The Importance of Diversity Within an Organization - Assignment Example

?Cultural Diversity CULTURAL DIVERSITY INTRODUCTION Cultural diversity is all about respect and acceptance of people’s backgrounds. It means understanding that every person is unique in his or her own way and recognizing the individual differences. Diversity can be in terms of ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, race, age, religious beliefs, gender, and socio-economic dimensions. It is the exploration of these dissimilarities in a positive, safe, and nurturing environment. Marketers need to understand each group of people and move beyond simple tolerance to celebrate and embrace the rich ideologies of diversity when marketing in a particular country or region. Diversity is a key player in international marketing because the world today is so dynamic that the marketplace is ever evolving. With embracing cultural diversity, consumers of varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds are catered for in terms of their preferences and needs. As international marketers become more diverse through the way they promote goods and services as per the customs, tastes, and beliefs of people, organizations become successful in targeting demographics by use of marketing strategies that are sensitive to peoples’ practices and attitudes. It makes it possible for organizations to better know and serve an increasingly large client base, meaning that business people who want to reach a large market cannot afford to disregard this crucial mass of clients (Cox, 1994). In this context therefore, cultural diversity will be viewed as a major foundation for successful organizations that want to establish their sales internationally. It is from the understanding that diversity is critical that marketers can learn how to create an appropriate marketing strategy and start from this point to pursue their corporate goals. By the analysis of big, successful companies such as General Motors and Google, one can be able to learn and agree that indeed, successful international marketing can never be achieved with ignorance of embracing cultural diversity. LITERATURE REVIEW Diversity today refers to something very distinct from the meaning it used to carry some years back. Many scholars have come up and focused on researching and studying this important aspect in the international marketing arena. Most authors of different articles and scholarly documents on cultural diversity may either disagree or agree on the importance of cultural diversity. However, it is notable that most of them agree that cultural diversity cannot be separated from marketing overseas. The main argument for those who are positive about the idea is that it makes organizations as well as their promoters to learn ways of increasing their customer base and to make their business flourish through hiring diverse staff. On the other hand, scholars who are against the idea may base their arguments on difficulties that come along with cultural diversity, such as language barriers and the formation of informal groups in organizations, a concept that may be undesirable. Some of the arguments pertaining the issue can be analyzed in two parts as follows: A). Arguments that support the importance of diversity within an organization. Diversity leads to increased profitability Research shows that firms that use innovation by embracing the knowledge and ideas of their diverse employees achieve product profitability of 46% more often and launch of products at 47% more often compared to industry peers. The gains of multi cultural identities and diverse teams have been measured in terms of profitability and the results are positive. Suarez-Orozco, 2004 argues that diverse marketing teams have more capabilities of solving corporate issues, exhibit a higher standard of creativity, and have a complex thought process. These advantages are measurable in terms of what the companies get in return; diverse working teams who are properly trained and managed produce results seven times higher than homogenous teams. Such characteristics of a workforce are what cultivates productivity and hence realize profits. Businesses can maximize their efficiency and increase profits through: recognizing and motivating the full range of talents and skills of diverse employees, inclusive of cultural skills, language skills, eliminating impediments to their essential participation, and exploiting these skills to reach and offer quality services to consumers worldwide; encouraging participation in employee training and giving them opportunities to contribute in decision making; and developing cohesive teams by enhancing cross-cultural understanding and communication (Suarez-Orozco, & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). This was echoed by one CEO of Diversity Council in Australia, Mr. Nareen Young. He articulated that by nurturing the cultural diversity among employees, the organization’s operations and reputation is improved and thus more clients get to trust it and the move may increase sales. Further, Young states that cultural diversity among countries does not only ensure high productivity and advancement, but it also enables a company to capture the best talents anywhere. It also helps in reducing unnecessary turnover costs from discrimination based on race. Diversity leads to efficiency in the way an organization achieves its objectives When an organization aims at establishing new markets overseas, it has to consider cultural diversity. It is sill