Preparing Business Students for the Multi-cultural Work Environment of the Future: A Teaching Agenda

摘要

Through the review of numerous studies, the authors argue that effective management of diversity in organizational environments can be used by companies for achieving competitive advantage and gaining strategic advantage in an increasingly global economic setting and market place. This paper further explores the proposition that global business workforces of today are blended and that managing those groups effectively will benefit the bottom line as noted in Esty, Griffin, & Hirsch (1997). The authors note that while there are a variety of benefits from having a diverse employee workforce, simply embracing the concept of diversity does not guarantee success. Finally, the authors propose diversity curricula - Diversity as a Strategic Advantage, Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce, Cultural Explorations in Global Business, Managing in a Multi-Cultural Context, and Leveraging Diverse Community Partnerships- to inculcate students with specific diversity competencies, such as, building frameworks for recruitment and retention of diverse employee demographics, practical methods for developing culturally sensitive marketing campaigns, and understanding how those cultures may impact the bottom line.