Cultural and Social Diversity 1 Running Head: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL DIVERSITY

Cultural and Social Diversity in Business [Authors Name] [University/School] [Professor]

Cultural and Social Diversity 2 Abstract Cultural and Social diversity in business is essentially part of the results of the globalization of companies. Expansion to different countries means utilizing each countrys work force combined with the foreign workforce of the expanding company. This would lead to a number of issues which fall under sex, culture, religion, discrimination and many others. Moreover, occupational status differences and social grading also proves to be a factor in further dividing the workforce in to divisions. These problems are just one of the common issues in rapidly expanding companies. Globalization has its promise of wealth and career both to its employers and employees but the current cultural and social diversities would be a barrier to this goal. The solution to this would be the reformulation of strategies and customization of each companies approach upon settling in with the foreign workforce of a different country.

Cultural and Social Diversity 3 Cultural and Social Diversity in Business In the 21st century, Globalization of most of the top companies has been seen. The expansion of business to other countries proved to be helpful to these economies because of the jobs that they bring and the infusion of capital into the market as well. This phenomenon has led to the diversification of mostly all companies that have expanded throughout the major countries in the world. Today, the typical workforce of any company would include a significant number of foreign employees. These opportunities of expansion to other countries provide each company with an unlimited possibility of maximizing their profit and efficiency. These are all due to the improvement of the working relationship and managing systems of these companies. Cultural diversity in a work setting may prove to be difficult. However, does it mean that this cultural diversity in the business setting of today would lead to problems and eventually put the company at risk? The past few years of recession and the unstable world economy makes companies think twice about expanding abroad. Diversification of the work place will initially put forth issues related to gender, sex, language, tradition and many other cultural aspects of each foreign individual. These cultural differences dictate the survivability or the success of any rapidly expanding economy. There are different challenges ahead of each company and this all remains under the notion that despite cultural diversity, a good working environment can still be attained and the improvement of the adaptability of each professional to working with a foreigner. Cultural diversity at the work place also added differences based on the individuals relationship to capital and to the whole of the company. People have qualifications or skills for which there is a large or small demand depending on the situation. There is, for example, a higher demand for aircraft pilots than for neon-designers. The concept of status in the work place also affects the relationships of its diverse employees. This status can be defined as social

Cultural and Social Diversity 4 prestige which is not unique in modern societies and can be influenced by many factors, including birth, education, occupation, and lifestyle. As a result of the increased economic, cultural and social significance of work, in modern societies, occupational status is often used as an alternative to class models of social and cultural groupings. The rank of these orders of occupations can vary between the societal setups and may change over time. For example, despite the cultural diversity, since the 19th century, nursing has increased in skill and has moved up the ranking, whereas clerical work has been deskilled and has consequently declined in status. These types of working positions will generally be magnified once the working environment is put in a global stage. A difference in cultural background doesnt cover most of the foreseen issues in a culturally diverse workplace. Differences in occupational status and social grading are stratified under these groups: 1. Higher Managerial and professional (e.g. doctor, lawyer) 2. Lower Managerial and professional (e.g. teacher, consultant, nurse) 3. Skilled non-manual (secretary, sales men, insurance agent) 4. Skilled manual (e.g. carpenter, hair dresser) 5. Semi-skilled manual (e.g. bus river, cashier) 6. Unskilled manual (e.g. cleaner, laborer) 1. A Upper Middles class (higher managerial and professional) 2. B Middle class (lower managerial and professional) 3. C1 Lower middle class (routine white collar) 4. C2 Skilled working class (manual) 5. D Semi-skilled and unskilled working class (manual) 6. E Residual (including those dependent upon the state)

The terms middles class and working class are widely used in the society today. This stratification encompasses cultural differences and further diversifies the business environment

