Impact of Cultural Diversity

Introduction

In the workforce, diversity plays a vital role as it is an excellent opportunity to bring together a number of people with different backgrounds and personal characteristics. According to “Apple’s CEO Tim Cook,” the most diverse group can produce the best product or service, which makes diversity the future of the workplace. An employee should effectively instill a culture of diversity and inclusion within an organization to obtain tangible or intangible benefits. Managing diversity influences many processes with respect to the manager’s brand and the chosen hiring efforts, including communication with customers, employee performance, and the promotion of creativity and innovation.

The importance of a strong culture creation lies in its contributions to the continuity of success in the long run. Employees prefer establishments with a well-defined diverse culture and attention to their employees. Companies where employers mistreat their people, avoid organizational problems, and neglect anti-discrimination policies are never in demand. The presence of cultural diversity makes employees happy, optimistic, cooperative and involved in their work. A positive climate shows that employees are the most important assets in their facilities, and the protection of their rights is the best way to achieve continuous success.

One of the most critical benefits that add to the facility’s growth is the ability to recruit talents and keep good employees. Due to the existing competition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, economic challenges, and turnover, workforce permanence attracts people’s attention. However, it is not enough for a company to be recognizable in the labor market but create proper working conditions and standards to retain employees and develop trustful relationships. Research by Deloitte, the largest professional services network in the world, shows that 72% of employees are ready to leave their current facility and join a facility with a better-developed diversity policy.

Comparison Between the Three Companies A, B, C

From our experiences, we compare diversity management within the three different workplaces, namely Company (A), Company (B), and Company (C).

Diversity Level

The first point we would like to mention is the amount of diversity in each company. At Companies (A) and (B), we found that approximately 95% of employees are Saudis, which proves a low level of diversity. On the other hand, we can see that Company (C) is characterized by a great number of foreign employees (not Saudis). Also, we should admit that the majority of top and middle management levels are occupied by Saudis in Companies (A) and (B), while in Company (C), the same positions belong to foreigners.

Gender and Age

In light of the 2030 vision, the number of female employees continues to increase. In Companies (A) and (C), this tendency is evident, while the managers of Company (B) still prefer to hire more male workers than women. Talking about the age characteristic of the staff, all three companies show almost similar results and prove the possibility of age diversity. There is no specific line in terms of which older workers make contributions due to their knowledge and experience, while younger employees focus on technical skills. All employees are involved in different tasks and demonstrate good results, regardless of their age and professional background.

Religion

Although religion is another important characteristic of organizational behavior, not many managers promote diversity policies on this basis. The fact is that there are always some differences in people’s religious beliefs and practices. In the workplace with poor awareness about religions and practices, employees are less satisfied and motivated. For example, in the chosen companies, no attention is paid to prayer times, and some meetings drag on, with no possibilities for employees to fulfill their religious needs.

Semi-Governmental Entity

1. The majority of employees are Saudis, and most of them have similar cultural and religious backgrounds.
2. There is a gender wage gap due to the differences in earnings among men and women, even if a woman has more years of experience, high qualifications, and specific credentials.
3. The percentage of men is vastly higher than the number of women hired in the same company.
4. Some managers underestimate female capabilities and avoid delegating leadership with them in key projects but tend to share responsibilities with men, even if they lack experience, skills, and qualifications.
5. There is usually a refusal to hire non-Saudi people because an HR manager believes that the governmental entity should recruit only Saudis and obtain assistance from external sources for a limited period or only for executive positions.
6. There is a gap in communication between employees and appointed consulting firm resources.
7. Almost all top and middle managers are Saudis in the company.
8. In the majority of cases, it is hard for a person to get a promotion based on annual achievements only.

Private Company (multinational Consulting Company)

