North versus South

A short story authored by students and based on their academic research carried out for the bachelor paper no 1 in the bachelor program “Export-oriented Management” at University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria.   [~ 10 min]

By

Vienna, Austria- October 18

Servus and Willkommen in Vienna, the city of dreams. Grab a Topfengolatsche and go for a horse-cart ride around the Ringstraße. Drop in the oldest zoo in the world and, for sure, do not forget to experience the unique Heurigen-flair. God, how amazing…

8:00. He had already been awake for one hour, getting things done before leaving for work. While he made final revisions for today’s meeting with his business partner, his wife had already prepared breakfast and waited, what seemed like a small eternity, for him to come to the table. But he still had so many things to do and needed to hurry, something he truly disliked. Despite all past achievements in his career, his dream had always been to own a restaurant. A restaurant somewhere in the city centre. A place for people who wanted to enjoy good food in a really cosy atmosphere. All these years later, after he had left his country, for reasons he hardly remembered, he now considered himself successful. He had always been an entrepreneur.

It took him around ten years to develop and fully understand what he wanted to do in life. He had to go through various types of businesses in order to figure out that the restaurant business was the one that him liked best. He knew right away that this was his future.

Being in a country completely different from his home, seeing other traditions than those he had been confronted with during his childhood, sometimes being judged for values that made him the person that he was, all that was part of his life now. A life abroad. A life where everything was different. A life where people acted differently. A fact that he had to accept years ago.

Overcoming cultural challenges in Vienna was nothing new for him. It was important to understand where he lived and which culture he had to deal with. He was in Austria, therefore, he had to think and act like an Austrian. He always thought that culture and its associated challenges were experienced more radical in his personal and not in business life. For him, as non-Austrian, opening his own business there, had already started with some cultural barriers that had to be overcome.

11:00. He sat in his small restaurant and discussed new ideas with his business partner, a very close friend. They were working on a new menu with their chef de cuisine. Fusion food, that was their main concept. He had never been interested in a business partner who was not part of his personal life. For him, business was a relationship, and to do business with someone, there had to be a good and personal relationship. If not, he would rather do it on his own. A matter of trust? Absolutely! Trust was the most important thing for him. Becoming business partners with his old college friend, who shared the same roots, was neither the basis for their friendship nor had been its purpose in the beginning. It just happened one day while they talked about their future plans. Still sharing the same interests after almost seven years of friendship was a sign for both of them to start a business together.

11:30. A new menu was in order, especially for autumn. After a very successful spring menu, they were now working on new ideas. Why? Simply to test new dishes. It was a creative way of doing some marketing research while creating a special menu for each season. At the end of the year, they would analyse which dishes were sold the most. It sounded simple. But it was not. They really had to get creative. To come up with the fusion concept, he and his partner had gone through many stages. One year ago, on a beautiful and calm autumn day, while they were walking around the city the final thought came up. It needed to be something of which they thought, or rather hoped, that it would stay in the minds of Viennese people. Fusion cuisine to them was modern and international, and they considered themselves to be kids of international integrity. In their view, internationality was the key to success.

Thinking outside of the box was very important for them at that very early stage. They opened their restaurant right in the city centre where they certainly would have to deal with seasonal tourism. When defining their fusion meals they mostly combined Asian, Middle Eastern and European cuisines. Simply, because they had a strong connection to those cultures. It was something that made both of them happy.

13:00. Lunch and family time was on the agenda. His parents had come to Vienna to visit him. Now they came to see the newly opened restaurant. Certainly a good way to test some new dishes right away. Family played a central part in his life. It always came first for him. No matter what happened, his family was always there, especially his younger brother. For him, it was very important to have a person in his life on whom he could rely on one-hundred percent. There was no single day without contact to his family, especially to his brother. His family helped him with every daily decision and with every decision that was necessary to realise the vision of his own restaurant. His family was the key element of his life; including his business life.

14:30. He took a quick break from work and decided to go for a walk with his parents. Downtown Vienna was absolutely gorgeous at this time of the year. On the spur of a moment, they decided to visit the new exhibition in the museum around the corner. Art was his greatest hobby. With art, he could escape daily life for hours. His favourite was impressionism. Everything from Monet, Degas and Renoir to Pissarro,
Van Gogh and Seurat. He loved them all. The new exhibition was just perfect as it featured exactly the famous paintings of those great artists. So for that moment, he switched off his brain and enjoyed the art as if he escaped reality into a world of trance, forgetting everything around him.