Cultural and Social Diversity 5 of today. Presently, all business expansion has their own tactics and strategies in overcoming both cultural and social differences in the work place. These strategies are customized to cope with the specific setting of the country that they will expand to. On the other hand, issues and problems related to cultural and social diversity in the workplace needs to be examined and solved. The present day structure of management of international companies needs to be goal oriented and solution oriented in order to cope up with the rate of their rapid globalization. Adjustments and solutions to these problems must be sensible, rational and reasonable. It should also be free of any underlying prejudice and discrimination against sex, gender, culture, race, occupational status and social status. Indeed it is true tat there is a lot to gain in globalization. Globalization has a lot to offer to each country and company that will be recipients of the expansion. There are simple ways on how to minimize these differences and encourage respect from each and every employee coming from a different cultural and social background. Occasional informal gatherings and functions plus workshops and events would generally invite all the employees to know each other and be comfortable with their colleagues. Cultural and social diversity in business will have its issues but this can be minimized and removed as well. The promise of globalization has a lot to give to its employees and employers. Cultural differences must be settled if not used to improve the current setup of international companies.

Citations and Annotations Hartel, Charmine. (2004) Towards a Multicultural World: Identifying Work Systems, Practices and Employee Attitudes that Embrace Diversity. Australian Journal of Management. Vol. 29.

Cultural and Social Diversity 6 This research program identifies the types and kinds of approaches and strategies that can be done in order to customize the organizational culture to fit the different cultures present in a workplace. It has recognized key activities and setups that would help out in minimizing the cultural differences. The research also found out that the success of these activities would depend largely on the perception of difference and subsequent quality and magnitude of the response to the perceived dissimilarity. The research provided the greatest relevance to my topic inquiry about Cultural and Social diversity in Business. Mamman, Aminu. (1996) A Diverse Employee in A Changing Workplace. Graduate School of Business, Northern Territory University. SAGE Journals. The paper discusses the important factors that contribute to the interruption of proper adaptation of employees to their diverse work force. It has been pointed out that characteristics such as disability race and gender are just some of the primary interaction adjustments. Secondary characteristics would inVol.ve the tone of his/her voice, personality and cognition. These factors generally determine the type of interaction that will take place and the adjustment necessary to cope up with this environment. The determination of these factors will help a lot in the formations of organizational policies which is based on cultural and social differences. Hermon, Mary. (1998) Building a Shared understanding and Commitment to Managing Social and Cultural Diversity in Business. Journal of Business Communication. Vol. 33. The study observed the different perspectives of multi-level employees and managers regarding the diverse representatives of each employee group which is the results of a shared goal to improve their working relationships through diversity. The study also exposed the similarities of their goals with regards to career advancement and rules and

Cultural and Social Diversity 7 policies. Overall, the study focused on the improvement of the interpersonal characteristic of each employee which is aimed at creating a better environment despite the cultural and social diversity. See, Geoffrey. (2008) Workplace Diversity in Asia. University of Pennsylvania The Michigan Journal of Business. Vol. 1, Issue 2. The study took an in depth look in Asias rapidly expanding business culture. The aim of the study was more focused on China and how it became a global competitor. Globalization has already brought a lot of foreign people to China and there have been a lot of positive feedbacks that the adjustments of these expats were great. However, it was noted that the various differences in economic status in Asia gave rise to some problems regarding organizational strategies due to heavy industrialization. Cultures and Social stratification were very much prevalent in the Asian business world. Strategies were in place to counteract the negative effect but the success rates were very low. Patil, Shefali. (2009) Perceptions of Female Managers in Male- Dominated Industries: Effects of Gender Rarity, Performance, and Diversity Justification. The Michigan Journal of Business. Vol. 2, Issue 1. The study was conducted to determine the effect of a female dominated managerial position with regards to the perceptions, performance and diversity justification of the workplace. It was observed that the more female managers were inVol.ved, the higher was the rate of diversification in hiring. However, this result was just limited to hiring other employees. The results further details the fact that female representation in the corporate world is still not enough to change the behavior , prejudice and discrimination of other employees regarding cultural and social difference. On the other hand, the study

Cultural and Social Diversity 8 concluded that it is indeed helpful to have an equal gender rights in companies in order to reduce the sex based discrimination.