Globalization And Great Diversity In Organizations - Case Study Example

Globalization And Great Diversity In Organizations Introduction This essay will reflect upon the concept of globalization and how it impacts upon the practical functions and other aspects of place like a University. In this essay I will explore the diverse origins of the students and how they intermingle on the campus, how they network and how they dress. I will explore if the presence of international students leads to changes in the teaching methods, classroom settings, college libraries or canteens. This essay lends support to the fact that globalization leads to a culture change by showing that the intermingling of students leads to the development of a vibrant campus culture. The ethnographic study NAME University Campus The ethnographic study that I undertook consisted of visiting the University campus and observing the students behaviour in classroom, canteens and on the campus in general. The study was therefore carried out over a period of a week where I made observations and noted down my observations in a diary. I was able to observe and keep record of my observations during the lectures as well as during the free time when students either visited the canteen or lounged around in groups, either talking or studying. I saw that the University had students from diverse ethnic and cultural origins and these included Arabic, African, Asian and Chinese. While the majority of the students were from Europe, there were a considerable number of people from other regions. There was a marked difference in the clothing of the people, especially the women on campus who hailed from regions outside of Europe. The female students from Asian and Arabic countries wore long skirts or gowns or jumpers and slacks while most of the European and Chinese girls wore jeans. Men however wore Western Style suits and shirts and did not appear any different from the European students. However, it is seen that the people do not intermingle and there are assorted groups of people, of non-Europeans, who hang out together on the campus. Even among the non-European students, it can be observed that people from same country or same religion, interact among each other more. The students also use different languages while interacting with each other. In the classroom, the students seat themselves in similar groups, with friends from same ethnicities or regions clubbing together. However, the classrooms discussions are almost always carried forward heatedly as people from different backgrounds tend to debate and put across their point of view. These debates may become prolonged and time-consuming, and the teacher may intervene stating they were digressing or being short of time. I also notice that at times some students are unable to pick up the teachers accent and repeatedly interrupt for revisions. At times, the students from different regions find difficult to follow the instructions as they are not well integrated with the cultural or the social nuances that are relevant in the local context. It is also seen that some of the European students are forthcoming offer ready help to the students who have problem with classroom lectures because of language. Further, a visit to the canteen showed that some students did not partake of some meats. These were either vegetarians from India who did not take any form of meat or fish, or were Arabic students who did not find the servings kosher. The canteen stocks some Chinese dishes as well as Indian curries and snacks that are relished by people from different regions as well as by the European students. A brief overview of Globalization Globalization has been observed as a phenomenon that is brought about as a result of the changes in the modes of travel and communications that make it possible for people from one region of the world to interact easily with others (Scholte, 2000).. The reasons for globalization have been extensively explored and written about. For example, according to Harvey (1996), globalization is brought about by the economic factors that that lead to organizations exploring newer and more lucrative markets or that lead to the migration of labour in search of better employment opportunities. Other scholars have proposed that globalization is the result of several factors like cultural, social and individual, in addition to economic factors (Pogge, 2002). Building upon this basic idea of how why globalization happened, other researchers have delved into defining what is meant by the term globalization, and what is the impact of globalization on various aspects of human life and activities. According to one definition of globalization, it is the de-terrotorialization of places – meaning that the concept of boundaries dissolves as events and happenings occurring in one place can be simultaneously observed by people across telecommunication channels in live time across the world (Scholte, 2000). Another understanding of globalization is that is apparent in enhanced social interconnectedness of people. This means, that in a globalized world, people have the opportunity and means to interact freely – across the Internet, interactive social media etc (Pogge, 2002). Globalization is also seen as a process by which speed of interactions between people has increased owing to the technological developments and information technology (Eriksen, 2001). The impacts of globalization have been quoted to vary from beneficial to detrimental. For example, globalization is at times linked to the invasion of Western culture and way of life across the world, the liberalization of world economy as well as the harbinger of political