Along with this, workforce diversity is interesting topic which helps me by improving my different types of skills such as time management, team working, problem solving etc. With the use of these skills I am able to perform each activities or tasks of study in systematic manner. By doing investigation or research I become more able to increase my different types of investigation skills including literature review, data analysis, data collection etc.
In order to achieve these qualities I have to get basic understanding about the tools and methods that are applied by me for conducting investigation in effective way. For conducting this study, I followed different chapters such as introduction, review of literature, research methods, data analysis and interpretation, conclusion and recommendation.
All these are important chapter which helps in completion of investigation in accurate way. While development of aim and objectives of study, I have different choice of selection of topic but I only selected investigation over the interesting topic i. This topic helps me by providing information about the increment of diversity among workforce and its impact on employees as well as organisational performance Kazmi and Naaranoja, Along with this, while doing of literature review section I faced different issues regarding collection of information from previous study, identification of accurate response from authors etc.
Culturally diverse workers have different opinions, thoughts, beliefs, norms, customs, values, trends, and traditions. 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. When culturally diverse workers are placed in a group to achieve a goal with mutual effort and collaboration, these differences of opinions and other variables can hinder the development of unity. Harrison, Price, and Bell 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 detrimental to the organization. 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 studied the impact and scope of cultural diversity in organizations in the UAE. 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. With expansion into other countries comes a range of obstacles including, but not limited to, gathering information about local customs and laws in the foreign country, assessing risk, and designing strategies to overcome those risks.
When an organization has a culturally diverse workforce, it can use the information and knowledge of the individual workers to achieve these objectives and overcome the aforementioned obstacles. For example, an American company trying to expand its business in India can draw information about the Indian federal and provincial laws that apply to the business, insurances required, and applicable tax regulations.
Another way the knowledge of culturally diverse workers can be useful for the organization is the tendency of the workers to inform the concerned employees or managers about the culture of their respective countries. This helps when they work as expatriates in a foreign country; they have sufficient information about the culture of the foreign country to avoid, or at least minimize, the culture shock. Normally, organizations that do not have a culturally diverse workforce have to incur expenses of getting their workers informed about the culture and work procedures of the foreign countries.
Investments might include hiring trainers from foreign countries, purchasing documentaries about foreign cultures to show to employees or distributing books, journals, and pamphlets to increase their knowledge about foreign cultures. All of these measures not only take a lot of time to be arranged, but also cost the company substantial amounts.
With a culturally diverse workforce, this time, cost, and energy can be saved as workers in-house serve as trainers and practitioners. Thus, the process of integration of such an organization into a foreign country becomes smoother. Similarly, cultural diversity of the workforce helps an organization shift its business from the brick-and- mortar office to the online marketplace.
Adler identified five fundamental strategies for the management of cultural diversity in the workplace; namely, cultural dominance, cultural avoidance, cultural compromise, cultural synergy, and cultural accommodation. Of these, the most desirable strategy is of cultural synergy, which is acquired through placing value in other cultures without giving up self culture Kamal and Ferdousi, , p.
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.
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