Diversity and Multiculturalism Purity Mitu Human Resources Management March 3, 2017 Siena Heights University
Diversity and Multiculturalism Today's workforce is a true mixture of different races, ages, genders, ethnic groups, religions and lifestyles (Dias, 2011). It is the job of the management of the organization to fit together different pieces of people in a harmonious, coordinated way and utilizing the abilities and talents of each employee to its maximum. If skillfully managed, diversity can bring a competitive advantage to an organization. If not, however, the bottom line can be negatively affected and the work environment can become unwelcoming (Holck, Muhr, & Villesèche 2016). Many organizations have recognized that the workforce is changing and they are working towards creating a work environment in which diversity and difference are valued and employees can utilize their fullest potential. They are dealing with the problems that arise when people in the workplace communicate. Businesses must be aware of the impact of cultural diversity on important business factors, especially communication and the degree of the effect of cultural diversity on it (Henderson, 2001). Culture is an important dimension of group diversity that influences communication. Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. It is also referred to multiculturalism within an organization (Dias, 2011). Obvious cultural differences exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions, there are also significant variations in the way societies organize themselves, in their shared conception of morality, and in the ways they interact with their environment (Henderson, 2001). Therefore, according to Appelbaum, Kryvenko , Parada , Soochan & Shapiro (2015), In order to draw the connection between diversity and performance, there are several important concepts to keep in mind that may explain why there should even be any relation between these two variables. These concepts are ethnocentricity and the similarity/attraction theory. Ethnocentricity is the belief that one’s own ethnic group is in some way superior to all others. Indeed, according to Jones (2004) human beings are considered ethnocentric by nature. This means that we believe the ethnic group or culture to which we belong is inherently superior to other groups that we compare ourselves to; and we use these social comparisons to develop our own social identities. Thus, despite possible evidence to the contrary or even rational thought, it is possible to overestimate the successes of one’s own culture. Placing this in a business context, it is clear that any type of conclusions drawn without concrete reason or fair assessment has the potential to create negativity in the workplace, thereby decreasing performance (Appelbaum, Kryvenko , Parada , Soochan & Shapiro, 2015). Another related theory put forth by Mollica (2003) referred to as the similarity/attraction theory states that “similarity in attributes, particularly demographic ones, increases interpersonal attraction and liking. Individuals with similar backgrounds may find they have more in common with each other than with others from different backgrounds, making it more comfortable for them to work together and collaborate toward producing a product/service or solving a problem.” Thus, people like to work with people that resemble themselves. Possibly we can begin to sense a problem when this may result in any type of favoritism in the workplace. With that being said, based on the two theories discussed above, it is clear that ethnic diversity may affect performance in some way, but how it affects it is possibly related to what we perceive each culture brings to the corporate table. Clearly, cultures have different ways of perceiving the world and situations based on their historic associations and cultural values, which then affects their behavior within certain contexts. To add on the above, it is important to understand how cultural values are assessed. One major benefit of learning how cultural values are assessed is the fact that it may increase one’s understanding of different cultures and possibly decrease the instance of stereotyping. Stereotyping has been defined as, “Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs” (Evans, 2012, pp. 721-2). Clearly, this problem may obstruct effective cooperation in the workplace, giving rise to conflict, and thus lowering an organization’s overall performance. As mentioned in the introduction, workforce diversity is the mix of people in organizations in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age, and demographic characteristics such as education and socio-economic status (Dias, 2011). Organizations are becoming increasingly diverse as a growing number of women and ethnic minorities enter the workforce. For example, according to Pelled (1999), it is reported that the share of women in the US labor force will increase from 47 percent in 2000 to 48 percent in 2010. Similarly, the portion of minorities in the US labor force is estimated to rise from 27 percent in 2001 to 32 percent in 2010. As a result, it is not surprising that demographic diversity has become one of the foremost topics of interest to managers and researchers alike (Pelled, Cummings, & Kizilos, 1999). Understanding the influence of diversity is particularly important for organizations that rely on team-based work structures, where individuals must engage in face-to-face interactions more frequently than in other organizational settings (Pelled, Cummings, & Kizilos, 1999). Another common trend in many organizations is the increased use of teams as a way of improving effectiveness. The use of teams can be readily seen in fields such as the military, medicine, and aviation. In many cases, these teams operate in highly interdependent settings that require team members to constantly interact with one another in order to be effective. According to Evans (2012), “As team-based organizations continue to become more diverse in terms of gender and ethnicity, it is important to develop a better understanding of how changes in member diversity affect team interactions and the ability to succeed.” Therefore, in order to become more performant, we need to accept that diversity is a fact of modern day life, and must be dealt with accordingly in the workplace, especially considering the increased use of teams. Diversity is not just about teaching and learning from others who are different, it is about dignity and respect for all, and about creating workplace environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives. Most scholars agree that diversity in the workplace utilizes employee skills to the fullest and contributes to the overall growth and prosperity of the organization. It is based on the idea identities and should not be discarded or ignored, but instead, should be maintained and valued (Henderson, 2001). Increasing cultural diversity is forcing organizations to learn and motivate people with a broader range of value systems. To succeed in managing workforce that is increasingly diverse and multinational, managers need knowledge about cultural differences and similarities among people from different backgrounds (Holck, Muhr, & Villesèche, 2016).They also need to be sensitive to these differences that can contribute to their effectiveness in cross cultural communication. In today's global business world, a manager has to understand cultural differences and their meanings in business relations. The manager who manages diversity should understand that diversity includes every employee. It is a challenge to successfully apply skills, energy, and commitment of employees to