5 Benefits of Multiculturalism and Cultural Diversity

Globalisation has brought nations closer to one another, closer than ever before.  Some people have been moving abroad temporarily to study or for employment, others emigrate to settle down in foreign countries permanently to start over again and to build up a new life. Through immigration, the demographics of countries have been constantly changing and being mixed, getting more colourful day by day. I think multiculturalism and cultural diversity in general are valuable and I would like to demonstrate why living in a multicultural society can be beneficial to the individual not only when it comes to employment but in all aspects of that person’s personal life as well.

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Advantages of Multiculturalism on the Job Market Culturally diverse work environments can inspire people, and also may trigger creativity and innovative approaches. If the members of staff come from different cultural backgrounds that means all the multiple viewpoints and various ways of thinking can make shared working projects more productive, furthermore it can boost problem solving via creative and innovative approaches. Even Harvard Business School Professor Roy.Y.J. Chua states that the more you are surrounded by individuals of different cultural backgrounds, the more likely you will have the chance to get stimulated by other perspectives and different, various ideas.

Multicultural workforces may provide organisations or companies with benefits when it comes to financially successful expansions overseas. If a product or service needs to be adapted, a company must follow local laws and regulations to succeed in a country. Understanding customs as well as the competitive landscape, can help a business to thrive. In addition to this, local connections, native language speakers, and overall cultural understanding can positively impact international business development exponentially.

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Advantages of Multiculturalism in Personal Life Multiculturalism means multiple nations, ethnicities of various cultural backgrounds do live in harmony within a society. I believe one of the major advantages of living in such societies is that the more people surround you of cultural backgrounds that differ from yours, the more knowledge and understanding you may gain. I also think that in a globalised world we cannot have the luxury of narrow mindedness. Liberal movements have been gaining more space day by day worldwide and one must adapt to it. It is important to keep your own cultural heritage and be the advocate of your homeland but it is also vital to listen to others to learn about the ways of life in their countries regardless of which continent, or nation we talk about.

The next advantage is linked to common understanding, the more you live in a colourful society the more knowledge you gain about other people’s way of thinking, their native languages, their priorities, their motives. Furthermore, through common understanding, acceptance and overall tolerance could be reached as well. Acceptance is one of the most basic pillars of an open-minded, tolerant society. If one is not willing to understand and accept another individual and their differences, then I think living together, in harmonic symbiosis could not be possible.

Have you ever wandered in the streets of cities like Dublin or London? If so, what are your personal opinions of the matter? My experiences are ethnic restaurants, grocery stores and clothing stores add flavour and colour to communities, attracting new residents and tourists, and adding to the vitality of the community which makes the city more attractive and its cultural life more vibrant and exciting. The more immigrants settle down, the more communities benefit from new cultural celebrations and more diverse cultural foods, music and arts at local festivals.

Change is not a negative thing, and I hope the information I demonstrated above will be useful to you, my friend. Globalisation cannot be stopped, even stones are moved by the river whether they desire it or not. We must all go with the flow of modern times. Look out! Open-mindedness and keeping our eyes open are the ways to take steps forward and can be the only path towards an understanding and accepting civilisation worldwide.