Introduction

Intercultural communication has become a necessity in most workplaces due to the forces of
globalization. There may be no other region where this necessity is more clearly evident than
in the Arabian Gulf, and more specifically, the United Arab Emirates. Elmaddsia (2011)
argues that executives are the most exposed to the international mobility of labor as a result
of globalization. This is especially evident in the UAE where an excessively large ratio of the
workforce is foreign. “The needs of these executives are changing and increasingly focus on
the nature of sought skills in an environment where understanding of international standards
and issues is a competitive advantage” (Elmaddsia, 2011, p. 213). In the United Arab
Emirates, or UAE (total pop. appox. 8.2 m), which consists of seven different emirates,
expatriates account for 90% of its population, including residents from South Asia, China, the
Philippines, Thailand, Iran, northern Africa, and Western countries. The UAE's ethnic
diversity is a result of having one of the world's highest net migration rates which may be
attributed to several factors, among them changes in economic and political systems and the
differential acknowledgment of human rights by countries across the world (Sarkin, 2000).

In the UAE, migrants are concentrated in two main sectors: construction and domestic work
(Faridi & El-Sayegh, 2006), although many work in other service industries. A small
minority of expatriates are in the professional fields such as education and technology. The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) are under increased pressure to appropriately employ and
manage people of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds (Walck, 1995). Thus, the skillful
management of diversity in the workplace through various means (Norman, 2010) has
emerged as a new priority in the UAE. This results in an increasing need for managers in
UAE organizations to understand and implement the best communication and diversity
strategies when working with a highly diverse workforce. As might be expected, however,
like many organizations, companies in the UAE have, at best, inconsistent policies and
methods regarding diversity and intercultural communication. The term "workplace
diversity" can be defined as "the co-existence of staff from diverse racial and cultural
backgrounds in a particular organization" (Chan, 2011, p. 1). Diversity is valued in
organizations for a variety of reasons. Researchers have identified diversity as an important
element in sustaining equality of access and opportunity in the workplace. The support for
equal opportunity helps institutions gain the most benefit from an increasingly multicultural
labor force (Henderson, 2011). In this way initiatives supporting diversity are aimed at
ensuring that a given organization does not lose or waste talent.

Leadership and management roles 

Leadership and management which are seen very differently by diverse group of people.
Some individuals see these terms as synonyms, while others approach them as extreme
opposites; so extreme, in fact, that they would argue that at the same time a good manager
and a good leader cannot be the same person. Still other people reside somewhere in the
middle. But the fact is these two terms are often interchanged. Pascale, R. (1990) defined
Leadership as the sculpture of creating an environment and influencing people to follow a
chosen direction willingly. It requires a clear vision and guide followers along a path that
realizes the vision.In1980,the president of American association defined (cited by Patrick J,
M. et al, 2000) that management is getting things through other people. Patrick J, M et al
(2000) pointed that the current definition of management is working with and through other
people to accomplish the objectives of both the organisation and its member. Management
organises, controls or directs people or resources in a group, these are done according to
morality that have already been established. Management and leadership, both are necessary
to make teams and organizations successful. Just like the right or left wing of an airplane’s
flight.

Without leadership and management business cannot attain its organisational goals. Emirates
leadership and management process play an important role for the continuing success of
Emirates Airlines. Sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of
Emirates Airline who is highly talented and under his leadership, Emirates has grown from a
local airline operating three destinations has become a highly praised international airline and
fastest-growing international carrier which operates more than 100 locations in over 60
countries (The Emirates Story, 2010).

Now Emirates is one of the largest airlines in Middle East. No doubt that their talented
leaders play a vital role but this has been made possible through their excellent management
techniques, quality customer service and highly skilled diverse workforce. Chairman and
Chief Executive of Emirates Airline alongside with other leaders have been capable to show
their natural ability that they can lead the company economically and effectively (The
Emirates Group: Leadership, 2010).

Leaders of Emirates are always responsible, being very grown up, treating people equally,
being honest, working hard, prioritising and planning, connecting their staff in their thinking
and especially in managing change. The management and leadership teams know how to
make the airline business attractive to customers and how to admire those who are worthy of
praise for making the company successful.

Cultural diversity

A variety of different societies or peoples with dissimilar origins, religions and traditions all
are living and interacting together -That is cultural diversity. Many people from different part
of the world are not treated fairly in their work place because of their race, nationality, creed,
sexual orientation, background, age or even disability but it is essential for every organization
that all people are treated with respect. If individuals treated unfairly or inaccessible by their
managers or other employee because of their race, nationality, cultural differences and other
reason , company will loss productivity. Cultural diversity plays a vital role to reach out on a
worldwide level for an organization which has a varied or diverse group of employee.
Managing diversity focus organisation to obtain a better perceptive of how other cultures do
business which is a fundamental element for doing business in today’s worldwide
marketplace. Developing diversity provides different types of ideas from different people and
variety of viewpoints give larger pool of idea that can provide a competitive edge in
company. All Successful and winning company need to take urgent action to establish
managing diversity in the workplace.

