As opportunities for global expansion increase, so does the trend toward more
diversity in the workplace. Successful companies are recruiting professionals
with different backgrounds, cultures, styles and motivations. Yet this great
resource presents increased possibilities for misunderstanding and cultural
blunders.
It is obvious that organizations will need to expand the capacity for people to
handle the challenges of working with other cultures if they are to participate
successfully. Those companies that continue to struggle with domestic diversity
will find themselves even more challenged.
People must move beyond simply accepting cultural identities and differences to
a place where they can be leveraged for competitive advantage, superior
performance and creative growth. There is tremendous creative energy and
innovation that can be harnessed when people from different perspectives work
successfully together.
Global business is challenging in large part because cultural habits and
attitudes blind people to other ways of doing things and make them unwilling or
unable to change.
The full 2,000-word article includes the following concepts:
Six dimensions to consider when doing business with a foreign culture
Different Ways of Doing Business
One Size Does Not Fit All
Leveraging Cultural Diversity
A List of Resources
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