The Impact of Culture Diversity in the Workplace
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The Impact of Culture Diversity in the Workplace
Introduction
Diversity refers to the existence of people from diverse backgrounds and illustrating different characteristics. The diversity in different demographics such as physical abilities, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, culture, age, religion and race are the most common aspects of diversity. While human resource experts propose that it is a beneficial thing within the workplace, diversity also creates considerable challenges for organizational leaders. Several imperative benefits are evident in a well-organized diverse work environment (Martin, 2014). Workplaces having a high employee diversity rate have the best model for exceptional customer and public service. In addition, diverse work groups regularly exhibit increased and feasible ideas because of wider surroundings and experiences (David, & Robin, 2001). Professional and cultural diversity frequently assist organizations that function internationally to better comprehend global markets. It is imprudent to assemble a group of employees with diverse differences and assume they will cooperate effectively. Many managers are unfamiliar with different cultures; they lack the experience of dealing with coexistence, and joining forces with people from entirely different backgrounds. This is a key reason why diversity is an important aspect of management.
Rationale
There is a strong relationship between conflict and workplace diversity. Effective diversity management involves discarding ethnocentric standards. The opposite of ethnocentrism involves developing a mindset that cultivates diversity in a greater school of through called cultural relativism (Kreitz, 2007). In this way, every stakeholder tries to incorporate other beliefs and conduct from the perspective of the other person’s culture (Martin, 2014). People who adopt an approach focus on cultural relativism are more respectful for cultural differences. Challenges inevitably emerge in the presence of diversity within a company. Frustration repeatedly happens when employees with conflicting worldviews relate (Kreitz, 2007). Both people have the need to be respected and understood. Usually, one of the employees has an ethnocentric thinking, using their unique elements of language and beliefs systems as the main standard that should apply to all workers in the workplace (Martin, 2014). Therefore, making a deliberate effort to understand the extent of diversity in the workplace as well as its implications on the conduct and decisions of other members within the organization.
Research Questions
- To reduce the negative effects of culture diversity in Borouge Company, Abu Dhabi
- To establish if the cultural diversity be exploited and used to achieve the organizational objectives
Methodology (Research Design)
Geographic Area
The Borouge Company is located in the Middle Eats, specifically, Abu Dhabi. The city exhibits a wide range of cultural and ethnic diversity. However, the cultural imprint is relatively small. The ethnical homogeneity is high being mostly comprising of Arabs and Europeans. The region has been mentioned in various cases involving the perpetuation of classes within the society (Martin, 2014). This social stratification has ensured that Abu Dhabi has several different consumer groups: migrant workers, expatriates and rich domestic merchants (Martin, 2014). Most of the expatriates originate from the United States and part of Europe such as Britain and Germany.
Sample Size
For this particular study, the sample size will be restricted to the selected four organizations. Each of the organizations will be given an allocation of approximately 1,000 individuals. It is imperative that all of these study participants are legitimate members of the organizations. Furthermore, they have to have experience over five years in their current positions. This will allow them to give valuable feedback on the state of cultural diversity in their organizations. Temporary employees and consultants are exempted from this survey.
Data Collection Method
The study will use a combination of primary and secondary sources. The primary source is interviews that will be carried out on four organizations. The exact documents for the interview will possess relevant questions concerning their experiences and opinions on being part of a multi-cultural workforce. The typical interview for this study will involve a direct conversation between the interviewer and the study participant. The collection of secondary data sources came from the Internet and involved searching for themes on workplace diversity on three selected companies. Apart from the internet, journal articles and reports were also used. The date of the sources used in the research should not be past ten years form the current one.
The interview will also be used for future references to collect quantitative data. In other words, this is the emotions or perceptions of the participants. The questions are designed to focus on discovering out the organization’s viewpoint on workplace cultural diversity, the main obstacles of administering a culturally diverse workforce and other pertinent questions concerning the company’s functions and culture. The questions in the questionnaire and the interview were clearly formulated and included the description for technical terms. This facilitates the easy understanding of the interview by the participants. Ample time for the interviews to understand and fill all the questions was created by sending the questionnaires to the respective offices.
Data Analysis
In the survey, over 43% of the participants were within the age bracket of 25 and 30. However, 20% of the participants were above 30 years of age. The data illustrates a large number of employees are at their peak of productive age. It also illustrates the general trend among the organizations to employ relatively young people regardless of their ethnic or social background. In terms of gender, there was an imbalance among the participants. While 59% was male, only 40% were female. This data is also consistent with the industrial trend where the female gender is still disadvantaged in the corporate sector. In terms of year of experience, over 20% of the participants had worked for an average of 3 years while approximately 70% had worked for 5 years. Only 10% of the participants had surpassed the set limits for the survey. In terms of ethnic composition, approximately 65% of the participants were Arabs, 25% were Europeans and 10% of the participants represented the other minority ethnic groups. In terms of diversity analysis, the tow main variables used in the paper are gender and ethnicity. The Composite Diversity Index for gender and ethnicity were 0.48 and 0.78 respectively.
Timeline
| June 6 | Employ all the necessary staff for the study including the employees that will carry out the interviews and data analysis. |
| June 6 | Design the survey structure |
| June 7 | Develop a temporary mailing list for the survey Sending out e-mail surveys to the participants |
| June 8 | Sending out message for the collection of surveys Sorting out the responses of the participants Announcing the closure of the survey |
| June 9 | Evaluating the data collected |
| June 10 | Presenting results of the survey Submitting paper for publishing |
References
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David, A. T., & Robin, J. E. (2001). Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 2, 229-273.
Kreitz, P. (2007). Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity. Washington, D.C: United States. Dept. of Energy.
Martin, G. C., (2014). The Effects of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. Journal of Diversity Management. Vol. 9, 2.
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