Question

Leading a multicultural workforce: Globalisation and cultural diversity

Report:

• Introduction
  Overview of the issue and relevant theoretical perspective / model / concepts (e.g., definitions).

• Analysis
  Discussion of analysis of a leadership issue or trend (local or global).

• Recommendations
  Practical implications and suggestions relevant to addressing the issue, leadership effectiveness and development.

• Conclusion
  Key insights and takeaways about the topic.
  

Reference List
At least 5 academic references use non-academic sources sparingly; Harvard style.

Answer 1

INDRODUCTION

“A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.” — Sundar Pichai

When an organisation is spread globaly then they need to deal with a workforce which is diverse in nature. Many management professionals would agree that it is a positive factor which contributes in organisational performance. But someimes if one look at the management of a diverse workforce then it appears to be a bit difficult for the managers who are directly dealing with the diverse employees. An organisation has to fill up the positions with skilled and professional at different levels at different time zone with a speed. Hiring and promotion practices of the organisation provides a competitive advantage or a disadvantage in the increasing economy. The use of diverse workforce lies into the policy maker’s hand. It is noted that diversity can either help or hinder the firm performance, depending on the organisation’s culture, its strategies, and its human resource practices. A mismanaged diversity initiatives can negatively affect both process of the organisation and the outcomes. The question is what should be the hiring or the retaining strategy of a diverse workforce in the era of globalisation and increasing global economy so that the organisation can run profitably without compromising on its own as well as employee’s objectivity of employement.

THEREOTICAL PERSPCTIVE

Globalisation also brought the globaly diverse workforce. It has given us the global managers. With the increase of globalization in the world, cultural diversity in the workplace has grown as a trend. “Cultural diversity is when differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation are represented within a community” (Amadeo, 2013). Although the media and contemporary literature embark upon the benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace, citing enhancements to employees’ competence and creativity, this recognition does not reflect, in actual practice, as strongly as in theory (Al-Jenaibi, 2011, p. 49).Cultural diversity can affect the workplace in numerous ways. Negative effects can include miscommunication, creation of barriers, and dysfunctional adaptation behaviors. Positive effects can include building a sound knowledge base with in-house talent, which can make for smoother integration of the organization into foreign cultures. One negative effect of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increased tendency of organizational personnel to indulge in interpersonal conflicts. Culturally diverse workers have different opinions, thoughts, beliefs, norms, customs, values, trends, and traditions. “The analogy of an iceberg comes to mind in the face of these potentially endless dimensions; the obvious characteristics of race, ethnicity, gender, age, and disability relate to the small, visible portion of the iceberg and are the basis of much anti-discrimination legislation around the world” (Białostocka, 2010, p. 6). Not so obvious dimensions, such as culture, religion, and politics, only show up with the passage of time. The core of individual identity constitutes the tertiary dimensions and exists deep beneath the surface. These deeply buried qualities offer the actual essence of diversity. “An individual’s spirituality is personal and although effects of their spirituality may be seen at the surface level, the source is still a deep-level artifact” (Moore, n.d., p. 83).

When culturally diverse workers are placed in a group to achieve a goal with mutual efforteffort and collaboration, these differences of opinions and other variables can hinder the development of unity. Harrison, Price, and Bell (1998) assert that the effect of deep-level similarity on group cohesion is positive, while that of deep-level dissimilarity on group cohesion is negative. Workers may have reasons to indulge in conflict with one another that may or may not be related to work at all. For example, a South African and an Indian employee might argue with each other over a cricket match lost by India to South Africa. Likewise, workers may have historical and regional reasons to conflict with each other. For example, a Japanese employee and an American employee might disagree over the Battle of Pearl Harbor. Reasons can vary from very serious to trivial. Whatever the cause, the interpersonal conflict results in lost productivity and development of negative emotions among employees, which can be determined to the organisation.

A positive effect of cultural diversity in the workplace is that employees belonging to different cultures usually have different ways of thinking and can thus analyze a matter at hand from a variety of perspectives. This is hard to achieve when employees belonging to the same culture are asked to analyze the same matter. Employees coming from different cultures have different experiences, which can be beneficial by providing the organization with a sound and vast knowledge base. Al-Jenaibi (2011) studied the impact and scope of cultural diversity in organizations in the UAE. The study showed most of the workers agreed that group work with culturally diverse people helps “to overcome cultural differences through shared experiences when working within a team” (AlJenaibi, 2011, p. 71). Another positive effect of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increased tendency of organizational personnel to overcome culture shock as the business expands in other countries and becomes international. This is a very important benefit derived from cultural diversity of the employees because many modern companies have global expansion on their corporate agendas.

