Chapter 16: Culture and Diversity in Business

Culture in Business

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Culture in a Global Economy

• In general, culture is the beliefs, customs, and attitudes of a distinct group of people.
  • The global economy creates a diverse culture for business.
• As companies trade worldwide, they must be aware of different cultural and business practices
• In business, culture has two important meanings.
  • In the broad sense, it refers to the customs of other countries with which companies do business.
  • A custom is a practice followed by people of a particular group or region.
  • Business culture refers to the standards of a particular company.
• To market products successfully in another country, companies must research the country’s languages, customs, and tastes.
• Companies doing business in other countries must be aware of cultural differences that affect the workplace.
• Business etiquette is conduct that is considered socially acceptable in business.
• Many companies avoid cultural problems by hiring local managers in other countries.

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Corporate Culture

• A company’s corporate culture is its shared values, beliefs, and goals.
  • A company’s founder can influence its culture.
  • Region and tradition can also play big parts.
• A company’s culture affects the way it is organized and does business.
• A formal business culture may have a strict hierarchy, or chain of command.
  • A hierarchy usually has one person at the top who makes all the decisions.
• There might be several levels of management below.
  • This is known as a bureaucracy
• At a company with an informal culture, employees are encouraged to make decisions on their own

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Diversity in the Workplace

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Cultural Diversity

• Companies tend to thrive when they have diversity, a variety of employees with different backgrounds and identities.
  • People are diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and individual needs.
• Some people stereotype others who are different from them.
  • To stereotype people is to identify them by a single trait or as a member of a certain group rather than as individuals.
• As the population becomes more diverse, so does the workplace.
  • There are greater numbers of women, Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans in management positions.
• The 76 million babies born in the United States between 1946 and 1964 are called the baby boom generation.
  • Many members of this generation are reaching retirement age and developing specific needs.
• Discrimination is unfair treatment of a person or group, usually because of prejudiced attitudes about race, ethnicity, age, religion, or gender.
  • For example, in the past, workers over the age of 40 were often fired or denied jobs in favor of younger workers.
  • This form of discrimination is called ageism.
  • To protect older workers, the U.S. government passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
    • It prohibits discrimination against workers because of their age
  • The Equal Employment Opportunity Act was passed to strengthen laws that protect workers from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, or gender.
  • In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed.
  • ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified people who have disabilities.

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