The Management of a Multicultural Workforce

Many companies have culturally diverse workforces. This applies to medium- and small-sized businesses as well as to multinational organisations. The existence of a multicultural workforce has important implications for human resource management policies. The Management of a Multicultural Workforce takes a systematic approach to relating organisational features and activities to specific aspects of national culture. Written in an accessible style for students at the MBA and final-year undergraduate level studying cross-cultural organisation and international human resource management, this book will also interest researchers and managers of international firms or those based in one country with a multicultural workforce. The first part of the book examines the significance of culture and the way in which culture influences organisations. Topics cover leadership style, organisational structure, decision making processes, major organisational activities and the significance of societal culture within which these take place. The second part concentrates on the specific issue of human resource management and culture. The emphasis is on the implications of national culture for human resource management practices in uninational and multinational firms of varying size, employing a multicultural workforce. Among the issues discussed are the options open to managers to cope with cultural diversity, the richness of such diversity, and the tensions that arise in such settings. Finally the issue of the transferability of management practices across borders is discussed.

Monir Tayeb is a Reader at the School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University. She has written several books on International Business and Organization Studies.