Managing Cultural Diveristy

SHMS Leysin conkership Across Cultures Managing Workforce Diversity 131LAC Mukhtar Mammadov BAHE 2 3/22/2013 set back of Contents Introduction2 Discussion3 Conclusion7 Introduction Culture in its many forms and approaches is a in truth popular subject researched by many authors. The definition of glossiness from Geert Hofstede, the or so cited social scientist according to Powell (2006) comes as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of unmatched group or category of humans from another. (1982) He mentions that these differences make it in nations, geographic regions, generations, genders, social classes and many more.As Hofstede simply puts it, the unwritten rules of the social game. (2013) It has also been described in a less scientific lecture as something to do with the mickle and unique quality and hyphen of organization, (Kilmann et al. 1985) and the way we do things around here. (Deal & Kennedy, 1982) Other sources bring home the b acon hundreds of various definitions. Lee and Yu (2004) moot that the number of definitions is so broad because of the several(a) approaches and frameworks in which culture is researched. The 3 main social sciences psychology, anthropology and sociology accommodate varied views on the issue.However, the researchers tend to agree that culture messnot be defined utilize one universal definition. Groeschl and Doherty(2000) quote Tayeb (1994), who argues that culture is too fundamental to be solved through tighter definition. Greater implication for the lie withrial parturiencys, however, comes from the heathenish variety introduce. Cox (1993) defines diversity as representation, in one social system, of multitude with distinctly different group affiliations of ethnical signifi tince. Factors differentiating these people complicate pagan background, race, education, age, physical and cognitive tycoon among other. Seymen, 2006) These criteria indicate that difference is crucial not only at the aim of national or pagan customization but also at an internal, individual level. In the modern globalized world, people of various backgrounds inevitably meet, work in teams, arrange business deals, regain and provide service to each other and live to popher in the same environment. In such conditions, individuals and especially companies, poorly vigilant to the word form of values, beliefs and attitudes towards same issues lead unwrap themselves at a disadvantage.This report allow outline the issues of managing heathen diversity, their magnificence in hospitality industry as well as benefits and disadvantages. Further, the importance of diversity recruitment ordain be discussed along with contemporary theories and strategies utilise to gain agonistical advantage. As the affair is very broad, The main issues and in recruitment policies volition be shortly outlined followed by a focuse discussion on selecting and recruiting employees and man agers for internationalist assignments (IA). DiscussionTwo inter machine-accessible activities have been identified that can grant companies a competitive advantage in terms of cultural difference 1) having a several(a) hands and 2) managing the workforce diversity. (Aghazadeh, 2004) Aghazadeh discusses the forecasted changes in demographics and argues that having various workforce and being prepared to the demographic changes will also be ready to the change in trade demands, giving it a competitive advantage. (2004) By doing so companies will have an inner source of information what the customer base expects an on dealing with the community.A different workforce also brings with it an obvious benefit of the language skills. According to White (1999, p. 477), having a diverse workforce benefits companies in 5 ways * Easier seduceion and persist ining of the human talent. * Ability to understand and penetrate wider and deepen markets. * Higher creativity and innovation * Bet ter problem solving ability * Better adaptation to change and organizational flexibility Building a diverse workforce alone is not overflowing to gain the advantages connected to it. In order to benefit from the multicultural environment, it is important to effectively manage the diversity of existing staff.Magdaleno and Kleiner divi expect that effective management of workforce diversity will become the major determinate of the continued survival and success . (1996) A strong organizational culture can be a valuable intangible asset for any company that plans to grow. A strong culture mustiness include artifacts such as rituals and organizational stories to illustrate busy cultural traits. (Lee & Yu, 2004) The research by Denison (1984) has revealed that there is direct correlation in the midst of 1)organization of work, 2)decision making and financial performance.Various techniques and strategies, such as recruitment, planning, managing culture daze and do predictors suc h as character traits for international assignments can be utilise in aligning diversity management with requirements. (Gabel et al. , 2005 Migliore, 2011 Uwaje, 2009 Harvey, 2012 Tipper, 2004) Workforce diversity and its management, due to complexity, has several disadvantages. First and most obvious is the increase in knowledge expenditures. The teachings such as lectures and seminars are given to all levels of staff in spite of appearance the organization are associated with high costs. Aghazadeh, 2004) Secondly, there is a terror of reverse gear discrimination. (Brunner, 2003) Reverse discrimination takes place when the cultural bulk (e. g. Caucasian) claims to have been discriminated by a nonage. Such as yetts occur because of the appraisal and affirmation of a nonage with little consideration for the majority. Another major drawback is the high probability of conflicts. (White, 1999, p. 478) Aghazadeh accedes that such incidents usually occur as a result of an individ uals feeling superior. 