Examine critically the advantages of a culturally diverse workplace in Essay - 1

Examine critically the advantages of a culturally diverse workplace in a global business world - Essay Example roup from another†¦ Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture† (Hofstede, 1994, p.19). From this definition, two things come to the forefront. Firstly, culture is a social cast in which an individual evolves to such an extent that this cast appears to influence every major activity, thinking and decision making of the individual. Secondly, culture clearly demarcates certain boundaries that allow a person to behave properly and in an acceptable manner thus helping coexist with colleagues and people around. As such, one can easily gauge the extent of influence that culture has on people. However, a clash of cultures takes place when people from different backgrounds meet. Individuals begin to experience phenomena such as ‘Culture Shocks’, wherein they begin to experience things and events from colleagues that are unexpected and sometimes beyond the comfort zone of the individual. Such an experience is constantly felt in an international environment. If people are considerate and understanding of other cultures, and provided people have prior knowledge of other cultures and have secured a perspective on the things to expect from alien cultures, then cooperation and getting accustomed to new work environments by making the necessary adjustments is easier and can be done with the earnest cooperation of others. On the other hand, if the individual persists towards insisting on things to be done according to a cultural backdrop of their preference and expect others to heed to it, regardless of whether it is agreeable to others or not, then it can be surmised that sooner or later, the personal relationships will deteriorate and situations within the workplace are bound to encounter major conflicts and friction. Such a conclusion is rather generalized and logical, but it goes without saying that there is more to it than meets the eye. The cultural theory put forward by Hofstede has focused on the