Managing Cultural Diversity at Work - Research Paper Example

? ‘An awareness of the impact of (national) culture on people in work organizations’ is important in today’s world Introduction Every organization’s mission and vision are geared towards result attainment. To succeed in any endeavour, organizations have to put various issues into perspective so as to gain a competitive advantage against the competitors. This paper discusses the impact of culture (national) on people work and how it is important in the world today. The paper presents a close examination of various aspects of culture and how cultural consideration stands vital to the success of an organization. The paper also presents two theories of culture namely: Stadial theory and Classical social evolutionism. In the discussion and theoretical consideration, it is true that national cultural awareness has a positive impact of organizational development. National Cultural Awareness Cultural awareness is the consciousness of the way people live collectively in the nation. It further involves knowing the historical position of culture in history and how it has shaped peoples’ way of life (De, 2011). Additionally, involves taking responsibility of supporting the historical responsibility in enhancing developmental culture. Cultural consciousness and awareness is an internal drive which propels an organization to seek to understand and to tirelessly look forward to align their developmental agenda to the organizations’ goals. The past and the present make up the culture of a nation, it is imperative for organizations to know the past history of a nation to determine the effective beliefs and their causes. When organizations have a higher national cultural awareness, it shall not only thrive in the present market, but it shall also prepare them for great advances in the future. Organizations which succeed are those that have aligned their organizations’ culture to the national culture. This is because they have categorically known peoples’ thinking and perceptions and they can easily link their marketing strategies to what people are attached to. Cultural awareness make organizations to determine the way forward, they can easily consolidate resources, and develop good marketing strategies. Cultural awareness helps organizations to adjust to peoples’ expectations. This can be made possible by prioritizing cultural knowledge as a major factor in making arrangements for promoting their products. Culture determines peoples associations, perceptions, and it also determines self image of individuals and a nation. It therefore follows that for any organization to thrive; it has to be conscious of the way people live within some boundaries (De, 2011). The world is on the verge great changes and development thereby changing peoples’ culture. Organizations must be aware of the changes which occurs culturally to enable them to adjust properly lets they fail. Cultural position of a nation is becoming exceedingly apparent and its role in socioeconomic development is about expansion and its effect is becoming more deep and effective than before. New perspectives and situations require organizations to adjust on their packaging and marketing strategies. Many organizations fail today while a million others are thriving daily. For organizations stand in the new situations, they have to strengthen their cultural awareness majorly on the following three thematic areas: they have to be conscious of the position and influence of culture, they have to be aware of the workability of culture, and they have to be ready to take part on cultural enhancement and development. It is important to be aware of the significant position of culture. Culture has a tendency of perseverance and it permeates the minds of citizens. Culture in a nation is like air, it is found everywhere at the same time in a nation, and it directly influences the flow of reality. It does have a profound role in social and economic progress and development through the intangible consciousness. Culture changes peoples’ concept of reality thus any organization must always be aware of the national culture, its history, and its changing nature. Organizations have known the impact of culture in their economic strengths and prosperity; they have been relentlessly deepening and progressively expanding their knowledge and understanding of the place and role culture. It is now known to organizations that culture is the pillar of national creativity and cohesion and an indispensable factor in the regional competition for the strength of the nation and an important factor in the support of socioeconomic development. Culture must be looked into from its changing perspectives and its new practices must be put into perspectives in the organizational culture and considerations. First in social development, culture is an indispensable tool, and the development of culture is a major objective in the progress of societal civilization (Cooke, & Lazzeretti, 2008). A society with well improved material is a civilized society. An organization must know that a strong modern country, political cultural, economic and social development are organized and are in the same line. Culture is the overall achievement of the historical events which determined the current position and with the same projection; an organization can project where they want to be basing their logics on the trends of social and cultural change of a state. It is also vital to note that culture is the psychological and spiritual centre that unites peoples’ hearts. Culture is also a significant determinant of people’s happiness. In this sense, the culture dictates peoples’ preferences and tastes, thus the awareness of this enables organizations to meet the exact desires of the national market. In the past there had been a mention and lessons on the functions of culture without really knowing the connecting point of culture and peoples’ lives. Culture is the fulcrum that determines the harmonious co-existence of a peaceful nation. It is also vital to know that culture is the spiritual force that has morals and ethical guide of a nation. Organizations must therefore not go against the national ethics and they have to observe values of the nation because these values are what determine their markets’ reality. People rely on culture to understand their political life, to gain ideological standpoints, as well as to enlighten their minds. This is to say that they will always hold their culture with great esteem and there is a like-hood that they will reject or hesitantly accept anything that contract their cultural norms and beliefs. People become physically nourished by their culture, they get spiritual continent, and their temperament is moulded by their cultural beliefs. The requirement to get moral fulfilment and a sense of cultural identity is becoming more pressing. Culture is therefore an important aspect of human or national life that needs urgent attention. An organization that is aware of this fact which has the capacity, wheel and zeal to improve and give people in their cultural identity is guaranteed of success. This is because culture is a vital yardstick in determining peoples’ happiness and depending on the strength of with which people hold cultural values, it is easy to determine their needs and how to satisfy those needs. Culture plays a significant role in economic growth it considerably plays a major role in improving the quality of