Individuals from different cultural, religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds come together to form a diverse work environment. Diversity is necessary because it helps create the best organizational culture. Different organizational theories encourage teamwork and diversity because the two improve productivity. However, diversity can result in new challenges when not properly managed. Managers should apply organizational theories to address most of the challenges affecting different work environments. When individuals from different backgrounds come together, there are numerous differences and misunderstandings that tend occur. Such challenges arise from the different ideas and beliefs held by the individuals. Factors such as personality types, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural positions cause disagreements at the workplace (Adler 12).
Personally, I have observed that language barriers, cultural behaviors, personality traits, and religious beliefs affect employees’ interactions at the workplace. A diverse workforce will encounter various problems because the individuals have different cultural backgrounds. According to Adler (14), personal differences and prejudices are causes of conflicts in diverse workplaces (Adler 19). Organizational leaders should understand the nature of such challenges affecting their working environments in order to offer the best countermeasures and initiatives. Such initiatives will deal with the challenges and improve the performance.
Different complexities tend to arise whenever managing a diverse group or workforce. For instance, instances of discrimination based on religion, prejudice, gender, and economic statuses tend to arise at the workplace. It is necessary for managers to work closely with the employees in order to identify the issues affecting the workplace. According to Adler (24), such challenges make it impossible for managers to achieve their goals.
From my personal observations, I strongly believe that leaders and managers can use various initiatives to deal with organizational challenges. Managers should acknowledge the fact that individuals from different backgrounds tend to unique cultural values and beliefs. This explains why conflicts and differences will always occur. There are different programs that can address such differences in the workplace. The strategy will create a culturally tolerant environment whereby the workers are comfortable with each other.
The first initiative entails changing the existing policies and organizational practices. This will protect employees against all forms of discrimination (Adler 48). For instance, organizations should improve the rights and powers of women and other minority groups. Policy changes will empower the individuals and make the comfortable with the working environment. The initiative will protect women and minorities against biasness and discrimination. The second program entails providing diversity skills and training to the workers. The approach will create diverse teams whereby every individual gets equal treatment and support. This program has worked elsewhere thus making different companies successful.
Managers are also encouraged to create multicultural teams. Managers can achieve this by mentoring, motivating, empowering, and leading their employees. The teams should include individuals from different cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds. It is necessary to include females and males in the teams. This program will address different challenges faced by diverse groups and teams. The above initiatives can help different organizations create diverse teams thus making them successful. From my personal experience, I strongly believe that diverse teams can be disastrous if not managed competently. As well, diverse teams have enormous potential that can make business organizations successful (Adler 93). Managers should appreciate the importance of managing diverse teams and work environments to make their organizations profitable.
Works Cited
Adler, Nancy. International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.