The recruitment of employees is one of the most important aspects that determines the success of a business. Indeed, highly qualified and efficient employees enable a company to perform better. In recent years, the world has witnessed globalization meaning that people from all parts of the world can quickly move from one country to another hence increasing global business. Additionally, e-commerce has revolutionized the way of doing business as customers can make orders for products through online companies such as eBay and Amazon. In addition, individuals from diverse backgrounds are getting to interact more (Ali, Metz, & Kulik, 2015). Our societies are also becoming more culturally diverse from day to day. Therefore, it is crucial for employers to embrace a multi-cultural staff because of the immense benefits attributed to it. It determines whether the organization would be able to achieve its goals amid the challenges brought about by globalization. In the recent past, companies have been embracing the idea of having a multicultural staff (Prasad, 2012). This paper focuses on the various benefits that are associated with the employment of a multicultural staff.
Benefits of a Multicultural Staff within the Aviation Industry
The aviation industry is one of the most vibrant in the world. Every day, millions of travelers move around the world using these means of transport. Most of the flight attendants and cabin crew have the privilege of traveling in different countries while on duty. As these employees move from one state to another, they get to interact with people from diverse backgrounds hence different cultures. In business, it is paramount to provide quality services to all customers regardless of their cultural backgrounds. The dynamicity of the aviation industry thus means it has to employ people from different cultural backgrounds and with diverse cultures to help in meeting the needs of the customers. To this end, several benefits are associated with the recruitment of a multi-cultural staff in the aviation industry as discussed below.
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Improved Creativity
Creativity is crucial for any business to succeed. Customers from different regions have various preferences, and thus it is vital to provide services that can meet these demands of the market. Sometimes it is difficult to find ways of providing the best services to the customers in a particular market. However, with increased competition especially in the aviation industry, there is an absolute need to provide the best services that would attract and retain customers. By employing a multi-cultural staff, a company in the aviation industry is able to meet the demands of its customers.
Most airlines operate in different countries serving people with different cultures. For example, an airline in Australia may serve customers traveling to other countries such as China or France. The Chinese people have their preferences for food and other services offered by the airline. Consequently, the airline would be forced to employ Chinese employees who understand better the needs of the Chinese market. Additionally, people from France have their tastes too. Therefore, the aviation company would need to employ people who would help to serve the needs of the French market. As the company brings together employees from different cultures to work together in the same environment, they tend to share ideas and find new ways of satisfying the needs of the customers. In other words, employment of a multi-cultural staff promotes innovation among the employees. In the 21st century, competition in the aviation industry has been on the rise because of globalization. Therefore, innovation is paramount to the survival of the business. Indeed, a multi-cultural staff promotes a better understanding of the market hence enabling the company to come up with creative ways of dealing with the increased competition. In simple terms, a multicultural workforce is capable of accomplishing tasks more creatively while at the same time having a fresh approach to issues.
Improved Productivity
A multi-cultural staff enhances the productivity of the workforce. When people from different cultures work together, they get to understand the weaknesses of the staff members from other cultures ( Ayub, Aslam, & Razzaq, 2013 ). For example, if the aviation company employs an employee from Germany and another one from Tanzania, the two can borrow best practices from each other’s culture hence improving productivity. Germans are known to be very conscious of time, and they would feel offended to work in an environment where time is not appropriately managed; On the other hand, people from other countries may not be having the same attitude regarding proper time management. Therefore, when these employees work together, they develop the approach of keeping time with their various duties. Consequently, they end up improving the performance of the company.
Employees from different cultures tend to develop a sense of commitment and responsibility at work. As people from various backgrounds interact with one another, they learn to appreciate the need to work with total commitment to their work. For instance, the Japanese are well known because of their commitment to their work. Indeed, most employees in Japan put the interests of their employers first before own interests. Therefore, having such employees in the company will enable them to share their ideas with other employees from elsewhere hence inculcating the same values to them. Committed employees require minimal supervision to perform their duties. Therefore, they are capable of working better thus improving the performance of the business. Additionally, it helps in reducing the costs that are likely to be incurred in situations where employees need close supervision to perform their duties. It is evident that productivity can be boosted significantly by just employing people from various cultural backgrounds. As Brito, Neto, Smith & Pedersen (2014) contend, employees often work depending on the strengths and weaknesses of their workmates. Being dynamic, a multi-cultural staff in the aviation industry would spur productivity to a higher level.
