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Autor
Nike Fischer
A Criteria Based Literature Research - Approaches, Achievements and Experiences of
the Concept of Cultural Diversity in Multicultural Organizations
ISBN: 978-3-8428-0587-3
Herstellung: Diplomica® Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, 2010
Zugl. Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Deutschland, Bachelorarbeit,
2009
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Structure
Structure
1.
List of figures
Page
2.
Introduction
1
3.
Culture Diversity
4
3.1.
Overview
4
3.1.1. Culture 8
3.1.2. Corporate Culture
10
3.1.3. Culture Difference(s)
12
3.1.4. Communication
16
3.1.5. Multicultural Organisation
17
3.2.
Theoretical Framework: Cultural Diversity outlook a literary
review
19
3.2.1. Basic Approaches to Cultural Diversity
19
3.2.2. Fairness- and discrimination- approach
20
3.2.3. Access-and-legitimacy-approach 22
3.2.4. Learning- and Effectiveness- Approach
24
3.3
Impact of Cultural Diversity on multicultural organizations
26
3.3.1. Positive effects
26
3.3.2. Negative effects
30
3.3.3. Evaluation of the effects of Cultural Diversity
33
3.4 Conceptual Framework: Catalogue of Criteria for effectively
managing Cultural Diversity
34
3.4.1. Leadership 36
3.4.2. Research & Measurement
38
Structure
3.4.3. Education 39
3.4.4. Changes in Culture and Management Systems
40
3.4.5. Follow-up 41
4. Research : Culture Diversity in Germany
43
4.1 Foreword
43
4.2 Germanys' development of cultural diversity
43
4.2.1 Germanys' approach
45
4.2.2 Example 1: Ford
46
4.2.3 Example 2: IKEA
49
4.3 Evaluation
54
5. Conclusion
60
6. Bibliography
63
2. List of figures
Figure 1: Organizational approaches to cultural diversity
Figure 2: Catalogue of Criteria for managing cultural diversity
Figure 3: List of Winners of the 2001 Awards for Diversity
Figure 4: Project Ramadan
Figure 5: Fords strengths-and weakness profile
Figure 6: Ikeas strengths-and weakness profile
Introduction
1
2 . Introduction
These days a current newspaper without an article in the business section covering
the issue of globalization and the effects involved is unthinkable. Due to that fact,
cultural diversity is often mentioned, and its presence within the media grows
increasingly as does its value within our society as well as in our policies and
economy.
The globalization of markets and companies has been the driving force of change
over the past decade. Its process affects every nation worldwide and represents a
challenge because worldwide competition between national economies is
engendering and the degree of international intertwining is increasing.
Consequently, the current trend is leading to a growing internationalization of
corporate activity that is reflected not only markets but also in development. Besides
increasing competition on the domestic markets, it opens up opportunities to enter
new markets and to benefit from location advantages in production and development
processes. A company that is operating on a global scale today has to assert itself in
various markets with various cultures. Due to this, cultural differences can be seen as
a side effect of globalization prompting structural workforce change. Globalization,
as well as changes in demographics are two reasons causing change in the structural
workforce. Through the internationalization of employees, the aspect of cultural
differences is increasingly significant because the organizational corporate structure
has to adjust itself to a very dynamic and heterogeneous environment. Whether help-
wanted ads in the newspaper or current journal articles, (Online Focus 2007; 2008)
the shortage of experts in some fields is identified as a rising issue and major
challenge companies have to face over the coming years. Some companies already
answer to this issue by hiring foreign employees because "As a consequence,
different qualifications, life styles, needs, values and experiences emerge. This
heterogeneous mix through the labour market has to be taken into account when
recruiting and appointing staff" (Köppel, Yan & Lüdicke, 2007, p.4). According to
the process of managing heterogeneous workforces, a certain fit needs to be achieved
which has to be coordinated. This is where Cultural Diversity Management, a
concept that originated in the American Civil Rights movement, comes in.
Introduction
2
The increasing relevance of this topic, and its high presence within the media raised
my interests regarding this subject. Even the specific article in the Oldenburger
Sonntagszeitung entitled "Kulturelle Vielfalt nutzen" verifies its widespread
appearance and awareness. Even in this non well-known newspaper is the
importance of cultural diversity highlighted. Within the article, Gesine Multhaupt, a
member of the Bundestag, calls attention to this topic and appeals to organizations
and public institutions as well as public authorities to enter the contest "Cultural
Diversity at the Workplace". This contest has no restrictions. Organizations
employing a workforce with migration background and, thus benefiting from the
heterogeneous mix, are able to participate. The main purpose of this contest is to
popularize and award those organizations who are practicing cultural diversity
(Sonntagszeitung, 15.05.2008). Even though I could find a lot of literature in which
a positive light is cast on cultural diversity, one should keep in mind that there are
also those who adopt a critical attitude. Today the understanding of the effects and
impact of cultural diversity on company performance remains controversial.