MODELS

There are many models available for organizations to use to support their journey towards supporting workplace diversity. Each of the models must be followed ‘to their intent’ if the values are to be realized. Organizational efforts that simply ‘check off the box’ to reach compliance with workplace diversity models (or Accreditation Requirements, CARF, etc.) will inevitably produce performance that deviates from the model’s intent.

Shallow execution of guidelines and ‘best practices’ will produce inelastic and unconvincing results at best and increase conflict, friction, and stakeholder dissatisfaction at worst.

• Generic model for evaluating organizational readiness & commitment to supporting workplace diversity.

1. Avoidance of Awareness: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to find blind spots and issues.
2. Avoidance of Learning: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to increase familiarity with blind spots and issues present in the organization.
3. Individually Created Awareness: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to find priorities and resources to grow (and bridge performance gaps).
4. Individually Created Learning: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to increase knowledge, skills, and abilities.
5. Co-Created Awareness: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to engage others throughout the organization’s systems (internal & external) to find strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats. The organization should also be building upon past successes as future goals are identified.
6. Co-Created Learning: At this stage the organization’s primary objective is to improve engagement, communication, collaboration, buy-in, and growth towards goals that will have the greatest impact. Organizations at this stage will also re-engage previous/ongoing discussions in order to harness existing momentum and build upon it.
7. Co-Creation, Engagement, & Support of Workplace Diversity: At this stage the organization’s primary goal is to set new goals to support Workplace Diversity. Organizations at this stage will often also leverage existing assets, resources, and historical successes to reach higher stages of development & engagement.

Workplace Diversity represents a plurality of norms, values, traditions, customers, and behaviors within an organizational framework that aligns mission, goals, and teamwork. How goals are achieved is to be aligned with the individual & the organization’s values while providing flexibility around processes, strategies, and skills.

Organizational leaders that can help co-establish shared goals, while supporting employees to develop their own skills and core competencies along the way, are more likely to realize a fully engaged and motivated team than if they were micro managed at every turn. Whether an employee needs directing, training, mentoring, or coaching (see Situational Leadership by Ken Blanchard) will depend on their motivation, attitude, and experience with the task at hand.

• Generic GAP Analysis

Starting at the beginning, the Organization’s goal is to better understand where they are, how they got there, and the barriers that interfere with both organizational learning and additional gains. Without a structured approach the organization’s efforts, and past successes, are likely to remain ineffective and un-reinforced. Subsequent improvements are unlikely as the organization’s progress become stalled in confusion, misalignment, and lost traction.

The structural components of a diverse workplace include the following initiatives and competencies that address policy, procedure, values, resources, business infrastructure, processes, and expectations (etc.):

1. Review Process
2. Accessibility
3. Diversity Training, and the
4. Diversity Plan

ANALYSIS

Workforce diversity and employees commitment in the context of Globalization has attained significant attention of today’s Researchers. This paper endeavors to ascertain major factors of work-setting and its effects on organizational performance. Globalization makes business management easier and efficient for the company.Based on my research, Globalization simplifies business management in the world. This is due to the advancement in technology, transport, communication, education, and regulations of trade that makes trade fair to all parties. This attracts more people to engage in international business and international trade. Managers within the global face a lot of challenges due to high competition in the industry, good decisions must be made in order to satisfy and maintain their customers and attract more customers for their products. Companies enjoy economies of scale in the business due to reduction of cost in the management.

EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.

Globalization has brought benefits in developed countries as well as negative effects. The positive effects include a number of factors which are education, trade, technology, competition, investments and capital flows, employment, culture and organization structure

POSITIVE EFFECTS

It would be rather difficult to discuss the extent of the positives that globalization has had on the world at large. But still, here are some of the positive effects of globalization and the positive impacts they have had on so many demographic segments of society.

• Global market
• Cross-cultural management
• Foreign trade

• Resource Imperative

• Foreign Investment

• Competition

• Culture

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

Globalization also have its side effects to the developed nations. These include some factors which are jobs insecurity, fluctuation in prices, terrorism, fluctuation in currency, capital flows and so on.

• Job insecurity
• Fluctuatoin price

EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

POSITIVE EFFECTS

“I know that globalization has also created many negative effects, but I believe it’s always better to look to the future with optimism and hope. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will be able to minimize or even eradicate the evil forces that give globalization a bad name. Thus we will be able to move forward with peace and harmony”(Kulkami A., 2009)

• Poverty alleviation
• Employment situation
• Technology
• Education
• Foriegn trade
• Foriegn investment
• Market sector

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

Globalization is a tool that benefits all sections of mankind. We cannot ignore the negative effects it has in developing world.

• Unemployment
• Wester culture
• Trade

LEADERSHIP ISSUES AND TYRENDS IN MULTICULTURE ORGANISATION.

