cultural & social diversity in entrepreneurship bangladesh

7/31/2019 Cultural & Social Diversity in Entrepreneurship Bangladesh

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Cultural and Social Diversity 1

Running Head: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL DIVERSITY

Cultural and Social Diversity in Business

[Authors Name]

[University/School]

[Professor]


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Abstract

Cultural and Social diversity in business is essentially part of the results of the

globalization of companies. Expansion to different countries means utilizing each countrys work

force combined with the foreign workforce of the expanding company. This would lead to a

number of issues which fall under sex, culture, religion, discrimination and many others.

Moreover, occupational status differences and social grading also proves to be a factor in further

dividing the workforce in to divisions. These problems are just one of the common issues in

rapidly expanding companies. Globalization has its promise of wealth and career both to its

employers and employees but the current cultural and social diversities would be a barrier to this

goal. The solution to this would be the reformulation of strategies and customization of each

companies approach upon settling in with the foreign workforce of a different country.


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Cultural and Social Diversity in Business

In the 21st century, Globalization of most of the top companies has been seen. The

expansion of business to other countries proved to be helpful to these economies because of the

jobs that they bring and the infusion of capital into the market as well. This phenomenon has led

to the diversification of mostly all companies that have expanded throughout the major countries

in the world. Today, the typical workforce of any company would include a significant number

of foreign employees. These opportunities of expansion to other countries provide each company

with an unlimited possibility of maximizing their profit and efficiency. These are all due to the

improvement of the working relationship and managing systems of these companies. Cultural

diversity in a work setting may prove to be difficult. However, does it mean that this cultural

diversity in the business setting of today would lead to problems and eventually put the company

at risk? The past few years of recession and the unstable world economy makes companies think

twice about expanding abroad. Diversification of the work place will initially put forth issues

related to gender, sex, language, tradition and many other cultural aspects of each foreign

individual. These cultural differences dictate the survivability or the success of any rapidly

expanding economy. There are different challenges ahead of each company and this all remains

under the notion that despite cultural diversity, a good working environment can still be attained

and the improvement of the adaptability of each professional to working with a foreigner.

Cultural diversity at the work place also added differences based on the individuals

relationship to capital and to the whole of the company. People have qualifications or skills for

which there is a large or small demand depending on the situation. There is, for example, a

higher demand for aircraft pilots than for neon-designers. The concept of status in the work place

also affects the relationships of its diverse employees. This status can be defined as social


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prestige which is not unique in modern societies and can be influenced by many factors,

including birth, education, occupation, and lifestyle. As a result of the increased economic,

cultural and social significance of work, in modern societies, occupational status is often used as

an alternative to class models of social and cultural groupings. The rank of these orders of

occupations can vary between the societal setups and may change over time. For example,

despite the cultural diversity, since the 19th

century, nursing has increased in skill and has moved

up the ranking, whereas clerical work has been deskilled and has consequently declined in status.

These types of working positions will generally be magnified once the working environment is

put in a global stage. A difference in cultural background doesnt cover most of the foreseen

issues in a culturally diverse workplace. Differences in occupational status and social grading are

stratified under these groups:

1. Higher Managerial and professional(e.g. doctor, lawyer)

2. Lower Managerial and professional(e.g. teacher, consultant, nurse)

3. Skilled non-manual (secretary, salesmen, insurance agent)

4. Skilled manual (e.g. carpenter, hairdresser)

5. Semi-skilled manual (e.g. bus river,cashier)

6. Unskilled manual (e.g. cleaner,laborer)

1. AUpper Middles class (highermanagerial and professional)

2. BMiddle class (lower managerialand professional)

3. C1Lower middle class (routinewhite collar)

4. C2Skilled working class (manual)5. DSemi-skilled and unskilled

working class (manual)

6. EResidual (including those dependent upon the state)

The terms middles class and working class are widely used in the society today. This

stratification encompasses cultural differences and further diversifies the business environment


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of today. Presently, all business expansion has their own tactics and strategies in overcoming

both cultural and social differences in the work place. These strategies are customized to cope

with the specific setting of the country that they will expand to.

