What is culture?

Culture is a definition highly misunderstood and misused, thus the need for an explanation:

Culture refers to the following Ways of Life, including but not limited to:

• Language : the oldest human institution and the most sophisticated medium of
expression
• Arts & Sciences: the most advanced and refined forms of human expression.
• Thought: the ways in which people perceive, interpret, and understand the world around
them.
• Spirituality: the value system transmitted through generations for the inner well-being of
human beings, expressed through language and actions.
• Social activity: the shared pursuits within a cultural community, demonstrated in a
variety of festivities and life-celebrating events.
• Interaction: the social aspects of human contact, including the give-and-take of
socialization, negotiation, protocol, and conventions.

All of the above collectively define the meaning of Culture.

What is Diversity?

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each
individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the
dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical
abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these
differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment.

It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and
celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

Types of Diversity
People are different from each other in many ways:
Age
Gender
Educational experience
Ethnic origin – racial, religion or linguistic
Disability – mental capacity or physical ability
Sexual Orientation
Background / social class
What is meant by Cultural Diversity?

Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world
as a whole. (The term is also sometimes used to refer to multiculturalism within an organization.)

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to

the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level,
e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists
advocate extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without promoting any
specific ethnic, religious, and/or cultural community values as central.

Multinational Corporation
Multinational Corporation (MNC) is a corporation or enterprise that manages
Production or delivers services in more than one country. The first modern MNC is generally
thought to be the Dutch East India Company, established in 1602. Very large multinationals have
budgets that exceed some national GDPs. Multinational corporations can have a powerful
influence in local economies as well as the world economy. Multinational corporations play an
important role in international relations and globalization. In Pakistan there are 165 companies
out of which there are 47multinational companies.

Top ten MNCs in Pakistan.

1. Unilever
2. Proctor & Gamble
3. Nestle
4. Chartered Bank
5. Siemens
6. KFC
7. Toyota
8. Pepsi Cola International
9. Mobilink
10. Caltex
Problems Caused by Cultural Differences

Three basic kinds of problems:

1. Interpreting others comments and actions

2. Predicting behavior
3. Conflicting behavior

Increasingly, managers must deal with multiple ethnic groups with very different cultures.
Thanks to globalization, you are likely to work with Japanese, French, Chinese, German and all
sorts of other nationalities. It is important to recognize that people from different cultures have
are different in a variety of ways, including

• different ways of looking at things

• different ways of dressing
• different ways of expressing personality/goodness

In an ideal world ...

• the policemen would be English

• the car mechanics would be German
• the cooks would be French
• the innkeepers would be Swiss,

• and the lovers would be Italian

In a living hell ...

• the policemen would be German

• the car mechanics would be French
• the cooks would be English
• the innkeepers would be Italian

• and the lovers would be Swiss

These differences can cause problems interpreting what the other person is doing. Some simple
examples:

Examples

• You greet your Austrian client. This is the sixth time you have met over the last 4
months. He calls you Herr Smith. You think of him as a standoffish sort of guy who
 doesn't want to get really friendly. That might be true in America, where calling someone
Mr. Smith after the 6th meeting would probably mean something -- it is marked usage of
language -- like "we're not hitting it off". But in Austria, it is normal.

• A Canadian conducting business in Kuwait is surprised when his meeting with a high-
ranking official is not held in a closed office and is constantly interrupted. He starts
wondering if the official is as important as he had been led to believe, and he starts to
doubt how seriously his business is being taken

• A British boss asked a new, young American employee if he would like to have an early
lunch at 11 am each day. The employee said 'Yeah, that would be great!' The boss
immediately said "With that kind of attitude, you may as well forget about lunch!" The
employee and the boss were both baffled by what went wrong. [In England, saying
"yeah" in that context is seen as rude and disrespectful.

• A Japanese businessman wants to tell his Norwegian client that he is uninterested in a

particular sale. So he says "That will be very difficult." The Norwegian eagerly asks how
he can help. The Japanese is mystified. To him, saying that something is difficult is a
polite way of saying "No way in hell!” Dave Barry tells the story of being on a trip to
Japan and working with a Japanese airline clerk on taking a flight from one city to
another. On being asked about it, the clerk said "Perhaps you would prefer to take the
train." So he said "NO, I want to fly." So she said "There are many other ways to go." He
said "yes, but I think it would be best to fly." She said "It would very difficult".
Eventually, it came out that there were no flights between those cities.

