...This paper examines the impact of cultural diversity on productivity in the workplace. In this paper, we will identify how diversity in an organization contributes or detracts from an organization. What is cultural diversity? Cultural diversity is defined by Cox (1991) as “the variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting.” This paper will focus on national and racial diversity as it relates to culture, and the impact of such a diverse team on an organization. The evolvement of an integrated global economy has made diversity essential in this present day world. The paper will explore the pros and cons of such a diverse culture to an organization. A diverse culture within an organization is one that will comprise of benefits such as innovation, the introduction of new ideas and the expansion of a consumer base. All of which increase the productivity of an organization. Diversity may be regarded as a double-edged sword in that a diverse environment could lead to team members creating subgroups and creating conflicts and tension within the group, in essence reducing the productivity of the team. Approaches to reducing the negative effects of diversity on an organization are addressed, and include education and increased awareness. This will in turn reduce bias and stereotypes in the group or organization. Impact of Cultural Diversity on Productivity in the Workplace An increase in human connectivity...
Words: 718 - Pages: 3
...Analyzing the Benefits of Cultural Diversity in Organizations Name Institution Instructor Course Date Submitted Managing Cultural Diversity in Organizations Chapter 1: Introduction Human resource management is one of the core functions of business managers. Organizational productivity is influenced by the degree of effectiveness with which employees are managed and directed to perform their duties. One major challenge that human resource managers face in this regard is promoting harmony and coexistence in multicultural workplace environments. Since the beginning of the 18th century Industrial Revolution in Europe, business companies have had to deal with a growing number of people from different cultural backgrounds. This demographic transformation of the workplace was a result of advancements in the transport industry. The invention of the steam engine, and later on, the airplane, facilitated fast movement of goods and people across international boundaries. Over time, companies expanded their business activities beyond their local markets, giving rise to multinational corporations. Satair U.S.A is a multinational corporation with branches in several countries around the world. The company specializes in aircraft maintenance and the distribution of aircraft spare parts. As a multinational company, Satair employs people from different cultural backgrounds in its plants around the world. Consequently, the...
Words: 4981 - Pages: 20
...By Freddie Lesser North centralUniversity Workplace Diversity October 2012 | | According to Konrad, Prasad, & Pringle (2006) researches interested in workplace diversity have commonly drawn upon psychological views to comprehend the influence that labels have on the occurrences and consequences of different groups of people in establishments. Nevertheless, need for equal opportunities, the pressure to internationalize, increased migration, and developments in communication technology involve all united to make workplace diversity an unavoidable realism in many organizations around the globe. Nevertheless, while the significance of diversity is rising, there still appears to be some misunderstanding in translating the effect of diversity on organizational occurrence. Confirmed diversity effects include developed information processing, group problem solving, and originality. On the other hand, dissimilar groups may neglect to capitalize on their differences due to high levels of encounters, low levels of group solidity, and communication problems. One possible controlling aspect influencing the outcome of demographic heterogeneity could be dissimilarity in the group’s faiths, stances, and feelings towards diversity. The philosophy is that a common entity’s inner environment that is open to demographic contrasts expands the chances of positive group processes in diverse situation Lauring and Selmer (2011). Multiplicity environment is an evolving area of research...
Words: 1134 - Pages: 5
...Theoretical or Conceptual Framework Cultural Diversity within the 21st Century Workplace and Its Effect on Globalization Conceptual Framework This qualitative phenomenological study was based on the aspects of the conceptual framework which incorporates two areas of knowledge, inclusive of (a) cultural diversity, which details the relationship between ethnic background, racism, sexism, and class oppression (Finch-Lee & Mabey, 2010) and (b) the glass ceiling theory, which applies to the affect on various cultural backgrounds and the advancement of future globalization (Kefela, 2010). This framework will provide an empirical structure that will serve as an analysis for the understanding of perceived cultural dimension as seen by a diverse knowledge-based workplace within the 21st century. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between ethnic or racial diversity as it relates to the 21st century organizational workplace and the outcome on future globalization. Opportunities to advance within the 21st century workplace for qualified employees of various cultural background has presented to being more difficult and often those who progress are less experienced and are the majority counterparts within the organization (Kefela 2010). Traditionally, managerial practices and problems have been articulated and documented from the White man’s perspective (Billing, 2011). Perceived cultural dimension consists on how employee view the...
