性别与文化在企业管理的差异

在早期的管理方式，大部分公司都是依据国内的公司来管理。绝大部分经理认为一家公司的多样性取决于性别，年龄，种族这几个属性。加班，随着企业的越来越大，跨越了一个进入国际市场的地理位置，公司的多样性也变得广泛。由于多种力量，导致从宗教，文化，传统的差异开始产生影响，在同一组管理中使用的一种文化都可能会被认为对其他人会不恰当。因此，很显然，通过跨越国界参与的成功关系的显著，会被重视。

由于这些原因，在技巧上对于构建对那些与别人有着显然不同特征和思想的人的关系时，应该被管理者留意，特别是对于通过全球市场扩大的企业，误解可以显著到影响谈判。

对于管理者的最好办法是顾及管理的多样性，就是对待自己的平等对待每位下属，给予尊重，不偏心。

在一个多元文化的环境中工作，优秀的管理者必须重视多样性，并作为一个重要的管理方法。

 

In the early days of managing business, most companies were domestic based. Most managers thought that diversity in one company depended on gender, age, race, and ethnicity. Overtime, as businesses became larger and spanned out of the borders of one geographical location into international markets, the factors of diversity were much broader. As the diverse forces that resulted from differences in religion, culture, or heritage came into play, the same sets of management that were used in one culture might be considered inappropriate in others. Therefore, it became clear that the significant of engaging in successful relationships across national borders would be appreciated.

 

For these reasons, the skills in building the relationships with others whose characteristics and thoughts differ apparently from one should be injected into the managers, especially for the businesses that expand across the global market where misunderstandings can impact negotiations significantly.

 

The best way for the managers to take into account when managing diversity is to treat their subordinates with equal respect and does not have favorites. It can build up a working environment that encourages all kinds of people to work. Everybody would feel that they are not minority in any activities that contribute to any successes of the company.

 

The good managers that work on a multicultural environment have to value diversity as an important managing approach. They have to understand different cultures to learn from different behaviors how to motivate their subordinates to build their productivity.

 

了解性别差异--Understanding gender differences

 

Some research says that men and women have different experiences of their worlds because parents treat boys and girls when they have grown up differently. Gender differences are the first one we encounter and have to consider.#p#分页标题#e#

 

In the past, men usually went out to work to gain money for their families, while women played a role in taking care of their families, and need to be indulged. Most companies considered women worker as temporary and tend to quit when they got married. As people considered income as an indicator to pay respect to somebody, men could gain respect, and be considered more competent than women, either physically, mentally, or emotionally. As a result, leader role are usually taken by men in different aspects.

 

Today, although women play their role in an occupation in significant number, the belief that women were not capable as men still exists. The barriers to career success of women have to be overcome by being aware of these following issues.

 

自我限制的信念--Self-Limiting Beliefs

 

Many women still believe that

 

They are not good at technical areas, such as computer, mechanic, or engineering.

 

They are better staying home to take care of their home and children.

 

They cannot do the job as good as men do.

 

They should not be involved in office politics, or hierarchy chain of command.

 

As managers, they should encourage their subordinates to have career planning to overcome these beliefs 

and make them confident by letting them answer these questions:

 

What do you want to pursue in the future?

 

What might prevent you from being success?

 

What can the company help you?

 

Then managers would help them develop their career plans to see what direction they should go to motivate, and build up their power.

 

薪酬不公平--Pay Inequity

 

Statistic shows that average income for full-time women worker in the same position is 75 percent less than men workers. It is possible that women have more chance to quit the job after having a baby. This uncertainty might make them less valuable for companies. Managers could use their influence to make sure that women get equal pay without any favorites.

 

“玻璃天花板”问题--Glass Ceiling

 

Qualified women within the hierarchy of an organization are usually difficult to reach the higher level of hierarchy as the Fortune magazine indicated that only 0.5 percent of highest-paid managers are women, and most of these women are the business owners.

 

训练--Training

 

In order to achieve their particular goal, and be confident, women need training to acquire technological knowledge that companies need. Some studied show that women get training and can achieve higher skills when no men are involved. Moreover, Women usually do not have opportunities to be involved in management programs to be promoted to a higher level of hierarchy. This problem can be solved by giving them equal opportunity in training both technical skills and management skills.#p#分页标题#e#

 

性别歧视--Gender stereotypes

 

When a woman becomes a manager, many men still feel uncomfortable seeing such a woman having power over them, and difficult to accept. Managers have to communicate to get rid of the traditional myths. When you see people having assumptions about men's and women's traits, you should draw them into discussion of how these beliefs unfairly prevent women from being managers.

