MODULE II

Individual Perspectives on Multicultural Diversity

THC 108- Multicultural Diversity in the Workplace for Tourism Professionals
 This Handout is a collection of information taken from variety of sources and it is only used as a reference or learning tool for the students
of St. Paul University Philippines enrolled in THC 108- Multicultural Diversity in the Workplace for Tourism Professionals.

This Chapter provides a discussion about the concept of culture then unfolds about the features and dimensions of
diversity. An outline about cultural diversity- its features, importance, challenges, and benefits are also presented
to further understand the concepts.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND DIVERSITY

Introduction

one are the days, when the trading activities of a business were restricted to the boundaries of a country.

G Now, the things have changed and the people too. With the advent of liberalization, privatization and
globalization, the entire market has opened with lots of avenues and opportunities, which has further resulted
in increase in competition. Because of globalization, the interdependence between countries has increased
manifold. To survive in a globally competitive environment, organizations now require trading at international level.
But, at the same time, it is worth noting that the organizations need to map the culture, if they want to get success
in their trading at international level.

An organization is not just formed with the four-sided walls but, with the people working therein (i.e. the employees
and the people dealing with i.e. the customers, suppliers etc.) And, that too with the employees – who are dissimilar
not only because of their different physical appearances but also of their different backgrounds, gender, age,
qualification, taste, preference, experience, origin, caste, religion, designation, culture etc. All this is nothing, but
what is called as ―diversity.”

In today ‘s era, an organization is successful only if, it has the stock of diverse workforce to meet the varied demands
of their diverse customers. But, at the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that, an organization i.e. a place where
there exists multicultural workforce; chances of misunderstandings, ego-clashes, prejudice, miscommunication etc.
are quite usual. So, the managers of the organization need to learn the ways, through which these issues can be
managed or handled properly. Thus, the need of the hour is to train the managers and employees on multicultural
perspectives, not only to effectively interact with the cross-border customers and suppliers, but also with their
colleagues. This is because; at last they are the employees who must serve the diverse customers.

There is also a desperate need to know more about workforce diversity, which is deeper than what is seen at the
surface level. Today, to be successful, organizations should be well versed with the various cultural beliefs, values,
norms etc. As the awareness of the culture can greatly ease the problem of managing a diverse workforce in today
‘s organizations, which are now represented by people from different cultures.

In essence, the modern tourism and hospitality environment is experiencing an increasing internationalization and
globalization. The huge development of the hospitality industry over the past decade has been extensively
influenced by advanced technology, communication systems and transportation. People travel more around the
world, and their countries are integrated into global markets. This leads their exposure to culturally different
societies, social interactions, and cultural exchanges. The fact is that travelling, and tourism is growing into a
multicultural environment which obtains both similarities and differences in worker behavior across cultural borders.
Tourism and hospitality organizations will work in a very complex multicultural tourism environment and they must
understand the perception of culture and the role of national culture, and how impact both employee as well as
tourist behavior.

CONCEPT, FEATURES AND DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

Culture Defined

According to Tylor (1871) the first person to give the definition of culture said that culture is a complicated definition
due to several different factors, such as knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and all other kinds of skills or
routines people may have. Culture is the way people function and communicate with each other all the time. It
literally means that culture plays a crucial role in people’s attitudes and it defines people’s actions. When humans

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are considered as an engine to establish and reform society, culture becomes a basic measure to assess activities
as well as understanding people.

Culture as a word has many different meanings. Initially, culture originates from a Latin word cultura, which means
to cultivate. It refers to human activity and symbolic structure designs that emphasize the importance and value of
the actions. (Reisinger, 2009)

Different authors having different opinions about the term “culture”:

• Coakley (2007), “Culture consists of the ways of life that people create as they participate in a group or society.”

• J.W. Salacuse (1998) defines “culture, ―as the socially transmitted behavior patterns, norms, beliefs and
values of a given community.”

• K. Avruch (1998), “Culture is a derivative of individual experience, something learned or created by individuals
themselves or passed on to them socially by contemporaries or ancestors.”

