Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior Cultural Awareness (Human Behavior in Organizations)

Amen Mukhlis Southern New Hampshire University 10/21/2011

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Abstract

Its fair to say that Diversity in its different aspects has became one main component at any work place , but ethnicity diversity and origin related diversity has have a bigger influence on organizations and the workplace behavior in addition to the innovation in those organizations. Origin diversity and cross cultural behavior both represent the idea of understanding the differences that might exist due to the different in origin and culture associated with the origin, this subject has become a main issue at many large scale organization especially with todays technology and the fact that most organizations has become a multinational organizations that operates in different nations and has employees from different cultures and different origins. In my research I research the positive influence of origin diversity in organizations and the innovation in those organizations I also seek to define the cross cultural barrier and how to overcome this barrier giving examples for different nations , the conclusion for this paper should highlight the importance of understanding origin diversity and cross cultural behavior , their effects on organizations and lessons to be taken from blunders and mistakes that organizations had made due to the lack of knowledge and proper training.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Introduction: The world has changed in terms of speed so much in the last 30 Years and with the transportation and internet technology the world has become a small village that billion of people from all around the world interact with each other on daily bases, immigration has become easier and the belonging to what use to be called home has been less and less as people searchs for better lives has taken them to different places, Same can be said about companies and organizations who started looking for the better opportunities and expanding their markets or their presence making them go to different parts of the world, the immigration of work force and the organizations has created a diverse work conditions; Where people from different origins, ages , colors and sex work together This has lead to a massive change in the way organizations think and should think as organizations are still not fully aware of the effect of diversity and cross cultural barriers on their business and the way they do this business. The research looks at ethnic diversity as a component of cross cultural behavior due to the fact of the increasing number of employees with different cultural background in work places.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Research and analysis: To understand National Origin diversity and cross cultural behavior organizations has to understand the definition of diversity in general and then its components where National origin diversity and cross cultural differences take place Diversity: is the difference that exists in each individual that makes him/her a different person from the other, it can be surface diversity: Color, age, ethnic group, and national origin or deep level diversity: education, personality, and religion. Cultural Diversity1 is defined as: as the difference in cultural background that can be defined be the geographical origin, the religion, Color, sex and physical abilities National culture2 is the collective programming of mind that distinguishes one Group from another Globalization has made cross cultural interaction and cultural diversity an important subject as organizations are looking to understand the differences and employ those differences to produce a better business environment whether it was inside the organization itself through their employees or in dealing with a different culture due to the nature of business.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Cultural Variables and their effect on business in a diverse company: There are many cultural variables in general but in this research I have concentrated in researching those variables that can affect business in an organization that has employees from different cultures: Language barrier : a language barrier is the existence of difficulty in translating ideas and sentences from a language to another due to the differences in languages as non native English speakers finds it hard most of the time to share their ideas clearly either to a simple lack of vocabulary or sometimes due to the limited English language in compare to other languages, An example can be the word love which has seven degrees in an ancient language like Arabic or 5 different degrees in a language like Russian while love is one in English which makes it hard for an Arabic person or Russian to describe exactly what he/she feels since they grew up with five to seven degrees for love while an English speaking person has one word to describe love. If a Person does not speak the native language for the majority it does not mean he/she is less smart. Religion: religion is part of an individual culture and Individuality; religion beliefs should be respected in work place and respected in other cultures... Knowledge about basic religion differences can be vital in the success of diversity management and cross cultural communication.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Social Habits3: social Habits are important and the knowledge about those habits can be very beneficial in work place examples can range from greeting the way people great each other (Mediterranean countries use the hand shake as a sign of respect and proper greeting) to conversations (Russians, Arabs and Italians do not share their personal life and emotional information) other Habits like staring and body language should be noticed.