 

性骚扰--Sexual Harassment

 

Sexual harassment can occur in the workplace. It usually happens when men have higher position or more authority than women, and men use their power to intimidate women. Sexual harassment can cause negative effects to the victims directly as they can have both physical and mental illness as sexual assault. Moreover, it can affect companies as it decreases their performance, increase conflict, and finally they may leave their jobs. Effective managers should enforce the rules, and policies against sexual harassment. If it happens, end this issue firmly and fairly without bias.

 

理解残疾人--Understanding Persons with Disabilities

 

Nowadays, many companies address the need of supporting persons with disabilities; Hewlett Packard is one of those companies recruiting the disabled candidate to work for the company. Qualified and knowledgeable persons with disabilities can be excellent employees, and bring effective solutions to company's challenges. They can have better productivity for the companies that tend to accept and be friendly with them. Therefore, the most important thing the companies have to do is to change the culture of companies by changing attitude, and belief of their employees regarding the persons with disabilities.

 

了解关于ADA--Knowing about ADA

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to private business operations with at least 15 employees and all government. ADA aims to prevent all kinds of discriminating against qualified employees with disabilities. Moreover, a reasonable accommodation must be provided to workers with disabilities if it doesn't impose an undue hardship to the employer. The ADA states what kinds of disabilities are protected by the law, and what defines an undue hardship that the business owner should learn more about those laws.

In addition, ADA requires businesses to provide

 

清晰的工作描述--Clearly job descriptions

 

In order to prevent discrimination with the disabled who wants to apply, job descriptions must clearly state if physical ability is involved. For example, "walk to serve the food for eight hours".

 

#p#分页标题#e#平等的机会--Equal Opportunities

 

If the candidates with disabilities can meet the qualification, the employer may not discriminate them in all aspects of employment, such as paying inequity, or hiring.

 

合理的住宿--Reasonable Accommodation

 

Whether disabled persons are in recruiting, or hiring stage, a reasonable accommodation must be provided to them as for as it does not cause an undue hardship to the employer. Such Accommodations, for example, reading the document or using Braille for visually impaired persons, or not asking them about their physical or mental impairments.

 

与残疾人工作的策略--Strategies for working with persons with disabilities

 

Promote positive beliefs about persons with disabilities

Their disabilities should not be focuses as their impairments are not who they are. Focus on what they can do, and how all employees can cooperate together to produce more productivity.

Use appropriate language

Persons with disabilities do not want to hear of their disabilities. If not necessary, don't mention the words that will make them remind of their disabilities.

If you have to say, avoid the words that focus on the persons instead of their disabilities--for example, say "uses a wheelchair" instead of "confined to a wheelchair".

Use of technology to substitute for their impairments

For example, for computer-based job, companies can provide computers and the internet for them so that they can work at home in case they have mobility problems.

 

理解文化差异,公司的增长和繁荣的关键--Understanding Cultural Differences, key to company's growth and prosperity

People from different cultures bring various ideas of solutions to the company to better grow in the new global economy. If the managers want to cooperate with people from different cultures effectively, they have to understand their cultures and the differences, which can be barriers to cooperate, or communicate together. The following describes the main characteristics of persons from different cultures.

 

我控制或被控制--I Control or I'm Controlled

 

When parents make their choices for their kids: for example, a dad tells his kid I want you to be a doctor, or a mom choose clothes, or food for her kid, those kids would be growing up to be "I'm controlled". Cultures fall into this side are most of Asian cultures. Workers from this viewpoint work better if their works depend on boss, or customer's will. On the other hand, if their parents let their kids choose everything they want on their own desires, they tend to be "I control". Most Western cultures hold this camp. Workers from "I control" side work better if everything depends on them so that they can choose what to do by themselves.#p#分页标题#e#

 

我们先或者我先--Us-First or Me-First

 

In the Western cultures, children usually become independent early when they are teenagers. They experience their worlds as self-directed ones. When they work, they are likely to have a Me-First viewpoint or individualist. They want to achieve their personal goals by themselves. They are happy when experiencing strong emotions, both good, and bad. Conversely, in the Asian cultures, most children develop close emotional-ties with their parents, and friends. These bonds encourage them to be an Us-First culture or collectivist. As a result, they tend to develop their ideas and achievements with those of group members. They feel happy with engaged emotions with their members around them. However, girls in every culture are likely to grow up to be socialized, and become collectivist as well.

 

平等或不平等--Equality or Not

 

Most western cultures value people equally in status and opportunity to accomplish and advance in their career, while most Asian and Latino cultures value people based on their rank or status in their hierarchy.

