WORK CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
•
by Tawanda Gombiro
Objectives
1. DEFINE what is meant by organizational culture; discuss
interaction of national and MNC culture
2. IDENTIFY four most common categories of organizational
culture and discuss characteristics of each
3. PROVIDE overview of nature and degree of multi-culturalism
and diversity in today’s MNCs.
4. DISCUSS common guidelines and principles used in building
team and organizational multicultural effectiveness.
Workplace Culture
• Workplace culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and
practices that shape the social and psychological environment of a workplace.
• It is the collective personality of an organization, and it influences the way
employees think, feel, and behave at work.
• Workplace culture can be defined by the way employees interact with one
another, the degree of autonomy and empowerment they have, the level of
trust and collaboration, and the extent to which diversity, equity, and inclusion
are valued and promoted.
Workplace Culture
• The pattern of shared values, beliefs, and assumptions considered to be
the appropriate way to think and act within an organization.
• Culture is shared.
• Culture helps members solve problems.
• Culture is taught to newcomers.
• Culture strongly influences behaviour.
Workplace Culture’s Functions
• Boundary-defining
• Conveys a sense of identity for organization members
• Facilitates commitment to something larger than one’s
individual self-interest
• Social glue that helps hold an organization together
• Provides appropriate standards for what employees should say or do
• Serves as a “sense-making” and control mechanism
• Guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of employees
Do Organizations Have Uniform
Cultures?
• Workculture represents a common perception held by the organization
members.
• Core values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the
organization.
• Dominant culture
• Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.
• Subcultures
• Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or
experiences.
Layers of Culture
Levels of Culture
• Artifacts
• Aspects of an organization’s culture that you see, hear, and feel
• Beliefs
• The understandings of how objects and ideas relate to each other
• Values
• The stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important
• Assumptions
• The taken-for-granted notions of how something should be in an
organization
Examples of workplace culture
• Innovation and risk-taking
• The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.
• Attention to detail
• The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to
detail.
• Outcome orientation
• The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique
and process.
• People orientation
• The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes
on people within the organization.
Examples of workplace culture
cont.
• Team orientation
• The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than
individuals.
• Aggressiveness
• The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.
• Stability
• The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo
in contrast to growth.
Contrasting workplace Cultures
Organization A Organization B
• Managers must fully document • Management encourages and
all decisions. rewards risk-taking and change.
• Creative decisions, change, and risks • Employees are encouraged to
are not encouraged. “ run with ” ideas, and failures are
treated as “ learning experiences.”
• Extensive rules and regulations exist • Employees have few rules and
for all employees. regulations to follow.
• Productivity is valued over employee • Productivity is balanced with treating
morale. its people right.
• Employees are encouraged to stay • Team members are encouraged to interact
within their own department. with people at all levels and functions.
• Individual effort is encouraged. • Many rewards are team based.
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
How Organizational Culture Forms
Top
management
Philosophy
of Organization's
Selection Top
Philosophy management
of
organization's Selection Organization's
organization's criteria culture
criteria culture
founders
Socialization
founders
Socialization
Creating and Sustaining Culture:
Keeping a Culture Alive
• Selection
• Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the culture.
• Top Management
• Senior executives establish and communicate the norms of the organization.
• Socialization
• Organizations need to teach the culture to new employees.
Finding Your Culture
• Networked culture: you possess good social skills and
empathy; you like to forge close, work-related friendships;
you thrive in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.
• Mercenary culture: you are goal-oriented, thrive on
competition, like clearly structured work tasks.
• Fragmented culture: you are independent, have a low
need to be part of a group atmosphere, are analytical
rather than intuitive.
• Communal culture: you have a strong need to identify
with something bigger than yourself and enjoy working in
teams.
The disadvantages of Culture
• Culture can have disdavantages in some instances.
• Culture as a Barrier to Change
• When organization is undergoing change, culture may impede change.
