what is a multicultural organization? do you think such an organization exists? course hero

by Cornelius Hegmann 3 min read

What is organizational culture?

Dec 07, 2015 · A multicultural organization is one that has achieved high levels of diversity and can capitalize fully on the advantages of the diversity and has few diversity - related problems . I do not think a true multicultural organization exists because I feel it is impossible for any organization to meet all of the characteristics of what it means to be a true multicultural …

Are the cultures of organizations always monolithic?

Nov 18, 2015 · A ) Multicultural organization : is one that has achieved high levels of diversity , can capitalize fullu on the advantages of the diversity , and has few diversity related issue . Yes multicultural organizations do exist . For example , roughly 45 percent of KFC ’s franchisees are people of different races and nationalities .

How can an individual and an organization accommodate cultural difference?

A multicultural workforce can give an organization an important edge when expanding into new markets. Often, a product or service needs to be adapted to succeed overseas. Understanding local laws, regulations, and customs, as well as the competitive landscape, can help a …

Is a culture of diversity and inclusion the key to success?

May 15, 2013 · If you want to provoke a vigorous debate, start a conversation on organizational culture. While there is universal agreement that (1) it exists, and (2) that it plays a …

Why is multiculturalism important?

A multicultural workforce can give an organization an important edge when expanding into new markets. Often, a product or service needs to be adapted to succeed overseas. Understanding local laws, regulations, and customs, as well as the competitive landscape, can help a business to thrive.

How do globally oriented companies benefit from cultural diversity?

By drawing from a culturally diverse talent pool, companies benefit from hiring professionals with a broad range of skills that are often not accessible when hiring locally. Globally oriented companies can add to their service range by leveraging the skills and experience their international employees bring to the table.

Why is local market knowledge important?

Local market knowledge and insight makes a business more competitive and profitable. Cultural sensitivity, insight, and local knowledge means higher quality, targeted marketing. Drawing from a culturally diverse talent pool allows an organization to attract and retain the best talent.

Who is Katie Reynolds?

Written by Hult contributing blogger Katie Reynolds who is a freelance writer based in London. Originally from Michigan in the U.S., she relocated to the U.K. in 2010 to pursue a master’s degree at Hertford College, Oxford. Today, she writes on topics including business, higher education, healthcare, and culture.

Why is it important to have a diverse team?

Diverse teams are more productive and perform better. Greater opportunity for personal and professional growth. Challenges: Colleagues from some cultures may be less likely to let their voices be heard. Integration across multicultural teams can be difficult in the face of prejudice or negative cultural stereotypes.

What are the benefits of working with colleagues from different cultures?

Colleagues from different cultures can also bring with them different workplace attitudes, values, behaviors, and etiquette. While these can be enriching and even beneficial in a diverse professional environment, they can also cause misunderstandings or ill feelings between team members.

Is professional communication difficult?

Professional communication can be misinterpreted or difficult to understand across languages and cultures. Navigating visa requirements, employment laws, and the cost of accommodating workplace requirements can be difficult. Different understandings of professional etiquette. Conflicting working styles across teams. 1.

What is culture in organizations?

Sense-making has been defined as “a collaborative process of creating shared awareness and understanding out of different individuals’ perspectives and varied interests.” Note that this moves the definition of culture beyond patterns of behavior into the realm of jointly-held beliefs and interpretations about “what is.” It says that a crucial purpose of culture is to help orient its members to “reality” in ways that provide a basis for alignment of purpose and shared action.

What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture is shaped by and overlaps with other cultures — especially the broader culture of the societies in which it operates. This observation highlights the challenges that global organizations face in establishing and maintaining a unified culture when operating in the context of multiple national, regional and local cultures. How should leaders strike the right balance between promoting “one culture” in the organization, while still allowing for influences of local cultures?

Why is organizational culture important?

It says that organizational culture functions much like the human immune system in preventing viruses and bacteria from taking hold and damaging the body.

