It's almost become a clichè to hear foodservice directors in hospitals, colleges and other institutions say that serving their customers "is like serving the United Nations." The same is also true for managing staff, where cultural and ethnic diversity has long been an unavoidable fact of management life. Hicks' book is geared to helping foodservice and retail operators better understand the cultural and language differences this diversity entails. She offers a roadmap to achieving better communications, working relationships and productivity. Her topics range from legal issues to verbal and body language, from job interviewing techniques to conflict resolution.

The largest part of the book provides an extensive glossary and phrase book designed to help your employees learn basic English conversation and language they may encounter in the workplace. (This part can double as a resource for developing multi-lingual signage for work areas.)

Finally, the included CDROM contains a complete employee handbook in English, Spanish and Chinese. In all, it's a package that will likely be a useful reference for many foodservice directors.