• The Dutch Scholar Hofstede (1984) defines “culture as, ―The collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.”

• Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952), “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired
and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their
embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of the culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and
selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as
products of action, and on the other, as conditioning elements of further action.”

• Clyde Kluckholn and W.H Kelly (1945) define “culture as, ―all the historically created designs for living, explicit
and implicit, rational, irrational, and nonrational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the
behavior of men.”

• Edward Tylor (1871) defines “culture as― that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man, as a member of society.”

Thus, it can be concluded that, Culture is basically a collection of ideas, values, assumptions etc. which
differentiate a person from another; which can be passed from one generation to another; and thereby help
an individual to understand as to how he/she should act in a society.

Features of Culture

The salient features of culture are as follows:

1. Dynamic: Culture is something which undergoes a change; though it may be slow but usually it is constant.

2. Learnt: Culture is not a hereditary phenomenon. Rather, a person needs to learn it by interacting with one’s
environment.

3. Non-uniform: Cultural constituents like rituals, ideas, moral values, beliefs etc., differ considerably i.e. they are
different in different sections of the society. Moreover, they change with time.

4. Patterned: Culture is integrated. A change in one part obviously will bring a change in the other.

5. Social: Culture is an outcome of the society.

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6. Shared: Culture is something which is shared by the members of an organization.

7. Transferable: Culture is transmitted from one age group to another.

Dimensions of Culture

One need not to give a second thought to say that the culture affects the organization, or the success or failure of
an organization is affected to a greater extent by the cultural differences of the workforce working in, and the
customers/consumers working with.

Various anthropologists, sociologists and experts of management have put forward their views on culture in the
form of models described below:

1. Edward Hall and Mildred Hall Model

2. Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck Model
3. Geert Hofstede Model
4. Fons Trompenaars Model
5. GLOBE (Global Leader and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) Project

1. Edward Hall and Mildred Hall Model

Anthropologist Edward Hall and his wife Mildred Hall based on their corporate experience and various
qualitative studies have described the following six dimensions of culture:

• Language of Time: It is further segregated into two parts- Monochronic culture or M-time and Polychronic
culture or P-time. The view of M-time culture is that time is as precious as money, so should not be
wasted at all. Therefore, more priority is given to time as compared to people. People of M-time
cultures are quite punctual; may it be a meeting, appointment, or any social gathering. On the other
hand, more importance is given to people or human relationships than time by Polychronic cultures.

M-time culture is represented in countries such as USA, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavian countries,
Western Europe, and Singapore

On the opposite side, P-time cultures, prefer doing many things simultaneously, by the order of their
preference, without advance planning; they put emphasis on people rather than the deal itself. Countries
belonging to this time category are all Latin American, African, Eastern European countries, and South East
Asian.

In the Arab East, time does not generally include schedules as Americans know and use them. The time
required to get something accomplished depends on the relationship. More important people get fast
service from less important people, and conversely. Close relatives take absolute priority; non-relatives are
kept waiting.

• Language of Space: It is also known by the term proxemics. Refers to the distance people need for the
protection of their privacy.

Generally, the most important person has the biggest office. But, at the same time, the use of personal
space also differs across cultures.

Cultures that need more (private) space- i.e. Germany

Cultures that need less (private) space- i.e. Mediterranean Countries (Spain, France, Monaco, Italy,
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco; Malta and Cyprus)

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 • Language of Things: This dimension of culture gives emphasis on the possession of material things by
the people of a culture.

• Language of Friendship: This dimension describes the approach of the people towards making friends.
That is, whether, the people of a culture make friends easily and whether they keep their friendships for
long or they are broken easily and frequently. Every culture normally does not believe in responding to
friendships and relationships with the same degree of emotional intensity. At times, the privacy of the
individual and his/her self-interest becomes more important than others.

• Language of Agreements: The people of some countries or cultures prefer to have everything in black
and white especially, the agreements in particular. Whereas, some cultures carry just the opposite
approach.

• High-context and Low-context cultures: The communication in case of high context cultures is implicit
and thus, more emphasis is provided on the interpretation of the context rather than on the words. Most of
the things are left unsaid for the receiver to understand on its own, by interpreting the words according to
the context.

