Managing cultural diversity: implications for organizational competitiveness

Abstract

Executive Overview The recent business trends of globalization and increasing ethnic and gender diversity are turning managers' attention to the management of cultural differences. The management literature has suggested that organizations should value diversity to enhance organizational effectiveness. However, the specific link between managing diversity and organizational competitiveness is rarely made explicit and no article has reviewed actual research data supporting such a link. This article reviews arguments and research data on how managing diversity can create a competitive advantage. We address cost, attraction of human resources. marketing success, creativity and innovation, problem-solving quality, and organizational flexibility as six dimensions of business performance directly impacted by the management of cultural diversity. We then offer suggestions for improving organizational capability to manage this diversity.

Reviewing Diversity Training: Where We Have Been and Where We Should Go

“…Further, it seems variables such as immediate response, awareness, behavior and attitude change have received the most attention in empirical research on diversity training (for exceptions see Dobbin et al, 2006;Ely, 2004a;Kellough & Naff, 2004;Naff & Kellough, 2003). Yet, many authors have stressed that measuring variables such as employees' perceptions of prejudice and discrimination, creativity, problem solving, and organizational flexibility are also critical to gauge the impact of diversity training (Comer & Soliman, 1996;Cox & Blake, 1991), and thus, should be given more attention.…”

“…Similarly, most diversity programs in the workplace incorporate a range of practices (e.g., training, mentoring, recruitment, management development and compensation programs) aimed at enhancing integration, creating an inclusive culture, and marketing to diverse customers (Cox & Blake, 1991;Mor-Barak, 2005; National Urban League, 2009;Thomas, 1996). While Brewer (1999) asserted that these programs share the same objective-to achieve "full integration of members of minority social categories into the social, structural, and power relationships of an organization or institution" (Brewer, 1999: 337)-in the literature we reviewed actual training objectives are often not explicitly stated.…”

“…While diversity training may focus on different outcomes (e.g., cognitive, attributional, experiential, self-awareness, and behavioral), we identified two types that have been primarily discussed in the literature and have also emerged from our analysis of the articles: awareness training and skill-building or behavior-based training (e.g., Cox & Blake, 1991;Flynn, 1998;Kulik & Roberson, 2008b;Roberson et al, 2003). Awareness training frequently emphasizes having people share experiences with one another (Roberson et al, 2001) and focuses on promoting participants' self-awareness on diversity-related issues such as cognitive biases and heuristics that may affect the interpretation of others' behavior (Probst, 2003).…”

Which foot first: diversity management and affirmative action in Brazilian business

“…There is no doubt that the drift away from a more hardline rights perspective was influenced by the shift from liberal to more conservative policies in the USA (seen in various court rulings), but it is also the case that diversity management came along at a time when the business in USA as well as in EU countries was facing a very different labor climate characterized by a growth in the number of ethnic minorities in society as well as the increasing presence of white women in senior positions (Chanlat;Dameron, 2009;Humphries;Grice, 1995;Cox;Blake, 1991). Additionally, international trade was at the front of the management discussion with new trading blocks, new forms of business partnerships and joint ventures that crossed cultural boundaries, reinforcing the demand for greater flexibility in organizational performance and a more micro level approach to differences that was possibly also influenced by the difficulty business had with the more direct and explicit affirmative action approach (Gilbert;Stead;Ivancevich, 1999;Özbilgin, 2005;Wrench, 2007).…”

“…On one side are those studies that fall into what has been called the mainstream approach, making the business case for diversity management and the benefits an organization can yield from a diversified workforce. Here the concern is often with performance, and thus justifying diversity practices by their potential of improving both business operations and outputs as well as financial results (for example : Chanlat;Dameron 2009;Cox;Blake;1991;Paretti, 2007;Gilbert;Stead;Ivancevich, 1999;Leroux et al, 2008;Tatli;.…”