Diversity and multiculturalism

Dr. Anupama Chaudhari
KCES’s Institute of Management and Research, Jalgaon

 Diversity is defined as the differences between
people. Differences could be according to race,
gender, sexual orientation, religion background,
socioeconomic status, etc.
 From the workplace perspective, diversity focuses on
set of policies to meet government mandated
diversity compliance standards
 According to HR managers diversity in workplace is:
 Not well defined or understood at work
 Focuses too much on compliance
 Places too much emphasis on gender and ethnicity.

 Multiculturalism is a phenomenon of
multiple groups of cultures existing
within one society.
 Some people claim that different
traditions and cultures can enrich
society whereas some criticize it.
 It occurs naturally when a society is
willing to accept the culture of
immigrants.
Multiculturalism

 Differences:
 Diversity: In diversity, differences are acknowledged.
 Multiculturalism: In multiculturalism, differences are accepted.
 Unequal Distribution of Power:
 Diversity: People are not aware of the power differential.
 Multiculturalism: People are fully aware of the power differential among different
groups and individuals.(race privilege, social class privilege, gender privilege)
 Discrimination:
 Diversity: Diversity prevents discrimination.
 Multiculturalism: Multiculturalism not only prevents discrimination but leads to
understanding as well.
 Inclusiveness:
 Diversity: Diversity does not lead inclusiveness.
 Multiculturalism: Multiculturalism leads to inclusiveness.

 Age:
 People of different ages tend to think differently and have very
different experiences. a key benefit of diversity is that employees
with varying perspectives are better at things like innovation and
decision-making.
 Having people of different ages is a great way to achieve that. The
younger employees can keep you up-to-date with the latest
technology and see possibilities that people stuck in 20th-century
models may not appreciate. And older employees can draw on a
much broader range of experiences, including their memories of all
the times that the “next big thing” has come crashing down.

Race:
• Race is a social construct, not a valid
scientific category. It is powerful social
construct, and it affects people’s lives in
many different ways, such as:
• life expectancy
• ability to own a home
• access to healthcare
• treatment by the criminal justice system
Ethnicity:
• It places more emphasis on culture than
biology. Ethnicity is a group identity based
on cultural traditions and rituals, ancestry
and heritage, and/or religious beliefs.

• Socially constructed gender roles give
advantage to males, ensuring their needs and
desires to be primary and providing them
greater access to, and control over, societal
resources, such as money, status, legal rights.
Gender:
• Sexual orientation is often confused with
sexual preference. While they both refer to a
pattern of sexual attraction, preference
indicates a choice, but orientation is an
involuntary disposition toward
heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality,
gay. It is inherently personal matter of how
you feel and whom you are attracted to. What
could it possibly have to do with business.
Sexual Orientation:

Religion:
• Diversity in religion has been an issue
throughout the ages.
• Religious principles can influence every aspect
of a person’s life --from what they eat, who
they choose to marry, and how they are
treated in death.
Disability:
• Disability includes impairments (a problem in
body function or structure), activity limitations
(a difficulty encountered by an individual in
executing a task or action), and participation
restrictions (a problem experienced by an
individual in involvement in life situations).
Because a person may experience a
combination of these conditions, living with a
disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting
an interaction between features of a person’s
body and features of the society in which he or
she lives.

 Personality:
 Socioeconomic status:
 Education level:
 Life experience:

Managing
diversity and
multiculturalism
at workplace
Managing diversity is defined as
“planning and implementing
organizational systems and practices to
manage people so that the potential
advantages of diversity are maximized
while its potential disadvantages are
minimized”.

For an organization to actually profit from the
“diversity of thought” of its diverse workforce
the following factors have to come together:
Commitment to the diversity development
process by top management and all employees
Diversity promoting and supporting
companywide structures and processes
Development and training of the workforce’s
cross-cultural (leadership) competencies and
conflict management skills

1. Select a cross-culturally competent
team leader.
 Leading a multicultural team successfully
requires competencies that go well
beyond the technical knowledge and the
leadership qualities usually required. To
be effective, leaders of multicultural
teams need:
 A high level of cultural flexibility
 Robust ambiguity tolerance
 Low levels of ethnocentrism
 These intercultural competencies are best
learned through cross-cultural training
combined with personal work experience

2. Select the team members.
 A team leader who already has the necessary
cross-cultural proficiency selects the
members based on specific criteria related to
the team’s/project’s target population These
selection criteria need to be clearly defined
and transparently communicated to all team
members.