Cultural Variables that can affect organizations working in other cultures4 Cultural perceive4 : is how a certain culture perceives a certain matter whether in business or in life differently ( different cultures perceive advertisement banners differently, or another example would be certain cultures perceive the loading time for an internet page differently due to the understanding of time). interventionism of governments5 : most cultures has a High Government intervention a subject American Companies usually neglects or go unaware of ; which causes the company or organization Problems.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Cultural Habits : Greeting6: a Project manager or a Manager should know the way People great each other in other cultures in order for his company to succeed working in that culture. Cultural Concepts3: a cultural concept is what is the main idea and concept for a particular matter an example is the Russian concept for property as it is believed that prosperity in Russia is a temporary thing as everything belongs to the society which makes the concept of property different from that in America. Attitude towards others6: different cultures has a different attitude towards others in some cultures People can be stiff when meeting a new person whether its a new business partner or a new manager or even employee like the Japanese culture .. while in a culture like The Arabic one a an Arab would interrupt a conversation or negotiation to Rise and pay respect to any new person that might present in order to show respect which Arabs consider friendliness and Respect the same thing would be considered impoliteness in a culture like The Japanese culture. Work Focus : in America work focus is usually individually All work related issues are dealt with in an individual matter like achievement While in cultures like The Japanese, Russian or the Arabic culture is more team work based and the work as a whole rather than individually.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Attitude towards time7: understanding the attitude towards time is very important in doing business in a different culture... coming late to work in America is a serious matter but coming earlier is not a bad thing the same cant be said about Switzerland where coming earlier even one minute is considered bad as they Value time .. in a culture like the Arabic or the Italian time is not an issue rather than the amount and quality of work as if you are expected to finish X amount of projects this day it does not matter if you came late or early as long as the work was done with quality. some of the cultural constrains in doing business abroad can be seen in the table Below8: 1 2 3 View toward business and its managers. View toward authority and subordinates. Inter-organizational cooperationwhich involves the interaction among business Firms, labor unions, government agencies, and educational institutions. 4 5 6 7 View of achievement. Class structure and Individual mobility. View toward wealth and material gain. View toward scientific method.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

8 9

View toward risk-taking View toward change.

Conclusion and Summery: A full understanding of what diversity means, origin/ethnicity diversity and cross cultural barriers would give the organizations a tool to be used in order to be more successful benefiting from this and encourage both innovation and new business in different spots in the world. This can be achieved by many methods that can be summarized by Cultural Awareness9

Cultural Awareness Cultural awareness can be defined literally as10: the ability to understand people from other cultures. In business cultural awareness can be defined as follows11: o The desire to learn and interact with different cultures. o An essential mind set in a present global world.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

o A competitive advantage in todays business.

Cultural awareness10 as defined gives the tool an organization\person needs to interact with other employees from other cultures or to do business in other countries and different cultures. The Awareness has four level and they are: My way is the only way: this can be in business or in life in general as people do not see that there are other people with different views or methods or even style of life. Americans are often accused of this level of awareness as its believed that Americans do not understand that there is a different world outside America and its Not Canada and Mexico. I know their way but my way is better. My way and their way.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Our way: this way is when understanding for both cultures is met and this can develop business solutions to avoid the negative in both and emphasis on the positives.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Appendix Cultural Business Awareness Examples7: The following Examples represent habits that represent the opposite of the American business culture. Working In Mexico: Personal relationship dominates all aspects of Mexican business as Mexican culture values the trust and trust in that cultures is for family and close friends. Mexicans Value Friendship more than efficiency in their business. Mexicans do not like deadlines in their work as it represent pressure. Speech usually in Mexico is indirect (no one says No directly) and tittles and status are extremely important. Working In France: Social interaction is constrained by class standing and during the life time Frenchmen do not experience much change in their social interaction or class standing unlike America where with hard work and education move you up in classes. Lack of work ethics: this is represented in two examples: France has the worlds longest annual vacation (Starts with 4 to 5 weeks annually) and the fact that they do not like to do overtime. Managers are experts thus in the French business culture managers would pretend to have all the answers.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

Working in China: Whom you know is more important than what you know. Gift giving: while American consider it bribing, Chinese consider it an essential part of business. A team and Group mentality where work and achievements are responsibility of Certain Groups not Individuals. The Chinese place less Value on the significance of time.

Origin Diversity and cross cultural Behavior and Their effect on Organizations and Innovation

References: 1. Aura Repekien1, Nida Kvedarait2, Vaiva Jankauskien intercultural competence as precondition for cultural diversity management. 2. Ricarda B. Bouncken and Viviane A.Winkler National and cultural diversity in transnational innovation teams. 3. Hale N. Tongren , Leo Hechet and Kenneth kovach recognizing cultural differences key to successful U.S.-Russian enterprises 4. Jana Mller and Martin Eisend A Global Investigation into the Cultural and Individual Antecedentsof Banner Advertising Effectiveness 5. Christopher King and Hubert Segain Cross Border Negotiated Deals: Why Culture Matters? 6. Liangguang Huang Cross-cultural Communication in Business Negotiations 7. Larson gray Project management the managerial Process (5th edition) 8. Barry M. Richman significance of cultural variables. 9. http://www.culturosity.com/articles/whatisculturalawareness.htm 10. http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/cultural%20awareness 11. www.Culturosity.com