While some experts and authors view culture diversity as "Chance" (Felixberger,
2007, p.1), "competitive factor" (Hardenberg, 2007, p.2) or an "Instrument to reach
synergy" (Bertelsmann Stiftung: "Synergie durch Vielfalt", p. 3), some detractors
clarify that implementing cultural diversity in organizations can be also very risky
and complicated ( Köppel, Yan & Luedicke, 2007a, p.1 ff.).
Taking the above-mentioned facts into consideration, it indicates that there is a clear
need for research into the theory behind cultural diversity management. Because of
this, I have chosen to elaborate on the concept of cultural diversity within my
Bachelor thesis, thus the focus of the study is geared to fill this gap within the bound
of probability. More precisely, the purpose of my work is to expose by means of a
catalogue of criteria, whether Germany's multicultural organizations efficiently
implement cultural diversity, and thus are capable of enhancing organizational
performance. Accordingly, I refer to a statement given by the Bertelsmann Stiftung
"Germanys Culture Diversity needs to catch up" (Köppel, Yan & Luedicke, 2007a,
p.1) and reappraise as to whether this statement is right or wrong on the basis of
some practical examples.
Introduction
3
Taking the topic of my bachelor thesis and its objective into account, it is clear that
this study is geared toward practical experiences. Thus the methodology procedure
is not only to conduct an examination of theoretical hypotheses, but also to examine
how a multicultural organization applies cultural diversity in reality. This requires,
however, a basic understanding of cultural diversity using certain methods. This
basic understanding will be given by systemizing existing theoretical approaches of
cultural diversity by means of a literary review. Further, I will refer to journals,
interviews of experts and empirical studies dealing with this topic in which current
practical results are described and discussed.
Enlightening the theoretical framework of cultural diversity enables the development
of a practical frame of reference. The concept of cultural diversity is new and
represents a relatively unexplored research field. After developing a theoretical and
conceptual framework, I will continue with some specific practical experiences of
organizations practicing cultural diversity.
The structure of this work and the way in which it addresses its topic is largely
determined by its objective. After the introduction, I would like to elaborate on
culture diversity by scientifically utilizing the initial questions such as "What",
"Why" and "How".
First, a general overview to the basic understanding of culture diversity is given. This
overview encompasses on the one hand, general information pertaining to the feature
cultural diversity such as its meaning, development and achievements, and on the
other hand, essential definitions which determine this topic to a certain extent.
I will then refer to "Why" by giving reasons for its rising importance throughout
organizations. Therefore, I will enlighten the different approaches of organizations
for practicing cultural diversity and explore the impact of the phenomenon in greater
detail, particularly in view of its relevance to a business entity. The focus will,
therefore, be on both the negative and positive effects.
After describing my theoretical framework, I will continue with the conceptual
framework, in which I will develop a catalogue of criteria pertaining to cultural
diversity. This analysis serves as a foundation for the further elaborations contained
in this work.
My next Chapter is dedicated to the "how" which concentrates on cultural diversity
within Germany, and examines how this new strategy is implemented and
Introduction
4
experienced within some German multicultural organizations. By means of some
practical examples, I intend to appraise whether Germany fulfills all of the above-
mentioned criteria. Subsequently, I will evaluate the results by referring to the
statement given by the Bertelsmann Stiftung "Germanys Culture Diversity needs to
catch up".
My work ends with a reflection and conclusion towards cultural diversity responding
to my initial question from the introduction.
3. Cultural Diversity
3.1 Overview
The introduction clarified to a certain extent that there is supposed to be coherence
between globalization and cultural diversity. In order to solidify the term cultural
diversity, globalization needs to be discussed briefly to provide important
background information enlightening the starting position for cultural diversity.
As aforementioned in the introduction, globalization has been the driving force of
change over the past decade. As a result, demographic structures and social-cultural
frameworks have become multifaceted within and without organizations. "
Economical, social, political, and technological changes have converged and
emerged to change the contours of the world of work, leaving us with new markets,
new corporate institutions to serve those markets, and new jobs to produce new
goods for the world's new consumers" (O' Hara- Deverreaux, Johanson, 1996, p.
