Enhancing Equality Amongst Employees - Example

Methodology: Leadership and Motivation This research was primarily undertaken so as to gauge the different leadership skills that managers are perceived to need in a multicultural organization in comparison with managers in mono cultural organizations to enable them to effectively manage their employees. The research was necessitated by the increase in multiculturalism in UAE organizations with the increase in globalization that has caused challenges in such workplaces due to cultural conflicts that ensue. The objective of this chapter will be to highlight and justify the means by which the study was executed in terms of the data collection methods. The credibility of findings and conclusions of the research in general are broadly dependent on the quality of the data collection hence the necessity of the following discussion. METHODS The current study made use of both secondary and primary methods of data collection. The secondary methods were in form of books and scholarly journals accessed from libraries and online databases from the Zayed University E- Library and the internet in general. The primary methods involved conducting in- depth interviews with managers from the United Eastern Group, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala and the Executive Council of Dubai Government. In addition to this, focus group discussions were also held. The questions in both the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions are similar and the areas dealt with included: the skills necessary to in becoming a successful organizational leader; the most important skills for leaders of a monoculture organization; the differences between leading culturally diverse employees as opposed to national employees; the skills that an effective leader should have to be able to maximize the potential of a multicultural employee environment; the challenges of managing a monoculture workplace; the problems faced when managing employees from different cultures; the importance of understanding other cultures; the effect of negative attitudes such as stereotyping and discrimination in a multicultural workplace; the importance of effective communication with regards to managing a culturally diverse workplace; motivation and its role in multicultural organizations; the effect of non discrimination in the Human Resource practices of recruitment, reward, and performance appraisal; among other areas of concern. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE SECONDARY METHODS USED Narrowing down on a particular research method is one of the toughest parts of a research. All methods have their own benefits yet every research differs in terms of the research problem; the scope; mandate; size; and resource availability. As such, if the incorrect method is used, it may have a negative bearing on the results of the data analysis. With this in mind, choosing the correct research method was a major aspect of the study in question. The study by its nature is fairly wide in scope, targeting multicultural organizations in the country which are quite abundant. After a comparative analysis of all the available methods, the research narrowed down to the use of in depth interviews and focus group discussions for the managers in such organizations. In-depth interviews are marketing research tools used where expert opinions are required. They are used when, due to geographical or logistical issues, other methods are impractical. It is mainly used when seeking the views of high-level executives, key opinion influencers, business owners, specialists, and other top notch professionals about complex subjects (Market Research, 2004). As such, it was an appropriate method in obtaining views from professional managers who have a direct knowledge of the subject at hand. In addition, in depth interview produce a greater amount of information and more statistics are obtained. Consequently, in depth interviews are more cost effective. In addition, in-depth interviews cover all the important research areas ensuring that the discussion does not go off topic. Focus groups, on the other hand, are qualitative research methods where a small amount of people discuss a particular topic for about 1 and a half hours under the guidance of a moderator and here, they attempt to identify the research objectives; discuss the views and analyse and present the discussions findings. This in depth analysis is what made focus groups an attractive option as it enabled the research to obtain information on all the areas of research (Market Research, 2004). It is precisely for these reasons that this research narrowed in on in depth interviews and focus group discussions as appropriate methods of finding out about the managing cultural diversity in multicultural organizations in the UAE. Recommendations: Leadership and Motivation Following the various findings realized in the research, the challenges in leading multicultural organizations were discovered in addition to the ways in which leaders in multicultural organizations should conduct themselves to ensure success in their duties. Managers need to make strategic use of intercultural synergies to ensure that the organization enhances employee engagement and this involves maximizing cultural intelligence, human performance in organizations and human diversity. It is with regards to these and the ethical aspects of managing diversity and different cultures that the following chapter shall focus on; providing recommendations to all managers in multicultural organizations in ensuring that cultural diversity is not a hindrance to organizational success but instead a positive tool where different facets of each culture can be harnessed for the overall good of the organization. CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAINING This is probably the single most important measure that a manager in a multicultural organization can implement. Most of the challenges in a multicultural organization arise from the ignorance that people have of other people’s religion and culture. If a manager can successfully create cultural awareness among members of his workforce, he will not only be one step closer to preventing misunderstandings within the organization but he will also have taught himself to appreciate cultural