Managing Diversity - Essay Example

Globalization has led to firms producing goods in one country, assembling in another and selling in a third country. At the same time, immigration has caused firms to employ people from different nationalities and culture. This makes it imperative for the management of an organization to be cognizant of the cultural differences to ensure that the future workforce is not weakened. Managing diversity is a relatively new concept but essential in today’s scenario. It helps recruitment and employee retention, leads to cost reduction in turnover and absence costs, customer service is enhanced and there is greater flexibility and creativity within the organization (Maxwell, 2004). Managing diversity means celebrating differences leading to competitive advantage. Organizational culture is elemental to managing diversity. Since managing diversity is a new approach and the organizational culture is deep rooted, the value of training can be enhanced only if it is combined with other diversity initiatives aimed at shaping the organizational culture that supports managing diversity. Managing diversity requires adaptation to change and embracing diversity. The concept of organization culture has become popular since the early 1980s (Hofstede, 2005). There is a definite co-relation between culture and performance, culture and economic results, culture and sustainability, culture and strategic growth, culture and recruitment, motivation and retention of human capital, including downsizing. "Organizational culture is the key to organizational excellence... and the function of leadership is the creation and management of culture…" (Schein, 1992). Schein emphasizes that to understand the culture is to understand the organization. Culture differentiates one organization from another and provides a sense of identity to the members. He says cultures are deep seated, pervasive and complex. He stresses that adaptation and change are not possible without making changes that affect culture. Cultural differences cause differences in goals, expectations, values and proposed course of action. These give rise to conflicts in an organization. Diversity is an attribute that is specific to an individual that makes him/her feel that he/she is different from others (Friday & Friday, 2003). Culture is one such factor that leads to cultural diversity. Anglo-American work ethics have been able to create value systems in societies which emphasize that individuals can succeed as long as they have talent and commitment (Korac-Kakabadse & Kouzmin, 1999). In multi-cultural organizations the ethnic values differences are often neglected. Even in psychologically close cultures these differences are visible and these inevitably lead to cross-cultural conflicts. Cultural differences impact the belongingness, love and esteem needs of individuals and thereby reverse the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The impact of even subtle cultural differences cannot be ignored because it impacts the decisions, outcomes and organizational effectiveness. Human resources are essential to carry on a useful exchange with the environment and hence it is essential to overcome cultural ignorance and increase broader cultural understanding. Organizations today build an organizational psycho-structure that helps them sustain cultural change through the action-oriented management of diversity. Each individual in an organization has to recognize that others’ values are as important as his own. This makes it essential to introduce cross-cultural training. Despite organizations becoming global in their outlook barriers are becoming insignificant as information technology reduces the physical distance. Under these circumstances, national culture has a significant role to play in determining the practices and operations that should be applied. Culture according to Hofstede (1997, p4) is “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another” (cited by Hope & Mühlemann, 2001). Societies have developed common set of beliefs and developed a set pattern of behavior which allows them to live harmoniously. These are handed from one generation to another. Hofstede further believes that the culture in which an individual is immersed since birth is likely to have a much stronger effect on him than the organizational culture. This demonstrates the importance of managing diversity to ensure that workforce is not weakened in the future. Amin Rajan however disagrees as according to him globalization brings in different categories of customers to the market place which gives rise to apprehensions whether the organizations have the workforce required to meet the needs of such customers (Powell, 2006). Corporate restructuring has also led companies to create more vibrant cultures. Diversity initiatives are market-driven prompted by the need to have an innovative workforce. To instill a culture of diversity managers must have an inclusive management style. Diversity initiatives are important but change in management or leadership can wane the interest or determination. To manage cultural diversity of its workforce globally, Motorola undertook a firm-wide training and corporate training investment through its corporate university, ‘Motorola University’. This requires employees to complete 40 hours of training each year. Its operation extends to over 100 sites in 24 countries in six continents (Shaw, 2005). Motorola University provides training and development to all its employees, which includes manufacturing and operator training apart from studies and training in leadership and trans- cultural studies, technology and emerging market. This enables each employee to be a part of the value chain, an agent of chain within the corporation and protector of ethics, values and history of Motorola. According to Hofstede (1984), different cultures imply different mental programming, which governs activities, motivation and values (cited by Gilbert & Tsao). Culture has a significant impact on perception, problem-solving and cognition and often leads to differences in satisfaction levels on the same product between global customers. Expectations differ. Levels of literacy differ and so do performance evaluation standards (Pizam & Eliss, 1999). The establishment of the Motorola University was central to the strategy of combating these problems as it expanded its business in China. It could inculcate training and learning through mandatory programs such as Motorola culture and ethics training and Digital Six Sigma Performance Improvement and through customized development initiatives. It could change the business culture and business outlook and prepare managers to work globally. This demonstrates that corporate universities of global corporations can transcend national boundaries. Motorola University could foster a learning culture and in doing so also was able to manager diversity. References: Schein, E., (1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd edition, cited in 27 Jan 2007 Friday, E., & Friday, S. S., (2003), Managing diversity using a strategic planned change approach, Journal of Management Development Vol. 22 No. 10, 2003 pp. 863- 880 Gilbert, D. & Tsao, J. (2000), Exploring Chinese cultural influences and hospitality marketing relationships, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 12/1 [2000] 45-53 Hofstede G., (2005), People whose Ideas Influence Organizational Work, < http://www.onepine.info/phof.htm> 27 Jan 2007 Hope, C. A. & Mühlemann, A. O. (2001), The impact of culture on best practice production/operations management, International Journal of management Reviews, Vol. 3 No. 3 pp. 199-217 Korac-Kakabadse, N., & Kouzmin, A., (1999), Designing for cultural diversity in an IT and globalizing milieu, The Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 3, 1999 pp. 291-319 Maxwell, G. A., (2004), Taking the initiative in managing diversity at BBC Scotland, Employee Relations Vol. 26 No. 2, 2004 pp. 182-202 Pizam, A. & Eliss, T. (1999), Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality enterprises, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11/7 [1999] 326-339 Powell, S., (2006), Amin Rajan: promotion of workforce diversity, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST, VOL. 14 NO. 3 2006, pp. 22-25 Shaw, S., (2005), The corporate university, Journal of European Industrial Training Vol. 29 No. 1, 2005 pp. 21-39 Read More