Effects and Influence of Multiculturalism and Globalization on Work!

It is fascinating how the definition of work has changed and continues to evolve over the years. There was a time when work meant going to an office for a regular 8 hours a day job. Then, with the advent of the internet, it became possible to work from home or any other remote location. Presently, with new innovations in technology, globalization, and greater inter-connectedness and inter-dependence amongst people - colleagues and customers - from across the globe, the definition of work, according to me is shifting towards meeting one's targets and CTQs (critical to quality) targets - TAT (turn-around-time), CSat (Customer Satisfaction) scores, NPS (Net Promoter Scores), etc. Performance management and Performance improvement are the key areas that most companies try and focus on. Also, due to the intense and cut-throat competition amongst companies on a global scale, it is increasingly important for companies to be able to 'retain' their employees, as attrition is one of the biggest challenges that almost all top organizations face and are quite wary of. While earlier, up to the mid-1980s, the employer was, to an extent, able to set terms of employment and dictate what they wanted from their employees in unequivocal terms; today, due to severe competition on a global scale, ban on cartelization and monopolistic practices within industries, and easy access to information online; companies go out of their way to retain their employees by focusing extensively on their Employee Satisfaction. Having personally trained over 50,000 executives and consulted at over 100 of the Fortune 500 companies globally since 1998, I have seen first-hand how most people aspire and want to work at companies such as Google, Facebook, American Express, GE, Ameriprise Financial, McKinsey, etc. This is primarily due to the fact that these companies go out of their way to take great care of their employees and as we live in a highly inter-connected period, where ‘word of mouth publicity’, particularly amongst the newly available skilled workforce, is paramount, these companies are also able to hire the best talent – thus making them get even better at what they do and stay globally competitive. I agree with the following quotation: “The changes we observe in work and work arrangements are sometimes in response to macroeconomic forces, such as the shift from a predominantly agricultural economy to a period in which manufacturing (seemingly) reigned supreme to a service economy today. But changes are also due to social and political upheavals, such as civil rights movements, which have enabled some women and men of color to enter arenas of professional and managerial work that were once forbidden”. Countries such as The United States of America, China, and India are great examples of the quotation above. The work landscape has changed significantly in the U.S. since the 1950’s with a greater number of women and minorities working in key managerial and decision-making roles and functions now as compared to earlier, although compensation for similar work between genders and ethnicities is still a topic for further discussion. China is another example of how a predominantly agrarian economy shifted to a manufacturing hub and a global leader in manufacturing. The Indian workforce also transformed in the early 1990s, when Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (later prime minister of the country for two terms), laid down a platform for a macroeconomic transition of India from a Socialist economy to a Capitalistic economy and thus minimizing dependence on the agricultural sector to the more dynamic Information Technology and Services sector, paving way for greater job creation and employment, thereby creating a middle-income consumer base of almost 50% of the country’s population, i.e., almost 600 million people. “China is expected to surpass the US in terms of nominal GDP by 2026, aka in 10 years. India, the ‘strongest emerging market’ is expected to jump to third place with real growth averaging around 5% by 2050.” (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2015).

Apart from the above, there are other Geo-Political forces that determine work dynamics. Although the world has been brought together significantly due to rapid globalization and inter-connectedness since the mid-1990s, I feel that there may be a paradigm shift in how work is done and perceived in the future due to the geopolitical forces at play. As the world gets increasingly polarized due to various factors, such as religion, personal beliefs, economic practices, etc., the global economy might not remain as free as in the past, with countries imposing sanctions, dictating terms on how to do business with certain countries, imposition of extremely high custom duties on imports of goods from 'unfriendly countries', etc. All these points may also contribute significantly to how work is done in the future.