16:45. He was back at the restaurant. His partner had already left to meet potential investors. Now, he had to wait for that girl who applied for a job as waitress. She was fifteen minutes late already, so he decided to check his emails. While he went through his inbox, a new email popped in that worsened his mood. Two months had already passed! This Swedish woman was simply not able to provide him with a correct offer. He knew the market for those ingredients and was ready to sign a deal with her but she was simply incompetent. He was very annoyed but as he was confronted with a female person, he needed to take a softer approach than he would when dealing with a male person. It was always important for him to find out the right strategy to cope with different human beings even if he had to make compromises. As she, after what seemed like an eternity, was still not able to come up with the right offer for the shipping terms he closed the email and decided to rethink the cooperation with her and her company.

She seemed very introverted and he had the feeling that she would not be the right person to conduct business with. He was aware of the fact that it took time to build a trustworthy relationship. The world had been created in seven days and not one. However, he had reached the point where he doubted a good business relationship with her was possible. But in the end he had to discuss this issue with his partner.

17:10. The girl had arrived and he reviewed her resume. She was quite young for the job but she had very good references. The fact that she was late was not a major issue for him. He rather looked at personality. Punctuality and stuff like that were not part of the criteria he used for evaluating a potential employee for his restaurant. He lived in a challenging and busy world where anything could go wrong on the way to a meeting. Therefore, the fact that she was late, because she had been stuck in a traffic jam, was not critical at all. But she kept her distance and was very cold towards him. For him, this was the factor that kicked her out of the game. His goal was to grow his business, and keep the reputation and quality. He answered for what he did and an unfeeling person would scare people away. It was essential to hire a warm and open hearted person. He sent her away.

18:15. His phone rang while he discussed new cocktails with the bartender. He had to answer the call. It was his brother. They had not had seen each other for days as his brother was studying outside of the city. A daily talk was a routine they did not want to miss. After their normal small talk about how everything was going his brother realised that he sounded annoyed somehow. He was still concerned about this Sweden deal and was not able to get it off his mind. He told his brother that the deal was a very important for him. And very important for his restaurant. But he still thought about ending negotiations with that woman. It had become too challenging for him. And then he heard his brother’s reply.

18:45. After work, in a quiet moment, while he waited for his wife to come home for dinner, he remembered his brother’s words. He considered him a tower of strength. A person who always encouraged him.

“Every day has its challenges and you will always face different ones. However, without challenges, your concept would have never become as wonderful as it is now. Opportunities are like sunrises and if you wait too long, you will certainly miss them and then they will be gone.”

This sounded like a quotation. He thought about those words and he decided to reply to the email. He was confident to finalize that deal.

19:00. It was dinner time. His wife had arrived and they talked about their day and future plans. They had been married for almost two years now. He considered himself very lucky. She was the love of his life. He had met her in his homeland three years ago while he was on vacation visiting his family. She had sat in an old traditional teahouse when he came in to meet his cousin. He knew that she was the one as soon as he saw her reading “Garden of Eden” by Ernest Hemingway, his favourite author. One year later, they went to Paris to discover all the places that Hemingway mentioned in his bestseller “A Moveable Feast”. It had been such a wonderful trip for them that he spontaneously decided to propose to her. Looking back, it still was the best day of his life.  And now, a few years later, she was still by his side. Together, they had been through thick and thin. Everything he had done so far was to create something that would hopefully be reminiscent of him; photographs, family, friends. Of course, they intended to have children. But for now, they both pursued their careers.

21:00. It had been a long day for him. So many things had happened. He needed to relax with a glass of 2009 Château Margaux and listen to Claude Debussy. Claire de Lune was definitely his favourite piece. Sitting on the sofa with a glass of red wine and reviewing the day, he noticed an envelope on the table. An envelope that he had wanted to open days ago but had lacked the time for it. An envelope, that had made him curious for days. Now was the time.  Alain Ducasse, vous invite au Jules Verne en 20eme Octobre à Paris…He could hardly believe his eyes. Finally, he received THAT invitation. An event he had registered for half a year ago. Now it was time. Time to go to Paris again. Time to experience fusion cuisine at the highest possible level. The thought stressed him immediately. The event two days from now. He should have opened that envelope earlier. He fired up his computer to book a last minute flight for him and his wife. Paris was calling.

