Diversity and Inclusion in the Global Workplace

Aligning Initiatives with Strategic Business Goals

Carlos Tasso Eira de Aquino, Robert W. Robertson, Carlos Tasso Eira de Aquino, Robert W. Robertson

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9783319549934
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

This edited collection offers a nontraditional approach to diversity management, going beyond gender, race, and ethnicity. Examining ageism, disability, and spirituality, the book provides a discussion of different D&I applications and introduces a framework consisting of a diagnostic phase, gap analysis, and an action plan, which can be modified to attend to specific needs of organizations. Researchers and practitioners will learn a viable way to address diversity in global organizations.

Part I
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

© The Author(s) 2018

Carlos Tasso Eira de Aquino and Robert W. Robertson (eds.)Diversity and Inclusion in the Global Workplacehttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54993-4_1

Begin Abstract

1. Diversity Across Cultures

Kelley A. Conrad¹ , Herman van Niekerk¹, Subodh Simon Karmarkar², Susanne Beier^{1, 3, 4}, Francisco Javier Reyes Avila^{5, 6, 7}, Debra Jenkins⁸ and Violet Nxedhlana⁹

(1)

School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix, Tempe, AZ, USA

(2)

4C Management Consultants, Mechelen, Belgium

(3)

Capella University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

(4)

Beier Counseling Services, Honesdale, PA, USA

(5)

Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

(6)

Universidad Regiomontana (U-ERRE), Monterrey, Mexico

(7)

Universidad Autónoma Del Noreste, Tampico, Mexico

(8)

Strategies for Growth, Development, and Change, New York, NY, USA

(9)

Healthcare Administration, CA, USA

End Abstract

Overview (Dr. Kelley A. Conrad)

Diversity management is growing steadily as the Internet and global communications have been clearly increasing the role of multicultural factors in many environments. Awareness and appreciation of diversity vary according to cultural milieu. What is effective in one culture can be counterproductive in another. Understanding diversity parameters and developing effectiveness with them can help individuals and organizations create strategies that support culturally appropriate diversity and enhance productivity.

Yukl (2010) described the need of managers to be effective leaders in different cultures as a “difficult but important responsibility” in this century. This importance has also been recognized by the emergence of cross-cultural research known as holo-cultural studies (Kinzer and Gillies 2009). Our research-based knowledge of cross-cultural effects is still limited. In a comprehensive review of “Cross-cultural and Global Issues in Organizational Psychology,” Erez (2011) noted the issues of cross-cultural influences in organizations are underrepresented in research literature. Today, managers are often part of multinational organizations (MNOs) and integrated in virtual and face-to-face multicultural teams (MCTs). These roles require managers to develop shared meaning systems that overcome geographical and cultural differences. Erez identified three important perspectives considered in cross-cultural studies: the multilevel model of culture (Hofstede 1980, 2001; de Mooij and Hofstede 2010), the cross-cultural comparisons of the dimensions describing two or more cultures (House et al. 2004; Schwartz 1992, 1994), and the broad global and multicultural focus on social entities and multigovernmental organizations (Brunsson and Jacobsson 2000; Drori 2006; Erez and Drori 2009; Meyer 2002). In the conclusion to Erez’s chapter, the author proposed:

… that cultures are converging at the global level but maintaining their uniqueness at the national and local levels. Underneath the surface of globalization, there is high variance in cultural values, histories, political regimes, religions, and external physical and climatic conditions that differentiate among cultures and require different patterns of cultural adaptation. Therefore, people are likely to live in more than one cultural sphere, and to do this they are likely to use more than one language, more than one code of behaviors, and more than one social identity. (p. 841)

This chapter will explore co-cultural diversity in terms of continental specifics with contributions from residents in South Africa , India , Germany , Mexico , and the USA . Key variables explored will be historical perspectives, commitment to the organization, perceptions of fairness and respect, and frustrations in the work environment. Understanding of, respect for, and positive incorporation of ideas from diverse cultures around the world while remaining flexible in approach and oriented toward people can support improved workplace and social dynamics.

