Managing cultural diversity
Barbara Mazur
Diversity
• Diversity issues are now considered important
and are projected to become even more
important in the future due to increasing
differences in the population of many
countries.
• Companies need to focus on diversity and look
for ways to become totally inclusive
organizations because:
Diversity as a “double-edged
sword”.
• diversity has the potential of yielding greater
productivity and competitive advantages, but
• Unmanaged diversity in the workplace might
become an obstacle for achieving
organizational goals.
Concepts of diversity
• Diversity is a subjective phenomenon, created
by group members themselves who on the
basis of their different social identities
categorize others as similar or dissimilar:
“A group is diverse if it is composed of
individuals who differ on a characteristic on
which they base their own social identity”
Concepts of diversity
• [O’Reilly, Williams, & Barsade, Loden &
Rosener ] define diversity as that which
differentiates one group of people from
another along primary and secondary
dimensions.
Dimentions of diversity
• Primary dimensions, those exerting primary
influences on our identities, shape our basic
selfimage as well as our fundamental world
views. They have the most impact on groups
in the workplace and society.
• Secondary dimensions are less visible, exert a
more variable influence on personal identity
and add a more subtle richness to the primary
dimensions of diversity
Dimentions of diversity
• trend towards definitions of a multiplicity of
diversity dimensions; Arredondo [2004] adds
culture, social class and language to the
primary dimensions and healthcare beliefs
and recreational interests to the secondary
dimensions. She further adds a tertiary
dimension, which encompasses historical
moments experienced.
Dimentions of diversity
• Maier lists 38 possible diversity dimensions,
and further suggests that his item “character
traits” is “infinitely expandable”. He illustrates
this multi-dimensionality by reference to the
individual as a kaleidoscope.
Dimensions of Diversity
Primary
Secondary
Dimensions
dimensions
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Age
• Disability
• Religion
• Culture
• Sexual orientation
• Thinking style
• Geographic origin
• Family status
• Lifestyle
• Economic status
• Political orientation
• Work experience
• Education
• Language
• Nationality
Tertiary dimensions
• Beliefs
• Assumptions
• Perceptions
• Attitudes
• Feelings
• Values
• Group norms
The reasons behind the rise of
diversity
• Globalization
Organizations found an opportunity to expand their
operations worldwide
• Migration
In order to sustain their current levels of economic activities
some countries (North America and Western Europe) need
to import immigrants to work. On the other hand,
developing regions of the world are experiencing a
completely opposite trend, with growth in the number of
young people due to high birth rates, improved medical
conditions, and decreased infant mortality.
The reasons behind the rise of
diversity
• Women’s work
The family structure (tasks of members, education and
consumption patterns) has changed with an increase in
the number of active women.
• Aging population
The aging population and the development of health care
are increasing the number of seniors staying active.
Many economists are already predicting a shortage of
skilled workers resulting in the need to recruit and
retain older workers who possess valuable skills.
The reasons behind the rise of
diversity
• Political diversity
In many organizations employees have different political
ideas and eventually affiliations. This is a source of
conflict among them especially when they make
decisions regarding crucial action such as strikes.
• Corporate structure change
Under the pressure of competition, many organizations
are moving their production facilities to third world
countries to enjoy cheaper labour or to get closer to
raw materials sources.
The reasons behind the rise of
diversity
• Status diversity (expatriates vs. locals)
The expansion of the businesses at the international level
and the mobility of human resources resulted in the
presence of expatriate and local employees working
side by side with all the different working conditions
(salary, extra benefits and work period)
• Caste diversity
In many countries, the caste system and the presence in
the same department of persons belonging to different
castes might be lived.
Arguments for why an organization can
improve its competitive advantage through the
effective management of its diversity
management
• “Cost Argument” Organizations have not been as
successful in managing women and minorities as in
managing white males. Therefore, organizations that
are unable to manage an increasingly dominant part of
the work force will incur considerable additional costs
that will detract from their productivity.