According to Fitzsimmons (2013), there are important questions that have not been addressed yet. “First, multicultural individuals who have the most difficult experience (highest psychological toll) also have the highest level of task outcomes (higher action and analytical skills)” (p. 543). Fitzsimmons (2013) theorizes that “identity pattern inconsistency leads to both outcomes, but it is possible that identity pattern inconsistency leads to psychological toll and that psychological toll, in turn, leads to increased task outcomes. If psychological toll is found to mediate relationships between identity patterns and task outcomes, this implies that there may be an optimal level of psychological toll, rather than that dissonance or psychological toll ought to be minimized. An important next step in this direction would be an experiment-based study to help determine whether personal outcomes mediate task outcomes (p. 543). The second unanswered question refers to the time element of multiculturalism. There is a need for empirical evidence about the stability versus malleability of cultural identity patterns over time and across contexts. Research that defines multiculturalism in terms of cultural schemas usually assumes that patterns are reasonably stable over time, or at least that they change slowly. (Markus, 1986). In contrast, studies that define multiculturalism in terms of identity may allow for frequent changes over time, depending on the form of identification (Roccas et al., 2008). This is an empirical question, and the field would benefit from a longitudinal study of multicultural pattern change over time. (p. 543, 544). Finally, multicultural identity patterns themselves may influence how individuals reconcile inconsistencies between their cultural and organizational identities” (p. 544). This explains how multicultural individuals have different mechanisms and methods for addressing and managing conflicts.

Over the years I have observed how multicultural individuals from Asian, Middle Eastern, and some Eastern European countries manage conflicts which are in contradiction with how individuals from the US, Canada, Australia, and Western European countries manage conflicts. In Eastern countries, it is not an uncommon practice for the person who feels that they have been offended or disrespected to expect the person who has made them feel that way to come up to them first and apologize to them. Ego plays a major part in managing conflicts in these places and individuals are quick to feel offended by even the smallest of issues that might have happened unknowingly or unwillingly. This leads to unnecessary negativity at the workplace that might lead to office politics and other forms of behavior that might act as barriers and impede optimal performance at work. Therefore, it is generally important to understand the culturally sensitive aspect of multiculturalism to avoid such scenarios. In the West, conflicts are handled quite differently. Individuals are direct and if they feel that they have been offended or disrespected, they usually immediately let the other person know and the problem is nipped in the bud. People in the West have a saying “Let’s talk about it”. They address any conflicts head-on and directly and try to resolve the issues as soon as possible after talking about them. In the East, individuals tend to hold grudges, thus creating an unamicable work environment that is not conducive to open, creative, and free thinking.

Fitzsimmons further goes ahead to suggest two general approaches for future researchers, who are attempting to operationalize the moderating effect of organizational culture: “(1) researchers could measure organizational culture at the individual level, as a perpetual construct, or (2) they could specify an aggregated organizational-level measure using an additive composition model” (p. 544).

Mciver, Lengnick-Hall, Legnick-Hall, and Ramachandran’s (2013) framework of knowledge characteristics of work uses the dimensions of learnability and tacitness of knowledge-in-practice (KIP) to create a framework distinguishing the underlying knowledge characteristics of work being done. Tacit knowledge is a form of knowing that is inseparable from action because it is constituted through doing (Orlikowski, 2002). Tacit knowledge/knowing is the unspecifiable process of knowing-in-action that is impossible to articulate and communicate to others (Polanyi, 1958). It is difficult to capture because it is hard to formalize and not easily visible. It is difficult to share with others because it is highly context-dependent or firm-specific. The tacitness of a practice (McIver et al., 2012) is the information and know-how involved in the sequences routines, capabilities, or activity systems for doing work that is unobservable (Winter, 1987), difficult to teach (Zander & Kogut, 1995), difficult to articulate (Nelson & Winter, 1982), highly embedded, and codependent on unidentified aspects of the local (i.e., situated work context) environment or setting (Galunic & Rodan, 1998). The learnability of practice consists of the type and amount of effort, study, accumulated comprehension, and expertise required to understand the information and know-how involved in work activities (McIver et al., 2012). Learnability captures the ease with which someone who is unfamiliar with the practice, such as a new employee, is able to develop the ability to perform the activities involved in the work process. Learnability measures the extent to which the KIP needed to perform certain kinds of work is inherently more difficult to learn than the knowledge needed for other types of work because the characteristics of the underlying information and know-how are more challenging to understand or master. The learnability construct is important because it distinguishes between practices that are difficult to learn and those that are relatively easy to learn, regardless of the underlying knowledge composition in terms of information and know-how. The framework of knowledge uses the dimensions of learnability and tacitness of KIP by distinguishing the underlying knowledge characteristics of the work being done. Combining these dimensions differentiates four different types of work based on the underlying KIP characteristics (McIver et al., 2012): (1) enacted information (high learnability, low tacitness), (2) accumulated information (low learnability, low tacit- ness), (3) apprenticed know-how (high learnability, high tacitness), and (4) talent and intuitive know-how (low learnability, high tacitness). These four KIP work types differ not only in their underlying KIP characteristics but also in the intended performance and the ways in which performance outcomes are achieved. These KIP distinctions offer a valuable way of theorizing and are used here to distinguish work settings. Figure 1 depicts these four KIP types. Work practices in Quadrant I—enacted information - include activities based on underlying knowledge that has a relatively low proportion of tacitness and can be learned with relative ease. The work done by a grocery store cashier illustrates enacted information KIP characteristics. These practices can be learned in various sequences and through numerous pedagogies since they undergo few variations and are well-established through repeated trials. The foundation of Quadrant II practices remains primarily information, but the amount of information is vast, and new information is often needed both to fit new work conditions and to accommodate exceptions during execution (McIver et al., 2012). Much of the work done by a corporate tax auditor illustrates accumulated information on KIP characteristics. The knowledge involved in these types of practices can be observed, codified, and disaggregated from its context, but it is more difficult to learn because expertise requires extensive mastery of large amounts of information.