Leadership issues are race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. The group is diverse if a wide variety of groups are represented. Cultural diversity has become a hot-button issue when applied to the workplace

1. Cultural gaps. Try to understand the cultural gaps across your team. For example, in some parts of the world it isn’t advisable to shake hands with members of the opposite sex. In certain regions, it isn’t advisable to eat or drink in public during certain times of the year. A leader or manager should learn to respect the local culture.
2. Language barriers. Though certain languages, such as English, are widely spoken, there could still be language barriers that hamper effective communication. While many non-native English speakers may have studied English as part of their education curriculum, they still could find it difficult to communicate effectively in English. This calls for a manager or a leader to be a patient listener and speaker who ensures clarity and understanding.
3. Freedom from bias and prejudice. It should go without saying that a good manager and leader shouldn’t show favoritism or distaste for a team because of the cultural background of its members. The focus should be on performance and results.
4. Adaptation to the local culture. A successful leader blends the universal principles of effective leadership with a multicultural mind-set. The result will have a positive impact on the organization as the leader becomes an integral part of the organizational process. Experts in international business agree that to succeed in global business, managers need the flexibility to respond positively and effectively to practices and values that may be drastically different from what they are accustomed to. This requires an ability to be open to the ideas and opinions of others.
5. Corporate vision. While team harmony and company morale may call for flexibility and require ongoing adaptation to accommodate different cultural backgrounds, it’s imperative that the vision of the organization remain central. In working to adjust to the local culture, a leader or manager must establish balance and understand that the goal isn’t to lose well-known and ethical business practices in favor of cultural compliance.
6. Team coordination and cooperation. The team should also work through any cultural differences and cooperate to achieve the desired results. A manager could ask two team members who don’t get along well due to cultural barriers to a joint lunch with the goal of reducing tension and improving team relations.
7. Humility and patience. Leaders need to exhibit humility and patience when dealing with people in a multinational environment by working to show sincerity in learning the culture. An interest in the culture of each team member helps overcome cultural barriers.
8. Employee recruitment and mobility. A leader must target recruiting efforts to bring diverse, multicultural candidates into the company. This could be achieved through diversifying talent recruitment sources or adjusting selection criteria to reward multicultural experience. There should also be an effort to expose staff to different cultures and geographic locations through a structured mobility program, i.e., relocating rising managers on both short-term projects and medium-term rotations through creation of global talent pools. This will ensure that multicultural leadership development is embedded throughout an organization’s talent management processes.
9. Location differences. If a leader is working with teams based in different parts of the world, the time difference and holidays in each region need to be considered.

TRENDS

As the world gets smaller and as information technology and communications evolve, a manager must know how to lead a multicultural team.

1. Increase in Flexible Time

The experimentation of a 4-day workweek has begun. Microsoft Japan’s 4 Day workweek improved performance by 40%, and Shake Shack’s 4-Day Manager workweek was a solution for labor costs. While there is no doubt about the financial advantages of shorter workweeks, employees are looking for more flexibility in their life. With 5G on the horizon and phones as powerful as computers used to be, there is no reason this trend won’t skyrocket in popularity. A recent study showed that 90% of employees said flexible arrangements would increase morale. Leaders not only need to be open to looking for ways to give their teams more flexibility, but they should be investing in technology that helps support them be productive whenever and wherever and they are working.

2. Learning to Lead Remote Workers

The first trend is feeding the second trend because as flexible scheduling increases, so does the number of people who work remote. A recent Remote.co study reported 66% of companies to allow remote work, and 16% are fully remote. With the reduced cost for employers and reduced commute times for employees, this trend will continue to skyrocket. As beneficial as it can be, leading remote team members has unique challenges versus leading a team working in the same space every day.  

Here are a few of my favorite strategies from a recent episode of the Follow My Lead Podcast:

• Remember remote team members are human
• Build and maintain trust-based relationships
• Set clear standards
• Constantly communicate culture
• Get them together face-to-face

3. More and More Accountability

Accountability and radical transparency are buzzwords right now because we need more of it in our organizations. As quickly as the news travels (thanks twitter), executive leaders can’t afford to hoard critical information from their employees. On the flip side, an increase in flexibility and remote work is ratcheting up the need for personal accountability in employees and managers.

4. Increase in female leaders

A global study of women in management by Catalyst in 2019 showed that the number of women in senior roles globally is increasing incrementally. However, 29% of senior management roles are held by women, the highest number ever on record.

A report from the Peterson Institute for International Economics found a direct correlation between female leadership and profitability. According to the report, “A profitable firm at which 30 percent of leaders are women could expect to add more than 1 percentage point to its net margin compared with an otherwise similar firm with no female leaders.”

5. Employees Developing New Skills

As quickly as AI and Bots are progressing, many jobs will continue to evaporate. As I wrote in Building the Best, “We live in a world that’s constantly evolving, and as people grow or roles morph, people need to acquire new skills.”Instead of chalking up massive layoffs to employees, leaders will need to help develop new skills in these people. Peyton Manning famously said, “the most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable.” While leaders can’t make people develop new skills, they must influence and challenge them to take the necessary steps.

