Situations where diversity might not be a good thing
I grew up in a culturally diverse neighbourhood. As the years passed, newly landed immigrants from mainland China became the undisputed majority. Being a first generation Canadian, I understand the obstacles and challenges faced by immigrant households. My parents immigrated to Canada from Portugal in the mid 1970s, they quickly realized that if they didn’t learn English they would have a difficult time getting ahead.
I learned in school that my upbringing was not entirely similar to my peers and that my perspective was highly influenced by a culture unknown to the rest. It was in school where I learned to sympathize for others who came from different backgrounds trying to integrate into western society. However, I was usually one of the first to get annoyed with individuals who had every opportunity to integrate into our society, yet refused to do so.
A few realities I came across growing up:
1) If you and/or your family immigrated from a country with small representation locally, there could be additional forms of adversity that other minorities might not have to endure. This may or may not be a setback. Often individuals immigrate to North America to get away from countries that are plagued with corruption, war, and/or civil unrest.
2) The same is true if you and/or your family immigrated from a country with large representation locally, there could be additional forms of adversity that others may not have to endure. Individuals in this category have greater flexibility than those who fit into the first scenario. They can either choose to integrate into the local culture, or they can function within their cultural community.
3) In order for immigrants to survive there is a dire necessity to understand how to conduct oneself professionally. Whether you are a business owner or you wish to be employed; understanding how individuals communicate and conduct business is key.
Before becoming an instructor at the school where I am also a proud alumni, I taught at a private college that was owned by a foreign conglomerate. I didn’t renew my contract, because I was mortified to be a part of a corrupt institution. The staff was grossly underpaid and the tuition was astronomical for a school that wasn’t known by local employers. I realized that this particular school enrolled most of their students from government retraining programs, such programs that individuals would apply if they had a workplace injury and/or became unemployed and met the criteria.
Being an accountant, I was able to calculate the profit margins effortlessly on the operations of this school. It had very low overhead, and the campuses operate in compact commercial rental suites. If the school offered top level service, I wouldn’t have bat an eye; however, I endured students having anxiety attacks daily. This was not a unionized position and the teachers were instructed to leave immediately after class. Ignoring protocol I would stay and help those who needed help. When class was scheduled to be done for the day, I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting staff members that didn’t speak English, they would barge into my classroom and start talking in Mandarin on their phone (talking over my voice as I was helping students in need). Other instructors learned to ignore what was going on, I chose to walk away.
I only teach part-time, my 9 to 5 (more 9 to 7) career is my freelance consulting business I operate for SME businesses. Most of my clients are in the construction industry. Considering Vancouver has an influx of offshore investors from China buying properties at a greater rate than local homebuyers, it is no surprise to me that I would eventually have to deal with offshore general contractors. Unfortunately for my client, we have come across situations where payments were not being processed and the pursuit of collecting ended up being a lengthy, time consuming process. I advised my clients to avoid partaking in their bribing scheme, which involved delivering on a project below our target profit margins to secure future contracts. Seldom do these opportunities turn into lifelong business opportunities.
A valuable lesson would be to avoid the pitfalls that comes from doing business with international businesses that operate differently from North American standards. This doesn’t mean that you should alienate individuals from these cultures, rather ensure that you operate the way business is done locally. If you are seeking international opportunities, you may benefit from understanding your target audience’s culture before pursuing. You could save yourself from a massive headache.
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