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The present paper aims to discuss the concept of competence from a multicultural perspective, for organisational success. It argues that models that view competence as a sum of competencies for management development within organisations could benefit from a multicultural perspective that put those competencies within the context of cultural sensitivity and understanding, so as to promote a trustworthy organisational environment crucial for any institutional change for competitive edge. It analyses theoretical approaches to the concept of competence in organisations, focusing particularly on those that take into account multicultural concerns and the need for building trust within organisational environments. It then addresses the meanings of competence as understood by executives acting in some organizations in Brazil, depicting emphases and silences in those discourses, as well as implications for logistics and management decision in a multicultural perspective.

This paper aims to discuss ways for fostering innovation management and innovation in management education sensitive to cultural diversity. It explores strands in the literature concerning cross‐cultural awareness and undertakes a case study, carried out in a multicultural organisation, aimed at pinpointing challenges faced by managers working in such environments. Argues that logistics could help understanding, sensitising and taking into account cultural diversity in management education. Also claims that cultural plurality is an asset, rather than a constraint. The article concludes by suggesting possible ways ahead in the development of culturally sensitive managers in an increasingly globalised but also highly multicultural world.

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of organizational conflict management from a multicultural perspective in the context of higher education institutions (HEIs).

Besides a theoretical discussion about multiculturalism and leadership, a case study based extensively, but not exclusively, on oral history has been undertaken within a unit of a HEI in Brazil. The case study, which illustrates the cost when multicultural leadership is absent, is based on a combination of first‐hand information and facts reconstruction.

The research discussed in this paper showed that the system of constructing “otherness” and isolating it can actually be characterized as workplace bullying condoned by extremely mono‐cultural leaders. An alternative scenario with more multiculturally competent leaders is discussed, providing possible tools and avenues for organizational conflict management.

HEIs should be viewed as multicultural organizations, not only for the purpose of developing multicultural curricula but also for reviewing the impact of institutional practices and leadership on the organizational climate. Leaders should be ethically and multiculturally accountable for ensuring an institutional identity that is open to cultural plurality and to the challenge of the institutionalization of differences.

This paper goes beyond multicultural issues restricted to individual and group identities and incorporates institutional cultural climate and the role of multicultural leaders in organizational conflict management in the context of HEIs, hitherto not much discussed, which may open up new debates in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to present literature that suggests that project teams comprising members from culturally diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas and new approaches to problem solving. The challenge, however, is that they also introduce different understandings and expectations regarding team dynamics and integration. The question becomes how a project manager can effectively work and influence a multicultural construction project team, at the same time being attentive to the diversity and creating the structure required for success.

Using a qualitative methodology, participants of heavy construction engineering projects revealed a number of multi‐dimensional factors that either facilitated or limited the effectiveness of multicultural teamwork. These were synthesised into a framework of eight key dimensions that need to be considered when managing multicultural teams. The identified key dimensions include: leadership style, team selection and composition process, cross‐cultural management of team development process, cross‐cultural communication, cross‐cultural collectivism, cross‐cultural trust, cross‐cultural management and cross‐cultural uncertainty.

The proposed framework has implications for construction managers who work with multicultural teams and are committed to improving team performance and productivity. The utilisation of the proposed framework would not instantly transform multicultural teams into high‐performing ones; however, it does identify eight key cross‐cultural dimensions, which need to be considered.

Though the benefits of culturally diverse teams have been acknowledged within the industry, the study highlighted that cultural differences among project teams can cause conflict, misunderstanding and poor project performance.

This paper identifies the key relationships of organizational effectiveness and leadership in southeast Asia. Managers from 1,065 multinational companies based in Thailand and representing 31 different nationalities participated in this study. International leader characteristics and organizational culture are found to determine an appropriate multicultural management style. Executive motivation is strongly influenced by this multicultural management style. Different dimensions of organizational effectiveness, including return on assets, most admired, job satisfaction and personal satisfaction are related to specific aspects of leader characteristics, organizational culture and multicultural management style.

Prodigious teamwork is the basis for augmenting the level of productivity on construction projects. Globalisation of the construction market has meant that many practitioners work outside of their geographical spectrum; however, the multicultural dissimilarities of construction workforces within the project management team (and how these may impact upon project productivity performance) have been given scant academic attention. To bridge this knowledge gap, this paper aims to analyse the effects of a multicultural workforce on construction productivity.

The epistemological positioning of the research adopted mixed philosophies (consisting of both interpretivism and postpositivism) to undertake a deductive and cross-sectional survey to collate primary quantitative data collected via a closed-ended structured questionnaire. Census sampling and convenience sampling techniques were adopted to target Ghana’s construction workforce and their opinions of the phenomenon under investigation. Out of 96 questionnaires administered, 61 were retrieved. The data obtained were analysed by using mean score ranking, relative important index, one sample t-test and multiple regression. The reliability of the scale was checked by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.

