Case Study Organizational Behavior – Introduction
Diversity in the organization could be explained as the greater variety of solutions in the industry so that there could be the better focus on the customer demands. In this paper, there is the discussion regarding the Watsco, Inc. as the company encourage diversity so there could be innovation in the company products and the services and require diverse workforce so that there could be understanding of the diverse culture. Watsco Inc in the organization faced the issues regarding diversity in the ethnic and cultural differences of the workforce, as an employee faced issues of communication barriers, cultural differences, gender discrimination and generation gap in the company.
Background
Diversity in organizational behavior
Organizational behavior could be described as the study that is relevant to the human behavior in the organizational settings, the organizational behaviors focus on the human behavior and organization. The company when requires the talents and experiences then there is the need to get or hire the employees; who have better knowledge in the field. The companies require diverse workforce so that there could be understanding of the diverse culture and so that the organization environment can be flexible in adapting fluctuating markets as well as there could better understand of the customer demands (Byrd & Scott, 2014).
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Through the diversity, there could be effective management of the diverse collection of skills and there could be wide strategies for the higher productivity in the company. Diversity may result in the issues that are related to the cultural and language barriers, as a company could also face the issues regarding the lack of teamwork and there could be result in the low morale but there can be new ideas in the company that inhibits progress (Powell, 2010).
Watsco, Inc.
The Watsco, Inc. it is the largest company which is known as the distributor of equipment related to the air conditioning, the heating, and refrigeration etc. The company is serving various customers as have the related parts and supplies or components and tools for the HVAC/R industry. The company is in the United States and Watsco Company was founded 60 years ago. Albert H. Nahmad is the current CEO of the company and the earned revenue about US$4.2 billion in 2016 (Dahlberg & Herald, 2017).
The Watsco Inc is focused on the digital transformations; the company has the efficient leaders, who are focused on the app creations so that there could be benefits in the tech transformation project. The company is seeking to transform so that there could be enhancement with the new applications in the industry with technology (Dahlberg & Herald, 2017). The leaders in the company believe on the innovation so that there could be the encouragement as the company is motivating the stakeholders and employees so that they could focus on the new revenue streams. The company in the technology platforms serves in the HVAC industry so that there could be the increase in the Watsco’s sales and so that there could be competitive advantages from the largest competitors.
Watsco Inc and cultural diversity
Watsco Inc in the organization faced the issues regarding diversity in the ethnic and cultural differences of the workforce. One of my friends named Michael was an employee there, he was an African American and was raised in South Africa, he faced communication barriers, issues related to ethnic and cultural differences and issues related to gender discrimination and generation gap there.
Moreover, Watsco Inc is also focused on to encourage diversity so that there could be the increase in the return on investment and so there could be innovation in the company products and the services. However, they are hiring the people or employees from the different background and the culture so that company could get relevant information about the different people and markets and there could be the better understanding of the HVAC industry.
Description of situation
My friend named Michael faced the issues regarding cultural diversity at the Watsco Inc. however; he is an African American and was raised in South Africa. Cultural diversity could be explained as the differences that could be there in the people of the organization and based on the reasons people feel superior to others. There could cultural differences based on the race, language, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, ability, culture, sexual orientation etc.
Diversity in the organization could be explained as the change, communication, and adaptability; however, there could changes in the organization employees due to this because there is the diverse workforce in the company and the organizations also recognizes the need for immediate action in order to get the effectiveness for the greater variety of solutions in the industry.
However, there could be differences in the country, region, city etc. there could be the variety of groups in the organization based on the aspects related to diversity. Cultural diversity can help the company to focus on the wide strategies for the higher productivity in the company. However, their cultural diversity may result in discrimination and low morale. Michael was also part of the diverse workforce in the company, where he focuses on the community loyalty and focus on the aspects related to innovation.
Cultural diversity is important because it helps the company to improved employee recruitment and retention and there could be effective in the business tasks, the business partners or the companies able to retain talent so that there could be efficient in the creativity and problem-solving. Companies are focused on the retention and productivity of the employees through bringing the cultural diversity and through enhancing the communication skills in the work environment (Gaudiano & Hunt, 2016).
Companies are investing in diversity with the focus on the talent management practices so that there could be effectiveness and company could able to survive the continually challenges. Watsco Inc. is also investing in the diversity and cultural differences practices so that there could be the focus on interaction with different cultures. However, the company focuses on increased productivity so that there could be the management of the new attitudes in the company and so that employees could focus on the new language skills.
Explanation of problem
Michael faced the issues regarding cultural diversity and discrimination in the organization. Focus on the matters of the cultural diversity, the organization can and the people could have the unique perspective about it, Watsco Inc also focused on the unique and innovative culture, so that there could be betterment, commitment in the organization and people from the different background can bring the effectiveness in the tasks.
A few months back, Michael started a job as an HR consultant in the Watsco Inc. he faced issues regarding the culture and communication barriers because the people who were at higher post feel as a superior and knowledgeable person. Michael is African American and was from South Africa so do not know much about the American culture, based on that some of the subordinates were cooperative to him and some of them made his fun.