On the contrary, the communication is explicit in case of low-context cultures and thus, the main importance
is given to the words and the receiver is supposed to understand the message through the words used in
the message without giving any heed to the context.

2. Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck Model

The Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Value Orientations theory represents one of the earliest efforts to develop a cross-
cultural theory of values. According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961), every culture faces the same basic
survival needs and must answer the same universal questions. It is out of this need that cultural values arise.

Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck proposes that all human societies must answer a limited number
of universal problems, that the value-based solutions are limited in number and universally known, but that
different cultures have different preferences among them

The basic questions faced by people everywhere fall into five categories and reflect concerns about: 1) human
nature, 2) the relationship between human beings and the natural world, 3) time, 4) human activity, and 5) social
relations. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck hypothesized three possible responses or orientations to each of the
concerns.

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 • What does a person think about the basic nature and beliefs about the other person?
• What does a person think about his rights and responsibilities towards nature?
• What is the duty of a person towards others?
• What is the key form of activity in a society?
• How is space considered in a business organization?
• What is considered more important by the people -past, present or future?

3. Geert Hofstede Model

Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede was a Dutch social psychologist and IBM employee. He is best known for
developing one of the earliest and most popular frameworks for measuring cultural dimensions in a global
perspective.

The Six well-known dimensions that Hofstede examined are:

• Power Distance Index (PDI): This dimension measures the level to which the less powerful workforce of
the organization recognizes that there is an unequal distribution of power. The primary concern about this
is how the society deals with the disparities among people.

There is a certain degree of inequality in all societies, however, there is relatively more equality in some
societies than in others. Countries vary along a continuum from countries where power distance is very low
to countries where power distance is very high.

Countries with lower PDI values tend to be more democratic. For instance, there is more equality between
parents and children with parents more likely to accept it if children argue with them, or “talk back” to use a
common expression. In the workplace, bosses are more likely to ask employees for input, and in fact,
subordinates expect to be consulted. On the other hand, in countries with high power distance, parents
expect children to obey without questioning. People of higher status may expect conspicuous displays of
respect from subordinates. In the workplace, superiors and subordinates are not likely to see each
other as equals, and it is assumed that bosses will make decisions without consulting employees.
In general, status is more important in high power distance countries.

• Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV): Individualism indicates a loosely knit social network in which
people give preference to themselves and their immediate family members. On the contrary, collectivism
implies a tightly knit social framework in which people do believe in taking care of each other in the group
in exchange for loyalty.

Individualism vs. collectivism anchor opposite ends of a continuum that describes how people define
themselves and their relationships with others.

Countries that score higher on individualism measure are considered by definition less collectivistic than
countries that score lower. In more highly individualistic societies, the interests of individuals receive
more emphasis than those of the group (e.g., the family, the company, etc.). Individualistic societies
put more value on self-striving and personal accomplishment, while more collectivistic societies
put more emphasis on the importance of relationships and loyalty. People are defined more by what
they do in individualistic societies while in collectivistic societies, they are defined more by their membership

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 in particular groups. Communication is more direct in individualistic societies but more indirect in
collectivistic societies.

The U.S. ranks very high in individualism, and South Korea ranks quite low. Japan falls close to the middle.

• Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS): Refers to a dimension that describes the extent to which strong
distinctions exist between men’s and women’s roles in society. Societies that score higher on the
masculinity scale tend to value assertiveness, competition, and material success. Countries that score
lower in masculinity tend to embrace values more widely thought of as feminine values, e.g., modesty,
quality of life, interpersonal relationships, and greater concern for the disadvantaged of society.

Japan, Italy, United Kingdom and Hungary are examples of masculine cultures. In these cultures, men are
more likely to be assertive and competitive compared to women. In contrast, feminine cultures are cultures
that value maintaining good relationships, caring for the weak, and emphasizing quality of life. In these
cultures, values are not separated by gender, and both women and men share the values of maintaining
good relationships. Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands are examples of feminine cultures.

