Understanding Culture And Its Impact On Organizational Behavior

The Concept of Culture

Question:

Discuss about the Evolution and Future of Diversity Work.

Culture describes the shared beliefs, traditions, history, customs, folklore as well as institutions of a cohort of individuals. Culture is thus shared by individuals of similar language, ethnicity, religion, or language. It describes a system of rules that remain the foundation upon which people are and influence how people express themselves as a component of a cohort and as individuals. People develop in certain kind of culture (Gelfand et al. 2017). People’s environment dictates what they learn, how they learn it, along the particular rules they adopt to live with others. Such rules are transmitted from a generation to the next and often embraced to the locale and times (Dalglish and Miller 2016).

The organizations have a “culture” of procedures, policies, process and programs, and integrate particular beliefs, values, customs and assumptions. Organizational cultures principally echo mainstream culture in organization’s sense of time orientations, perceptions as well as time usage. An organizational culture might never lend itself to cultural competence, and hence this is where building of skills emerges (Dalglish and Miller 2016). A culturally competent organization combines knowledge relating to diverse cohorts of persons-and transforms such knowledge into policies, practices and standards that ensure everything works.

Culture diversity revolves around differences in the members of an organization’s composition based on nationality, colour, race, creed, age, religion and gender. Simply put, it is a range of culture found among the individuals from diverse backgrounds. The organizational behaviour describes the nature of interactions among the individuals and cohorts within the organization (Dalglish and Miller 2016). The positive impact of cultural diversity enhances organizational members to build relationships and acknowledge one another irrespective of their diversities of background and origin. An organization has a widespread array of individuals with differences culturally and personally (Hajro, Gibson and Pudelko 2017).

Organizations that endeavour to establish cultural diversity among its staff must establish mutual respect for the diverse culture, besides enabling personnel to hit their overflowing potential (Dalglish and Miller 2016). Recognizing diverse cultures allow the organization to positively impact the organizational behaviour that subsequently facilitate the organizational performance alongside image. Business must show organizational cultural diversity aspect in mission statement. The trend of organizational behaviour are influenced by the nature of interaction alongside the extent of diversity within the organization (Parke and Seo 2017).

The business endeavour to establish organizational culture that not only facilitate diversity of its staff composition but further enhances individual performance. The positive influence of cultural diversity not only allow the organization to boost scope but the business further receives desirable exposure from each sector of the population because if organizational multicultural approach (Dalglish and Miller 2016). The cultural diversity is thus geared towards having an in-depth respect alongside comprehending the diverse individuals in the organization.

Having feedback, team-building activities, teamwork alongside interpersonal communication strengthens cultural diversity. Individuals can interact and appreciate one another’s culture in the course of these engagements thereby within the organization, both accommodating and organizational behaviour is created. Organization always adjust programs for positive influence to suit the dynamic nature of interactions among individuals.

Organizational Culture

Organizations create regular fora alongside educational programs whereby participants get trainings to be sensitive as well as appreciate cultural diversity alongside in maintaining favourable organizational behaviour. Organizational also post on regular basis motivational quotes alongside messages of cultural diversity on the boards of public bulletins (Stahl, G.K., Miska, Lee and De Luque 2017). Organizations also create programs which internalize cultural diversity into the behaviour of the organization.   

An organization, therefore, has various types of diversity. All types of diversity can be observed in an organization. Nevertheless, certain diversity a huge impact on the organization than others due to their historical importance. Such types of diversity remain closely linked with inequality and injustice whereby not each individual or cohort has been equality treated due to the diversities (Dalglish and Miller 2016). The diversities in organization include marginalized or socially excluded cohorts, nationality, ethnicity, native language, race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, spiritual practice and beliefs, physical and mental ability.

Additionally, diversities that need consideration but appear less salient entail age, educational status, family status, health status, style, skills and talents customs, ideas, military experiences, ownership of property, occupational status, socioeconomic status, and national, regional and other geographical areas (Dalglish and Miller 2016).   

The multicultural organization is created by having a culturally competent organizations. Some of the indicators of cultural competences can be highlighted. The recognition of power and influence of culture and actively removing prejudice in practices and policies are strong indicators. Also, understanding how individual’s background influence people responses to others and failure to assume that each member of cultural cohort share the similar beliefs and practise are essential indicators (Dalglish and Miller 2016).