What is the role of culture in society?

Culture is a social control system. Here the focus is the role of culture in promoting and reinforcing “right” thinking and behaving, and sanctioning “wrong” thinking and behaving. Key in this definition of culture is the idea of behavioral “norms” that must be upheld, and associated social sanctions that are imposed on those who don’t “stay within the lines.” This view also focuses attention on how the evolution of the organization shaped the culture. That is, how have the existing norms promoted the survival of the organization in the past? Note: implicit in this evolutionary view is the idea that established cultures can become impediments to survival when there are substantial environmental changes.

What is implicit in evolutionary view?

Note: implicit in this evolutionary view is the idea that established cultures can become impediments to survival when there are substantial environmental changes. “Culture is the organization’s immune system.”. — Michael Watkins. Culture is a form of protection that has evolved from situational pressures.

Is culture monolithic or multilithic?

The cultures of organizations are never monolithic. There are many factors that drive internal variations in the culture of business functions (e.g. finance vs. marketing) and units (e.g. a fast-moving consumer products division vs. a pharmaceuticals division of a diversified firm).

What is culture in the social world?

There are many definitions of culture. Culture typically refers to a set of symbols, rituals, values, and beliefs that make one group different from another. Culture is learned and shared with people who live or lived in the same social environment for a long time.

Why is social organization important?

The social organization of a group is influenced by culture and other factors. Within the social organization of a group of people, there are leaders.

What is a leader in a community?

Leaders are individuals who have followers, a constituency, or simply a group of people whom they can influence. A community builder needs to know who the leaders are in a group in order to get support for his community building work.

Why did Central Americans flee poverty?

Many Central Americans fled the poverty and oppression in their countries to seek a more secure and better life in a new place. As one person settled in the new location and saved enough money, he or she would help family members to migrate. Because of the informal and extended family networks that are part of the Central American culture, natural support systems develop to assist new arrivals.

What is Central American soccer?

Soccer ("football") is a favorite activity among Central Americans. It is not unusual to see adults and children from Central American countries playing soccer in public parks and school compounds. Central American countries are very proud of their national soccer teams.

What is Brown University's training material?

Brown University Training Materials : Cultural Competence and Community Studies: Concepts and Practices for Cultural Competence. The Northeast Education Partnership provides online access to PowerPoint training slides on topics in research ethics and cultural competence in environmental research. These have been created for professionals/students in environmental sciences, health, and policy; and community-based research.

Why do people migrate to the Caribbean?

Typically, most immigrants come because they already have a relative or a friend that lives in the United States. They move in with the relatives or friends who also help them find their first job. In the Caribbean culture, there is a tradition of helping the new arrivals through rotating credit associations or saving clubs, otherwise known as susus. According to this tradition, a group of people pools their money and then loans it to someone who needs it. The borrower pays back the loan over a period of time and commits to stay in the susu until the payment is complete.

What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences, philosophy, as well as the values that guide member behavior, and is expressed in member self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules ...

How does organizational culture affect people?

Organizational culture affects the way people and groups interact with each other, with clients, and with stakeholders. Also, organizational culture may influence how much employees identify with their organization (Schrodt, 2002). In business terms, other phrases are often used interchangeably, including “corporate culture,” “workplace culture,” ...

Why should training be provided to all employees?

Training should be provided to all employees to help them understand the new processes, expectations, and systems.

What is culture based on?

Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid (The Business Dictionary). Culture also includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits (Needle, 2004).

What is an established culture?

While leaders are the principal architects of culture, an established culture influences what kind of leadership is possible (Schein, 2010). Leaders must appreciate their role in maintaining or evolving an organization’s culture. A deeply embedded and established culture illustrates how people should behave, which can help employees achieve their ...

What is person culture?

Person culture is a culture in which horizontal structures are most applicable. Each individual is seen as more valuable than the organization itself. This can be difficult to sustain, as the organization may suffer due to competing people and priorities (Boundless, 2015).

