Culture and Diversity in Leadership and Management

Welcome to Topic 10: Culture and Diversity in Leadership and Management. The world has become a global village. Leading employers to recruit individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds. During this topic, we will look at why it is important for a workplace to have individuals from diverse backgrounds. We will also focus on what techniques to use to attract these talents. In this topic you will learn about:

• Culture and diversity in leadership and management
• Managing diversity
• Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.

These relate to the Subject Learning Outcomes:

1. Assess the key principles and theories underlying strategic people management and explain how their application enhances organisational and individual performance.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches of leadership and the relationships between effective people management and organisational performance.
3. Reflect on the roles and functions that managers perform in the context of the challenges and risks they experience in the changing environment.

Welcome to your pre-seminar learning tasks for this week. Please ensure you complete these prior to attending your scheduled seminar with your lecturer.

Click on each of the following headings to read more about what is required for each of your pre-seminar learning tasks.

Culture and diversity in leadership and management

An integral and essential feature of individual differences is the concept of diversity. Diversity focuses on the multiplicity of differences among people (Mullins 2016). Understanding and embracing diversity is of critical importance in today’s increasingly global world, and multicultural and diverse society, and has particular relevance, where both the customers and organisation (employees and management) may be diverse.

Mallinson’s, among others (1998) research revealed that some industries in Australia have limited knowledge or awareness of cross-cultural awareness, and its complexity, because of this:

• Often, limited time or money is directed towards training of staff about different cultures and creating an awareness of different guests’ service needs
• Employees often only have a shallow understanding of what is involved in cross-cultural awareness of different customer needs
• Globalisation and growth in tourism numbers has highlighted the importance of cross-cultural awareness and communication.

Issues such as cultural attitudes towards forms of address, the notion of time, body language dress and appearance, among many other things are affected by diversity.

What is diversity

There are various ways in which to describe and define diversity; however, discussions of diversity often include the following three points:

1. An acknowledgement of the reality that people differ in many ways.
2. Identification of implications in the workplace, or society generally, that arise because of diversity.
3. Discussion of strategies to ensure that these issues are addressed in the interest of workplaces or society generally.

Diversity may include primary and secondary dimensions (characteristics), including national culture, race, religion, age, gender, physical ability and sexual orientation.

National culture also affects many organisational practices, including:

• Planning, prioritising and task completion
• Protocol and communication
• Punctuality, meeting duration
• Risk propensity
• Emphasis on groups versus individuals
• Who has power and who can be trusted
• Emotions
• What information is shared, what not.

Workplaces provide vastly different experiences for individuals in terms of access, participation, opportunities and outcomes. Equity in diversity is based on the assumption that all people have the right to fair treatment, irrespective of gender, race, socio-economic background, disability and so on.

The causes and impacts of increasing diversity

Increasing diversity among employees in many organisations, reflects social change. Factors that have contributed to the increase in diversity in Australia include changing demographics in the labour, market changes in the legislative framework, the globalisation of markets and the recognition of value in a diverse workforce (Davidson et al. 2009).

Globalisation was initially conceptualised as the worldwide process of economic and industrial restructuring. Today, globalisation is also understood to include the process of continual change through the opening up of markets. Managers now more than ever must be able to deal with diversity on a global scale. Moreover:

• Organisations that embrace rather than fear diversity can achieve competitive advantage over organisations that are either culturally homogeneous or fail to successfully utilise their diversity.
• Organisations are finding that utilising diversity in many aspects of the workforce (e.g. project teams, workgroups, management and sales force) not only makes strong moral sense, but also strong business sense as well.
• This can achieve a number of goals, including access to a changing marketplace, large scale business transformation, and superior customer service.

Managing diversity

Productive diversity is an approach that involves using people’s different skills and abilities to achieve the best possible productivity or economic outcome (Davidson 2009). Reasons for using diversity in this manner include; the mutual benefit to both the organisation and its employees, and the organisation’s competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Organisations and managers can play a fundamental role in managing diversity and thus increasing productivity, job satisfaction and guest satisfaction through:

• Cross cultural education and training
• Language training
• Networking
• Organisational culture and inclusive practices
• Policies, including vision, value and mission statements
• Clearly communicating diversity goals and expectations to employees
• Avoiding the ‘melting pot’ mentality, respect differences and similarities.

