Sociological Analysis of a Culturally-Diverse Organization

Introduction

The discussion of organizational analysis in this paper is based on the methodology of participant observation. The primary purpose of this paper is to assess whether my perception of the organization of which I am a member changed due to the concepts covered in this course. This also serves as an evaluation of how much did I learn from the course. Specifically, this paper aims to explore social aspects of the organization. Moreover, this organizational analysis aims to make recommendations on how to improve the overall conditions of employees in the organization.

As I am currently working with a culturally-diverse organization, it is necessary to understand issues such as discriminative attitudes and the racial prejudice. In this analysis, I probe deeper on my investigation of these issues. Initially, before I took the course, I was not aware at all regarding our condition. But having introduced to different sociological views and concepts on organizations, I find that there exists a problem in my organization that must be addressed. This shall be discussed on the following sections.   

Literature Review

           The views on effective management of diversity in general, and cultural diversity in particular, are scattered and it is hard to find a common line of agreement among the earlier writers. In one stream, there are writers arguing that a culturally mixed work force holds a potential competitive advantage for organizations (e.g., Cox & Blake, 1991). In another stream are the writers who stress that similarity helps to develop cohesion which, in turn, is related to the success of a group. There are some other authors whose position lies in the middle of these streams (e.g., Adler, 1986).

            Culture is an important factor in understanding organization, because for any organization to operate effectively it must for some extent have a general set of beliefs and assumptions. Because understanding the term of the culture metaphor helps organizations to be aware of how employees are thinking about the organization phenomena, and to recognize how different attitudes, value and beliefs affect the workplace. Understanding and assessing the national culture and organization's culture can mean the difference between success and failure in today's fast changing organizational environment. Cultural assessment can provide measurable data about the real organizational values and norms that can be used to get management's attention.

         According to Barbeschi (2002), the process of making an organization is simultaneously the growth and maintenance of relationships among individuals who are working towards a common goal and the actual accomplishment of tasks, individually and collectively. In any organization, there exists a cultural/political dimension (Barbeschi, 2002). It includes rituals and myths, symbols and games. Due to the common behavior, an internal integration within the organization is developed. In a sense, all cultural learning reflects the original values of individuals and their sense of what ought to be as distinct from what is. 

         Some of the most difficult problems arising among diverse workforces occur because groups are unequal in power. Inequality results in stigmatization, prejudice, discrimination, and pressures on less powerful groups to assimilate to the norms of the powerful group. Members of less powerful groups may respond to unjust treatment with resentment and emotional exhaustion (Linnehan, 1999).  For the organization, these personal reactions can reduce organizational commitment and productivity and, eventually, even increase turnover. As such, power relationships constitute a fundamental issue that diversity initiatives must engage to be effective (Linnehan, 1999).

Moreover, Muller and Haase (1994) and Allen (1995) state that race, ethnicity and gender have been neglected in studies of organizational diversity.  According to Fine (1996) culture and ethnicity are mentioned mainly in international organizations, because many are reluctant to explore what may be contentious issues.  Muir (1996) points to effective leadership and management as fundamental to organizational change processes, whereas Doka (1996) perceives managing diversity as a critical management skill.

            Any organization, may it be profit oriented or not-for-profit, the most vital asset is its employees. And for these organizations to maximize their assets, they should manage the employees’ working condition with intelligence and efficiency (Ulrich, 1998). They must be allowed to be involved in making work-related decisions to further enhance the organizational structure (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). Furthermore, the structure of tasks among the employees strengthens the organizational performance (Wilson, 1989). As issues of regional, cultural differences politically led administrative issues and other impede the functioning of the organization. It is necessary to understand the employees for the organization to be effective (Schneider, 1983). The development, building, motivation, enhancement and enrichment of the employees of any organization largely depend on the leadership, mandate and vision of the organization (Rainey & Steinbauer, 1999).  

The Organization: Analysis and Discussion

This section shows a picture of the organization where I work. The company shall not be named due to the sensitivity of this topic. Sociological knowledge on organization is applied for the discussion of the organization. The analysis of the research shall be used in suggesting means in handling an organization with employees of different cultural backgrounds.

Though the organization may have a diverse workforce, it is not diverse enough to regard it as culturally proportionate.  Also, the participation of women in the organization is significantly less than male employees. This makes me question the policy and standards of the organization. One needs to think and question the transparency of the processes and procedures, which specifically relate to the human resource matters. Questions arise as to whether the regime is functioning without being prejudice, without being biased and at the least considering getting the participation of all the signatories in the ratification process through not just recruitment but also retention of culturally diverse and competent people.

            The staff of the organization, just like in any organizations exhibits a vast array of cultures, ways of thought, philosophies and approaches to life in general, and to problem-solving in particular. Given this mixture, a very basic, unwritten rule of the staff of the organization is to avoid conflicts. This is achieved by finding common denominators that everyone can agree upon. Often, these solutions will fall short of what is needed. In no way is this paper intended to discredit the many honorable and hard working staff members. Unfortunately, they are less motivated to articulate and fight for their opinions. As I see it, many of my colleagues are unaware and uncritical of their situations.

