Strategy in Practice: Re-Categorising Tour Guides as Strategists

Abstract

Tour guides are often believed to have an exceptionally simple role, leading an audience around a building and pointing artefacts out according to a script. However, this paper shows how their work pertains to organisational strategy in two significant ways; they can be seen to be acting in ways which reflect and reiterate the organisational strategy of audience engagement. Audience engagement is increasingly used as a criterion upon which museums are awarded funding and as such, guides deploy an organisation's strategic aims through their moment-by-moment actions as they try to engage such audiences. They must overcome significant obstacles and challenges which unfold over the course of the tour in order to engage the audience. In such light, in keeping with the 'workplace studies' turn in Strategyas-Practice (Samra-Fredericks, 2010), we can see them as strategic actors. Because of the lack of understanding of the work of guides, as well as an ongoing tendency to see strategy as something that only happens at the most senior of organisational levels, this paper has contributions to make in showing the truly skilled nature of the work of the guide and demonstrating how these skilled workers present an example of those engaged in a form of strategising whether they know it or not.

Modeling guided tour participants’ experiences

“…A tour guide can be defined as “a person who guides groups or individual visitors from abroad or from the home country around the monuments, sites and museums of a city or region; to interpret in an inspiring and entertaining manner, in the language of the visitor’s choice, the cultural and natural heritage and environment” (EFTGA, 1998). Although it is believed that the job of a tour guide is simple, lacks creativity (Rabotić, 2010) and is often compared to delivering a lecture (Best, 2012), in reality, the tour guide takes on multiple and challenging roles and tasks (Holloway, 1981). The roles tour guides can assume include: an information provider; a pathfinder leading visitors around a site; a mediator of cultural exchange between local culture and tourists; an educator helping visitors understand aspects of the place they visit (culture, economy); a representative of a destination aspiring to positively affect re-visiting intention; a host creating a friendly environment; and a human being positively influencing the service quality and visitor experience (Ap and Wong, 2001; Rabotić, 2010; Çetı̇nkaya and Öter, 2016).…”

“…Best (2011, 2012) proposes methods tour guides can use to prompt interaction between themselves and the tour group members, as well as the latter’s participation, contribution and engagement. Her suggestions include that the guides continue their talk, so that members have more time to see the exhibits, and that they use gestures to show the way, ultimately ensuring the attention of the audience.…”