Benefits of Multiculturism and Diversity
in Global and Domestic Niche Markets.

Borendra L. Tripura
Assistant Professor, AIUB
ADS & ALA Scholar
Shaila Ahmed
Senior Assistant Professor, AIUB

Abstract
Today's diversified workforce is a reality. The influence of cultural diversity varies
depending on the type of setting and the overall strategy of the organization. As more
companies transition from domestic, multi-domestic, and multinational strategies to fully
global operations, the importance and influence of cultural diversity grow significantly.
Handling cultural differences has become even more vital for gaining an advantage and
gaining a competitive advantage.

Introduction
In the age of globalization, no nation or country can move forward alone. If anyone likes
to do so, it will only isolate them and drive them off track. Business in the present-day
world is much more internationalized, which means, it has become more interactive
between cultures, languages and concepts. In this sense, ‘productive diversity’ is a
necessity of the age, a necessity to move to broader contexts and spaces, where it can
articulate more people, more cultures, more languages and most of all more markets and
productions. In line with this, Cope and Kalantzis (1997) says, “Productive diversity is no
more and no less than good business sense in a new environment where local diversity
and global connectedness are more critical productive factors than they ever have been in
the past” (p.129), which they termed as ‘unavoidable realities of diversity’ (p.133).So, I
would, in this paper, like to support the idea of ‘productive diversity’ introduced by the
then prime minister, Paul Keating in terms of cultural and linguistic pluralism as
beneficial resources in business, trade and tourism across the range of workplaces in
Asia, Europe and other languages. However, I will divide this paper into some sections as
the introduction, concept of diversity, globalization of business and place of diversity,
benefits of diversity and conclusion.

Concept of productive diversity
In a document (Productive Diversity in the Tourism Industry, 1995), the Australian
government defines,
“Productive diversity " is the term coined for using Australia’s linguistic and
cultural diversity for economic benefits. Through productive diversity, the
Government aims to promote the use of business networks, language skills,
cultural understanding and market knowledge of Australians from non-English
speaking backgrounds to improve Australia’s competitiveness and access to
export markets, develop domestic niche markets and improve productivity in the
workplace. (p. 18)
Similar to the government definition, Cope and Kalantzis (1997) explained,
“In one hand, the key concepts of Productive Diversity-flexibility, multiplicity,
devolution, negotiation and pluralism-are more strongly relational and integrative
than the metaphors that drive post-Fordism. On the other hand, the concepts of
Productive Diversity are based on the negation of differences, valuing differences
and cross-cultural negotiation.” (p. 128)
They further argued that “using diversity as a resource can hold the thing together more
effectively. Diversity, of leadership styles and styles of interaction in teams, for example,
is both an inevitable part of work and management, and an asset the organization needs to
utilize to the fullest.” (p. 129)

Globalization of business and place of diversity
Many companies are now multinational with operational offices and production plants
overseas with workers from diverse cultural backgrounds, Sharp, for example, is a
Japanese company with 65,000 employees, only half of which are in Japan. Obviously,
another half is in other countries, where many Indian, Pakistani, Philippino, Thai, British
and other nationalities work. Now to make this company operational outside Japan, the
Japanese values and concepts are not enough both for the case of management and
product sales. So, cultural hybridity, creativity and innovativeness are inevitable for the
success of business such a globalized company. This company has, in fact, established
three key research and development laboratories in UK and USA. It is hoped that success
for Sharp will come from the ‘hybridity, offbeat and sometimes inspired adding of
cultural values to otherwise inserted objects. It will be the result of cross-cultural
exchange”, ‘the combined knowledge of Japanese and European ways of working with
technology, knowledge of global consumer markets, and the like’ (Cope and Kalantzis,
1997, p.132). They defined creativity here as “the product of complex and symbiotic
cultural interactions.” (p.132)

