How a Multicultural Workforce Might Affect Teamwork and Communication in Large Companies - Essay Example

Large companies involve the incorporation of different talents and abilities of workers. The inclusion of several people of different abilities for different departments undoubtedly implies that any large business organizations involve people from diverse cultural backgrounds. There are many areas in large organizations whereby different behaviors, attitudes, communication issues, functioning, as well as, cultural implications are evident. Notably, cross-cultural differences usually stem from the diverse backgrounds of each culture. Due to cultural diversity, it is undoubtedly true that misunderstandings among the workers in the organization may arise. Based on different cultural beliefs, there are different ideologies, for instance, those that arise due to differences in religious beliefs. For a successful business operation, any individual worker should be able to work with people of different cultural backgrounds, irrespective of their cultural orientation. A definite example is the management and operation of various Western Companies operating in the Middle East (Kawar, 2012). This essay will utilize Tagreed’s book in analyzing the various ways through which a multicultural workforce affects teamwork and communication within the companies.        

Hofstede (2005) described cultural differences and variations in four distinct categories. The first category is individualist versus collectivism. He states that in certain cultures, individualism is emphasized whereas in others group or teamwork is given an upper hand. For instance, among the Latinos, group work is given priority over individual work. In such communities, goals are made based on communal or group needs. Most Native Americans, on the other hand, prefer individualism to collectivism. When individuals from the two societies are employed within the same company, it is always hard for them to come to terms and agree on the achievement of the company goals and targets. Latino workers may find the organizational culture favorable and normal to them, unlike the Natives who will look into individual worker achievement before giving considerations to the group or company output.

Another way through which cultural variations and diversity may affect a multicultural company is through the existence of cultural variation at the occupational level. An example is a teaching career, which requires an employee to have certain definite cultures in order to succeed in their jobs as well as relate well to fellow employees. It becomes a great challenge to individuals who do not possess the behavioral characteristics of teachers in such a case to survive and yield the necessary and required outcome (Kawar, 2012). Another way through which diverse cultural beliefs and behaviors may affect an organization is through gender beliefs and differences among different cultures. For instance, among Middle Eastern individuals, women may have less say or contribution to society compared to men. This cultural belief and practice may be a new idea to Western women. In such a case, it becomes a problem when, for instance, a Western woman working with an Asian man in the same office. Naturally, the Asian man will possess and employ totalitarian behaviors of his co-worker, who may not definitely respond to his demands and behaviors.

One culture may support the company objectives while the other may act contradictorily. It is, therefore, crucial for the companies to understand the culture of their employees for satisfactory yields or success of their business operations.