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE CREATION AND TO DEAL THE CONFLICTS

BETWEEN MULTICULTURES AND MANAGEMENT OF A
MULTICULTURAL WORK FORCE
Experts indicate that business owners and managers who hope to create and manage an effective,
harmonious multicultural work force should remember the importance of the following:

• Setting a good example—This basic tool can be particularly valuable for small business
owners who hope to establish a healthy environment for people of different cultural
backgrounds, since they are generally able to wield significant control over the business's
basic outlook and atmosphere.
• Communicate in writing—Company policies that explicitly forbid prejudice and
discriminatory behavior should be included in employee manuals, mission statements, and
other written communications. Jorgensen referred to this and other similar practices as
"internal broadcasting of the diversity message in order to create a common language for all
members of the organization."
• Training programs—Training programs designed to engender appreciation and
knowledge of the characteristics and benefits of multicultural work forces have become
ubiquitous in recent years. "Two types of training are most popular: awareness and skill-
building," wrote Cox. "The former introduces the topic of managing diversity and generally
includes information on work force demographics, the meaning of diversity, and exercises to
get participants thinking about relevant issues and raising their own self-awareness. The skill-
building training provides more specific information on cultural norms of different groups and
how they may affect work behavior." New employee orientation programs are also ideal for
introducing workers to the company's expectations regarding treatment of fellow workers,
whatever their cultural or ethnic background.
• Recognize individual differences—Writing in The Complete MBA
Companion, contributor Rob Goffee stated that "there are various dimensions around which
differences in human relationships may be understood. These include such factors as
orientation towards authority; acceptance of power inequalities; desire for orderliness and
structure; the need to belong to a wider social group and so on. Around these dimensions
researchers have demonstrated systematic differences between national, ethnic, and religious
groups." Yet Goffee also cautioned business owners, managers, and executives to recognize
that differences between individuals can not always be traced back to easily understood
differences in cultural background: "Do not assume differences are always 'cultural.' There are
several sources of difference. Some relate to factors such as personality, aptitude, or
competence. It is a mistake to assume that all perceived differences are cultural in origin. Too
many managers tend to fall back on the easy 'explanation' that individual behavior or
performance can be attributed to the fact that someone is 'Italian' or 'a Catholic' or 'a woman.'
Such conclusions are more likely to reflect intellectually lazy rather than culturally sensitive
managers."
• Actively seek input from minority groups—Soliciting the opinions and involvement of
minority groups on important work committees, etc., is beneficial not only because of the
contributions that they can make, but also because such overtures confirm that they are valued
by the company. Serving on relevant committees and task forces can increase their feelings of
belonging to the organization. Conversely, relegating minority members to superfluous
committees or projects can trigger a downward spiral in relations between different cultural
groups.
• Revamp reward systems—An organization's performance appraisal and reward systems
should reinforce the importance of effective diversity management, according to Cox. This
includes assuring that minorities are provided with adequate opportunities for career
development.
• Make room for social events—Companysponsored social events—picnics, softball
games, volleyball leagues, bowling leagues, Christmas parties, etc.—can be tremendously
useful in getting members of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together and providing
them with opportunities to learn about one another.
 • Flexible work environment—Cox indicated that flexible work environments—which he
characterized as a positive development for all workers—could have particularly "beneficial to
people from nontraditional cultural backgrounds because their approaches to problems are
more likely to be different from past norms."
• Don't assume similar values and opinions—Goffee noted that "in the absence of reliable
information there is a well-documented tendency for individuals to assume that others are 'like
them.' In any setting this is likely to be an inappropriate assumption; for those who manage
diverse work forces this tendency towards 'cultural assimilation' can prove particularly
damaging."
• Continuous monitoring—Experts recommend that business owners and managers
establish and maintain systems that can continually monitor the organization's policies and
practices to ensure that it continues to be a good environment for all employees. This, wrote
Jorgensen, should include "research into employees' needs through periodic attitude surveys."

The nature and impact of national cultural differences

it is useful to identify clear framework for analyzing and understanding national cultural
differences. Such frameworks have been developed by researchers and consultants such as
Hofstadter and Trompenaars. While the respective merits and drawbacks of different frameworks
are widely discussed, I feel that use of one framework is helpful to illustrate the major issues
which need to be considered. For this purpose I have selected Hofstadter’s basic model.