Words: 682 - Pages: 3
...------------------------------------------------- WORKPLACE DIVERSITY ------------------------------------------------- (CULTURAL DIVERSITY) SAZIA KHAN SANJA GM410: FOUNDATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION. INSTRUCTION: ROBERT WOODS Keller Graduate School of Management Introduction: The social composition of the world is changing. And the increasing of the globalization demands more interaction with people from diverse cultures religion and background ever before. As a result of that the demography of the world is changing. The word becomes a single market place. Anyone with a cell phone or access to the internet is a potential customer. In today’s global economy traditional barrier are disappear. So being increasing the opportunity as well as competition if the company wants to compete effectively and globally, Todays Companies need to realize that they longer have choice.it is now essential to be knowledgeable about and be able to communicate with people of different nationalities cultures and religions. Corporation realizes that they must embrace that diversity in the workplace brings. What is Work place Diversity Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That means diversity encompasses race, gender, culture, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others...
Words: 1397 - Pages: 6
...Cultural Diversity Training Denise Raftie-Bryant BUS 375 Employee Training Instructor: Niccolle Johnson June 30, 2015 As Human Resource Manager my responsibility is to oversee training and development for a global organization. To effectively create a cultural diversity training course for all employees it’s imperative to be able to understand cultural differences, employment and business law practices. Cultural diversity is embraced by many companies in the workplace and essential to maintain a balanced organization. Organizations that understand cultural difference can secure business deals with global affiliations and increase employee awareness in a diverse workplace offering training courses. It is important to a company’s organizational structure for employers and employees in the workplace to recognize and respect cultural differences. Multilingual employees benefit many companies because of different perspectives from various diverse backgrounds, creativity and problem-solving skills. Organizations continue to seek opportunities for growth, through encouraging cultural diversity provide ways to expand their business. Also the organizations can enhance its ability to solve problems encouraging their employees to share business practices and belief systems who come from different backgrounds. Employee differences are considered beneficial to help build a corporate culture team. However, diversity is embraced through providing employees with cultural...
Words: 2161 - Pages: 9
...Diversity in the Workplace Alain Kraussman Hall Baker College Online Human Behavior Management of Organization/BUS615 December 6, 2012 Introduction Diversity is defined as “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements: variety; especially: the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization” ("diversity," 2012). These differing elements are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society, and especially in the business world. Emigrants from every country in the world have made their way to the shores of America, and from there, to millions of companies and organizations across the nation. From the owner of the neighborhood corner store to the CEO position at Citigroup and Pfizer, foreign-born employees are giving this country a new, diverse, face. Diversity is not just of race, but of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, and disability. In every decade since 1900, the percentage of women 16 years and older in the workplace has increased, going from just 18.3 percent in 1900 to 53.6 percent in 2010 ("Women in the," 2007). The same holds true of disabled workers. In December 1976, there were roughly 2,088,242 blind and disabled workers in the United States. Growing nearly every year since, the Social Security Administration reports that as of December 2011, there are 6,996,435 blind and disabled people in the workforce ("Ssi annual statistical...
