ASEAN Retail Corporation: Diversity and Cultural Audit Report Analysis

This report presents a cultural audit of ASEAN Retail Corporation (ARC), a leading firm planning expansion in Asia. The audit assesses diversity issues and identifies driving forces for business growth. The report emphasizes the importance of a healthy work environment and highlights ARC's focus on high-quality services and innovation to attract customers. The case study discusses ARC's commitment to increasing female representation in management and addressing language barriers through employee recruitment. The report also examines the significance of hiring talented staff with international experience to facilitate business expansion in the target market, particularly in Hubei. The cultural audit helps ARC understand customer needs and adapt its products/services to create a distinct identity. The report also highlights the importance of employee qualifications, abilities, and performance within the cultural audit framework, as these are vital for business success.

Management Diversity and
HR – Asean Case Study

The Cultural audit is defined as the procedure, which is used for assessing a diverse range
of business issues. The present report is based on Asean retail-corporation, which is a leading
firm and planning to expand its operations in an Asian market. This audit has been conducted for
assessing the diverse range of diversity issues faced by the corporation. Moreover, driving forces
that will lead towards ensuring growth and success of the business has been described.
Furthermore, a significance of cultural audit for resolving the diversity issues has been explained
in the report.
In content to the organisation and assessment of its diversity issues, the management of
the organisation should foster a culture wherein the work environment is healthy, keeping the set
objectives achievable. Cited case situation entails that Asean Retail Corporation (ARC) has the
culture to perform activities by the mission, vision and strategies undertaken by it (Baumgarth,
Kaluza and Lohrisch, 2016). Along with this, the company lays more emphasis on offering high-
quality services to the customers with an aim to become competitive within the market place.
To meet the diversity issues, the cultural audit should be conducted as the organisation
has various stores across the locations. This would help them to understand the needs of its
customers at a glocal level. By the case study, the business unit focuses on increasing the ratio of
females at management level. Now, a company is planning to increase such ratio by 50% at the
end of 2020. This aspect clearly reflects that culture of offering equal opportunity has been
created within the firm. Along with this, it places emphasis on hiring and nurturing personnel to
meet the language issues to a large extent (Wrench, 2016). Hence, the cultural audit assists the
business organisation in coping up with the issues of diversification to a large extent.
From cultural audit, it has been assessed that now customers prefer to purchase the
products which are high unique or innovative. In the retail sector, innovation is the key, which
helps in attracting a large number of customers. Thus, ARC can attain success by offering the
products or services, which create their distinct identity. Further, case situation entails that Hubei
is the place where a company needs to establish the store. In this, by expanding the business
operations in the respective area, the business unit can get the desired level of outcome or
success by raising the living standard of others.
The company is planning to expand its business in an Asian market. It is vital that a
systematic and organised approach should be adopted for achieving this objective. Management

of enterprise is planning for hiring commitment and talented staff members. Employees who
have studied in foreign countries will be given preference as they have the deep understanding of
the culture of other places. It will aid in expanding the business of the corporation in the target
market (The Culture Audit: Building the Successful Company Culture, 2016). These factors are
also a part of cultural issues, which helps to assess in the diversification of the business. The
company is especially focused on the employees in the cultural audit, because they are the
lifelines of business. Hence, the business entity focuses and recruits the employees according to
their qualification, ability and performance.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Baumgarth C., Kaluza M. and Lohrisch N., 2016. Brand Audit for Cultural Institutions (BAC)–A
validated and holistic brand controlling tool. International Journal of Arts Management,
19(1). p.54.
Wrench J., 2016. Diversity management and discrimination: Immigrants and ethnic minorities in
the EU. Routledge.
Online
The Culture Audit: Building the Successful Company Culture, 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.trinet.com/hr-insights/articles/the-culture-audit-the-building-block-of-a-
successful-company> [Accessed on 22 November 2016].