Cross cultural management is on the rise in today’s business world and its administration is proving a some-what a challenge to the executives running those companies. However, business policies should ease things out for these executives in management positions and therefore enable them carry out their office duties effectively and efficiently while dealing with a diversity of people. A business policy is a guiding procedure that enterprises or business premises utilize in order to help them achieve their set goals and objectives. Businesses that employ people from diverse cultures and have its branches located in many different countries will definitely require a business policy that will guide in when dealing such people from immense backgrounds.
The Business Objects is a global company that with employees and executives drawn from different international cultures and from countries like France, America, Singapore, California, New York, Germany, United Kingdom and developed different versions of the product in Japanese, English, French, German and Spanish in order to cut across the diverse markets. According to Usunier (1998), geocentric studies focus on studying organizations that work in more than one culture and tries to indentify similarities which will allow multinational companies to unify their management systems. The CEO, Monsieur Liautaud needs to expect different behavior due to different norms because each culture has its own norms that it values. Each individual has a way of contributing to the development of this company depending on what he or she sees is valuable, basing on their beliefs and approach towards life. Hofstede (2005) agrees with this view when he states that each individual carries within themselves patterns of thinking, feeling and potential acting that were learned throughout their lifetime. He should therefore seek a policy that will be in a position to accommodate the different needs of these employees while at the same time find ways of managing the differences that exist among them. The guiding principle towards the establishment of a policy to govern a company that is operating in various countries and diverse employees is its employees. Since these is the team that will help the Business Objects grow and expand, then Monsieur Liautaud should determine what their interests and requirements are and find out how to fulfill them. He needs to ensure that each employee, no matter his or her background, is in sync with the system in Business Objects.
Therefore, the only policy that will accommodate the diversity in culture existing in this business without necessarily undermining the needs of the employees is a diversity policy. A diversity policy will ensure that there is equitable distribution of resources in the work place, encourage effective communication, create an inclusive workforce and get rid of biases in the work force. Moreover, it is a policy that complements leadership, teamwork and quality of service delivered. Apart from that, this policy will be suitable for Business Objects given that its employees have a range age groups, come from a variety of geographic origin, have different work and personal history, dissimilar lifestyles be they in non-management or management positions. The particular policy also encompasses many skills of management, the abilities and skills that each employee possesses, ways of reasoning out challenges in the work place, experiences and above all else, culture.
Culture is something that is learned and it kind of shapes the overall personality of an individual. It actually emanates from the social environment that an individual is exposed to rather than the genetic makeup. This inculcates the habits one often sees employees have which can be either annoying or can be tolerated.
Expanding trade internationally and the rise of immigration has enabled the Business Objects company to be included in the rising business of companies going global. For the CEO of the Business Objects company to make handle decisions with clarity, he should be able to identify the kind of cultures represented in his company and be able to tell from which countries they are located. That way, he will be able to determine the terms that he should include in the diversity policy. Since the employees of this company are modern cultures such as the United States and the United Kingdom and completely opposite cultures like the German and Singapore culture, he should be in a position to integrate these employees to be able to work in team work while at the same time uphold effective communication, and by all means discourage racism. Racism, will definitely pop up since this is proof of an occurrence when people with different skin color and language are placed in the same environment. The diversity policy should thus address how to handle discrimination and racism in the workplace and discourage favoritism. This policy should also accommodate measures to be taken when an employee shows or displays racism. It should also be in a position to touch on equality and harassment in the work place. It has been a common occurrence of women from different ages complaining t hat their fellow men earn more than they do. The diversity policy should therefore streamline this company to practicing equality and pay the employees their wages according to the amount of work they perform, qualifications and also, experience. In addition, the executives in each branch of the business that are located in the various countries mentioned should undergo training that touches on this policy for them to appreciate the importance of diversity in Business Objects.
Thus, Monsieur Liautaud should comfortably adopt the diversity policy with an assurance that all employees’ needs will be attended to and therefore, his company will be able to expand more than it presently has, producing more products with different versions.
The argument that many employees from the United Kingdom’s office have not been able to fit in a particular group based on ethnicity, age and ability suggests that, most likely, this group of people is from a different country. This is implied due to the difference in ethnicity. The group that they are being compared to is a dominant group in that they are outstanding and probably outspoken in their abilities, ethnicity and age. In fact, they probably make the majority of the work force in the particular London office.