Quadrant III—apprenticed know-how— describes work practices with the underlying knowledge that has a relatively high proportion of tacitness but remains easy to learn. McIver et al., 2012 characterize this KIP as “practice makes perfect.” In contrast to Quadrant I, the underlying knowledge is mostly tacit, but similar to Quadrant I, the KIP remains relatively easy to learn (McIver et al., 2012). Information requirements are limited since tacit know-how is the foundation for action. Apprenticed know-how KIP is often hard to observe, largely unspecifiable, and embedded in the work practice context. Learnability is high, however, because the connections between required actions and performance are consistent and comparatively simple to replicate and the steps needed to learn how to perform these actions can be readily identified. The KIP requirements for many skilled labor jobs, such as roofing a house or applying the correct torque on an oil well-fitting, illustrate apprenticed know-how characteristics.

Quadrant IV—talent and intuitive know-how— describes work practices with the underlying knowledge that, like apprenticed know-how, is primarily tacit but, unlike apprenticed know-how, is very difficult to learn (McIver et al., 2012). These practices are based on know-how that is complex and that evolves as new experiences arise and conditions change. This type of know-how is rarely transferable across people or units and is only developed through idiosyncratic experience. Work practices done by individuals or groups with unique talents, such as famous artists, world-class athletes, gifted creative teams, or scientific geniuses, illustrate talent and intuitive know-how KIP. The knowledge underlying these work practices is typically unobservable, unteachable, and unspecifiable; the connections between required actions and performance are often complex and inconsistent; and the actual steps needed to learn the required actions are uncertain, ambiguous, or unclear. Each of the four work practice types has inherently different underlying knowledge characteristics. Each work practice type also is designed to contribute to different types of performance outcomes, and these intended outcomes are achieved in different ways. Organizations are more likely to realize the benefits of KM investments if these activities are appropriate for the underlying KIP of their work because KM activities vary in the ways in which they enable organizations to achieve high performance from what they know.

Prototype Ambiguity is a shared perception among group members that the attributes, attitudes, and actions that define and describe the typical member are unclear. Prototype ambiguity, if left unresolved, is highly problematic for groups and their members. Bartel & Wiensenfeld's (2013) analysis of group prototypes and prototype ambiguity addresses two key questions. First, what contextual conditions reliably trigger prototype ambiguity? Second, how do groups resolve prototype ambiguity? According to Bartel & Wiensenfeld, prototype ambiguity arises in response to situations that threaten a group’s collective identity. Identity threat challenges the very essence of the group – that it is a coherent entity possessing distinctive features. Two fundamental threats to group identity are threats to group entitativity and threats to group status.

Group entitativity refers to the degree to which a group is perceived as a coherent, unified entry (Campbell, 1958; Lickel et al., 2000).

