Advantages of Cultural Diversity in the workplace
Thursday morning: Getting an E-Mail from China, answering a phone-call from the USA and having a meeting with a group of customers from India. Cultural diversity takes place in our everyday life, also in our work place. It is important for companies to recognize the advantage of the full potential and benefits of this kind of diversity in the workplace. So what are those advantages?
- Increase of creativity
Employees with different cultural backgrounds have divergent attitudes and ideas. Furthermore there are also different ways how to solve a problem. Hence you can obtain more ideas and you will have various solutions for one problem or even new alternatives which is a massive advantage for your company and problem-solving strategy.
- Increase of productivity
Productivity can increase exponentially when diverse people put together all their ideas, thoughts and solutions to meet a goal. In addition, we are living in a high-speed world in which decisions have to be made quickly, therefore companies have to adapt quickly nationally and internationally. The combination of these different point of views, diverse strengths, new processes and skills can be an unique advantage concerning the productivity.
- Language skills
In the world of globalisation and internationalization language skills are an essential competence of companies nowadays. To build a strong relationship with other companies abroad you should speak the same language and understand your partners. Understanding and speaking a language fluently is hard work but in working with diverse people you do not have to be afraid of language and cultural barriers. Furthermore, getting to know the cultural background and traditions of your business partners could be also a tremendous advantage. Your company can gain a greater perspective on the cultural background which can lead to greater success in global business.
All in all, cultural diversity is an essential part which gets more and more important in our fast-moving, globalized world. Companies should strengthen this diversity and see this as an integral part of the business plan. At the end, this could be the difference.
Source: http://www.ethnoconnect.com/articles/9-business-advantages-of-diversity-in-the-work-place