Societies high in masculinity are also more likely to have strong opinions about what constitutes men’s work
vs. women’s work while societies low in masculinity permit much greater overlapping in the social roles of
men and women.

• Uncertainty avoidance (UAI): Measures the extent to which people value predictability and view
uncertainty or the unknown as threatening. People in societies that measure high in uncertainty
avoidance prefer to know exactly what to expect in any given situation. They want firm rules and
strict codes of behavior. They dislike ambiguity. People from countries that score low on
uncertainty avoidance generally have a higher tolerance for ambiguity. They are happy to have few
rules and prefer less structured rather than more tightly structured contexts. In educational settings,
people from countries high in uncertainty avoidance expect their teachers to be experts with all of the
answers. People from countries low in uncertainty avoidance don’t mind it when a teacher says, “I don’t
know.”

A low score or value on the uncertainty avoidance index represents that the managers and
employees of the organization feel at home with regard to uncertain situations and therefore are
more entrepreneurial, happy to take risks, and not very much dependent on formal rules and just the
opposite in case of high score on the uncertainty avoidance index.

• Long-term versus Short-term Normative Orientation (LTO): People with short term orientation are
normative thinkers and they show great respect towards traditional values. They believe in getting quick
results. Whereas, people with a long – term orientation believe that truth depends to a great extent on
situation, context, and time. They are quite determined towards achieving results.

Long-term orientation is associated with thrift, savings, persistence toward results, and the
willingness to subordinate oneself for a purpose. Short-term orientation is associated with less
saving, a preference for quick results, and unrestrained spending in response to social pressure.

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 • Indulgence versus Restraint (IND): A society which permits relatively free gratification of basic and natural
human drives related to enjoying life and having fun represents indulgence. On the contrary, restraint stands
for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and controls it by making strict social norms or standards

People living in countries that score high on indulgence are more likely to value the free gratification of
human desires. Enjoying life and having fun are important to them. On the other hand, people in countries
high on restraint are more likely to believe that gratification should be curbed and that it should be regulated
by strict social norms

4. Fons Trompenaars Model

This is a framework for cross-cultural communication applied to general business and management, developed
by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. This model of national culture differences has seven
dimensions. There are five orientations covering the ways in which human beings deal with each other, one
which deals with time, and one which deals with the environment.

• Universalism vs. Particularism: It represents the standards through which relationships are measured.

Universalism is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere without modification, while
particularism is the belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied.

It asks the question, what is more important, rules or relationships? Cultures with high universalism see
one reality and focus on formal rules. Business meetings are characterized by rational, professional
arguments with a "get down to business" attitude.

Trompenaars research found there was high universalism in countries like the United States, Canada,
UK, Australia, Germany, and Sweden.

Cultures with high particularism see reality as more subjective and place a greater emphasis on
relationships. It is important to get to know the people one is doing business with during meetings in a
particularist environment. Someone from a universalist culture would be wise not to dismiss personal
meanderings as irrelevancies or mere small talk during such business meetings.

Countries that have high particularism include Venezuela, Indonesia, China, South Korea, and
Russia.

• Individualism vs. Collectivism: It measures the extent to which employees see themselves perform better
as a community or as individuals.

Individualism refers to people regarding themselves as individuals, while communitarianism refers to people
regarding themselves as part of a group.

According to Trompenaars, cultures may change more quickly that many people realize. It may not be
surprising to see a country like the United States with high individualism, but Mexico and the former
communist countries of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were also found to be individualistic.

Countries with high communitarianism include Germany, China, France, Japan, and Singapore.

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 • Neutral vs. Emotional: Whether expressing of emotions is acceptable.

A neutral culture is a culture in which emotions are held in check whereas an emotional culture is a culture
in which emotions are expressed openly and naturally. Neutral cultures that come rapidly to mind are those
of the Japanese and British. Some examples of high emotional cultures are the Netherlands, Mexico, Italy,
Israel, and Spain.

In emotional cultures, people often smile, talk loudly when excited, and greet each other with enthusiasm.
So, when people from neutral culture are doing business in an emotional culture, they should be ready for
a potentially animated and boisterous meeting and should try to respond warmly. As for those from an
emotional culture doing business in a neutral culture, they should not be put off by a lack of emotion.