 

不平等=级别/身份文化--Inequality = Rank/Status Cultures

 

People view organization chart as a hierarchy of power where there are few positions on the top level, but more positions on the bottom. They consider boss more powerful and should not speak up to his or her unless they are told to do. Boss doesn't have to follow the rules of companies. If boss agrees, everybody must agree without arguing. They expect their boss to give understandable directions. People's value depends on senior or junior on a hierarchy. Seniors that they admire has to be knowledgeable than them, and should not ask them how to do this task.

 

平等=民主的文化--Equality = Democratic Cultures

 

People from Western cultures pay less homage to the boss than people from Asian, and Latino cultures. They make decisions and choices where "the boss is always right" becomes meaningless. The boss is not expected to know everything. Decision making is decentralized with boss's advice. Everybody in the company has to follow the rules and regulations without exception. The organization chart is like a centric web with a superior at the center. Leaders have to be democratic.

 

承担风险或玩得安全--Take Risks or Play Safe

 

Cultures that prevent unexpected situations in their lives usually keep everything organized and predictable to avoid uncertainty. They don't like changes so they try to avoid those using rigid codes of behavior that follow their tradition. According to Hofstede research, Greece is the most security-seeking culture as well as most European and Latino cultures. However, other cultures believe that every rule has its own exceptions. They believe in prosperity of business with the new aspects of creativity, such as new technology or new products. Invent and invest for future are the key values of these cultures that will lead to possible payoffs. The most risk-taking country is Singapore according to Hofstede research.#p#分页标题#e#

 

如何在别人旁边站着或坐着--How close to stand or sit to one another

 

People from different cultures behave differently when they communicate with each other. Some cultures prefer closer space when they talk to each other. Physical contacts are used not only shaking hand, but also embracing as well although they are not close friends or relatives. Latino is the example of these highly-contact cultures. Some cultures, such as American, people hug each other when they have close relationship. If not, they use shaking hand as a physical contact. Some cultures, such as Eastern cultures, people feel comfortable when they stand far away from each other with less toughing when talking with business issues.

 

直接交流或者间接交流--Communicating-Direct or Indirect

 

When people have opposing viewpoint, they keep quiet, or use indirect style to remain friendly with the other side. This communicating style applies to us-first, rank/status, and play-if-safe cultures. Conversely, getting to the point with a direct communicating style tends to be on I-control, me-first, equality, and risk taking cultures.

 

一个包容性的企业文化：管理多样性的成功关键--An Inclusive Corporate Culture: the key to success of managing diversity

 

Creating an inclusive culture would create unity into workplace. Once achieved, an inclusive culture helps companies build the innovative, productive, cooperative work environment.

Create networks and focus groups

Any employee networks should be established for employees in any subcultures, showing that the company respects any individual cultural heritages without assuming that each person has to fit in with all kinds of the heritage. The company has to find any approaches to support cultural differences as every person needs to express who they are. Employee networks, for example, might be Asian Network of Microsoft, Microsoft gay network, or Hispanic network de Microsoft.

 

Get all employees involved in company's success

 

Employees can learn a lot and be proud of them when they have contribution to the projects that are key success of a company. They would be in the learning loop that makes them improve their skills and knowledge. Therefore, bringing all employees to the learning circle is an important strategy in creating inclusion.

 

Know the knowledge and skills needed for a project

 

Know the strengths and weaknesses of each staff

Find any approaches to help staffs fulfill their capabilities, and skills needed by providing a learning process, such as training

 

Create equal opportunity approaches#p#分页标题#e#

 

The basic element of hiring diverse employees is "We are equally important". When the minority groups get hired, they are encouraged to do things just like the majority group. However, it turns out to be "We celebrate differences" as they are treated unfairly from influencing the success of the company. They are not recognized when they have contribution to the project. This is the challenge of companies to build on environment where "we are the same".

 

The "self-fulfilling prophecy" where we assume why a person succeeded or failed has to be prevented.

 

Promote the role models of success from all the diverse groups.

 

Create slogans that touch people from all diverse groups

 

The ultimate goal of managing diversity is to meet the needs of all diverse employees. They need comfortable environment workplace where systems and practices encourage their learning process and improvement. A successful multicultural company must build multicultural skills to create cooperation in the workplace with equal opportunity for all employees. The painter's palette can be a metaphor for diverse workplace: if the artist blends the color together, just like force them to forget their unique cultures, it will create a dull gray. However, if the artist leaves their true colors, they shine brightly and together create a beautiful work of art.