1. The manpower is diverse as there are employees from Egypt, Jordan, India and several European countries.
2. Most top and middle managers remain to be foreigners.
3. Diversity of employees’ age and gender is obvious in the company.
4. There is a position of the head of diversity to manage discrimination issues.
5. The salary scale is predetermined by such factors as the years of experience, core fields, and obtained qualifications.
6. Awareness sessions are organized to improve employees’ knowledge about the positive effects of diversity on individuals and the company.
7. An annual gathering event (Family Day out) is offered to employees and their families to strengthen organizational behaviors and promote loyalty.
8. Managers must arrange monthly meetings for brainstorming between their teams, sharing personal stories and experiences, and improving relationships.
9. An employee can be promoted on the basis of his or her annual achievements.
10. There is an emphasis on expertise and skills in a recruiting process to retain and attract talented employees.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1. Variety of different perspectives. Since diversity in the workplace means that employees have special characteristics and backgrounds, they are more likely to share various experiences and skills, contributing to significant growth and development.
2. Increased creativity. In a constantly changing world, the ability to innovate is highly appreciated, and people with different backgrounds tend to offer multiple approaches, which results in spontaneous decision-making, untraditional ways of thinking, and high creativity.
3. Innovation importance. When diverse people combine their perspectives and share ideas from different angles, they often come together in novel ways, promoting unexpected and innovative solutions.
4. Faster problem-solving. Diversity means that people with different backgrounds gather together and bring their solutions to the table. To prove their maturity and readiness to cooperate, leaders and managers choose the best solution from a long list sooner.
5. Increased profits. If companies with a diverse workforce make better decisions faster, they save time and obtain a serious advantage over their competitors. As a result, companies with diversity in the workplace achieve better business results and have more profits compared to other organizations.
6. Higher employee engagement. When a company develops an effective diversity-related policy, people are eager to work there, regardless of their gender, age, or ethnicity. Such type of engagement is the best outcome of diversity and inclusion in a company because if employees feel included, they are interested and motivated to achieve high results.
7. Reduced employee turnover. If employees feel accepted and valued due to anti-discrimination policies, they are happy to come to their work and stay long with a company. As a result, such companies have lower turnover rates and focus on employees’ development, not search.
8. Better company reputation. Companies that are dedicated to building and promoting diversity in the workplace are seen as good, human, and socially responsible organizations, where any person is eager to work.
9. Improved hiring results. Diversity in the workplace determines a company’s employer brand and presents desirable working conditions for many people. The offered policies make it possible to attract talented people from various regions.

Disadvantages

1. Lack of understanding of Saudi culture. Sometimes, poor knowledge of traditions like shaking hands with Saudi women, asking personal questions, or respecting prayer times, causes interpersonal conflicts.
2. Racial inequality. Some employees still face racism from their line managers in their performance, evaluation, and promotion, which reduces reward possibilities.
3. Discrimination. Sometimes, foreign managers report unfair treatment from Saudi employees. The examples include the assignment of tasks and the recognition of the employees of the same nationality because of the intention to follow common traditions and cultural interests.

Positive Cultural Climate

Regarding the research experience and personal observations of the group, several effective recommendations on how to promote a positive cultural climate in the workplace may be developed. First, it is important to clearly identify organizational goals and resources so employees may demonstrate tangible results in their work. As soon as specific goals are achieved, new plans are offered to push production and motivate employees. Second, employers should ensure that the hiring process is unbiased, and a company welcomes people with different backgrounds and celebrates their differences. However, it is not enough to hire a person and inform him or her about the existing policies. A positive climate means a free exchange of experience and information and the use of different approaches to working processes.

Despite the intention to provide the staff with the best resources and conditions, some stressful moments and conflicts are not always easy to predict. Therefore, the third step in creating a positive cultural clime is a combination of effective resolution of problems, open discussions, and attention to individual needs. It is possible to use humor and demonstrate respect to all employees to avoid negative emotions and recognize misunderstandings at an early stage. Sometimes, it is better to spend additional time communicating personally or in a group instead of keeping silent and trying to find a solution independently. Employers must appreciate the intentions of their workers to speak out loud and share their concerns.

Finally, attention to human emotions and feelings is expected in the workplace. When an employer shows gratitude and happiness for what a company has or is able to achieve, a team is ready to work hard, train their skills, and discuss the possible ways of improvement. For example, Apple appreciates women in the tech sector because it is cool and innovative (“Apple’s CEO Tim Cook”). Instead of following the already offered standards and biases, employees are motivated to discover innovative ways to solve old problems, making diversity the key to success and the establishment of a positive employee attitude.

Conclusion

Attention to such issues as diversity and inclusion improves the performance of employees from a variety of perspectives. People enjoy diverse work environments that are characterized by a specific culture of inclusion. As a consequence, the staff is properly motivated and ready to demonstrate high performance and loyalty. When individuals feel appreciated for their skills, uniqueness, and differences, they are satisfied with the offered conditions and demonstrate high productivity and interest in achieving the best results. However, sometimes, the problems of racism and discrimination negatively impact some working processes because managers are not able to manage diversity properly.

Employees are exposed to an unfriendly environment and focus on their personal benefits instead of promoting organizational improvements. According to Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030, many companies expect to ensure diversity policies to obtain more financial and organizational benefits. Even the existing disadvantages in Companies (A), (B), and (C) may be thoroughly discussed and investigated to find a solution and obtain benefits with time. A vibrant work climate that values employees’ unique abilities and contributions have to be a priority for many modern organizations in the Saudi region.

Work Cited

“Apple’s CEO Tim Cook: Diversity Is ‘the Future of Our Company’.” Employee, 2020. Web.