TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LABOUR RELATIONS & TRADE UNIONS
CHAPTER 9: Cultural diversity in organizations
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Diversity refers to the collection of groups who form the
organization: groups differentiated in terms of gender,
mother tongue, education, as well as their position or
salary.
Diversity in both domestic and international
organizations.
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Moore (1999: 212) analysed the attitudes of
organizations towards diversity generally and identified
four different perspectives:
- Diversity blindness: no provision is made within the
organization for addressing the problems relating to
diversity.
- Diversity hostility: the organization attempts to
‘homogenize’ its employees.
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Moore (1999: 212) analysed the attitudes of organizations
towards diversity generally and identified four different
perspectives: (cont.)
- Diversity naiveté: the organization views diversity positively and
encourages diversity awareness, but unable to cope diversity
problems.
- Diversity integration: the organization addresses diversity in a
pragmatic way, help employees to develop skills in diversity
management.
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Three types of management culture:
- A dominant management culture: a copy of the multinational’s home country
- A dominant transnational management culture: created by the mother-company’s
founders using clearly specific values, a culture present in all the multinational’s
operating companies
- A minimum management culture: leaving considerable room for national cultures
in all their diversity
Two roles at once: an integrating role and an adapting role.
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The ‘transnational’ is a management mentality
combining the abilities of the multinational, global or
international firm.
The managers at the headquarters and in the
subsidiaries abroad are responsible for co-ordinating
these capacities throughout the different unites of the
organization.
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Transcultural competence
Hyper-cultural competence
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Preceding transcultural competence are:
- Cross-cultural competence – the ability to function
according to the rules of more than one cultural system
and to respond in a culturally sensitive and appropriate
manner;
- Intercultural competence – the ability to communicate
and collaborate successfully and effectively with those
from other cultures.
13/3/2020 COURSE CODE: A03061 – CHAPTER 9 8
Preceding transcultural competence are:
- Cross-cultural competence – the ability to function
according to the rules of more than one cultural system
and to respond in a culturally sensitive and appropriate
manner;
- Intercultural competence – the ability to communicate
and collaborate successfully and effectively with those
from other cultures.
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Diversity versus localization within a telecommunications
company in Latin America
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Why multinationals struggle to manage talent?
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