ABSTRACT
Several researchers have noted the changing demographics of the United States workforce, particularly with respect to such factors as age and ethnicity. Indeed, a substantial amount of research has focused on how these changing demographics have potential implications for the continued effectiveness of our best practices in management (e.g., Lee-Ross, 2005; Stone-Romero, Stone, & Salas, 2003). Yet. very little attention has been paid to how management practices may be affected by the increasing proportion of non-native English speakers in the U.S. workforce. For example, according to the 2000 United States Census, there are 4.3 million Spanish-only speaking people (over 13% of the population) in the State of California alone. Clearly, this population is an increasingly important talent resource for business generally and the foodservice industry specifically. Despite the increasing importance of this talent pool, few researchers have explored the role of language in traditional human resource and organizational behavior phenomena. Because the development of key employee attitudes is theoretically dependent on communication between the organization and its representatives and employees, the ability of employees to understand these communication messages is critical. In organizations where multiple languages are spoken, this assumption needs to be explored.
