Managing Diversity - Report Example

?Leadership Issues – Managing Diversity Introduction The force of globalization has effectively altered the way businesses are done. This was furthered fuelled by dramatic improvements in technology which greatly enhanced communications capabilities that has effectively brought countries and cultures closer to each other. Also, the seemingly unstoppable trend of globalization has effectively brought western and eastern economies closer together. This has been further pushed for the by the recent economic problem that has saw China emerge as one of the strongest economies of the world today. Hence, multinational companies have increased their presence in most Asian economies such as China. These multinational companies have seen the growing potential because of the massive improvement in this country that has greatly benefitted from almost three decades of reforms (Warner 2008). Managing in the Chinese Empire The entry of these multinational companies has likewise necessitated the presence of foreign managers to help in the management as well as operations of these multinationals in the Chinese soil. Hence, it was the expatriates that have been tapped for this role. It is their job to supply the necessary skills, both managerial and technical, so that the local counterpart can cope up with the operations of the parent company. Likewise, it is hoped that the presence of the expatriate will greatly enhance the relationship between the foreign and domestic managers of the company. However, be it China or other country, it is important for the foreign counterparts assigned to these areas to be able to recognize the requirements of the different cultures that they are being immersed into. Globalization has brought forth the need for different multinational companies to maintain a global workforce which requires the foreign nationals that are assigned into these countries to be aware of the cultural differences that is a very important requirement for these foreign managers to be able to work with teams that comprise different cultures (Ibrahim 2010). Key leadership Issues in China A Mass of Followers, A Lack of Leaders In China, the different culture can be really challenging to the expatriate that will be assigned to the area. Chow & Liu (2008) states that most Chinese employees are not that keen on having additional duties or being involved with different or increasing responsibilities. Most of them are just too convenient in the boss-subordinate agreement. It is therefore important for the expatriates to understand and be able to work around such strong cultural make up. This presents a strong challenge since it is important for the multinational companies to be able to develop their employees and have a fully functional global workforce that will jive with the way the parent company does its business. Employees are very important for a company’s success thus it is very important for the expatriates to be able to rally them behind the corporate strategies necessary for the success of their venture. True, this trait enables the local unit of a multinational company to have sufficient workers that are following the company’s policies and regulations. This trait somehow ensures them there will be followers whenever they lead. However, this relative aloofness as stated by Chow and Liu (2008) can also rob them of possible potential managers that may be tapped to lead the locals. Political Forces Warner (2008) has highlighted the importance the changes have had in China for propelling them into the current stature that they are in right now in the global economy. China has indeed benefitted much from opening their doors to the benefits and opportunities of global commerce. This has been instrumental in providing the necessary boost that is unavailable in a strictly closed economy that has been characteristic of a communist country. However, it is important to remember that the Chinese economy is not yet a full free market economy. Despite having been opened to businesses, the government retains substantial control of the economy. Expatriates would do well to remember that the socialist government has considerable influence in the businesses within China’s borders. Hence, the strategies and maybe even the managerial style of the democratic western economies might not do so well in this country (Chow & Liu 2008). Possible Solution These challenges has opened up the need for the companies and the expatriates that they are assigning to the various local counterparts to be able to develop cultural intelligence (CI). Ibrahim (2010) states that having a substantial CI is necessary for the expatriates to develop certain repertoires that are needed for their successful foray into territories that may be unfamiliar to them. Thus, expatriates in China must likewise have substantial CI in order for them to be able to manage the diverse Chinese teams that they will be handling. It is important for them also to be able to hire and hone diverse cultural talents for which their leadership style must be adapted to. Furthermore, the people that they will be managing, training, mentoring and developing may usually have very different beliefs from the western world that these expatriates usually come from. Hence, in order to gain the respect and trust, it is important for them to exude substantial respect for these people. Also, it does not stop from their employees alone. Having this CI, or a rather substantial amount of it, takes them a step further in understanding the different customers that they will encounter. Furthermore, since as mentioned China is still a socialist country, the preparedness of the expatriates through the CI can take them beyond their employees and customers but the very important component of government as well since, in this country, the political force remain a strong component of the external environment that the multinationals, through their expatriates, must deal with. Workforce Diversity in Australia Welcome to the Land Down Under Turning the tables, it is interesting to see how this can work when it is the Chinese’ turn to become expatriates themselves. As with the foregoing example, understandings of the host country as well as the locals are the most potent solutions to be able to tackle the problems that may be encountered when in