• Specific vs. Diffuse: It indicates the degree to which responsibility is specifically assigned or the same is
accepted in a diffused form.

A specific culture is one in which individuals have a large public space they readily share with others and
small private space guard closely and share with only close friends and associates. A diffuse culture is one
in which public space and private space are similar in size and individuals guard their public space carefully,
because entry into public space affords entry into private space as well. It looks at how separate a culture
keeps their personal and public lives. Fred Luthans and Jonathan Doh give the following example which
explains this:

An example of these specific and diffuse cultural dimensions is provided by the United States and
Germany. A U.S. professor, such as Robert Smith, PhD, generally would be called “Doctor Smith” by
students when at his U.S. university. When shopping, however, he might be referred to by the store clerk
as “Bob,” and he might even ask the clerk’s advice regarding some of his intended purchases. When
golfing, Bob might just be one of the guys, even to a golf partner who happens to be a graduate student
in his department. The reason for these changes in status is that, with the specific U.S. cultural values,
people have large public spaces and often conduct themselves differently depending on their public role.
At the same time, however, Bob has private space that is off-limits to the students who must call him
“Doctor Smith” in class. In high-diffuse cultures, on the other hand, a person’s public life and private life
often are similar. Therefore, in Germany, Herr Professor Doktor Schmidt would be referred to that way
at the university, local market, and bowling alley—and even his wife might address him formally in public.
A great deal of formality is maintained, often giving the impression that Germans are stuffy or aloof.

• Achievement vs. Ascription: It represents the extent to which people need to prove themselves to get
status as compared to status being simply offered to them.

In an achievement culture, people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions. In
an ascription culture, status is based on who or what a person is.

Does one have to prove himself to receive status or is it given to him? Achievement cultures include the
US, Austria, Israel, Switzerland and the UK. Some ascription cultures are Venezuela, Indonesia, and China.

When people from an achievement culture do business in an ascription culture it is important to have older,
senior members with formal titles and respect should be shown to their counterparts. However, for an
ascription culture doing business in an achievement culture, it is important to bring knowledgeable members

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 who can prove to be proficient to other group, and respect should be shown for the knowledge and
information of their counterparts.

• Sequential vs. Synchronous: Whether the people believe in doing things one at a time or a number of
them at a time.
A sequential time culture is the one in which the people like events to happen in a chronological order. The
punctuality is very appreciated, and they base their lives in schedules, planification and specific and clear
deadlines; in this kind of cultures time is very important and they do not tolerate the waste of time.

Instead in synchronic cultures, they see specific time periods as interwoven periods, the use to highlight
the importance of punctuality and deadlines if these are key to meeting objectives and they often work in
several things at a time, they are also more flexible with the distribution of time and commitment.

• Inner- directed vs. Outer-directed: It represents the approach of the people whether they are able to
control the environment or they work with it.

Do we control our environment or are we controlled by it? In inner directed culture, people believe in
controlling outcomes and have a dominant attitude toward environment.

In outer-directed culture, people believe in letting things take their own course and have a more flexible
attitude, characterized by a willingness to compromise, and maintain harmony with nature.

5. GLOBE (Global Leader and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) PROJECT

It was an international project conducted by R.J. House in 1991 with the help of 170 researchers from 62
countries. It measured nine dimensions of culture which are listed below:

• Performance Orientation: It represents the extent to which the society motivates and rewards the
members of the group in case of improvement in the performance.

• Uncertainty Avoidance: It reflects the degree to which the society, business or group tries to decrease the
uncertainty with regard to future events, by relying on the rules, social norms etc.

• Humane Orientation: It measures the extent to which the individuals are rewarded by the society for being
generous, fair, caring, selfless and kind to others.

• Institutional Collectivism: It reflects the extent to which the collective division of resources and collective
actions are being rewarded and encouraged by the organizations.

• In-group Collectivism: It represents the extent to which the members express pride, loyalty in their
organizations or families.