6. Human Resources for the Win

Human Resources professionals will continue their climb to being more strategic and important in organizations. Instead of simply being called in for hiring and firing decisions, they will play a major role in business decisions and making organizations more authentic and human.

RECOMMENTATIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGESSIONS

1. Get to Know Each Team Member

It is essential that the management of a company, or even the team leader, takes the time to get to know team members. Learn about their story and journey. Encourage them to use the skills and knowledge they have to help the group. Many multicultural teams have individuals with unique skills that are beneficial to everyone when uncovered. Don’t ignore these specialized skills. Doing so may lead to team members feeling unappreciated.

2.Take Steps to Retain a Culturally Diverse Staff

Some global cosmopolitans feel poorly managed and misunderstood. As a result, they may not remain loyal to a certain organization. However, if the management provides opportunities for the individual to receive recognition for their multicultural skills, or even recognize them, they can avoid this outcome. Take some time to give the individual that lets them feel appreciated and intellectually stimulated.

3.The Cross-Cultural Management Team Needs to Create a Structure for Success

The absolute best way to ensure a successful team is to create conditions that set the members up for this. For multicultural teams, this means ensuring they have a compelling and clear direction. Members of the team need access to resources and information to complete the tasks given efficiently. If a structure isn’t established right away, chaos may ensue. Don’t let this happen. When everyone understands the structure, productivity and success are going to follow.

4.Get to Know the Team’s Cultural Differences

As mentioned before, getting to know the team members is important. However, it is also essential to take some time to get to know any other differences present. This includes different languages, as well as “fault lines.” Also, get to know how possible miscommunication and misconception is. A great way to counteract miscommunication is by implementing employee self-service software. With this, your team members can easily know what is going on with each person. The software can manage several aspects of the team, including scheduled time off, questions with the work being done, and more.

5.Create Clear Norms and Maintain Them

When you have a multicultural team, you also have several different work styles in play. As a result, it is up to the team leader to establish norms. Once created, everyone needs to stick with these established standards, regardless of what their personal default is. It is not a good idea to impose a style, but take into consideration what works best for the entire team. Implementing practices from other cultures are often useful.

6. Work to Build Personal Bonds

A great way to ease potential disagreements or conflict is to establish personal connections. While deep personal friendships may be impossible, there are methods to use that can foster individual connections and rapport. Take some time to encourage these personal relationships, which is going to help the entire team in the long run.

7. Address Conflict Immediately

Regardless of the team or members, conflict is inevitable. This is even truer with a multicultural team. If tension does come up, make sure to address it right away. This can help ensure a small, manageable conflict doesn’t turn into something that’s impossible to manage. Any leader needs to understand various cultural perspectives. When they do this, they can serve as a cultural bridge to minimize the effects of conflict.

CONCLUSION

The impacts of cultural diversity in the workplace can be both favorable and unfavorable. Some negative effects include dysfunctional conflicts, lost productivity, and difficulty to achieve harmony in group settings. Positive effects include a strong knowledge base created by a variety of cultural experiences, an in-house resource of cultural trainers and informers, and a greater tendency to expand the business in foreign cultures. For the most part, the effects of cultural diversity in the workplace depend upon how well they are being managed by the organizational leaders. With proper strategic planning, top management can enhance the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of cultural diversity in the workplace.

REFERENCE

1.Adler, N. J. (2002). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 4th Edition, McGill University, South –Western, Thomson Learning, pp.105-131.

.2. Al-Jenaibi, B. (2011). The scope and impact of workplace diversity in the United Arab Emirates an initial study. Journal for Communication and Culture. 1(2), 49-81.

3. Amadeo, K. (2013). Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/suppl1/g/CulturalDiversity.htm.

4. Białostocka, P. (2010). Cultural Diversity in Organisational Theory and Practice. Journal of Intercultural Management. 2(2), 5-15.

5. Harrison, D., Price, K., & Bell, M. (1998). Beyond Relational Demography: Time and the Effects of Surface and Deep-Level Diversity on Work Group Cohesion. Academy of Management Journal. 41(1), 96- 107.

6. Kamal, Y. & Ferdousi, M. M. (2009). Managing Diversity at Workplace: A Case Study of hp. ASA University Review. 3(2), 157-170.

7. Moore, T. W. (n.d.). Individual Differences and Workplace Spirituality: The Homogenization of the Corporate Culture. Journal of Management and Marketing Research. pp. 79-93.

8.http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=1872

9.http://www.unescap.org/esid/hds/issues/GlobalizationHealth.pdf

10.http://www.un.int/turkey/3.pdf least developed countries