Social contexts that make group prototypes too complex or too vague threaten to reduce group entitativity because the group’s essence and what membership means lose coherence. Change processes that expand, extinguish, or consolidate formal group boundaries within organizations are especially potent contexts for entitativity threats, such as mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs, organizational restructurings, workforce downsizing, and employee turnover. Another common threat to group entitativity stems from how organizational structures create groups that are nested or embedded within others (e.g., workgroups embedded in departments) or groups that are cross-cutting (e.g., task forces spanning multiple functions or departments). This inevitably leads groups to have similar or overlapping purposes and goals, values, norms, and member profiles. Subgroups may also emerge organically and threaten group entitativity because they fragment the group and offer alternative group boundaries that compete with those of the group as a whole. Still, other threats to group entitativity stem from changes in how work is performed. For example, contractual workers who work on assignments within companies as part of an outsourced project are usually unclear of the department’s boundaries for those within and outside it. Finally, external groups may take actions that elicit entitativity threats. For example, competitive mimicry is a common and widely acknowledged path to legitimacy (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), which, when manifested in individual member profiles, may lead to similarity in member features across organizations that complicates members’ ability to clearly differentiate themselves from members of other organizations. Group members can reclaim positive distinctiveness by constructing a prototype that has positive valence (Hogg et al., 2005). Members, therefore, are less concerned with what they all have in common than they are with what favorably sets the group apart from other organizational groups. Group members thus will likely favor a prototype representing an idealized notion of the group. The construction of such a prototype may involve considerable negotiation among members.

The Bartel and Wiesenfeld analysis suggests several implications for managing in and coping with modern work contexts. First, their perspective draws attention to the potential prevalence of prototype ambiguity prompted not only by relatively rare, large-scale organizational changes that have been the focus of prior research (e.g., strategic reorientation, corporate spin-offs) but by more mundane activities (e.g., competitive rankings, career mobility, intergroup and inter-organizational linkages) that now occur with greater regularity. It is suggested that prototype ambiguity is an issue that demands managerial and organizational attention, and it is worth devoting even scarce resources to reducing it. Group members call on prototypes constantly to inform their decisions and actions on the job; prototypes enable group members to act in accordance with the collective group identity. This analysis of prototype ambiguity also helps managers aware of the bottom-up social negotiation processes directed at clarifying the group prototype. Effective managers should be aware not only of when prototype ambiguity exists in their group but also of the possibility that members will interpret their behaviors as granting efforts, even when they did not intend to send such signals, leading to misunderstandings, perceived slights, and the need for prompt and thoughtful corrective action. Finally, the research also calls attention to prototype ambiguity as a critical factor that makes essential group activities such as member coordination, resource allocation, and task performance more difficult to accomplish. This account depicts the experience of prototype ambiguity and the collective work involved in the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of group prototypes as serving critical regulatory functions in groups. Prototype ambiguity alerts members to contextual changes that require revisions to their group prototypes to better suit the realities of their surroundings. When effectively resolved within the group, prototype ambiguity can ultimately aid adaption to dynamic contexts.

As Okhuysen et al. (2013) highlight in their statement: “the challenge will be to operationalize these theoretical agendas” (p. 501), I feel that the best way to operationalize these factors will be by developing a framework, in consultation with the recruitment, training, operations, and quality teams and support functions within the organization. It is important to first understand and assess the kind of skill set that is required for a particular job. Whether the job includes interaction with clients and colleagues from multiple cultures and countries. In this case, I feel it is important to work on developing cultural sensitivity based on seven important cross-cultural points. It is important to understand differences in a culture based on individualistic and collective societies, conflict management, power distance, direct and indirect communication styles, work centrality, risk aversion, and polychromic/monochromic working styles (doing many tasks on time as compared to doing one task at a time). After assessing these points, it is important to build greater cultural sensitivity across the organization to feel employees comfortable with each other, thus leading to more openness and greater participation by all.

It is also important to understand whether the organization requires new employees who are more tacit or display better learnability practice traits. Usually, it is not advisable to put an individual who is extremely high in tacitness practice in a role that requires repetitive tasks as it will make the person bored easily and thus lead to negativity and an undesirable work environment. If implemented correctly at work, all the above points will greatly optimize work and performance across organizations.

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