The Loudest Duck - Research Paper Example

Marketing The loudest duck: Moving beyond diversity while embracing differences to achieve success at work, Book Analysis. Introduction Liswood’s book “The Loudest Duck: Moving beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work” is one of the popular books that discuss contemporary issues in diversity management within the work environment. It provides a deep understanding of the nature of diversity, its influence on work place, challenges arising from diversity and the solutions to these challenges. It provides workable solutions to the challenges of diversity, which the employees and manager can refer while working in a diverse work environment. Thus, Liswood’s work can be termed as a relevant book for the contemporary work environment for both managers and employees. It is a good launch pad for international strategies in an era where business is going global. The purpose of this article is to conduct an analysis of Liswood’s work by focussing on the main issues that are presented in the text. It will also evaluate the various arguments provided by the author and weigh them against other research works that have been conducted by other authors. Therefore, it will identify the concession that exists between this work and the work of other authors and identify the controversial issues raised within the text book. This will help to provide a fair judgement of the book at the end and provide recommendations for its reading. Global Diversity A major point of focus of the author is the diversity trends that exist within the business environment. Liswood (2) starts by drawing an analogy between the Noah’s ark and the contemporary business environment. Just like the population in the Noah’s ark was diverse, the corporate culture was diverse and each character has their unique characteristics. The animals in Noah’s ark were different in terms of colour, height, species, eating habits and many other differences. The same way, the customers and the employees in a corporation vary in terms of their culture, family, religion, race, colour, language, gender, hobbies, economic class and other major differences that influence their attitude to business. Liswood seems to point out to the complexity of the modern business environment especially in the international markets. Today diversity trends has become an area of focus for business entities as they seek to widen their geographical coverage. Miller and Tucker (47) is among other authors who have focussed on this topic. They agree that global diversity is a reality that an organization has to pay attention to if they have to survive the tough market conditions. Unlike other authors who associate diversity with culture, Liswood (12) is keen to mark diversity as any difference between the characters in the corporate business. Of greater significance to her is the challenges that come along with diversity. In the Noah’s ark, the giraffe, being tall, would look at a zebra with different angle since it they are different and it’s hard to understand each other. The same way, different people within work place have a challenge understanding one another. They come from completely different backgrounds which influence their attitude to one another and the world in general. The author seems to be completely aware of the changes in the business environment. She seems to reach from her experiences in the business environment having worked with many Fortune 500 companies, which are most global. The challenges that she points are experienced by organizations, especially those who launch a global strategy without considering the challenges that may arise. The challenges of communication and formulation of team work are all possible within a diverse work place. On this note, Liswood’s work is warning signal to those organizations that wish to venture into the international market. The concept of post-diversity is a new concept that Liswood uses to identify the new changes in the concept of diversity. While traditional schools seem to have perceived diversity as a minor concept, it is clear that diversity now goes beyond this traditional idea. It is a reality that the globalized world has to come into terms with. This idea seems to be rather realistic considering the changes that have come up recently. Today, there is random motion from one country to the other in search for education, employment or even business opportunities. In addition, there has been formation of diversity laws that now govern business organizations within international markets. All organization are expected to provide a fair opportunity for every person irrespective of their differences be it age, gender, race, colour, economic class, sexual orientation or even culture. This idea is similar to the idea developed by Dolan (18) about the new concept of diversity. Liswood (26-28) holds the idea that the objection to diversity within organizations is a result of the organizations that still have the traditional mentality of diversity as a future idea of business investment. The author seems to be reacting from a personal experience when he criticizes those who feel that diversity management has not benefit to the organizational strategies. The Powerful in Corporate Liswood brings out the idea of the “elephant” and the “mouse” to show the variation of power within the business world. The Elephant refers to those who have dominated in the employment sector while the mouse refers to the minority within the business environment. A typical example that Liswood (31) gives is the male dominance with the top level management positions within the organization. The feeling that prevails is that women