Impact of Cultural Diversity Management: Marks & Spencer Case Study

This research project examines the impact of managing cultural diversity in the workplace on organizational performance, with a specific focus on Marks & Spencer. The study begins with an introduction outlining the research aim, objectives, research questions, and rationale. A comprehensive literature review explores the concept of cultural diversity, its impact on business performance, and various management strategies. The methodology section details the research philosophy (interpretivism), approach (inductive), design (quantitative), and data collection methods, including a questionnaire administered to 30 Marks & Spencer employees. The data analysis and interpretation section presents the findings, including frequency distributions and interpretations across key themes such as awareness of cultural diversity, its impact, and effective management strategies. The research outcomes, conclusions, and recommendations are provided, alongside reflections on alternative research methodologies and a comprehensive list of references. The project concludes by suggesting actionable strategies for Marks & Spencer to enhance its approach to cultural diversity management and improve organizational outcomes.

Research Project
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Contents
Research Project..............................................................................................................................1
TITLE: “Managing Cultural Diversity in the workplace”...............................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Research Aim...............................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................3
Research questions.......................................................................................................................3
Rationale of research...................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Concept of cultural diversity in workplace..................................................................................4
Impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of business entity............4
Different ways to manage cultural diversity in workplace..........................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION....................................................6
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION.............................................................................8
Data Analysis...............................................................................................................................8
Data Interpretation.....................................................................................................................10
REASEARCH OUTCOMES.........................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................17
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................17
Recommendations......................................................................................................................17
REFLECTION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................19
Appendix........................................................................................................................................20
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TITLE: “Managing Cultural Diversity in the workplace”
INTRODUCTION
Cultural diversity is referred as the differences that are represented among employees. When
an organisation is open to hire workforce from distinct backgrounds, culture, religion etc., there
exist cultural diversity (Rice, 2015). In an organisation, having diverse workforce will render
various benefits to organisation. The selected organisation in this report is Marks & Spencer
which is a multinational retailer headquartered in United Kingdom. The topic of this study is “To
analyze the impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of organisation.
A case study on Marks & Spencer.”
Research Aim
“To analyze the impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of
organisation. A case study on Marks & Spencer.”
Research Objectives
 To understand the concept of cultural diversity in workplace.
 To assess the impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of
business entity.
 To determine the different ways through which an organisation can manage cultural
diversity in workplace.
Research questions
 What is the concept of cultural diversity in workplace?
 What is the impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of
business entity?
 What are the different ways through which an organisation can manage cultural diversity
in workplace?
Rationale of research
The reason of selecting the topic “To analyze the impact of managing cultural diversity in
workplace on performance of organisation. A case study on Marks & Spencer” is to assess the
influence of cultural diversity on organizational performance and its significance to company. it
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helps in determining strategies that supports in managing culturally diverse workplace (Ang and
Van Dyne, 2015).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of cultural diversity in workplace
As per the view point of Hopkins and et, al., (2016), cultural diversity means there is
diversity of cultures in a workplace, all cultures adhere each other’s culture or difference. It is a
form to appreciate each other’s flaws. This difference could be based on ethnicity, sex, gender,
social status, age and sexual orientation. The organizations have realized how important it is to
have a diverse workforce. Organization also known diversity workforce provides both intangible
benefits and material. Organizations must celebrate diversity to avoid issues like, harassment and
awkwardness. Every human is diverse in its own way as everyone possess different qualities,
diversity in organizations refers to particular group who have experienced discrimination.
Inclusive programs and company diversity are found methods to overcome obstacles so different
people can work together in a productive way.
When so many diverse minds work together it leads to enhance productivity in workplace.
Culturally diverse workplace also has improved creativity as everyone has a unique characteristic
and when so many different characters meet, there mind become creative because of the
surrounding (Kirton and Greene, 2015). Organizations can earn huge profits when it allows
diversity. When organizations promote everything based upon their skills not upon their
background, the chances increase to become successful. Different people from different
backgrounds work together in a company they get to learn a lot from their accompanied, and
their range of skills grow. When an organisation support diversity, organization’s reputation
increases and people have a develop a desire to join that organisation cause of its vibration.
Impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace on performance of business entity
As per the view point of Alexander, Havercome and Mujtaba, (2015), Cultural diversity leaves
several impact on organizations. It has its own impact on individuals and economy. Some
positive and negative impacts of cultural diversity are as follows: Employees belong to different
cultures in diverse workplace usually have different opinions and views and perspectives which
leads towards greater results. This objective is hard to achieve if employees belongs to same
culture and there are asked to investigate the same matter. Employees belongs to different
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cultures usually have different experiences, which is proven to be very beneficial for
organizations. Employees with diversity can overcome obstacles easily when they form a team
because of their personal experiences. Another positive impact of cultural diversity in
organizations is they overcome cultural thing as their business grows in several other countries
and becomes international. This impact is a very precious benefit derived from diversity. As
organizations grows or expands in other countries, a number of problems including, to collect
information of local customs, laws in other countries, assessing risk, create strategies to
overcome risk (Ozturk and Tatli, 2016). When an organisation is culturally diverse, it can use
knowledge and information of the individuals to overcome these obstacles and to achieve the
objectives. However, it can contain creation of barriers, miscommunication and dysfunction
adaptation behaviors. Culturally diverse people have different thoughts, opinions, beliefs, values,
trends, norms and traditions. When different cultures work together or collaborate, there can be
difference in their opinions which can become a hindrance in the development of organizations.
Different ways to manage cultural diversity in workplace
As per the view point of Bratton and Gold, (2017), Cultural diversity is very important
for every organisation yet it is quite hard to maintain it. But there are certain ways through which
we can restore cultural diversity in organizations.
Prioritise communication- communication always proves a solution to everything.
Organization should ensure communication with employees more often. Procedures, safety rules,
policies, and other essential information should be frame to overcome cultural barriers and
language problems by translating materials.
Treat every worker as an individual- organizations should see every individual as a
person not as a person belonging to different culture. And judge every failure or success as an
individual capability not link it to their background.
Encourage workers to work with different people- when diverse individuals work
together they get to know each other and start value one another. It can help in respecting each
other’s culture (Nankervis Baird Coffey and Shields, 2019).
Be open minded- encourage workers that one's background and culture has no relation
with their value or with their capabilities. It is talent or skills which requires to achieve goals.
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Hiring- to create a diverse workplace, organization are required to hire or recruit new
talents from various backgrounds. This requires leaders and other management to overcome bias
to make a legit decision in interview and assess talent. If organization can break their orthodox
thinking they can recruit talent.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION
There are various methods that a researcher can use to perform study in a systematic way.
Some of the methods which are utilized in this study are mentioned below:
Research philosophy: Positivism and interpretivism are the 2 philosophies which can be
used in research. Interpretivism philosophy is taken into consideration in this study as this helps
investigator in collecting the data with high level validity (Mohajan, 2018).
Resource approach: two types of approaches named as inductive and deductive can be use
in study. For the specific research, inductive approach is considered as this supports researcher in
drawing valid and reliable outcome of research and also help in understanding the accuracy of
initial assessment.
Research design: these are of two types qualitative and quantitative research design. This
research is based on quantitative research method as with this researcher is able to collect
numerical data over the study topic that helps in ensuring more accurate results of research.
Data collection method: primary and secondary, both methods are utilized for collecting
adequate amount of data on the topic. Utilization of both the methods collectively help
researcher in collecting huge amount of information on the topic and drawing valid outcome of
research (Fletcher, 2017). Questionnaire tool is selected for primary data collection and books
and journals are used for secondary data. The questionnaire use in this study is mentioned below:
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Address:
Q 1) Are you aware of the concept of cultural diversity in workplace?
A) Yes
B) No
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Q 2) How cultural diversity in workplace impacts the business performance of Marks &
Spencer?
A) Positively
B) Negatively
C) Both
Q 3) What benefits does Marks & Spencer get of having cultural diversity in workplace?