• “Resource-Acquisition Argument” Organizations that
have the most favorable reputation for managing a
culturally diverse work force will attract the most
talented women and minorities into their ranks.
Arguments for why an organization can
improve its competitive advantage through the
effective management of its diversity
management
• “Marketing Argument” Organizations that serve multinational or domestically multi-cultural consumers will
benefit from a diverse work force that brings a blend of
insights and cultural sensitivities to the organizations’
marketing efforts.
• “Creativity Argument” The representation of varying
perspectives in a culturally diverse work force should
enhance the level of creativity in the organization.
Arguments for why an organization can
improve its competitive advantage through the
effective management of its diversity
management
• “Problem-Solving Argument” Varying
perspectives in a culturally diverse work force
should enable problem solving groups to produce
high-quality solutions and decisions.
• “System Flexibility Argument” Organizations
that manage diversity effectively become more
fluid and flexible, which enables them to respond
to environmental changes more quickly and
efficiently.
The approaches of organizations to diversity
Approaches to diversity
• from which organizations can depart to create
a diverse organizational workforce:
deficit approach –some groups of people,
such as woman or foreigners, lack specific job
related qualifications and even more general
competencies, such as ability to adapt to
certain rules of habits in the organizations
Approaches to diversity
• Discriminatory approach – deals with
eliminating discrimination and prejudices.
A prejudice can be defined as a negative
attitude toward people of different social
groups or cultures, while discrimination is
understood to be an unequal treatment on
the basis of group characteristics, instead of
on a basis of individual qualifications
Two approaches to diversity in which
attention is paid to the creation of
stimulating environment.
• Culturalization – the main focus is on cultural
difference and on how conflicts that may
arise from these cultural differences can be
turned into fruitful interactions.
Two approaches to diversity in which
attention is paid to the creation of
stimulating environment.
• Individualization – in this perspective diversity
is valued because it constitutes
a source of innovation and competitive
advantage. The focus is not on cultural
differences, but on differences between
individual people.
Cultural diversity in the workplace
• Cultural diversity - the representation, in one
social system, of people with distinctly
different group affiliations of cultural
significance.
• It has been studied in both laboratory and
field settings.
Cultural and diversity in the
workplace
• Laboratory studies, grounded in the value-indiversity perspective, have shown that
diversity within work groups increases their
effectiveness.
• On the other hand, field studies, guided by
social identity and related self-categorization
theories, have suggested that diversity is
associated with negative performance
outcomes.
Cultural homogeneity and
diversity in the workplace
• Within culturally homogeneous groups,
members will have a tendency to
communicate with each another more often
and in a greater variety of ways, perhaps
because they share worldviews and a unified
culture resulting from in-group attachments
and shared perceptions
Cultural homogeneity in the
workplace
• According to social identity theory, cultural
homogeneity in management groups may
increase the level of satisfaction and
cooperation and decrease emotional conflict.
• Since homogeneous groups do not have
significant cultural barriers to social
intercourse, positive social associations and
in-group social contacts are fostered.
Cultural diversity in the workplace
• As cultural diversity increases, however, social
comparison and categorization processes
occur, and in-groups/out-groups and cognitive
biases may occur, creating barriers to social
intercourse
Cultural diversity in the workplace
• To the extent that multiple subcultures exist in
moderately heterogeneous groups, conflict is
potentially maximized and intergroup
interaction and communication may be
blocked.
• Moderately heterogeneous groups exhibited
relationship conflict, communication
problems, and low identification of members
with an overall work group.
Cultural diversity in the workplace
• Although moderate levels of cultural
heterogeneity may create barriers to effective
social intercourse, high levels of heterogeneity
could actually weaken these barriers, since
group members will be more evenly diffused
over the categories of cultural diversity, and
in-group/outgroup identities will be reduced
Cultural diversity in the workplace