87). With the globalization of world trade, cross border activities such as global
cooperations and fusions gain more importance. In other words, international
orientation of cross border activities means the key to success in surviving the global
competition. ( Sepehri, 2002, p.77) Not only are markets and customer structures
becoming more diverse, but organizations are also becoming increasingly
heterogeneous and multicultural, therewith the workplace is becoming more and
more culturally diverse. In this context Hofstede emphasized and attached
importance to the advancement of intercultural encounter within multicultural
organizations. " Seit den sechzigern Jahren ist die Welt zum ersten Mal in ihrer
Culture
5
Geschichte zu einem Markt geworden. Innerhalb von multinationalen Unternehmen
findet sehr intensive interkulturelle Begegnung statt" ( Hofstede, 1997, p. 313).
Additionally, Cox (1991, p. 34 37) views the intensiveness of intercultural
encounter as a significant starting point for the development of managing diversity in
particular cultural diversity, at which it is imperative "... to respond to increasing
cultural heterogeneity among critical constituencies of organizations, especially
employees, customers and suppliers" ( Cox / Tung ,1997, p. 8). Cultural differences
are now a fact of life in international business.
Before going on into further details, it is necessary to explain the meaning of cultural
diversity. Cultural diversity is part of the whole Diversity Management concept. The
first steps of the term diversity were made in the USA. 1992 DeLuca and Mc Dowell
remarked: "The phrase managing diversity grows daily in use throughout the
business world. However it means different things to different people"( DeLuca / MC
Dowell, Managing Diversity 1992, p.227). This intuition was supported by various
authors admitting that it is almost impossible to define diversity. According to that,
authors like Thomas ( 1991), Herriot und Pemperton ( 1995), Nkoma and Cox (1996)
and Thomas und Ely (1996),clarifiy that, "... Yet, as several writers have observed
diversity can be viewed through lenses other than legal or ethical, and diversity has
been defined, studied, and approached in quite different ways" ( Paivand, Sepehri,
2002, p.75 in Dass / Parker, 1999, p.69). Thus, Dass und Parker (1999) emphasize
the difficulty and complexity of its various approaches towards diversity and
managing diversity, "...people define diversity in different even conflicting ways.
Consequently, an increasingly diverse workforce is variously viewed as opportunity,
threat, problem, fad, or even nonissue. These disparate views lead people to manage
workforce diversity in distinct ways, resulting in different costs and benefits. Despite
the claim by some that there is one best way to manage a diverse workforce, there is
little agreement on what it is" (Dass / Parker, 1999, p. 68). Within my theoretical
framework I will elaborate, in particular, on the different reactions and approaches
according to this concept.
However, one perspective of diversity could be "a variety of qualities, or rather
everything in which people are different from each other or similar to each other". In
this context diversity or variety means a range of features to describe people such as
age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, religious denomination, social class ( Köppel,
Yan & Lüdicke, 2007a, p.5), which are known as the six dimensions of diversity.
Culture
6
While diversity stands for variety, it also contains the idea of a concept called
"Managing Diversity", which is written with a capital "D". In this respect Gertrude
Krell differs: "Diversity im Sinne von Vielfalt steht für das Phenomen einer vielfältig
zusammengesetzen Belegschaft. Diversity im Sinne von Diversity Management steht
für eine ganz bestimmte Art und Weise des Umgangs damit" ( Krell,, 2004, p.43).In
this context, the IPM Magazine (December 1991) claims that,
"Managing Diversity seeks to create a climate whereby those involved want
to move beyond the achievement of a mere statistical goal. People really
begin to accept the values of differences between individuals and groups and
recognise the benefits that multiculturalism can bring to an organisation".
( Chouhan, Karen, p.67).
IPM Magazine emphasizes the cultural aspect of diversity management within its
statement. In respect to the six dimension of Diversity Management, cultural
diversity refers to one specific dimension called "nationality". The magnitude of
culture diversity characterizes the workforces of organizations. It has been
highlighted in the 1990s by several major workforce- related trends. The workforce
in many nations of the world is becoming increasingly more diverse along such
dimensions as race and nationality. As clarified, migration and European integration
are instrumental in leading to a more cultural diverse workforce. The Federal
Statistical Office has begun to compile statistics on the people in Germany who come
from an immigrant background. They account for approximately 15.3 million out of
the German's total population of 82 million (Köppel / Sander, 2008, p.9). This
statistic is only one of many which makes clear that the trend towards cultural
diversity may increase in the 21
st
century. There are various reasons identified by
"Workforce 2000" explaining why this trend seems to be inevitable.
