Influence of Cultural Values of Minorities on Managerial Practices

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Introduction

The populations of major world geographic regions are becoming more diverse. For example, ethnic minorities constitute a growing number of people in Great Britain and Europe (e.g., 16% of population in England, 14 % in Germany, and 5% in France) and the U.S. (39%; U.S. Bureau of Census, 2022). In addition to ethnic diversity in these countries, there also is an increase in the diversity of religious beliefs. For instance, though the majority of the U. S. population is Christian (i.e., about 63%), approximately 6% adhere to other religious beliefs such as Judaism, Muslim, Buddhism, and Hinduism (Pew Research Center, 2022). Similarly, the majority of people in the European Union are Christian but their representation is projected to decrease while other religious groups such as Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist are projected to increase by substantial percentages (Pew Research Center, 2015). This pattern of projected increasing diversity is repeated in other historically Christian dominated geographic regions as well as historically Muslim majority regions.

Authors have noted the impact on management practices from ethnic and religious differences in countries as varied as Canada, South Africa, Uganda, India, and the Philippines (see Gröschl & Bendl, eds., 2015, for a collection of articles across several countries). Likewise, differences in ethnic and religious values and beliefs are important in U.S. organizations because current human resources (HR) policies and organizational practices were developed for majority group members and may be less effective with members of a multicultural than a monocultural workforce (Stone et al., 2008). In recognition of the increasing multicultural makeup of various regions, authors have reviewed the impact of demographic, ethnic, and cultural diversity (e.g., Ayega & Muathe, 2018; Triana et al., 2021) as well as religious diversity in organizations (Heliot et al., 2020; Singh & Babbar, 2021) and offered research and practice implications.

Given the growing diversity in ethnicity and religious beliefs, the primary purpose of this special issue is to gain a better understanding of how the cultural values of different ethnic and religious groups influence the effectiveness of HR policies and organizational practices. Accordingly, we want to understand if current HR policies (e.g., recruitment, pay systems) and organizational behavior (OB) practices (e.g., leadership, job design) are effective in attracting, motivating, respecting, and retaining talented employees who are members of ethnic and religious minority groups. Our hope is that an increased understanding of these issues will help organizations align their HR and OB practices with the needs and values of an evolving multicultural workforce. Important contributions for this special issue are to (a) consider the changing mix of cultural values of a wide variety of ethnic and religious groups and subgroups, (b) review the existing research on these cultures and groups, (c) determine if current HR and OB practices are or will be effective with these growing multicultural groups, (d) suggest modifications in HR and OB practices that will meet the needs and values of all multicultural group members, and (e) offer directions for future research and practice on these issues.

List of Topic Areas

• How do the cultural values of racial and religious minorities influence recruitment practices and applicants’ job choice? 
• How do the cultural values of racial and religious minorities influence preference for or responses to reward systems? 
• How do the cultural values racial of and religious minorities influence the effectiveness of benefits plans (e.g., paid leave or holidays) or other types of supportive HR policies (e.g., work-family policies, alternative work schedules like telework)? 
• How do the cultural values of racial and ethnic minorities influence the effectiveness of leadership styles? 
• How do individuals with cultural values that vary from the majority react to various aspects of job design (e.g., autonomy, task variety, job crafting)? 
• How do individuals with cultural values that are different from the majority react to technological changes in jobs? 
• How do individuals with cultural values that are different from the majority react to supervisory feedback; likewise, how do dyadic differences in cultural values between the supervisor and employee impact the provision of and response to feedback? 
• How do the cultural values of racial and religious minorities affect teamwork or how does the diversity of cultural values among team members influence team dynamics? 
• What factors affect the career choices of individuals who have cultural values that are different than those of the majority group?

Submissions Information

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Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”. Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 1st February 2024
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 1st September 2024