WORKING WITH

DIVERSITY
Adler N.J., 2002, International Dimensions of
Organisational Behaviour (4
th
Edition)
Canada, South Western, Thomson Learning
ISBN 0-324-05786-5
Cultural
diversity in the
workplace
Is culture visible
Does cultural diversity have
an impact on organisations
If so, is its impact positive or
negative, helpful or harmful to
the organisation
How should business people
manage cultural diversity
Should they ignore it,
minimize it, or leverage it.
When does
diversity cause
problems
When processes have
to be convergent
When employees have
to think and act in
similar ways

Convergence needs:
Good communication
Good integration

What can happen when we work across
cultures
We fail to understand one another
We do not work in the same ways
We do not work at the same pace
We have increased ambiguity,
complexity and confusion
Diversity can create an advantage
Diversity is useful when:
Attempting to reposition the organisation
Reposition strategy from a bricks and mortar to an e-
commerce environment
Launch a new project
Create a new idea
See an old idea from a new perspective
Develop a new marketing plan
Design a new operation
Assess emerging trends from a new perspective
Diversity can give the organisation the
competitive edge
Treating diversity as a resource rather then a liability gives:
Enhanced creativity
Flexibility
Problem solving skills
Improves effectiveness in working with culturally distinct
clients and colleagues
Improved understanding of the dynamics and
communication patterns within the organisation
Learning to work with diversity
Synergistic advantages
Advantages:
Better understanding of local
employees
Better able to work
effectively with local clients
Better able to market to local
customers
Increased understanding of
politics, economy, social and
cultural differences and the
environment

Costs caused by diversity
Disadvantages:
Creates ambiguity
Situations become more
complex
Difficulty in converging
meaning
Harder to reach
agreement
Dilution of organisations
mission
Strategies for managing diversity
Managers have a choice to:
Ignore culture
Minimize cultures effects
Recognise culture its advantages
and disadvantages
Cultural Synergy
Moran and Harris (1983)in Adler (2003):
Go beyond awareness of our own cultural heritage to
produce something greater by cooperation and
collaboration. Cultural synergy builds upon similarities and
fuses differences resulting in more effective human
activities and systems. The very diversity of people can
be utilised to enhance problem solving by combined
action. Those in international management have unique
opportunities to foster synergy on a global basis.
Problem
solving using
cultural synergy
This approach reflects
the best aspects of all
the cultures involved:
Describes the situation
from each cultures
perspective
Culturally interprets the
situation
Develops new culturally
creative solutions
My Cultures Way Cultural
Dominance
Cultural
Synergy
Cultural
Compromise
Cultural
Avoidance
Cultural
Accommodation

Their Cultures Way
Global strategy
options
Cultural dominance my way is
the only way the more powerful
partner dominates
Cultural accommodation
accommodating to the local culture
Cultural compromise both sides
gives up something
Cultural avoidance ignore
problems and conflict
Cultural synergy creates new
solutions to the problems i.e.
Austrian and Norwegian
negotiators, negotiate in English