are the minority and that they have little knowledge of business management. However, she provides a counter argument stating that it is only that the mouse does not know the potential of the mouse and that they are ignorant of the mouse skills. However, the mouse is always keen to understand the elephant as they make every move. Therefore, the elephant does not even know when the population of the mouse grows, enough to overcome the strong elephant. The author seems to provide the assertiveness that modern women have shown in the 21st century. In the US, the population of women in CEO position has rapidly increased to 15, showing the potential that women have in becoming business managers. Therefore, the idea here is that a wise manager should always be conscious of the population surrounding them. Liswood seems to appeal to the management to use behavioural approaches to focus on empowering the minority groups to help unveil that these groups may have in the business environment. While many feel that considering diversity in setting up benchmarks for organization would be lowering the work standards, it may be the worthwhile decision to give opportunity to the minority groups. At times the minority may be the reason for business success, only that they lack the opportunity to perform within an organization. This piece of work seems to support the idea brought forward by the government on considering the minority groups while offering employment. For instance, it would be worthwhile to lower the professional qualifications for women for any particular position to promote them within the society. The reference to this approach is a crucial aspect in the modern business environment. Organizations that focus on diversity management trends such as gender balance within work force enjoy a good work profile and benefit from such strategies. Therefore, a good manager must be keen to use behavioural approaches in empowering the minority groups as this may be the opportunity for business success. Diversity and Communication in Organizational Culture Another area of focus of this book is the influence of diversity within the work environment. Liswood (49) introduces the concept of “grandma” and defines it as the various channels within our backgrounds that influence the way we behave. The author makes a comparison of the American who believes that “squeaky wheel gets the grease” and the Japan who believes that “the nail that sticks out gets hit on the head, and the Chinese who knows that “the loudest duck gets shot”. While the American saying encourages the public to be aggressive, the traditions encourage the Chinese and the Japanese to be less aggressive. This implies that cultural symbols influence the way people behave in the work environment. In a meeting, it is likely that the American will be more talkative than the Chinese or the Japanese owing to the different cultural believes that they possess. Thus, different cultural backgrounds influence the way people communicate within the work place. The impact of the “grandma” in the work place can have far reaching impacts within the work environment. From the communication perspective, it may reduce the number of business ideas that are available management decision making. Communication is a process that allows individuals to share their own ideas within the business environment. In a time that management decisions are based on the various business decisions, communication is an important tool for the managers. As the title of the topic states “tell your grandma to go back home” it is crucial to eliminate the impact of diversities on communication. To do this the organization needs to manage the various cultural diversities within the work environment. The role of the manager is to model a corporate culture that puts aside cultural influences and embraces new behaviour within an organization. While Liswood (52-53) feels that traditional diversity approaches such as training are necessary, she feels that they are not sufficient to change corporate culture within the contemporary business environment. The organizations have a challenge to change the cultural attitudes within the work force. To change the ideas that people have it is crucial to understand them and induce them to a new corporate culture to ensure that they understand the identity of the organization and drop their own identities. Harnessing Diversity within the Work Place The book provides a practical approach that an organization can use to benefit from diversity within the work place. From the point of management, it is crucial to understand the implication of diversity in organizational behaviour. Liswood (73) points out that what is easy for one person may be hard for another person. She gives the example of employees who can be able to speak up their achievements within an organization while others have the belief that being hardworking and quiet may win a promotion. This makes it hard for employees to react the same way within the work environment. Therefore, the author provides that the managers have a role to promote the right behaviour within their organizations. For instance, it would be crucial to encourage employee contribution by prompting each and every employee to provide their own opinions on an issue. This will give opportunity to those who remain quiet to speak up and contribute ideas towards the management information. Motivating employees to speak would be a wise way to ensure that the management has adequate information from which to make a decision from. The author holds the idea that every person within an organization has a role to play. He refers to the concept of the mouse and the elephant to suggest