The evolution of business management skills has risen over the years. We have witnessed change, especially through technological advances. While technology is essential and makes work easy, it has its advantages and its negative side. For example, a number of people have been rendered jobless and replaced by machines that most of the work.
Competition has been there since the beginning of the formation of a multi-business with similar products. It is also present in our current reality, and the implementation of diverse cultural management is definitely applicable. In the article by Cox & Blake (1991 , the authors talks about several social responsibilities of an organization that benefits from successful diversity management. I believe the several factors have worked and been effective and will work even in our current reality.
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The use of diversity as a competitive advantage can create sound management. The first factor is cost. Organizations that fail to make changes in order to keep employees from different backgrounds are likely to suffer a significant competitive advantage compared to those that do ( Cox & Blake, 1991). However, the organizations that are quick to create a conducive working environment for inclusivity of all employees gain a relative competitive edge. Research showed that job satisfaction levels are often lower for minorities. New adjustments can be made for them to relate to our current reality.
The cost savings of an organization should be judged against the investment. This data suggests that managing diversity efforts have reduced the level of absenteeism and overall turnover costs of each employee. The heterogeneous culture of an organization would be influenced work productivity greatly. All members should get an equal opportunity to contribute to group cohesiveness, perceptions, potential communications, and address interpersonal conflicts. Neglecting diversity would be neglecting potential improvement.
The second factor is acquiring resources. Resources acquisition is applicable in our reality. Acquiring resources means retaining and attracting valuable employees from different demographic groups, which is a related competition issue. According to research, organization competes to hire from race ethnic minority groups such as the women. Employees from these groups have demonstrated organizational change efforts to manage diversity ( Cox & Blake, 1991). As the reputations will continue to grow, the supply of white males will shrink, and it will reflect magnified organizational competitiveness. Some companies even used favorable publicity to recruit women and race-ethnic communities. However, this strategy could be modified to fit our current developed world and identify scarce resources and substitute for this. Companies with good reputations correspond with favorable public relations.
The third factor is marketing. The culture has a significant effect on the behaviors of the consumer. Much of the research shows that cross-national differences and their behavior influence cross-cultural differences (Cox & Blake, 1991) . In some cases, people from the minor group are likely to patronize a representative from their own group. This is forcing many companies to address cultural differences that affect consumers. The United States, for example, contains a heterogeneous population and represents a possible advantage in international competitiveness. Unless discriminated marketing is reviewed, this culture is not applicable in the current reality.
The fourth factor is creativity. Kantar’s study of innovations in organizations shows that most companies deliberately establish heterogonous to create a market of ideas. He says that it is important to recognize that different perspectives need to be brought in order to tackle a problem easily( Cox & Blake, 1991). More research also shows that groups exposed to minority views were more creative than the homogenous majority. Persistent exposure to minority perspectives stimulates a creative thought process. As long as the team has the same abilities, then the heterogeneous team will always be more creative. To achieve this, heterogeneous members must be aware of attitude differences between them. Diversity also has to be managed by informing the members of their cultural differences would also consider cultural awareness training as an emerging trend in diversity management to fit in the current world.
The fifth factor is problem-solving. Diverse groups have several ways to approach and tackle problems. Research done at the University of Michigan in 1961 shows that heterogeneous groups produced better quality solutions compared to homogenous groups. It was noted that mixing sees and personalities appeared to have freed restraining to come up with solutions given the problem. This particular factor is useful in the modern business world and tackling diversity by mixing different classifications tackles the issue of having a group with similar perspectives ( Cox & Blake, 1991).
A standard business code has emerged in today’s multicultural business environment to get along with one another. American English is the international standard language of business. Suppose one does not adhere to these standards, they immediately set themselves up for criticism. Business plays an important role in facilitating cooperative relations among people. Companies are directly targeted by growing tensions, Polarization of cultures, religion, and ethnicity to undermine sustainable business environments.
I think modern business managers should adopt and promote intercultural understanding and dialogue on the sustainability agenda. This will influence collaboration between governments and the civil society in addressing major emerging challenges. Employees will also have to develop personal improvement skills. For instance, an active listening skill that helps one to communicate well, start a conversation and actively participate in it fully. They have to learn to eliminate distracters like accents, beliefs, looks, and even the environment.
In conclusion, an organization should undertake a comprehensive analysis of the culture and human resource systems, for example, performance appraisal, recruitment, promotions, potential assessments, and compensation. They should begin by uncovering favorable members of certain cultural groups and potential biasness. Lastly, I would identify ways in which cooperate culture may be affecting members inadvertently with regards to their cultural background and their present working environment.
References
Cox, T. H., & Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Perspectives , 5 (3), 45-56.