What is adaptive culture?

Adaptive Culture and Adhocracy Culture. The extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas and personal expression are vital parts of adaptive cultures and adhocracy cultures. Adaptive cultures value change and are action-oriented, increasing the likelihood of survival through time (Costanza et al., 2015).

What is organizational structure?

Organizational structure is something that is best decided upon internally, through a process of critical thinking and discussion by members of the group. In your discussions, your answers to the following list of questions may guide your decisions.

What is structure in an organization?

Structure is what ensures that your organization will function smoothly and as you intended. You should think about structure early in the development of your organization, but be aware that the type that fits best may change as your organization grows.

What are the sections of a chapter?

Chapter Sections. Section 1. Organizational Structure: An Overview. Section 2. Creating and Gathering a Group to Guide Your Initiative. Section 3. Developing Multisector Task Forces or Action Committees for the Initiative. Section 4. Developing an Ongoing Board of Directors.

When was the article Designing and Developing the Organization published?

Designing and Developing the Organization, published on August 2008 by Business Excellence. This article focuses on four key areas of the organizational design process, and also describes the procedures as well as practices necessary to successfully design and develop a new organizational structure.

What is a coordinating council?

A coordinating council (also referred to as a coordinating committee, executive committee, and executive council ), modifies broad, organization-wide objectives and strategies in response to input from individuals or committees. Often, one person will take the place of the coordinating council, or may serve as its head.

What is a grantmaker?

Grantmakers exist on an international, national, state, and local level and may be private companies and foundations, or local, county, state, or federal government organizations (for example, block grants given by the city would fall into this category).

What is a media committee?

A health organizations committee focuses on increasing access and use of the youth clinic. The media committee works to keep children's issues in the news , and includes professionals from the local television stations, radio stations, newspaper, and a marketing professional.

What are cultural barriers?

Cultural barriers are challenges to cross-cultural communication within an organization. When people from different cultures who might speak different languages, have different cultural beliefs or use different gestures and symbols to communicate, their cultural differences might become barriers to workplace success.

What is culture in the world?

Culture is the plethora of differences that characterize the world today. According to anthropologist Cristina De Rossi, culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things.

How to overcome cultural barriers?

Employ diversity training. Another way to overcome cultural barriers is to ensure there is an inclusion of people of different cultural backgrounds in the workplace. Diversity training can potentially foster inclusive work culture, encourage teamwork and leadership, create new opportunities, and thereby create a positive work culture. ...

Why is knowledge sharing important?

The evidence shows that knowledge sharing and collective contribution produce creative outcomes. Knowledge from different cultural backgrounds and experiences stimulates cultural inclusion and results in innovation. Thus, it is beneficial for both individuals and organizations to make knowledge sharing an important part of their culture.

Why is clear communication important?

Clear and polite communication reduces the chances of surprises, crises, and confrontation. Both employers and employees should take diversity and cultural difference into account while drafting communication material. This can include:

What is organizational development?

Organizational development focus es on increased communication to influence employees to bring about desired changes. The need for employee development stems from constant industry and market changes. This causes an organization to regularly enhance employee skills to meet evolving market requirements.

How does organizational development affect the bottom line?

Organizational development affects the bottom line in a variety of ways. Through raised innovation and productivity, efficiency and profits are increased.

Why is communication important in an organization?

The goal of improving communication is to align all employees to shared company goals and values. also leads to increased understanding of the need for change within the organization. Communication is open across all levels of the organization and relevant feedback is recurrently shared for improvement.

How is innovation achieved?

Innovation is achieved through employee development, which focuses on rewarding successes and boosting motivation and morale. In this scenario, employee engagement is high leading to increased creativity and innovation.

What is OD in business?

OD is the practice of planned, systemic change in the beliefs, attitudes and values of employees for individual and company growth. The purpose of OD is to enable an organization to better respond and adapt to industry/market changes and technological advances.