Benefits of Diversity
I think that the main benefit of diversity is the ‘expansion of horizon’- expansion of
knowledge, concepts, ways of thinking and working through exchange and interaction.
The idea of expansion can be applicable for all purposes: business, education, research,
technology and so on. In terms of business, there are several advantages. Some of them
include better opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, smarter decision-making,
improvements in business reputation and an increase in profits and productivity.
Researchers can learn more about what makes individuals sick or healthy by reviewing
data from a wide population of people. What researchers discover might lead to better
illness treatment and prevention for all of us. Students who learn about diverse cultures in
school feel more at ease and safe dealing with these differences later in life. Individuals
are able to join a greater range of social groups and therefore feel more confident in
themselves and their connections with others. As a result, variety is critical since it allows
for technological diversity and the participation of marginalized groups. The future of our
world is dependent on varied perspectives working together to create better goods that are
suited for everyone.
The Australian government document on tourism (Productive Diversity in Tourism
Industry, 1997) points out that the large cultural diversity of Australia is a potential
resource ‘to give enterprises a marketing edge at home and overseas’ (p.19), as the
cultural and linguistic skills of the overseas-born Australians can facilitate to enter the
export markets, as well as they can offer the opportunity to test new products and services
for export purposes. At the same time, they provide- as customers-domestic niche
markets.
Diversity is a powerful stimulus for tourism promotion and development. I have noted
that many people come to visit Australia because they have relatives in Australia and they
feel comfortable here because they can meet someone from home, who shares the same
language and culture. Tourist, thus, receives guidance, accompaniment and instructions
from them, which is obviously comfortable. Multiculturism and diversity thus can play a
great role in the promotion and tourist attraction.

Implementation of diversity policy
General consideration: To the implementation of the diversity policy: “Organizations
need integrative flexibility in order to be able to harness diversity in the service of
creativity. They can create value monopolies in two ways: by adding cultural value to
their products or services, and by servicing a diverse clientele. An organizational culture
flexibility is crucial to the success of both of these endeavors, and the two endeavors are
very closely related.” (p.131). In the case of products, diverse cultural perspectives can
inspire creativity and drive innovation, as well as have a greater opportunity for personal
and professional growth. (p.130)

Serving diverse clientele: “Local diversity and global interconnectedness require a
qualitative leap into a world where consumers and markets are interconnected with
producers or service providers more closely than ever before” (p. 134). To achieve the
purpose, they referred to Peter’s recommendation of ‘symbiosis’ of consumerism, which
indicates to startling products and services to respond to the demands of customers, must
be based on ‘powerfully integrative flexibility, and a strong sense of the social’ (p. 135).
They pointed out, in this case, that what ‘sweet’ means in Australia is different in parts of
Asia. Thus what sells in Australia may not sell in Asia. That’s why Nestle′ Confectionary
of Australia designed different kinds of confectionary products for Asia. They have
coined another example of Tixana’s product ‘Soya King’, which was initially (1976)
produced at the back of a restaurant in Sydney, but now it is exporting Soya King
worldwide. It has become in this position because of redesigning the products with
‘productive cultural hybridity’ (p. 137). They have also drawn the example of
‘educational services’ in Australia, which is a billion-dollar export earner site. Unlike
exporting cool and wheat, education export is a culturally sensitive issue. They have cited
a UTS lecturer who found that much of the success of Asian students depends on
addressing their culturally based concepts. So, in general, to successfully serve the
present-day diverse clientele, producers or service providers must negotiate complex
cultural differences with integrative flexibility and symbiosis.

In the case of management, we have to change the mainstream management game to
articulate diversity, which is reversing the idea of organizational culture, ‘culture-as-
sameness’

Conclusion.
Diversity policies have various issues, and poorly conceived programs might cause more
damage than benefit. A critical step in resolving such concerns is to make it clear that
diversity policies do not aim to benefit one group over another. For that reason, policies
must be crafted in such a way that they do not disproportionately favor people who are
already relatively fortunate. Likewise, policymakers must manage the risk that
disadvantaged individuals who do not belong to a "diverse group" feel left behind.
Ultimately, diversity policies can only be one component of a larger policy package
aimed at promoting fair opportunity for all members of society.

List of References

1. Beresford, D. (Consultant) (1995), Productive Diversity in the Tourism
Industry-Capitalizing on the Language and Cultural Skills of Australians of non-
English Speaking Backgrounds. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing
Services.
2. Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (1997), Productive Diversity. NSW: Pluto Press
Australia Limited.