that both the minority and the powerful need have a role to play towards business development. From the employee perspective, he suggests that the only way to stand out within the work place is to “come out of the comfort zone.” Liswood sees the comfort zone as the person resistance to change their cultures and remain tied to the inherited believes. Leaving the comfort zone means changing your attitudes to match the demands of the work place. She gives the practical example of an America who thinks being talkative is good working in Japan where people are expected to be less talkative. Working in such an environment would lead to criticism for such behaviour which is regarded as negative. On this note, it would be crucial for the person to change their behaviours if they have to succeed in such work environments. The management needs to help the people in reforming their behaviours to ensure that both the minority also contribute to organizational development. Also, it is crucial for the management to focus on empowering the minority when it comes to their rights in work place. For instance, women are less talkative than men when it comes to fighting for their rights. While men can stand boldly to claim their rights such as fair pay, women will have little courage to ask for a fair compensation. Therefore men end up having a greater pay than women, which is negative aspect of diversity management. On this note, the management should be particularly keen about the rights of the minority groups. For instance, they should review the salaries without discriminating the silent groups within the organization. This point of Liswood (80) is reasonable considering the research that shows a wide range of gaps between the male and female salaries for the same position. She backs up her evidence with results of a statistical survey that showed that on average the salaries of fresh men graduates in six per cent higher than that of the females. This shows that organizations must focus on the rights of the minority to ensure that every person within the work environment is treated fairly and that they receive their rights just like any other person. This will create higher employee loyalty and reduce cases of discrimination. Conforming to the Organizational Culture The work of Liswood (106) is superior as it focuses on diversity from the both the perspective of the management and that of the employee. The author identifies the idea that employees have to conform to the work environment by changing their habits and acquiring what they find in the new environment. An important aspect of the organization that the employees must think about is the unwritten rules of the organization that apply as default. Liswood points out that there are those rules that will never be written down but are always followed within the organization, no matter how inconspicuous they may be. For instance, the management may not document the dressing code within the working environment but will have a particular taste for the employees dressing code. She gives the example of an employee who moves from an organization that does not take formal dressing code as important to an organization where everyone wears the neat suits. While there may be no such a rule, it would be a question of conforming to the new environment. For this, it is recommendable that an employee uses their observation skills to learn the unwritten rules of the organization. This will ensure that they have a better chance of working comfortably within the organization. On this ground, Liswood (136) advises that organizations possess the right tools to handle their jobs within their organizations. It is the tool that a manager has that determine what they achieve. This is depicted in her statement that “for a man with a hammer all problems look like nails.” The tool of awareness is crucial for business managers as it helps them to solve the challenges that are bound to happen within an organization. Awareness implies that a manager understands the nature of diversity within their work environment so that they are able to handle the public. If a manager is aware that women contribute less within a discussion, he would ensure he gives them a chance within a discussion. The success of the manager depends on their ability to understand the various attitudes that influence the behaviour of the work force within an organization. This is what the author (140) terms as understanding other people’s grandmas, in an effort to work with them cohesively. The only way a manager can get to understand their employees is by getting as close as possible to them so that they detect the diversity issues that prevail. Another vital tool is the ability of the manager to use the right language and to learn how to interprete the employees words in the right way depending on their cultural backgrounds. Having the right tools will help the managers to work efficiently in their diversity management strategies. Approaches discussed in class that the author dismisses as being irrelevant, unimportant, or misguided The author dismisses the idea that companies usually to recruit staff from several socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, gender, sexual orientation, race, and abilities so as to form a heterogeneous team in order to become a diverse organization. She argues that the issue of numbers is actually insufficient, what matters it changing the people unconscious attitudes. In the very first page of her introduction, Liswood argues that diversity is not the problem, she says, “The problem is that we bring our unconscious beliefs about ourselves and who others are into the workplace. The more diverse the workplace, the