Cultural Influences in the Workplace

The United States today is a complex and often contradictory society. While America has always been a multicultural society composed of different cultures from all over the world, its peoples have always been joined as one country. Just as many states joined into one republic, people of many nationalities and ethnic groups have joined into one nation (Postmodern Times 149). These cultures were able to come together because they all believed in the universality of the American principles of freedom, equality, and self-government. Thus, this distinctly American heritage was not so much a culture as a "meta-culture," a framework that allowed diverse peoples to form a single nation (Postmodern Times 150).

Historically, America's racial issues were divided along the lines of black and white. However, the future of race relations in America will be radically different. Black and white Americans are now a declining portion of the population (Hacker 256). Since 1970 individuals of European ancestry have declined by about 10 percent, while the national total of Americans of African ancestry rose by only one percent, largely due to new arrivals from the Caribbean (Hacker 256). By the year 2000, studies estimate that Hispanics will constitute 20 percent of the population of the United States, making them America's largest minority group (Clark 339). It is also likely that cities such as San Francisco will have Asians as

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ly racist Southern culture that believed in the inferiority of blacks and insisted on the separation of the black and white races. In such a culture, Tanner's decision to limit the visibility and influence of black employees may indeed have made business sense, given that his customers may have shared his worldview. However, Coney's is now the third-largest restaurant chain in America, meaning it has grown beyond the geographical boundaries of Tanner's Southern culture. In addition, the fundamental changes in America's views of civil rights for all races and the increasing changes in America's racial make-up have made Coney's corporate culture obsolete and bad for business. That culture has already cost Coney's $134.5 million to settle a discrimination suit. If significant changes are not made, Coney's corporate culture will continue to cost the business money through more lawsuits and lost business. Encouraging Cultural Diversity at Coney's Inc. Due to the demographics of the labor pool, most organizations must now deal with diversity at entry level. However, organizations must also encourage diversity at the executive level where more complex tasks and significant business strategies would require different perspectives. F
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Approximate Word count = 1704
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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