South Africa (Dr. Herman van Niekerk)

South Africa provides an interesting perspective into a study of diversity management . The motivation for diversity management is largely driven by globalization, the subsequent demands of an expanding multicultural workforce, and to a lesser extent the need for innovation. However, the necessity for diversity management in South Africa was not so much driven by globalization as by political pressure and labor laws which were introduced during the last 20 years. The country has several different ethnic groups, which the late President Nelson Mandela referred to as the rainbow nation . The country has eleven official languages, and although English is the dominant language used in the business environment, Afrikaans is also prominent in specific regions of the country.

This mixture of languages and cultures had its origin more than 300 years ago, when the first Europeans settled in the Cape of Good Hope to establish a halfway station between Europe and the Far East. The original settlers were Dutch which were later joined by French Huguenots and Germans, who fled religious persecution in Europe. The early years of trade with the Eastern countries and the importation of slaves from Malaysia during the late 1600s defined the beginning of the diversity that exists today in South Africa . Furthermore, in the early 1900s, many laborers were brought from India to work on the sugar plantations of the country’s east coast. This potpourri of different nationalities, complemented by the four major African ethnic groups in the country, made up the population of the country today known as South Africa .

In 1994, the country made a peaceful transition to a fully democratic and socially integrated society after nearly 30 years of social and political struggles. Although the political dispensation provided the legal basis for a multicultural and integrated society, huge changes were required to ensure a fully inclusive business environment. Businesses had to adapt quickly to the new reality of a workforce that had to be increasingly diverse. Subsequently, with the emergence of legal requirements such as Affirmative Action (AA) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), significant demands were placed on diversity management to ensure that an integrated, multicultural workforce become optimally productive and to maintain a competitive advantage.

Diversity Management and Competitiveness

The question that remains to be asked is what impact diversity management had on competitiveness during the last twenty years with the implementation of the various laws mentioned in the previous paragraph? One way to answer it is by referring to the data from the Competitive Business Reports, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Those studies have been published since 1979, ranking the competitiveness of countries based on predetermined criteria. During the last twenty years, the report has become increasingly more sophisticated and the measurement criteria have been refined over time. Initial reports only considered a couple of competitive criteria, which were used to determine the Business Competitive Index (BCI). Since the early 2000s, the report has used seven competitive drivers, or pillars, which have been increased to twelve drivers in the latest reports. These twelve pillars were further refined to include specific indicators that are used to determine the competitive nature and capability of nations.

A comparative analysis of the WEF reports, over a 20-year period, had clearly showed that South Africa’s competitiveness has fallen nearly 20 positions, from being ranked at number 29 in 1998 to number 49 in 2014/2015. These overall data are reflected in Fig. 1.1. During this time, the WEF also increased the number of countries from an initial 101 in 1998 to 140 in 2015. Admittedly, while there are 12 key pillars of overall competitiveness , as indicated by the World Economic Forum data, the following factors may directly and indirectly be related to diversity management and labor force practice. To understand how diversity management relates to competitiveness and organizational commitment and workplace frustrations, the following four criteria were pulled from the WEF reports, namely: (1) Pay and Productivity, (2) Brain drain, (3) Nature of competitive advantage, and (4) Availability of Scientists and Engineers.

Fig. 1.1

South Africa’s global competitiveness ranking 1998–2015

The Fig. 1.2 presents data related to the four individual criteria. Fluctuations in three of those four drivers show a spike in 2009–2010. In contrast, the “Pay and Productivity” driver shows a sharp rise and South Africa has dropped 33 places in pay and productivity competitiveness in global terms, ranking now 127 out of 140 countries. Considering that the country’s overall competitiveness dropped 20 places and is now ranked in position 120 out of 140 countries, a question should be raised: How effective was diversity management in this situation?

Fig. 1.2

Key drivers of competitive...