23:00. He was still not in bed. His wife was already sleeping while he sat in front of the computer. He had to make final adjustments for the upcoming days when he could not be present at the restaurant. He would be available for phone calls. But in order to ensure a smooth routine at work, without any surprising obstacles, he had to take care of some things.

02:05. Finally, his day came to an end and he fell asleep.

“All the diversity, all the charm, and all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade.” (Tolstoy, n.d.)

Stockholm, Sweden- October 18

Tjena och välkommen in Stockholm, the Venice of the North! Grab a kanelbulle and go for a long walk at the beautiful waterfront. Follow the footsteps of Olof Palme in the city centre and warm up the royal way with a fiskoppa. God, how beautiful…

7:00. The alarm rang. Again and again. Every day it was the same story. She hit the snooze button. For this invention, she would have given away her phone. After she finally got out of bed, of course, it was late. Again. No time for breakfast. She had to hurry to work to be on time. That was her daily routine. Five days a week. Wake up early, get dressed, have breakfast or not, and dash off to work. She had never been interested in creating her own business. Instead, she had pursued a career in a well-established Swedish company. She was no entrepreneur. At least, that was how she thought about herself. That was why she had been working for a big Swedish food company ever since she graduated from university almost nine years ago. She had never left the Kingdom. She did a lot of travelling, but had never lived abroad. Stockholm was the place she belonged. She would stay a patriot and remain faithful to her homeland.

9:00. Thank God, she made it on time. A lot of work had to be done today but first she had to check her emails and answer them all. Nothing that she overly liked. She found it ridiculous to negotiate via email but nowadays everything was done online. When she started answering the twenty-two pending emails, she noticed that special one. The email from this guy from Vienna. He was the most challenging client she had ever had. Especially because he was arrogant enough to claim that he knew the Scandinavian market and to argue about every offer she made. She had reached the point where she would make one final offer. Either he went for it or he didn’t. But right now even that was too annoying for her. She decided to answer later. There were still twenty-one other emails waiting that were more important for her.

10:30. Finally, she was done with all emails. Now she had to hurry to the meeting with the company’s board members. They needed to discuss a new marketing strategy for upcoming products. It had taken her nine years of hard work to reach the position in which she was now. After her graduation, a bachelor and master degree in parallel, she had started as an intern in the finance department in order to get promoted. Something that she had found very hard. Even though she had a master’s degree it had been the only way to start working for the company as she lacked experience. Of course, she had been overqualified. Now, she held the position of a sales manager, something that she had wanted all those years.

In the meeting, they discussed using social media to promote products. It was the brilliant idea of that idiot from the marketing department. She hated social media platforms. But she had to adapt somehow as this kind of stuff became more popular by the minute and every single person seemed to use it. And of course, it was a very cheap way to advertise all those new products. Nevertheless, she despised using social media and building up a virtual life for no purpose, like posting pictures just to get as many likes as possible.

12:00. The meeting was over and had somehow been successful. Now she had to work on several contracts for key customers, those clients who brought the most value to the company. She had to be very careful with setting up these contracts. That was why she asked the lawyer over. The company’s lawyer was her best friend. They had met at the firm’s Christmas party in her second year at the company. It had been quite an embarrassing situation as she got so drunk that he had to take her home. The next day, she invited him to lunch to thank him. After that they were inseparable. A little later, she found out that he was homosexual. It was nothing that surprised her. Somehow she had sensed it when he brought her home that night and, instead of trying to get close with her, made her tea. Every other man she knew would have made advances. Which was the reason why she had decided to stay single for a long time, a really long time. She had been too annoyed about some of those advances.

13:00. After reviewing the contracts they went for lunch together. No fast food. They had plenty of time and decided to try the new Russian restaurant that had opened nearby. While they waited for their food, she remembered that pending email. She decided to ask her friend how to deal with that Viennese guy. She was tired of discussing every single term of the offer. Everything from her side had been done but he was still bugging her over shipping conditions. She needed input about regulations within the European Union in order to make a new offer. When it came to things like regulations she didn’t know the ropes. But her friend gave her really good advice. Then their conversation turned to something more fun. The new autumn fashion collections were hitting the streets already. Her favourite designers? Definitely Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. He thought that something a bit more fancy would suit her better. Something like the new Fendi collection. But no, she always stayed classy.

