Building Community in Culturally Diverse Workplaces

Different Cultures in the Workplace

Kouzes and Posner (2012) state that leaders ensure individuals know they are taken into consideration and not being ignored (p. 318). There are several different means of enhancing this kind of celebratory culture given the varying best practices regarding how leaders need to demonstrate awareness of the needs of followers. One of the major ways of paying attention to follower needs and showing that followers are not taken for granted is through creating community. With regards to creation of community, the leader should demonstrate awareness of how celebrations are carried out based on cultural beliefs.

Celebrations that are conducted based on cultural beliefs are particularly significant when the working environment is made of various cultures, as they are in the modern world. This process would require the identification and establishment of best practices on the issue in order to promote inclusion and diversity in the workplace, as well as creating a sense of ownership among followers.

Overview of Community Building Practices

Generally, people carry out celebrations throughout the world as they gather in various places and ways to mark significant occasions (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 301). The celebrations all over the world are carried out in various ways such as elaborate parades, setting off fireworks, attending banquets, and gathering together to show honor during tragic times. The use of celebrations throughout the world is because of their recognition as the most important way of showing respect and gratitude, demonstrating values and traditions or customs, and restoring a sense of community.

As a result, celebrations are vital to the long-term health of an organization just like daily organizational activities. Moreover, celebrations are crucial means through which organizations and their leaders communicate the most important things to them, and this can be achieved through creating a spirit or sense of community.

There are various ways of creating a spirit of community through corporate celebrations, which take advantage of the need to socialize, connect with one another, and create community (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 305). One of the best practices in community building in the workplace is celebrating accomplishments in public. While individual recognition of achievements enhances the person's sense of worth and enhances performance, public celebration of accomplishments would not only achieve this but also add to the wellbeing of people and organizations in the workplace. The public recognition of achievements contributes to organizational welfare in a powerful and beneficial manner that exceeds private or individual recognition.

The second best practice is providing social support, given the significance of supportive relationships in sustaining personal and organizational vitality. Celebrations and ceremonies are good opportunities for providing supportive relationships since they help build healthier groups and promote teamwork. The third best practice is investing in fun—a combination of hard work and enjoyment.

How Cultures Create a Sense of Community

The modern workplace is characterized by increased diversity because of the growing number of people from different cultures. These cultures have different ways of creating a sense of community in the workplace because of the differences in customs and traditions. One culture that creates a sense of community through different ways is the Somali culture. In this culture, a sense of community is created through demonstrating warmth and generosity, as well as being hospitable.

Examples of Contemporary Leaders

Secondly, the Ohana culture creates a sense of community not only through embracing diversity but also through performing native songs and dances. Thirdly, Aboriginal cultures create a sense of community through adhering to the responsibilities and obligations of their kinship structure and system in order to create a sense of belonging.

One approach that has been used by contemporary leaders in a global context is the Contingency Theory. This theory focuses on how it is important for a leader to align his or her leadership approach or style with the demands of the situation. This process basically requires the leader to effectively assess the situational needs in order to customize his or her style to the specific demands of the situation.

This implies that the leader must have the ability to utilize different leadership styles based on the developmental level of followers, because various developmental levels are associated with varying demands and needs. Therefore, for a leader to be effective, he or she must utilize the right approaches at the right time to promote the follower's development through meeting the changing situational needs and demands.

Example of a Culturally Diverse Team

An example of a contemporary leader working in a global context who utilizes contingency theory in his approach to leadership is Zappos.com Chief Executive Officer, Tony Hsieh. Hsieh works in a non-virtual environment where he attends to situational demands by spending time with his employees. He addresses the situational demands following his commitment to create an environment where workers can easily develop honest relationships through open communication lines (Taube, 2014). He spends time with employees in order to understand their needs and demands and utilizes the right style at the right time to meet them.

As previously mentioned, the modern workplace is characterized by increased diversity, especially culturally diverse teams or environments. An example of a culturally diverse team or environment that I worked in is the work environment of a charitable organization that provides donations to remote places across the globe in order to improve the lifestyles of the locals. I volunteered in this organization during the last summer holidays and realized that its working environment is made of people from various cultural backgrounds since most of them are from different teams.

These workers have exhibited a sense of community and passion to help those in need, especially those who are not capable of having basic human needs. During my time as a volunteer, I promoted cohesiveness in this culturally diverse team or environment through treating every worker with respect and fairness regardless of the cultural differences. I also achieved this by embracing different opinions, challenging assumptions when dealing with certain tasks, and discussing unfair prejudices and stereotypes.