It is a fact that the number of workers will decrease, while the average age of
workers will rise. The gradual aging population of the Western countries forces
companies to deal with a workforce consisting of a greater number of employees of
diverse origins. In a couple of years, the employment in the Western European
market will be dominated by the secondary growth minorities. It is also said that
there will be more immigrants than any other time since the last world war. The last
argument implicates that most of the new jobs will be in service and information
Culture
7
requiring qualified employees with higher skill levels. (Seperhi, 2002, p.7 in
Johnston / Packer, 1987, p. 379) Therewith, I can adhere that the demographical
change represents the initial position and most substantial argument for the concept
of managing cultural diversity.
After highlighting the initial position of the feature cultural diversity, it is essential to
explain its meaning. While the concept of Diversity Management encompasses a
wide interpretation with many different spheres of activity, cultural diversity
singularizes the feature culture, which implicates respect to nation, region, ethnic
group or religion, as well as corporate, industry and professional cultures. (Köppel,
Yan & Lüdicke , 2007, p.5). Due to this, cultural diversity represents only one sub-
area of the whole management concept that focuses mainly on cultures difference.
"The basic concept of managing (cultural) diversity accepts that the workforce
consists of a diverse population of people. The diversity consists of visible and non-
visible differences, which will include factors such as sex, age, background, race,
disability, and work style. It is founded on the premises that harnessing these
differences will create a productivity environment in which everybody feels valued,
where their talents are being fully utilized and in which organizational goals are
met" ( Thomas /Ely, 1996, p.80).
Cultural Diversity Management focuses on how to deal with cultural heterogeneity
and internalize differences among employees so that it learns and grows because of
them. (Köppel, Yan & Lüdicke , 2007, p.5.).
Taking all the argumentation presented so far into consideration, one can say that the
central function of Cultural Diversity Management in a company is to make it
possible to deal positively with the different value- and norm-related structures that
exists within its workforce and to help organizations, especially multicultural
organizations (chapter 3.1.5) manage heterogeneous workforces and deal with all
indicating potential problem areas with regard to cross-cultural interaction.
For understanding cultural diversity as its whole, in the forthcoming section I will
give some relevant definitions concerning cultural diversity.
Culture
8
3.1.1 Culture
In today's world all people have to deal with similar problems and needs, but the
way they solve and approach these problems is different from culture to culture. This
shows how highly complex the research field is. In particular, the intangible nature of
culture makes a specific demarcation of it various forms difficult, which permits a
broad scope for interpretation. Given this work focus on cultural diversity, in this
section the theoretical bases of this phenomenon will be examined, different points of
view will be given, and by means of definition, key characteristics will be identified.
The aim is to develop an understanding that can serve as the basis for those matters
subsequently elaborated in this work.
Culture is a highly complex with various understandings and definitions. In 1952,
Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of more than 200 different
definitions of culture. They subdivided the definition by means of the general history
and by the different points of view one can take upon culture, for example, the
psychological side, the genetic side or the normative side. The following definition
by Kroeber &Kluckhohn considers to my understanding all-important aspects. They
defined:
" Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement
of human groups, including their embodiment in artefacts; the essential core
of culture consists of traditional ( i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas
and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand,
be considers as products of action, on the other as conditioning elements of
future actions" ( Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952, p 181).
The word culture, originating from the Latin language, stands for cultivation of the
soil for growing crops. The meaning changed and was used to describe enlightening
the spirit of the people like in art, music and literature. The word culture and
civilization were both used for the same expression. Both were mostly used as a
synonym for Western civilization. ( Hofstede, Gerd, 2005, p.4) Different stages of
development were "savagery" followed by "barbarism" and ended with Western
civilization. Of course people from other parts of the world would not have agreed.
Culture
9
In 1843 Gustav Klemm was one of the first who used culture in order to describe the
steps of civilization. He wrote the "Common History of Human Culture" (Klemm
1843, cited in Thomas, 1996, p.33. tranl. by author). Many scientists have a different
opinion towards the term culture as well. The French Western philosopher Rene
Descartes announced that:
"...while traveling, having realized that all those who have attitudes very
different from our own are not for that reason barbarians or savages but are
as rational or more so than ourselves, and having considered how greatly the
self same mind who had grown up from infancy among the French or
Germany would become different from what he would have been if he had
always lived among the Chinese or the cannibals.. I found myself forced to try
myself to see things from their point of view"
In general, culture is a very abstract phenomenon, which often remains unnoticed.
