Managing cultural diversity

Barbara Mazur

Diversity

• 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 as a “double-edged sword”.

• diversity has the potential of yielding greater productivity and competitive advantages, but

• Unmanaged diversity in the workplace might become an obstacle for achieving organizational goals.

Concepts of diversity

• Diversity is a subjective phenomenon, created by group members themselves who on the basis of their different social identities categorize others as similar or dissimilar: “A group is diverse if it is composed of individuals who differ on a characteristic on which they base their own social identity”

Concepts of diversity

• [O’Reilly, Williams, & Barsade, Loden & Rosener ] define diversity as that which differentiates one group of people from another along primary and secondary dimensions.

Dimentions of diversity

• Primary dimensions, those exerting primary influences on our identities, shape our basic selfimage as well as our fundamental world views. They have the most impact on groups in the workplace and society.

• Secondary dimensions are less visible, exert a more variable influence on personal identity and add a more subtle richness to the primary dimensions of diversity

Dimentions of diversity

• trend towards definitions of a multiplicity of diversity dimensions; Arredondo [2004] adds culture, social class and language to the primary dimensions and healthcare beliefs and recreational interests to the secondary dimensions. She further adds a tertiary dimension, which encompasses historical moments experienced.

Dimentions of diversity

• Maier lists 38 possible diversity dimensions, and further suggests that his item “character traits” is “infinitely expandable”. He illustrates this multi-dimensionality by reference to the individual as a kaleidoscope.

Primary

Dimensions

Secondary

dimensionsTertiary dimensions

• Race• Ethnicity• Gender• Age• Disability

• Religion• Culture• Sexual orientation• Thinking style• Geographic origin• Family status• Lifestyle• Economic status• Political orientation• Work experience• Education• Language• Nationality

• Beliefs• Assumptions• Perceptions• Attitudes• Feelings• Values• Group norms

Dimensions of Diversity

The reasons behind the rise of diversity

• GlobalizationOrganizations found an opportunity to expand their

operations worldwide

• MigrationIn order to sustain their current levels of economic activities

some countries (North America and Western Europe) need to import immigrants to work. On the other hand, developing regions of the world are experiencing a completely opposite trend, with growth in the number of young people due to high birth rates, improved medical conditions, and decreased infant mortality.

The reasons behind the rise of diversity

• Women’s workThe family structure (tasks of members, education and

consumption patterns) has changed with an increase in the number of active women.

• Aging populationThe aging population and the development of health care

are increasing the number of seniors staying active. Many economists are already predicting a shortage of skilled workers resulting in the need to recruit and retain older workers who possess valuable skills.

The reasons behind the rise of diversity

• Political diversityIn many organizations employees have different political

ideas and eventually affiliations. This is a source of conflict among them especially when they make decisions regarding crucial action such as strikes.

• Corporate structure changeUnder the pressure of competition, many organizations

are moving their production facilities to third world countries to enjoy cheaper labour or to get closer to raw materials sources.

The reasons behind the rise of diversity

• Status diversity (expatriates vs. locals) The expansion of the businesses at the international

level and the mobility of human resources resulted in the presence of expatriate and local employees working side by side with all the different working conditions (salary, extra benefits and work period)

• Caste diversityIn many countries, the caste system and the presence in

the same department of persons belonging to different castes might be lived.

Arguments for why an organization can improve its competitive advantage through the

effective management of its diversity management

• “Cost Argument” Organizations have not been as successful in managing women and minorities as in managing white males. Therefore, organizations that are unable to manage an increasingly dominant part of the work force will incur considerable additional costs that will detract from their productivity.

• “Resource-Acquisition Argument” Organizations that have the most favorable reputation for managing a culturally diverse work force will attract the most talented women and minorities into their ranks.

Arguments for why an organization can improve its competitive advantage through the

effective management of its diversity management

• “Marketing Argument” Organizations that serve multi-national or domestically multi-cultural consumers will benefit from a diverse work force that brings a blend of insights and cultural sensitivities to the organizations’ marketing efforts.

• “Creativity Argument” The representation of varying perspectives in a culturally diverse work force should enhance the level of creativity in the organization.

Arguments for why an organization can improve its competitive advantage through the

effective management of its diversity management

• “Problem-Solving Argument” Varying perspectives in a culturally diverse work force should enable problem solving groups to produce high-quality solutions and decisions.

• “System Flexibility Argument” Organizations

that manage diversity effectively become more fluid and flexible, which enables them to respond to environmental changes more quickly and efficiently.

The approaches of organizations to diversity

Approaches to diversity

• from which organizations can depart to create a diverse organizational workforce:deficit approach –some groups of people, such as woman or foreigners, lack specific job related qualifications and even more general competencies, such as ability to adapt to certain rules of habits in the organizations

Approaches to diversity

• Discriminatory approach – deals with eliminating discrimination and prejudices. A prejudice can be defined as a negative attitude toward people of different social groups or cultures, while discrimination is understood to be an unequal treatment on the basis of group characteristics, instead of on a basis of individual qualifications

Two approaches to diversity in which attention is paid to the creation of

stimulating environment.• Culturalization – the main focus is on cultural

difference and on how conflicts that may arise from these cultural differences can be turned into fruitful interactions.

Two approaches to diversity in which attention is paid to the creation of

stimulating environment.

• Individualization – in this perspective diversity is valued because it constitutes a source of innovation and competitive advantage. The focus is not on cultural differences, but on differences between individual people.

Cultural diversity in the workplace

• Cultural diversity - the representation, in one social system, of people with distinctly different group affiliations of cultural significance.

• It has been studied in both laboratory and field settings.

Cultural and diversity in the workplace

• Laboratory studies, grounded in the value-in-diversity perspective, have shown that diversity within work groups increases their effectiveness.

• On the other hand, field studies, guided by social identity and related self-categorization theories, have suggested that diversity is associated with negative performance outcomes.

Cultural homogeneity and diversity in the workplace

• Within culturally homogeneous groups, members will have a tendency to communicate with each another more often and in a greater variety of ways, perhaps because they share worldviews and a unified culture resulting from in-group attachments and shared perceptions

Cultural homogeneity in the workplace

• According to social identity theory, cultural homogeneity in management groups may increase the level of satisfaction and cooperation and decrease emotional conflict.

• Since homogeneous groups do not have significant cultural barriers to social intercourse, positive social associations and in-group social contacts are fostered.

Cultural diversity in the workplace

• As cultural diversity increases, however, social comparison and categorization processes occur, and in-groups/out-groups and cognitive biases may occur, creating barriers to social intercourse

Cultural diversity in the workplace

• To the extent that multiple subcultures exist in moderately heterogeneous groups, conflict is potentially maximized and intergroup interaction and communication may be blocked.

• Moderately heterogeneous groups exhibited relationship conflict, communication problems, and low identification of members with an overall work group.

Cultural diversity in the workplace

• Although moderate levels of cultural heterogeneity may create barriers to effective social intercourse, high levels of heterogeneity could actually weaken these barriers, since group members will be more evenly diffused over the categories of cultural diversity, and in-group/outgroup identities will be reduced

Cultural diversity in the workplace