The need for a policy to manage diversity, in such a case, is crucial for these people to feel that they are significant and are included in this company. Despite the fact that Business Objects has adopted diversity policy, that alone cannot be sufficient. Its management is equally important. The management of this policy will ensure that each term of working Business Object is being adhered to. For instance, there may be an imbalance of gender, in that; many of the employees in this office may be predominantly male. The situation here is that the few number of women may feel out of place or may be discriminated against-and maybe there is a diversity policy that stipulates that no kind of discrimination should be subjected to any employee since all are equal. In case where such a policy is not adhered to by the employees, then its management should come in handy. The policy for managing diversity will enable the victims of discrimination feel protected and it will also ensure that no amount of discrimination takes place in the work place. This will therefore result in a good working environment and every employee will be in the right state of mind to perform their duties.
The other reason as to why the policy for managing diversity will be necessary is because the policy will ensure there is organization in this office. It has been stated that this group differs from the dominant group with regard to, among other things, ability. Many employees easily look down upon the ones that seem to be slow or dumb in the way they carry out their duties. For instance, the inability of an employee in Business Objects to balance a Trading, Profit and Loss account may seem like a piece of cake to another employee. In such a scenario, the employee feels left out or may decide to overlook the task thus piling the work load. Performance of duties will therefore slow down making the particular department lag behind. When the management of this policy comes in, it will ensure that all employees who find it difficult to perform a particular task should seek consultation in order not to slow the goings-on at the office.
Apart from streamlining conflicts in the office, the policy for managing diversity ensures that the rules of the Business Objects company are being followed by all employees in that all employees will be subjected under these rules, with none of them being above them despite the management position. It will be able to spell out the fact that all employees are equal. In this case, the group of employees that do not belong to the dominant group will all be treated as equals such that even if they come from a different ethnic background, or seem older or younger from the rest, there will still be the state of inclusion, given the diversity policy.
Furthermore, employees will be able to appreciate the importance of the policy once they see the positive effects of managing this policy. For employees in the London office that have been discriminated against, or have suffered racism and were able to be protected against by this policy will grow to appreciate the diversity policy. Moreover, as the employees begin to see the peace and good working environment, and notice that they are being recognized in their work of place, they will definitely welcome the policy and strive to follow the stipulated terms. A policy will also distinguish the Business Objects company from other business premises in that it will have its own terms for operation that is unique to the company.
In basic terms, diversity cuts through age, ethnicity, age, ability, equal opportunity, appreciates the diversity of faces that is present in the work place, viewpoints of each employee, appearance and way of speaking. The purpose of diversity is to merge all these differences in the work force and make every employee have equal opportunities despite that these employees emerge from different worlds. In diversity, everybody’s opinion counts, nobody is dismissed because of the difficulty in speaking or nationality.
The elements of cultural diversity policy vary from one company to another. In this case the elements of this particular cultural policy outlines the company’s aims, objectives, the reason and purpose of the policy, it gives a detailed procedure for the management to follow when applying this policy. It further gives details on equality in the work place, the work environment, discrimination, responsibility and the necessary disciplinary action to be followed on the employees that will defy these terms. Since Business Objects is a company that is people-oriented it has to show in its diversity policy that it is dedicated to serving not only its employees but also the community with equal opportunities through appropriate and fair employment. The policy should also stress on the point that it is committed to ensuring the behavior of their employees is acceptable and professional for the operation of the company to be smooth.
The business will ensure that this policy is implemented by creation of awareness to the employees over the fact that it is a condition that will be on payment basis upon the organization. In the event of seasonal employees or volunteers, or other permanent employees, the organization should see to it that all these people are willing to participate in the implementation of the policy through carrying out of induction and providing a copy to each employee. The company should also ensure that each and every employee should undergo anti-discriminatory training for them to appreciate each culture and nationality that is represented in the company and also make the time for many of similar trainings. This policy will be dedicated to ensuring that the services it offers are available to all the sections of the business and if necessary, to the surrounding community. These events and training should be monitored by the necessary representatives of the company for them to be sure that the services are accessible. Other Human Resource and Management instruments such as career progression and reward will also be taken in to consideration. Career progression will be based on aptitude and the ability of employees in order to ensure equality is followed in the promotion of employees. The performance of the employees will also be a criteria that will be included in determining the promotion of employees. Furthermore, those present in the management position will be subjected to training in order to update their knowledge on diversity management; thus ensuring that each and every employee obtains equal opportunities and treatment. For the rewarding of the efforts of employees in this organization, the management will ensure that every excellent and productive employee will be granted education assistance. This will ensure that productivity is raised through raising motivation of the employees to not only work more, but also improve on their performance.
In conclusion, diversity policy is the best policy to adopt for a company like Business Objects because its employees are the definition of diversity: they emerge from diverse cultures and need to feel equal.
References
Hofstede, G., 2005. Cultures and Organizations: Software of The Mind. United States of America: McGraw Hill.
Usunier, J., 1998. International and Cross-Cultural Management Research. London: SAGE Publications Limited.