What are the benefits of understanding different cultures. Celebrating different cultures and diversity in the. Understanding cultural differences in the work place spring session b professor davis 562012 chamberlain college of nursing the importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work. Students are better prepared for a diverse workplace. You may be the type of person who gets right to the point. The typical american office has never been so diverse in terms of age, race, ethnicity and culture. Just as a society has different groups within it, an organization has different cultures.
However, when you step into a foreign culture, things suddenly seem different, and you dont want to cause offense. Understanding workplace values importance of culture fit. Team members prefer rewards to be equally distributed, and are very uncomfortable if individuals are singled out for specific contributions. Knowledge is the starting point to embracing diversity in the workplace and in the world. Exploring the influence of personal values and cultures in the workplace. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading understanding the worlds cultures. With gender diversity, one may begin to feel uncomfortable inside the workplace. In a highly collective culture like india or china, team roles are shared and fluid, with people pitching in wherever needed. In order for employees to feel comfortable in the workplace and achieve satisfaction, education and teaching on culture and diversity is essential.
Strategies for effective crosscultural communication. Understanding a different culture cultural identity. It is important for students to overcome stereotypes. What are different types of cultures in the workplace. This article looks at 10 different books that will help employees and. And finally, organizational culture consists of three levels. Trying to operate the wrong culture under the wrong leadership can often lead to problems within the workplace. There are many books available on cultural awareness.
Economic globalization is one of the driving forces of cultural diversity in the workplace. How to handle cultural differences in the workplace. We love this book, because godin unabashedly challenges. The importance of diversity in the classroom drexel university. For example, some religions prohibit blood transfers or organ donation. Cultural diversity in the workplace is a result of practices, values, traditions, or beliefs of employees based on race, age, ethnicity, religion, or gender. As you can see, the more diverse a work culture is, the more opportunity there is for learning and mixing up the status quo. All of them have been especially valuable to different members of our team, as weve grown from 1 to over 1,000 customers. Finding a common ground allows you to better understand. This book focuses on various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries from the practitioners viewpoint, as. Understanding workplace culture professionals australia. While diversity is often viewed in relation only to race, ethnic and gender differences, in the case of the workplace, diversity can cover all aspects in which people are different, including age, gender, ethnicity, language, cultural background, religious belief, sexual orientation and family responsibilities, as well as educational level, work and life experience, personality and marital status. By using hofstedes cultural dimensions as a starting point, you can evaluate your approach, your decisions, and your actions, based on a general sense of how people in a particular society might think and react. Cultural differences impact workplace communication.
If your organization has global offices, consider opportunities to help overseas workers assimilate with different countries cultures. Adapting to a new work culture is an ongoing process. To understand workplace culture, managers and leaders must look beyond the surface of culture to what lies beneath. Do a spot of research online or through books, and study some of the history and traditions of other cultures. Weve pulled together a roundup of some of our favorite books that we refer to, love.
Understand that people from different religious backgrounds often have religiouslybased convictions about delivery of health care services. Diversity and why it is important in todays work culture. Communication and negotiation between individuals of different cultures is successful when you learn to form cultural bridges. Humility is a basic value for many cultures hispanic culture included, which means that selfpromotion is not particularly appreciated, encouraged or even taught at home. Once you have the skills, you can work more effectively with different groups of people and adjust easily to working in different cultures throughout your career. But today, more than ever, a lack of intergenerational understanding has spilled into the workplace. What is the best book one must read to understand cultural. How to understand your current organization culture. Workplace culture in academic libraries sciencedirect. Overcoming cultural diversity challenges in the workplace. Flexibility means a willingness to see that others have a different outlook from our own and accepting the differing attitudes. While all cultures work in teams, the meaning of the team can be very different.
