Corporate leaders and management consultants currently face a global challenge of ensuring the efficient management of diverse teams or work force (Barak 2014). Within a team, there are cultural differences on what is considered as effective leadership (Day and Antonakis 2012). These differences between group members reflect diversity and thus underpin organisational behaviour (Rabelo and Gomes 2011). Therefore, the effective management of teams within an organisation require total sensitivity to individual needs and differences (Mullins 2013).
Figure 1
The benefits of this cross-cultural awareness cannot be over-emphasized. For instance, ignorance, prejudice and hatred could be curtailed (Caines 2015). However, Adler notes that such teams could face mistrust and miscommunication issues, which could lead to stress and limit team growth (Adler 2009). The basic question remains; do the risks associated with team diversity outweigh the benefits in an organisation? It is highly likely for one to feel uncomfortable working in a multi-cultural environment. In addition, among Hoftede’s four dimensions to culture, ‘uncertainty avoidance’, which reveals how individuals of a group could feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty, plays out well in this scenario (Mullins 2013). However, the writer is of the opinion that diversity is a double-edged sword. A manager should focus on leading ethically to achieve the goals of his company rather than weighing the pros and cons of leading a diverse team. In order to lead well, emphasis should be placed on group tolerance, listening and understanding the perspectives of each team member (Lourenco et al 2014). The company in the video above has already empasized the imprtance of diversity in their team.
Premised on the above analogy, one questions if the ability to manage a diverse team becomes the most important skill needed for the growth of any business. Perhaps considering the ethical leadership examples ofthe Chairmen of AT&T company and Master Card group of the financial services sector could help answer the question. The CEO of AT & T, Randall Stephenson has coordinated the company’s diversity goals since he created an official position for a Chief Diversity Officer (DiversityInc. 2015). He acknowledged that the company’s growth through the years has been basically due to its commitment to building an inclusive and diverse workforce (DiversityInc. 2015). This strategy has not only helped foster customer equity, but also contributed to developing a stable relationship with their neigbhours (DiversityInc. 2015). In additon, the CEO of Master Card, Ajay Banga attributed the success of the company to his commitment on diversity (Nielsen 2013). He stated that having employees from diverse backgrounds with different values and experiences complements his inability to view the business world from one prism (Nielsen 2013). He attributes the company’s innovative breathroughs to an empowered active and diverse work force (Nielsen 2013).
McKinsey research recently discovered that of 366 public companies analysed, ethnic and gender diverse companies are 50% more likely to have increased financial returns than other national industries (Hunt and Layton 2015). The research highlighted that more diverse companies are highly likely to acquire top talent, employee satisfaction, better decision making, customer orientation and an overall increasing yield (Hunt and Layton 2015). However, he noted that 97% of U.S companies lack top leadership teams that reflect the country’s diverse labour force (Hunt and Layton 2015). This is due to perceived increase in the cost of managing employees who share different beliefs and values (Hunt and Layton 2015).
Figure 2
How can a manager ethically pioneer his diverse workforce towards attaining the objectives of his firm? As shown in the figure 2 above, perhaps understanding Ed Hall’s ‘High and Low Context Culture’ framework could be a starting point. (Hall 1990). Hall posits that culture is akin to languages of time, space, things, friendships and agreements (Hall 1990). These languages which symbolize specific shared attitude should be bench-marked with whether an individual is a national of a either a ‘high’ context society or a ‘low’ context society (Hall 1990). ‘High’ context societies attach importance to past and tradition, have indirect communication styles, value trust and personal relationship in business, have shared group understandings and uncode information (Hall 1990). Examples include Africa, Asia and Latin American countries (Mullins 2013). On the other hand, ‘Low’ context societies communicate through coded information, direct tactics, place less importance on the past and value rules ad contracts (Hall 1990). Examples are USA, Britain and Austrailia (Mullins 2013). Spain, Greece and France are classified as ‘medium’ context (Mullins 2013).
On a practical note, a manager could adopt valuable lessons from the standard team building ‘Lego Tower Excercise’(Kearny 2009). To build a brick tower, this engaging activity propels efficient communication and trust in a team. Cooperation, guidance and team work are also enhanced to achieve the objective of the exercise (Wencang and Rosini 2015). By so doing, a manager not only adopts inclusive leadership to lead well, but also breaks barriers of cross-cultural collaboration in his company (Pierterse, 2013). More so, awareness and training programmes on benefits of working in a multi-cultural environment could be organised to enlighten all employees.
In conclusion, it is highly important for business managers to possess requisite skills to manage a diverse team. The skill set cannot function on its own without being augmented with ethical leadership skills. This is due to the inherent risks associated with team diversity. Therefore, notwithstanding the crucial role played by diversity, the overall success of an organisation requires integration of other business skills set to minimize the negative effects of cultural diversity.
REFERENCES
Adler, N. (2009) International Dimesnsions of Organisational Behaviour. USA: South-Western College Publishing
Antonakis, D. and John, D. (2012) The Nature of Leadership. Los Angeles: Sage
Barak, M. (2014) Managing Diversity: Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace. London: Sage
Caines, M. (2015) Diversity Does not Always Mean Cost [online] available from <http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/jan/13/rifco-theatre-pravesh-kumar-interview> [25 July 2015]
DiversityInc. (2015) Top Fifty Companies for Diversity [online] available from <http://www.diversityinc.com/the-diversityinc-top-50-companies-for-diversity-2015/> [25 July 2015]
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Lourenco, P. (2014) Effective Work groups: The role of diversity and Cultur. Journal of Work and Organizationla Psychology 30(3). 123-132
Mullins, L. (2013) Management and Organizational Behaviour. England: Pearson
Nielsen, B and Nielsen, S. (2013) Top Management Team Nationality Diversity and Firm Performance: A Multi-Level Study. Strategic Management Journal , 34, 373-382
Pierterse, A. (2013) Cultural Diversity and Team Performance: The Role of Team Member Goal Orientation. Academy of Management Journal (56)3 782-804
Wencang R and Zhou, E. (2015) Entrepreneurial Team Diversity and Performance: Toward an Integrated Model. Entrepreneurship Research Journal (5)1, 31-50
Leading in a Changing World 