Multicultural Workforce
Discuss the challenges faced by managers of multicultural workforces and those managing in cultures other than their own, and put forward recommendations for management training.
Porntida Hemaprasit, Bournemouth University 2012
Over the last five decades, there is an increasing in multinational companies, whether small or large business; especially in hotel and heavy industry. Most of these organizations principally aim to expand internationally. For instance, the Hilton International was established as a separate subsidiary of Hilton Corporation in 1949, and then in 1999 it expanded from 260 hotels in 50 countries to over 530 branches in 78 countries across 6 continents in 2012 (Yu, 1999; Hilton, 2011). Toyota is another transnational corporation, which the first factory built in Kyushu in 1992 then expanded into 52 overseas manufacturing in 27 countries in 2006, and export to over 170 regions vehicle markets in this day (Yusuf and Nabeshima, 2008; Toyoland, 2011). This occurs as a result of globalisation of labor that affects the rising of mobility for workers across the regions, and increasing in cultural diversity in the workplace (Luthans F. and Doh J., 2009). Consequently, multiculturalism has been a significant challenge for all organisation to manage across cultures (Rollinson D., 2005). To understand this issue, it is better to understand the process of globalisation and the meaning of culture, especially on how globalisation impacts culture and organizations. According to Yeung Yue-man (2000), globalisation is the world unification process that created a world without borders and seems smaller, which reflect the society in the modern era. Thus, technological devices such as phones, computers, and the internet are the key tools to assist humans communicate across the countries with faster and better quality, even people who live in different continents, they are able to hear and see each other at the same time (Yeung Y., 2000). While, Hirst and
Porntida Hemaprasit, Bournemouth University 2012
Over the last five decades, there is an increasing in multinational companies, whether small or large business; especially in hotel and heavy industry. Most of these organizations principally aim to expand internationally. For instance, the Hilton International was established as a separate subsidiary of Hilton Corporation in 1949, and then in 1999 it expanded from 260 hotels in 50 countries to over 530 branches in 78 countries across 6 continents in 2012 (Yu, 1999; Hilton, 2011). Toyota is another transnational corporation, which the first factory built in Kyushu in 1992 then expanded into 52 overseas manufacturing in 27 countries in 2006, and export to over 170 regions vehicle markets in this day (Yusuf and Nabeshima, 2008; Toyoland, 2011). This occurs as a result of globalisation of labor that affects the rising of mobility for workers across the regions, and increasing in cultural diversity in the workplace (Luthans F. and Doh J., 2009). Consequently, multiculturalism has been a significant challenge for all organisation to manage across cultures (Rollinson D., 2005). To understand this issue, it is better to understand the process of globalisation and the meaning of culture, especially on how globalisation impacts culture and organizations. According to Yeung Yue-man (2000), globalisation is the world unification process that created a world without borders and seems smaller, which reflect the society in the modern era. Thus, technological devices such as phones, computers, and the internet are the key tools to assist humans communicate across the countries with faster and better quality, even people who live in different continents, they are able to hear and see each other at the same time (Yeung Y., 2000). While, Hirst and