From the t-test analysis, 11 variables sourced from extant literature, and the null hypothesis for the study was not rejected and all factors (except high cost of training and improper gender diversity management) were affirmed as negative effects of the multicultural workforce on construction productivity. Using multiple regression analysis, six of the independent variables were shown to impact upon productivity. The goodness of fit was verified by collinearity and residual analysis. The model’s validation revealed a relatively high predictive accuracy (R² = 0. 589), implying that the results could be generalized. In culmination, these findings suggest that the predictors can be used to accurately predict the effects of multicultural workforce on construction productivity performance.

The findings indicate that multicultural workforce/teams have a substantial effect on overall construction productivity in the construction sector; consequently, stakeholders must address this issue to enhance productivity across the sector.

The current study significantly contributes to our understanding of how multicultural workers/teams affect construction productivity in the construction business perspective and how to respond to the negative menace.

Knowledge management in South Africa is still a very new field of management and knowledge managers are experiencing difficulties with the added dimension of multiculturalism. The history of South Africa, along with its current focus on cultural equality, complicates the matter. This research seeks to look at the challenges facing knowledge managers in a multicultural South African corporate environment.

An exploratory study, using in‐depth interviewing and a focus group as information collection methods, was launched to explore South African knowledge‐management practices in a cross‐section of companies in the economy.

Results showed that companies were afraid to acknowledge cultural differences because of major cultural sensitivity and, as a result, corporate culture was seen as the great equaliser of cultural exchanges. Knowledge managers, along with top management's support, must rather create a cooperative knowledge‐sharing environment in which South Africa's diverse cultures can interact, learn from one another and innovate.

Serves as a pilot study that aims to explore new territory. From this explorative research, a new and extensive study of the contributing factors should be conducted. This study does not proclaim to be representative of all companies, as only a cross‐section of the South African corporate market was targeted for participation.

Company management and knowledge workers will see the necessity of incorporating different approaches to knowledge‐management implementation to suit individual needs.

Very little research has been done on this subject from a South African corporate‐environment perspective. These researchers hope to make knowledge workers more sensitive to the influence of multiculturalism on potential implementation of a knowledge‐management strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine why people visit multicultural festivals, with the overall aim being to better understand the apparent popularity of multicultural festivals. The paper aims to provide key stakeholders with a platform upon which to better manage and improve multicultural festivals as tourism attractions.

An on‐site questionnaire survey was administered at one of the multicultural festivals in South Korea in 2010. The reasons for visit were measured using a scale based on existing benefit scales, and literature related to multiculturalism. In total, 17 items were analyzed as visitor reasons for their visit. Demographic questions included age, nationality, the reason for living in South Korea if not a Korean, and gender. Out of 203 collected questionnaires, 183 were considered usable.

In total, five factors were identified as the reasons for attending a multicultural festival – family togetherness, escape, cultural exploration, socialization, and curiosity. The cultural exploration proved to be the most common reason for attending a multicultural festival for visitors.

The findings of this study will help all key stakeholders to more fully understand what visitors want, and guide festival management to organize sustainable festivals as a niche tourism attraction. Due to the desire for cultural exploration, festivals should offer multicultural themed activities. Sport competitions can be good for socialization between migrants and South Koreans, or migrants themselves.

Although multicultural festivals are held in many countries, there appears to be little research into the multicultural festivals in a country like South Korea, in transit from being ethnically homogeneous to becoming a multicultural society. This paper is a pioneer study in that particular discipline.

This article is an experiment carried out in a Brazilian higher education institution. It focusses on the participants’ perceptions and assumptions concerning multiculturalism before and after the exposure to a multicultural seminar, held during an international logistics module. It deals with the theoretical approach to logistics and multiculturalism, and its relevance in the contemporary world. It discusses the data gathered. It argues that a multicultural approach should be developed in organisations, pointing out that the handling of cultural differences seems to be one of the most relevant factors in the success or in the failure of companies in a globalised setting. It also contends that the university is a privileged arena for the development of this approach. Points are raised for a multicultural approach to logistics and management education.

The paper's aim is to discuss envy as an institutional force that can sap peoples' energy and provoke inner conflicts that may prevent institutional flourishing. This represents a crucial element in the so‐called hidden curriculum of any institution, including higher education ones. The paper also intends to further the analysis of envy, its effects and ways to diminish them in the context of academic and non‐academic organizations, from a multicultural perspective.

The paper's approach is a literature review and a qualitative methodology of story lives in the form of narratives of main actors in high echelons of institutions in Brazil that deal with key areas in higher education institutions (HEI). It discusses how envy has been perceived in their institutional contexts and what possible models of multicultural leaders could emerge from those narratives.

Counteracting forces in relation to the effects of envy in organizational climate could be noted, particularly highlighting the role of multiculturally sensitive leaders in dealing with it.

The role of leaders in enhancing organizational and collective goals and promoting the valuing of plural institutional actors was particularly stressed as a possible path towards minimizing envy at the work place. The role of the curriculum in HEI and even of citizenship education in primary and secondary schooling is highlighted to better equip students to address ethical and multicultural dimensions in their future professional lives.

Productivity and capacity for innovation – issues increasingly addressed in institutional evaluation – should be likely boosted in environments where leaders competently deal proactively in a way that prevents envy to become a destructive force. The paper shows that HEIs have a high potential for contribution, by preparing future professionals in broader, multicultural perspectives that better equip them to become leaders for a better world.