• Gender Egalitarianism: It reflects the extent to which the gender inequality is minimized by the community.

• Future Orientation: It represents the degree to which the employees of the organization engage
themselves in future-oriented behaviors such as delaying indulgence, planning, and investing in the future.

• Power Distance: It indicates the extent to which equal distribution of power is expected by the members
of the society.

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 • Assertiveness: It represents the extent to which the employees exhibit self-confidence, and
aggressiveness in their relationships with others.

Thus, it can be concluded that, no doubt there are different models as proposed by various anthropologist, and
socialist with regard to dimensions of culture, but the core thrust of all stresses on the same point that: “Culture
is important , rather indispensable for an organization to understand to work effectively and efficiently.”

CONCEPT AND TYPES OF DIVERSITY

Diversity/ Workforce Diversity Defined

The concept of diversity includes two things, acceptance, and respect. It means understanding that everyone is
unique, and recognizing those individual differences (Patrick & Kumar, 2012). These differences can be about the
dimensions such as race, age, status, socio-economic status, physical abilities, sexual orientation, religious beliefs
etc. Thus, there is a need to explore these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment.

Today the workforce is more diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin and comprises people who
are different and share different attitudes, needs, desires, values, and work behaviors (Rosen and Lovelace -1996).

For an organization to be successful, the managers not only need to understand the cultural background – the
employees come from, but also the degree of diversity they carry with them. Thus, the managers in public and
private organizations need to understand, predict, and manage this intriguing nature of the diverse workforce.
Diversity is an important concept that needs careful understanding.

The term “workforce diversity” or “diversity” has been defined by various authors in a number of ways. Some of
which are as follows:

• Van Knippenberg and Schippers (2007) define diversity as, ―a characteristic of a social grouping (i.e., group,
organization and society) that reflects the degree to which there are objective or subjective differences between
people within the group without presuming the group members are necessarily aware of objective differences
or that subjective differences are strongly related to more objective differences.

• Carrell (2006) defines workforce diversity, ―as the ways that people differ, which can affect a task or
relationship within an organization such as age, gender, race, education, religion, and culture. It is the
exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each
other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity
contained within each individual within the organization.

• Kim, B.Y. (2006), ―Diversity can be regarded as the broad spectrum of variations that distinguish among the
human resources of an organization. This multidimensional view of diversity assumes that humans differ from
one another along any number of dimensions. Whereas, some dimensions are highly visible (i.e. race and
gender), others are less (i.e. values, personality, education, experience, sexual orientation and religion).

• Wentling and Palma Rivas (2000) define diversity as, ―the co-existence of employees from various socio-
cultural backgrounds within the company. Diversity includes cultural factors such as race, gender, age, color,
physical ability, ethnicity, etc. The broader view of diversity may include age, national origin, religion, disability,
sexual orientation, values, ethnic culture, education, language, lifestyle, beliefs, physical appearance and
economic status.

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Types of Diversity in Organizations

The number of factors that define diversity is truly unlimited. Throughout an individual’s life, the unique biological
and genetic predispositions, experiences, and education alter who they are as a person. These nature versus
nurture interactions are what diversify and evolve the human race, allowing individuals to connect and learn from
each other.

1. Internal Diversity- are Diversity types that are related to a person that they are born into; they are things that
no one can change.

• Race
• Age
• National Origin
• Ethnicity
• Culture
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Physical Ability
• Mental Ability

2. External Diversity- means “situated outside, apart, or beyond”, it means things that are related to a person,
but the characteristics are not born with to the person but can be heavily influenced and controlled by other or
its environment. Such diversity types are something that defines you as a person, that you or someone very
close to you can help you to change or develop.

• Interests
• Education
• Appearance
• Citizenship
• Geographic Location
• Family Status
• Spiritual / Religion
• Relationship Status
• Socioeconomic Status
• Experiences

3. Organizational Diversity- Regardless, one is working in a private, non-profit, public sector; or one works for
free. He/she is in an organization. The organization can be consisting of 2 people, or 300,000 people, if it has
more than one person, there is some sort of organization diversity.