make an organization better. It is of primary importance that the manager understands the cultural beliefs and values of the organization for effectively managing diversity (Holck, Muhr, & Villesèche, 2016). These beliefs and values group together to create an environment that employees perceive as supportive or not supportive of diversity. Within all organizations there are culturally supportive and non-supportive people, policies, and informal structures. Managers should carefully plan and implement organizational systems and practices to manage employees so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized and disadvantages minimized (Sippola, 2007). It should be the policy of the company not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation or citizenship. This policy applies to all employment practices, including recruitment, selection, promotion, transfer, merit increase, salary, training and development, demotion, and separation (Henderson, 2001). On top of that, Enoksen (2016) argues that discrimination against employees of foreign background has drastically increased over the years. To prove her point, she conducted an investigation from various departments and her findings showed that immigrants are highly discriminated against in the work force. In order to mobilize an effective response to discrimination, the support of employees is essential (Enoksen, 2016). The organizations need to understand and support the potential cultural and communication differences among immigrants. This can be accomplished by showing respect, empathizing and being more flexible towards communication issues in the workforce environment. It should be knowledgeable about ethical issues and understand values, communicate decisions regarding these issues to employees and keep communication channels open for all employees to feedback information without fear and revenge (Enoksen, 2016). Organization should adapt to the policies that directly or indirectly affect the diversity issues (Sippola, 2007). It is important how the organization addresses and responds to problems that arise from diversity. It must reflect its stance on diversity in its mission statement. If the mission statement articulates a clear and direct commitment to diversity, everyone who comes into contact with that mission statement will grow to understand and accept the importance of diversity (Dias, 2011). Integrating diversity into organizational practices is one of the key elements in the field of human resources. According to Sippola in his article about developing culturally diverse organizations (2007), “Human resource managers need a better knowledge of business strategy and other areas traditionally beyond the HR domain in order to make cultural diversity deliver. If they meet this challenge, they can take advantage of what cultural diversity and its management offers their organizations. Given present-day reductions in formal external pressures like equal opportunity and affirmative action mandates, it is up to the human resource executives and other top-level officials of U.S. organizations to take a proactive stance toward promoting cultural diversity, not only for the sake of corporate social performance, but also in the interests of corporate financial performance.” In the past and still in some areas of the world today, integrating diversity into corporate culture made use of such terms as “affirmative action,” “equal opportunity,” and “racial-ethnic quotas” (Dias, 2011). Some of these measures were legally imposed, while others were simply company policy. Varying views of the relevance and effectiveness of these measures are still debatable today. Workplace diversity provides strengths as well as offer challenges to the organization. Cultural diversity is meaningful and not without purpose. It helps employees to learn from each other, and understand each other's differences (Henderson, 2001). Cultural diversity affects the businesses in many ways including the staff recruitment/retention, management styles, decision-making processes, and relationships within organizations. Cultural diversity often improves and develops the workplace by helping as learning experiences for employers as well as employees (Dias, 2011). When an organization embraces diversity and realizes its benefits, it can succeed and compete more effectively. When it actively assesses the handling of workplace diversity issues, develops and implements diversity plans, it can increase its adaptability. Different employees bring individual talents and experiences and suggesting flexible ideas in adapting to ever changing markets. An organization that can globally provide service with a diverse collection of skills and experiences are often more successful. Organizations that encourage workplace diversity inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Different strategies are then executed; resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment (Jones, 2004). On the other hand, diversity issues costs money, time and efficiency. If not managed properly it can create problems. Some of the consequences can include unhealthy tensions between employees or with management; loss of business performance and productivity because of increased conflict; inability to attract and retain talented people of all kinds; complaints and legal actions; and inability to retain valuable employees, resulting in lost investments in recruitment and training (Evans, 2012). Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its own challenges. Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing (Dias, 2011). In conclusion, although cultural diversity presents a challenge, organizations should view it as an opportunity rather than a limitation. When managed properly, cultural diversity can provide competitive advantages for an organization. An organization that manages diversity properly can develop cost advantages over other organizations and are in much better position to attract the best personnel. Proper guidance and management of diversity can improve the level of creativity in an organization (Henderson, 2001).
References Appelbaum, S. H., Kryvenko, O., Rodriguez Parada, M., Soochan, M. R., & Shapiro, B. T. (2015). Racial-ethnic diversity in Canada: competitive edge or corporate encumbrance? Part One. Industrial and Commercial Training, 47(6), 302-309.
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=71
Enoksen, E. (2016). Perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace: influence of personal values and organizational justice. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(2), 66-80.
Evans, C. (2012). Recruitment initiatives aimed at increasing the gender diversity within ITEC employment: Not so “gender neutral”?. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 31(8), 741-752.
Henderson, G. (2001). Cultural diversity in the workplace: Issues and strategies. Praeger Publishers.
Holck, L., Muhr, S. L., & Villesèche, F. (2016). Identity, diversity and diversity management: on theoretical connections, assumptions and implications for practice. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(1), 48-64.
Jones, D. (2004). Screwing diversity out of the workers? Reading diversity. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 17(3), 281-291
Pelled, L., Cummings, T. and Kizilos, M. (1999), “The Influence of organizational demography on customer-oriented prosocial behavior: an exploratory investigation”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 4No. 3, pp. 209-16.
Sippola, A. (2007). Developing culturally diverse organizations: a participative and empowerment-based method. Women in Management Review, 22(4), 253-273.