Words: 2619 - Pages: 11
...today, diversity initiatives have emerged as a core component of many companies’ mission statements and driving human resource practices (Andrulis & Sanchdev, 2009). As companies expand globally, there is one corporation that has expanded in diversity globally. Starbuck’s is one of the largest coffee companies in America and a cross the world that is diverse culturally. So, how does Starbucks utilize its cultural intelligence to increase the awareness of diversity in the workplace? Is workplace diversity important to employees at Starbucks? Starbucks’ believe that to operate successfully in a global marketplace, embracing diversity in every aspect of their business is absolutely essential (www.starbucks.com). Diversity is something that brings everyone together, race, gender, religion, cultural background, experience etc… Diverse workplaces do the same as well, learning from one another and being able to work in an environment with different ethnicities. Diversity brings opportunities within the organization and the learning capability increase from the many cultures. By Starbucks being a global corporation, the company has to maintain their diversity not just for the workplace but also for the community. In this paper I will describe and explain the foundation of Starbucks Company, and how diversity is implemented in the workplace. I will also discuss how diversity is implemented in my work organization and my opinion of the importance of diversity in a workplace. With...
Words: 1803 - Pages: 8
...MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN WORKPLACE TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN MERU MUNICIPALITY KENNEDY MUTWIRI MUKARIA MUC-SBS-555-0056/2009 A RESEARCH PROPOSAL A research proposal submitted to the department of business in partial fulfilment of requirements of degree of Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) of Meru University College of Science and Technology DECLARATION This is my original work and has not been presented for the degree or any other award to any other University Signature ___________________________ Name __________________________ Date Approval This proposal has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University supervisor Signature ___________________________ (Name of supervisor of department; Meru University) __________________________ Date TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the problem.............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Objectives of the study................................................................................................. 1.4 Research questions...................................................
Words: 8628 - Pages: 35
...Diversity Tabitha Davenport Cultural Diversity February 10, 2011 Richard Gilbert Diversity Cultural diversity is the idea that cultural identities, whether a difference or a similarity should be maintained and valued. America experiences much of this diversity as it is the “melting pot” of countries. The philosophy of America that “all people are created equal” is false because of people keeping racism alive. When a group of people think they are superior to another group this is racism. Diversity is the unification of many cultures living, learning and advancing together for the greater good of the society (Schaefer, R 2011). The primary dimensions of cultural diversity include age, ethnicity, gender, race, sexual orientation, and mental/physical abilities. The secondary dimensions may include geographic location, income, family status, education, military, and work experience. Diversity and Inclusion Diversity, being the fusion of many cultural groups residing in harmony can relate to the workplace as well as the home. Developing a diverse environment in the workplace creates an “inclusive” feeling among employees. Diversity is the encompassing of the differences and the similarities of each employee. Diversity, according to Harvey & Allard, 2009 (p. 1) is “the ways in which people differ that may affect their organizational experience in terms of performance, motivation, communication, and inclusion.” Inclusion occurs when these diverse employees feel...
Words: 545 - Pages: 3
...and aided by information technology (The Levin Institute, 2014). Indeed, globalization has made our world smaller. As the markets for products, services, labor, and capital increasingly integrate worldwide, we are witnessing the increasing economic, cultural, demographic, political, and environmental interdependence of different locations around the world (Elfrink, 2014). In his book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman perfectly captured the essence of today’s new era of globalization. By flat, Friedman meant that the world is connected. The lowering of trade and political barriers, and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet (Friedman 2005). However, with a more global business environment comes a host of new challenges including managing a multicultural workforce comprised of people with widely differing backgrounds. In a multicultural environment, where the meanings of various behaviors and practices are as diverse as the people demonstrating them, incorrect assumptions could easily lead to miscommunication (Lankard, 1994). The purpose of this paper is to forecast possible cultural changes within Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc., a multinational company, and present a research analyzing how a multicultural workforce might affect teamwork and communication. Background Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc. is a multinational corporation...
Words: 2305 - Pages: 10
...Politechnika Białostocka Cultural Diversity in Organisational Theory and Practice 1. Introduction Increasing globalization requires more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. People no longer live and work in an insular marketplace; they are now part of a worldwide economy with competition coming from nearly every continent. For this reason, organizations need diversity to become more creative and open to change. Therefore maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue for management today. Since managing diversity remains a significant organizational challenge, managers must learn the managerial skills needed in a multicultural work environment. Supervisors and managers must be prepared to teach themselves and others within their organizations to value multicultural differences in both associates and customers so that everyone is treated with dignity. Diversity issues are now considered important and are projected to become even more important in the future due to increasing differences in the population of many countries. Companies need to focus on diversity and look for ways to become totally inclusive organizations because diversity has the potential of yielding greater productivity and competitive advantages. Managing and valuing diversity is a key component of effective people management, which can improve workplace productivity. Unmanaged diversity in the workplace might become an obstacle...
