Culture against cohesion

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight employee diversity at the workplace level in a MNC, and consider its impact upon management attempts to promote a global corporate culture.Design/methodology/approach – The investigation took the form of an ethnographic participant‐observation study, which involved interviews and archival research plus a three‐month period when the lead researcher worked on the plant's final assembly line. This provided insights into the personal and psychological issues of individuals within the workforce, and an experiential dimension to the study which is difficult to replicate in other ways.Findings – The management approach to cultural and diversity issues worked both for and against the development of cohesion and improved employee relations. Managers sometimes ignored the real impact of local ethnic diversity, focusing instead on inter‐management conflicts, which contributed to employee morale and communication problems. But where diversity was recognised, more su...