Introduction of Culture or Diversity Differences in Workplace

Culture is defined  as  the  learned  beliefs,  values,  rules,  norms,  symbols,  and  traditions  that  are  common  to  a  group  of  people.  It is these shared qualities of a  group  that  make  them  unique. Northouse (as cited in Leadership: Theory and Practice,2018)  Because of globalization cultural diversity has increased. Cultural diversity means the existence of different cultures in a specific place. In the workplace while cultural diversity does brings in new ideas and benefits the business In fact, it has been reported that companies that practice diversity and inclusion in the workplace outperform other non-diverse companies by 15 percent at the same time it sometimes creates numerous challenges for the business as well. This challenge has been faced by numerous people.

Experience of cultural diversity of Culture or Diversity Differences in Workplace

Working in an organization with people who belong to diverse cultures could turn out to be challenging. This problem arises mainly because of the existence of Ethnocentrism and Prejudice. Ethnocentrism can be a major obstacle  to  effective  leadership  because 

it  prevents  people  from  fully  understanding  or  respecting  the  viewpoints  of 

others.  Prejudice is  a  largely  fixed  attitude,  belief,  or  emotion  held  by  an  individual  about another  individual  or  group  that  is  based  on  faulty  or  unsubstantiated  data. Northouse (as cited in Leadership: Theory and Practice, 2018)  . Cultural diversity in the workplace can occur due to diversity in age, religion, race, language and many other factors.

An experience of cultural diversity is where the organization had employees of different religions working.

 Since every religion has its own rituals respecting those turnout to be difficult. There were Hindus, Muslims and Christians working in the organization. There are differences in their act of worships to their behavior in everyday life. The problem started because each employee needed a time off for their prayer requirements, they needed certain days off and also had different dietary requirements. Fulfilling the need of every employee became difficult for the management. They fulfilled the needs of Christians as they were in majority and demanded some facilities from the organization. The others felt demotivated. Moreover, effective communication, respect and empathy among the workers were lacking. (keanet.eu, 2016)

Differences in Culture and diversity by using cultural dimensions.

Initially the number of workers was low. This meant that whatever religion they belonged from they did not asked the organization to fulfill their certain needs and decided to go with the rules of the business. This can be related to the uncertainty avoidance aspect of cultural dimension. The employees were uncertain about what the situation will be if they asked for reforms so they instead thought that going with the established norms would be easy.

Secondly, since there was a majority of Christians living in that area so the organization first fulfilled their religious needs. The organization realized that the ones who are greater in strength have greater power. This is an example of power distance that means creating levels between people based on power.

Thirdly, for much of the time Institutional collectivism could be seen in the organization. Employees didn’t bring their religious differences at first this shows that they gave importance to broader societal interests and not their individual interests. (Saylordotorg.github, 2018)

Fourthly,  group collectivism was to be seen as after the demands of the Christians were met Muslims and Hindus too realized that they need to be devoted to their religious groups  Fifthly, Gender Egalitarianism was quite visible. The gender role differences were minimal. When the demands were met they were regardless of the gender of the employee.

Moreover, assertiveness rose to high levels when the employees realized that they were facing some sort of religious discrimination in the organization by not getting things that the Christian were getting. The concept of being future driven could also be seen in the employees. They wanted their demands to be met yet they did not let that affect their work to a great extent because they wanted to have a secure future.

Performance orientation refers to rewarding people for their efforts that benefit the organization. The organization followed this very strongly since they believed that this led to motivated workforce. Lastly, humane orientation was low in the culture of this organization. Since disputes arose between different religious groups.

Overcoming differences of Culture or Diversity Differences in Workplace

The human resource manager of the origination being responsible for employee related issues took notice of the ongoing situation in the organization. He divided the employees into three groups on the basis of their religion and asked them to elect a representative. The representative was then asked to submit a paper that included their basic demands that they felt were to be met by the organization. This helped the manager to get a clear picture of the expectations of the employees.

He then called all the employees for a meeting. At the meeting brief details about every religion were told and the similarities were highlighted. The similarities were highlighted so that every employee could realize that the basic teachings of honesty and respect are present in every religion, this helped the employees feel like they are not three separate groups rather they are one group.The manager also came up with the best possible solutions for the differences in dietary requirements, prayer requirements and holiday’s requirements. (Bhabha, 2018)

The halal food for Muslims was to be made every day and on alternate days the dishes of Christians and Hindus would be made. This is because Muslims cannot eat haram food strictly whereas Hindus and Christians can eat food. One day was setup where halal food would be made and everyone was to eat that in order to make strong bonds among employees. All the employees were given the minimum number of holidays as per their religious holidays.

Employees were encouraged to show respect and support to each other regardless of their religious differences.

Moreover, some space in the organization was created so that employees could practice their religious practices in the organization for instance, Muslims could offer prayer and Hindus could do puja. The goals of the organization were reinforced to motivate employees to focus at achieving those. It is evident that the manager opted for a team oriented and charismatic leadership style. He was successful in inspiring the employees and motivating them to set aside their differences and work towards achieving the common goal of the organization. This was the best way to go about it because this leadership style establishes a learning culture.

This is because such a leader has focused on growth rather than punishment as mistakes were treated as learning opportunities. Coming up with a possible solution was crucial. This is because if these issues were not taken into consideration by the management then they could affect the work environment in a negative way. The employees could feel discouraged that could lead to lower levels of productivity. Lower productivity could also occur because the employees could increase the level of labor turnover. Moreover, constant issues could lead to employees leaving the organization. This could result in great harm for the business since it could lose some of its talented employees and the cost of hiring new employees would have to be bear by the organization. The HRM proved that he possessed the attributes of a positive leader. He was just, communicative, effective bargainer and encouraging. He was a win problem solver. (Reynolds, 2017)

Conclusion of Culture or Diversity Differences in Workplace

Cultural diversity in workplace is not a rare case. When the disadvantages are minimized the organization can actually take great advantages from it. In fact many companies are now making an attempt to succeed in cultural diversity in the organization. The trick is to adopt the most suitable leadership style when it comes to solving cultural diversity issues.

References of Culture or Diversity Differences in Workplace

Bhabha, H. K. (2018). Cultural Diversity and Cultural Differences. Retrieved from http://monumenttotransformation.org/atlas-of-transformation/html/c/cultural-diversity/cultural-diversity-and-cultural-differences-homi-k-bhabha.html

keanet.eu. (2016). Experiences in cultural differences – From culture policy to managing cultural gaps or cultural diversity in practice. Retrieved from http://www.keanet.eu/experiences-cultural-differences-culture-policy-managing-cultural-gaps-cultural-diversity-practice/

Reynolds, K. (2017). 3 benefits and challenges of cultural diversity in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace/

Saylordotorg.github. (2018). Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_organizational-behavior-v1.1/s06-03-cultural-diversity.html