Alignment with Global Workforce
The world is witnessing rapid changes due to globalization. At the center of this is technology, which has made it possible for people from all over the world to interact through various social media platforms. To this end, businesses have managed to grow rapidly and expanded to operate at the international stage. The tourism industry has also attained significant growth due to improved air transport over the past few years. Because of globalization, people can now move easily from one country to another for purposes of doing business and other activities. Therefore, airlines deal with customers from various backgrounds every day. It is thus essential for these companies to employ people who can be in a position to interact with global customers. Indeed, this calls for the companies to hire employees from diverse backgrounds with the view of aligning the business with the global trends in staffing. This ensures that the business is able to perform well in the market regardless of the challenges that come with globalization (Lozano & Escrich, 2017). Put simply, it ensures stability in the market.
Improved Services to the Customers
Customer satisfaction is an essential element for any business to succeed. Companies invest billions of dollars every year in trying to innovate better ways of meeting and satisfying the needs of the customers. Therefore, identifying the customer needs and providing the right services enables a business to cater to the customer's demands adequately. Consequently, the customers are able to become more loyal to the services offered by the company. A multicultural staff ensures that various target markets are reached. For example, it would be much easier for a Japanese employee to do sales and marketing for the aviation company in Japan as compared to somebody from another country. Additionally, it would be much easier for a Chinese to do the same job of sales and marketing in China as compared to an outsider (Ayub, Aslam, & Razzaq, 2013). Foreigners are likely to face a myriad of challenges when it comes to serving a community that they do not understand. However, if a person from the same country is deployed to serve in that particular region, they are likely to perform their duties without encountering many difficulties. Therefore, a multicultural staff enables a company in the aviation industry to come up with better ways of serving its customers without having daunting challenges associated with cultural differences.
Enables the Company to Have a Pool of Talented Employees
Hiring employees from different cultural backgrounds encourages highly skilled people to apply for the jobs. A company that has embraced multicultural staffing is viewed as a tolerant place to work (Lozano & Escrich, 2017). Indeed, people would like to work in areas where they feel respected and valued. A multicultural staff promotes diversity of ideas. Despite the difference of opinions, the employees are able to work together in harmony hence enabling the business to achieve its business objectives. For example, an aviation company may have employees from different countries such as Canada, China, Russia, and Jamaica. Despite the fact that these countries have very different cultures, such people are able to transcend their differences and work together in harmony. Consequently, the company ends up attracting the best-skilled people. Put simply, multicultural staffing enables a company to become more effective in its operations. Additionally, the employees can learn from one another hence they are able to improve their skills.
Wide Array of Service Abilities
The aviation industry is mainly involved with the provision of services to customers of different cultural backgrounds (Brito Neto, Smith, & Pedersen, 2014). It is thus essential for the business to develop an understanding of their customers’ culture because it affects performance. Culture can influence how a customer perceives a particular type of product or service. Therefore, it is critical that the company operating in the aviation industry employ a multicultural staff that can easily identify the needs of the market. Moreover, a multicultural team enables the company to establish a good rapport with the customers. Members of staff from various regions can easily identify customers and potential customers. For example, Chinese members of staff can easily identify other Chinese who are customers and potential customers.
Variety of Viewpoints
The aviation industry is often faced with challenges that require the management to come up with quick and effective solutions. The sustainability of any business depends on whether the management can come up with clear solutions to challenges that may come up in the market. Therefore, a company in the aviation industry needs to constitute its staff in a way that will enable it to amass the necessary skills required to solve problems. Additionally, the company should put in place clear strategies that would encourage members of staff to present their ideas (Brito Neto, Smith, & Pedersen, 2014). The employment of a multicultural staff would go a long way to assist the company deal with any emerging challenges in the market with utmost urgency. A staff that is composed of people who hail from various cultural backgrounds would help the management to come up with better ways of finding a solution to challenges. However, people who have grown up in the same cultural environment are likely to have almost similar viewpoints and perceptions (Ljubica, Dulčić, & Aust, 2016). A variation in views is crucial because it provides different kinds of approaches that can be explored to provide solutions to the impending challenges.