In his original work Hofstadter identified four key dimensions which impact on natural cultural
differences. These are:

• Individualism/collectivism: This dimension reflects the extent to which individual’s

value self-determination as opposed to their behavior being determined by the collective
will of a group or organization.
• Power-distance: At the core of this dimension lies the question of involvement in
decision making. In low power-distance cultures, employees seek involvement and have
a desire for a participative management style. At the other end of this scale, employees
tend to work and behave in a particular way because they accept that they will be directed
to do so by the hierarchy or the organization.
• Uncertainty avoidance: This dimension is concerned with employees' tolerance of
ambiguity or uncertainty in their working environment. In cultures which have high
uncertainty avoidance, employees will look for clearly defined, formal rules and
conventions governing their behavior.
• Masculinity/femininity: This is possibly the most difficult dimension to use in an
organization context. In practice, the difficulty is more to do with terminology and
linguistics, in Hofstede's work the dimension related to values. In highly "masculine
cultures" dominant values relate to assertiveness and material acquisition. In highly
 "feminine cultures" values focus on relationship among people, concern for others and
quality of life.

Frequently understanding the nature and value of cultural diversity is not well embedded within
company thinking and practice. In many ways thinking in this area has not developed in line with
the trend to globalization. In an article in the Financial Times in April 1995 Houlder commented
on the apparent of organizations to develop managers with cross border capabilities

Low uncertainty avoidance High uncertainty avoidance

Achievement Security

Leader as facilitator Leader as expert

Minimum rules Emotional need for rules

Open-ended learning Structured learning

Table I. What is important

It may well be that effective performance of international management teams is as much to do

with the values of multinationals as with the development processes. Adler provides one
evidence for this in her analysis of organizational strategies for managing cultural diversity. This
analysis is summarized in Table II and highlights the parochial response as being the most
common.

However, it is important not only to understand differences between cultures. It is essential to

identify the potential advantages and disadvantages likely to be brought to a team by managers
of different cultures.

Table III, drawing from Hofstede's work, provides one illustration of comparative cultural
competitive strengths.
 Perceived Strategy for
Frequency
impact of managing the Most likely
Type of of
cultural impact of outcomes of
organization perception
diversity on cultural strategy
and strategy
organization diversity
Parochial: No impact: Ignore Problems: Very
Our way is the Cultural diversity differences: Problems will common
only way has no Ignore the occur but they
recognized impact of will not be
impact on the cultural diversity attributed to
organization on the culture
organization
Ethnocentric: Negative impact: Minimize Some problems Common
Our way is the Cultural diversity differences: and few
best way will cause Minimize the advantages:
problems for the sources and Problems will
organization impact of be reduced as
cultural diversity diversity is
on the decreased while
organization. If the possibility
possible, select a of creating
mono-cultural advantages will
workforce be ignored or
eliminated;
problems will
be attributed to
culture
Synergistic: Potential Manage Some problems Very
The negative and differences: and many uncommon
combination of positive impacts: Train advantages:
our way and Cultural diversity organizational Advantages to
their way may can members to the organization
be the best way simultaneously recognize will be realized
lead to problems cultural and recognized;
and advantages differences and some problems
for the use them to will continue to
organization create occur and will
advantages for need to be
the organization managed
 Table II. Organizational strategies for managing cultural diversity
Low High
Power distance
Accept responsibility Discipline
Individual College
Individual/collective
Management mobility Employee commitment
Low High
Uncertainty avoidance
Innovation Precision
Masculine Feminine
Masculine/feminine Efficiency Personal service
Mass production Custom building
Table III. Potential competitive advantages of different cultures

In looking at diversity in international management teams it is important not to focus exclusively

on the issue of cultural differences. In a recent Cranfield Executive Competences survey which
examined management teams on a pan-European basis Kakabadse made the observations that:

To differing degrees, the same sorts of problems are shared across different nation states. The
skill is not to be blinded by national parochial differences. Attention should be given to applying
those levers that are required to focus on attaining business goals.

Workplace Diversity

Cultural diversity includes the range of ways in which people experience a unique group identity,
which includes gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnic and age. An organization’s culture tends
to determine the extent to which it is culturally diverse.
Advantages and Disadvantages of cultural diversity
The diversity at workplace is increasing very rapidly. In fact because of the boom of
multinational companies and extension of businesses across the national boundaries, it has
become a very common practice to see cross culture diversity at workplace. There are both the
benefits and the demerits of cross culture at the workplace.

Advantages
The benefits includes that it increases the interpersonal skills of the employees. As people
belonging to various cultures work together therefore, they understand the views of different
people. It increases the teamwork skills in the people. Employees belonging to various cultures
also increase the skills available to the company. People can better interact with each other and
they develop the patience and competencies to compete with each other.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity

An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and
realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity
issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as:

Increased adaptability

Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to

problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds
bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to
fluctuating markets and customer demands.