Diverse Workforce

A diverse workforce can create distinct challenges for organizations. In writing about
entering new markets, Ghemawat, (2001) states that the concept of “distance” can lead to
tremendous problems for organizations, and this can also be applied to working with a
diverse workforce of very mixed cultures. Specifically, Ghemawat is not referring to the
geographical mileage between people, but rather the cultural differences, among others.
Geographic distance is becoming less relevant with the introduction of new technologies such
as video conferencing. However, cultural distance between people of different ethnicities,
languages, backgrounds and more working in the same organization is becoming an
increasing issue in the UAE due to the incredible diversity of people that work in this small
country. Cultural differences caused by cultural distance can create conflict and people of
different cultures may have a very different mindset. This can include different beliefs,
different values, a variety of attitudes and opinions that differ from the “norm” and also
different ways of doing business, such as different ways of getting things done or holding
meetings. It is this cultural distance that has the potential to wreak havoc in organizations in
the UAE due to the extremes of diversity that organizations there have to deal with.

This has interesting implications for human resource managers. In one regard the work of
Willemyns et al. (2011) can be criticized in the sense that it is not just that individuals need to
get better at communicating with those from other cultures, but also that organizations need
to drive this change if they want to be successful with their diverse workforces. The emphasis
should be both on the individuals themselves but also on the senior management of the
organization to drive cohesion throughout the company in this regard. It might be argued that
the senior management of the organization and especially the human resources teams should
be responsible for encouraging employees to put individual differences based on culture aside
at the door and focus on organizational culture when at the work place, yet it seems that this
is easier said than done. However, one area where this can be addressed more effectively is
that of providing a common identity and shared purpose. By ensuring to communicate
organizational goals and visions, it seems that according to Willemyns et al. (2011) it might
be possible to close the gap somewhat between the cultures during the time at work. The
research by Willemyns et al. (2011) also focused on perception of Emiratis and Westerners of
each other. It might be argued that perceptions can be changed by getting to know each other
better and by building a mutual and shared understanding. The upcoming sections of this
paper review how organizations in the United Arab Emirates are working on achieving this
by looking at the strategies and the tools that they are employing to assist in this area.

Benefits and Challenges of Cultural Diversity

Social studies have found that heterogeneous groups have higher levels of creativity and
problem solving abilities than homogenous groups (Egge 1999, Maznevski and DiStefano
2004). Fisher et al. (1994) has shown that diversity in teams leads to a more effective
performance and to a better productivity. Moreover, using the diverse set of skills and ideas a
multicultural workforce has, gives the organisation a competitive edge (Iles 1995, Canen and
Canen 2001). This does not only offer a wider range of perceptions and more alternatives for
better solutions, but also better profits as proven by several studies (D‟Nello and Sohal 1999,
McCuiston et al. 2004). According to Cox (1991), six areas can generate profit to the
organisation if diversity is managed effectively. These areas are cost, resource acquisition,
marketing, creativity, problem solving, and flexibility. Diversity can improve companies
bottom line by improving corporate culture, improving relationships with clients, retaining
talented employees, decreasing complaints, and improving employee morale (McCuiston et
al. 2004).

Although diversity has many advantages for organisations, the majority of these advantages
are not easy to obtain. Multinational organisations face many difficulties making people from
different cultural backgrounds work together effectively. Leaders of these organisations
suffer from a number of obstacles while managing diverse workforce. Some of these
difficulties are agreeing on a single work ethic, authority allocation, trust and commitment,
new work configurations, and work-life balance (McCuiston et al. 2004). In addition, it was
shown that multicultural staff experience poor cohesion and integration, conflict,
absenteeism, misunderstanding and dissatisfaction (Hyatt and Simons 1999, Iles 1995, Adler
2002, Maznevski and DiStefano 2004, Collard 2007). Balancing global competitiveness,
multicultural flexibility and building learning capacities in the multinational context are other
challenges that require the development of cultural sensitivity to manage leverage learning
(Higgs 1996).
Culturally Diverse Teams: Problems and Opportunities

Culturally diverse groups can perform either extremely well or extremely poor, compared to
homogenous groups (Iles 1995 p. 54, Adler 2002). As multicultural teams have undeniable
potentials for creativity which helps international organisations survive in today‟s
competitive business environment (Natale et al. 1995), they are considered as a precious asset
that need to be consumed efficiently (Townsend et al. 1998). According to Copeland (1988 p.
52), “Those who view diversity among employees as a source of richness and strength… can
help bring a wide range of benefits to their organisations”.

