Culture And Diversity : An Ever Changing Global Business Environment Essay

Culture is defined as a whole basis of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, and customs that define a person or group of persons. Culture differs is so many ways and that culture is what defines each of person as an individual. This concept comes from the cultural that was taught and developed from after birth and through our adolescent years. Our culture is the foundation of who we are. It identifies the lifestyle and pursuits that are practiced in the group of people we interact with in our society. Culture beliefs, values, and practices are learned from birth.

There are various aspects that make up a culture in today’s world, ranging from necessities needed for survival, social groups, and the unique traditions they value within the specific culture. That’s why we all are able to conclude that culture is the fluid set of traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and practices developed over time by a specific group or community.

A culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people- their behaviors, beliefs, values that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. It also includes the customs, arts, literature, morals/values and traditions of a particular society or group (Virginia Encyclopedia). Culture can also be considered as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in places or organizations. This topic is of huge importance to our society mainly in the state of

Cultural Relativism – the practice of assessing a culture by its own standards, and not in comparison to another culture

Culture: Culture refers to values, languages, symbols, norms, beliefs, expectations that members of a group possess and the good things they produce and use in their life. Culture is the thing that all the members of a group or society follow.

According to Merriam-Webster, there are different things that are classified as a culture. In particular, I believe that culture is defined as “… the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time” (“Culture”).

Culture is defined as “The ideas, attitudes, customs, beliefs, values and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society that are passed on from generation to generation” (Brentnall, A., n.d.).

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many

Today, it is not uncommon to find a vast amount of companies that are hiring culturally diverse employees or are doing business abroad. With that being said, it is exceedingly important to understand culture and all the aspects that it makes up in order to be able to bring about a productive work environment. Culture is diverse and complex and brings about positive change, new ideas, and viewpoints. However, how does one effectively analyze all aspects of culture that allows them to bring together people of different backgrounds? In this essay I’m going to be discussing about the five levels at which culture can be analyzed as well as how culture is exhibited in the business environment to show how one can bring all cultures together in the workplace.

Corporate culture is an intricate component of an organizations identity. Fortune 500 corporations have used corporate culture as a trademark. Apple Computers, a leading technology corporation, leverages its brand by promoting connectivity between all Apple devices. Walmart Corporation requires all associates to dress in dark blue shirts and beige slacks. This document will discuss cultural assessment tools used in assessing organizational culture and gaps within formal groups, leadership styles and techniques that influence social culture and diversity within formal workgroups, description of social culture that influence productivity within diverse workgroups and social culture and diversity of formal group members and the influence on organizational culture.

A society 's social structure refers to its basic social organization. Two dimensions stand out when explaining differences between cultures. The first is the degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as opposed to

The definition of culture offered in one textbook is “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society.”

Culture can be defined in many ways due to the fact that everyone can have their own distinct and traditional beliefs and values. “ Culture is fluid, it is not a static entity which one takes out of the box on occasion. It is with us daily” (Cultural Handout). Someone’s culture is set as the characteristics of the group practices in language, religion, types of food, social traits and habits, and the distinct arts and music. There are a variety of different cultures for example, Western Culture, Eastern Culture, Latin Culture, Middle Eastern Culture, and African Culture. All of these different cultures have their own ideas, values, and individualism, laws that are implied, civil rights, and even technology. In our, “ Culture Handout” culture is defined as the tool of the mind, “ it is an individual’s way seeing and interacting within the world. It encompasses one’s values systems, beliefs, and perceptions of the world around them. Race, socio-economic class gender, sexual orientation, ability, geographic location, age, religion language, etc. all impact the formation of culture, but these various context are not culture” (Cultural Handout).

The meaning of culture in terms of the business world is a social interpretation or meaningful communication with common ways of transmitting information amongst people. This comes from the understanding that “culture is the way in which groups of people solve problems and reconcile dilemmas” Woolliams, P & Trompenaars, F (2004). Culture as a theory which consists of different levels; the highest level of national or regional society, followed by the corporate or organisational and finally ending with the professional and ethical level.

Many opportunities are associated with a culturally diverse workplace and global expansion may have potential to provide just such a diverse work group. Cross-culturalism in business can provide leaders and employees with a wonderful opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. In addition, “the more opportunities for business leaders to interact with people from different cultures, the more likely they will be to have positive attitudes from different cultures and identify, learn and apply diverse culturally-appropriate business behaviors” (Caligiuri & Tarique, 2012, p. 614). Culturally diverse environments offer a multitude of benefits including “the variety of perspectives, skills and personal attributes” (Matveeve & Nelson, 2004, p. 254). Moreover, multicultural teams have potential to “generate more ideas of higher quality in brainstorming tasks” (Matveeve &