applicable to those organizations that have already established markets in new environments and would like to expand their markets. Such business objectives can only be achieved if diverse employees and consumers are considered first so that biasness and cultural barriers can be eliminated. Diversity strategic planning centers on initiating measurable ways that cultural diversity can support the objectives, goals, and strategic direction of the company. Earlier on, diversity was not viewed as a vital part of strategic planning, and the initiatives lacked specificity, were poorly conceptualized, and not connected to the strategic plans of companies. Currently, leaders recognize that to achieve efficiency, diversity planning must provide support and be aligned with strategic business objectives and decisions of operations. Globalization enables diversity to thrive Globalization and the advancement of technology is a big advantage to cultural diversity as it enables it to thrive. The fact is vital to consider because technology in particular dissolves international borders and opens up cultural backgrounds an entire new field, facilitating globalization to take place. Globalization can empower people, interconnect the universe, and support economic developments that are a basis for international marketing. A global village in this context can be achieved through: a). The role of the internet and the media Through the internet and specifically social media, cultural diversity can be achieved. This ensures information sharing and self-representation through portrayals individual identity and self images that provide a means through which truism is achieved. On the other hand, global media centers give culture a unique voice to encourage awareness and offer public knowledge of identities. Through individual commentaries on matters that matter most in their lives, people from different cultures pass relevant information, which international marketers and organization take advantage and deliver what is preferred and desired by clients (Suarez-Orozco, 2004). b). The role of Intergovernmental organizations Inter governmental organizations contribute to the routines of corporation regardless of the group that an individual belongs to. Collective products are also availed to group members despite their contributions. Through this global pattern, states are socialized to habitual interactions. Some of these organizations create regularized procedures of collecting information, analyzing it, and surveillance. World Trade Organization is an example of this and it conduct operational activities that encourages coalitions and negotiations among member countries, thus making diversity possible and easing international trade. c). Role of political institutions Global placement of cultural groups permits political power in various institutions. For instance, the North African and Middle Eastern empowerment of civil society systems that were established via the accessibility of technology have made it possible to conquer geographical and political boundaries. Consequently, international support for trade, democracy, diversity, and economic development has been achieved. A company that does not have a diverse workforce is doomed to fail This is for the reason that cultural diversity improves the bottom line of a business. International research shows that many social and economic gains of cultural diversity in a company. The success or failure of a company is determined by what it gets in terms of revenue and other incomes from its operations as well as due to consumer behavior. Companies with higher board and executive diversity have higher Rate of Equity than those with low levels. In fact, a study on diversity in Fortune over 1000 firms showed that racial diversity amid company leaders are directly related to book-to-market equity, revenues, and income. Supporting cultural diversity can lead to company stability through positioning such companies to receive positive publicity in international markets. When an organization has a diversity complaint that is spread publicly, its share price will fall within 24 hours. Contrary to this, employers are rewarded diversely when they embrace understanding of cultural backgrounds and satisfy their customers; there share increases within ten days of their business operations. It is also evident that organizations that do not embrace diversity may fail due to unnecessary staff absenteeism. This is because, when employees are exposed to racial favoritism, harassment, or violence, they take time off work and thus the operations of the day become stagnant. B). Arguments against diversity in international marketing i). Some scholars argue that cultural diversity is not essential in international marketing because it is difficult to achieve social integration due to the factors below. a) Language barriers Language may be a barrier since many counties have dissimilar languages. For example, marketers from countries that speak English may find it difficult to deliver a message in French-speaking counties unless they have an interpreter, an idea that may not be so convenient. b). Cultural barriers Each country or region has its own cultural beliefs and superstitions. For example, the way a certain country portrays women may be different from another, or the types of food products consumed may differ from one region to another, making it quite difficult to convince consumers that a product or service used elsewhere can be used in their region as well. c). Formation