MANAGING DIVERSITY AND RELIGIONS AND THE ORGANIZATIONS

MANAGING DIVERSITY

A group is when two or more people with common interests and objectives are in continuing interaction, a team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission.

There are four aspects of group behavior:

• ·         Norms of behavior:  Standards to evaluate the behavior.
• ·         Group cohesion: It’s what makes a group stick together.
• ·         Social loafing: The failure of a group member to contribute resources to the group.
• ·         Loss of individuality

Tuckman’s five stage model of a group development:

1. Forming: Little agreement
2. Storming: Conflict
3. Norming: Agreement and consensus
4. Performing: Clear vision and purpose
5. Adjourning: Task completion.

Members of a group can contribute in different ways, Contributors are data driven, Collaborators focus team on mission, Communicators are good listeners and Challengers are like devil’s advocate.

Diversity is “The variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting” (Cox 2001).

Valuing diversity means recognizing and appreciating that individuals are different and that diversity can be an advantage.

Diversity can be seen both as a value-added activity or a potential performance barrier.

There can be some misunderstandings based upon diversity because of the different languages, accents, cultures, etc.

RELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS

Religion is a Shared beliefs and rituals concerned with the realm of the sacred, it can Shape attitudes toward work and entrepreneurship and can affect the cost of doing business, and gives formal approval to existing social arrangements.

Religion encourages a sense of unity, provides a sense of understanding and a sense of belonging.

Conflict theory and religions:

• ·         Karl Marx believed that once people have created a unified system of sacred beliefs and practices, they act as if it were something beyond their control. Religion words against social change.

• ·         Max Weber suggested the religion sometimes encourages social change.-“Spirit” of capitalism-Protestant work ethic

Some religions and the International business:

• ·         Christianity: If one works hard, he or she will succed.
• ·         Islam: Under Islam, people do not own property, but only act as stewards for God and thus must take care of that which they have been entrusted with.

• ·         Hinduism: Practiced primarily on the Indian sub-continent, focuses on the importance of achieving spiritual growth and development, which may require material and physical self-denial
• ·         Buddhism: Buddhismis also seen as a religion whose focus on spiritual achievement undermines wealth creation.

• ·         Confucianism: Interest of collectivity is higher than that of individual. Confucius taught that salvation is attained through right action based on three key teachings (Loyalty towards the superior, reciprocal obligations of superiors to subordinates and Honesty.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 •Fang, T (1999) Chinese Business Negotiating Style, London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
•Hill, C. (2007) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. 7ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
•Weber, M. (1958) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, New York: Scribner's Press.
• Cox Jr., T. (2001) Creating the multicultural organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Ely, R. and Thomas, D. (2001) “Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 2, 2001, pp. 229–273.
• Jamieson, D. and O’Mara, J. (1991) Managing workforce 2000: Gaining the diversity advantage.
• Nelson, D and Quick, J.C. (2009) Organizational culture. In Organizational Behavior: Science, the real world and you.
• Slater, Stanley, F., Weigand, Robert A., Zweilein, Thomas J. (2008) ¨The business case for commitment to diversity¨. Business Horizons 51: 201-209. 

1st Image retrieved from http://englishihonors.pbworks.com/w/page/19065494/Anthem-WebQuest-and-Wiki-Project
2nd Image retrieved from  http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/buddhism-and-the-category-of-religion/