Cross-Cultural Opportunities and Conflicts in Canada - Essay Example

? CROSS-CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES AND CONFLICTS IN CANADA Introduction Canadian people are strategically positioned to take part in developing markets because they have the required competence of both American people as well as other powerful competitors. Cultural diversity is a key aspect of Canada because it gives Canada both success opportunities and prosperity. Similarly, cultural diversity present some challenges to the economic and cultural accomplishment of Canada. The paper aims to investigate cross-cultural opportunities and conflicts in Canada. Discussion a Who are the stakeholders? That is, identify the different groups of people whom are affected by choices in this instance. Also, include in your analysis how many different ways different groups of people are affected. Canada is among the nations that embrace cultural differences as a form of economic and cultural opportunity. In Canada, immigrants are always comfortable and majority has attained their personal goals. Globally, people should learn to understand, accept, regard and acknowledge cultural diversity. Most crucial, cultural difference is the foundation for the success of Canada. Most global organizations, immigrants, Canadian leaders and business entrepreneurs face an intensive challenge in managing diverse cultures, for instance, Occidental Petroleum Company in Canada. Canada’s growth opportunities occur in the developing markets, whereby the requirements are nearly infinite. Canada must venture in those marketplaces. Both European nations and N. America are the main markets and therefore, competition may be challenging for companies in Canada to explore them further, (Tierney, 2007). Therefore, Canadian cultural diversity gives the country an extensive advantage to take part in developing global markets. This is because cultural diversity accords Canada all the competence that other powerful competitors have. Canadian people are increasingly competitive and cultural diversity gives Canada a positive image globally. The Canada’s tradition of openness and harmony, unity and flexibility is a quality cherished in the developing globe. From a cultural standpoint, the nation has various aspects that are broadly accepted worldwide. For instance, Canadians are sensitive, respectful and dynamic; Canada cherishes unity in diversity, respects cultural diversity (diverse traditions and views) and people. This makes the country well considered when dealing with international business and gives Canada an opportunity to capitalize on different capacities. Individuals from diverse nations and origins have reinforced the economy of Canada. Immigrants from different countries are mainly hard workers who bring diverse talents, competences, expertise and skills to Canadian companies and markets, (Chalmers, 1996). They are principled people who promote the reputation of Canada and are beneficial to the nation. Since Canada gives equal opportunities for both Canadians and immigrants - or people from different ethnic backgrounds outside Canada – to attain their objectives and develop, Canada has an opportunity to develop technologically, economically, culturally and socially from different talents and skills of non- Canadians. Cultural diversity adds value to Canadian companies, governments and cultures. Multiculturalism makes the country rich in that they participate and offer their skills, expertise and knowledge in international business. Similarly, the country can efficiently utilize ethnocultural aspects in the society of Canada to obtain a share of developing markets. This is because availability of diverse ethnic people is a critical mechanism for Canada. For instance, in Canadian delegation almost 25% of the business entrepreneurs are immigrants from Vietnam. These Vietnamese can well describe to Vietnam authorities the potential benefits that Canada can offer to Vietnam and the form of business connections to be created. Similarly, Vietnamese in Canada settlements can easily eliminate cultural gaps and obstacles and create a strong connection with their Vietnamese counterparts since they share similar culture, (Li and Canada, 2002). Therefore, if Canadian business leaders take advantage of the potential represented by diverse ethnic communities in Canada, the country will attain a better opportunity to participate in the current emerging markets in highly competitive world environment. In other words, these cultural groups will open up new opportunities for Canadians companies’ worldwide, and foster dialogue to have in Canada rank various people of those nations. b How does a large company build its internal culture? How much give and take with the external cultures of diverse people is there likely to be? Why is a firm’s culture important? Most Canadian companies have established their internal culture through embracing multiculturalism. These Canadian companies give all people a chance to participate and develop irrespective of the cultural origin. Mainly, racism is discouraged and people have equal opportunities. For instance, in most Canadian companies one will observe people from diverse origins operate together in harmony, appreciations each other’s beliefs, values, religious faith, morals and ethics. This internal culture is crucial because it promotes interaction, productivity and minimizes conflicts and stress in workstation. In addition, it promotes the reputation of the company attracting more investors and partners, (Doran and Tang, 1990). Multiculturalism is crucial for Canada because it permits for the juxtaposition of multiple traditions and