another territory. As mentioned, most staff in China are usually contented with being followers and usually shy away from increased responsibilities (Chow & Liu 2008). However, it is important for the representatives of the companies, be it from China or from other countries, to be able to recognize and adapt to the very diverse workforce in Australia. Hence, in order to perform better in this country, the expatriates from China must have a paradigm shift since they will encounter various practices that, as with the western experience when they went into China, are different from their culture. Diverse Workforce The workforce is diverse in Australia which necessitates the expatriates to be able to deal with not just one but a totally differentiated and diversified set of employees. As compared to the conservative and socialist China, the workforce available in Australia is very diverse, each with its own issues that foreigners must be able to deal with. As mentioned, China is a socialist department and although they have the highest number of population all over the world, the Chinese are quite uniform in their own country when it comes to religion, custom as well as culture. However, things are different in Australia. Thus, bringing in a Chinese which has been comfortable with the set-up at home may find his plate full with the various differentiations the Australian workforce has to offer. To survive, much more to succeed, the Chinese expatriates must be made aware of this reality that they will be facing when they set foot on the land down under. More so, a complete shift from the practices at home may be warranted for them to be able to tackle workforce diversity. According to the Australian government’s Workplace Diversity Strategy (2011), it is important to create a work environment that can utilize the differences of their employees for their success. Although it may initially be a source of weakness in a company, it is believed that this diversity can likewise bring a company surging forward due to the confluence of varying backgrounds, capabilities, views and even the workers’ experiences can provide a fertile ground to better implement or maybe even improve a company’s strategy. However, as mentioned, it is important that the expatriate that will be assigned has the necessary CI to be able to handle the myriad of forces that tends to threaten the smooth implication of the multinationals’ strategies. The Workplace Diversity Strategy (2011-13) has even put forth the information about the workforce diversity which supposedly spawns from the very important principles of equality in the opportunities to get a job regardless of sex, how old a person is, their ethnical or racial background, even sexual and/or identity of gender as well as their intelligence and physical strength. A Strategic Approach Needed Bergemann (2004) has highlighted the striking number of diverse cultures filling Peterborough City. She likewise acknowledges that this realization has gone way beyond the city limits wherein even multinational organisations see the important need to address the issues of diversity. Hence, reversing the situation and making the Chinese the expatriates will take more than just trainings or knowing the difference between varying ethnic and national cultures. It must be an objective that is embedded on the company’s strategies that must be married into the policies, procedures and even on the organisational culture of the company. Furthermore, Bergemann lays down conditions that are critical prior to undertaking a diversity project. First and foremost is the acceptance of everybody in the company of the responsibility for managing diversity. Despite the fact that these are generally people matters, it must not solely rest upon the shoulders of the company’s human resources department. More so, the core HR of that company cannot be at the local that is being targeted. Therefore, this puts additional weight on the expatriates whereby it seems that bringing in managerial and technical expertise is not enough. Since it was mentioned that the expatriates are also key players in building relations, they must have sufficient people skills to effectively deal with the diverse cultures in Australia. Since it was mentioned also that the management of diversity must be an objective embedded in the company’s strategy, the involvement as well as commitment of the senior management as well as the executive committee becomes key to the success of whatever undertakings a company chooses to pursue to manage diversity. These becomes strategic objectives and must therefore be effectively managed in the way they are intended to be and of course the dialogues with the concerned party, the employees, are also vital since these will provide insights that can improve the program. Diversity Issues Women on Top Gender equality has been a sensitive issue and remains to be a prickly one in Australia. The Business Spectator (2011) laments on the rarity of women taking top executive positions in Australia wherein the nation languishes at the bottom compared with the UK, US Canada, South Africa and New Zealand in terms of having female executives. It was further reported that women hold a meager 104 key executive position out of the total 1,300. That is a very low turnout which seems to suggest a low preference for putting their ladies on top of them thereby seemingly defeating the purpose of having equal opportunities regardless of gender. This has been exacerbated by the pay which seems to be unevenly tilted against the women’s favor. However, it is interesting to note that the government is making advances to balance the situation. Recently, it has been mandated that the pay equity be reported by the various companies so that the government might be able to gauge the improvement in balancing and truly giving fair treatment regardless of their executives’ gender. An Invisible Force It has been further reported by the Business Spectator (2011) that there seem to be a general preference for leaders based on their gender, age and even culture. This seems to have been a tradition and the general bias seems to have been generally accepted that it has been a very common practice that resulted in such disheartening numbers mentioned above. Thus, the number of female executives seems to merely reflect this belief