The success of an organization depends on among other factors, the ability to manage the diverse cultural backgrounds in the organizations towards the attainment of the common organizational goal. According to Schauber (n.d), “an effective, culturally diverse organization is one whose culture is inclusive of all of the varying groups and constituencies it intends to serve”. Simply put, the organizational vision and mission revolve around incorporating diversity in values/beliefs and communication. The organization’s response to the management of the diverse climate in the organization becomes effective when there is the existence of a model that addresses the pertinent issues of cultural diversity. The outcomes from the implementation of this model are very influential on the diversity training program. According to Cox ad Beale (1997, p. 31), diversity climate is very influential on an employee’s job performance as well as his career experiences since it affects the perception of the employee on his employer or work; and also the use of performance ratings to measure the achievement of the employee.
A model of methods and procedures for analyzing the diversity in an organization may be built around three key pillars of diversity climate – individual factors, inter-group factors and organizational factors – all of which play a key role in influencing individual career outcomes as well organizational effectiveness. Individual factors influence the level of performance on a personal level based on perception, prejudices, stereotyping and personality; inter-group factors may involve cultural differences and conflicts; while organizational factors may involve organizational culture, employment systems, and informal and structural integration in the organization (Cox ad Beale, 1997, p. 32).
These three pillars of the model tend to affect the individual’s career outcomes, which in turn influence the organization’s effectiveness. A diversity plan especially in employment and contacting is important as it contains procedures and policies that tend to harmonize individual perceptions and attitudes with the organizations’ culture. For instance, the employment part of the model should include a policy statement that should be communicated to all the employees; responsibilities of all the employees including the managers and directors; discrimination complaint procedure; implementation of the employment policy and the role of a diversity committee. The purpose of these employment procedures is to provide effective measures to ensure equal opportunity for everyone regardless of cultural background in areas of recruiting, promotion and rewards and punishment. On contacting, there should be a procurement policy that gives equal chance to everyone interested in doing business with the organization. This may be productive to the organization as equal opportunity for all will provide healthy competition thus boosting quality.
In the model, individual career outcomes such as job satisfaction, job mobility, performance appraisal and job involvement/enrichment are directly influenced by the strength of diversity climate. When these outcomes are positive, there is likely to be organizational effectiveness in the areas of productivity, human resources success, quality of work, creativity and innovation, and employee cohesion, all of which tend to improve the organization’s market share and profitability. Equal treatment in the organization is a crucial element of diversity. This means that, there should be zero tolerance to any form of discrimination in the organization, may it be in employment or otherwise.
The analysis of cultural diversity is important as it assists the organization to effectively manage its affairs towards achieving its vision and mission. According to Schauber, (n.d), cultural diversity is beneficial to the organization as it acts as a catalyst for creativity, boosts moral obligation through giving equal opportunity and boosts employee performance. In addition, diversity plays a vital role in problem-solving activities especially where the views from both the major and minor cultural groups are taken. Moreover, well-managed diversity tends to contribute positively to cost reduction as sound decisions are made, innovation and creativity are enhanced and the confidence of employees is boosted, thus making them more productive.
The individual and organizational effectiveness outcome of this model play an integral part in the cultural diversity training program through providing useful skills and knowledge. The more flexible the diversity training program is, the more likely that the organization’s effectiveness will be achieved. Indeed, cultural diversity training programs have contributed positively to the increased organizational revenues, sales and market share. For instance, Cultural Diversity Training Resources (2009) argue that companies with a high level of diversity have achieved greater sales and profits than companies with lesser diversity.
Cultural Diversity Training Resources (2009) also indicate that, companies that engage in diversity training for their staff become financially strong due to improved competitiveness. Successful companies tend to uphold diversity training especially on managers and supervisors to enable them to deal with diverse cultural workgroups. In addition, they tend to incorporate diversity training programs as part of their corporate agenda.
Today’s business climate has become synonymous with organizations competing to outdo each other in the market through diversity management. The key to unlocking the potential from members of an organization is through developing the social capital and cohesion in the organization through multiculturalism (Stevens et al, 2008, p. 117). This means that diversity management is playing a crucial role to bolster the economic performance of organizations especially in the fields of marketing strategies, creativity and innovation, decision making, and employee productivity.
References
Cox, T. and Beale, R. L. (1997). Developing competency to manage diversity reading, cases & activities. SF, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Cultural Diversity Training Resources. (2009). Cultural Diversity Training Resources. Web.
Schauber, A. C. (N.d). Effecting Extension Organizational Change Toward Cultural Diversity: A Conceptual Framework. Extension Journal, Inc. 2009. Web.
Stevens, F. G. et al. (2008). Unlocking the Benefits of Diversity. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1). 116-131.
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