This book focuses on various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries from the practitioners viewpoint, as opposed to that of the theoretician. It requires an understanding of culture, subjective culture and cultural literacy. Being culturally aware is the backbone of communication and the foundation of respect, which is achieved by taking a step back and understanding that someone might have a different point of view because of their. Understanding cultural differences in the workplace essay. Building relationships with people from different cultures. Healing from the effects of internalized oppression. Developing cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures, and work with varying cultural beliefs and schedules. The culture of the workplace will affect your success, as well as everyone else in your organization. When you identify with other people, you sympathize with their situation. Adapting to different work cultures minority nurse. The focus should be on each individuals strengths and what they can bring to the table. Learning about different cultures can be a great way of developing an understanding of cultural diversity. In response, modern managers and hr professionals must come up with new solutions that embrace this growing diversity and learn how to manage cultural diversity. The workplace is a setting in which many people from different backgrounds and lifestyles can be brought together to work for the same goal.
Business policy may need to be adjusted in order to accommodate work cultures in different countries. The key to understanding and accepting cultural differences is flexibility. Wherever you have a community of people, that community develops its own culture. Being patient and understanding towards beliefs and norms of different cultures, speaking against discrimination at the workplace, and continuously learning about changing cultures are all an effective way to make workplaces more inclusive. Fostering cultural diversity in the workplace should help you drive innovation, creativity and retention.
This can damage work relationships, productivity, job satisfaction, and creative potential. Successful organisational change requires an indepth understanding of the workplace culture. Knowing that every person has to come up with their own concept and ideas on comfort, people may become a bit uncomfortable when they are confronted with different examples of those who go. Culture change is a process of giving and taking by all members of an organization. Cultural awareness is simply being aware of the many different cultures around you, whether it is in the workplace or at school. In order to eliminate the tension and encourage people to work as a team in the workplace, it is important to have a good understanding of the issues at hand, what causes them to arise. By learning and understanding different cultures you understand why people do things the way they do. In addition to being aware of the fact that their peers may be different, its also important for kids to learn about some of the unique and amazing things that come from other cultures and ways of life. How to create an effective crosscultural training program shrm. Cultural and personality differences exist in the workplace. If students are exposed to diversity and learn cultural awareness in the classroom, it sets them up to flourish in the workforce. Read about what we found to be the biggest benefits and most pressing issues. Willow being an american girl who went to egypt to pursue her work in arabic literature ended up falling in love with an e. An employer should emphasize civility and understanding in the workplace.
Different people from different cultures use different communication styles. The most important thing that you need to do when interviewing someone is understand his or her workplace values. Discover librarianselected research resources on workplace diversity from the. Colleagues from different cultures can also bring with them different workplace attitudes, values. Lots of problems can arise from misunderstandings, especially because we live in a multicultural world. An introduction to culture and diversity in the workplace 2.
List of books and articles about workplace diversity. Importance of understanding cultural diversity essay. Understanding the different cultures of different generations. List of books and articles about workplace diversity online.
Culture in the workplaces website uses cookies and similar technologies on this website in order to personalize this website to your interests and needs and to improve our services by understanding how visitors use this website. Understanding the culture of an organization means understanding how. Embracing cultural diversity in the workplace is important for internationally competitive businesses. This requires an understanding of the core values of the other culture as well as your own personal values. Workplace culture refers to conditions that collectively influence the work atmosphere.
Exploring the influence of personal values and cultures in the. Given the internationalization of business, and the increasing need to work. It is important to understand the way people comprehend, communicate and make decisions across different types of cross cultural backgrounds. Understanding cultural differences in the work place spring session b professor davis 562012 chamberlain college of nursing the importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment. Show tolerance when dealing with people from different cultures who might have value and belief systems that are different from your own. More than that, it means the willingness to find common ground for the greater good of workplace harmony. Global business expert erin meyer talks about navigating cultural differences in the workplace. A different culture may have the same cultural practices as yours. Dealing effectively with diversity in the workplace contributions in psychology 1st edition. Understanding cultures influence on behavior psy 399 introduction to. Conflict between generations is as old as parents and teenagers. When values are out of alignment, people work towards different goals, with different intentions, and with different outcomes.