• Culture as a Barrier to Diversity
• Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to conform.
• Culture as a Barrier to Mergers and Acquisitions
• Merging the cultures of two organizations can be difficult, if not impossible.
Strategies For Managing Cultures Cultures
Assimilation
• is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble
those of another group. The term is used to refer to both individuals and groups, and in
the latter case it can refer to either immigrant diasporas or native residents that come to
be culturally dominated by another society. Assimilation may involve either a quick or
gradual change depending on circumstances of the group. Full assimilation occurs when
new members of a society become indistinguishable from members of the other group.
Whether or not it is desirable for an immigrant group to assimilate is often disputed by
both members of the group and those of the dominant society
Separation-occurs when individuals reject the dominant or host culture in favor of
preserving their culture of origin.
Integration
Change Agents
• People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing
change activities.
Outside agents
• Can offer an objective perspective.
• Usually have an inadequate understanding of the organization’s history,
culture, operating procedures, and personnel.
• Don’t have to live with the repercussions after the change is
implemented.
The Nature of Organizational Culture
• Organizational culture: shared values and beliefs enabling members
to understand their roles and the norms of the organization, including:
• Observed behavioral regularities, typified by common language, terminology,
rituals
• Norms, reflected by things such as amount of work to do and degree of
cooperation between management and employees
• Dominant values organization advocates and expected participants to share
(e.g., low absenteeism, high efficiency)
Organizational Culture
(continued)
• Other values and beliefs:
• Philosophy set forth regarding how to treat employees and customers
• Rules dictating do’s and don’ts of employee behavior pertaining to productivity
intergroup cooperation…
• Organizational climate as reflected by way participants interact with each other, treat
customers, and feel about how treated by senior level management
Four Cultural Types
1. Family Culture: Strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation
to persons
Power oriented, headed by leader regarded as caring parent
Management takes care of employees, ensures they’re treated
well, and have continued employment
Catalyze and multiply energies of personnel or end up supporting
leader who is ineffective and drains energy and loyalties
Four Cultural Types
2. Eiffel Tower:
Strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation to task
Jobs well defined; coordination from top
Culture narrow at top; broad at base
Relationships specific and status remains with job
Few off-the-job relationships between manager and employee
Formal hierarchy is impersonal and efficient
Four Cultural Types
3. Guided Missile:
Strong emphasis on equality in workplace
and in task
Culture oriented to work
Work undertaken by teams or project
groups
All team members equal
Treat each other with respect
Egalitarian and task-driven organizational
culture
Four Cultural Types
4. Incubator Culture:
Strong emphasis on equality and personal
orientation
Organization as incubator for self-
expression and self-fulfillment
Little formal structure
Participants confirm, criticize, develop, find
resources for, or help complete
development of innovative product or
service
Valuing diversity
Objectives:
• Define diversity and its impact in the workplace
• Understand the benefits of diversity
• Learn how to leverage diversity to enhance teamwork, increase
productivity, and maximize results
DIVERSITY?
What comes to mind when you hear the word
DIVERSITY?
Race/Ethnicity Color
Age Disabilities
Sex/Gender National Origin
Sexual Orientation
Religion
Communicati
on Styles
Values,
Disabilities Ethics,
Morals
Beliefs,
National Religion,
Origin Worldview
s
Perception
Color
s, Attitudes
Diversit
y
Sexual
Assumptions
Orientatio , Stereotypes
n
Sex/ Experience
Gender s
Age Race/Ethnicity
Workplace diversity
Workplace diversity refers to the presence of individuals from a
variety of different backgrounds and identities in the workplace.
Diversity can include differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age,
religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical and
mental abilities, and other characteristics.
Workplace diversity cont
A diverse workplace recognizes and values these differences, and actively works to
create a culture of inclusion where all employees feel respected, valued, and
empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents.
