In this global era, interactions between people from different cultures are common. It is widely believed that cultural diversity increases a company’s ability to reach its potential. Different ideas from different cultures are collaborated together to identify an effective business strategy. Diversity is a universal truth and cannot be overlooked, although allowing for great improvement; diversity often leads to conflicts because of obvious differences among individuals from different cultures. Both the positives and negatives of diversity have multiple effects on various stakeholders. It is the requirement of the business organization to identify and minimize these negative effects so as to remain efficient and productive in the long run. These conflicts and misunderstandings between cultures can be minimized by developing an internal culture that provides equality and a sense of security to workers, allowing them to work together in a well-coordinated manner. An organizations culture should be moulded keeping in mind the level of diversity of its workforce, a culture if established that does not give importance to the cultural difference is likely to lead to employee dissatisfaction and inefficiency.
The international business environment, in this modern era, calls for understanding the cultural differences that prevail in our society. Globalization, among other factors, has meant that businesses in Canada not only need to interact with individuals from other cultures in a business setting but also need to conduct their diverse workforce in a culturally sensitive way. To adjust to the environment changes Canadian businesses have tried extensively to overcome the negations of such differences. Inevitably changes need to be made and regulations set. Such policies have multiple effects on business organizations. Stake holders are entities that are either directly or indirectly related to a particular business for e.g. employees. Therefore any policy changes because of cross cultural dilemmas will inevitably affect multiple stakeholders.
Employees are directly related to businesses; hence they are an integral part of an organization without which businesses cannot operate. It should be kept in mind that employees are human beings; they possess values, personal beliefs and are a subject to emotions. Individuals can further be categorized into types depending on their personality and upbringing. The Canadian system calls for individuals to be individualists i.e. they promote exercises for the achievement of one’s goal. Individualists believe that the needs of each person are more important than the needs of the whole society or group. This theory in practice, although suitable for Canadians as it goes hand in hand with their culture, is inappropriate when dealing with individuals from different cultures. Diverse cultures hold contrasting beliefs on how people should govern their lives these differences affect business performance as it can be seen as a barrier to effective communication and can lead to inefficient problem solving. The views and ethical guidelines that are followed by individuals differ from each other and therefore certain individuals may be picked-on, or marginalised, because they question a policy’s intentions and purpose. (Jean francois Manzoni). It is ideal for a workforce to be united and well-coordinated but these cultural limitations act as an invisible barriers towards productivity. Multiculturalism allows business to asses a specific problem from multiple perspectives. People from various backgrounds and cultures hold different views and a have different approach to problem solving this allows Canadian businesses to think out of the box leading to high productivity,high profits and new inventions.
Another stakeholder group that is