4.1 globalisation and international
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ManagingDiversityandCross-CulturalCommunication1.pptxManaging Diversity and Cross-Cultural Communication
Dr Amarachi Amaugo
Leicester Business School, DMU
HRMG 3203
Outline of lecture
What is Managing Diversity?
Why is it important?
Dynamics of teamwork in a cross-cultural environment.
Cross-cultural communication
What is ‘managing’ diversity?
‘Which of a multitude of differences between people justify us in treating them differently and which similarities justify similar treatment?’ (Edwards 1987: 45)
‘Managing Diversity’ refers to the various actions organisations can take to ensure that they are treating all employees (and potential employees) fairly and that they are not discriminating unfairly.
Managing Diversity has grown out of earlier, anti-discrimination work, sometimes called ‘equal opportunities’
Therefore: the focus of Managing Diversity is on people from groups that have historically experienced disadvantage in the labour market, and
As a concept, it originated in the US (and later in the UK) and this raises interesting questions about applying it in other parts of the world...)
What does it include?
Three levels of influence
The macro-context (society)
The mezzo context (the organisation
The micro-context (the individual)
Three levels of policy
The legislative context
Organisational policies
Organisational practices
The legislative requirements
Every country has some legislative requirements governing discrimination at work.
In the UK it is illegal to discriminate against anybody on the ground of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief or age.
Every employee and manager should make sure they know what are the minimum legal requirements in the countries you are working in.
Diversity management policies
ensure that all employees and applicants are treated fairly,
and that systems and practices do not discriminate against protected groups, whether consciously or unconsciously,
with special attention to practices of recruitment and selection, training and promotion, and providing a supportive environment.
Diversity management practices
Should include building an atmosphere of mutual respect,
Should ensure that all people feel welcomed and valued for their contributions,
That inappropriate, rude, disrespectful language, jokes, traditions and rituals are not allowed,
And that each individual is committed to challenging their own biases and prejudices.
But ‘managing diversity’ goes beyond the legal requirements:
This is a very often quoted definition from Kandola and Fullerton who wrote a CIPD book and are often credited with introducing the American ‘diversity’ discourse into the UK (and since which time it has largely replaced the earlier ‘equal opportunities’ discourse. It is, of course, a very problematic concept and many argue that it has the effect of masking underlying, systemic discrimination. Their book is listed in the references
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‘The basic concept of managing diversity accepts that the workforce consists of visible and non-visible differences which will include sex, age, background, race, disability, personality and work style. It is founded on the premise that harnessing these differences will create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where their talents are being fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met.’
(Kandola and Fullerton, 2003:19)
Working in Multi-cultural teams
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Working in Multi-cultural teams
HSBC ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOHvMz7dl2A
Cultural Misunderstandings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYbynThuONs
What areas of cultural difference did you identify?
How would you resolve these issues?
Understanding Cultural Difference
Cultural differences in business
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwjscSCcf0
Cross cultural communication
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMyofREc5Jk
Cross-cultural Training (CCT)
CULTURAL DISTANCE refers to the method of measuring the differences in values and behaviours between cultures.
Culture distance has been found to be reduced by CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING (CTT), defined as:
“The educative processes used to improve intercultural learning via the development of the cognitive, affective, and behavioural competencies needed for successful interaction in diverse cultures” Littrell et al. (2006: 356)
Elements of CCT
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart” (Nelson Mandela)
Learn the Language. Speaking in someone’s language signals an interest in local people and their culture and facilitates cultural adjustment.
Language training needs to take place alongside other elements of CTT as language cannot be seen as separate from its cultural context - the subtlety of meaning can be lost…
Communication and Language
Hall (1976) Refers to High-context & Low-context language:
In High-context cultures, contextual clues are important to ‘decoding’ messages. The choice of words can be very significant as they convey complex messages very effectively to an ‘in-group’ (individuals with shared experiences and expectations), but less effectively to others. Examples: Arabic; Chinese; Japanese
In Low-context cultures, communication is more explicit, precise and concise and may rely on legal documents. Examples: North America; Western Europe
There is much scope for misinterpretation and misunderstanding…
Interpreting High Context Communication
WHAT THE BRITISH SAY
Not bad
Quite good
Interesting
Oh, by the way….
