This paper analyzes organization diversity and how to implement a cultural diversity program in an organization.
Today, business is very competitive and most organizations put efforts to expand their business globally. The enhanced universal diversification by small organizations and the beginning of multinational companies has resulted in people of different cultures and backgrounds functioning together in the same department of the same company. Different factors like culture, economy, and political systems play an important role in the organization. Among them, the cultural factor has a significant role in an organization. By culture, we mean language, education system, literacy rate, food habits, lifestyle, social systems, and way of communication, etc existing in the country. Cultural competence is nothing but the competence to communicate with different people from a different cultures. It is an inborn ability and very few people get this ability by birth. Most people develop this ability by their efforts like looking for a role model and taking an advantage of opportunities to share a passion for cultural competence with colleagues. ”Organizational culture can be defined as the organizational norms and expectations regarding how people behave and how things are done in an organization (Glisson & James, 2002).” (Aarons, & Sawitzky, 2006, para.5). The organizational culture and climate are very significant for producing a quality result. Organizational culture influences one’s personal approaches, quality of service, and staff turnover. The employees belong to different backgrounds, so their values, beliefs, behaviors, principles, and practices are different. An organization is made up of diverse groups and they can be established in all departments of the organization. Management is the prime base of an organization and the people at the top management level direct the organization with their philosophy, vision, values, and goals. The culture decides the nature of management, communication, and group dynamics within the establishment. The ‘Science Daily’s article entitled ‘Diversity Linked to Increased Sales Revenue and Profits’ describes the positive influences of diversity culture in an organization. In this article, the sociologist Cedric Herring mentioned that his examination of organizational diversity. He says the influences of diverse cultures in an organization would make better results than other organizations. (Science news, 2009). Diversity in the organization is being considered as an advantage that would contribute to the company’s outcome. A cultural diversity program designed for implementation in the organization is explained below.
Language training: People come from different countries for work and obviously they have their own background. It is always very thrilling to understand the foreign culture but cooperating with someone who is from another country can be very frustrating because it slows the swiftness of work due to communication problems or cultural misinterpretation. Most foreign laborers have the ability to use the English language properly but it is not possible to supplement their knowledge due to lack of English proficiency. People are considered the strongest assets of the organization. The management has to establish strong relationships and communication with employees within the organization that helps to work for a common goal. A good relationship is very effective to understand each other’s cultural background. Communication is very essential for building up a relationship. Conducting a cultural diversity program in the work area is the best to overcome this kind of situation.
Providing proper training to manage people and employees is very essential for the success of a diversity plan. This program is very helpful to understand the cultural differences of employees. Many organizations conduct this program in the right way. The participation of managers and staff is very important in a diversity plan. The diversity program provides the knowledge, proficiency, and tools to help group members for performing differently. A diversity training program is very necessary to meet the demands and plans of today’s lively working atmosphere. For this, it is necessary to appoint a project leader or committee for the successful conduct of a diversity training program. The human resource board also can take steps to structure the diversity program in a small kind of organization. If a training program does not exist in an organization it is suggested that one be implemented.
“If your company already has non-native employees, determine if one or more are qualified to lead the initiative. People from other cultures often have experienced wide exposure to a variety of people groups or social environments in their travel to America and efforts to take root here.” (Cultural diversity training on the job, 2002, para.5)
Design the valuable plan for presenting staff to multicultural issues: the organization has to make an arrangement to celebrate diversity programs through conduct workshops or seminars. It’s all depending on your company range and the ratio of non-native staff. Today, discrimination is very common and harshly shown without consideration. The human being deteriorating process, personal behavior, society’s encouragement to unfaithful competition, and the overstated social comparison are the main factors for discrimination. The Organization has to take an initiative and create a new policy for minority groups and foreign laborers to protect them from bias. The existing law called Federal Law is the best example for this purpose. The organization can take the help of the media to publicize the policy document to all employees.
References
Aarons, G A., & Sawitzky, A C. (2006). Organizational culture and climate and mental health provide attitudes towards evidence- based practice. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript: Accepted for Publication in a Peer Reviewed Journal, 3(1), 61-72. Pub Med Central Journal List. doi: 10.1037/1541-1559.3.1.61.
Cultural diversity training resources: Diversity linked to increased sales revenue and profits, more customers. (2009). PRISM; International Connecting Diversity Results.
Cultural diversity training on the job. (2002). Essortement: Information and Advice you want to know.
Science news: Diversity linked to increased sales revenue and profits, more customers. (2009). Science Daily: Your Source for the Latest Research News.