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1DiversityandglobalmanagerIntroductionIntoday’shyper-complexmarketplace,everyorganizationconfrontsthechallengeonhowtotakethemostadvantageoftheinternationaltrendstopromotetheoverallefficiencyandeffectofbusinessesandmaximizeprofitability.Infact,diversityhasbecomeanoverwhelminglyimportanttrendthatattractsglobalattention,especiallythehumanresourcediversity.Generallyspeaking,itisacruciallyimportantfactonorganizationalperformancethatweathertheemployeesatalllevelsarewell-trained,dedicatedandloyalattheirworks.Thefirstsectiondemonstratesthekeybenefitsanddrawbacksofdiversity,whichareimportantforthedecision-makingofallcompanies.Inthesecondsection,thetraitsofglobalmanagersandtheirsignificancearediscussed,whichareprofessionalbackground,profoundmanagementexperiences,globalinsightsandextraordinaryleadership.Inthelastpart,thelinkbetweendiversityandglobalmanagersisanalyzedfromtwoaspects,andseveralrecommendationsareproposedaccordingly.DiversityDiversitycanbeseeneverywhereandtheprocessesofmostoperationshaveacloserelationshipwithdiversity.Fromtheverybeginning,materialsandmanufacturingdevicesareoutsourcedfromforeignregionstomakecommodity,advancedtechnologyandinventionsareboughttoproductioninmanyways,then,multinationalworkforcetaketheirworksinteamsandsolveproblemstogether,inaddition,attentionsarepaidtospecificculturestoattractconsumersindifferentcountriesandpromotionsaredesignedinaccordancewithhabitsofthetargetconsumersofdifferentnationalities.Diversityissosignificantinresentdaysthatanycompanycandonothingbutcomeupwithgreatideastomanagediversityandtakethemostuseofthetrend.Diversitymanagementemergesasaresultoftherapidprocessofglobalization,especiallyinthehumanresourcesectorsuchasage,religion,race,gender,cultureandspecialty,2consequently,itisnotappropriatetoimplementafixmanagingcodeintoday’sworld.Itisbelievedthatdiversitycanpromoteorganizationalperformanceaswellascontributetohighefficiency.PositiveaspectsTherearemanysoundreasonsforcreatingamorediverseemployeeprofile(Causon,2008).Themostobviousonesarepresentedasfollows.GatheringdiverseinsightsItiscommonforanycompanytoconfrontmanyproblemsarisingfrommanufacturing,promotion,recruitmentandmanagement,whichmayhinderthecompanyfromgainmarketopportunities(Samad,2001).Althoughmostchallengesaresolvedbymanagersandsuperiorofficials,thedecisiveandtoughonesneedtheinsightsandideasthatcomefromdiverseworkforceatalllevels.Firstly,fromaregionalperspective,workersfromthewesterncountrycomeupwithcreativeideaswhileeastcountryworkerscomeupwithrelativerationalsolutions.Secondly,withpreviouscolorfullifeexperiences,someworkerscanrelatecertainproblemstotheirreal-lifeexperienceandbringinsightstoteams.Forexample,itiswellknownthatatechnologynamedbrainstormiswidelyusedbymanagerstotacklecertaintime-consumingproblems,oneofthevitalelementstogainbestresultsisdiversewor3kforcewithvariousspecialties.Therefore,workforcediversityinateammakescommunicationwitheachother,exchangingperspectivesandrefiningideaspossible.MakingfulluseofvariousabilitiesCoxandBlake(1991)viewdiversityasabusinessimperativeandhighlightthatfirmsshouldunderstandhowtheyvaluediversitytoestablishacompetitiveedgeovertheircompetitors,Therefore,bysettingupjobsproperlyanddevelopingworkersinresponsetothechangingnatureofwork,acompanycanmakethemostofworkforcediversityandenhanceitscompetitivestrength(StolarskiandTilebein,2009).Generallyspeaking,tasksthathastocarryoutinaprescribedwaytoanapprovedstandardcanbedistributedtoworkerswhoareserious-mindedandresponsible,however,workerswhoarereactiveandcreativeareinchargeofnewundertakingsoutsidetheworker’sformaldutiesaccordingtothesituations.Forinstance,ifaworkerwhooncewasapainterhopestofindajobinashoesmanufacturingcompany,hecanstillhaveatryinthedesigningapartmentalthoughhispreviousexperienceseemsunrelatedtoshoesmanufacturing.Radicallyhighefficiencycanbeachievedaslongasjobsaredividedintospecificsectionsaccordingtotheabilitiesofworkforcewithprecisejobdescriptionandresponsibility.PreparingforglobalcompetitionWorkforcediversityisasignificantadvantageforanycompanywhoseaimismakingbrandsworkaroundtheworld.cross-culturalmanagementbecomecrucialiforganizationsaretounderstandhowtoserveandretainacustomerbasethatismuchmorediverseanddemandingthaninthepast(BergesenandSonnett,2001).Firstly,thefirst-handexperienceandlatestinformationgatheredfromdiverseworkers,whosevaluesandthoughtsresemblethetargetconsumers’inthesameregion,onlybygatheradequateinformationaboutcustomers’needsandwantscanacompanycreatecustomerloyaltyandstrengthcustomerbase.Then,theacquaintanceoflocalconditionsandpersonalrelationshipthatworkforcediversityprovidesareespeciallyusefulinthestrategicdesignforanewproductpromotion.Thirdly,customersina4certainregioninclinedtogivefeedbacktoworkerswhosharethesamevalueandreligionwiththem,withtimelyfeedbackinformationsuccessiveprogressandbetterorganizationalperformancecanbeachieved,andthecompanyisboundtogaincompetitiveadvantageandmaximizeitsprofits.NegativeaspectsWiththepositiveeffectsworkforcediversityhasonorganizationalperformanceabove,att