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Diversity of importance to managers
Cultural differences and why it is important for business
Diversity of importance to managers
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Cultural differences plays a huge role in growing and sustaining a business. It helps companies understand different cultures to provide greater services not only to their customers but a greater work environment for their employees. Some aspects include gender, race, nationality, religion and age group. (Seymen 2006) proposed that values and morals each individual hold have influences on behaviours and ideas in different scenarios. According to (Bateman and Snell 2012), there are many advantages towards the organisation in terms of better market connections, improved international competition, multiplicity points of view and a better team performance.
Building a better market access helps organisations benefit from a wider range of customers.
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Activities conducted focus on the differences in cultures and provide ways to solve them. Individuals learn how to value these differences, grow their understanding of cross-culture and prevent stereotyping. Hence building better communication and inter-personal relationships amongst employees. This ensures that all barriers are broken down to enhance co-operation so hidden conflicts that can grow into bigger issues can be avoided. People are then able to work closely forming a positive environment, achieving higher levels of creativity and task …show more content…
Learning and keeping reminders about different cultures shows concern and interest towards the workers personal beliefs. A simple gesture like setting reminders on bulletin boards or mass e-mails could go a long way and make a great deal to the employees. Managers could suggest hosting a simple celebration for different cultures where everybody participates in bringing dishes regarding that particular culture and in turn learn about how other cultures work. Workers can then share certain religious or cultural practices and current issues can be discussed together to get to know ones point of view.
A great example of a diverse workforce is Coca-Cola. They believe strongly in “building an inclusive workplace environment” and are carrying out a global diversity mission (2020 Vision People goals) to reach out to the multicultural world. Working closely with their globally diversified team who are highly skilled and innovative, they conduct surveys and analyse participation and feedback within their organisation to collect information. They also conduct diversity education programs like Resolution Resources Program where employees learn to strategise how to solve certain situation within the
Influencing culture creates tranquility in a work environment that helps employees feel accepted and happier, thus creating better customer services. In the scholarly article, “Relationship Of Organizational Culture, Teamwork And Job Satisfaction In Interprofessional Teams", Korner argues that before you can have happy customers you must have happy employees. “Organizational characteristics, such as organizational culture, are important aspects for interprofessional teamwork, treatment quality and success . Studies have demonstrated that interprofessional teamwork is influenced by organizational culture.” (2). Culture is an important aspect for teamwork because employees must learn each other’s difference to better connect with them. Connecting with co-worker creates a positive environment and reflects on the employee. When customers see the smiling face of an employee, who enjoy his job the positivity reflects on the customer’s overall experience. Influencing employee’s culture helps the customer’s and employee’s experience.
Culture may be defined as the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterize the behaviour of individuals composing a social group collectively and individually in relations to their natural environment, to other groups, to members of the group itself and of each individual to himself. It also includes the products of these activities and their role in the life of the groups. The mere enumerations of these various aspects of life, however, does not constitute culture. It is more, for its elements are not independent, they have a structure (Boas, 1911).This definition of culture is highly relevant when discussing why businesses may encounter issues when working with foreign cultures. Due to increasing globalization it is crucial for companies to educate themselves and maintain an element of sensitivity when conducting business with foreign nations. It is crucial that companies identify with and understand that all countries have different values, beliefs, languages and religion.
...ractices, in the dimensions have influenced the understanding of culture on management practices worldwide within and between companies. Finally with regards to development of global competencies, the cultural dimensions “mediate how competencies are both interpreted and rewarded.” Business and practices has been approached differently because of the cultural dimensions. In terms of negotiations, the dimensions help negotiators to understand and use many different cultures. i.e. planning the specifics of the negotiation. With regards to Globalizing function, Human resources would need to “consider training/learning approaches/methodologies (brainstorming [individualism] vs. small group discussion and presentation [collectivism]; lecture [high power distance] vs. participative approaches [group discussions]; compensation and benefits: individual vs. group rewards).”
