Leading For Change: A Blueprint For Cultural Diversity And Inclusive Leadership – Case Study Analysis

Recognize Cultural Diversity Influences Knowledge

Cultural diversity problems in organizations

Discuss about the Recognize Cultural Diversity Influences Knowledge.

It is the intention of this case study analysis of the document entitled “Leading for Change: a blueprint for cultural diversity and inclusive leadership 2016” and the speech by doctor Tim Soutphommasane, Race Discrimination Commissioner entitled “Cultural Diversity in the Workplace 2015”.

Firstly this case study will examine the cultural diversity problems facing most of the organizations and actions to overcome this cultural diversity issue. It will also explain why it is crucial for leaders to understand the cultural diversity in today’s organizations. This case study also examines the cultural composition of top leadership in Austrian’s organizations and how it will affect cultural diversity. It will also give guidelines on how organizations can nurture leadership skills to improve the economy and multicultural society.it will also explain what distinguishes people in a particular organization hence promoting cultural diversity.

Secondly, this case study will explain the steps an organization should take to do away with this cultural diversity problem. This can include changing status quo for the top leadership or improving policies which promote cultural diversity hence creating a conducive workplace in the organization. The case study also explains the importance of understanding cultural backgrounds of different employees and how can affect decision making among the top leaders. It also shows how cultural diversity issue can lead to bias and discrimination among the employees.

Thirdly, the case study explains policies which leaders should put in place in order to implement change in cultural diversity and measures put in place to support it. It will also explain how with active top management can lead to a shift in cultural diversity within the organization. The case study also describes the relationship between senior and middle managers and the impact on understanding daily activities which can affect cultural diversity.

The AHRC (2016), leading for change publication identifies that leaders identify cultural diversity in organizations and its impacts on leadership results in discriminations and bias within the organization. This can be brought about by people judgment about top leadership and assumptions that they come from different cultural society (Tae-Hyun, 2011). It is therefore essential for leaders to understand the cultural background of employees and what is causing differences between them. It would help in minimizing risks associated with bias and discrimination like high employee’s turnover, absenteeism, and low productivity. It is also critical for leaders to understand what causes biases and discrimination among the workers for it helps in reducing costs. According to Warren (2012), increased cost can lead to low productivity because the company will spend more on hiring than implementing measures to improve its productivity. Studies show that an average cost for an organization arising from discrimination case in Australia is $85000 per case. James (2012) urges that racial discrimination and bias can damage the relationship between the company and it’s internal and external stakeholders which in turn lead to financial crisis.

Steps to overcome cultural diversity problems

Warren (2012) argues that the cultural diversity within an organization impacts on leadership styles resulting in poor performance. According to James (2012), the beliefs, opinions, and values which employees hold in an organization determine the style which a leader uses to lead the organization. If the staff members have common beliefs and appreciate each other’s views and differences, they also accept the leadership strategies used by their leaders and this results to a better outcome (Mohamed, 2018). On the other hand, failure to understand the cultural backgrounds can also lead to poor performance. This is because leaders may implement measures which would affect cultural background of some employees hence diminishing their morale to work.

In addition, Warren (2012) also argues that understanding cultural diversity in an organization may result in making essential decisions. This is because making decisions without considering culture can be a challenge to the leaders and the whole organization. For example, when making an organizational-wide decision like implementing a wok time to monitor work, it is essential to consider how this decision will affect all individuals within the organization (Patrick & Kumar, 2012). Some people may take that culture as a good initiative to them while others may feel that their privacy for work has been compromised. Causing division in the organization due to poor decision making can lead to a bad workplace culture and can lead to low productivity. According to Johnson (2012), poor decision making also leads to high employee’s turnover because some feel that they cannot cope with the culture implemented.

