The image of the other in the INNOSOC partner countries...

The image of the other in the INNOSOC partner countries

Multicultural workforce - challenges and stalemates

Polgár Istvá[email protected]

University of Oradea

Faculty of History, International Relations, Political Science & Communication Science

Romania

25.04.16, Zagreb

Why ?

• as the economy expands to become increasingly moreglobal, society and workplaces are more diverse than everbefore

• to succeed in a multi-cultural workplace, it is essentialthat you are able to work with and adapt to the workstyles and habits of people of varying ages and culturalidentities

• to be a successful job candidate you must be able todemonstrate a sensitivity and awareness to other peopleand cultures.

April 2016 INNOSOC ZAGREB 2016 WORKSHOP 2/XX


• Globalization, mobility and desire for employees tohave an international career brought to the attention ofcompanies from Europe the topic called management ofcultural differences.

• Organizations can be heterogeneous (multicultural) onmultiple lines: gender, race, ethnicity, religion.

But !

• Diversity has its benefits: creativity, innovation, bettermarketing abroad and for ethnic minorities, betterdecisions.



• Diversity has also costs: interpersonal conflict,communication difficulties and team collaboration.


• Issues of multiculturalism start from the naturalbehavior of people to seek, to search for those who aresimilar to them and to feel threatened or uncomfortablein the presence of other ways of thinking and behavior.

• In their defense, these employees revive all the negativestereotypes about other employees to diminish theirstatus.

How we do it ?

• During the course we will try to explain in a moredetailed way, what is multiculturalism, how we canhandle it and how we can use it for our benefit.


What is multiculturalism ?

• 1st definition:

Multiculturalism is the co-existence of diverse cultures,where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groupsand is manifested in customary behaviours, culturalassumptions and values, patterns of thinking, andcommunicative styles.



• 2nd definition:

in a descriptive sense multicultural is simply a term which describesthe cultural and ethnic diversity of the contemporary World.



• 3rd definition:

as a public policy multiculturalism encompassesgovernment measures designed to respond to the fastlygrowing diversity.

It is a policy for managing the consequences of culturaldiversity in the interests of the individual and society as awhole.



• 4th definition:

Multiculturalism can be defines as "the practice of giving equal emphasis tothe needs and contributions of all culture groups, especially traditionallyunderrepresented minority groups, in a society.

Recent trends have stimulated society members to engage in acts ofmulticulturalism while learning to appreciate and celebrate the differencesamong individuals.

"Diversity encompasses differences in education level, gender, ethnicity,race, age, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic background, andphysical ability. •Each element of diversity provides for and adds a uniqueand essential component to benefit society at large.


Multiculturalism means consisting of individuals from various, culturally distinct groups !

• key words to keep in mind are various and distinct =equality

• we all come from different backgrounds and we are allraised differently


• 2 types of equality in a multicultural society:

Formal equality

&

Substantive equality


Multiculturalism from another angle

• Multicultural ideologies and policies vary widely, rangingfrom the advocacy of equal respect to the various cultures in asociety, to a policy of promoting the maintenance of culturaldiversity, to policies in which people of various ethnic andreligious groups are addressed by the authorities as defined bythe group to which they belong.

• Multiculturalism that promotes maintaining thedistinctiveness of multiple cultures is often contrasted to othersettlement policies such as social integration, culturalassimilation and racial segregation. Multiculturalism has beendescribed as a "salad bowl" and "cultural mosaic"


• 5 different factors of multiculturalism

social fact

ideology

a way to understand differences

a necessity

a process


Multiculturalism as a social fact

• Every society in todays globalised world has diversity !

- How we count this ?

- Which are the indicators ?


Multiculturalism as an ideology

• this can be seen as part of a political ideology

• as an answer how we welcome diversity

• how we support and accept different groups


Multiculturalism a way to understand differences

• Represents a methodology to make us understand and tohandle the differences

• It can be implemented and social and also at individuallevel


Multiculturalism as a necessity

• represents a pragmatic point of view

• a political tool/instrument

• Multiculturalism is management of differences by thenation state

• it’s a must to manage differences


Multiculturalism as a process

• the process of multiculturalism is particular to everysociety – it is related to the history and the developmentof the society

• to understand the process and to make the processefficient we must look back in the history under thepresent day and also the future


Multiculturalism in Europe

• nowadays the EU is facing unprecedented demographicchanges (an ageing population, low birth rates, changingfamily structures and migration).

• according to the EC, it is important, both at EU andnational level, to review and adapt existing policies.

• key policy responses to manage demographic change,among them receiving and integrating migrants intoEurope


Ingredients for a successful multicultural environment !

• to make a multicultural environment successful, it needsfirst of all to make the people, the individuals to bemulticultural: to communicate in foreign languages, tobe tolerant and to learn as much as they can from othercultures.