and cultural freedom. Another impact of globalization is that it leads to global integration where the world becomes one small place with a single unified community of people who have resolved their conflicts peacefully (Mearsheimer, 2003). This definition of impacts of globalization is based on the understanding that increased interaction between people leads to exchange of ideas and concepts and may ultimately result in homogenisation of the world. Simply put, globalization is expected to lead to more inter-cultural and geo-political assimilation and coming together of people to and will result in cooperation and progress. Another impact of globalization is given as increase in income inequalities across the world, increase commercialization and high and wasteful consumption of resources and products, especially by the Western nations (Smadja and Prestowitz, 2010). The aggressive Asian economies fuelled by an export led growth in their regions ultimately led to the collapse of western exporters and enhanced US deficits leading to distortion of interest rates and led to the financial crisis of 2008/2009. One of the most prominent impacts of globalization is in fact the convergence of people and resources towards co-working and co-existence. Owing to liberalization and freeing of market economies as a result of globalization across the world, there is seen a new phenomena – culture and ethnic diversity of workforce. People migrate for their careers or organizations set up subsidiaries and branches in other parts of the world to reap the benefits of lower costs or skills. In either case, the workplace becomes more diverse with people from different ethnicities, cultures and regions coming together to work. While one theory of globalization postulates that the world would become increasingly homogenized as a result of globalization, the proponents of diversity allege that increased diversity, as opposed to homogeneity, should be encouraged as a competitive advantage by global organizations (Kotler, 2009). Diversity – that is linked closely with globalization, leads to the development of concept of managing diversity at workplace and promoting multiculturalism (Hofstede, 2004). Diversity management at workplace has gained prominence in literature on management as well as has become a necessity for efficient working for organizations (Harrison & Huntington, 2000). An analysis of the NAME University Campus The current ethnographic study was based on the theory that globalization leads to greater diversity in organizations and educational or governmental institutions. The aim of the study was to observe and validate this cultural diversity in the NAME University campus and to evaluate how effectively the university deals with its diverse students and is successful in promoting a welcoming multi-cultural environment. A look at the University campus during the class hours shows that there are numerous students who appear to be from different parts of the world. There are students from Arabic countries, India, China, Africa and other Asian nations. The presence of a large number of people from different backgrounds validates that globalization has led to ease of travel and communication and has brought people from different parts of the world together. Another observation that I made during the study was that the students tended to cluster together in groups based on their region (for example, students from South Asia clubbed together while students from Arab countries befriended each other more). The European students, on the other hand, did not appear to have specific preferences and hanged out either in same-sex groups or as couples. These groups, at times also had one or two African or Asian students. There appeared to be grouping based on language as well as religion. For example, the people from India and Pakistan interacted with each other fluently in Hindi and tended to remain segregated from students from China or Japan. Additionally, I also observed that Arabic and African students, who shared their religion, hanged out more among themselves. This grouping or in-group affiliation apparent in people from different backgrounds provided me with insight about the practical implications of globalization. Here, I could see that globalization did bring people physically closer, but they tended to assimilate with others who shared their own culture and language. This finding was in direct contrast to the theory of globalization that world cultures are all becoming more like each other. Additionally, I observed that the students hesitated in mingling with their European counterparts. Even in instances that they needed any specific information – like the location of the college library – these students preferred to consult among foreign students or contact the University Administration. This indicated to me the need for better integration of the foreign students and showed that there was scope for the University to work on its diversity management program. While globalization provides us with tools and resources to have better communication channel, there is a need to encourage interactions between people from different backgrounds. I also observed the dressing preferences for students and noticed that male students tended to dress homogeneously. There was no difference between the Asians, Africans, Arab or European students when observation is based on their clothes. However, the female students could be seen wearing a variety of outfits from long gowns, skirts, jumpers and slacks to jeans and short skirts. The difference in dress was more apparent in the case of Asian and Arabic students as they tended to wear