Strategic management of diversity should include organisations creating a management plan-including assessing the situation, setting objectives and involving employees in generating solutions and initiatives (Davidson et al. 2009; Mullins 2016). Some initiatives may include:

• Non-discriminatory interviewing and strategic recruitment and selection based on merit
• Mentoring programs
• Ongoing employee surveys/opportunities for dialogue on issues surrounding diversity
• Policies and practices for dealing quickly and fairly with cases of prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination or harassment
• A comprehensive employee retention strategy.

Six dimensions of culture

Geert Hofstede is one of the most significant contributors to the body of knowledge on culture and workplace diversity (Mullins 2016). Hofstede (1991) has defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people form others”. The six dimensions include:

1. Individualism vs collectivism.
2. Masculinity vs femininity.
3. Uncertainty avoidance.
4. Power distance.
5. Long vs short term orientation.
6. Indulgence vs restraint.

Individualism vs collectivism - How much members of the culture define themselves apart from their group memberships. In individualist cultures, people are expected to develop and display their individual personalities and to choose their own affiliations. In collectivist cultures, people are defined and act mostly as a member of a long-term group, such as the family, a religious group, a generational cohort, a town, or a profession, among others. This dimension was found to move towards the individualist end of the spectrum with increasing national wealth.

Masculinity vs femininity - The value placed on traditionally male or female values (as understood in most Western cultures). In so-called 'masculine' cultures, people (whether male or female) value competitiveness, aggressiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. In so-called 'feminine' cultures, people (again whether male or female) value relationships, emotions and quality of life.

Uncertainty avoidance - How much members of a society/culture are anxious about the unknown or future, and as a consequence, attempt to cope with anxiety by minimising uncertainty. In cultures with strong uncertainty avoidance, people prefer explicit rules (e.g. about religion and food) and formally structured activities, and employees tend to remain longer with their present employer. In cultures with weak uncertainty avoidance, people prefer implicit or flexible rules or guidelines, and informal activities. Employees tend to change employers more frequently in this case.

Power distance - How much the less powerful members of institutions and organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In cultures with small power distance (e.g. Australia, Denmark, Ireland), people expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic. People relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal and hierarchical positions. Employees are more comfortable with and demand the right to contribute to and critique the decisions of those in power.

In cultures with large power distance (e.g. Malaysia and China), the less powerful accept power relations that are more autocratic or paternalistic. Employees acknowledge the power of others based on their formal, hierarchical positions. Therefore, Small vs Large Power Distance does not measure or attempt to measure a culture's objective, ‘real’ power distribution, but the way people perceive power differences

Long vs short term orientation - A society's ‘time horizon’, or the importance attached to the future versus the past and present. In long term oriented societies, people value actions and attitudes that affect the future: persistence/perseverance, thrift (savings), and shame (e.g. China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong).

In short term oriented societies, people value actions and attitudes that are affected by the past or the present, including the tendency to spend even if it requires large borrowing such as loans from banks, including credit cards (e.g. Western countries).

Indulgence vs restraint - Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying human life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

Another significant contributor to this area of study is Fons Trompenaars, in which 50,000 participants were surveyed in relation to underlying norms, values and attitudes. Trompenaars identified the following seven areas of cultural difference: relationships and rules, individual and collective societies, neutral and emotional societies, diffuse and specific cultures, achievement and ascription societies, view of time, and attitudes to the environment (Mullins 2016).

To further your knowledge, check out this video on the nine (9) dimensions of culture as, according to Javidan et al (2006).

To conclude this topic, keep in mind that one of the driving forces of cultural diversity in the workplace is economic globalisation (Sawyer 2020). It is important to remember that the workplace is made up of diverse people with different backgrounds, including gender, age, nationality, ethnicity and religions. The diverse nature of employees should be celebrated in a workplace to prevent conflict. Being aware of this workplace diversity and communicating ways to address the challenges means that employers can reap the tangible and intangible benefits.

