Globalization provides opportunities for businesses to invest in foreign markets and to gain access to new capital. A key concern in achieving financial results through globalization is the effect it has on your business. Bringing employees together despite distance and cultural differences is a challenge company leaders and human resources professionals must tackle.
Developing a global organizational culture is much more complex than building one domestically. The point of a common culture is that employees share norms and values. When your employees come from varying cultures themselves, they inherently have distinct differences in their own view of work, communication and other aspects of the company. Thus, HR must work diligently to train employees on cultural sensitivity and find common points shared by employees throughout the organization. Virtual work teams often are used to promote cross-cultural teamwork.
More organizational leaders are trying to overcome the challenges of managing a multicultural workforce so that they can reap the benefits. A multicultural workforce consists of employees with a wide range of backgrounds. Age, race, national origin, gender and marital status are just some of the traits that distinguish employees culturally.