Gert Hofstede describes culture as the "collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another"
( Hofstede, 2005, p.4). In a similar way, culture is described by Edward T. Hall as:
"the medium evolved by the human species, the one which characterizes the human
species while at the same time differentiating one social group from another" ( Hall,
1998, p. 58). In other words, cultures distinguished their members from their
environment through identification (Hofstede, 1997.p.2). Identity among members
can only arise if a culture includes values, conventions, beliefs, rituals, and rules etc.
that are shared. These cultural value- and norms are transmitted within a social
group by means of the culturalization and socialization process. Culture is passed on
from one generation to another through socialization. For the individual as well as
for a social group, culture fulfils the function of an orientation framework. If
provides an instrument and methods for the solution to problems (Adler, 1991.p.15).
It provides structures and influences the behavior and perceptions of the members of
the group. Due to that, orientation within the culture is created because assumptions
are shared by all the members.
On the other hand, Bolten refers to the concept of broad and narrow terms of culture
According to him, a narrow term considers culture as hermetic clusters and thus, is
inappropriate because it does not live up to the expectations of individuals. This is
Corporate Culture
10
due to the systematic theory of culture as seen as a system with an underlying code
through which individuals are included or excluded because of their ability to use
these codes. A broad understanding of the term culture is the place and surrounding
environment in which the members are living, i.e., it is not only a natural
phenomenon, but also incorporates the environment that is shaped by the inhabitants.
All factors which could have an influence on people are included ( Bolten, 2003,
p.19). According to Bolten, there cannot be a border drawn because cultures are
dynamic constructions that react in an organic fashion ( Bolten, 2003, p.20).
Culture as the key to people's way of living, accepting changes and doing business is
rapidly loosing geographical borders. Management practices due to cultural changes
are becoming global norms leading to different values. Moreover, specific
managerial values are losing their meaning and organizations are becoming global
neighbours. The blurring of culture across the borders shows a great step to accepting
differences and practicing it in businesses. Thus, as much as the managerial values
are changing, so much so are the organizations cross verging with different cultures
and a new cultural community is emerging in global businesses.
3.1.2 Corporate Culture
Many articles and books have been written in recent years about culture in
organizations, often referred to as "Corporate Culture."
In the definitions mentioned above, corporate culture has also made a deep impact on
cultural diversity. Numerous authors attribute a significant role to company culture in
the management of cultural diversity (Cox / Blake, 1991, Thomas/ Ely, 1996 &
Kandola/ Fullerton, 1994).
Corporate culture is embodied by individual organizational symbols through which it
can be perceived and delivered. Every organization has its own unique corporate
culture which enables it to distinguish and to set itself apart from other organizations.
Seen from a different angle, it represents an important management instrument which
influences all decisions and actions made within an organization. It is a broad term
used to define the unique personality or character of a particular company or
organization. Within a company, there may be sub-cultures in departments, divisions,
Corporate Culture
11
regions or operating units. Corporate culture starts when the organization begins and
develops as it grows. Over time, the culture changes as people come and go.
According to the business dictionary, corporate culture "gives the 'feel' of an
organization and determines what is considered right or wrong, important or
unimportant, workable or unworkable in it, and how it responds to the unexpected
crises, jolts, and sudden change. All new employees must assimilate this code ('learn
the ropes') to know the correct way to behave and what to expect from other
employees. Organizational culture is the sum total of an organization's past and
current assumptions, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and
are expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world,
and future expectations."
Corporate culture reflects the values, ethics, beliefs, personality and traits of the
company's founders, management and employees and influences and guides its
behavior. (Sepehri, 2002, p.150).
Due to the fact that the organizational culture implicitly affects the perception and
behavior of company employees, it must be given particular attention in the context
of Cultural Diversity Management. " Eine offene Unternehmenskultur zeigt das
Interesse der Organisationen an unterschiedlichen Mitarbeitergruppen mit ihrer
vielfältigen und neuen Perspektive" ( Sepehri, 2002, p. 150) and ,, ...ist daher
Ausdruck des Verhältnisses von Autonomie und Anpassungsdruck" ( Becker/ Seide,
2008, p.1).