Welcome to your seminar for this topic. Your lecturer will start a video stream during your scheduled class time. You can access your scheduled class by clicking on ‘Live Sessions’ found within your navigation bar and locating the relevant day/class or by clicking on the following link and then clicking 'Join' to enter the class.

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The learning tasks are listed below. These will be completed during the seminar with your lecturer. Should you be unable to attend, you will be able to watch the recording, which can be found via the following link or by navigating to the class through ‘Live Sessions’ via your navigation bar.

Click here to access the recording. (Please note: this will be available shortly after the live session has ended.)

In-seminar learning tasks

The in-seminar learning tasks identified below will be completed during the scheduled seminar. Your lecturer will guide you through these tasks. Click on each of the following headings to read more about the requirements for each of your in-seminar learning tasks.

Welcome to your post-seminar learning tasks for this week. Please ensure you complete these after attending your scheduled seminar with your lecturer. Your lecturer will advise you if any of these are to be completed during your consultation session.

Each week you will have a consultation session, which will be facilitated by your lecturer. You can join in and work with your peers on activities relating to this subject. These session times and activities will be communicated to you by your lecturer each week. Your lecturer will start a video stream during your scheduled class time. You can access your scheduled class by clicking on ‘Live Sessions’ found within your navigation bar and locating the relevant day/class or by clicking on the following link and then clicking 'Join' to enter the class.

Click here to access your consultation session.

Should you be unable to attend, you will be able to watch the recording, which can be found via the following link or by navigating to the class through ‘Live Sessions’ via your navigation bar.

Click here to access the recording. (Please note: this will be available shortly after the live session has ended.)

• Abrahams, S 2018, The role of leadership in building an inclusive organisational culture, Linkedin.
• Brustein, AJ 2017, 50 must-read articles on diversity in the workplace: valuable insights on the challenges, benefits and best practices for cultivating diversity, Linkedin.
• Rosenkranz, KM, Arora TK, Termuhlen, PM, Stainx, SC, Misra, S Dent, D & Nfonsam, V 2020, ‘Diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine: why it matters and how we achieve it?’, Journal of surgical education, 78(4):1058-1065.

References

• Amazon 2021, Our culture, Amazon, https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/working-at-amazon/our-culture
• Barney, JB 1986, ‘Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage?’, Academy of Management Review, 11(3):656-665.
• Bolino, MC & Turnley, WH 2003, 'Going the extra mile: Cultivating and managing employee citizenship behavior', Academy of Management Executive, 17(3):60-71.
• Chatman, JA & Jehn, KA 1991, 'Assessing the relationship between industry characteristics and organizational culture: How different can you be?', Academy of Management Journal, 37(3):522-553.
• Davidson, P, Simon, A, Woods, P & Griffin, RW 2009, Management: Core concepts and applications, 2nd edn., John Wiley.
• Erdogan, B, Liden, RC & Kraimer, ML 2006, 'Justice and leader-member exchange: The moderating role of organizational culture', Academy of Management Journal, 49(2):395-406.
• Greene, J, Reinhardt, A & Lowry, T 2004, Teaching Microsoft to make nice?, Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-05-30/teaching-microsoft-to-make-nice
• Hofstede, G 1991, Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind, McGraw Hill.
• Hofstede, G 1994, 'The business of international business is culture, International Business Review, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-14, http://www.geert-hofstede.com/index.shtml
• Hofstede, G & Minkov, M 2010, Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. 3rd edn., McGraw-Hill.
• Kotter, JP & Heskett, JL 1992, Corporate Culture and Performance, Free Press.
• Mullins, L 2016, Management and organisational behaviour, 11th edn., Pearson.
• O’Reilly III, CA, Chatman, JA & Caldwell, DF 1991, 'People and organizational culture: A profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit', Academy of Management Journal, 34(3):487-516.
• Sawyer, K 2020, The importance of cultural diversity in the workplace, Deputy, https://www.deputy.com/blog/the-importance-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace
• Schein, EH 1990, ‘Organizational culture’, American Psychologist, 45(2):109-119.
• University of Minnesota 2015, Principles of management, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Edition, https://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmanagement/
• Westrum, R 2004, 'Increasing the number of guards at nuclear power plants', Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 24:959-961.