15:00. Back at office, she still had other work to do. But she decided to answer that guy now. He only wanted ingredients, typical Swedish ingredients for his restaurant. His problem was not their price. He had a problem with the shipment method as he wanted to receive those ingredients as fresh as possible. Therefore, she had to figure out all available options to send those ingredients to Vienna as fast as possible. The simplest way would be by air freight, she thought. But then he’d whine about transport from the airport to his restaurant. He wanted her to be responsible for that. She could not understand why. Nevertheless, she made concessions to accommodate to his request. She was certain that he would still have something to complain about. This guy was simply annoying.

16:30. Her telephone rang. She was still at work. It was her mum. As always, her mother called to remind her to come over for dinner later at her parent’s place. From her teenager years on, she and her mum had been like enemies. At least, that was how she perceived their relationship. Everything she had done or planned to do had displeased her mum. That was why she had decided to move out as soon as possible. But when it came to college, and who was going to finance it, she had to turn to her parents again. It had just not been possible to get two degrees in parallel and to work at the same time. Now, she was somehow stuck in that put-on relationship with her parents. She knew that when she went home for dinner, she and her mum would surely enough have a dispute while her father would try to calm them down.

17:30. Finally the work day was over. She had to run to the grocery store and then home to pack for her business trip to Paris tomorrow. She was invited to join Alain Ducasse, the most famous French chef de cuisine, for a dinner at Jules Verne, the most exclusive restaurant in Paris. It was at the top of the Eiffel Tower. On one side, she was excited about the trip but at the same time she had bad memories about Paris. It was the city where she and her boyfriend broke up few months ago. Something very uncharacteristic for Paris. But now was not the time to ponder about it. She had to hurry. She also needed to change. For the dinner.

19:00. At her apartment, the radio was on maximum volume. Girls just wanna have fun was playing, one of her most favourite songs ever. She started packing her suitcase. That way it would be less stressful tomorrow. Her flight was in the afternoon. Now, she had to decide on a dress. For that dinner.

While she got dressed, her phone sounded. A new email had come in. She decided to check it as she had some time left. And surprisingly, or not, it was that Austrian guy, again complaining about the offer. This annoyed her so much that she threw her phone away. A cooperation with him just seemed impossible. But it was home time! She decided to answer him when she was back in the office. After her trip to Paris.

20:00. The family dinner was on. Her mum complained about her being late which was not true. She was on time as always because she hated unpunctuality. Even if in a hurry, she was never late for anything. She looked at her watch every three seconds but time did not pass. Spending time at her parent’s house was torture for her. They simply did not speak the same language. A feeling she always had when she was with them. As a surprise, her mum had invited her old school friend to set them up. It was too embarrassing for her and she started making plans to escape.

22:00. Eventually, dinner was over. Exhausted she decided to call her best friend for a drink. Or two. Or five. Sitting in their favourite bar she complained about everything. About her mum who had decided to interfere with her private life, and about that guy from Vienna, and what else came to her mind. She considered herself an independent and strong woman in a top management positions, but somehow had the feeling that her life was a disaster. While she tried to be on top of everything in her life, she had that feeling that others were attempting to destroy it. She kept talking and talking until her friend interrupted and told her something very important.

23:00. It had been a stressful day. At home, she just slipped into her pyjamas and went straight to bed. Still awake, she thought about her friend’s words.

“You think your life is a mess? Come on honey, you look gorgeous. You have a brain even though you are blonde, and you are really successful, but the only thing you do is complain. You broke up with you ex? Who cares! There are still billions of men out there. And this Austrian guy annoys you? Then stop the negotiations with him. Your mum is difficult? Well, you cannot choose your family, darling!”

He had laughed only to get serious again.

“Do you have any idea how it is to be black…and homosexual? To be judged constantly? This…is really annoying. Sometimes, people treat me like I am worth less than they are just because of the colour of my skin and my sexual orientation. I had to face a lot of barriers in my life, especially at work, even though I am a good lawyer; and we both know just how good I am. So please sweetie, calm down. Tomorrow, you will be in Paris. Go shopping, drink champagne, unclog your brain, and please, please forget about that Austrian guy.”

“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.” (Tsu, 2008, p. 41)

France, Paris- October 20

Bonjour and bienvenue à Paris, the city of l’amour. But hey, Paris is not just a city. Paris is a lifestyle. À Paris you discover a new world. Oh mon Dieu, grab a café au lait and a pain au chocolat and go for a walk. Discover the streets. Especially at night, when la tour Eiffel starts sparkling. Oh la la, how incroyable…

8:00. Avenue Montaigne Hôtel Plaza Athénée. They talked about where to go for breakfast while he waited for his wife to get dressed. Room service would be too boring. They were in Paris after all. It didn’t take long and they decided to go to Les Deux Magots at la Place Saint-Germain-des-Pres, a twenty-minute walk away.