In conclusion, understanding cultural diversity builds a good workplace culture in modern organizations and keeps them fully connected to its internal and external stakeholders. This is because in creating new products and services, one will be able to understand the gender culture of every individual and what they value most (Raj, 2013). Understanding different cultural backgrounds in an organization will also help in making correct decision which will not affect performance or even resignation of some workers. Having a good knowledge of cultural diversity will also reduce the level of racial discrimination and bias within the organization (Mohamed, 2018). It will help in improving the relationship between the organization and its external and internal shareholders. It is also concluded that with racial discrimination within the company can lead to absenteeism or high level of employee’s turnovers which can lead to low productivity (James, 2012. It is therefore essential for leaders to promote diversity and implement measures to support and enable them to create a conducive workplace for its employees (James, 2012). It will enable them to reduce costs and get substantial financial returns.

Policies that support cultural diversity

The AHRC (2016) leading for change publication proposes that the cultural diversity problem of low productivity and high employee’s turnover can be overcome by having good knowledge in cultural backgrounds of different individuals, before making any critical decision in an organization. This will minimize chances of making decisions which can affect some individual due to their culture and end up leaving the company (Jason, 2016). Although implementing cultural decisions may not be an easy thing, it requires attention to employee’s behavior and attitudes, new policies and process must be properly sustained. Some of these policies would include, a commitment by top management and dealing with bias and cultural development (Matthew, 2016). Leaders must take the change themselves and be a good example to other employees. According to Zhu (2012), top leadership should also be backed up by serious leaders in the middle for improved quality performance. These middle leaders should also endorse cultural diversity in their day to day activities in order to reach audiences at all levels.

The issue of gender equality within an organization can help minimize cultural diversity issue. According to Vanmala (2012), it is good to have an equal number of women to that of men in the top leadership. This will help in minimizing chances of bias and discrimination among employees (Jason, 2016). For example, having only one female in top leadership may make others feel that she is not true leader. This will, therefore, lead to her ideas being looked down upon because the majority of people may feel they favor a particular gender (Jason, 2016).

Malgorzata (2013) argues that to overcome the cultural diversity issue of poor performance within the workplace, leaders can influence and support diversity by implementing good measures for collecting data on cultural diversity progress. Collection of data forms a good baseline for measuring future progress and setting individual minds in the organization. According to Apoorva (2014), the development of cultural diversity without proper data collection is usually slow and can lead to reduced productivity. This process would include collecting data based on individual’s ethics and racial backgrounds. This is made easier if they involve self-identification process Vanmala (2012). In this process, individuals will be given questionnaires requiring them to give responses about their cultural background. This will help in reducing bias and discrimination within the organization.

In addition, Livermore (2016) also argues that to overcome the cultural diversity problem of bias and discrimination, leaders can implement policies that value every employee in the organization irrespective of the differences which he/she may portray. Implementing these policies can result in collaboration between employees and teamwork (James, 2012).

Impact of cultural diversity on decision making and leadership

Vanmala (2012) argues that one of the factors that hinder the realization of benefits within an organization is discriminating staff members based on the values, opinions or other cultural differences which they may portray. Biases also hinders employee collaborations because if they realize that one team is being favored because of a particular cultural aspect which it portrays, they develop a negative attitude towards the management or the team favored, and this leads to various issues which may significantly impact firm performance (Apoorva, 2014).

To address the issue of discrimination and bias in workplace, it is also fundamental for the management to encourage open communication. Warren (2012) affirms that when employees with diverse cultural aspects are allowed to communicate with each other and with the management freely, they establish strong bonds which result in the view of equality. This makes the management to allocate opportunities and other aspects of the company without discriminating any group and also benefits from having staff members made up of people with varying views, values, and opinions (Reeta, 2013).

In conclusion, the problem of discrimination and bias based on culture in workplaces can be addressed through implementing policies which value every person in the workplace regardless of his/her culture (Mohamed, 2011). These policies should be focused on ensuring the essence of equality is respected, and the management understands the benefits of providing opportunity without discriminating employees based on the cultural characteristics which they portray (James, 2012).

It can also be addressed by encouraging open communication (Mohamed, 2011). When employees perform their tasks in an environment where they are free to share their ideas and problems, the chances of being discriminated are always limited because they can communicate what they feel is not fine for them.

