The workplace was once a homogenous environment where most employees had similar educational, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Today, the workplace is a highly diverse environment both in the United States and abroad where employees from different countries and with different cultural references work side by side, and with colleagues, customers and vendors who can be located anywhere in the world. This increased diversity enriches the organization and can provide increased creativity and innovation, but it can also lead to clashes within the organization that hampers productivity. This research considers the various factors that companies need to take into account when recruiting and bringing new employees into geographically dispersed and culturally diverse organizations, and best practices that these organizations can follow to maximize their long-term potential.
Best practices for companies begin with ensuring that the company operates within the legal and regulatory framework. A company that does business in several different countries, for example, may seek to hire managers from those countries and relocate them to the United States. However, there are visa issues and taxation issues that need to be addressed if the company is to remain within the legal restrictions of both countries. When companies hire employees in the foreign country to work in that country, there are also legal and regulatory structures that will need to be adhered to in order for the company to remain in compliance. Companies are advised to understand this framework whether hiring foreign workers for the United States or workers in a foreign country in order to avoid misunderstandings with the authorities in the future. This benefits the company, but also ensures that employees do not find themselves facing bureaucratic issues because the company failed to perform its due diligence (Cron et al, 2005).
Within the United Sta...