Broader service range

A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a
company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

Variety of viewpoints

a diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a
larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business
strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

More effective execution

Companies that encourage workplace diversity inspire all of their employees to perform to their
highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then are executed; resulting in higher productivity,
profit, and return on investment.

Disadvantages

On the other hand the demerits of cross cultures in work place increase the conflict of interest. It
can create biased and favoritism in the office environment because may be minority feel
suppressed by the majority of the people. Moreover, cultural conflicts can also arise like
language problems, dress code etc. But still I think cross cultural diversity at work place is really
encouraging for the employees.

Challenges of Workplace Diversity

Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges.
Some of those challenges are:

Communication - Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity
programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of
teamwork, and low morale.

Resistance to change - There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the
social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The “we’ve always done it this way”
mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies - This can be the overriding challenge
to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data,
they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of workplace
diversity for their particular organization.

Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace - Diversity training alone is not

sufficient for your organization’s diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and
implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the
organization.

Examples of few MNCs in Pakistan with Cultural Diversity...

KFC in Pakistan

KFC came to Pakistan in 1996 with the first branch opening in Karachi and later in Lahore. The
Franchisee was a Pakistani owned and operated, Dubai-based company the Cupola Group, which
owns licenses and its own restaurant throughout Pakistan and the middle-east. South Region
including Karachi and Hyderabad (interior Sindh).North Region including Lahore, Rawalpindi
and Islamabad (Punjab).They have a total of 44outlets working in Pakistan. 1 outlet is in
Islamabad, 2 in Rawalpindi, 21 in Karachi, 11 in Lahore and other in others city of Pakistan like
Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Jhelum.KFC say that for the
last seven years they stand as the market leader in the fast food category and our strength lies in
the mass appeal of our products and great services.

When KFC started its businesses in Pakistan they had to employee the local people to run their
operations in Pakistan but being unaware of Pakistani cultural values n norms, they started their
operations and made it a hard and fast statement that “A man with a beard will not stand on their
counter, similarly a women with a hijab cannot stand on their customer counter.” In the
beginning it created allot of fuss in the local people and especially some of the religious active
groups. But later own everybody got used to it and even till date you will not see any man with
beard or women with hijab standing at the counter. But instead they are offered jobs in KFC for
some internal activities like branch manager and etc.

Telenor in Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan is keen to promote diversity and has achieved good results in this area. Telenor
has developed requirements for diversity in both recruitment and our management development
programs. There is an appropriate blend of less seasoned and experienced employees. No quota
has been assigned; the best-fit candidate (according to the job requirements) is employed. At the
office level or call centers, even fresh graduates are apt but the director level requires a masters
degree and preferably some work experience.
Telenor Pakistan has a large proportion of females who are recruited for internal leadership
development programs and executive positions on the basis of past performance. The
organization is working on Day Care Centers to help female employees manage their
responsibilities after settling down.
Relocation issues are dealt cooperatively when female individuals move out of the city after
marriage and wish to continue working. They are relocated and facilitated in the new city.

Conclusion

In conclusion, diversity should not be a "program" or an "initiative" within a business

organization. Rather diversity should be embraced as the way of doing business as a philosophy
of managing workforce and serving customers. When an employer runs an organization on the
premises of inclusion, diversity is a component of everything. It is a thread that is woven through
everyday business, and is integrated into short-term and long-term thinking.
Once a philosophy of diversity and inclusion has been installed into an organization, it must be
communicated regularly to the workforce. Constant reinforcement is necessary in a society
where all of us are bombarded by so many thoughts, ideas and commercial messages each
competing for our attention and many in conflict with another.
As our workforce becomes more diverse and as our economy expands to allow greater economic
opportunity for more individual, we must also increase the volume of our mutual respect for each
other. In business today, "programs' come and go, and management priorities tend to shift from
one quarter to the next. Diversity and inclusion should be integrated naturally into the total
organization, constant and unfailing. This will facilitate our success as we encourage diversity to
thrive in the workplace.

Recommendation

I would like to say that every company should work on diversity because it is very important for
everyone and in the end we are all human beings, so we should not have differentiation with each
other. And finishing I would like to add the 4 main points for diversity which are:
• “By using the company’s policy to do things in a positive way and celebrate the key people
driving the diversity policy, we have found that people remain motivated and more committed to
diversity and its benefits to the business.”

• “Diversity works best when its driven from the top, and is part of the way we relate to one
another no matter where we are in the company.”
• “Making the link between diversity and work life balance is critical.”
• “Recognizing that contributing to our communities complements our diversity vision.”