To reduce the level of racial bias and discrimination, leaders should have a proper data of cultural backgrounds of the employees which would help in implementing policies without affecting people’s culture (Reeta, 2013). This can be done through giving out questionnaires which they should respond. It is also recommended that there should be gender equality in the top management. Gender imbalance can lead to bias because people of a particular gender may not have enough seniors to support their culture (James, 2012). Also, leaders should come with policies which do not affect a cultural background of some workers. Implementation of policies like work timer may compromise the privacy of some individuals (Mohamed, 2011). It is recommended that diversity in the workplace can be developed by implementing recruiting, promoting opportunities that reflect the workplace ethics demographics on a yearly basis.

Gender equality in organizational leadership

Failure to understand cultural diversity can lead to poor decision making within the organization. To avoid this poor decision which can lead to low production and high employees turnover, leaders should engage employees in decision making before implementing any change (Mohamed, 2011). This will enable them to know if the change will have an impact on the cultural background of employees. Secondly, there should be an active team of middle managers to help top managers in understanding day to day activities which can affect cultural diversity in the organization (Mohamed, 2011). This is because senior management without an active team in the middle can lead to poor performance.

It is also recommended that leaders should be engaged in proper training and education in understanding the cultural diversity within the organization (James, 2012). They should also be educated about its importance and how making decisions without understanding cultural backgrounds of employees can affect their performance (Mohamed, 2011). Lastly, it is recommended that diversity in the workplace can be developed by implementing a 12 months mentoring program for 10 leaders from different cultural background to enable them to develop their leadership, communication and networking skills

Poor performance within an organization is also another problem associated with cultural diversity (Apoorva, 2014). People in top leadership should have common cultural backgrounds like an age to avoid disrespecting others and seeing them as minor and cannot come up with solid ideas. Lack of proper guidelines and poor communication skills among the top leaders can also bring about cultural diversity issue (Reeta, 2013). Leaders should have proper knowledge on the cultural background of its employees. Leaders should also collect data on the process and progress of cultural diversity which helps to form the baseline for future growth and focus employee’s minds within the organization. Focusing on organizational goals will assist in achieving good results. This will also lead to substantial financial returns (Mohamed, 2018). It is also recommended that leaders should put into place rules and regulations for middle managers to prevent them from making decisions which would favor them and in turn have a negative impact on the cultural background of employees.

Conclusion

It is concluded that lack of proper ways of managing cultural diversity is a major problem facing not only Australia but also other countries across the world. One of the major factors that lead to lack of managing cultural diversity in organizations is failing to understand the cultural background of employees. Managing cultural differences in workplaces is fundamental because it promotes teamwork, and also makes firms to have employees with varying ideas and opinions. Those who feel that their culture has been compromised can resign, hence leading to insufficient staff, and also making the company to incur expenses in recruiting and training new employees.

References

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James, T. J. (2012). Termination or Need for a Cross-Cultural Competence Training Program: A Conflict between Two Top Managers. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 18(1), 128-145.

Jason, L. (2016). Cultural Diversity as a Mechanism for Innovation: Workplace Diversity and the Absorptive Capacity Framework. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 20(1), 154-168.

Johnson, M. T. (2011). The Diversity Code: Unlock the Secrets to Making Differences Work in the Real World. New York: AMACOM

Livermore, D. (2016). Driven by Difference: How Great Companies Fuel Innovation through Diversity. New York: AMACOM

Malgorzata, l. (2013). Cultural Identity in Everyday Interactions at Work: Highly Skilled Female Russian Professionals in Finland. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 3(4), 45-68.

Matthew, P. A. (2016). Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press

Mohamed, M. (2018). Impact of Diversity Challenges on Organizational Cynicism – an Egyptian Study. ASBM Journal of Management, 11(1), 25-39.

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Reeta, R. (2013). Indians’ Inter-Cultural Communication Competence as Perceived by European Expatriates. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 49(2), 58-69.

Tae-Hyun, K. A. (2011). Culture Matters: Cultural Differences in the Reporting of Employment Discrimination Claims. The William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 20(2), 204-215.

Vanmala, H. (2012). Diversity Management in the Canadian Workplace: Towards an Antiracism Approach. Urban Studies Research, 125-145.

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Zhu, C. J. (2012). Book Review: China’s Changing Workplace: Dynamism, Diversity and Disparity. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 23(2), 141-144.