Importance of Cultural Diversity in Organizations

Diversity consists of many factors, such as age and gender, which contribute to an individual’s different makeup than the others. When it comes to cCultural diversity then it is related to different societies with different backgrounds and approaches to social

issuesor cultures. Cultural diversity is based on language, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, and ethnicity.  There should be cultural diversity within the workers of the organization because it brings differences in skills, experiences, and abilities. Cultural diversity creates an environment where people come up with different ideas and objectives and their way of dealing with things is different. This results in workers’ learning and an increase in the social cycle. It further leaves a healthy impact on the working environment. For the progress and success of the organization, the cultural diversity should be the strength of the workers rather than their weakness. Some organizations face the issues of cultural diversity, where the people belonging to one culture do not feel comfortable to interact with the people of other culture or language.

The oOrganizations

needs to arrange training and meetings to overcome this issue. This will help the employees to learn how to communicate inappropriate way and how to appreciate each other for what they are. Lombardo (2016) explains that theseThese training sessions must include learning of appropriate terminologies, proper etiquette, communication skills, harassment elimination, and anti-bullying management style (Lombardo 2016)[1][1]. Thus, toFurther, with cultural  diversity in the work environment, there is need to offers proper channels to  develop and  alliancmanage alliancese management, resolve conflicts resolution,  and gain a competitive advantage , organizations need to accommodate cultural diversity and create an open and flexible working atmosphere.

In this regard, this essay will look at the importance of cultural diversity in organisations, with a key reference to the United Nation Environmental

Programme (UN-Environment). It will review key ways UN-Environment strives to maintain cultural diversity and the challenges and benefits that it draws from such multi-cultured work environment.

An Overview of UN-Environment

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UN Environment) is an agency established by the United Nations Assembly to advocate and set global environmental agendas and plans to improve the welfare of the global citizens[2]. The agency has established global footprints with regional and country offices across the world. As a leading environmental

agency, it provides support to partner countries on implementation of sustainable solutions for matters pertaining to the environment. The Agency draws its workforce from all over the world. An individual can be hired to work in any part of the world but only after meeting the required professional and personal qualifications and traits.

Diversity in organisations is however not without its own fair share of challenges. Among the most common challenges are the attainment of mutual respect and acceptance, accommodation of diverse beliefs and religions, cultural and ethnic discrepancies, gender equality, gaps in generations and how they approach issues and finally

language and communication barriers among others[3]. At workplace, harassment or discrimination occurs due to unequal or negative conduct with any employee, which brings several ethical and social challenges for the firm, including employees’ turnover, lack of talent, lack of and

innovative ideas, lowack of

employees’ satisfaction, and rise in conflictive conditions[4]  (Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1997)[1]. Thus, management of cultural diversity and development of friendly environment is crucial to deal with the conflict resolving and alliance management at workplace. These challenges may not be so common for an agency like UN Environment but still they cannot be said to be non-existent.  

To ensure that cultural diversity serves its intended purpose, UN-Environment has adopted key measures within and beyond the context of the larger United Nation. Some of the key strategies and approaches it takes to ensure effective and peaceful co-relation between people from diverse cultures and backgrounds include;

i) Transparent Recruitment Process

The UN-Environment advertises its jobs opening far and wide. It has well established websites that holds the vacancies segment, in which, all the global opportunities in the organisation are updated daily. Further, it has partnered with other websites such as relief web, impact pool, Inspira, LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter under which relevant communication is done. The agency also manages a pool of interested candidates that it can easily draw appropriate candidates from.

Each

opportunity is accompanied by the clear terms of references indicating the type of profile that is desired. Different modalities are put in place, with the organisation classifying the workforce in different categories to include, Permanent Staffs, Affiliate Staffs, Consultants, Volunteers, Interns and Support staffs[5]. A policy document exists to guide on these classifications and the implementation process. These policy documents have been supported and approved by the general assembly in which country representatives from all partner countries participate.

The recruitment process then goes through, long listing, short listing, first and second interviews, training as required for the respective position in question.

ii) Mandatory Staff Training Programme

The agency ensures that every

person joining is taken through key mandatory training to enable him fit in at the place of work. One key training is the ethics in workplace, sexual harassment, HIV/AIDS, Gender equality among many others that in one way or another contribute to attainment of better working relations.

iii) Clearly shared strategic vision, values and organisation culture

The UN-Environment and the United Nations at large is the leading organisation in advocating for human rights all over the world. To achieve this goal, it must set clear uncompromised standards that the staff and partners need to adhere to. The vision, values and the organisation culture supports world peace and refute in all ways values that can threaten this goal.

iv) Non-Tolerance to Discrimination on any ground policies

Strict measures that guide against discrimination in terms of gender, physical disabilities, sexual inclinations, racism, favourism and nepotisms are in place. The organisation has zero tolerance to issues that promote this vice. Job terminations and prosecution have occurred in the past where officials have been found in offense.

