Managing Cultural Diversity

MODULE TITLE: MANAGING CULTURAL DIVERSITY.

ESSAY ON: Addressing the strategy to gain a competitive advantage through managing cultural diversity within a service sector organisation

INTRODUCTION

The author will address strategies to gain competitive advantage through managing cultural heritage sites in the tourism environment. The assignment consists of studying the need for a new approach to the management of cultural diversity within the spa environment.

People all over the world, are visiting heritage sites, whether they are in UK or abroad. a natnial heritage site can bring in all different nationality, from the Weston world.

Surridge (2000:p.7) states “If people are managed effectively they are likely to make a major, positive contribution to the organisation”. “If managed badly they are likely to resist change, have low productivity produce poor quality work and deliver inadequate customer service”. In a globalizing economy companies recognized potential benefits of a multicultural workforce and tried to create more inclusive work environments, However Cox (2001:p.1) (Cited in journal of ethics (2005)) states that “organizations have been disappointed with the results they have achieved in their efforts to meet the diversity challenge. Many organizations have not yet developed the systems and structures needed to maximise the potential of a diverse workplace.

It is the manager’s responsibility to diagnose and create system interventions that support anti- racist, gender, fair, and multicultural working environment.

MAIN BODY

To be successful in managing cultural diversity within an organisation a manager has to get the best out of their employees. Individual and organizational success increasingly depends on the ability to work effectively with others. In today’s ever more interdependent world, the interpersonal and procedural challenges often equal or exceed the techniques and issues involved.

Robbins (2003:511) states “Today’s progressive workplace is being modified to accommodate the varied needs of a diverse workforce. This includes providing a wide range of scheduling options and benefits that allow employees more flexibility at work and which allows them

better balance or integrate their work and personal lives”.

Werhane et al (2004:p.169) state that diversity refers to array of characteristics of human beings, which significantly mark their own and others “perception of their individual and group identities, especially characteristics of race, gender, ethnicity, age, national origin and sexual orientation”.

Getting the right employees to work for the Spa, and getting them on the right tasks at the right time is the right way to critical success. As a manager the essence of leadership is engaging others to accomplish the task. Most managers will need to involve, engage and inspire others as we seek to achieve organizational objectives. A Spa can fulfil the needs of the clients, if the right employees are recruited in the first place, and they are given the right training and support by their managers.

Offering diversity training to the employees can result in better understanding of different cultures and lead to a more productive workforce. Diversity training is the process by which a work force is educated about cultural, socio economic, racial and religious differences among employees and taught how to embrace those differences so as to create and maintain workplace to deal with diversity (Westfield & Stahlhut, (1999)).

Many employees in organizations are afraid of change, so they hold on. Holding on is a major barrier to change for individuals, groups and organizations. Surridge (2000:p.15) states “When people are managed well they embrace change, push the organisation forward and channel their energies, enthusiasm and commitment into their work”.

The author believes that managers are increasingly responsible for developing employee’s job and interpersonal skills, putting them in a critical coaching style and its effectiveness in fostering sustainable results. The increasing diversity in organizational community and social life has led to a demand for diversity trainers, consultants, and managers who have a theoretical understanding of diversity impact and an ability to put that understanding into practice.

Managing diversity requires an ongoing organizational