If a company has employed people from one cultural background, it may not get the opportunity of getting diverse views on how to solve a challenge, as they tend to think and act in a particular manner. Whenever a problem arises within the company, it is crucial that a solution is found within the shortest time possible. However, having employees from the same cultural background may act as an impediment to the significant progress that could be attained if a multicultural staff was embraced.
Increased Adaptability
As stated earlier, the aviation industry is one of the most dynamic in the world today. Airlines deal with people from different cultural backgrounds every day. Additionally, employees in the aviation industry often find themselves shifting their places of work from one country to another. Therefore, they get to meet new people in new environments from time to time. It is common phenomena for people to experience culture shock when they visit new places with different cultures. Sometimes the culture shock may be too much that it affects the ability of the employee to perform duties effectively. Nonetheless, a multicultural staff helps to address this kind of problem because it provides an opportunity for people to interact and learn about different cultures (Prasad, 2012). Therefore, when such people are moved to work in new areas with different cultures, they are in a better position of adapting to the new culture ( Ayub, Aslam, & Razzaq, 2013 ). For example, if staff in the aviation company is composed of people from China, US, Egypt and South Korea, the employees get to share a lot of their various cultures. In a situation whereby an employee from France is to be posted in Egypt, he or she would already be having foreknowledge of the way Egyptians live. The impact of culture shock would not be that immense to the extent of impeding the ability of the person to discharge his or her duties. Additionally, allowing people from diverse backgrounds to work together enables the company to attain better results in the various markets (Ali, Metz, & Kulik, 2015). Therefore, multicultural staffing should be encouraged because of this significant aspect.
Promoted Understanding and Respect
People from different cultural backgrounds behave differently depending on the circumstances. Sometimes people misunderstand others because of their different cultures. To this end, mutual understanding among the staff is very crucial for any business to succeed since they are the people who manage the day-to-day activities. Additionally, it is paramount for the staff members to have a good understanding of the customers who they serve. Because of the dynamic nature of the aviation industry, it is possible for a misunderstanding between the customers and the staff to occur. However, having a multicultural team helps to prevent such incidences from happening (Ayub, Aslam, & Razzaq, 2013). Staff members from various cultural backgrounds can meet and share their diverse experiences and cultures. Through the interactions, they get to understand different cultures in a better way. Therefore, as they serve customers from other cultural backgrounds, they get to appreciate their needs and the right approaches to take in case of a challenge. In other words, a multicultural staff promotes understanding and respect among the staff members, the employees and the customers.
Conclusion
It is evident that a multicultural staff has numerous benefits that are essential for a successful business. Employment of people from various cultural backgrounds enables the company to improve the productivity of its employees. In addition, it promotes creativity and provides a platform for the employees to present their diverse viewpoints. Moreover, a multicultural staff facilitates the alignment of the company with the global trends in the workforce. Despite the fact that embracing a multicultural staff may cause some challenges such as increased costs in payment of salaries, these problems do not outweigh the benefits that are attributed to a multicultural staff.
References
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Ayub, A., Aslam, M. S., & Razzaq, A. (2013). Examining factors affecting diversity in the workplace. CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management , 4 (5).
Brito Neto, J. F., Smith, M., & Pedersen, D. (2014). E ‐ learning in multicultural environments: An analysis of online flight attendant training. British Journal of Educational Technology , 45 (6), 1060-1068.
Ljubica, J., Dulčić, Ž., & Aust, I. (2016). Linking individual and organizational cultural competences: One step closer to multicultural organization. Management: journal of contemporary management issues , 21 (Special issue), 51-82.
Lozano, J. F., & Escrich, T. (2017). Cultural diversity in business: A critical reflection on the ideology of tolerance. Journal of Business Ethics , 142 (4), 679-696.
Prasad, J. S. D. (2012). Workforce diversity and its impact on work culture of indian organisations. Journal of Commerce (22206043) , 4 (1).