Moreover, Michael also faced the issues from the management as he was not involved in the decision-making process because other subordinates think that he does not know anything about the management, even he had work experience in management in an organization in South Africa. Michel has to leave the company after four months because he was not tolerated in the workplace. The company had the policies regarding the appropriate training but he was not given the training because there was no acceptance and respect for him and there were unfair prejudices among diversified which he had to face.
There were dominant cultural and the dominant genders in the organization; most of the people are Americans in the company; they do not allow others to get involved with them and contribute in the organizational matters. However, the supervisor and the head of a department were females, so they involve only women in most of the matters. Watsco Inc. only focuses on the innovative ways in order to attract the customers and increase the sales, the company is focused on the diversity so that there could be effective ways, in order to improve the new employees.
However, he faced the conflicts related to the discrimination, prejudice as well as the racism, and a lack of respect. There was conflict among employees in the company and sometimes the situations there become violent. The situation for him turns explosive and there was no diversity training was given to him. Michael faced the disrespect and discrimination at the job performance because people there had the unfair prejudices regarding the ethnicity, colors, and cultures. The company has some laws and regulation on the diversity but management there not build acceptance, thus appropriate training needs to be provided to the well-diversified employees.
Watsco Inc. has the wide range of talents but there is no focus on the problem-solving skills as Michael faced issues in the multicultural group because the people in the department has the personal histories, people there have authority based on the educational backgrounds. There is a workplace diversity, which is based on the frustrations as Michael experienced issues in diverse environment, thus, it could be predicted that there is no effective building and maintaining of the culture of inclusion (Hogan, 2012).
Analysis of Contributing Factors
There are several issues that are contributing to the case of Michael; few of the factors are discussed below:
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Ethnic and cultural differences
There were ethnic and cultural differences in the organization as there was no acceptance for the individual’s harbor and the management was proud or has the unfair prejudices, nobody tolerated Michael in the workplace and there no respect among worker in a prompt manner. However, a company needs to focus on the policies and appropriate training so that there could well-diversified acceptance for the different cultures.
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Communication barriers
Michael also faced the communication issues based on the cultural diversity; as the company was hiring immigrants from the other background, Michael cannot speak English, therefore there was a communication barrier in the company and team members was not supportive to him. Thus, the Watsco, Inc. needs to focus on the communication training of the employees so that they can be encouraged and improve in the organizational environment.
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Gender discrimination
Michael also faced the issues related to the gender discrimination that was also based on the cultural diversity common diversity issues because female of the department does not accept him as the subordinate. In the company he felt the issues of men vs. women, there was not focus on some of the traditional gender roles so there were disputes over these matters based on the equal pay and opportunities. Moreover, the employees need to perform equally so that there may not be trouble in dealing gender issues.
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Generation gap
There was also the generation gap in the management of the company, because of the cultural diversity as a company had the diversified corporations; Michael faced the issues from the senior staff because the sold staff, did not involve Michael in the decision making process. There were the employees from the teenagers to senior citizens in the organization, thus, there were prominent generation gaps because there were issues with the multiple generations, so that company in this way, need to focus on the development and the establishment of the teamwork.
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Conflicts
The Watsco, Inc. has the issues related to the conflicts because there were conflicts between the people in the organization. The management is concerned about prejudice, racism and the discrimination but no effective steps are taken in order to reduce the conflicts. There is lack of respect as Michael faced the issues in the company work environment and there was conflict among employees. Moreover, the company needs to focus on the aspects related to the diversity training in the diversified work environment (Zalis, 2017).
Conclusion
It is concluded that Watsco, Inc. is the company that encourages diversity but the company needs to have the better understanding of the diverse culture through making the organization environment more flexible. Moreover, it is suggested to the Watsco Inc. that the company need to review the management practices so that there could be better analysis of the situations and so that employees could be served in the better way. Consequently, Watsco Inc. needs to implement the laws and regulations based on the cultural diversity so that there could be and equal treatment and practices with the employees.
References;
- Byrd, M. Y., & Scott, C. L. (2014). Diversity in the Workforce: Current Issues and Emerging Trends. Routledge.
- Dahlberg, N., & Herald, M. (2017, March 1). Company Invests Millions in Using Tech to Transform HVAC Industry. Retrieved from https://www.govtech.com/fs/Company-Invests-Millions-in-Using-Tech-to-Transform-HVAC-Industry.html
- Gaudiano, P., & Hunt, E. (2016, July 11). The Complexity Of Diversity. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gaudianohunt/2016/07/11/the-complexity-of-diversity/#cbac0686346e
- Hogan, M. (2012). The Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence. Cengage Learning.
- Powell, G. N. (2010). Managing a Diverse Workforce: Learning Activities. SAGE Publications.
- Zalis, S. (2017, November 30). The Truth About Diversity — And Why It Matters. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleyzalis/2017/11/30/the-truth-about-diversity-and-why-it-matters/#750cae7f66e7