monash University. Available from
[Link] [accessed 6 March
2023].