Importance of Cultural Diversity

            Alliance management and conflict resolution demand effective strategies and beneficiary investments. Thus, an investment in diversity plays a key role. In this all process, the management need to act very carefully, while managing the acceptance of different identities, gender, age groups, cultures, and people with different orientations and abilities. However, cultural diversity brings several workplace challenges, including bullying, discrimination, and harassment. The hurtful and unfair conduct of people on the basis of gender, age, or race is called discrimination. It can be said as intention or behavior to treat an individual badly due to some special quality, feature, or trait against the social norms and legislations. According to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, eighteen personal features 

[1] Lombardo, Jennifer. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2016. http://study.com/academy/lesson/cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace-definition-trends-examples.html (accessed 12 6, 2016).

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or traits are supposed to be causing employment discrimination. At workplace, harassment or discrimination occurs due to unequal or negative conduct with any employee, which brings several ethical and social challenges for the firm, including employees’ turnover, lack of talent, lack of innovative ideas, lack of employees’ satisfaction, and rise in conflictive conditions (Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1997)[1]. Thus, management of cultural diversity and development of friendly environment is crucial to deal with the conflict resolving and alliance management at workplaces.

Workplace diversity or cultural diversity brings more talent, where everyone must feel a welcoming environment and equal access to success opportunities and expertise. It attracts more professionals from different cultures to deals with different issues in the global arena., as the people feel happy to see others belonging to their culture working happily in the firm. This means that the  it raises the hiring quality of the firms or organisation is raised too. Many applicants, belonging to different cultures, apply to get a job which brings more applications with more talented and professional workers. More broadly, many professional with forward-thinking approach prefer to apply in the firms providing better opportunities to all, regardless of their background, color, religion, age, or gender[6]. In UN-Environment, an organisations that deals with diverse phenomena’s and situations, there is need to have professionals from diverse backgrounds to bring on-board their expertise, knowledge and wisdom. (Rigger 2018)[2].

Workplace diversity also brings diverse ideas, which are helpful to gain competitive advantages and attain desired goals and objectives. An organisationThe firm

can never get ‘billion dollarbillion-dollar

idea’ without working with diverse cultures. People from different regions, environments, societies, and cultures have a different approaches due to their unique experiences in different contextual backgrounds

towards thinking. Some of them may have observed the facts differently, due to their gender-based or cultural based approach towards that objec t. For example, hHomogenous employees can never cross-fertilize the  innovative ideas but rather stick to theirinstead

they may come up with the old commontired

ideas that,  provideing

the same results. Diversity brings newdiverse,

innovative, and creative ideas, which may

bringsderive

successive approachesways to the firm. InAs stated by

Tyler Cowen words;,

“Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style[7].” (Cowen n.d)[3]

            Every organisation or firmfirm has tomust

deal with stakeholders and cpartnersustomers, belonging to different countries, regions, cultures, and background. These partners come with different wants and conditions. To keep them satisfied, it is essential to understand their requirements, which is only possible through thinking at to think at their level. Dealing with diverse stakeholders and customers also brings linguistic challenges, which can only be resolved by hiring employees from diverse groups. In the UN-Environment for instance, diversity allows representation of all

interests leading to formulation of key priorities and a just governance system.

Productivity is higher in a multi-cultured work environment. Survey conducted in 2013 by Center for Talent innovation, realized that 48% of the companies in United States with more diversity had improved their market share[8]. However, only 33% of the companies with less cultural diversity at workplace showed the same improvement and growth. These survey results are evidence that cultural diversity may increase the growth chances for a firm. This is because cultural diversity helps the organization address global business trends[9]. Further, it brings more talent and innovation in the workplace. For example, many of the companies are now dealing with Chinese companies, and thus hiring Chinese employees can be proven as highly beneficial to understand the community’s requirement, enhance company’s reputation amongst Chinese, and gain competitive advantages. This could also result in improved profits and an increase in sales and as an entry to new markets. In equal measure, UN -Environment cannot deliver project in partners countries without involvement of the natives and also an international expert with experience from a similar project elsewhere.