more likely it is that we wont have a fair and level playing field” (63). This is not attributed to the effects of diversity, but due to the manner in which we treat and relate to those who are distinctly different from us. The other approach that the author dismisses is that globalized businesses are becoming increasingly aware that diversity actually belongs to the boardroom, and not the public relation department. The author is very thoughtful and practical since she assists the ambitious employees from the non-dominant groups to actually prove their worth. Liswood also argues that diversity is not all about accepting others, but also it involves ensuring a level and fair playing field for everyone, and builds a firm or organization that gets actually the best from all its employees. A business model like that one akin to Noah’s ark will place more emphasis on integrating groups by benefiting from the “spots, the stripes, and the horns rather than waiting” (17) for organizational-wide conformity. Liswood’s work Compared to other Researches A wide range of research supports Liswood idea of the impact on culture on the communication strategies within an organization. The idea that diversity may affect the way people communicate is an idea that many researchers have come to agree. Sabina and Bernhard (373) reached a conclusion that the cultural issues that exist within an organization may be a great barrier of communication. Just like Liswood, they identified that cultures influences the way people speak, reach or socialize as well as the way they speak. On this note, it is possible to conclude that communication is a factor of the cultural background of the employees. For this Liswood, just like other author recommends that manager develop efficient communication strategies within an organization. The idea that minority groups within the community have become objects of discrimination is factual and statistics show that one average man are paid more than women even for the same work positions. Qian, Cao and Takeuchi (110-120) point out that in states such as Ontario, women especially those from aboriginal background are poorly paid and have less chances of getting a promotion. On this note, it is clear that the organizations have a for long side-lined minority groups within the work environment, which is a weakness in diversity management today. The idea that there exist unwritten rules within an organization is a controversial issue within the field of research. Liswood seems to suggest that the employees have a duty to identify the unwritten rules and conform to ensure that they become comfortable in the work environment. Research shows that the ability of an organization to develop well documented rules helps to give the employees orientation that makes them more comfortable and aligned the corporate culture. The ethics of the business comprise of the moral principles or the codes of the company to make sure that all the individuals working in the company act with an acceptable behaviour. The owners of a business can typically utilize the ethical theory that they deem appropriate for use in their operations. Some of the theories include; utilitarian, common good, virtue approach, rights, and justice. They can be used in a combination or on their own. Each of the theory consists of specific characteristics focusing on specific principles on ethics that can aid the companies correct issues related to diversity. Conclusion In conclusion, Liswood’s book is one of the most practical works that address the issue of diversity within the work environment. It starts by creating an understating on the nature of diversity, which gives the reader understanding of the contemporary global business environment. Being an experienced manager, the author is an authority in this field and this gives them a good experience to develop the topic of diversity. Next, the book clearly identifies challenges such as communication that exist within a diverse group before providing solutions to these problems. The author’s recommendation is that the management understand their work force while the employees strive to conform to the work environment. Her idea about the unwritten rules of the organization may be controversial because it is expected that managers play a great role in orienting the employees to ensure that they perform well within the shortest time possible. Overall, it is clear that Liswood book is a reliable source for information on diversity management. Works Cited Dolan, Thomas C. "Increasing Diversity In Governance And Management." Journal Of Healthcare Management / American College Of Healthcare Executives 58.2 (2013): 84-86. MEDLINE. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. Liswood, D. Laura. The loudest duck: Moving beyond diversity while embracing differences to achieve success at work. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010. print. Miller, Sandra K., and James J. Tucker III. "Diversity Trends, Practices, And Challenges In The Financial Services Industry." Journal Of Financial Service Professionals 67.6 (2013): 46-57. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. Qian, Cuili, Qing Cao, and Riki Takeuchi. "Top Management Team Functional Diversity And Organizational Innovation In China: The Moderating Effects Of Environment." Strategic Management Journal 34.1 (2013): 110-120. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. Wentling, Rose Mary, and Nilda Palma-Rivas. "Current Status And Future Trends Of Diversity Initiatives In The Workplace: Diversity Experts Perspective." Human Resource Development Quarterly 9.3 (1998): 235-253. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. Read More