With the process of globalization, the aspects of cultural differences become more
valuable within an organization because entrepreneurial activities now require global
understanding and knowledge of international context and diverse cultural values.
(Köppel / Sander, 2008, p. 6). With reference to globalization, it is particularly
important for companies to establish an internationally-oriented corporate culture.
Cultural Diversity Management tends to plan organizational change, which creates a
new corporate culture. ( Krell, 2004, p. 51 / Cox, 1993, p.230)
Cox / Blake, Kondola/ Fullerton, and Thomas/ Ely identified the major components
of a corporate culture in which cultural diversity may contribute to the success of a
company. The components are:
· "Pluralism: Reciprocal acculturation where all cultural groups respect,
value and learn from each other "( Cox/ Blake, 1991, p.52).
Communication
12
· "Empowerment: Participation and consultation will be encouraged, the need
for experimentation is values and encouraged, and people are lowed to fail" (
Kandola/ fullerton, 1994, p.50.)
· "Openness: High tolerance for debates and support for constructive conflict
on work-related matters"( Thomas / Ely , 1996, p.86).
Moreover, the development of corporate culture must focus on change to values and
norms in relation to dealing with cultural diversity.
Hilb (2000) argues that a company structure is the consequence of company vision
and corporate culture. The structures determine the method of task distribution and
manage interaction between employees. Only a structured company would be able to
integrate cultural differences in the behavior of its employees. Therefore, cultural
diversity management must create structures that support possible cultural
differences and, thus, capable of enabling a cultural inclusion (Jung/ Schäfer, 2003,
p. 96 fig.2).
3.1.3 Culture Difference(s)
After describing the term culture and organizational culture in this chapter, I will
address culture differences. This term also represents a very significant component
within the development of cultural diversity. In the forthcoming section I will
highlight its importance of cultural distinction and clarify the way it impacts the
organizational workforce. First, a clear understanding of this term is required.
As in chapter 3.1, there are many different points of view regarding this term. Seen
from this angle one approach would be to determine the differences between the
cultures.
By beginning with a quotation from a 1919 speech exemplifying a perspective of
cultural differences given by the president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt,
I want to present a negative narrow-minded interpretation of this term. In this case
cultural differences are interpreted in terms of nationality.
"If the immigrant who come here in good faith becomes an American and
assimilates himself to us he shall be treated on an exact equality is with
Communication
13
everyone else. But his equality is predicated on the man's becoming in very
fact an American and nothing but an American. There can be no divided
allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American but something else
also, isn't American at all."
The quotation indicates that "American" meant a monolithic
1
culture identity based
on nationality. In reality, however, all nations of the world contain macro cultures in
which many microcultures exist. Microcultures provide alternative norms systems
for guiding behavior. (Cox, 1993, p.105). This makes a very important point that
should be taken into consideration. "A knowledge of intergroup cultural differences
has often been cited as important for understanding diversity in organization ..."
( Cox, 1993, p. 105). This narrow-minded point of view towards cultural differences
interferes with the idea of cultural diversity.
In the following section I will give evidence confirming that this view is too narrow.
In order to do so, specific examples of cultural differences will be discussed in six
areas of behavior with relevance to organizations. These examples are outlined as the
cultural dimensions by Gert Hofstede and dimension of differences by Edward T.
Hall (1976, 1982).
Time and Space represents one dimension. According to space orientation every
nation has its own norm for acceptable physical distances between people conversing
in public. For instance, the norm for people in many Arab countries is to stand much
closer together than is typical in Western societies, such as the United States (Hall,
1976, in Taylor Cox, 1993, p.109). Orientations toward time also vary across culture
groups.
While certain nations experience time as determined and not stretched into the future
but rather focusing on the past rather than the present, for other nations time consists
of past, present and an infinite future, with emphasis placed on the future. (Cox,
1993, p.109). The first perspective is called the circular-, and the second linear time
orientation. The procedural time orientation, however, essentially treats time as
irrelevant. Here, behavior is activity- driven and takes as much time as is needed for
its completion. Research conducted by Edward T. Hall indicates that many
1
A demographical and culturally homogenous organization.( Cox, Taylor, 1993, p.225)
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- , 2009, A Criteria Based Literature Research - Approaches, Achievements and Experiences of the Concept of Cultural Diversity in Multicultural Organizations, Hamburg, Bedey Media GmbH, https://www.diplom.de/document/227379
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