9:30. At the Les Deux Magots, they talked about their tight schedule. They wanted to see as much as possible. He was really excited about the dinner later one, and a little nervous. It was an opportunity to review his concept. Alain Ducasse was by far one of the greatest chefs in town, and a true inspiration. Their garçon arrived with a typical French breakfast. Nothing overly exciting. It was the rustic ambience and the fancy flutina music that made them feel like they were part of an old French movie.

10:30. Place Vendôme. Hôtel Ritz Paris. She pushed the snooze button. Again and again. Then, the first thing she had to do, was to pick up the phone and call room service. It was time for breakfast. Slowly, she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

12:00. Hôtel Ritz Paris. Finally, she left the hotel to go for a walk around Place Vendôme and on to  the most popular shopping street, la rue Saint Honoré. She needed a new dress for the evening. Something to impress monsieur Ducasse. Of course, her goal was to acquire him as a new client. But that meant she had to turn upside down every boutique in order to find the perfect dress for the occasion.

11.30. Musée du Louvre. After a short walk, they ended up at the largest and most impressive museum of all times. He once had heard that if looking at each piece for only thirty seconds it would take roughly six months for someone to see all of the Louvre. Therefore, they selected a few areas and began with ancient Persia at the ground floor.

15:15. Café Angelina. After almost three hours and five Face Time calls with her best friend who helped her find the perfect dress, she arrived at la rue Rivoli. It was time for a snack. Something like beef tartar. There in the old café, listening to piano music from Yann Tiersen, she recalled the day when she had sat there with her ex-boyfriend and they had talked about their future plans. In that moment she had realised they were pursuing completely different goals in their life.

15:00. La rue Rivoli. After their visit to the Louvre, they stopped to have some lunch. Café Angelina was a restaurant they had just discovered. Typical French cuisine, the menu said. He decided to have escargots and coq au vin. His wife found the idea of eating snails disgusting. She preferred the soup à l’onion and a quiche lorraine. Sitting there and listening to that piano music from Yann Tierson created a nostalgic feeling and they remembered their trip two years ago when they got engaged.

17:05. Trocadero. She had decided to walk around the beautiful platform that offered the best view at La Tour Eiffel. There were so many people that, for a second, she got scared of pickpockets. Soon the amazing surroundings drew her in and, as time passed, she forgot about everything.

17:00. Charles de Gaulle Etoile, L’Arc de Triomphe. After lunch, they had decided to do some more sight-seeing and somehow ended up on the top of the Arc de Triomphe. What a beautiful view across the whole city. Standing there, they realised that it was almost time to return to hotel and get ready for dinner.

18:00. Place Vendôme. Hôtel Ritz Paris. Again, she was late. As always. But as she hated to be late, she needed to hurry. As always. First, however, she had to shake off her mum who had called and asked her to get some French gourmet stuff. How that conversation had annoyed her. She was on a business trip and not her mother’s gofer.

18:15. Avenue Montaigne Hôtel Plaza Athénée. Both were getting ready. His nervousness increased by the minute. Thank God, his brother called on facetime. Someone who could calm him down. He was still talking to his brother when he suddenly had to hang up. The limousine was waiting for them downstairs.

19:00. Le Jules Verne, at the top of the Iron Lady. She knew she looked just gorgeous. At her table , there was no other company disturbing her gaze out of the window. Then, a man and his wife entered the restaurant. Immediately, her eyes turned to them as they approached to sit next to her. They were supposed to share the same table. The woman started to engage her in typical small talk. It was nothing she liked. She was not interested in discussing random stuff like how amazing her outfit was. But there was nobody else at the table. She had to overcome her reluctance. After all, the woman was very nice and polite. At some point she incidentally mentioned to be from Sweden.

19.15. When their table neighbour mentioned that she was from Sweden, that woman with whom he had been negotiating for months sprung to his mind. He still waited for her response. His thoughts, while waiting for monsieur Ducasse’s speech, were interrupted by the garcon who served them a combination of different Hors d’Oeuvres and an exquisite French wine. He was amazed by how small things could be combined to different types of cuisines in such a perfect way. It was just a culinary treat. It was a great inspiration for his new menu. After a while, he decided to join the conversation between his wife and their table neighbour to get more insights into the Swedish market.

