Managing Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Managing cultural
diversity in the workplace

Table of Contents
Title..................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.............................................................................................................................4
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................7
Data analysis and Interpretation.....................................................................................................11
........................................................................................................................................................24
Research Outcomes........................................................................................................................24
Reflection & Recommendation on alternative research methodology..........................................25
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................26
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................26
References......................................................................................................................................28

Title
“To analyse the impact of managing cultural diversity on productivity, opportunity and
competitiveness of employees within an organisation.” A study on ASDA.
Introduction
With the expansion of businesses in the global marketplace the importance of an
inclusive and diverse working environment in companies have increased. This help the people
belonging to different in views, beliefs, values, backgrounds, knowledge, skills and experiences
top work together in harmony which is essential to integrate them together and collaborate their
work so that company goals can be achieved (Assari and Moghani Lankarani, 2018). Through an
inclusive working environment, equality in company can be promoted so that all the employees
can be given an equal chance to get access to all the opportunities without facing any kind of
discrimination. Thus equality and diversity at workplace plays an important role in enhancing the
personal and professional growth of employees which also increase their confidence to work
effectively and efficiently. This thereby help the companies in increasing their workforce
productivity so that their efficient work performance can help the company in achieving its goals
on time. This way companies can also gain a strategic and competitive advantage over its
rivalries and competitors which encourages it to expand and grow in market and successfully
attract its target customers and increase its sales.
A diverse workforce is important for companies which means that they must be open to
recruit and retain employees who belong to all sorts of backgrounds irrespective of their race,
caste, culture, religion, sex, age etc. This help in maintaining a pool of employees with variety of
skills and knowledge which promotes different, new and innovative ideas making the company
highly competitive in market. It is thus important that the cultural diversity is well managed in
companies so that productivity, opportunity and competitiveness of employees can be increased
which can help businesses in increasing its productivity and profitability in market (Clark and
Polesello, 2017). In this report the company which is selected ASDA which is a British
supermarket retailer and is present in 631 locations having 165,000 employees. Having a large
employee base increases the importance of managing the people belonging to different cultures
so that company's profitability can increase in market.

Research Aim
“To analyse the impact of managing cultural diversity on productivity, opportunity and
competitiveness of employees within an organisation.” A study on ASDA.
Research Objectives
 To understand the concept of workplace discrimination.
 To measure the impact of workplace discrimination on employees of ASDA.
 To analyse the importance for ASDA to reduce workplace discrimination.
Research Questions
 What is the concept of workplace discrimination?
 What can be considered as the impact of workplace discrimination on employees of
ASDA ?
 Why it is important for ASDA to reduce workplace discrimination ?
Rationale of the study
The main reason behind selecting this topic is to identify the importance of managing
cultural diversity in an organisation so that the employees having differences in their religion,
culture, caste etc. can work together without being discriminated on these grounds. Another
reason of the choice of this topic is that it can help the companies in understanding the
importance of having a diverse workforce so that they can be efficiently managed to use the
skills and talents of employees to the greatest advantage of company. This research will also help
the researcher in enhancing their knowledge on the importance of managing workforce
belonging to various cultures. Also this will enable the researcher to improve their researching
skills and help the in managing time, resources, drawing interpretation, data collection etc.
Literature Review
A literature review or narrative review help in reviewing articles or secondary data which
is available on magazines, books, articles, publication research etc. so that a critique can be
generated on the data which is collected from these articles that can help in authenticating the
data. This help in developing a foundation on certain knowledge by discussing about a published
data on a particular subject area which is under research. The purpose of LR is to review the
existing articles so that the researcher can generate their own position or views in existing field
of scholarship. Following is a research that can help the the researcher in evaluating certain
articles so that the topic of this report can be efficiently studied.

The effect of having diverse culture at workplace
According to Jessamae Bronola, 2018, today's workplace is made up of people belonging
to different races, genders, religions and lifestyles which makes it important for companies to
build an environment where these differences are appreciated and respected. The potential of
employees can be utilised to their fullest extent by extracting their new and innovative ideas
which can help the company in improving its processes, products and services in such a way that
the changing customer needs can be efficiently met. Also the difference in cultures of employees
can help the company in dealing with the demands of customers belonging to varied cultures
thereby improving its its brand image in front of customers.
It is important that the diversity in company in properly managed so that the employees
can feel valued and respected in company which will help in increasing their efficiency as they
will try to achieve company goals on time. Also problem solving in company will improve as the
people belonging to different cultures will come up with a wide selection of solutions pertaining
to their difference in perception and viewpoints. Through effective cultural diversity
management the company's foreign branches can function and operate smoothly by effective
relationship building with clients and understanding their needs in a better manner. This will also
help the company in building its strong brand image in different communities as the company is
open to recruit people belonging to varied cultures. The company can thus by the way of diverse
workforce can be benefited by having a pool of varied ideas that can help in its growth and
expansion. Having an equal and diverse workforce helps in increasing collaboration among
workers so that the aims and objectives of the company can be achieved in an efficient manner
and on time. Also it helps in using the skills and talents of all the employees by giving them
equal opportunities so that they can improve their performance so that the overall profitability of
company can be increased.
The impact of managing cultural diversity on employees
As per the views of Martin Kweitsu, 2019, due to increase in globalisation the
composition of workers of companies have been changing with having workers belonging to
different cultures working together. The diverse workforce thus needs to be efficiently managed
so that the difference in their opinions and views do not cause conflict in company while doing
their work or solving problems. Through effective management of culturally diverse people in
company can help in increasing integration of people together as they can all work together in an

efficient manner through efficient management policies of company. Managers of company play
an important role in building an integrated work culture in company so that the difference in
views, values, culture and religion of people do not hamper their working.
Increase in group activities and support from management of company can help in
creating a friendly workplace which is essential so that all the workers can work together
efficiently and collaborate their work so as to achieve their goals on time. Also the workers will
feel more free and confident in sharing their ideas and opinions while doing their work so that
the effectiveness of their output can increase. Innovative capability of employees will also
increase as their ideas will be valued in company regardless of difference in their cultures. This
is beneficial for employees and company both as the productivity of workers can increase along
with their creativeness. They will also be encouraged to increase their work efficiency and
performance so that company can achieve their objectives within stipulated time and budget.
Healthy competition among workers will also be generated which is helpful for company in
improving its competitiveness in market so that it can increase its sales. The cultural diversity
will help in improving the collaboration among workers and also help in improving the
reputation of company so that more talented staff members can be attracted so as to apply for
jobs in the company.
Challenges faced while managing cultural diversity at workplace
According to Kimberlee Leonard, 2019, embracing and managing diversity in today's
business world is an essential part of successful business practices. It is important that the
managers and leaders of company understand and value the difference in culture of employees so
that they can work together and help the company in reaching to its goals on time. However
while managing the diverse workforce the managers of company can face certain challenges that
can make it difficulty for all the employees to work together effectively. As the people belong to
different cultures they have different perspectives, languages, beliefs, values etc. which means
that it becomes difficult for them to understand the command of managers and leaders in the
same way as it is expected to be. The communication barrier can create a gap in understanding
which will also affect the way in which outcomes are achieved. Diversity also sometimes create
conflicts among workers due to lower adhesiveness among the workers which can impact their
integration with each other. This lowers the quality of performance of workers that impacts the