• especially is important to learn about aspects of non-verbal communication, authority, social organization,negotiation, time perception, modes of interaction.


• The second ingredient is that the organization, companymust move from passive phase of recognizing diversity toan active management of cultural differences, what willprovide equal opportunities to all.


• Thirdly, a strong organizational culture based on mutualrespect, common code with strict behavior andcommunication rules and their constant involvement insupporting the management can eliminate many of thepossibilities of conflict based on cultural differences.

• Think through your personal, professional, and academichistory for examples of when you demonstrated theseessential skills.


Multiculturalism from an “American” point of view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POkP2oCFhA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POkP2oCFhA

Conclusions

• Please always remember that diversity andmulticulturalism is not just in reference to a person’s raceor religion, it includes traditions, thoughts, andperspectives as well.

• It is very important to show/communicate through yourbehavior, your way of thinking, even your resume tofuture hiring managers that you demonstrate a respect andappreciation for differing views and a sensitivity to thosewho may be different than you.


Sources

• C. W. Watson, Multiculturalism, Open University Press, Buckingham, Philadelphia, 2000

• Margit Feischmidt, Multiculturalismul. O noua perspectiva stiintifica si politica despre cultura si identitate, in Altera,

nr. 12/1999

• Richard Rorty, Demonizing the Academy, in Robert Emmet Long (ed.), Multiculturalism, The H. W. Wilson

Company, New York, 1997

• Bhikhu C. Parekh, Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory, Harvard University Press,

2000

• Ella Shohat,Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media, Routledge, 2014

• Malory Nye, The Challenge of multiculturalism, 2014

• Tariq Modood, Multiculturalism, published on line DOI: 10.1002/9781118663202.wberen252, 2015

• Lentin, Alana and Titley, Gavin, The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a Neoliberal Age. Zed Books Ltd, 2011

• Steven Vertovec,Steven Vertovec,Susanne Wessendorf, Multiculturalism Backlash: European Discourses, Policies

and Practices, Routledge, 2010


This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the

Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.


Multicultural workforce - challenges and stalemates

Polgár Istvá[email protected]

University of Oradea

Faculty of History, International Relations, Political Science & Communication Science

Romania

26.04.16, Zagreb

Student essays

• essay about “the image of the other” in your homecountry (motherland) – 22 essays

• essay about the “image of the native” from the minoritypoint of view – 20 essays



• 14 romany

• 1 turkish

• 4 general

• 1 maroccan

• 1 chinese

• 1 hungarians


The Image of the native in the INNOSOC partner countries

• 11 romany

• 6 general

• 1 french/chinese

• 1 bulgarian/turkish

• 1 romanians


A successful multicultural environment !

• to make a multicultural environment successful, it needsfirst of all to make the people, the individuals to bemulticultural: to communicate in foreign languages, tobe tolerant and to learn as much as they can from othercultures.

• especially is important to learn about aspects of non-verbal communication, authority, social organization,negotiation, time perception, modes of interaction.


• The second ingredient is that the organization, companymust move from passive phase of recognizing diversity toan active management of cultural differences, what willprovide equal opportunities to all.


• Thirdly, a strong organizational culture based on mutualrespect, common code with strict behavior andcommunication rules and their constant involvement insupporting the management can eliminate many of thepossibilities of conflict based on cultural differences.

• Think through your personal, professional, and academichistory for examples of when you demonstrated theseessential skills.


Conclusions

• Please always remember that diversity andmulticulturalism is not just in reference to a person’s raceor religion, it includes traditions, thoughts, andperspectives as well.

• It is very important to show/communicate through yourbehavior, your way of thinking, even your resume tofuture hiring managers that you demonstrate a respect andappreciation for differing views and a sensitivity to thosewho may be different than you.


Sources

• C. W. Watson, Multiculturalism, Open University Press, Buckingham, Philadelphia, 2000

• Margit Feischmidt, Multiculturalismul. O noua perspectiva stiintifica si politica despre cultura si identitate, in Altera,

nr. 12/1999

• Richard Rorty, Demonizing the Academy, in Robert Emmet Long (ed.), Multiculturalism, The H. W. Wilson

Company, New York, 1997

• Bhikhu C. Parekh, Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory, Harvard University Press,

2000

• Ella Shohat,Robert Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media, Routledge, 2014

• Malory Nye, The Challenge of multiculturalism, 2014

• Tariq Modood, Multiculturalism, published on line DOI: 10.1002/9781118663202.wberen252, 2015

• Lentin, Alana and Titley, Gavin, The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a Neoliberal Age. Zed Books Ltd, 2011

• Steven Vertovec,Steven Vertovec,Susanne Wessendorf, Multiculturalism Backlash: European Discourses, Policies

and Practices, Routledge, 2010


This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the

Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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