Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences

¶ … Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences by Employers

Because all organizations are comprised of people, it is vitally important for managers and professionals in business settings to understand the salient cultural, ethnic, and gender differences that affect organizational performance. Indeed, the connection between an informed management style that takes such cultural, ethnic and gender-related differences into account and organizational performance is well documented. Moreover, these issues have assumed even more importance and relevance in recent years as the United States has become an increasingly multicultural society and where more and more women are joining the workforce. To gain some fresh insights in these areas, this paper provides a review of the peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to identify significant cultural, ethnic and gender differences that are encountered in the workplace, followed by a discussion concerning how managers and other professionals in business settings can overcome these organizational hurdles to achieve superior outcomes. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

One of the more challenging aspects of managing other people is the fact that everyone is unique. Certainly, organizational behavioral theorists have identified a number of commonalities that are involved in how people respond to various motivators in the workplace and there is a growing body of evidence concerning the effectiveness of various leadership styles on organizational performance and profitability. For instance, Neff (2002) emphasizes that, "Successful companies know that motivated, satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and profit margins" (p. 385). Despite the importance of the need, many managers today are confronted by a polyglotinous amalgamation of men and women from diverse backgrounds who may or may not have the same needs and wants as others. In this environment, it is not surprising that even when managers recognize that there are potentially significant cross-cultural, ethnic or gender differences involved in workplace interactions, they may not understand how their own preconceptions and style may adversely affect their management and motivation of their subordinates (Bardovi-Harlig & Hartford, 2005).

Confounding the matter further is the fact that people from different cultures tend to have different bargaining styles, may place higher values on initiating interactions, and they may place higher values on factors other than pay in their personal definitions of success (Mann, 2006). Beyond the ethnic and cultural differences that may exist in the workplace, studies have also shown that many women are less assertive compared to their male counterparts in the workplace in standing up for their rights and pursuing formal grievance resolutions (Miner, 2002). On average, women continue to earn less than their male counterparts and women remain underrepresented in most organizations' top leadership echelons (Miner, 2002). Furthermore, these fundamental differences in worldviews and gender become even more as many companies expand their operations into other countries (Mann, 2006).

Because these issues have become more pronounced in recent years, it is not surprising that efforts have been made to define these differences in an effort to measure them. In this regard, Hofstede (1980) identified five basic dimensions of culture as follows:

1. Power distance (focusing on the extent to which the less powerful expect and accept that power is distributed unequally);

2. Individualism-collectivism (focusing on the degree to which the society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships -- highly individualist cultures believe individual is the most important unit, whereas highly collectivistic cultures believe group is the most important unit);

3. Uncertainly avoidance (focusing on the degree to which the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, uncertainty and ambiguity within the society)

4. Masculinity-femininity (focusing on the extent to which a society emphasizes achievement or nurturing -- masculinity emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth, and differentiated gender roles, whereas femininity stresses caring and nurturing behaviors, sexual equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender roles); and,

5. Confucian-dynamism (focusing on the selective promotion of a particular set of ethics found in Confucian teachings including thrift, perseverance, a sense of shame, and following a hierarchy) (cited in Nicholson, Sarker, Sarker & Valacich, 2007).