Essay From Finland.

Both Society and Businesses Benefit from Multicultural Teamwork

In an increasingly globalized economy, people from different cultures and ethnic groups find themselves working together more and more frequently. Within these groups are people of various ages, gender, religious beliefs, backgrounds, physical appearances, sexual orientation, disabilities and nationality. All coming together with their own personal workplace habits. Some with little or no training and others with many years of experience. Therefore, this may lead us to the question: Would it not be easier to form only homogeneous teams? Well, the answer might be yes and no

A multicultural society is defined as, “A place where a variety of different cultural/ethnic groups live together within the same society”. Through multiculturalism, we have an opportunity to open our minds and to learn how others think and live. Furthermore, multiculturalism is seen by its supporters as a fairer system that allows people to express who they are within a society, One that is more tolerant and better adaptable to social issues.

Multicultural teams play a vital role in the era of globalization and allow considerable advantages to global businesses .This provides more effective and productive team players. Thus, increased creativity due to multiple perspectives, more and maybe better ideas. Furthermore, diversity forces us to focus on understanding others within the team and to respect different points of view. This often leads to identifying problems and finding better alternative solutions and to reach a consensus on major decisions.

Talking from experience Porvoo International College has over 25 different nationalities. The QBA is the biggest example of multicultural teamwork we learn about other cultures and interact together as a team. Teachers find creative ways to make learning about other cultures more engaging like the international friendship day, church boat racing and many other events.

Teamwork and collaboration are most effective when team members feel comfortable in expressing and sharing their ideas freely. There is less difficulty in communicating, in order to build a more cohesive team. As opposed to having only one nationality of employees, a multicultural group offers perspectives and viewpoints that may be advantageous to problem solving. Groups represented by only one culture may be unable to “Think outside the box”. A “Box” that was only shaped by their own culture and experiences. Multiculturalism in the workplace offers an advantage of broadly different skills and competencies within a welcoming atmosphere.

Unfortunately, variety of cultures within a workforce also creates potential increased costs related to interpersonal conflicts, employee turnover and loss of productivity. Often times, problems arise in communication due to individuals who harbor certain beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and values based on their own inherent backgrounds. This may cause them to misinterpret written, verbal and/or certain physical messages of communication. It is natural that if you have people together with different backgrounds and values, employees with prejudices could use these differences against each other.

In conclusion, the positive effects of multiculturalism clearly outweigh the negative effects. Unfortunately, in many global societies, national cultures are very deep rooted.  Therefore, immediate reform is necessary. Businesses, schools and organizations need to provide required cultural awareness and sensitivity training to help create a environmental culture of tolerance and acceptance. This would globally benefit us all to truly be free from imposed societal biases and stereotypes