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Conceptual
Clarifications: Hospitality + Ethics
Karla
Pierce (03/01/08)
(download
PDF)
Hospitality
+ Ethics
The term hospitality
is used in many different ways. Fundamentally, it refers to the
relationship between guests and hosts; as an attitude it reflects
the values that guests and hosts hold towards one other. Ethics
is also used in many different ways. Basically, it refers to the
study of human behavior; the study of morals, values, and social
norms. The main distinction in the realm of ethics is between
describing and prescribing human behavior. Social
scientists describe ethics, philosophers prescribe
ethics.
Not surprisingly
then, the meaning and purpose of the term hospitality
ethics also varies, depending on the discipline or field
of study in which the term is used. Hospitality ethics
(commonly referred to in the singular) mainly occurs in four areas:
(1) Hospitality & Tourism, (2) Social Science, (3) Philosophy
& Ethics, and (4) Religion.
1. Hospitality
and Tourism
- Hospitality
Education and Academic Studies
- Commercial
Hospitality Industries
- Hospitality
Vocations & Professions
- Hospitality
Management
In hospitality
and tourism industries, hospitality ethics
refers to the particular norms and standards that are unique
to hospitality industries, professions, and vocations.
How do guests
and hosts act towards one another in commercial hospitality
settings? How should they act? How far should a server go towards
making the customer happy? What is appropriate behavior on the
part of hotel guests? Of hospitality managers? Is eco-tourism
more ethical than regular tourism? How should guests act in
host countries? These are the kinds of questions that fall under
the hospitality-as-commerce-and-vocation ethics umbrella.
2. Social
Sciences
- Anthropoloy
- Sociology
- History
In the social sciences, hospitality ethics refers
to the study of hospitality customs, relationships, norms, and
standards; in commercial, private, and public hospitality settings;
in different times, societies, and cultures.
The guest-host
relationship takes place at many levels; it can happen between
persons, and/or entities (groups, organizations, states, countries).
The goal
here is to better understand various cultures and societies,
through the attitudes and customs they uphold, towards hospitality
and guest-host relations.
3. Philosophy
& Ethics (branches
of philosophy concept map)
- Moral Philosophy
> Applied Ethics > Business Ethics, etc.
- Moral Philosophy
> Normative Ethics > Ethic of Hospitality, etc.
- Political
Philosophy > Policy, etc.
In the
fields of moral philosophy and political philosophy, hospitality
ethics takes on a much more abstract and hypothetical
meaning. Here, an ethic of hospitality—the moral relationship
between a guest and a host—may be clarified as a particular
kind of ethical standard, then applied to particular issues
or case studies, in order to determine
what should be done in a particular situation.
In summary:
Social Scientists document how guests and hosts act in
relation to one another; they describe what is the case
in hospitality relationships and standards; throughout time and
in different cultures. Ethicists (moral and political
philosophers) investigate how guests and hosts should
act; they prescribe what should be the case in guest-host
relationships and hospitality settings. They investigate what
sorts of standards and values should be upheld by hospitality
practitioners, in hospitality settings—be they commercial
or non-commercial, private or public.
4. Religion
- Hospitality
as an ethic
- Hospitality
as a virtue
The ethic
of hospitality is variously mentioned, in religious
texts, and by religion scholars. In some cases, hospitality
is posed as a virtue (a desirable character trait); in other
cases it is prescribed as a specific kind of duty towards guests
and strangers.
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