19.20. When he started talking about his concept and his restaurant, she abruptly recognised, that it was him, the man who had caused all her headaches. Surprisingly, he seemed to be a very nice person. She had always thought he was an arrogant idiot. Yet, as she observed him he came across as very obliging and charming. She decided that she could not confront him now, simply because he had no clue who she was.

19:30. It was time for the first course, l’Entrée. A Langoustine consommé with black truffle. While they waited for the soup, his wife and he continued to talk to the lady at their table. He was curious to find out everything about Sweden and the Swedish mentality. It would help him to define the right strategy to cope with that woman. But she seemed quiet reserved to have a conversation with him and more interested in talking to his wife.

20:30. The next course arrived. Seared sea scallop, cauliflower and gold caviar. After the course, monsieur Ducasse showed up to personally welcome them to his soirée. He was really pleased to be able to talk to Ducasse about the fusion concept while the lady at their table was more interested in attracting him as a new client. Strange enough, she did not want to mention which company she worked for.

21:00. The main course was turbot fillet and tender winter vegetables with tangy cooking jus. Their conversation was still revolving around his restaurant. They even invited her to Vienna. She had never been to Vienna. That was why his wife insisted on her visiting them as soon as possible. Somehow, she was pleased. It was not very common for Swedish people to be outgoing with strangers. They would certainly see the warm and openhearted behaviour of people with another cultural background than theirs.

21:30. It was time for dessert: pistachio crème brûlée. A dessert that he had on his menu as well. A signature dessert, in which East met West. This encouraged him. He was doing well with his restaurant. He and his wife were sharing memories about their journey to Scandinavia last year where they have visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. He recalled how magical and inspiring it had been to see those colourful northern lights at night while his wife kept complaining about how cold it had been. It was funny somehow.

22:15. A typical French cheese platter and salad finished their dinner. Now they all had something in common. They all loved French cheese. And after talking, what felt like an eternity, about different types of cheese and how delicious cheese was, the evening slowly came to an end. He gave her his business card to stay in touch. Strange enough, she seemed to know who he was.

23:45. Avenue Montaigne, Hôtel Plaza Athénée. He was tired and so was his wife. They went to bed straight away. They had a red eye flight the next morning. Both agreed how nice it had been meeting that Swedish woman. They really hoped to see her in Vienna one day.

00:00. Place Vendôme. Hôtel Ritz Paris. She was tired to death but decided to use her phone and to answer his email. She wrote:

Dear Mr. H.,

Please let me apologise for the late answer but I was on a business trip where I had limited time to respond to you.

In all honesty, I have to admit that it was a great pleasure to meet you and your lovely wife tonight at Jules Verne. During dinner, I did not dare to reveal who I am. The reason was simple: I did not want to ruin this unique event by starting tough negotiations. I recognised who you are early on which explains my reservation towards you.

I truly appreciate you invitation to Vienna to visit you and your lovely wife at your newly opened restaurant.

With this email, I just wanted to inform you, that I will do everything in my power to ensure that my company meets your requirements and that we start a successful cooperation with you and your restaurant. I hope that we can manage to find a solution.

Again, It was a great pleasure to meet you tonight and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, E.

Summary

Diversity means uniqueness and individuality of people, regardless of their gender, race, nation, religion, age and/ or sexual orientation. The importance of diversity has been augmented through anthropological but also organizational perspectives. In the theoretical part of the bachelor paper the authors investigated the different categories of diversity and the importance of diversity within a recruiting process as well as the history of this matter. Thus, diversity as a competitive advantage, and the long-term effects of a diverse workforce, have been highlighted.

To exemplify diversity, the story of the bachelor paper is set within the food industry, as food and some factors such as cultural diversity often go hand in hand. This can be illustrated for instance in fusion kitchen as a melting point of different cultures.

To sum up the conducted research as well as the story, both authors think that the importance of diversity in a globalised and modern world means the expansion of know-how, languages, dialogues and cultural networking. This also represents a peaceful way of “living together” in a multicultural environment.

Testimonial

No matter of what race, ethnicity, skin colour, age or sexual orientation people are, the most important issue is to appreciate differences in order to learn and adapt from one another, and to open one’s horizon, and to ensure a diverse life in every possible sense.