I was a bit disappointed that you…
I hear what you say
With the greatest respect
Perhaps we could consider some other options
WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN
Good or very good
A bit disappointing
That IS interesting, OR it is interesting that you think it is interesting, it is rather boring to me!
I am about to get the primary purpose of our discussion
I am most upset and cross
I disagree and do not wish to discus it any further
I think that you are wrong (or a fool)
I don’t like your ideas
Source: Brewster, Sparrow, Vernon & Houldsworth, 2011
Body Language Is Not A Universal Language
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Elements of CCT
Didactic training. Training delivered through lectures, briefing or written materials containing practical information about the host culture e.g. living conditions, cultural differences
Culture assimilators. Using scenarios which involve a cultural misunderstanding to prepare people for interaction in specific cultures.
Sensitivity training. Focuses on teaching trainees that other cultures have different ways of doing things to prepare them for accepting cultural difference.
Field experience. Learning on the job (Littrell et al., 2006)
Cultural Intelligence
Earley and Ang (2003) developed the concept of Cultural Intelligence or Cultural Quotient (CQ), defined as follows:
“CQ pertains to how people adapt and thrive when they find themselves in an environment other than the one in which they were socialized” (Brislin et al., 2006).
Just as people’s Intelligence (IQ) or Emotional Intelligence (EQ)may be measured, scales are available to measure CQ (Ang and Van Dyne, 2008 )
The research and application of cultural intelligence is being driven by the Cultural Intelligence Center in the U.S. and Nanyang Business School in Singapore: https://culturalq.com
The CQ scale is comprised of 4 dimensions….
Cultural Intelligence
Metacognitive CQ: cultural consciousness and awareness of cultural cues during interactions with people from other cultural backgrounds.
Cognitive CQ: competence based on the knowledge of norms, practices, and conventions used in different cultural settings, acquired through education and personal experience.
Motivational CQ: willingness to learn about, and function in, situations characterized by cultural difference.
Behavioural CQ: capability to exhibit appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviour when interacting with people from different cultures.
Cultural Intelligence
CQ has features in common with Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Both require a propensity to suspend judgement and think before acting.
But while EQ is developed within a single culture, CQ requires people to develop understanding across cultures.
Research suggests a culturally intelligent manager can motivate employees, communicate and negotiate more effectively, and make better decisions in cross-cultural contexts
CQ may be innate, but also amenable to training (Early and Mosakowski, 2004).
Cultural intelligence: the competitive edge for leaders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeiRjUMau4
Cultural intelligence -- a new way to think about global effectiveness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3S76gAKp6Q
Summary
Reading List (see online)
Ghoshal, S., Korine, H. AND Szulanski, G. (1994). Interunit communications in multinational companies. Management Science 40(1): 96-110
Hall, Edward T. (1976). Beyond Culture, Garden City, NY: Doubleday
Littrell, L.N., Salas, E., Palye, M. and Riedel, S. (2006), Expatriate preparartion, Development Review 5: 355-88
Shapiro, D. L., Furst, S,. A, Spreitzer, G. M. and von Gillow, M.A. (2002). Transnational teams in the electronic age. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23: 455-467.
Waxin, M.F. and Panacio, A. (2005). Cross cultural training to facilitate expatriate adjustment , Personnel Review 34 (1) pp51-67.
Selected Reading
Brewster, C.M Sparrow, P., Veron, G., and Houldsworth, E. (2011), International Human Resource Management, London: CIPD. Chapter2: Culture and Organisational Life; Chapter 15 Managing Diversity in International Forms of Working.
Crawley, E., Swales, S., & Walsh, D. (2013). Introduction to International Human Resource Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 10: Diversity management in an international environment
Iles, P. and Zhang, C. (2013). International Human Resource Management. London: CIPD. Chapter 16: Cross-cultural Training and International HRD
Tarique, I., Briscoe, D., & Schuler, R. (2016). International Human Resource Management. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 10: International Training and Management Development.[or relevant pages in 2012 edition by Briscoe, D. R., Schuler, R. S. & Tarique, I.
