Cultural Diversity in the Workplace - Essay Example

Personal and Managerial Effectiveness- Managerial Implications of Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture of the of the Concerned Professor 8 February 2013 Executive Summary There is no denying the fact that managers today are required to work in a highly diverse organizational environment. The personnel employed in contemporary organizations tend to differ in age, gender, ethnicity, race, colour, mental ability and religious beliefs. Diversity is both a big obstacle to organizational effectiveness as well as a potent source of creativity and efficiency. Diversity if managed well could turn out to be an effective source of competitiveness. So the primary concern of the contemporary managers is to assure that not only diversity remains visible, but also ends up being fruitful rather than being a source of conflict and confusion. In the recent times there has been a tremendous surge in the analysis and study of diversity and Geert Hofstede happens to be an important diversity expert who propounded the concept of dimensions of national culture that could have a tremendous impact and influence on the management of modern day organizations and institutions. The paper tends to explore and understand the managerial implications of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture and extends pragmatic recommendations that could yield effective diversity management within organizations. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................... 4 2.0 Literature Review ............................................................................. 5 3.0 Discussion .............................................................................. 6 4.0 Conclusions .............................................................................. 8 5.0 Recommendations ............................................................................. 9 References ................................................................................10 1.0 Introduction There is no denying the fact that at one time most of the professionals in the UK, are they doctors, engineers or managers had two things in common that are they happened to be mostly white and male. However, in a contemporary context, the constitution of the British work force happens to be quite different. The workforce employed in the British institutions and organizations predominantly happens to be diverse, multicultural and heterogeneous. In a larger context each and every individual on the planet earth tends to be different. However, in an organizational context, when it comes to managerial implications, the eventual success of a group depends to a large extent on the individual team members’ ability to handle the conflicts and differences arising owing to diversity. In that context, the concept of cultural dimensions propounded by Geert Hofstede happens to be of immense importance and relevance. Before grappling with the managerial implications of the concept of cultural dimensions, it would be more pragmatic to have an insight into the concept of culture. Cultures is mostly a learned notion and broadly speaking it pertains to the essential, values, norms and beliefs that impact the behaviour of a large pool of people. Besides, culture happens to be an immensely complex notion in the sense that within a single culture there tend to be many co-cultures. Considering this fact, the Dutch social scientist Geert Hofstede’s concept of national cultural dimensions extends much insight and information. Geert Hofstede defined cultural dimensions as “an aspect of a culture (national) that can be measured relative to other cultures.” Thereby, understanding the concept of national cultural dimensions and its implications in the modern organizations and institutions is bound to yield much management related possibilities and implications. 2.0 Literature Review Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most comprehensive researches as to how efficiency within the organizations is impacted by national culture. As per the theory of national cultural dimensions propounded by Geert Hofstede, the quintessential values that differentiate one nation from other could be succinctly grouped together into four salient cultural dimensions. In that sense the four Hofstede dimensions of national culture tend to be Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Feminity and Uncertainty Avoidance. In addition, in 1991, Michael Bond propounded a fifth cultural dimension called Long Term Orientation. In an academic and managerial perspective, it will be really interesting to look into the dynamics of the four national cultural dimensions given by Geert Hofstede. Power Distance pertains to the extent to which the weaker sections of the society in a nation tend to confer to the notion that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede 1996). The fundamental fact that Power Distance intends to bring to the fore is as to how a society reconciles and adjusts to the unequal distribution of power. People belonging to high Power Distance nations like China believe in a hierarchical social set up in which each and every member of the society has one’s distinct status and position. No justification or explanation is requested for such an arrangement. In contrast, the individuals affiliated to low Power Distance societies like the USA try to opt for an equal distribution of power and question the existing power differences. Individualism is a social setup in which the people are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate family members in a loosely knit social setup (Hofstede 2001). In contrast, Collectivism pertains to such a society in which the individuals in a tightly knit setup expect their group members to take care of them in exchange for extending unquestionable loyalty to the group (Hofstede 2001). A Masculine society happens to be such in which material success; achievement; recognition and assertiveness are cherished and valued (Hofstede 1998). In contrast, Feminine societies are such societies which give precedence to cooperation, kindness and caring for the weak over blatant competitiveness and success (Hofstede 1998). Uncertainty Avoidance pertains to the degree to which the denizens of a society feel at home with ambiguity and uncertainty (Hofstede 1996). The essential issue that this national culture dimensions brings to fore is that how individuals in a society respond to the fact that the future is uncertain and nothing could be known about the future. Countries with strong UA tend to believe in sacrosanct rules, norms and values and tend to shun unconventional and unorthodox behaviour. In contrast the countries with low UA tend to have a composed attitude towards future and hold the actual practice more important over set norms. In the light of the national cultural dimensions propounded by Geert Hofstede, culture could serve as a vantage point to understand as to why people happen to behave and act differently in organizations given to diversity. This understanding is bound to facilitate an intercultural management competence amongst professionals. 