To understand the leadership style employed in the organization, one needs to understand the German managerial style- the style used by our leader. In general, the German style management is characterized by a consistent pattern of business-related practices built around a "competence first" principle. Building sufficient (line) competence into the primary production processes is a major preoccupation of German firms.  Many people believe that the German management style is serious and tends to be, by virtue of qualification of rank, authoritative (Hill, 2003). True enough, this is the case in the organization.

            However, this practice of solving problems leaves many things unclear. It is because the problem is not fully addressed. The solution is attained mostly without further digging the roots of the problem. Moreover, this kind of problem solving seems to involve only people who have a close relationship with each other. Our leader tends to resort to quick solutions such as expelling an employee rather than trying to resolve a problem to the satisfaction of all concerned.

            Two instances only indicate the grim picture inside the organization. A former employee filed a complaint against the organization. She said that it declined to renew her contract without giving any reason despite acknowledging satisfactory performance and giving a pay raise. The court decided against the organization’s decision based on the fact that the complainant was not given a reason for the decision not to renew her appointment. Another former employee claimed that the non-renewal of his contract was done without any valid reasons. Again, the court decided against the organization. He said that his supervisor was prejudiced against him. In his view, the supervisor's prejudice was also reflected in the way his performance was assessed. Moreover he concluded that the cause of his termination had something to do with his criticism of the performance of his supervisor and blaming him for being the primary cause of any lack of achievement. He also denounced the intimidating behavior of his supervisor.

            An interesting characteristic that reflects the culture of the organization is ‘games’. In organizational theories, games are defined as the systems of influence of an organization which are distinct from the administrative power structure or hierarchy. Among the games that have been observed in the organization are sponsorship games which are played to build a power base by using a superior. Another is the alliance-building games which are played amongst peers to build a stronger power base. I have also witnessed management versus staff games and whistle-blowing games which are played by a lower level employee who ‘blow the whistle’ on questionable behaviors.

            I asked some colleague if the organization is a very good organization to work and for career advancement. One said that it was a very good organization with respect to both working conditions and career advancement. That is if he was talking to some outsider. But if talking with one of his colleagues, he admitted that there were some kinds of weaknesses over the working condition and the career advancement, like the depressed feeling whenever he woke up in the morning. Another colleague also experienced the same feeling while coming early in the morning to work and that the he was very relieved when leaving the office. He believed that the pressure had something to do with the working environment or with the attitude of other staff members.

            In my observation, I found that there is an unequal distribution of power. The employment is contractual so there is no permanent status of employment. This results in fear of separation from the organization. Employees fear that some day they might loose their jobs without being given a valid reason. Another alarming observation is the limited participation of women in the organization. Many at the higher level of the hierarchy have formed an old white boy’s network.

            There are indeed problems with the working conditions. It is alright if you are in the good books, that is, if you are a favorite. There is some favoritism and internal politics like “If you are late some people get the grudge of some while some people are ignored”. Another internal politics observed was the annual change of the increment rules for some unknown basis. Some got better increments every year than others. The management had a policy for promotions and increments but they did not like to use it. The policy is alright but the attitude towards it was pathetic.  

Conclusion

           This paper conducted a sociological evaluation to examine the culture of a culturally-diverse organization. The assignment has established that the organization is under a rigid management system. Considering the background of the executive secretary, it is not surprising that he has the inclination to the German style of management. He needs a new management philosophy.

Employees must be empowered. This recognizes the primary purpose for adopting this construct: enhancing people's control over their lives. It also recognizes that empowerment endeavors should consider those domains important to a particular individual or group and facilitate a process that eventually leads to realized control and influence in those domains. The organization seems to be ignoring person-environment interaction and the critical role that both individual and contextual characteristics play in the empowerment process, which resulted in risking the implementation of ill-fated empowerment initiatives, or worse yet, creating disempowering experiences for the employees.

            In dealing with people with different cultural background it is important for an organization to first satisfy the needs of the employees. This is the first step for their empowerment. When assessing the interaction between culture and empowerment, it seems useful to identify and understand those subcultures that might engender a work environment more or less empowering than the larger organizational system. By seeking these diverse subcultures, we can potentially elicit the unanticipated opportunities for empowerment present within a potentially disempowering, larger organizational context.

Moreover, creating an environment in the workplace that results in employees feeling better about themselves when they are in it results in love of their work. A work environment that constantly raises an employee’s self-esteem, above that she/he experiences anywhere else in their life, will be where she/he most desires to spend their time and yields very high employee satisfaction with their job and costs next to nothing. People do more of what they enjoy and less of what they do not enjoy.      

References :

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