Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences in Business Setting

Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences in Business Setting

Introduction

The study is related to the importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting. It is observed that in many organizations managers and other professionals have differences with each other regarding ethnicity, culture and gender which affect the organizational productivity; therefore it is important that managers and professionals in a business should discourage these differences as it will help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives.

Discussion

In context of gender, ethnic and cultural differences in organization, for case in point, a business organization may hire either female or male professionals depending on business preference and interests suitable for the position of handling sensitive internal corporate information. A specific combination of female and male professional employees in a particular office department may also be desired. Though, an understanding of gender differences not only in terms of gender related limitations and capabilities as far as a business organization is concerned can lead to gender biasness (Carter, 1994). A business supervisor might be tempted to lay off some of his female or male employees because of the belief in the particular gender related workplace capacities. The same might be true for an understanding of cultural and ethnic differences. For instance, managers might find themselves hesitant to hire applicants belonging to a certain culture or having a certain ethnicity largely due to the knowledge of the negative aspects of their culture or ethnicity.

However, an understanding of these differences can be of great use for both managers and professionals in the business setting. For the most part, managers will be able to pinpoint the cultural weaknesses of the employees and help their employees to resolve the weak points through proper business training.

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