The cultural diversity also enhances the trust level amongst the colleagues, which results in a reduction in employees’ conflicts. There is higher morale among the workers. Workers from different backgrounds share their thoughts, and experiences, which bring them closer to each other and enable them to appreciate different lifestyles and cultures. There is a chance for growth and personal development. Cheah (2013) argues that trainings and cross-cultural activities make the employees feel valued and validated[10]. When the people from diverse groups, with diverse thinking approach, and different skills work together, they learn from each other and thus enhances employees’ skills.

Conclusion

Alliance management and conflict resolution demand effective strategies and beneficiary investments. An investment in diversity in the work place plays a key role. In this all process, the management need to act very carefully, while managing the acceptance of different identities, gender, age groups, cultures, and people with different orientations and abilities. Cultural diversity, however, brings several workplace challenges, including bullying, discrimination, and harassment. The hurtful and unfair conduct of people based on gender, age, or race. If well managed, however, cultural diversity brings better productivity, good morale and job satisfaction among employees. It Workplace diversity encourages equity in the international market, which is essential for alliance management, conflict resolution, and gaining competitive advantages. With the advancement in the International market ad increasing competitive economy, the requirement of the skills and talents is increasing.

Sticking to one culture may not provide enough talent to any firm, and thus promotion to the cultural diversity is crucial. A diverse collection of experiences and skills allows the firms to provide meet the global requirements of the consumers and to relate and understand their clients better.

Conclusively, cultural diversity enables the firms in alliance management, conflict resolution, and gaining competitive advantages through a wider pool of talented employees, innovative ideas, skillful workers, and better expansion opportunities at International level.

Further, it vanishes the cultural, social, and linguistic barriers to the success of organizations.

[1] Schuman, H., C. Steeh, L. Bobo, and M. Krysan. Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations. Harvard University Press., 1997.

[2] Rigger, Debbie. ”How a diverse workforce can be your competitive advantage.” Human Resource Director, 2018.

[3] Cowen, Tyler. ”Cultural Diversity Quotes.” Brainy Quotes, n.d.

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Further, the satisfaction of the stakeholder is associated with the understanding of their mindset, which is possible by reaching their mind level. For example, an Asian employee can better understand the demands and requirements of the Asian stakeholder. It is crucial when companies are investing in other countries. Now, different multinational companies are focused to invest in different countries and regions, which is not possible without understanding the cultural or regional demands. In such investment, the employees from that specific region can help the firm to understand the cultural requirements of the region, and to develop proper strategies in order to meet the competitors and to gain competitive advantages (Bouncken and Pesch 2017)[1].

            Cultural diversity also leads to higher morale. When diversity at the workplace is managed well, and workers are subject to include training and cross-cultural activities, the employees feel valued and validated. When the people from diverse groups, with diverse thinking approach, and different skills work together, they learn from each other and thus cause the enhancement in employees’ skills. Also, working with people, who bring different visions and skills, help the employees to recognize everyone on the basis of their abilities. Many recent researchers have shown that cultural diversity is highly important for the success of any firm, and it can lead to great revenue generation of profit generation for the organization.

            A survey was conducted in 2013 by think tank (blog 2017)[2], Center for Talent innovation, according to which 48% of the companies of the United States with more diversity improved their market share. However, only 33% of the companies with less cultural diversity at workplace showed the same improvement and growth. These survey results are evidence that cultural diversity may increase the growth chances for the firms. This is because cultural diversity helps the organization in

global business trends and language diversity. Further, it brings more talent and innovation in the workplace. For example, many of the companies are now dealing with Chinese companies, and thus hiring Chinese employees can be proven as highly beneficial to understand the community’s requirement, enhance company’s reputation amongst Chinese, and gain competitive advantages. This could also result in improved profits and an increase in sales. The cultural diversity also enhances the trust level amongst the colleagues, which results in a reduction in employees’ conflicts. Workers from different backgrounds share their thoughts, and childhood

experiences, on the basis of which they get closer to each other and become able to understand different lifestyles. It also enhances the employees’ engagement and motivates them to prove their cultural worth amongst all, which brings great competitive advantage to the firm.

[1] Bouncken, Ricarda B., and Robin Pesch. ”How to achieve benefits from diversity in international alliances: Mechanisms and cultural intelligence.” Global Strategy Journal, 2017.

[2] blog, 6Q. 6 Amazing Benefits of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2017. https://inside.6q.io/benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/ (accessed 2018).

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Most of the firms face several challenges, such as employees’ turnover, due to cultural discrimination. Many of the talented employees do not feel comfortable work in the discriminative environment, thus promoting cultural diversity reduces the chances of employees’ turnover. The company providing chances to people with different backgrounds promotes peace and anti-discriminative environment at the workplace, which entices a wider pool of talented candidates for its job vacancies. As a result, the company will enjoy great choices of management and utilization of workforce (Cheah 2013)[1].

