Hofstede (1980) defined culture as a “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another”. Effective management of multicultural workforce can prove to be a highly challenging task to accomplish in various levels.
Cultural differences among nations have been seen to be a very important factor in bringing people together from different background as different cultures has different ways of doing things, different cultural values, assumptions and attitudes.
Moreover, different people feel different about their roles within the organization and or how they can make contributions and how they want to be recognized. Also, as Lennie Copland (1998) rightly points out in his paper called Learning to Manage Multicultural Workforce what motivates one worker might completely embarrass or insult another.
Obviously, the greater the difference between two cultures the more difficult it will be the interaction and co-ordination between employees. And it is true that culturally similar people display high confidence and shared networks which in turn lead to reduce the uncertainty and anxiety. Also, it is said that cultural similarity generates reciprocal feelings i.e. people who have similar cultural values tend to like each other (Aminu Mamman, 1996).
Therefore, it is reasonable to agree with Mamman (1996) as he states that the larger the gap between a diverse employee and the dominant group, the more effort will be required by management to improve the co-ordination and communication between employees.
Aminu Mamman (1996), “A Diverse Employee in Changing Workplace”, published by SAGE, www.sagepublications.com
Lennie Copeland (1998), “Learning to Manage a Multicultural Workforce”, ProQuest Education Journal, Vol. 25, No5, pg 48