economic developments (De, 2011). In the current economy globally, studies indicate that the more a country is economically developed, the more it gets cultural support. It is also true to the findings that organizations that thrive in various markets are those that have identified with various national cultures and are fully in positive support of those cultures. Even with the development and the emergence of information technology and science, culture has found its way through these systems and for their proper acceptance and adaptability; culture has to be given a consideration lest they be rejected by the much targeted market. The cultural history and national habits are becoming major pillars that determine the direction of economic growth. Culture supports the value creation and it helps in the formation of the brand names. National culture is the framework through which citizens and the targeted market use judge an organization. It is thus known that the reputation of an organization makes it prosper depending on the people who are associated with it. It is only possible to sustain an economic stability or organizations profitability can only be sustained if and have the stamina to be raised culture is given its due consideration. Indeed the culture is a force dictates the direction of the economy. The global economic crisis has sparked research to determine factors that can lead to economic stability and all the findings come to a common agreement that culture has a role to play in shaping the economic direction of a nation and depending on how peoples’ cultures and handled by organizations, a nation stands financially. International Development Research Centre (Canada). (1995) observes that “In the past, great considerations of economic prosperity were seen to be leaning on reforms and in science and technology but now, the culture has also come strongly a dictate force in the market economy.” Placing emphasis on in the development of the economy has become a trend that cannot be stopped, and the competition that the melding of culture has created is the most fundamental, the most irreplaceable and the most sustainable that can exist in a country. Cultural Development Culture has its unique rules that it follows. These rules must be known to determine how cultural development operates. Consideration of cultural awareness is not only confined to enthusiasm for culture, but generally to the understanding of culture (Cooke, & Lazzeretti, 2008). In this sense it is vital for the organizations have an in-depth understanding of the scientific rules governing social and cultural development. Culture is an extraordinary phenomenon which has to be analysed from different points of views and different levels. In particular, it is important to have theoretical and scientific considerations on the impact of national culture on the organization functionality. Any present situation of the national economic standpoint is as a result of the historical cultural heritage. So the economic development is the base of cultural development. The culture of a nation is a direct reflection of the political situation of a country and its economic power. It is also vital to know that the political state and the economy of a nation also affect the cultural values of a person. It is theorized that development of every culture emanates from certain sequential background. It is also believed that culture will always be at par with the current historical background and it can never get ahead of the current situation. It is considered that the culture of any historical time is a pluralistic unity and symbiosis. The national culture is a blend of different cultures embraced by different people (Cooke, & Lazzeretti, 2008). But there is a need to blend all these cultures together to come up with a common identity as a common person. However, organizations have to know how to handle each target market since there are differences in individual preferences as well as different preference exists for different race, and ethnic groups. However, many countries are on the verge of creating a mainstream culture that unifies all races and ethnic groups without stereotyping and single person in the economy. Such awareness is important for organization since they help organizations to plan and organize their value systems appropriately. It is also important to know that in as much as a nation may seek to develop a national culture; it also endeavours to promote diversity. This dual approach to culture is a vital point worth considering. Theories of Culture Stadial theory There was speculation by thinkers of the enlightenment period that societies are in progress and it develops through stages. Fredrich Hegel argued that social development is a progressive and an unavoidable process (Krimmer, & Simpson, 2011). It was assumed that all societies have their origin from primitivism to industrial age through the modern age and to the postmodern era. Classical social evolutionism Classical social evolutions developed by Auguste Comte advanced his theory that societies are in constant progress and that progress was accomplished through competition (Harris, 2001). He emphasized that individual rather than collectivity is the sole unit of evolution that takes place in a process of natural selection (Krimmer, & Simpson, 2011). This is a theory that was further advanced by the publications of Darwin. In the two theories it is established that society is in a continuous change and as changes occur, there is competition and only the fittest survive through the system. Theorists viewed society as an organism which is in the process of growth. They gave a reflection that as organisms grow in their natural environments, they compete for the scarce resources like food, shelter, and water and that only the strong survive in the competitive environment. Conclusion Norms and cultural values of people changes with time, as people move from one phase of life to another, there is a tendency to develop new approaches to life. These new approaches further determine how people go through life. As societies evolve so are organizations. Organizations that are conscious of national culture of people and that which has mastered the evolving nature a society is bound to succeed. On the other hand, organizations which are not sensitive to the cultural environment may not be able to meet the intrinsic needs of the people. Failure to meet the needs and demands of the market means that such an organization gets eliminated by a natural selection. Organizations and businesses are in competition and those that have evaluated all the needs of the people, those that have conformed to meet and help in developing peoples' culture are bound to survive and thrive in the market. Bibliography Cooke, P., & Lazzeretti, L. (2008). Creative cities, cultural clusters and local economic development. Cheltenham, Glos, UK: Edward Elgar. De, B. S. (2011). Managing cultural diversity. Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer. Harris, M. (2001). The rise of anthropological theory: A history of theories of culture. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. International Development Research Centre (Canada). (1995). "Culture, Spirituality, and Economic Development: Opening A Dialogue". IDRC. Krimmer, E., & Simpson, P. A. (2011). Enlightened war: German theories and cultures of warfare from Frederick the Great to Clausewitz. Rochester, N.Y: Camden House. Read More