Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
The modern work environment is characterized by a diverse workforce due to the rapid increase in the immigration of people from different countries searching for better opportunities. One of the main types of diversity observed in most organizations is cultural diversity, which includes differences in people’s cultural beliefs, practices, and values. The main advantage of cultural diversity in the workplace is that it helps an organization increase innovation by facilitating the exchange of different opinions and ideas among employees. Individuals from different cultures have different perspectives and experiences that can be applied in decision-making, resulting in the generation of creative ideas that enhance innovation. The ideas may also be used to solve workplace problems, thus increasing employee productivity. Another advantage of cultural diversity in the workplace is that it creates a good reputation for a company. According to Verma (2020), organizations use diversity and inclusion to demonstrate their role in promoting equality in society, thus creating a good reputation. Therefore, cultural diversity in the workplace can enable an organization to show that it values fairness and does not discriminate against employees, thus improving its relationship with suppliers and customers.
Organizations may be reluctant to embrace cultural diversity because of its disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is increasing the risk of conflict among employees. Interactions between individuals from different cultures may result in disputes arising from differences in values, opinions, and perspectives. Therefore, organizations with a culturally diverse workforce should be prepared to deal with these conflicts. The second disadvantage is that it creates a need for training. Organizations that embrace cultural diversity may be forced to offer cultural awareness training to educate employees on how to deal with issues such as stereotypes and bias, which could hinder peaceful interaction. The training programs consume a lot of time and resources that could be used for other organizational functions. Another disadvantage is slow decision-making because of the differences in perspectives and opinions. Slow decision-making may impact the organization’s overall performance because of task delays. Slow-decision making may discourage employees from introducing new ideas, thus increasing the risk of reduced innovation and productivity.
Moreover, cultural diversity presents various rewards and challenges to an organization. One of the rewards is increased growth. According to Brooks (2017), cultural diversity enables an organization to build relationships with people from different cultures, thus making it easier to identify opportunities for growth and expansion. The differences in the employees’ perspectives, ideas, and opinions can also help the organization generate ideas that can be leveraged for growth and expansion. The second reward is an increase in revenue. Cultural diversity increases creativity and innovation, which are linked to increased productivity. An increase in the organization’s productivity enables it to generate more revenue.
However, these rewards may be limited by the challenges caused by cultural diversity in the workplace. One of the challenges is communication problems. People from different cultures have different ways of interpreting information, thus increasing the risk of miscommunication. Communication problems may also be caused by language barriers. The second challenge is differences in working preferences and styles. According to Kaul (2020), culture influences people’s working styles due to characteristics such as individualism and collectivism. For example, employees from a culture with high collectivism embrace teamwork in the workplace, while those from a culture with high individualism prefer working alone. The third challenge is differences in understanding professional etiquette, which could cause conflict among employees.
References
Brooks, R. L. (2017). Cultural subordination through cultural diversity. The Racial Glass Ceiling. https://doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300223309.003.0005
Kaul, S. (2020). Understanding and managing cultural diversity in the workplace. Cross-Cultural Exposure and Connections, 225-241. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429275968-8
Verma, A. (2020). Critical review of literature on the impact of workforce diversity (specifically age, gender, and ethnic diversity) on organizational competitiveness. Asian Journal of Management, 11(1), 125. https://doi.org/10.5958/2321-5763.2020.00020.7
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Question 
Paper #3 Topics (Due Week 13) (Choose only one):
With the recent legislation to prevent bullying in schools, will the workplace be next to adopt stricter rules and regulations to prevent bullying and harassment in the work environment? Should this be allowed to happen?
Cultural diversity in the workplace: what are the advantages and disadvantages? What are the rewards and challenges?
Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
How have a company’s performance evaluation systems grown and changed over the last decade? How does the change in the workers’ generational demographics affect performance evaluations?
What is employee empowerment, and how is it a key factor in helping organizations become more effective?
Please choose only one topic.