2004) Indeed, it is a common sight that, for example, an older employee has disagreements and misapprehends with younger. It can, however be combated using current training and managerial intervention. A study by Bajawa (2006) on the executives opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of culturally diverse workforce discovered that they are not jeopardise by possible negative effects. As one of the senior HR managers responsible for diversity policy and instrumentation mentioned, he does not guess there are any disadvantages they are all advantages etention of employees, reduced training costs, attraction in the first place . Not only has he mentioned the positive effects but also finds that diversifying and managing workforce correctly reduces the training costs. In the hospitality industry managing cultural diversity is perhaps even more important that most other industries, diverse staff organic structure constantly interacts with customers of various cultural background and on every level of operation. (Baum et al. , 2007) Particularly in hotel, tourism and travel industries the amount of intercultural communication can be overwhelming.It is, therefore of grave importance to carefully develop and apply practices necessary to up save employee motivation and comfort. One of the strategies that can be used to manage cultural diversity is to understand the importance and carefully implement practices in recruiting the diverse workforce. Hiring the surmount expectation for the job ready(prenominal), regardless of the cultural background also assures a reliable, diverse pool of talent is purchasable for promotion, since many companies prefer to look for managers internally.DNetto and Sohal (1999) provide a list of the high hat practices popular in recruiting diverse workforce development of job description, that complies with anti-discrimination command and that covers experiences and qualifications job advertisements in a number of languages presence of diverse managers in selection boards implementing user-friendly techniques allowing interviewees an easy understanding and ability to answer questions to their best ability. They also argue that most managers fail at adjusting interviews to diverse candidate base.According to Tipper (2004), there are 5 elements for a undefeated diversity recruitment strategy 1) Knowing the market. It is essential to know the pool of available dexterous candidates in order to effectively recruit from minority groups. These employees can then be used internally in coordination with sales and merchandise departments to develop a more sophisticated marketing strategy for attracting and retaining diverse customers. By doing so companies hit 2 hares with 1 shot get talented employees and enhance their marketing strategies. 2) Build the business case.Letting the hiring managers understand and jimmy the reasons and benefits for diversity recruitment can make a great d ifference. thriving companies put presence of cultural diversity in their ranks as an usefulness to their bottom-line and benefit from financial improvements. 3) Channels to Market. Widening the number of channels used to advertise available positions might greatly improve the chances for success in diversity recruitment. Placing information in magazines, journals and websites popular among the known talent market instead of only national, traditional media can be a critical factor.It is important, however, to notice, that some minorities might be suspicious about the reasons for companies to target them as potential employees. Therefore it has to be clearly communicated why companies target diverse employees. 4) Reward recruiters. It takes money, time and skill to produce desired results. Therefore successful recruiters should be legitimately rewarded for their efforts in this, sometimes undervalued, issue. Tipper suggests that 5-10% of the hiring managers pay should be based on diversity recruitment and retention results. ) An ongoing focus. The task is not finished once new diverse employees have been recruited. later the successful first step the new personnel inquires to be trained on an ongoing basis. At the same time companies must understand the inner drivers and motivators of their staff. To do so, additional measures like informing supervisors of the importance of minority employees, hiring internal audits and diversity policy communication tools should be implemented. For the hospitality industry, given its nature, there is an increased need or developing and implementing the strategies and techniques to recruiting and retaining talented diversity. Taking into consideration the international customer bases making up the majority of hotels and airlines clientele, a multicultural workforce may generate better experiences and in the long term, generate substantial financial and reputational