Multiculturalism in Organisations - Essay Example

? Multiculturalism in Organisations Multiculturalism in Organisations Introduction Human beings act as agents of change as theyconstantly shift in everything that they do as time progresses. In the past, people were restricted within certain geographical locations but soon as they discovered tools and made strides in technologies; they explored the world and in the process interacted with others. This interaction has resulted into business as products and services exchange hands and organisations look into crossing borders (Amaram, 2007). Organisations have encountered cultural diversity within global markets and decided to capture the benefits associated with it (Laungani, 2007). People from different cultures, races, ethnicity and nationalities are working in the same organisations thus resulting to multiculturalism. These organisations can be termed as multicultural organisations. In a broader context, a multicultural organisation is one whose mission, services, products and operations manifest the interests and contributions of various ethnic, social and cultural groups. It involves people from diverse cultural groupings as full players in the decision-making process that forms the organisation (Fassinger, 2008). After reading the definition, it seems obvious that multicultural organisations have many aspects so the question asked is, what are the characteristics of these organisations? There are six characteristics of multicultural organisations discussed in this paper. These are Pluralism, Low levels of intergroup conflict, Full integration of the informal networks, Full structural integration, absence of prejudice and discrimination and absence of gaps in organisational identification based on cultural identity group (Cox, 2009). Pluralism This is act of recognising and respecting the rights and beliefs of others within the organisation. In a multicultural organisation, every employee has to tolerate the cultural beliefs of others, ensure socialisation with people from other cultures land respect the decisions of minority culture. The organisation is keen to integrate the norms and values of different cultural dimensions while preserving the efficiency of the organisation. Some companies provide trainings to ensure that their foreign nationals are able to communicate easily and fit with the others. An example is Language training, which is crucial when employing foreign nationals as it assists in enhancing communication with other employees (Cox, 2009). Full Structural Integration This ascertains that individuals’ job statuses have no correlation with their ethnic and social group. These organisations ensure that even the minorities are comfortably represented in the organisations’ levels and functions. This aims at providing equal opportunities for all employees to hold offices and positions based on qualifications, skills and abilities. In multicultural organisations, every employee is regarded as a key player in the success of the organisation and their roles are given according to academic qualification, work experience, skills and abilities. Coming from a different cultural background does not hinder an individual from climbing the corporate ladder. It is viewed as an added advantage because the individual brings insight and a different perspective of viewing things (Cox, 2009). This goal can be achieved by evenly distributing education and skill level. Integration in Informal Networks This involves including the minority group members in informal gatherings and networks organised by the organisation. These may include mentoring programmes that are directed to the minorities, support groups and other social events (Amaram, 2007). In preparation for such occasions, it is vital to select suitable locations and activities with all minority groups in mind to help nurture multiculturalism. Such events help the minorities feel as part of the organisation and assist in eliminating barriers, therefore, fostering easy socialisation (Cox, 2009). Absence of Prejudice and Discrimination This is one of the most crucial characteristic of a multicultural organisation. An organisation without cultural biasness is one that fosters good relationships between the employees, therefore, creating an environment of success and development. Some of the methods employed to reduce and eliminate prejudice and discrimination are creation of focus groups, equal opportunity seminars; bias-reduction training, task forces and research (Cox, 2009). Absence of Gaps in Organisational Identification Based on Cultural Identity Group This insures that the organisational levels identify and includes minority group members in all levels. This ensures equal distribution of people from different cultural backgrounds in all the organisational levels. There should be no correlation between a certain cultural group and the levels of organisation identification (Amaram, 2007). Intergroup Conflict Conflicts between co-workers in an organisation are inevitable. Some experts even claim that these conflicts are healthy; however, excessive, poorly managed conflict is destructive. Conflicts based on power struggles rather than differences of ideas are also destructive (Cox, 2009). In multicultural organisations, conflicts may aggravate due to the cultural differences hence the need to quell them before they get out of hand. Some reasons for conflict may include cultural clash, language barriers, and bitterness for what may look like preferential treatment of the minorities among others. Tools used to manage such conflicts include Focus groups Organisation, Conflict management training and Survey feedback (Farlex, 2002). Contribution of Multiculturalism to Competitive Advantage for an Organisation Multiculturalism brings diversity into an organisation and with the diversity, comes significant likely gains. These include improved decision-making, enhanced creativity, successful marketing to various kinds of consumers and increased innovation. However, multiculturalism also brings some disadvantages (Cox, 2009). These are increased interpersonal conflict among employees, increased cultural differences within a workforce, which may translate to high turnover and communication breakdowns. New approaches and strategies are required during the synthesis and replacement of the various talents and abilities provided by a multicultural