• Job Function
• Management Status
• Work Location
• Department
• Seniority
• Union Affiliation

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 CONCEPT, CHARACTERISTICS, IMPORTANCE, BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES
OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS
Cultural Diversity Defined

Cultural diversity is the variety, difference and abundance of cultures that can be found within the same region or
geographical space, in which they coexist peacefully regardless of their heritage, culture or tradition.

Cultural is a term that refers to everything that concerns a particular culture. Therefore, when we refer to the term
cultural diversity we are talking about the way of living and interacting that exists effectively and satisfactorily
between the different cultures that live within the same geographical space, including their heritages and different
traditions. The difference of cultures in a given place helps to foster and expand knowledge and values such as
respect and tolerance, because respecting and tolerating one's fellow human beings regardless of religion, belief,
skin color or sex makes one a better citizen.

Thus, it can be summed up that, ―Cultural diversity is basically workforce diversity and thus includes all those
visible and non-visible factors that cause differences among people, e.g. gender, religion, physical disability, family
status, age, race, hierarchical status, language, education, profession and lifestyle etc.

At present, the words diversity, workforce diversity and cultural diversity have been used interchangeably,
though they reflect the same meaning.

Characteristics of Cultural Diversity

• Cultural diversity is a double-edged sword, which can prove to be a competitive advantage, if handled properly
and a reason of conflict and dissatisfaction, if by mistake ignored in an organization.

• Cultural diversity is going beyond the concept of affirmative action or equal opportunity.

• Cultural diversity is not only limited to the primary dimensions (gender, age, race, ethnicity etc.) but also includes
secondary dimensions (such as religion, personality differences, education etc.).

• Cultural diversity is not just the responsibility of the top-level executives or HR Managers; rather it is the
responsibility of everyone, who is part of the organization.

• Cultural diversity is not a one-shot task, but a lifetime process, which needs to be carried out as per the changing
needs and demands of the diversified workforce.

Dimensions of Cultural Diversity

The diverse world in which we live is a composite of many cultures, values, and ways of interacting with one another.
The dimensions of diversity include gender, religious beliefs, race, marital status, ethnicity, parental status, age,
education, physical and mental ability, income, sexual orientation, occupation, language, geographic location, and
many more components.

The “Dimensions of Diversity” wheel shows the complexity of the diversity filters through which all of us process
stimuli and information. That in turn leads to the assumptions that we make (usually about the behaviors of other
people), which ultimately drive our own behaviors, which in turn have an impact on others.

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The Four Layers Model

1. Personality: This includes an individual's likes and dislikes, values, and beliefs. Personality is shaped early
in life and is both influenced by, and influences, the other three layers throughout one's lifetime and career
choices.

2. Internal dimensions: These include

aspects of diversity over which we have no
control (though "physical ability" can change
over time due to choices we make to be
active or not, or in cases of illness or
accidents). This dimension is the layer in
which many divisions between and among
people exist and which forms the core of
many diversity efforts. These dimensions
include the first things we see in other
people, such as race or gender and on which
we make many assumptions and base
judgments.

3. External Dimensions: These include

aspects of our lives which we have some
control over, which might change over time,
and which usually form the basis for
decisions on careers and work styles. This
layer often determines, in part, with whom
we develop friendships and what we do for
work. This layer also tells us much about
whom we like to be with.

4. Organizational dimensions: This layer concerns the aspects of culture found in a work setting. While much
attention of diversity efforts is focused on the internal dimensions, issues of preferential treatment and
opportunities for development or promotion are impacted by the aspects of this layer.

The usefulness of this model is that it includes the dimensions that shape and impact both the individual and the
organization itself. While the "Internal Dimensions" receive primary attention in successful diversity initiatives, the
elements of the "External" and "Organizational" dimensions often determine the way people are treated, who "fits"
or not in a department, who gets the opportunity for development or promotions, and who gets recognized.

Aspects as Applied in Organizations:

1. Age: people of different ages give different value to organizations: the younger employees can keep the
company up to date with the latest technology and ideas and older employees can draw on a much broader
range of experiences.

2. Race and Ethnicity: research show that companies with the most racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more
likely to have above-average financial returns.