benefits. Re-recruiting or simply appointment an employee to a new workplace abroad (further International Assignment or IA) requires additional measures to ensure successful execution.The managers assigned to work abroad need to be able to adjust to the new environment in the shortest hitch of time to provide maximum effectiveness. As in many cases these individuals undergo themselves as a part of majority, behavior as a minority representative in an another country may change dramatically, resulting in a phenomenon known as Culture Shock. Ward et al. (2005) argue that under shock, culture is rejected leading to anxiety and aggressiveness. Contemporary psychological research has revealed methods capable of predicting cultural adaptation.A study by Gabel et al. (2005) discovered that unrestrained intelligence (EI) supra other factors, including empathy and social relations can predict the rate of adaptation to IA. Findings indicate that individuals with higher EI scales tended to adapt to the new cross-cultural environments better reduc ing the chance of them willing to terminate assignments. As EI is associated with the neurosis dimension (also known as emotional stability) of the Big vanadium in the flesh(predicate)ity model used as a basis for many psychometric tests, this trait can be measured before the IA of an individual.It can have its implications when hiring a new manager for an IA or better preparing an existing employee. A latter research by Migliore (2011) has found correlations between the Big Five personality traits and the cultural dimensions presented by Geert Hofstede. It has detected particular connections between item dimensions of the two theories Extraversion Individualism Agreeableness Power Distance conscientiousness Masculinity Neuroticism Uncertainty Avoidance Openness Time taste It might be difficult to measure the cultural preferences of an employee.Psychometric testing, aligned with the above mentioned findings offers a reliable way to compare the psychological profile of an employee with the cultural context of the location of new assignment on an individual level. Cain (2012) classifies some nations as introverted or extroverted. According to her, Finland and Japan are exceedingly introverted, age the US is an extroverted country. Although she does not provide any correlations between personality and cultural dimensions, there is evidence of extroversion aligning with individualism, while introversion is closer to group orientation.Therefore, for example, a Finnish employee might find himself uncomfortable in the dynamic US, but have easier time adapting in Japan than an American at least as far as individualism dimension goes. Conclusion A multicultural workforce has its advantages and disadvantages. It is essential, especially in the hospitality industry, to engage in culturally diverse recruitment, as it enhances understanding and communication with the customer base, makes organizations more flexible and innovative, helps attract and retain tale nts and simply have a positive image of social debt instrument in the media.Although it is associated with some drawbacks, such as increased costs of training, conflicts and misunderstanding among the employees, executives and researchers believe that building diversity in a company lead it to a competitive advantage. It has been shown, however, that simply employing diverse workforce is not enough strategies for correct recruitment, retaining and training employees are necessary to reap the benefits. It is important to attract and select the right candidates through methods which do not affect their cultural background.In order to do so both internal and external measures need to be taken. Externally, it is important to clarify the reasons why cultural diversity is act in an organization, utilize the correct media channels. From inside the companies it is required to clearly state and create understanding of how cultural diversity in the organization benefits it intangibly and fi nancially rather than because it is the right thing to do. It is also important to keep in mind the managements efforts towards quality staff recruitment and to carry on the diversity policies on an ongoing basis.Another issue is the regular need to tear managers and employees to international assignments. During these tasks there is a high probability of culture shock happening to traveling individuals without appropriate preparation. The resent research in psychology has revealed several ways of predicting successful adaptation to the international assignments. High haemorrhoid in factors such as emotional intelligence were found to be able to forecast quick overcoming of culture shock and reducing the threat of rejecting assignments/withdrawal.Furthermore, it is possible to test the approximate correlations between the culture of destination and the personal habits of an individual using the psychometric tests. Overall, there are many strategies and methods to managing workforc e diversity, but only careful and sophisticated organizational culture and constituted policies can lead to the highest levels of rewards it can bring. As long as the contact about multicultural staff is genuine, is communicated extensively and is perceived to be true, it will grant great competitive advantage.Bibliography Aghazadeh, S. (2004). 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