On the other hand, issues and problems related to cultural and social diversity in the

workplace needs to be examined and solved. The present day structure of management of

international companies needs to be goal oriented and solution oriented in order to cope up with

the rate of their rapid globalization. Adjustments and solutions to these problems must be

sensible, rational and reasonable. It should also be free of any underlying prejudice and

discrimination against sex, gender, culture, race, occupational status and social status. Indeed it is

true tat there is a lot to gain in globalization. Globalization has a lot to offer to each country and

company that will be recipients of the expansion. There are simple ways on how to minimize

these differences and encourage respect from each and every employee coming from a different

cultural and social background. Occasional informal gatherings and functions plus workshops

and events would generally invite all the employees to know each other and be comfortable with

their colleagues. Cultural and social diversity in business will have its issues but this can be

minimized and removed as well. The promise of globalization has a lot to give to its employees

and employers. Cultural differences must be settled if not used to improve the current setup of

international companies.

Citations and Annotations

Hartel, Charmine. (2004) Towards a Multicultural World: Identifying Work Systems, Practices

and Employee Attitudes that Embrace Diversity. Australian Journal of Management. Vol.

29.


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This research program identifies the types and kinds of approaches and strategies that can

be done in order to customize the organizational culture to fit the different cultures

present in a workplace. It has recognized key activities and setups that would help out in

minimizing the cultural differences. The research also found out that the success of these

activities would depend largely on the perception of difference and subsequent quality

and magnitude of the response to the perceived dissimilarity. The research provided the

greatest relevance to my topic inquiry about Cultural and Social diversity in Business.

Mamman, Aminu. (1996)A Diverse Employee in A Changing Workplace. Graduate School of

Business, Northern Territory University. SAGE Journals.

The paper discusses the important factors that contribute to the interruption of proper

adaptation of employees to their diverse work force. It has been pointed out that

characteristics such as disability race and gender are just some of the primary interaction

adjustments. Secondary characteristics would inVol.ve the tone of his/her voice,

personality and cognition. These factors generally determine the type of interaction that

will take place and the adjustment necessary to cope up with this environment. The

determination of these factors will help a lot in the formations of organizational policies

which is based on cultural and social differences.

Hermon, Mary. (1998)Building a Shared understanding and Commitment to Managing Social

and Cultural Diversity in Business. Journal of Business Communication. Vol. 33.

The study observed the different perspectives of multi-level employees and managers

regarding the diverse representatives of each employee group which is the results of a

shared goal to improve their working relationships through diversity. The study also

exposed the similarities of their goals with regards to career advancement and rules and


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policies. Overall, the study focused on the improvement of the interpersonal

characteristic of each employee which is aimed at creating a better environment despite

the cultural and social diversity.

See, Geoffrey. (2008) Workplace Diversity in Asia. University of Pennsylvania The Michigan

Journal of Business. Vol. 1, Issue 2.

The study took an in depth look in Asias rapidly expanding business culture. The aim of

the study was more focused on China and how it became a global competitor.

Globalization has already brought a lot of foreign people to China and there have been a

lot of positive feedbacks that the adjustments of these expats were great. However, it was

noted that the various differences in economic status in Asia gave rise to some problems

regarding organizational strategies due to heavy industrialization. Cultures and Social

stratification were very much prevalent in the Asian business world. Strategies were in

place to counteract the negative effect but the success rates were very low.

Patil, Shefali. (2009) Perceptions of Female Managers in Male- Dominated Industries: Effects of

Gender Rarity, Performance, and Diversity Justification. The Michigan Journal of

Business. Vol. 2, Issue 1.

The study was conducted to determine the effect of a female dominated managerial

position with regards to the perceptions, performance and diversity justification of the

workplace. It was observed that the more female managers were inVol.ved, the higher

was the rate of diversification in hiring. However, this result was just limited to hiring

other employees. The results further details the fact that female representation in the

corporate world is still not enough to change the behavior , prejudice and discrimination

of other employees regarding cultural and social difference. On the other hand, the study


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concluded that it is indeed helpful to have an equal gender rights in companies in order to

reduce the sex based discrimination.

cultural & social diversity in entrepreneurship bangladesh

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