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Managing Cultural Diversity

Experts provide recommendations for business owners and managers to effectively manage a multicultural workforce: 1) Set a good example by establishing a welcoming environment and communicating anti-discrimination policies in writing. 2) Provide diversity training to raise awareness of different cultures and teach skills for a multicultural workplace. 3) Recognize that individual differences are not always due to culture and avoid making assumptions. 4) Actively seek input from minority groups and give them opportunities to participate meaningfully in the organization.

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92 views2 pages

Managing Cultural Diversity

Experts provide recommendations for business owners and managers to effectively manage a multicultural workforce: 1) Set a good example by establishing a welcoming environment and communicating anti-discrimination policies in writing. 2) Provide diversity training to raise awareness of different cultures and teach skills for a multicultural workplace. 3) Recognize that individual differences are not always due to culture and avoid making assumptions. 4) Actively seek input from minority groups and give them opportunities to participate meaningfully in the organization.

Uploaded by

Manukumar
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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MANAGING CULTURAL DIVERSITY Experts indicate that business owners and managers who hope to create and manage

aneffective, harmonious multicultural work force should remember the importance of the following: Setting a good exampleThis basic tool can be particularly valuable for small businessowners who hope to establish a healthy environment for people of different culturalbackgrounds, since they are generally able to wield significant control over the business'sbasic outlook and atmosphere. Communicate in writingCompany policies that explicitly forbid prejudice and discriminatorybehavior should be included in employee manuals, mission statements, and other writtencommunications. Jorgensen referred to this and other similar practices as "internalbroadcasting of the diversity message in order to create a common language for allmembers of the organization." Training programsTraining programs designed to engender appreciation and knowledgeof the characteristics and benefits of multicultural work forces have become ubiquitous inrecent years. "Two types of training are most popular: awareness and skill-building," wroteCox. "The former introduces the topic of managing diversity and generally includesinformation on work force demographics, the meaning of diversity, and exercises to getparticipants thinking about relevant issues and raising their own self-awareness. The skill-building training provides more specific information on cultural norms of different groups andhow they may affect work behavior." New employee orientation programs are also ideal for introducing workers to the company's expectations regarding treatment of fellow workers,whatever their cultural or ethnic background. Recognize individual differencesWriting in The Complete MBA Companion, contributor Rob Goffee stated that "there are various dimensions around which differences in humanrelationships may be understood. These include such factors as orientation towardsauthority; acceptance of power inequalities; desire for orderliness and structure; the need tobelong to a wider social group and so on. Around these dimensions researchers havedemonstrated systematic differences between national, ethnic, and religious groups." YetGoffee also cautioned business owners, managers, and executives to recognize thatdifferences between individuals can not always be traced back to easily understood differences in cultural background: "Do not assume differences are always 'cultural.' Thereare several sources of difference. Some relate to factors such as personality, aptitude, or competence. It is a mistake to assume that all perceived differences are cultural in origin.Too many managers tend to fall back on the easy 'explanation' that individual behavior or performance can be attributed to the fact that someone is 'Italian' or 'a Catholic' or 'awoman.' Such conclusions are more likely to reflect intellectually lazy rather than culturallysensitive managers." Actively seek input from minority groupsSoliciting the opinions and involvement of minoritygroups on important work committees, etc., is beneficial not only because of thecontributions that they can make, but also

because such overtures confirm that they arevalued by the company. Serving on relevant committees and task forces can increase their feelings of belonging to the organization. Conversely, relegating minority members tosuperfluous committees or projects can trigger a downward spiral in relations betweendifferent cultural groups. Revamp reward systemsAn organization's performance appraisal and reward systemsshould reinforce the importance of effective diversity management, according to Cox. Thisincludes assuring that minorities are provided with adequate opportunities for career development. Make room for social eventsCompany sponsored social eventspicnics, softball games,volleyball leagues, bowling leagues, Christmas parties, etc.can be tremendously useful ingetting members of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together and providing themwith opportunities to learn about one another. Flexible work environmentCox indicated that flexible work environmentswhich hecharacterized as a positive development for all workerscould have particularly "beneficialto people from nontraditional cultural backgrounds because their approaches to problemsare more likely to be different from past norms." Don't assume similar values and opinionsGoffee noted that "in the absence of reliableinformation there is a well-documented tendency for individuals to assume that others are'like them.' In any setting this is likely to be an inappropriate assumption; for those whomanage diverse work forces this tendency towards 'cultural assimilation' can proveparticularly damaging." Continuous monitoringExperts recommend that business owners and managers establishand maintain systems that can continually monitor the organization's policies and practicesto ensure that it continues to be a good environment for all employees. This, wrote Jorgensen, should include "research into employees' needs through periodic attitudesurveys.""Increased diversity presents challenges to business leaders who must maximize theopportunities that it presents while minimizing its costs," summarized Cox. "The multiculturalorganization is characterized by pluralism, full integration of minority-culture members bothformally and informally, an absence of prejudice and discrimination, and low levels of inter-group conflict. The organization that achieves these conditions will create an environment inwhich all members can contribute to their maximum potential, and in which the 'value in diversity' can be fully realized.

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