and that has been a very disturbing concern regarding when looked upon the point of view of gender equality. Multiculturalism Aside from the seemingly insurmountable barriers for the women, there has likewise been some confusion regarding multiculturalism wherein there seem to be a division regarding whether this is due to a society with different cultures or a society with a population that are culturally different from each other. Though at first glance it may look the same, these two are different from each other. However, these carries weight when certain rights of certain groups are trifled with. Still, however people look at it, Australia is a confluence of culture brought in by numerous migrants (Brett 2011). Transferring Chinese staff to this country truly demands a significant understanding of the diverse cultures within the boundaries of this country. The expatriates that they will “export” to Australia which the Australians will see as “imports” must be able to properly comprehend and adjust accordingly to the diverse Australian business landscape. This further highlights the necessity for the people that will be sent to other countries to be truly able to understand and handle the people that they are going to work or interact with. Conclusion To sum it all up, be it in China or Australia, Cultural Intelligence plays a key role in enabling expatriates to handle the challenging diversity in the workplace. Although it is quite clear that Australia is seemingly more challenging than China, expatriates on both countries from wherever region or nation they may have come from, needs to be able to adapt to the differences that they may encounter. It is important for these expatriates to immerse themselves into the culture of their country assignments so that they may clearly understand the people that they are dealing with which may be their employees, customers or even the government. It is also important to note that despite being significantly difficult, the expatriate gets more than the rich paycheck but likewise develops important traits such as the capability to truly listen and to be open to other people (Ibrahim 2010). The reality of globalization has been growing stronger since the turn of the century. As mentioned, technology continually plays a key role in the ever changing business landscape. Moreover, there has been a new breed of employees known as the knowledge workers that has even transcended traditional office boundaries (Serrat 2008). This presents an even more challenging role to expatriates that are handling a diverse global workforce. It is really important for the expatriates to be prepared and the need for them to have substantial CI has been very pressing especially for the countries mentioned. The human component of organisational success has all the more been highlighted by the emerging concept of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) by Kaplan and Norton (2005). Thus, aside from the myriad of forces permeating the business environment of today, strategies of companies are no longer anchored on mere financial successes alone. The BSC augments the traditional strategic plan by providing balanced lagging and leading indicators for the company to be able to truly strategize and, if needed, adjust or recalibrate existing strategies and objectives to capture emerging changes in the external and internal environment of the firm. The human component comes heavily in the Learning and Growth Perspective which, when viewed on the basic BSC, seem to be the anchor from which most actions in the operational and marketing aspect of the firm are either dependent on or are results of. Thus, it has been increasingly important for the companies that have international operations to have expatriates that can capture and harness the human components of the country that they will be assigned to. This only highlights further the importance of being able to handle a workforce that may be entirely different from the ones in the company’s headquarters. Globalization has truly pushed the expatriates to far greater heights and their importance to the achievement of the global corporate strategies further stresses the need for them to be able to have substantial CI in order for them to be able to manage the diversity of the global workforce that the company needs to move forward. The responsibility of harnessing the forces from the different areas of operations of the companies fall heavily on the expatriates which means that they have to be able to get and develop the key people in the local area where they will have local operations. The expatriate then becomes the vital bridge connecting the operations of the local branch to the main HQ of the company which also becomes key for stronger business relationships to flourish. Finally, the importance of the expatriates CI spills over beyond the office towards a better understanding of their customers as well. References Australian Government 2011, ‘Workplace diversity strategy’ Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Bergemann, R 2004, ‘Managing cultural diversity in the workforce’, Globalite Management Services, Ltd. Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Brett, J 2011 ‘Triumph of common sense’, The Australian, Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Business Spectator 2011 ‘Like hires like? Why female CEOs are such a rare breed’ Knowledge@Australian School of Business. Available at: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Like-hires-like-Why-female-CEOs-are-such-a-rare-br-pd20110525-H78QQ?opendocument&src=rss. Accessed 27 May 2011 Chow, I & Liu, S 2008, ‘The effect of aligning organisational culture and business strategy with HR systems on firm performance in Chinese enterprises’, Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Ibrahim, AS 2010, ‘Cultural intelligence: Expatriate challenges and diversified workforce management’, Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Kaplan R & Norton D 2005, ‘Balanced scorecard: Measures that drive performance’, Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Serrat, ADB 2008 ‘Managing knowledge workers’, Available at: Accessed 27 May 2011 Warner, M 2008, ‘Reassessing human resource management 'with Chinese characteristics': an overview’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 771-801. Read More