Managing in a Cross-Cultural Environment

Essay by rlunday September 2010

download word file, 12 pages 4.0 1 reviews

�PAGE �2� Managing in a Cross-Cultural Environment

Running Head: MANAGING IN A CROSS-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Managing in a Cross-Cultural Environment

University of Phoenix

�

Demographic Factors Research

In the business world today, companies are made up by diverse individuals from many groups defined by race, creed and culture, gender, religious affiliation, and sexual orientation. The makeup of some companies is more diverse than others; however, whatever the case, demographic factors can play a huge role in planning management does to run the business. In this paper, four different companies with a separate demographic factor will be identified and discussed. The paper will also discuss the demographic factors effects on management planning, research best practices in dealing with organizational conflict, and state how each organization has motivated and rewarded groups.

Key Course Concepts

The key course concepts presented in this paper relate to socio-economic factors, demographics and management planning and based on four companies: The W.L.

Gore Corporation, ​​​​​​The United States Military, Wal-Mart, and Publix Supermarket. The task of creating a multicultural organizational workplace has many obstacles as the companies find a way to imitate the changing national culture and society. "People use culture actively to determine what to do and how to do it" (Kottak & Kozaitis, 2003, p. 35).

​​​​​​​​​​​Nature, Nurture, and Gender

The W.L. Gore Company has broken the cycle that so many businesses deal with in the market, defining the ability or nature of the workplace, growing their own managers or nurturing and not allowing a gender to be dominate but allowing for the best person to fill the job. Many of the socio-geographic factors that become barriers to a company's ability to grow have been removed from the structure of the organizational flow with the Gore Company; this freedom has allowed the company to become one of...