3. Gender: Companies should be aware of the male-female employment ratio as each gender brings valuable
perspectives.

4. Sexual Orientation: companies in which people feel safe enough to express their sexual orientation enable
employees to be more productive and achieve more in their careers.

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5. Disability: modern, up to date companies should work on hiring people with disabilities and treat them equally.

6. Education Level: by demanding unnecessary qualifications companies are excluding people who may be ideal
for the job. They are also making the workforce more homogeneous and less diverse.

Importance of Cultural Diversity

It has now become important for today’s organizations to recruit, train, and promote culturally diverse employees.
The Human Resource Management approach now recognizes the relationship between culturally diverse people
and the organization. The basic foundation for this approach can be drawn in conformity with the observations of
Bolman and Deal (2003):

• Organizations exist to fulfill human needs.

• Organizations and people need each other.
• When the fit between the individual and the organization is poor, either one of them or both of them will suffer.
• When the fit between the individual and the organization is good, both will gain

Hence, cultural diversity is now more of a need than a compulsion. When managers appreciate the cultural beliefs
and values of employees, a supportive environment is created. Through this, the organization gets successful in
creating the right climate of mutual trust and cooperation.

Challenges of Cultural Diversity in Organizations

Challenges and benefits go side by side. If the organization wants to benefit from cultural diversity, then it has to
face the challenges as well. Some of the prominent challenges are:

1. Communication: Organizations have to overcome the constant cultural and language barriers resulting in
ineffective communication, lack of teamwork etc. so as to make the diversity programs – a success.

2. Resistance to Change: Most of the times, the employees resist change as it‘s human nature, one takes time
to understand and comply with the change. The mentality of “I used to do it this way” has to be removed from
the minds of the employees; only then they will be able to welcome the change.

3. Implementation of diversity in the workplace: The organization needs to implement the diversity policies at
any cost. It goes without saying that in the beginning, the employees may not like or agree to the same. But
this is what is termed as a challenge.

4. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies: This can be the dominant challenge for all the
diversity promoters/advocates. Simply making it mandatory for the employees to undergo the diversity training
does not work well rather the diversity needs to be internalized i.e. it has to be made the part and parcel of
every policy, every process of the organization.

Benefits of Cultural Diversity in Organizations

The following are the benefits or advantages which an organization enjoys from a culturally diverse workforce:

1. Better customer service: As most of the organizations have different kinds of customers, i.e. a diverse
customer base. A diverse employee base can better understand and communicate with different types of
customers and thus better serve their diverse needs (Cox, 1993; Karsten, 2006 ; Konrad, 2003)

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2. Better problem solving: A team composed of diverse members benefits the organization from more
information, richer ideas/viewpoints, and a greater number of approaches to solve problems as compared to a
team composed of the same type of members. In brief, diversity can be a knowledge source for problem solving
(Karsten, 2006; Richard, Mc Millan, Chadwick, & Dwyer, 2003).

3. More Tolerance of different ideas: A diverse employee base contains a broad variety of ideas reflecting
different views and values. To fully utilize these varied perspectives, the organizations must adopt a tolerant
attitude towards employees holding different ideas (Cox, 1993; Konrad, 2003).

4. More flexibility: The organization must be able to respond quickly to meet rapidly changing customer desires,
competitive actions.

5. Valuing fairness and respect for individuals ‘contributions: In order to capitalize on the advantages of
increased information, wider, richer perspectives, the organization needs to create an environment where the
individuals feel that they operate in a fair environment that values their inputs (Cox, 1993; Mor Barak, 2005).

6. More innovative: The organization having diverse workforce is benefitted as people from different backgrounds
have different ways of looking at the same problem and thus are likely to come up with more creative and
innovative ideas to solve the problems and make decisions.

7. Enhances firm’s image: The organizations are concerned about the public image i.e. what the public thinks of
them and the kinds of feelings which come to their mind when their names are mentioned. A favorable or
positive public image helps the organization to attract investors, customers, and employees. Being known as a
company that values diversity can do wonders for building a good image of the company.

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