Corporate Culture & Diversity

Module Outline
What is Culture?

Diversity and Its Implications Stereotyping Workplace Discrimination Sexual Harrassment Treatment of Persons with AIDS

Culture
Is the learned and shared way of thinking and acting among a group of people or society Is the environment of human-crafted beliefs, customs, knowledge and practices

Hierarchy of Cultures
World Culture
Humanity

Major Culture (e.g., U.S. culture, Filipino culture)

A regional or national group with a common culture

Subculture (e.g., various immigrant groups or regional

groups) A cultural group within a major culture

Corporate Culture
An organization within a major culture or subculture

Thoughts on Culture
Everyone creates cultureevery person, group, family, organization. Culture is what everyone knows that everyone else knows. It is a way of understanding and living in the world. Cultures are defined by their differences from other cultures. The greater the difference, the more defined the culture. The most important aspects of culture are those not talked about. People from different cultures experience different realities. Most cultures value conformity, reward compliance, and punish descent.

International Body Language

China In eastern culture, silence can really be golden. So dont panic if long periods of silence form part of your meeting with Chinese people. It simply means they are considering your proposal. Bulgarians nod the head up down to say no, not yes. To say yes, they nod their heads back and forth. In the Arab world, the left hand is considered unclean. Use your right hand always to get a business card, shake hands and for eating. When trying to attract someones attention, dont use your index finger with palm extended upward. This is how Cantonese call their dogs. Beware of whistling in public that is the height of rudeness there.

Bulgaria Egypt

Hong Kong

India

International Body Language

Japan Russia Slurp your noodles at lunch far from being rude, it actually shows you appreciate the food very much Russians greet with bear hugs and kisses direct on the lips. Dont do this however in Uzbekistan, they will probably shoot you. The overt display of a closed fist is an incitement to war If a Saudi man takes anothers hand on the street, it is a sign of mutual respect. Dont use the hand sign for OK it signifies Asshole

Pakistan Saudi Arabia Greece

Malaysia

If you find a Malaysian with his hands on his hips before you, beware you have said something terrible or done something wrong

Value of Corporate Culture

Culture gives an organizational identity to employees -- a defining vision of what the organization represents It is an important source of stability and continuity to the organization, which provides a sense of security and belongingness to members Knowledge of culture helps newer employees interpret what goes on in the organization It is important to managers because it will allow them to contextualize behavior of employees -- i.e., understand why people behave that way Culture helps stimulate employee enthusiasm for their tasks

Features of Winning Cultures

Sets High ideals and expectations for all Rewards members for achievement Sets clear company values and ethical guidelines for behavior Empowers employees Creates Loyalty to the Team Develops a high performance environment which is challenging, satisfying and fun to work in

Communicating Corporate Culture

Means to Communicate include:
Communication of Corporate Vision and Mission Corporate Philosophy Statements (Credo) Codes of Ethical Conduct New Employee On-Boarding and Integration Programs

Process is called ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION continuous process of transmitting key element of culture to employees

Ways of Forging and Changing Culture

Very Great

Great

Moderate

Minimal

Communicate Train Formulate Reward Use Regognize Top Mgt Employees Value Behaviors Stories heroes Support Statements & Myths

Use Appoint Slogans a Manager of Culture

Creating a Fun Work Environment

A Fun Work Environment is a unique and increasingly popular culture in which supervisors encourage, initiate, and support a variety of playful and humorous activities. It has several features:
Easily recognized by observing the presence of laughter, smiles, surprise and spontaneity Means different things to various people Relatively easy to create at work Elicits a broad rang of personal and organizational payoffs

Exercise:

How We View Differences

Video Showing: A Peacock in the Land of Penguins

Diversity
Refers to the presence of individual human characteristics that make people different from one another. More specifically, this diversity comprises differences among members in terms of: gender, age, ethnicity, abled-bodiedness, marital status, family background and religion

Types of Diversity
Gender Age Race Ethnicity Culture Religion Language/Accent Disability Height/Weight Sexual Orientation Education Job Title Job Function Job Skills Union/Non-Union Part-Time/Full-Time Marital Status Political affiliation

The Village Earth

"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

The Village Earth

57 Asians 21 Europeans; 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white 30 would be white 70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual

The Village Earth

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education 1 would own a computer

The Challenge of Workplace Diversity

The challenge lies in the continuous improvement of the integration and social acceptance of people from different backgrounds within organizations. Our differing human characteristics influence the way we think, act, interact, and make choices. Often, these differences interfere with our ability to support, trust, and respect each other, and thus to effectively function together.

Areas of Workplace Diversity

Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
The active recruitment of women, minorities, and other protected groups. The goal is to meet certain legal imperatives.
EEOC Department of Justice Civil Rights

The primary concern is meeting quotas, often without concern for the survivability of these individuals.

Areas of Workplace Diversity

Managing Diversity
The organization is diverse by default, and now it must deal with it. The goal is to fix, cover-up, and/or defer the problem with a minimum of hassle. The effort is top management-driven, thus forced throughout the organization. The concern is more for a change in behavior than attitudes.

Areas of Workplace Diversity

Valuing Diversity
The organization sees direct benefits from incorporating diverse people and perspectives. INCLUSION: The goal is to change and/or create a organizational culture that recognizes, respects and encourages individual differences.

Diversity Bias
Assumptions of Superiority
Im better than you.

Assumptions of Correctness
This is the way it should be

Assumptions of Universality
Were all the same. Everybody is just like me.

Stereotyping
Occurs when one thinks of a person in terms of general characteristics attributed to a particular group Examples:
Old man or woman = Slow, Unpropductive, Cant Do Physical Work Chinese = Thrifty, Shrewd Business Sense, Familial Focus Female Manager = Fickle-Minded, Indecisive, Form vs. Substance oriented, Physical Limitations

Discrimination
EEO Laws (in US and Europe) generally prohibit job discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, handicapped status, sexual orientation Two Key Discrimination Issues which we will discuss:
Sexual Harassment AIDS

Sexual Harassment
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:
1. Submission to such conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a condition of an individuals employment 2. Submission or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual (e.g. promotion) 3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individuals work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment

AIDS
Medical privacy of AIDS should be protected Acceptance of the person should be encouraged Managers should be oriented on what to do when one of their staff is tested HIV Positive

Video Showing: Valuing Diversity at the Interpersonal Level