Different cultures have their own values which may differ from each other that workers need to be aware of in order to better understand and facilitate the needs of others. For example in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
However, cultural differences can interfere with the successful completion of organizational goals in today’s multicultural global business community. The traditional strategies used by management to manage a culturally diverse workforce are proving inadequate and may not be able to solve the problem of cross cultural diversity in the era of globalization Why Culture Matters in International Business? Effective handling of the cross-cultural interface is a critical source of a firm’s competitive advantage. Managers need to develop not only empathy and tolerance toward cultural differences, but also acquire a sufficient degree of factual knowledge about the beliefs and values of their foreign counterparts.
When it comes to doing business cross culturally, there are various factors to consider in order make sure everything runs smoothly and as effectively as possible. Understanding cultural differences is the first step to having a successful international business venture. Two pioneers of the field, Geert Hofstede and Richard Gesteland created their own sets of factors/dimensions explaining how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. During both of their comprehensive studies, the United Kingdom was one of the countries whose cultural value were investigated, and will now be examined further.
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner are management consultants. They published their work on cultural differences in 1997. They developed the model based on a more than 10 years investigation and research in many countries in the world and based on feedback they received from more than 46000 managers in more than 40 countries.
...agues in the end. Having different cultures in the workplace is rewarding, enriching and can be very beneficial to everyone.
Question Answered: Present the ways in which cross-cultural experiences strengthen a continuous development of the world environment.
Companies can avail the competitive edge through an effective use of cross cultural dimensions. One creative thinking and positive dealing with this factor can help greatly in successful achievement and completion of goals. For recurrent encounter of cultural differences, various theories has been identified. The Hofstede and the Trompenaar (1993) theory are the models for cross cultural management.
Numerous cultures as they exist, embrace diverse perspectives on professional aspects such as teamwork, respect for authority, time management, and responsibility. Culturally diverse workforces reflect different staff values, traditions and norms which ultimately affect the way an organization thinks, behaves and makes judgments. Cultural diversity greatly influences time-consciousness and thus, has an impact both on schedules and on deadlines. The cultural diversity of a workforce causes conflicting attitudes among co-workers, therefore, creating barriers to the creation of workable professional relationships. These barriers must be eliminated whenever they exist in order for an organization to run in an efficient, harmonized manner. Cultural
Cultural intelligence assessment will enable the individual to have certain information about himself. It is posited that cultural difference has a greater impact on business effectiveness than we think. That our cultural backgrounds really influence the way we think and act and the way we interpret each others contributions. Our success or failure in communication will depend on the extent at which we understand the different cultural background of the employees and create a fruitful collaboration in situations where cultural differences play a role. To achieve this, we need to act in an appropriate way in multicultural situations coupled with the ability to have an open mind which admits new information and this is curious about difference. We need to both know who we are and be curious about “the other” so that differences can be elaborated rather than smoothed down.
Managers should put into practice their cultural knowledge after discovering valuable information regarding a culture that helps them put into perspective the sensibilities corresponding to the team members who come from varied cultures, implement their learnings, and utilise their knowledge. By transforming knowledge into action, managers can identify its betterment and discover more by facilitating the exchange of this cultural knowledge thus strengthening the overall team’s interpersonal respect and skill set.
Due to globalization, most organizations draw their workforce from various parts of the world that exhibit different and varying cultural orientations. Cross-cultural workforce and teams allows organizations to enjoy the benefits of diversity. Cultural differences among employees imply a difference in beliefs that involve customs, ethics, and how people do things may differ from one culture to another (Adkins & Caldwell, 2004). The perception of a good idea or behavior in one culture may be bad in another culture. Cross-cultural communication skills among business employees implies the ability of employees from different cultural orientations to interact and work together amica...
The differences in other cultures vary from beliefs to ways of life, or norms, of the different societies. The importance of understanding and sensitivity to other countries’ differences is crucial to a business’ success. “Lack of familiarity with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a co...