3. Make the kick-off phase
personal
Start any project or team kick-off
phase with a team event that
gives members an opportunity to
get to know each other personally,
such as a shared meal. And if for
some reason the team can’t meet
in person, at the very least a
friendly videoconference allowing
for small talk is recommended.

 4. Take the time to build relationships and
trust.
 Personal relationships and trust are a central
element of doing business in many cultures
around the globe. Other cultures (e.g., the
Germans) prefer to approach negotiations and
projects head-on without much time given to
relationship building. However, unless you are
German and manage a team of Germans
(especially men), investing time to build
trusting relationships is never wrong. By the
way, even German men like to socialize and
build relationships after work.

 5. Learn about differences.
 While team members might have similar educations,
professional experience, and work in the same industry,
there are still considerable differences to be found between
team members. It is those differences (e.g., career path,
education, culture, hobbies, social background) that will
lead to creative and innovative ideas, and eventually will
influence the quality of team performance.

 6. Clarify expectations:
 Leaders: The process of discussing and
clarifying expectations is a necessary step for
any team, but is particularly crucial for
multicultural teams. Diverse employees will
have different expectations about leadership
due to factors such as age and professional or
cultural background. Consider the varying
patterns of expectations and common processes
that need to be negotiated. Who expects what,
and why? How will decisions be reached? Who
decides ultimately?
 Team members: The members need to be able
to voice and discuss their expectations before
some kind of common ground can be
negotiated. Clarify potential conflicts and
explore possible remedies. How different are
the issues raised, and the troubleshooting plans
imagined by the various team members? If team
goals cannot be met in a timely manner, can a
plan B be envisioned and implemented?

 7. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
 Choosing adequate communication channels and cooperating consistently are essential for
local and virtual teams. Which tools fit the team’s framework and work methods? As we
all know, communicating clearly and without conflict is challenging even in our mother
tongue. The difficulties multiply exponentially when different vocabularies are at play
such as in the case of interdisciplinary and/or international teams. Therefore, it becomes
even more important to apply the golden rules of communication:
 Communicate with a positive attitude
 Be clear about who you are addressing
 Be descriptive
 Avoid making value judgments
 Rephrase what you heard
 Give examples
 Speak only for yourself
 Suggest changes that can be linked to behaviors
 By working hard to create a team culture, communication and collaboration just might
become a pleasure and an inspiration instead of hard work.

 8. Set and respect deadlines.
 It is a well-known fact that time does not mean
the same to everybody; after all, who does not get
annoyed by chronic latecomers? Time can be a
sensitive issue personally and culturally. To get
everybody on the same page, communicate the
rules about time keeping and deadlines clearly.
This is especially important if some of the team
members are not working in the same time zone
and the common work hours are limited. In this
scenario, team members have to be even more
flexible, as returning a phone call might have to
wait for the next day. What time frames are
acceptable, and when is a call-back considered
late? What are the consequences if deadlines are
not respected?

 9. Be alert to signs of trouble.
 Inconsistencies and delays might signal
issues with team collaboration. Don’t
delay when you become aware of
deadlines not being met or people
avoiding direct contact. Helpful
interventions to prevent trouble may
include personal talks, social gatherings,
reminders of milestones achieved, or
teambuilding events. When considering
any intervention, cultural intelligence and
sensitivity are of utmost importance to
achieve the goal of better collaboration.

 10. Assess the team’s work.
 Of course, feedback about the team’s progress needs to be given. But
a majority of cultures consider public critique offensive and improper,
and only allow for indirect or private face-to-face critique. To work
together successfully, it, thus, is necessary to tailor any critique to
the member’s cultural background. While it might be acceptable to
give critique directly and rather bluntly when working with a Dutch
team member, for example, this will not be acceptable to individuals
from other cultures such as China or India. It might be helpful to call
upon a (cultural) facilitator/mediator if the issue involves more than
one team member, as that is usually a signal of a bigger issue. Again,
don’t procrastinate.

Diversity and multiculturalism

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