of informal groups within an organization It may be noted that in some companied, people of a certain ethnic group, race, or religion want to associate themselves with something that is useful to them alone to the expense of the others. They may also want to perform chores basing on their values and beliefs rather than following the rules of a company. Such barriers may hinder successful international marketing because of lack of unity among employees when carrying on business operations in a region. i) Diversity is not an essential requirement for business organizations Watson, Kumar, & Michaelsen, 1993, argue that it is not always necessary to embrace diversity because due to it, a much wider audience may get to hear, see, or experience an issue that may be unattractive to the company. When marketers promote a product of service in a new cultural environment, there is a large likelihood of stereotyping, misinterpretation, or loss of intellectual property rights of the company. Further, cultural diversity may make multinational companies to exploit employees, markets, and negatively influence consumer values. DISCUSSION Before concluding whether cultural diversity is necessary for organizations marketing internationally or not, it is important to first of all examine and analyze two major multinational companies which have succeeded hugely due to having a diverse workforce. A. Major companies in the world have a diverse workforce. i). The case in General motors a). diversity in General motors This company regards diversity as a crucial imperative that will eventually be an advantage to everyone. It drives diversity by focusing in five major areas namely: customers, dealers, employees, communities, and suppliers. b). The use of diversity as a marketing strategy in General motors According to Motanya, 2011, general Motors knows well that diversity in its workplace involves nothing g else but creating an inclusive workplace not restricted to anything, but welcomes and facilitates all workers to perform at their maximum potential in obtaining the organizational objectives as well as each person’s professional goal. c). The results of such marketing strategies From the study carried out to establish the various departments of GM, it was found that the strategy involving inclusion of diversity has ensured success for the company because its top executives clearly support this idea by giving cultural competence guidance to the staff. ii). The case of Google a). Diversity in Google Google workforce is recruited from every corner of the world and from every background which ensures exclusive perspectives and experiences to their work. b). The use of diversity as a marketing strategy in Google The Google employee resource Group (ERGs) comprises of waged employees with common values of supporting the idea of including diversity within the company. Several other departments are created to encourage this trend. For example, the Capability Council is meant to enable inclusive setting for people with special needs or capabilities. The best strategy showed here is the annual recognition and rewarding of Google workforce for their contributions and accomplishments in diversity. c). The result of such marketing strategies By doing so, Google has motivated its workforce to continue advocating for diversity and inclusion. The habit has created a workforce with tremendous passion, leadership, and commitment to their daily work activities, which ahs in urn demonstrated deep effects in the Global scene. B. What companies learn from the success of Google and General Motors on the use of a diverse workforce As a result of the impressive success from these two companies, it can be learned that diverse management strategies is the way forward for achieving a competitive position in the marketplace. In order to obtain this, a workforce for any company should be based on acceptance, respect, and appreciation of diversity. CONCLUSION From the above discussion, it is logical to argue that cultural diversity is part and parcel of international marketing. Members of any sales team promoting any product or service in a given region must be ready to include, appreciate, and respect the cultural backgrounds of every individual. Even though some scholars may be against the inclusion of cultural diversity in an organization, majority of them support the idea that it is an essential element. Globalization has enabled cultural diversity to be achieved easily especially through social media. Basing on the discussion on the way the two major companies have succeeded in using cultural diversity, we can conclude that diversity is very significant within an organization because it has a central value to play in the conception, marketing strategies, and brand image of a company. It also a means by which consumers can identify themselves significantly to a company’s product value. References Cox, T. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research and practice. Berrett- Koehler Store. Suarez-Orozco, M. M., & Qin-Hilliard, D. B. (Eds.). (2004). Globalization: Culture and education in the new millennium. Univ of California Press. Motanya, S. (2011). Management of Cultural Diversity at General Motors Ltd. Retrieved from: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/handle/123456789/3256. Watson, W. E., Kumar, K., & Michaelsen, L. K. (1993). Cultural diversity's impact on interaction process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Academy of management journal, 36(3), 590-602. Read More