Managing Multiculturalism at the Workplace
Culture and perception
While companies are expanding into global entities, one significant challenge so far has been to manage cross-cultural relations adequately. Diversity can then be conceptualized by the differences that people have, ranging from political and religious, to cultural ideologies. With such differences, some groups may perceive that others are different from them (Lourenço, Dimas, & Rebelo, 2014). Contextually, therefore, stereotypes and attitudes, to be specific, that stemmed from differences in culture was the reason why it was difficult for Misha and Steve to find common ground.
Multi-Cultural Management Strategies
While having multicultural teams means that people from all walks of life can interact and work harmoniously with each other, it is essential to create effective diversity management strategies that ensure that every individual’s needs and concerns are met. The HR personnel may, for instance, plan and implement efforts such as developing training sessions, which would enhance people’s understanding of other cultures. In this manner, the firm may harness individual differences and use them as inputs for new ideas (Misoc, 2017). While nurturing the employees’ cross-cultural competence, the company would equally be required to develop a more inclusive organizational culture (Palthe, 2014). For instance, they may define new or reinforce existent principles to ensure that every individual feels valued and appreciated.
The best type of verbiage
Multiculturalism presents a wide range of challenges, ranging from inferior communication lines to declining productivity. A lack of an effective communication line between Steve and Misha, for instance, led to misunderstandings (Vandaveer, 2012). Thus, there is a need for more interpersonal methods of communication, such as face to face. Hence, persons should be aware of personal biases while communicating with others, therefore minimizing friction. Also, proper phrasing and word choice may be critical to ensuring minimal discomfort when more than one culture interacts. By also including positive statements such as “freedom,” “growth,” and “inclusive,” employees can feel like a part of the family.
The need for humor
Humor has, for many years, become an integral component of human societies. At times, culture-specific humor may integrate events from societies into the modern-day, therefore building on a people’s history. When such kind of details are shared, they may ultimately increase mutual understanding among teams, thus shaping the social and cultural aspects of society (Kim & Plester, 2019). For instance, at the workplace, humor would reinforce a team spirit, such as by refining the quality of interpersonal relationships and even improving creativity.
Personality, society, and leadership styles
When comparing Misha to Steve, one can then be induced to infer that initially, the two did not see eye to eye due to their cultural differences. Misha is more laid back, reserved, and more of a collectivist person, since she values family (Vandaveer, 2012). Having originated from a collectivist community, her culture then motivates her to value social support systems such as her relationship with her boss, thus more likely to use a transformational leadership style. On the other hand, Steve is somewhat more opportunistic, independent, competitive, and is more likely to use a pacesetting leadership style.
Career options
With cultural diversity, there is a prospect that individual differences may affect job outcomes. Thus, exiting may be a way to avoid future conflict or resistance. If, for instance, the other employees value individuality and winning while another embraces virtues such as a sense of community, commitment, and patience, it may be important for the employee to find another organization that meets their concerns. Thus, it would be mandatory for them to perform a personality assessment to then determine what kind of environment suites them best.
References
Kim, H. S., & Plester, B. A. (2019). Harmony and distress: Humor, culture, and psychological well-being in South Korean organizations. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02643
Lourenço, P. R., Dimas, I. D., & Rebelo, T. (2014). Effective workgroups: The role of diversity and culture. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 30(3), 123-132. doi:10.1016/j.rpto.2014.11.002
Misoc, I. (2017). The effects of cultural diversity on team performance: A comparison between the performance of monocultural teams and the performance of multicultural teams in tourism organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(7). doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v7-i7/3090
Palthe, J. (2014). Cross-level cultural congruence: Implications for managing diversity in
multinational corporations. Journal of Diversity Management (JDM), 9(1), 51-62.
Vandaveer, V. V. (2012). Dyadic team development across cultures: A case study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 64(4), 279-294. doi:10.1037/a0031652