Managing a multi-racial workplace

By John Kariuki

Globalisation has opened up many partnerships as businesses now span entire continents and management teams comprise members of diverse nationalities.

Surrounded by a group of people with from diverse cultures, managers need skills to manage multiculturalism teams because each member may interpret information in their own way.

For example, some communities relegate women to the status of being seen but never to be heard in public and such workers may never ask or take directions from a female boss or team leader.

When bereavement befalls a member of a multi-cultural team, the various cultures may have different ways of mourning which may range between the extremes of uncaring casualness and taking every moment to console the bereaved.

Culturally conflict

The challenge in managing multicultural teams effectively is to recognise the underlying cultural causes of conflict. If you are a manager or a supervisor you must intervene in ways that set strategic objectives for the team and empowers its members to deal with future challenges.

Here are some areas managers should address.

Communication: Different cultures have differing styles of communication. Western cultures favour direct and explicit means of communication. Often they ask direct questions and display annoyance without any pretences.

Oriental and African cultures mainly favour an indirect means of communication where the meaning is embedded in the way the message is presented.

Select team members carefully: The most practical means of fostering harmony in a multi-racial team is to implement a highly selective evaluation process for the members. The criteria for selection should include proficiency in the language in use and past experience of the cultures where the work is. Some organisations take their staff on cultural sensitivity courses before sending them abroad.

Encourage open communication: Foster open communication in your multi-cultural team. You must value the output of individual members to hold the team together. Team members also need to be adaptable to one another’s perspectives and viewpoints so that members do not get into cocoons of silence and fear.

Open all feedback avenues: Any supervisory feedback from senior managers can be used to determine the efficiency and rapport of new team members. Such members can then be provided with clear guidelines, assessed on their abilities to act upon initiatives and to deliver profitably. Team leaders should hold sessions where the members’ personal and collaborative experiences can be shared.

Seek compromise: For a team to be effective, team members must acknowledge their cultural gaps openly and work around them. Team leaders should evaluate all projects carefully so that cultural concerns of the members can be identified and respected.