Nonverbal communication and culture. Identity, stereotypes and prejudices, страница 58

The Importance of Diversity in Advertising.

The driving force behind marketing as we approach the twenty-first century is diversity and culture. Groups of people in the United States can be identified on the basis of ethnicity, gender, nationality, age, class, physical ability, and sexual orientation. Advertisers must encourage these group alliances as well as individual uniqueness to maintain a business edge. Wrong accents in advertising can lead to failures in business (Слепович 2004: 82).

Diversity consulting and market analysis firms are appearing throughout the United States. Many of these businesses are owned and operated by ethnic group members. They promise strategy development, cultural assessment, implementation, training and measurement, and, of course, results. One such company is Hispanic Market Connections, Inc., a full-service market and research firm that is bilingual and bicultural. One of its advertisements states, "Understanding Hispanics' lifestyles, values and culture can mean the difference between Hispanic marketing success and failure."

Cultural Conflicts in the Workforce

As we have shown throughout this book, cultures differ in their value orientations, and these value differences are manifested in the workforce. It is not hard to imagine how differences in such values as individualism versus collectivism, differences in uncertainty avoidance and power distance, and differences in views of masculinity and femininity can be reflected in a diverse workforce. There are, however, more subtle values with the potential for conflict: discrimination and sexual harassment.

Discrimination in the workplace impacts intercultural communication, because effective intercultural communication demands the ethical and equal treatment of all co-cultures in the workforce. Discrimination is not only morally wrong, it makes the working environment a tense and stressful place. And as such, everyone suffers, including the businesses and organizations that are the settings for these discriminatory practices. Workplace discrimination is manifest in many forms including racial, ethnic, gender, religious, and language discrimination.

Racial/Ethnic Discrimination. Racial and/or ethnic discrimination occurs when an employee is treated differently because of his or her racial or ethnic membership. For example, Coca-Cola is accused by four current and former employees of discriminating against African American workers in pay, promotions, and performance evaluations.

Because of real and perceived racial and ethnic discrimination in the workplace, many African Americans report they are steering away from corporate America because they believe they will not fit into the corporate environment. Some believe they are not ready to face the kind of challenge they think corporate America represents. While racial discrimination does persist, diversity is helping change American corporate culture to recognize the strengths and potential contributions people can make regardless of race, gender, age, physical ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other differences.

Gender Discrimination. This form of discrimination is usually practiced against women—although men are not immune – and involves treating employees differently because of their gender. In one recent situation, Mazda motors agreed to promote two or three women to management roles and raise the pay of about 500 female employees in an attempt to eliminate gender discrimination.

Religious Discrimination. Religious practices are another area in which employers frequently discriminate against employees. Doris Karimnadir is an example of what can happen when unfamiliar religious practices become a part of the workplace. Doris, who practices the Islamic tradition of wearing a hijab (a traditional scarf), was sent home from a new assignment as a security guard when she refused to remove her headdress. The company, after realizing its mistake, apologized, reinstated her in a new post, and paid her for lost time at work.