diversity. The discarding of stereotypes and misconceptions through education will also help employees appreciate the input other cultures have on various aspects of the organization and every employee will in turn be respected regardless of their culture. As a result, all employees will feel accepted and this will inevitably enhance their motivation and work performance (Sinha, 2006). This involves familiarizing oneself with the cultural values of ones employees. An example of how this is crucial is given by (Tabije, 2009) who provided an illustration of the cultural values espoused by Hispanics that a manager needs to take cognisance of. Tabije (2009) explains that Hispanic families highly value personal sacrifice therefore isolation and estrangement from them when a member of the family travels overseas on work engagement is often devastating and can lead to stress, extreme depression, substance abuse, severe feelings of loneliness and isolation. All these psychological challenges serve as factors that easily lead to poor motivation, negative attitudes towards and even job accidents. As such, Fine (1995) explains that an effective manager should create practices, ethos and policies that value, acknowledge and integrate cultural differences into the organization itself. ENHANCING THE DIALOGUE PROCESS In multicultural organizations, one of the greatest challenges is the lack of a common language among the employees of the various cultures. In the UAE, many of the expatriates speak English or other European languages whereas the locals speak mainly Arabic. This causes a language barrier to emerge and even if most of the employees in such organizations are well- educated, English is often their second or third language. Consequently, much of the dialogue whether from the leaders or from the employees, can be misconstrued where the meanings are lost in translation. As such, managers in multicultural organizations need to ensure that they learn the basics of the language and culture of the host country through a process described as the dialogue process (Matoba, 2002, p. 143). This can be accomplished by simply attending language lessons and taking a genuine interest in the culture of the locals. Whereas this may seem cumbersome and even difficult, it pays dividends in the long run where the employees will begin to feel that their language and culture is appreciated by their manager and this in turn will cause them to respond favourably to their job. The bottom-line is that all managers in multicultural organizations should build dialogue competence so as to ensure maximum intercultural communication (Matoba, 2002, p. 148). ENHANCING GROUP COHESION AND TEAMWORK According to Liaqat (2008), creating group cohesion in multicultural organizations is one of the hardest goals for a manager to accomplish. This is because the employees come from different backgrounds and forging into a close knit unit is often difficult because of the differences that separate them. It is thus upon the manager to bring the employees together to from a genuinely cohesive unit. This can be created through team building sessions, encouraging the workers to work on the same projects and generally working more often as a team. The development of little sub- groups based on culture, race or ethnicity within the workplace is commonplace and is a trend that any good manager should swiftly nip in the bud before the situation explodes into intercultural conflict pitting employees from different cultures against each other. CONFLICT COHESION Closely related to creating group cohesion is the all- important role of conflict resolution. No matter how well the manager may try to create group cohesion amongst his group of employees, conflicts are bound to arise that revolve around cultural differences. This is inevitable and thus a god leader must know how to resolve these differences. The biggest mistake a manager can be seen to make is to take sides during the conflict. Regardless of whether one party is evidently right, a manager who sides with an employee who is from the same culture as his own will be viewed as being biased and this will do great damage to any employee motivation he may have created in the past. ENHANCING EQUALITY AMONGST EMPLOYEES One mistake managers should never make yet they often do is favouritism based on similarities in race, ethnicity, culture, and the like. The organizational culture should be one in which merit is key in recruitment and promotional decisions and any bias to the contrary will cause employees from opposing cultural groups to feel discriminated against. Affirmative action should be enforced to create greater opportunities for employees or prospective employees and this in turn will cause them to work harder and become more committed to the organization. These aforementioned measures are just but a few of the various implementations that a manager of a multicultural organization can enforce to ensure that cultural diversity is synergized for the ultimate benefit of the organization in question. Works Cited Fine, Marlene G. Building Successful Multicultural Organizations Challenges and Opportunities. London: Quorum Books. 2005. Print. Liaqat, Ali Imran. Emerging Role of Teams in Multicultural Organizations. Blekinge Institute of Technology. 2008. Retrieved 27th November, 2009 from http://www.bth.se/fou/cuppsats.nsf/all/7247d1a052f24b4ac125748b0021d218/$file/Emerginng%20Role%20of%20Teams%20in%20Multicultural%20Organizations.pdf. Market Street Research. Market Street Research's Capabilities. 2004. Retrieved 28th of November, 2009 from http://www.marketstreetresearch.com/capabilities/index.htm Matoba, Kazuma. Dialogue process as communication training for multicultural Organizations. 2002. Retrieved 27th November, 2009 from http://www.transcultural-dialogue.com/documents/dialogue_process.pdf Sinha, Rana. Key Factors of Multicultural Team Management & Leadership. 2006. Retrieved 28th November, 2009 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Key-­Factors-­of-­Multicultural-­Team-­Management-­and-­Leadership&id=293829 Tabije, Ismael D. Managing in a Multicultural Environment. 2009. Retrieved 28th November, 2009 from http://cross-cultural-management.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-3118-managing-in-a-multicultural-environment.aspx Read More