A) Increase creativity among teams
B) Receive positive reputation in market
C) Maximize employee engagement
D) Improved staff retention
E) Increase business performance
Q 4) Which challenge does management of Marks & Spencer face the most in managing
cultural diversity within workplace?
A) Integration across multicultural teams
B) Misinterpreted professional communication
C) Conflicting working styles
D) Distinct understandings of professional etiquette
Q 5) As per your opinion, to what extent do you agree that culturally diverse workplace has
direct relation with success of organisation?
A) Highly agree
B) Agree
C) Neutral
D) Disagree
E) Highly disagree
Q 6) By which way management of Marks & Spencer can manage cultural diversity in
workplace?
A) Encourage team work
B) Effective communication
C) Hire talent with diverse backgrounds
D) Setting standardized criteria
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E) Leverage training to all
Q 7) What is the impact of managing cultural diversity in workplace?
A) Vast and sound knowledge base
B) Maximized tendency of personnel
C) Reduced cost
D) Increased competitive advantage
E) Greater tendency to business expansion
Q 8) Suggest some strategies that Marks & Spencer requires to employ to manage
culturally diverse workplace
____________________________________
Sampling: the process of sampling includes selection of sample size from large population.
Simple random probability sampling method is considered to select sample size (Mackey and
Gas, 2015). This research makes use of sample size of 30 respondents who are the employees of
Marks and Spencer.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Data Analysis
Q 1) Are you aware of the concept of cultural diversity in
workplace?
Frequency
A) Yes 26
B) No 4
Q 2) How cultural diversity in workplace impacts the business
performance of Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
A) Positively 12
B) Negatively 11
C) Both 7
Q 3) What benefits does Marks & Spencer get of having cultural
diversity in workplace?
Frequency
A) Increase creativity among teams 6
B) Receive positive reputation in market 5
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C) Maximize employee engagement 8
D) Improved staff retention 6
E) Increase business performance 5
Q 4) Which challenge does management of Marks & Spencer face
the most in managing cultural diversity within workplace?
Frequency
A) Integration across multicultural teams 7
B) Misinterpreted professional communication 8
C) Conflicting working styles 7
D) Distinct understandings of professional etiquette 8
Q 5) As per your opinion, to what extent do you agree that culturally
diverse workplace has direct relation with success of organisation?
Frequency
A) Highly agree 9
B) Agree 15
C) Neutral 3
D) Disagree 2
E) Highly disagree 1
Q 6) By which way management of Marks & Spencer can manage
cultural diversity in workplace?
Frequency
A) Encourage team work 4
B) Effective communication 6
C) Hire talent with diverse backgrounds 8
D) Setting standardized criteria 5
E) Leverage training to all 7
Q 7) What is the impact of managing cultural diversity in
workplace?
Frequency
A) Vast and sound knowledge base 6
B) Maximized tendency of personnel 8
C) Reduced cost 5
D) Increased competitive advantage 6
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E) Greater tendency to business expansion 5
Data Interpretation
Theme 1: Awareness of the concept of cultural diversity in workplace
Q 1) Are you aware of the concept of cultural diversity in
workplace?
Frequency
A) Yes 26
B) No 4
Interpretation: According to above graph, it is interpreted that according to 26 out of 30
people, they are aware of the concept of cultural diversity in workplace and the remaining four
respondents said that they are not aware of the concept.
Theme 2: The way cultural diversity in workplace impacts the business performance of
company
Q 2) How cultural diversity in workplace impacts the business
performance of Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
A) Positively 12
B) Negatively 11
C) Both 7
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Interpretation: The above chart shows that out of 30 respondents, 12 people said that
cultural diversity in workplace influence the performance of business positively, according to 11
respondents, the performance of organisation impacts negatively and the remaining 7
respondents said that cultural diversity impacts both negatively as well as positively on the
business performance of Marks and Spencer.
Theme 3: Benefits of having cultural diversity in workplace
Q 3) What benefits does Marks & Spencer get of having cultural
diversity in workplace?
Frequency
A) Increase creativity among teams 6
B) Receive positive reputation in market 5
C) Maximize employee engagement 8
D) Improved staff retention 6
E) Increase business performance 5
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