History of Multiculturalism in Australia for Creating Opportunities Assessment Answer

INDIVIDUAL ANALYTICAL ESSAY

Introduction

 Multiculturalism is an important aspect which fosters community growth and development. It has been observed as per the census reports that over 26% of the population is not born in Australia with over 20% of the people whose parents are not from the country (Humanrights.gov.au, 2020). It has been observed that about 82% of the people live in the capital cities and the community of the aborigines constitute about 2.5% of the population. As per reports of 2016, it was observed that out of the 82% of people who lived in capital cities, only 61% of them were original inhabitants of the country. 

Main body

Multiculturalism plays an important role in ensuring the existence of diversity across a diversified framework. The population census reports have revealed that there are over 300 different languages which are spoken in the country. It was also observed that more than one-fifth of the people in Australia spoke languages other than English (Humanrights.gov.au, 2020). The most commonly spoken languages at home involved Mandarin, Arabic, and Chinese. Christianity was found to be the most common religion which constituted about 52.1% of the population. This was followed by the prominence of the Islamic and the Buddhist population.

The existence of a multicultural framework has created various opportunities in terms of diversity at the place of work. As stated by Wilding and Nunn (2018), the Australian economy comprises various multinational organizations that have worldwide operations across the globe. The existence of multiculturalism at a place of work also ensures that the economy can sustain a suitable module of the business framework through harmony in operations. Multiculturalism at the workplace inspires creativity and innovation. The culture of an organization determines how individuals would perceive the world. In the opinion of Jackson and Van De Vijver (2018), a large range of viewpoints and varied professional and personal experiences can lead to the establishment of the phenomena that diversity can enable the organization to make better-informed decisions due to multiple opinions. Most of the multinational organizations across Australia take into account the concepts of diversity at the place of work to promote and ensure creativity in business operations. The act of differences in thoughts can help in breeding creativity and it helps in driving innovation to solve problems by understanding the needs and expectations of the customer. As suggested by Lim (2018), it is also important to take into account the factors associated with components such as the aspects of multicultural negotiation and processes which can be used to breed creativity. It would also facilitate the exchange of ideas and help in building a suitable degree of rapport among the employees. The existence of multiculturalism at the place of work ensures a larger availability of knowledge at the local place of work. As suggested by Wyn, Khan and Dadvand (2018), this can help in ensuring the fact that the components of local market knowledge can help the organization to scale up activities through efficient business operations. The aspect of cross-cultural understanding can also enable the employees to have better knowledge and understanding of the issues associated with cross-culture communication and this can help in making decisions regarding the marketing of products more efficiently and suitably.

The hiring of people across a diversified group of cultures would also enable the organization to retain the best source of talent. This can also help to improve efficiency in the long term course of business operations. Moreover, the existence of a culturally diversified workforce also helps in escalating the goodwill of the organization by allowing it to illustrate the components of respect and value for perspective. As suggested by Lu, Samaratunge and Härtel (2016), it has also been observed that a team that is culturally diversified has a higher degree of productivity and can undertake business operations smoothly and sustainably. It is more feasible to work in a team that has a wide range of expertise and can feasibly undertake business operations in the long run.

Multiculturalism at the workplace also provides greater opportunities for the people to ensure professional and personal growth. Diversity across places of work can truly be an enriching experience for employees who would get to interact with a large number of clients. As suggested by Kamp et al., (2017), it can help the employees of the organization to be more prudent towards accepting differences in culture across cultural tastes and patterns. It has also been revealed that diversity across places of work can lead to breeding of healthy work culture. This can help to ensure healthy competition among the members who would be more inclined towards working efficiently to prove their worth and significance. It can also create opportunities for business organizations across Australia to foster business growth through the acceptance of diversity. However, it is also important to take into account the aspects of racial inequality which can create barriers to business growth operations during the long term. In the viewpoint of Levey (2017), the aspect of multiculturalism at the place of work makes the organizations susceptible to various issues associated with discrimination and partial treatment of the workers. As per census reports, it has been observed that one out of every 10 Australians believe that some of the races may be superior or inferior to others. It has been observed that 1.5 million of the Adult population are often subjected to discrimination. 18% of the people at the workplace revealed that they were often subjected to discriminatory treatment based on the colour of the skin, ethnicity, or religion. It has also been reported that over 500 complaints have been reported and lodged under the Racial Discrimination Act 2012. Out of this, 39% accounted for discrimination at places of work (Humanrights.gov.au, 2020). The Australian Commission of Human rights has revealed that it is involved in taking strict and stringent measures to eradicate the practices associated with discrimination at the place of work. This can help in scaling up activities and long term business operations.

The economy of Australia has faced various challenges associated with diversity at the place of work. It has also led to the creation of hurdles that need to be overcome to ensure suitable business operations and activities. The most common challenges which are faced by an organization that has a multicultural workforce has been highlighted. As suggested by Wilding and Nunn (2018), it may be that the opinions of colleagues from a culture that has minor representation in the workforce, may not be heard adequately. It may be that professionals in Australian multinational companies belonging from Asian or the developing countries may be reluctant to share their thoughts and ideas with the team due to lack of acceptance. On the other hand, people from developed countries like the US and the European region may enjoy a significant degree of dominance.

 The integration of multicultural teams is difficult particularly in cultures that have a stereotypical point of approach. Although the availability of local expertise is an essential component that should be taken into account, it is also important to emphasize aspects such as overcoming the stereotypes at a place of work which can lead to disrupted forms of operations. As opined by Jackson and Van De Vijver (2018), it may also be possible to misinterpret professional forms of communication which may be difficult to understand across cultural and language barriers. Misinterpretation of information is a common aspect that may occur across a multicultural workplace. It is also important to take into account various factors such as communication among a vast group of employees. It is also important for small- and large-scale organizations in Australia to take into account factors such as the level of transparency in communication and exchange of information across different levels of hierarchy in the organization. As opined by Lim (2018), it is also important to take into consideration the challenge which would be imposed in the form of a multicultural work team such as conflicts in the style of working across different cultural groups. It is important to note that the style of working across various communities. The manager needs to take into account the style associated with working across different teams which can be used to ensure a high degree of efficiency in operations across the place of work. It is important to avoid conflicts in the place of work by developing an empathetic approach towards acceptance of people's culture and points of view. This can help in ensuring informed decision making.

 The aspect of multiculturalism at the place of work also involved several attributes such as compliance with visa laws, expenses of accommodation, and requirements at the place of work. As suggested by Wilding and Nunn (2018), it is essential for foreign professionals who are employed in organizations across Australia to be acquainted with the culture, norms, and traditions of the employment laws and regulations which govern the activities of operation in an organization.

Conclusion

The Australian community needs to foster workplace growth and development by ensuring that the activities associated with the inclusion of multicultural at the place of work are essential to foster the growth of talent. The existence of multicultural teams and the presence of diversity at the place of work can lead to better collaboration in activities. It can also lead to a feasible exchange of ideas which in turn would allow the organization to foster the growth of talent among employees through intermingling with people from varied cultural backgrounds. It would also enable the companies and the employees to develop a positive outlook towards acceptance of cultural diversity which would help in increasing the brand value and in turn, would contribute towards sustainable business operations.