Understanding Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences by Managers and Professions Essay Example for Free

Understanding Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences by Managers and Professions Essay It is nearly impossible to have a successful business without considering the important aspect of the cultural, ethnic and gender differences among the employees. Culture refers to a set of beliefs that a certain group of people have in common. In at least every working environment, it is more than obvious to have people having different cultures, ethnicities, and of course different genders (Carlozzi, 2004). In order to ensure that people work together and efficiently, it is highly advisable for the managers and professionals to understand these diverse cultures (Carlozzi, 2004). Most countries have different cultures, and it is possible that in any given working environment, there are many cultures that exist. It is therefore an apparent fact that there is a need in the understanding of cultural, ethnic and gender differences to ensure success in businesses. Understanding cultural and ethnic differences at workplace can be termed as cultural diversity and not biasness as may be conceived by other critics. Cultural diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, education and background among others. Understanding cultural and ethnic differences does not only involve how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. What results is that those perceptions affect the way they interact with each other at the work place (Carlozzi, 2004). For many employees to perform effectively in an organization, managers and professionals in human resource need to deal effectively with issues related to communication and adaptability and change (Carlozzi, 2004). Communication is the most basic concept of success in any business environment. If it is not properly fostered by the managers to their employees, the success of the business may be at stake. This implies that the managers and human resource professionals, should take the initiative to understand the cultural values and ethnic differences so as to know how well to approach issues with the employees without collusion. From the look of things, the issue of understanding cultural differences is likely to increase significantly in the coming years. Managers and professionals in all those businesses that have succeeded have come to see the need in building an understanding of cultural differences in the work place. They are ready to spend even resources, if needs be, to manage cultural diversity. It is very beneficial in many ways, and most importantly, they help to create an understanding in the working environment. A business entity’s success and competitiveness depends upon its capability to understand different cultures and ethnicities and realize the benefits involved. If a business organization actively assesses its handling of workplace diversity issues, and develops and implements diversity plans, multiple benefits can be realized (Carlozzi, 2004). One benefit is the increased adaptability of one another. Getting used to each other in a business environment is very vital in the success of the business. There will be free flow of information because people will be free to each other, and with perfect communication, issues will be approached in a friendly manner. Business organizations that embrace cultural diversity have the capacity to supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from different backgrounds bring individual talents and expertise in suggesting of ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and the demands of the customers. With understanding of cultural differences and ethnicities, the business organization will have a broader service range, in terns of business delivery. The presence of different cultures in a business implies that there is a collection of skills and experiences in that particular business. This allows the enterprise to provide a service to customers on global basis. The managers and professionals in human resource department will give positions to employees with regards to capacities (Carlozzi, 2004). After understanding each individual’s culture, they will know where and on what field someone is good at. This will make the business succeed because an employee will be given a position where he or she is likely to perform best. This will also reduce job burnouts which greatly lower the performance of employees. The understanding of the cultural, ethnic and gender differences will enable managers to understand different view points that their employees possess. Different cultures in the work place possess different ideas, skills and experiences. In decision making process, different ideas will be suggested which will obviously find a solution to the problem at hand. This will only be achieved if there is cultural, gender and ethnic understanding by the managers. It will be better and most comfortable to communicate varying points of view as it will provide a large pool of ideas and experiences (Carlozzi, 2004). The business organization can now draw from that pool to meet the needs of its customers more effectively. In conclusion, it is wise to say that promoting cultural, ethnic and gender sensitivity in a business setting does not really mean promoting biasness in the business scenario as most people may try to argue. Instead, this clear understanding will take into account variations in the interactions of each employee to facilitate cooperation and communication in the business. Understanding the employees and trying to exploit their different potentials is a practice that can really benefit the business to grow to prosperity.