Communication in any organization is a very important aspect as it can make or break an organization. Companies generally do not have a public language (Lang, 2010). It is of great importance that when the hiring is taking place, there is absolutely no tribalism or nepotism going on and that people are hired purely on a merit basis. Cultural identity helps in facilitating an extensive role in organizational interpersonal relationships hence being of great relevance when it comes to cultural identity.
Understanding Organizational Culture and Communication
Culture is often defined as “the coherent, learned and shared view of a group of people about life’s concerns that ranks what is important, furnishes attitudes about what things are appropriate, and dictates behavior” (Jameson, 2007, p. 5). When it comes to organizations, people or groups of people are known to be the main components of cultures.
This is evident in that when individuals want to spend a substantial amount of time in an organization working together, they end up thinking alike and sometimes taking up the organization’s cultural practices though not necessarily.
If one was to study different organizations and the different professionals involved, one would understand this concept. For example in the defense force, the culture of hierarchy is very well displayed in that they themselves can tell the ranks that their fellow officers are in and they have a way or some form of respect for those in high ranks. This is evident when one watches them in their places of work.
This is a culture that was developed and has been passed on thus not an easy form of culture to disband. Most professions require that before you are indicted into the profession formally, you ought to sign a code of ethics and conduct stating that you will adhere to the laid out guidelines and procedures in a bid to live by the governing code (Coopl, Etzion & Batini, 2000).
Components of Cultural Identity in Managing Company’s Employees
When it comes to management of the organization, it is very vital that the managers in charge of the hiring process look into the cultural values of employees in a bid to avoid infringement of rights in the work place. Philosophical, geographical, social and lingual cultures all ought to come into the picture. When hiring probably on an international scale level considering the organization is a multi-national, it is vital not to stress that one should not be of a certain background in terms of worship or their religion beliefs.
This would sideline the affected thus affecting the entire process. One’s background also ought to be put into consideration because not all people would want to work in an organization where they are forced to slaughter animals (Millar, 2007).
Cultural ethnicity is another important aspect that needs to come in consideration. Cultural ethnicity can be defined as the values and traditions or heritage passed down from one generation to the other in a bid to keep the ethnic values from being washed into being non-existent (Millar, 2007).
An organization that puts these cultural aspects in place stands to command immense respect from both prospective job seekers and also employees alike; not necessarily in the same organization but regionally or worldwide, for instance the UN. Another important ethnic aspect that is widely advocated for in almost all organizations in the whole world is gender.
Gender is widely discussed and in most instances, employers are often quoted as saying that female applicants are encouraged to apply. This is one of the ways in which gender equality in the work place is enhanced. In the current world, there are no special jobs that are meant for men and others for women as both are equally educated and have had the same advantages in life (Barker & Angelopulo, 2006). Gender is also a very sensitive cultural component. It is always advisable to have both male and female employees in an organization.
Another cultural ethnicity that is often neglected is health. Most of the time the disabled feel that they are being side lined due to their inability to probably perform some minor tasks. This is professionally wrong as the disabled should be accorded equal rights in these organizations and also made to feel comfortable. Age is another aspect of great importance that ought to come to play. When one looks at a certain age bracket, it is evident that they have a lot of things in common.
It is of great importance that managers in organizations come up with some form of organizational hierarchy that will indeed connect their employees. This would be a very vital tool in ridding the organization off vices like discrimination. Sexual orientation is slowly becoming an accepted norm in most organizations today (Barker & Angelopulo, 2006). At the end of the day, an organization’s workforce is its investment and when they do not put the employees’ rights and aspects in place, the employees are not as productive as they ought to be.
References
Barker, R., and Angelopulo, G. P. (2006). Integrated organisational communication. Cape Town, SA: Juta & Co Ltd.
Coopl, S., Etzion, O. and Batini, C. (2000). Cooperative information systems. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
Jameson, D. A. (2007). Reconceptualizing cultural identity and its role in intercultural business communication. Journal of Business Communication, 44(3):199-235. DOI: 10.1177/0021943607301346.
Lang, P. (2010). Language use in business and commerce in Europe. Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH.
Millar, R. (2007). Doing business with India. London, UK: GMB Publishing Ltd.