workforce. However, the results presented by the cultural diversity outweigh their disadvantages, therefore, proving that multiculturalism adds value and, within the appropriate setting, contributes to firm competitive advantage (Laungani, 2007). Experts believe that groups characterised by dissimilarity make sound decisions. They continue to claim that a diverse workforce brings about innovation, improves creativity and enhances the customers’ understanding. It is crucial to seek the best employees when in some tight markets as they can be utilised to bring some insight thus helping the organisation improve its sales (De Dreu, Bechthold and Nijstad, 2009). These employees usually feature very diverse cultural settings, which should not be a restricting element during the recruitment process. The greatest gain springs up from the comprehension that these employees have of the diverse markets. Individual who possesses a certain way of thinking can give an organisation a strategic advantage or the power to act effectively in a certain situation. The distinctive resources that a firm has, determine its development and competitive advantage (Fassinger, 2008). Some of the competitive advantages include products, knowledge, human resources, financial means and processes. Multiculturalism provides diversity, which is advantageous due to its impact on the consumers. Group members from separate ethnicity and cultures converge in a group setting where they provide different opinions on the way that the group should tackle an assigned task. With their diverse and conflicting cultural norms and values, they are likely to have conflicts as their ideas differ. With the different ideas, an organisation can come up with a product or service that can satisfy the different cultures (Amaram, 2007). Decision-Making Diverse groups are said to make sound decisions. People from similar backgrounds tend to have few arguments and tackle similar problems in the same way. With different cultural group members, there is diversity of thoughts and ideas hence different ways to tackle a problem (Farlex, 2002). Innovation Creativity and innovation originate from divergence; therefore, a multicultural world would be a vast pool of great ideas. With globalisation, it is easier to link cultures and source for ideas. These diverse ideas bring creativity, which enhances comprehension of consumers. International organisations have increased their multicultural workforce by eliminating biasness, which translates to competitive advantage (Farlex, 2002). Human Resources This is the process where some organisations find it crucial to hire the best employees even in tight markets and then use them to work to their level best. Take Singapore for example, where they had to import labour from different countries to assist do unskilled work. It contributed immensely to the development of Singapore. Global companies through mergers combine people from different nationalities in a bid to cut down on duplication of efforts. With diverse groupings new ideas are learnt and an organisation improves (Farlex, 2002). Market The global trend with organisations in present times is globalisation. As organisations expand across borders, new diverse markets are opened up. Such opportunities can only be utilised when the organisation considers a diverse approach to market its products. Some experts have observed that companies are expanding by purchasing the power of minority markets. In order to infiltrate these markets, an organisation needs a diverse marketing team, which has knowledge of the target group. These products and services can only capture the consumers’ eye through diverse thinking (Farlex, 2002). For example, telecommunication companies have come up with different ideas such as applications, which are developed for specific people. There are applications developed for women, people with disabilities, business people, farmers, foreigners and others. This is in order to capture the attention of these different groups of people (De Dreu, Bechthold and Nijstad, 2009). Multicultural teams can easily solve complex organisational difficulties. This is because they have a great bulk of material necessary to produce a wide scope of solutions, which can be used to solve the problems. Cultural differences provide immense prospect for value creation. People from different cultural backgrounds have differently ways of observing, meditating, pondering and interpreting different situations, which provides varying but adoptable solutions (Fassinger, 2008). Conclusion As indicated earlier, the world is always changing and in recent years, globalisation seems to be the direction that it is headed. This means that more opportunities have opened up for companies that wish to expand across borders (Laungani, 2007). Emergence of multicultural organisations that incorporate diverse cultures in their structure is already evident. Multiculturalism is and will continue to play a significant role in contributing towards competitive advantage for an organisation. This is because of diversity which we have explored its benefits such as innovation, creativity, better decisions, and knowledge of markets among others. However, increased diversity poses some challenges as well. They can be managed using the tools discussed in the paper that would ensure successful multiculturalism (De Dreu, Bechthold and Nijstad, 2009). References Amaram, I. (2007). ‘Cultural Diversity: Implications for Workplace Management.’ Journal of Diversity Management, 2(4), 1-6. Cox, T. (2009). ‘The Multicultural Organisation’. Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), 1-15. De Dreu, W., Bechthold, N., & Nijstad, A. (2009). Diversity and the creative capacity of organisations and teams. Position Article Research Task 3.2 on Sustainable Development in a Diverse World), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1-26. Farlex. (2002) Contributions of Multiculturalism to the Competitive Advantage of an Organisation. Free Online Library. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Contributions+of+Multiculturalism+to+the+Competitive+Advantage+of+an...-a080899904 Fassinger, E. (2008). ‘Workplace diversity and public policy: Challenges and opportunities for Psychology.’ American Psychologist, 63(4), 252-268. Laungani, P. (2007). Understanding cross-cultural psychology: Eastern and western perspectives. London: SAGE Publications. Read More