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Global
workplace II: Cultural diversity at the workplace
Organisational
behaviour experts agree that each team and group builds its
own working dynamics. As a colleague, manager or supervisor,
there may be steps that you might have to take to identify
the important aspects of each culture in your department or
within the team, says MOHAN
BABU
In
the previous part of this column, I began my letter responding
to a reader based in the Midwestern US who had inquired about
managing cultural aspects at the workplace, a topic that is
gaining prominence as we enter a world closer to the mythical
global marketplace. In continuation, my response to Ms Debbie
follows.
Globalisation is upon us and like it or not, we will have
to embrace it. Along with the globalisation comes the need
to interact, communicate and network with partners, vendors,
suppliers, outsourcers and others from around the world. Historically,
America has been a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities
and has welcomed people from world-over for generations. One
would then assume that Americans would be at ease in a global
context. However, the reality is the converse: Though America
has been a melting-pot, it had evolved a distinct subculture
of its own, taking aspects from different cultures and ethnicities
but building a conformist culture of its own. To be a part
of the great “melting pot,” a general perception exists that
one has to cultivate the American mindset. Though it is hard
to define what an “American mindset” is, an argument can be
made that a certain centre-of-the-universe attitude permeates
from Americans while dealing with their international counterparts.
Though the perception has been that the general populace in
the US is inward centric, this is undergoing a change even
as we speak.
There is little doubt that work teams and groups are getting
to be really international even in Middle-America as evident
from the fact that though you are based in the heart of Cowboy
Country, you are already planning to equip yourself with skills
of multicultural management. As a colleague, manager, or a
supervisor, you will definitely have to identify with your
teammates—many of whom are going to be from a different cultural
and ethnic background than you—and ensure that they are on
board with regards the objectives of your organisation and
group.
Experts who study organisational behaviour agree that each
team and group builds its own working dynamics. You rightly
make a point of wondering in your mail that as a colleague,
manager, or a supervisor, there may be steps that one might
have to take to identify the important aspects of each culture
in your department or within the team. I have known western
managers to attempt to draw out their Indian colleagues by
getting them to talk about the sub-cultures of the Indian
subcontinent, languages, ethnicities and vegetarianism. They
do it consciously without being abrasive so that their foreign
colleagues get a sense of belonging and bond with the team.
Similarly, I have known Indian colleagues take their British
or German co-workers out to local pubs during their stay in
Bangalore. Outsourcing is a two-way street: western managers
and employees regularly travel to India to oversee projects,
participate in technical discussions or evaluate vendors.
Such exercises help build cultural bridges; when they go back
to their native lands, people who have traveled are more inclined
to empathise with their foreign co-workers.
The process of communication works both ways. People migrating
to distant lands need to make a conscious attempt to assimilate
into the mainstream, at the same time managers and executives-in-waiting
like yourselves need to be open to accept and embrace change
wrought by the advent of people with different backgrounds,
values and cultures.
As regards your query on the availability of resources to
learn about the Indian culture the internet is perhaps the
best source. There are several websites and portals that delve
deep into this topic. Several portals also deal extensively
with information on international culture and nuances. Needless
to say, books on culture and international travel and etiquette
also abound.
As I conclude this note, I began to reflect on my response.
Though I have attempted to cover most of the pertinent topics
raised by you, I am left with a nagging feeling that I have
not done complete justice to the depth of the topic. This
is perhaps a thought that occurs to management gurus and cultural
coaches at organisations who grapple with the nuances cross-cultural
communication and team building all the time. The fact that
individuals like you are beginning to evince interest in this
facet of your work lives goes to prove the significance of
multi-cultural business world we are headed towards.
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