How would you reconcile one strand of the literature which says that Essay

How would you reconcile one strand of the literature which says that culture is a unifying force in organisations with another s - Essay Example A crucial driving force for sustainable organisational development is cultural diversity based on employees from different societies and ways of life. â€Å"By valuing cultural diversity, organisations can prevent segregation and fundamentalism, and promote innovation† (Bhattacharya, 2010, p.86) and creativity. Further, diversity is a key human resource strategy; hence, organisations comply with legislation and also drive business success through selection and retention of talent. Organisational agility built on stability and reconfigurability helps businesses to effectively and rapidly respond to increasingly dynamic environments caused by technological, political, and economic change. As opposed to strong unitary cultures, the emergence of organisational subcultures with similar values as the dominant culture, has been found to increase the functional agility of firms (Boisnier & Chatman, 2002). Similarly, countercultures with a pattern of values and philosophy rejecting tho se of the organisation (Schermerhorn, 2006) serve to increase corporate creative diversity. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to correlate two approaches; one which views culture as a unifying force in organisations, and the other which values organisational subcultures and countercultures as a source of creative diversity. Organisational Culture Promotes and Unifies Diversity To encourage cultural diversity, it is essential for organisations to endorse culture as the set of spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional characteristics of a social group. Culture includes social mores, value systems, traditions and beliefs. It creates identity, social unity, and a knowledge-based economy. The diversity of cultures in an organisation should be respected through mutual tolerance, communication and cooperation. This is possible through ensuring an organisational environment of reciprocal trust, understanding, solidarity, and intercultural exchanges. Efficient management o f a diverse workforce and pooling of their collective efforts, leads to increased creativity, organisational proficiency and competitiveness. Cultural diversity expands the range of options available for each employee, and promotes organisational development through economic growth. Bhattacharya (2010) supports this view, and observes that cultural diversity promotes â€Å"a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral, and spiritual existence† (p.86) for all members. On the other hand, diversity does not necessarily result in increased organisational effectiveness. Although it is widely acknowledged that cultural diversity leads to several potential benefits to an organisation, it would be necessary to pursue those benefits to realize them. Additionally, â€Å"the challenges presented by diversity may negatively impact organisational performance unless properly managed† (Trefry, 2006, p.568). With globalisation, increasing communication and information technology, various organisations grow into world-wide networks, or establish units spanning multiple nations. Kellner (2002) theorizes the globalisation process as ‘cultural homogenization’ employing the transmission of capital, commodities,