Effects of Cultural Diversity in Work Places - Research Paper Example

Effects of Cultural diversity in work places Introduction Individuals and by extend the overall performance of an organization can be influenced by many factors. One factor that is at the center of it all is cultural diversity. Many researchers have hypothesized differently on the influence of the later or rather its impacts in workplaces. Cultural diversity is when the difference in race, ethnicity, language, religion, and sexual orientation are represented within a community (Amedo) with the increase of globalization, there has been an increase in free movement of labor and hence more mix in the workplaces with either gender mix, racial mix or ethnic and different age mixes. Many researchers explains that cultural diversity at workplaces is not very good for the faster growth as it tends to increase intercultural conflicts among the diverse personnel (Martin) . When culturally diverse individuals are put together to perform a given task, the difference in norms, perception of things culture, religion, opinions and other variables may hinder the development of unity. This problem does not just stop at there, difference in language brings a communication barrier. However, this difference in culture brings in a difference in how people see things. Different cultures have different ways of thinking and thus can analyze a matter at hand from different angles (Martin). This variation in experiences is beneficial to the organization as it provide a diverse base of knowledge to the organization. Secondly, as the business expands, the temptation to go across the border increases with availability of market. The diversity will help to overcome the language barrier. This gives the company an upper hand in capturing the available market (Martin). Going by these arguments, it is quite clear that the reasoning surrounds the overall effects on the organization performance resulting from the effect of diversity. It is for this reason that this research will try to investigate a fresh the demographic characteristics that contributes positively to the success of the organization and which ones are negative. Survey I did a quick survey of five organizations with culturally diverse workforce and five others with relatively less diverse labor force. The organizations selected were from different countries but are in the same industry. Out of the five less diverse organizations, three admitted that they are experiencing problem in expansion to other countries because of their state and were considering diversity while one had already initiated the process of diversifying their labor force, the last company said they are comfortable with their state due to the nature of their production and target market. The first 4 diversified companies acknowledged the benefits of diversification and confirmed it had its share of challenges but concurred that the benefits outweighed its challenges. The remaining one company remained non responsive. Diversity Statistics of Some Technology Companies According GIGAOM, a research by Carmel DeAmics and Biz Carson posted on the site on 21st 2014 gives the clear picture of how important this cultural diversity is that I’m tempted to say that “behind every successful company, there is cultural diversity”. According to the research, eBay, Apple and HP have the most women in leadership positions AT 28% among the Tech companies in US (DeAmicis and Carson). Full report and the graphical statistics on how Tech companies embrace this cultural diversity is available online at https://gigaom.com/2014/08/21/eight-charts-that-put-tech-companies-diversity-stats-into-perspective/ Donald Fan, reflects the findings of Prof. Ron Burt of the University of Chicago on the findings of his research that diversity is a valuable resource for innovation. The professor conducted an empirical study indicating that people with more diverse sources of information generate consistently better ideas as shown in the graph below. The vertical axis shows management assessment of a series of employee ideas related to supply chain management. The horizontal axis measures the level of diversity in an employee’s internal connections. The graph shows higher diversity of connections results in to the perception of higher quality ideas which is a fundamental component of innovation (Fan). Employee ideas related to supply chain management level of diversity in an employee’s internal connections Chart 1: The Relationship between Diversity and Innovation in an Organization Cultural diversity It is the range of different societies or people of different origins, religious views, gender, ethnicity or even traditions living together either in workplace or as a community. It is preferred due to; the need to strengthen cultural intelligence competence, enabling new ideas, and in some way contribute to ingenuity. Some of the related issues include; behavior-valuing differences, knowledge-knowing how to think creatively to solve problems and capture opportunities and finally, belief-trusting employees to make a difference in a continuous business When an organization is culturally diverse, it means it has a different mixture of either the above phenomenon as two, or many (Fan). Videos Lars Kolind– on importance of cultural diversity in workplace-key to innovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gyftyobwP4&itct=cBoQpDAYAyITCNrPz-TL3SqCFYLeHAodoU8APTIGcmVsbWZISOjgn-DvqZWWiQE%3D&hl=KE&client=mv-google NOTE: please refer to page seven for references/works cited. Thank you. Lesson Plan Lesson Plan Title: cultural diversity Concept / Topic to Teach: To teach about cultural diversity effects on the overall organization’s performance. Lesson is aimed at college student going into teaching.  General Goal(s): To help future managers or leaders learn how to improve the performance of their organization while using cultural diversification. To know which demographic traits are useful and in what circumstances. This may help them enhance their competitiveness. Required Materials (Handouts, videos, etc.): Blog, videos, quiz, and article with paragraph. Anticipatory Set (Lead-In, how will you get students interested? What do you guys know about cultural diversity, can you give any examples? When you hear about cultural diversity, what comes to your mind? How can it be used for the benefit of a community, organization or school? Step-By-Step Procedures (How will you integrate critical thinking?): Start by finding out what the class already knows about cultural diversity. Then take a quick check to see if they think diversity plays a part in overall performance of an organization and how it contributes to this, is it negatively or positively. Refer from the blog as you ask discussion questions like; Why do you think people prefer/don’t diversity? Do you think diversity is an affirmative action? Has anyone been hired to work where he felt he was different culturally from the rest? How did it make you feel? (only if anyone is comfortable talking about their experiences) Can anyone think of any sign that one is culturally different from the rest? Can you think of any other factors that would make someone want to be in a culturally diverse environment? This will be my attempt to get my students thinking critically. I will inquire if my audience have any questions then i will ask them their initial knowledge on the topic and if there is any variance. After the discussion I will give them time to watch the video and take quiz. As homework I will assign that they all reflect more on their organization and bring the feedback in the next meeting. Plan for Independent Practice (What students will do on their own): There are four videos on the link that I gave plus articles that I want the audience to watch and read on their own time plus the quoted articles. Then compare what they find out, after which I will ask them to give their opinions about the same in writing to be checked in the next meeting.  Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set): Were you surprised by the findings? What other factors do you believe play a role in success and better performance of an organization?  Assessment Based on Objectives (How will you know if students have learned what you want them to?):  I will test them by giving a quiz that has right or wrong answers as well as opinion questions to see how the audience understood the lesson.  Possible Connections To Other Subjects: Gender and leadership, affirmative action, job description in relation to gender and many others that will cross the mind then. Self-Evaluation I will check if all the guidelines were followed, compare that with the number of inquiries being made after the class. More inquiries means it was not well understood, more compliments means a well done job. Works Cited Amedo, K. "Cultural diversity." 2013. US Economy. 5th April 2015. . DeAmicis, Carmel and Biz Carson. "Eight charts that put tech companiess diversity statistics into perspective." 21st August 2014. GIGAOM. 6th April 2015. . Fan, Donald. "Proof that diversity drives innovations." 2010. DiversityInc. 6th April 2015. . Martin, Coote Gillian. ""The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace." Journal of diversity Management (2014): 89-100. Read More