Yet, the difference in priorities and assumptions in culturally diverse groups makes working
together awkward (Iles 1995). Culturally diverse groups are more likely to face difficulties
like miscommunication, low performance, lack of transparency, ineffective team
development, lack of cultural awareness, and poor management of conflict (Adler 1991,
Shenkar and Zeira 1992, Iles 1995, Proehl 1996, Matveev and Milter 2004). Lack of trust
between team members is another challenge threatening multinational teams, since team
members are usually unable to conquer the different ways of talking, thinking, and acting
(Natale et al. 1995).
Multinational team members have to conquer barriers that monocultural and homogenous
teams can easily resolve (Natale et al. 1995). Cultural awareness, mutual respect, shared
influence on decision making, open communication, and shared goals are suggested
approaches to enhance the productivity and the effectiveness of multinational teams (Adler
1991, Shenkar and Zeira 1992, Natale et al. 1995).

Effective Management, Leadership and Motivation across culture:

In today’s business leaders should know how to lead and motivate workforces across many
diverse cultural backgrounds and take action to the requirements and expectations of different
types of customers those who come from different cultures.

Management is a process and company activities which involves getting people together to
achieve wanted goals and objectives economically and effectively. Principles of effective
management based on planning, organizing or directing and controlling. Planning is an
important element for effective management and it is a process, determines what action needs
to be done to achieve company goal and what their future goal is.

Organising and directing involves employee of company and resources like finance, materials
and time. Organising is a way in which work is done. An effective management always
organises and direct that employees are engaged in working on performance to meet plan and
goal of company. It also involves motivating staff because motivating employee is the way to
the determined hard work which is needed for efficient performance.

Organizational relationship is important for effective management. Companies are concern

about cultural diversity because almost every organisation operates different types of people
from different ethnic group or multicultural that means company operates diverse customers
and diverse employees. An effective management always focus on customer satisfaction
because customers are the main element for their business, without customer business cannot
exist. If the management focus on diverse employees in their organisation and give them
equal opportunity they can get the idea how to deal with diverse customers which is
beneficial for global business.

Controlling is the way of monitoring and modifiable performance to ensure that it conforms
to the plans and the goals of the company and involves taking the proper corrective act to
make sure that what is really phenomenon or happening is in accordance with the
expectations of planning process. Effective management is not only selected according to the
culture of business but also with the environment of workforce. Management style run by a
leader, so effective leadership is essential to create effective management. Management is not
possible without a suitable leader.

According to Fullan M. (2001), effective leadership has to have a clear “making-a-

difference” sense of purpose, bring into play strategies that assemble many people to solve
problems, be held responsible by calculated and arguable indicators of success and be
eventually assessed by the amount to which it awakens people’s basic commitment which is
none other than the mobilizing of everyone’s sense of moral purpose. Effective leader has to
have clear idea how to deal with diverse people; he is democratic and encourages his
employees in decision making process which help him to make relation with his employee,
more concerned with communicating vision and also succeed by motivating, encouraging,
stimulating and connecting their employees.

A good leader knows how to motivate his employee who comes from different cultural
background. In an organisation people have the right equipment, right knowledge, skills and
abilities and the right type of organisational framework. But even after that they need
something which drives them willing to do the work for the success of company or
organisation. According to Peters and Waterman (1982) pointed that management should be
dedicated to the motivation of its human resources and successful companies stress strategies
which empower employees and give them control of their work and their work environment.
Jacson, T. (1995) said that work motivation can be accredited to the nature of person needs
and to the allocation by managers of work related outcomes perceived by employees as both
valid and relevant.

Conclusions

The main aim of this essay was to further investigate the concept of cultural diversity in the
business environment in the United Arab Emirates, its effect on teams, and how can it be
effectively managed. This was undertaken by reviewing the available literature on a number
of topics. These topics were groups and teams, culture and cultural diversity, and
management of culturally diverse teams. In the meantime, while human resources managers
await further research, excellent inroads are being taken to utilizing hiring and promotion to
favor those with excellent skills of working with those from different cultures. It is perhaps
only through promoting this type of cultural understanding that success will be achieved in
human resources management in the cross cultural business environment in the UAE.
Cultural diversity can have a powerful effect on communication within the organisation. In
today’s business world organisations have become multicultural communities. With many
new cultures now living and working at the same place that were just rare to see only a few
years ago, organizations should be aware of these and how to communicate without being
negative The face of the workplace is changing as more females and more ethnic minorities
are entering the work force. As a result, the workplace is increasingly multicultural. Effective
intercultural communication requires more than simply recognizing differences; it requires
the organisation to respect and know how to deal with those differences. Intercultural
communication often is not easy but there are ways to effective intercultural communication:
Written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills; tolerance for ambiguity; respect for
differences; flexibility; willingness to see other person’s point of view; suspension of
assumptions and judgments; time and practice.