dresses designed to cover most of their bodies including their hands and at times their heads. This difference in dressing indicated that though people may interact with each other on a daily basis, as in the case of a University setting, they may not necessarily start endorsing other’s way of life. Again, it was diversity in thought and expression rather than homogeneity that was reflected in the clothes of the students. Further, my observations found that international students are enrolled in different courses and actively participate in the classroom discussions. In my own class – NAME – I saw that these students participated energetically in discussions and debates. At times, there were difference of opinions and we came to know about an entirely new perspective on the topic owing to the different background and upbringing of the student. This observation again points out to the fact that globalization leads to diversity and that diversity leads to better understanding of problems and finding novel solutions. It also validates the theory that diversity management – that includes creating an environment where people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds feel comfortable to contribute their best – leads to vast benefits. However, I also observed that some International students were unable to follow the classroom proceedings either due to language barriers or due to their inhibitions to ask questions. It appeared to me that these students needed more support, not only in the form of academics but also in making them comfortable and welcome in the class and the university. This finding therefore pointed out to the need for the administration to focus on managing the emotional and mental health of foreign students who may well be under a culture shock. My observations at the University Canteen revealed that the presence of international students on campus has created a large enough demand for certain ethnic foods that the canteen stocks them in plenty. These snacks, mainly traced to India and China and some to the Middle-East, are favoured by all the students, irrespective to their ethnic or cultural affiliations. This finding shows that globalization, as far as its impact on food preferences is, has really been successful. Students who may never have tasted food from foreign countries not only partake it at the University Canteen, but they also savour it over local foods. There were a few students who did not eat out certain foods owing to their religious backgrounds that prohibited non-kosher food for them. However, this only indicates that there is scope to further improve the menu so that students’ preferences could be imbibed. Conclusion The current ethnographic study was aimed at observing and analysing the impacts of globalization in a setting of an educational institute’s campus. Though most of the management theories and theories of globalization have focused on the meaning and implications of globalization in the context of business and industry or in the context of culture and politics, non-business and non-political aspects of human activities too are prone to the impacts of globalization. Governmental agencies and Educational Institutes like Universities and colleges too are witness to enhanced diversity as a result of globalization. Universities, especially from the Western countries like the United States of America, UK and Australia, attract students from across the world with their higher education programs and scholarships. The confluence of students of different cultural backgrounds on the campus, poses challenges to the educational institutes’ management to cater for the specific needs of the students as well as to integrate them into the local environment. The current ethnographic study negated the theory that globalization leads to homogenization of culture and people. Instead it is reported that globalization in fact leads to diversity and issues of diversity management. Though there was cultural and ethnic diversity – an obvious result of globalization – there was little by way of promoting the University as a multi-cultural institution. The students were going through self-imposed segregation and participation in University was restricted to classroom discussions. There is a need for the University to have a better diversity management program where students are encouraged to intermingle with the European students. There is also a need to and where the International students are assimilated into the local culture and the local students as well as teachers enlightened about the diverse cultural perspectives. Finally, understanding that University is a place where people lay the foundations for their future professional lives, the administration should take special care to promote the values of multiculturalism and tapping into diversity. References: Eriksen, Thomas Hylland (2001), Tyranny of the Moment: Fast and Slow Time in the Information Age (London: Pluto Press). Harrison, L.E. & Huntington, S.P. 2000. Culture matters: How values shape human progress. New York: Basic Books Harvey, David (1996), Justice, Nature, & the Geography of Difference (Oxford: Blackwell). Hofstede, G. 2004 Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.  New York: McGraw-Hill U.S.A. Mearsheimer, John J., (2003) The Tragedy of Great Politics (New York: Norton). Pogge, T. (2002), World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press) Scholte, Jan Aart (2000), Globalization: A Critical Introduction (New York: St. Martin's). Smadja, C. and C. Prestowitz. 2010 ‘Globalization Revolution’NEWSWEEK [Online] available at: http://www.newsweek.com/id/229962 Retrieved on Jan 8, 2010 Read More