Cultural intelligence and its importance in the workplace. Today ll get into details about exactly what you can do to help people from various backgrounds gel together into a well oiled machine. Discover the best workplace culture in best sellers. Talk to someone from a different cultural background. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads. The culture working best in the workplace depends on the business and how it is led. When you think of cultures in the workplace, you might think of the various nationalities of your colleagues. Cultures can be a source of competitive advantage for organizations. Celebrating different cultures will bring to light new thinking and understanding. Cultural and personality differences in the workplace.
Understanding culture and diversity in building communities. Understanding the worlds cultures by storti, craig ebook. This facilitates understanding and prevents misunderstandings. The more information learned about other cultures and different types of people, the more comfortable you will be interacting with these groups. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. How to earn a viable standard of living while giving vent to their desire to perform creative activities is the quintessential challenge for modern humans. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The best way to do that is to embrace a process that guarantees. It is just as important, during these interviews, to observe the behaviors and interaction patterns of the people as it is to hear what they say about the culture. Jul 09, 2015 last week, i talked about some of the experiences which have helped me figure out how to manage different cultures in the workplace.
A diverse work culture can help to facilitate an increase in cultural understanding, from employees learning new languages and understanding different mannerisms, to knowing the varying cultural rules. Reading is becoming integral to many company cultures, with good reason studies show that reading has significant benefits for employee development, which in turn can benefit the company. The front cover of this book attracted me and it did end up being one of the best books i have read on cultural differences. Jan 02, 2018 it is important to create a culture of inquiry where asking questions is encouraged. In todays society is becoming a mixing pot of heritages. Understanding culture and diversity in building communities main section. However, a colleague may take a more circular approach and take longer to say what needs to be said. With the rise of globalization, its more important to be able to work with people from different cultures and social groups. Although it may be difficult to interpret certain statements and behaviors, there must be a significant emphasis placed on the concept of acceptance and open mindedness. Cultural competence in a multicultural world section 1. Before choosing or designing a crosscultural training program, hr managers must thoroughly assess the workforce and its needs. Workplace culture is like an iceberg see figure 1 part of it is visible but. Understanding cultures for effective communication abstract the purpose of this paper is to examine the many different cultural backgrounds as a whole and come to the realization and conclusion that other cultures have the exact same fears and misguided interpretations that we have and face today. Another one of the most common examples of cultural differences in the workplace is how well and how much someone promotes their contributions.
Jun 30, 2016 an increasing number of companies are implementing workplace reading programs and book clubs. The anecdote, drawn from meyers book, shows how cultural miscues impede effective workplace communications. Here are 5 ways to overcome cultural barriers and embrace cultural difference. These can include policies, norms, and unwritten standards for behavior. But even today, although it has become part of the. Your company culture is the heart and soul of your organization, and it can mean.
How well the workplace embraces cultural diversity may spell a companys competitive edge and profitability. It should be highpriority reading for anyone who may come into contact with people from foreign cultures whether overseas corporate expatriates, study abroad participants, volunteers, missionaries, military personnel or at home in multicultural settings the workplace, school and other social or organizational contexts. How to deal with diversity in the healthcare workplace. Strong organizational cultures can be an organizing as well as a controlling mechanism for organizations. Home table of contents cultural competence and spirituality in community building chapter 27. Research by mckinsey and company report that companies with workforces comprising a large percentage of diversity in gender, race, and ethnicity often outperform the national industry median by as much as 35%. Culture is considered to be the underlying values that direct how people behave.
By creating a better understanding of these influences, the quality of organizations can be improved. An employer should aim to create crossfunctional teams so that individuals from different backgrounds can work together. Understanding cultures for effective communication essay. While there are myriad cultural variations, here are some essential to the workplace.