There are countless benefits in regards to diversity in the workplace, and most major companies and corporations are seeking ways to take advantage of the global workplace that has made such a thing possible. Commonly referred to as multi-culturalism, cultural diversity is frequently defined as being a group of diverse individuals from different societies. Cultural diversity allows businesses to approach problems from many different viewpoints, and diversity can be established by a group being composed of members with different religions, races, ethnicities, etc. Diversity not only establishes bonds of friendship, but it increases innovation and increases the chances that a business will be able to grow and respond to change. In addition, diversity is the only sure way for a company to maintain a truly international business standing in order to increase its market share and compete with other globalizing corporations.
Many business leaders believe that cultural diversity can influence innovation. One study conducted by Forbes shows that diversity drives innovation because it brings together a unique group from all over the world together to solve problems (Walter), allowing each member to bring their own unique experiences to work to complete the mission at hand. Businessmen and women involved in the survey have seen positive benefits of diversity, and with many multinational corporations, maintain a diverse business environment is crucial in order to operate in several different countries. Other studies have shown that groups of diverse problem solvers outperform groups of high ability problem solvers, making diversity a sought after characteristic. There are countless examples of successful companies that incorporated diversity into the workplace at an early age, from Progressive Insurance to Google. Considering that multicultural diversity can help provide businesses with a greater number of solutions, diversity creates a flexible and adaptable environment.
Of course, this can be hindered by how different cultures view time, hurting their capability in some cases to effectively work together. People’s usage of time firmly represents their native culture, and there are substantial differences between Eastern and Western cultures’ uses of time. In some cultures, time is unimportant and schedules are very lax. Managers need to take this into consideration when managing a diverse workforce, and need to ask certain questions when evaluating the effectiveness of the group (Lewis and Communications). For example, is punctuality important, or less important in the native culture? Will members of the group be able to adhere to a tight schedule? Is work meant to be fast paced with a lot of multi-tasking, or slower paced with focus on one aspect of the project? By asking questions such as these, companies will be able to determine how to best work with different members in order to increase efficiency. As multiculturalism is inevitable due to the competing marketplace, understanding how different cultures view various common aspects is absolutely critical in enabling a diverse environment.
In terms of leadership, diversity is also important for the same reasons mentioned earlier. However, there are additional benefits in having a wide range of leaders that are from many different backgrounds. Creating a diverse leadership is absolutely vital if one is to make a truly diverse workplace, as leadership is a very important aspect of a business’ culture. By adding managers from different roles, businesses can integrate diversity into their structures. In today’s global economy, businesses have found that they can better serve their customers best by creating a diverse environment. In addition, businesses have found that the best way to build an inclusive culturally diverse workplace is to build from the ground up and incorporate all diversity programs into each level of the business. The only way to successfully go forward with this is to hire leaders from different backgrounds (Thomas), ages, etc. Leadership is the first face of the company, and it is important to have diverse leadership in order to represent the company’s values.
There are a couple of additional aspects of cultural diversity that might be seen as a negative. The biggest one is the expense of establishing a positive workplace culture that will support a diverse environment. For example, some workers might be prone to being rejected by a common workplace culture or made fun of because they are different. This is where sensitivity training comes into play. Sensitivity training is the process of learning more about oneself as well as another culture. It is essentially described as “empathy” (WHR). This method of adapting to diverse environments might be expensive but it is highly beneficial when building human capital in a business. Different managers can introduce this type of training in different ways, making it highly flexible for the workplace. It can also help businesses not only understand how different individuals work, but also how other homogeneous organizations operate provided that the other company is composed primarily of one type of culture. Sensitivity training is therefore beneficial to a business’ long-term goals. Sensitivity training takes place primarily in groups between ten and fifteen people, and is led by a trainer. There are numerous ways to facilitate personal growth in this setting, and it is dependent upon the needs of the organization. Sensitivity training is a useful tool in a business’ arsenal to lay the groundwork for cultural diversity. From there, the company needs to alter its recruiting and company training in order to help build a more diverse environment.
There are other aspects that help build a diverse workplace that are not typically considered. Age, for instance, is critical in creating a strong, powerful goal-driven environment. Older generations can provide valuable experience and knowledge for a workplace. This level of diversity helps breed comparative advantages in the workplace; for example, younger generations tend to have a stronger skills set in technology, but older generations tend to have better interpersonal skills (McQuerrey). In addition, older generations are also attributed with having a good grasp of traditional business skills. Naturally diversity is therefore very important in catering to every type of consumer. Having a diverse age demographic helps ensure that younger professionals have a useful mentoring plan in place as well, creating a powerful system where experience and knowledge is continuously passed on throughout all levels of an organization.
Diversity directly leads to a more successful economy as well in the macro sense. There are several studies that correlate the early growth of the West to the relative acceptance of other cultures into the native culture; the modern day has seen a remarkable level of assimilation within Western society, and remarkable benefits that have arisen as a result. Being renowned for cultural diversity can help bolster exports in the service sector, as the Australian education system has seen a high level of students coming from all over the world in order to study. Several cities have taken advantage of their ethnic backgrounds to develop “ethnic tourism”. An example of this is Little Chinatown in San Francisco. Ethnic tourism is certainly a niche market, and it generates billions of dollars worldwide each year. To complement this, the ethnic food industry is very large all over the world, something which would not be possible without cultural diversity.
Therefore, cultural diversity in the workplace is something that each company seeking to be a big player on the market should pursue. Cultural diversity helps build a strong basis for innovation and change. In addition, diversity can pass on valuable knowledge and experience to other employees within the organization. It increases the ability of businesses to compete and it ensures a smooth continuity of knowledge and experience in order to protect the future of the business. Therefore, diversity is to be encouraged in order to provide increased benefits to both companies and shareholders and in order to better compete on the international market.
Works Cited:
Lewis, Richard, and Richard Lewis Communications. “How different cultures understand time.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 1 June 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.
Thomas, David. “What do leaders need to understand about diversity?” Yale Insights. Yale School of Management, 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.
Walter, Ekaterina. “Reaping the Benefits of Diversity for Modern Business Innovation.” Forbes. Forbes, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.
WHR. “Sensitivity training - procedure of sensitivity training - HR l concepts l topics l definitions l abour laws l online.” What is Human Resource. n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.
