"Cultural Diversity" (august 2nd)

1. Concept: 

Cultural Diversity: "Culture is the relatively stable set or inner values and beliefs generally held by groups of people in countries or regions and the noticeable impact those values and beliefs have on the peoples' outward behaviors and environment" (Peterson, 2004: p.17). On the other hand, Diversity is defined as the quality of being different. So, according to UNESCO (2005), “Cultural diversity refers to the manifold ways in which the cultures of groups and societies find expression. These expressions are passed on within and among groups and societies.

Cultural diversity is made manifest not only through the varied ways in which the cultural heritage of humanity is expressed, augmented and transmitted through the variety of cultural expressions,but also through diverse modes of artistic creation, production, dissemination, distribution and enjoyment, whatever the means and technologies used”.

2. Question

Why Cultural diversity is important to business today?

Cultural diversity is increasingly important because of phenomena such as globalization and high inmigration rates between countries have led to multicultural countries, cities and companies where differencies of beliefs, customs, languaje, dress, race and other aspects are mixed leading to interesting changes in society. therefore becomes increasingly necessary to include people who are culturally different in the everyday life of the host society. Parvis (2007) presents a clear example: "Cultural diversity in America (US, Canada, Mexico and Latin America) is growing incredibly due to interconnectedness and accessibility to human resources. Since 1985, more than ever, we have witnessed more human relationships not only within a culture but among many cultures and civilizations in the world" ( p. 162)

In this context, companies have a crucial role because they are called to create inclusion, acceptance and respect. Learning to manage diversity is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for companies that are competing in an increasingly global world : each company has the opportunity to turn diversity into an advantage or a problem (discrimination, harrasment). UNESCO (2010) has expressed that 

"Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only in respect of economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. [...] At the same time, acceptance and recognition of cultural diversity – in particular through innovative use of media and ICTs – are conducive to dialogue among civilizations and cultures, respect and mutual understanding". 

So, according to Ely and Thomas (2001), there are three possible scenarios or perspectives within the company: the integration and learning perspective, the access and legitimacy perspective and the discrimination and fairness perspective but only the perspective of integration and learning creates an adnvantage and helps to achieve real benefits for the company. 

In conclusion, Today almost all businesses face a multicultural environment where difference and change are the only constant. But, this situation, instead of a problem, is a benefit to the company and it should created the necessary conditions for generate innovation, synergy, cooperation and uniqueness. 

3. Point of view.

I think that the new conditions which companies are facing because of glabalization require increased ability to respond to changes quickly and and effectively. "Cultural diversity" is one of those changes and companies must adapt their structures and forms of management in order to achieve benefits for all stakeholders: employees, employers and society. cultural diversity should not be an obstacle for the creation of an appropriate organizational climate conducive to the development of people in the organization. On the contrary, cultural diversity is a tool to strengthen the organizational culture: a culture where there is no discrimination on the cultural causes and where learning and inclusion are business development factors. "Diversity is about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about creating workplace environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives". (Woods, Bormann and Schmidle, 2010). 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ely, R and Thomas, D.(Jun., 2001). Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes, 46(2). [Online]: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2667087

Parvis, L (2007) Understanding cultural diversity in today's complex world. [Online]: http://books.google.com/books?id=vyZ_C-xpnjMC&pg=PA162&dq=cultural+diversity+%2Bglobalization&hl=en&ei=whZjTMbIC4G0lQfl-ci-Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=cultural%20diversity%20%2Bglobalization&f=false

Peterson, B. (2004) Cultural Intelligence: Aguide to working with people from others cultures. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press. 

UNESCO. (2005). Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions [Online]:  http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31038&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

_________(2010) Cultural Diversity. [Online]: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34321&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

 Woods, S.; Bormann, T.  and  Schmidle, J.(2010) Workplace diversity. [Online]: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/subjectguides/workplacediversity.html


image from: Double portrait of a Black & a white boy. Getty images. [online]. available at: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/102625544/Photographers-Choice