Words: 4037 - Pages: 17
...Our Strength Is In Our Diversity: Fact Or Fancy? Effective management of diversity is based on recognition of commonalities and awareness of differences. Role modeling behaviors of those who readily accept the differences could help alter the organizational culture, and thereby improve perfonnance outcomes. Globalization and diversity have increased the need for investigation into workplace attitudes towards diverse others. In a study of topical relevance, Strauss and Connerley (2003) explored the relationships between race, gender, agreeableness, openness to experience, contact and cognitions, feelings & behaviors. The Universal-Diverse Orientation (UDO) construct was employed as a measure of attitudes towards diversity. This metric has three components: realistic appreciation (cognition), comfort with difference (feeling) and diversity of contact (behavior). Based on a survey of 252 undergraduate business students from two different institutions in the US, the study found partial support for the hypothesis that women and non-Whites have more positive UDO attitudes. Gender plays a role only as a first step. Persons who rate high on openness to experience would have more positive UDO attitudes. Surprisingly, the findings did not support the view that people living in more heterogeneous environments would have more positive UDO attitudes. Contact, gender and race would interact with openness and agreeableness to predict UDO attitudes. Women had more favorable...
Words: 994 - Pages: 4
...that having a diverse heterogenic workplace has many benefits. I will be focusing on diversity in employee cultural and gender. Due to the increasingly diverse nature of Australia’s workforce, organisations will have to use strategic tactics such as successful Human Resource Planning, in order to attract, select and retain a diverse workplace. A company with employees that bring different perspectives is presented to be able in finding more efficient ways to operate and grow (Wojcik 2012). Diversity programs enhance the ability of an organisation to meet client needs, which can improve its profits (Wojcik 2012) Dwyer et.al (2001) discusses the potential benefits of gender diversity, such as novel insights, perspectives, creativity, and experience appear to foster and support expansion into new markets. Finding a similar association between racial diversity, growth, and firm performance, This insight will assist me to form an argument to why organisations should select a diverse workforce. Management teams with higher proportion of women promote more interpersonal channels of communication, employee participation in decision-making and monitor feedback and development more intensely (Melero, E 2010) Communities and consumers want to engage with and do business with organisations that reflect themselves and the current population (Lieber 2012). Attracting diverse employees to organisations has a flow on effect on the community. A workplace that embodies respect for all types...
Words: 839 - Pages: 4
...Importance of Understanding Culture Diversity in the Workplace Jennifer Schulz Devry University Cultural Diversity in the Professions SOCS350 William Tutol January 10, 2014 Importance of Understanding Culture Diversity in the Workplace In business today it is important to have a diverse group of employees in the workplace. Our textbook defines diversity as real or perceived differences among people in race, ethnicity, sex, age, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, religion, work and family status, weight and appearance, and other identity-based attributes that affect their interactions and relationships (Bell, 2012, p. 5). It is very important to understand the cultural, ethnical, and gender differences by professionals and management in the workforce in this day and age. If an organization develops a reputation for valuing all types of employees, it will become known as an employer of choice, in which workers from all backgrounds feel they have the opportunity to work, grow, and be treated fairly (Bell, 2012, p. 4). By being diverse in its employees, a business has a better opportunity for new ideas and growth potential and less likely to be stymied. Despite extraordinary corporate and media attention paid to diversity in the past thirty years, discrimination, inequality, and exclusion persist in organizations (Bell, 2012, p. 4). As discussed this week in class, when the department head turned down the Jamaican friend for the position, even though he seemed...
Words: 732 - Pages: 3