The goal of workplace diversity is to create a more innovative, productive, and
supportive workplace environment that benefits everyone.Valuing diversity in the
workplace is about recognizing, valuing and leveraging people’s differences to
enhance communication and team effectiveness.
Why so important?
Why diversity?
Why now?
• Increased interaction among employees in team settings from
different backgrounds
• Global individuals
• Cultural differences within societies significantly impact how
people interact
The benefits of diversity
CREATIVITY
- generating ideas GROUP DYNAMICS
-developing new -decreases over-
products conformity & group think
-improving systems
and processes
ORGANIZATIONA TEAM
L EFFECTIVENESS DEVELOPMENT
-increases capacity to -contributes to
deal with diversity in increased team
environment, global cohesion
markets, groups
Advantages of Diversity
• Enhance creativity
• Lead to better decisions
• More effective/productive results
• Prevent groupthink
• Can facilitate highly effective teams under right conditions
Signs that you are not open to diversity
• You think cultural differences are an annoyance in a business setting
• You think it’s too much effort to learn about other cultures and/or
differences
• You refer to differences as weird
• “You’re in Botswana now” attitude
• Not willing to distinguish between different ethnicities of a certain group
Diversity means . . .
• Thinking differently . . .
• Recognizing & Exploring differences . . .
• Appreciating differences . . .
• Respecting differences . . .
Valuing diversity
Thinking Differently
Recognizing & Exploring
Differences
Appreciating Differences
Respecting Differences
"Diversity is not about how we differ.
Diversity is about embracing one
another's uniqueness."
Ola Joseph
-Author
• Treating people the way they want to be treated
• Work environment that is free of offensive practices and conditions
• Valuing every person’s unique contribution to the team
Potential Problems
Associated with Diversity
• Communication barriers: With employees from different cultural backgrounds, there may be language barriers,
misunderstandings, and difficulty communicating effectively.
• Resistance to change: Some employees may resist changes that come with a more diverse workplace, including changes
to communication styles, work processes, and team dynamics.
• Discrimination and prejudice: Despite the aim of promoting diversity and inclusion, some employees may hold
discriminatory attitudes and prejudices that lead to workplace conflicts and tensions.
• Cultural differences: Different cultures have different values, beliefs, and customs, which can lead to
misunderstandings or clashes if not managed properly.
• Inclusivity and belonging: While diversity is important, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Without a focus on inclusivity
and belonging, a diverse workforce may feel excluded or undervalued.
• Diversity fatigue: With increased attention on diversity and inclusion efforts, some employees may feel overwhelmed
or fatigued, leading to disengagement and decreased motivation.
Summary of key points
• Communication skills – having a self-awareness of how you present
yourself and how you are perceived
• Diversity – growth opportunity
• Culture is learned – ask and explore
Diversity in action
Based upon what you’ve learned today, what will you do to help leverage
diversity in your department?
Managing Multiculturalism and Diversity
• Both domestically and internationally, organizations lead workforces with
a variety of cultures consisting of largely diverse populations:
• Women and Men
• Young and Old
• Black, White, Latin, Asian, Arab, Indian
• Many others.
Types of Multiculturalism
• Domestic Multiculturalism
• Multicultural and diverse workforce operating in MNC home country
• Group Multiculturalism
• Homogenous groups
• Token groups
• Bicultural groups
• Multicultural groups
Managing Multicultural Teams
• Select team members for task-related abilities, not solely based on
ethnicity
• Team members must recognize and prepare to deal with their
differences
• Team leader must help identify/define overall goal
• Mutual respect among members is critical
• Managers must give team positive feedback on process and output
Review and Discuss
1. In which of the four types of organizational cultures – family, Eiffel
Tower, guided missile, incubator – does your company belong to.
2. Most MNCs need not enter foreign markets to face challenges of
dealing with multiculturalism. Do you agree or disagree?
3. What are some problems to be overcome when using
multiculturally diverse teams?
4. What are some basic guidelines for helping make diverse teams
more effective?