languages in an atmosphere where there are two or more main languages and traditions. It reveals appreciation as well as acceptance. Nevertheless, the most crucial advantage is the fact that multiculturalism permits accessibility to the globe. Canadian multiculturalism policy enriches all the people by making them aware of global cultures. International success implies that a country should be completely aware of its client’s languages and traditions and comprehend that the business language is their clients’ language. In fact, this is what the multiculturalism policy of Canada permits it to attain at the end. It is a fundamental opportunity in the economic continent. Therefore, a firm’s internal culture is crucial to embrace cultural diversity for the success and productivity of the company in international business. c How does cultural change take place? Is it through leadership? Only through evolution? Through increased regulation and government monitoring? Through a change in the way managers think. Explain. Cultural transformation occurs through evolution and policy formation. This includes evolution of behavior, thoughts and change of attitudes. For a company to succeed in the global context there must be developed policies and regulations in line with different employees. Canadian companies comprise of workers from various regions of the globe. Diversity in workplace enables people to perceive issues from multiple standpoints, which promote the quality of the company’s decisions, (Irish, Lundquist & Nelsen, 1993). Leadership and employment equity addresses conflicts, reduces oppressive practices and promotes unity. Diversity enables the company to tap chances and limited resources and opens doors for various global businesses. As people from various cultural origins come together, they evolve and create a common culture – through their leaders- that enable them to coexist in the workplace. What criticisms of your argument can you anticipate? Imbed your defense within the essay. Although cultural diversity presents some crucial opportunities, it also presents some challenges in Canada. For instance, experts agree that cultural different is the most challenging obstacle that face various Canadian companies. Because people have diverse cultures, myths, languages, opinions and interests, misunderstands and miscommunications are bound to appear in various occasions, (Doran and Tang, 1990). Dealing with workforce from overseas in a culturally varied workstation, business operations of the Canada are constantly constrained. Dealing with cultural diversity implies accepting different languages, attitudes, business interests and opinions. It also implies learning various morals and lifestyles, which is highly imperative and challenging. Constant conflict of interest may ruin the competitive advantage and reputation of Canada making the country less productive. This is because, what is acceptable and right from one country may be unacceptable and wrong in another nation. Therefore, studying and learning different cultures may take time thus, retarding the economic growth of Canada. Multiculturalism in Canada may be an opportunity as well as a conflict or limitation to success. For example, some conservative aspects may retard the progress towards universality, blending and interaction that may lower the chances of hybridization or take advantage of liberty and limited regulation in multicultural communication of Canada to bring about conflicts from their countries leading to discrimination, hatred and racism in Canada. This may also enhance and spread a wrong ideology instead of enhancing hybridization as promoted by the country. Similarly, promoting the main Canadian culture presents a form of colonization and enslavement of immigrants and foreigners, making them slaves of history, their parents’ connection victims and prisoners to their own cultures, (Eisenberg, (2006). Finally, workforce diversity creates a problem to companies, which are devolving various roles to decision-making groups that mainly comprise of people from diverse backgrounds. In various companies, the traditionally main operating populations may exercise power and exploit the immigrants and foreigners because they have the decision-making power. Literature reveals that inequality and discriminations are dominant in environments where cultural diversity dominates. For instance, in Canada, discrimination and inequality is rampant in employment procedures in National Railway of Canada. Discrimination here is based on gender, colour, cultural background and language. Conclusion Cultural diversity is a crucial tool that enables Canada to tap chances and limited resources and opens doors for various global businesses. It enhances economic development and allows Canada’s competitive advantage in the global business and market. References Chalmers, F. G. (1996). Celebrating pluralism: Art, education, and cultural diversity. Santa Monica, Calif: Getty Center for Education in the Arts. Doran, C. F., & Tang, P. (1990). Canada, unity in diversity. New York, NY: Foreign Policy Association. Eisenberg, A. I. (2006). Diversity and equality: The changing framework of freedom in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press. Irish, D. P., Lundquist, K. F., & Nelsen, V. J. (1993). Ethnic variations in dying, death, and grief: Diversity in universality. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Li, P. S., & Canada. (2002). Cultural diversity in Canada: The social construction of racial differences. Ottawa: Research and Statistics Division, [Dept. of Justice. Tierney, S. (2007). Accommodating cultural diversity. Aldershot, England: Ashgate. Read More