Understanding and managing people who are similar to us can be challenging, but understanding and managing those who are dissimilar from us and from each other is tougher. As the workplace becomes more diverse and as business becomes more global, managers must understand how cultural diversity affects the expectations and behavior of everyone in the organization.

Understanding the changes

The labor market is dramatically changing. Most countries are experiencing an increase in the age of their workforce, increased immigration, and, in many, a rapid increase in the number of working women. The globalization of business also brings with it a cross-cultural mandate. With more businesses selling and manufacturing products and services abroad, managers increasingly see the need to ensure that their employees can relate to customers from many different cultures. Workers who believe that their differences are not merely tolerated but valued by their employer are more likely to be loyal, productive, and committed.

Capitalizing on diversity

Managers face many challenges capitalizing on diversity, such as: coping with employees’ unfamiliarity with native languages, learning which rewards are valued by different demographics, and providing career development programs that fit the values of different targeted groups. There are several ways for you to try to capitalize on diversity:

• Communicate your objectives and expectations about diversity to employees through a range of channels, such as mission and value statements, slogans, creeds, newsletters, speeches, emails, and everyday conversations.

• Recruit through nontraditional sources. Relying on current employee referrals usually produces a limited range of candidates. Try instead to identify novel sources for recruitment, such as women’s job networks, targeted newspapers, training centers for the disabled, urban job banks, and over-50s clubs.

• Use diverse incentives for motivation. Most studies on the subject of motivation are by North American researchers—unsurprisingly— on North American workers. Consequently, these studies are based on beliefs that most people work to promote their own well-being and get ahead. This may be at odds with people from more collectivist countries, such as Venezuela, Singapore, Japan, and Mexico, where individuals are driven by their loyalty to the organization or society, not their own self-interest.

Tip

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH First look into your heart and mind and root out any prejudice. Then, demonstrate your acceptance in everything that you say and do.