            Workplace diversity encourages equity in the international market, which is essential for alliance management, conflict resolution, and gaining competitive advantages. With the advancement in the International market ad increasing competitive economy, the requirement of the skills and talents is increasing. Sticking to one culture may not provide enough talent to any firm, and thus promotion to the cultural diversity is crucial. A diverse collection of experiences and skills allows the firms to provide meet the global requirements of the consumers and to relate and understand their clients better. Conclusively, cultural diversity enables the firms in alliance management, conflict resolution, and gaining competitive advantages through a wider pool of talented employees, innovative ideas, skillful workers, and better expansion opportunities at International level. Further, it vanishes the cultural, social, and linguistic barriers to the success of organizations.

[1] CHEAH, LILY. Why workplace diversity is important for every organization. 2013. http://mystarjob.com/articles/story.aspx?file=/2013/4/20/mystarjob_careerguide/12948229&sec=mystarjob_careerguide (accessed 2018).

You have the beginning of an

argument is here, but you need to be more focused. Choose a particular occupation and explore the cultural demands that need to be addressed when dealing with issues of diversity. Identify a strategy of effectiveness for incorporating or integrating diversity. Its current state, this essay’s thesis gets lost. Use the insert footnote function of your word processor so that the formatting doesn’t get messed up.

Work Cited

blog, 6Q. 6 Amazing Benefits of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2017. https://inside.6q.io/benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/ (accessed 2018).

Bouncken, Ricarda B., and Robin Pesch. ”How to achieve benefits from diversity in international alliances: Mechanisms and cultural intelligence.” Global Strategy Journal, 2017.

CHEAH, LILY. Why workplace diversity is important for every organization. 2013. http://mystarjob.com/articles/story.aspx?file=/2013/4/20/mystarjob_careerguide/12948229&sec=mystarjob_careerguide (accessed 2018).

Cowen, Tyler. ”Cultural Diversity Quotes.” Brainy Quotes, n.d.

Gyebi, Kerlyn Ohenewa. 2018. ”The impact of multicultural environment on employees at the workplace.” VAASAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES.

Lombardo, Jennifer. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2016. http://study.com/academy/lesson/cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace-definition-trends-examples.html (accessed 12 6, 2016).

Pager, D., and B. Western. ”(2012). Identifying discrimination at work: The use of field experiments.” Journal of Social Issues 68, no. 2 (2012): 221-237.

Rigger, Debbie. ”How a diverse workforce can be your competitive advantage.“ Human Resource Director, 2018.

Schuman, H., C. Steeh, L. Bobo, and M. Krysan. Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations. Harvard University Press., 1997.

UN Environment. 2018. Unenvironment organisation. Accessed December 06, 2018. https://www.unenvironment.org/about-un-environment.

[1] Lombardo, Jennifer. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2016. http://study.com/academy/lesson/cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace-definition-trends-examples.html (accessed 12 6, 2016).

[2] Gyebi, Kerlyn Ohenewa. 2018. ”The impact of multicultural environment on employees at the workplace.” VAASAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES.

UN Environment. 2018. Unenvironment organisation. Accessed December 06, 2018. https://www.unenvironment.org/about-un-environment.

[3] Gyebi, Kerlyn Ohenewa. 2018. ”The impact of multicultural environment on employees at the workplace.” VAASAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

[4] Schuman, H., C. Steeh, L. Bobo, and M. Krysan. Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations. Harvard University Press., 1997.

[5] UN Environment. 2018. Unenvironment organisation. Accessed December 06, 2018. https://www.unenvironment.org/about-un-environment

[6] Rigger, Debbie. ”How a diverse workforce can be your competitive advantage.” Human Resource Director, 2018.

[7] Cowen, Tyler. ”Cultural Diversity Quotes.” Brainy Quotes, n.d.

[8] blog, 6Q. 6 Amazing Benefits of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 2017. https://inside.6q.io/benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/ (accessed 2018).

[9] Bouncken, Ricarda B., and Robin Pesch. ”How to achieve benefits from diversity in international alliances: Mechanisms and cultural intelligence.” Global Strategy Journal, 2017

[10] CHEAH, LILY. Why workplace diversity is important for every organization. 2013.

http://mystarjob.com/articles/story.aspx?file=/2013/4/20/mystarjob_careerguide/12948229&sec=mystarjob_careerguide (accessed 2018).