3.0 Discussion Effective exploitation of cross cultural teams within organizations could certainly lead to the accrual of much experience, innovation and effectiveness (Cross 2000). However, this is also a fact that cultural differences if ignored could lead to much trouble and concern for the managers in the contemporary multi-cultural and diversity oriented organizations (Cross 2000). To minimize the conflicts arising out of cultural diversity, managers are requited not only to be flexible and open minded, but are also expected to exhibit ample cultural literacy and cultural sensitiveness (Cross 2000). Managers working in the modern organizations are bound to come across cultural diversity. Sometimes, cultural diversity could mar the successful completion of projects dependent on group effort. In that context, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions help the managers understanding the programming of the mind in a collective perspective that is so typical to a national culture, thereby allowing them to customize their strategies in the light of these differences. There is no denying the fact that culture tends to have a strong influence on the behaviour and leadership style of an individual and a study of these peculiarities allows a better insight into the actual management of the organizational business (Henderson 1994). In the present globalized world economy so dependent on the intermingling of cultures and the clash of cultural values, it will be really apt to study Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Hofstede’s national cultural dimension also convince the effective managers as to the unsuitability of the concepts like ethnocentrism and stereotyping, thereby making them avoid such pitfalls, by facilitating better cultural understanding. These are the concepts that could lead to a severe damage in the organizational environment and could negatively mar the productivity of groups and individuals. For instance an American manager managing an essentially Chinese workforce may end up committing blunders if he expects his employees to sand at an equal footing and delegates to them the responsibility to take important decisions pertaining to the organizational production. This is because Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance, these two dimensions, impact they way people think about the production activities in an organization. Going by these dimensions, people affiliated to different cultures may subscribe to different models pertaining to organizational functioning and production. If an American manager takes a Chinese work force on an equal footing, the workers may doubt the competence and leadership ability of the manager and may end up being very confused and uncertain. Besides, such an approach on the part of the manager may deprive the workers of a reliable set of rules and organizational behaviour which they adhere to, to grapple with uncertainty. In such a scenario if an American manager delegates the important decision making powers to one’s Chinese subordinates, they may feel lost and without direction as they expect the manager to take most of the important decisions and to facilitate them with direction. This is because in the Chinese culture given to high Power Distance, it is clearly understood as to who has the power to decide what? Besides, the Chinese workers expect the organizational leadership to well establish as to the procedures and rules that are to be followed to achieve the required results. Such an approach amongst the Chinese workers will be determined by their indigenous cultural dimension of high Power Distance. It is these cultural dimensions of the Chinese workers that will impact and influence their view as to how the organizational leadership ought to lead. If the American manager fails to take cognizance of such peculiarities of the Chinese work force, one is bound to mar productivity and negatively influence the levels of motivation of the work force. Hence, a more pragmatic approach for the American manager given to a low Power Distance culture would be to understand and conceptualize the expectations and assumptions of one’s Chinese subordinates in the light of their salient cultural dimensions, thereby giving way to a leadership strategy that is more in tandem with the Chinese cultural mindset. Such an approach will not only accrue much cooperation from the workforce, but will divest it of much confusion and uncertainty. Hence, a mismatch of cultural approaches on the part of a manager managing a diverse workforce may drastically impact the organizational productivity. On the contrary, a culture sensitive approach brings much reward. 4.0 Conclusions The salient conclusions arrived at on the basis of this study are: Going by the current globalized world economy, the contemporary managers are bound to come across cultural diversity while working in multicultural organizations. Cultural diversity if managed well could bring in much experience, efficiency and competitiveness within organizations. Yet, cultural differences could also lead to much conflict, confusion and indecisiveness. Lack of cultural literacy may make managers ineffective leaders, thereby accruing much loss and inefficiency within the organization. Understanding of the Geert Hofstede’s theory of national cultural dimensions endows the managers with the requisite cultural literacy, which could make them culturally sensitive and adapt while working in the real time scenarios. An individual’s conceptualization of the way an organization works or should work is shaped to a large extent by the cultural mindset of that individual. However, being culturally sensitive should in no way make the managers indulge in ethnocentricity or stereotyping. These are extremely negative practices that could have a drastic impact on the mindset of individuals and groups within organizations and may hamper the overall organizational productivity. 5.0 Recommendations Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions should constitute an essential part of the curriculum in the academic institutions so that the managers of the future may accrue the required cultural literacy. The organizations should encourage the managers to be culturally sensitive and must provide them with the resources aimed at augmenting cultural literacy. The managers must try to assess the employee expectations and assumptions in the light of one’s national cultural dimensions, while giving due consideration to the individual differences and abilities. Reference List Cross, EY 2000, Managing Diversity, Quorum Books, Westport, CT. Henderson, G 1994, Cultural Diversity in the Workplace, Praeger, Westport, CT. Hofstede, G 1996, Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, New York. Hofstede, G 1998, Masculinity and Feminity, SAGE Publications, New York. Hofstede, G 2001, Culture’s Consequences, SAGE Publications, New York. Read More