Further, acknowledging how previous experiences influence current interactions and evaluating cultural competence of organization on regular basis are further key indicators. Willing to share power among the organizational leaders of diverse cultural backgrounds and allocation of resources for leadership as well as workforce development in cultural awareness programs are also central indicators. Further, building on strengths as well as resources of every culture in the organization is a manifestation of cultural competence in organization (Kundu and Mor 2017).

Diversities in culture can either hurt or assist the manner in which organization functions. Establishing multicultural organization makes people deal with diversities as well as utilize them in strengthening their efforts (Kühlmann and Heinz 2017). A plan for action is required to reach such goals. The cultural competence must be a top-down mandate of the organization with effective support from the top. Everyone must “buy in” aided by a committee that represents every level in the organization (Dalglish and Miller 2016).  This committee has to create and facilitate particular actions. People at each level of organization must be engaged to allow more people to be influenced thereby becoming culturally competent.

Steps:

• The organization has to develop support for change in the entire organization for those who want or those who do not want change
• The organization must recognize the cultural cohorts to be engaged including those who needs to be engaged in planning, implementation, alongside change reinforcement
• The organization must the acknowledge barriers to working with the organization including what is presently not working, what shall cease organization and those that will slow down the organization
• The organization must undertake the assessment of its present level of cultural competence including what skills, knowledge, alongside resources the organization can build on and where the disparities are
• Acknowledge the resources required including how much funding is needed to bring about the desired change and where the organization can find the resources
• The organization has to commit develop goals as well as implementation steps alongside deadlines for accomplishing them including what each one can do, when it can done and how it will be done
• The organization should as well commit to the ongoing progress evaluations including measuring the results as well as be willing to respond to the desired change including what the progress along with success look like, and signs that shall showcase right track (Cunningham 2017).

The following steps will ensure that organization build effective multicultural organization:

• Form committee (Cultural Competence Committee)
• Writing a mission statement
• Finding out what have been done by similar organization and partnership developments
• Using free resources
• Undertaking a detailed cultural competence organizational assessment
• Finding out the particular cultural cohorts existing in the community served and whether they have accessibility to community services
• Having a brown bag lunch to have staff engaged in deliberations alongside activities regarding cultural competence
• Asking the organizational personnel relating to their staff development requirements
• Assigning portion of the budget to workforce development programming in cultural competence
• Include cultural competence needs in description of job
• Being sure that location of organizational facility is accessible alongside respectful difference
• Collecting resource material on the cultural diverse cohorts for the workforce to use
• Building a network of natural community “informants”, helpers as well as “experts”

References

Cunningham, G., 2017. Diversity and inclusion in sport organizations. Routledge.

Dalglish, C. and Miller, P. 2016. Leadership: Modernising our perspective, 2nd ed., Tilde Publishing, Prahran, Vic., Chapter 7.

Gelfand, M.J., Aycan, Z., Erez, M. and Leung, K., 2017. Cross-cultural industrial organizational psychology and organizational behavior: A hundred-year journey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), p.514.

Hajro, A., Gibson, C.B. and Pudelko, M., 2017. Knowledge exchange processes in multicultural teams: Linking organizational diversity climates to teams’ effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 60(1), pp.345-372.

Kühlmann, T.M. and Heinz, R., 2017. Managing Cultural Diversity in Small and Medium-Sized Organizations: A Guideline for Practitioners. Springer.

Kundu, S.C. and Mor, A., 2017. Workforce diversity and organizational performance: a study of IT industry in India. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 39(2).

Parke, M.R. and Seo, M.G., 2017. The role of affect climate in organizational effectiveness. Academy of Management Review, 42(2), pp.334-360.

Roberson, Q., Ryan, A.M. and Ragins, B.R., 2017. The evolution and future of diversity at work.

Stahl, G.K., Miska, C., Lee, H.J. and De Luque, M.S., 2017. The upside of cultural differences: Towards a more balanced treatment of culture in cross-cultural management research. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 24(1).