Managers in United States are not prepared to deal with cultural differences in their workplace. If cultural differences are not well understood by managers, they may affect performance, job satisfaction and motivation of those employees with different cultures. Culture is a complex concept, with many different definitions. But, simply put, "culture" refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world (Avruch and Black, 1993). It includes groups that we are born into, such as gender, race, or national origin. This paper will focus on Hispanic cultural differences. Hispanics represent a wide variety of cultures and languages. Even within countries, there is broad diversity. In the follow paragraphs, it will be shown why is so important for managers to understand the Hispanic culture, and the differences between Hispanic and American cultures in the workplace. It will also be shown how managers can administer effectively these differences. .
Why is so important for managers to understand the Hispanic culture? The major reason is because the Hispanic community is rising faster than any other community in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that the Hispanic population in the United States grew by 53 percent between 1980 and 1990, and then another 58 percent between 1990 and 2000-totaling 35 million people. Half of that population is under 26, indicating that the trend will continue. These new census statistics also show the number of Hispanic employees in the workplace rising not just in the southwestern United States but also in places like Milwaukee, and the Hispanic population is the country's largest minority group with 13.3 percent of the total population, or 38 million people. By 2050, Hispanics are expected to make up one-quarter of the population, or 96.5 million people. As it can be concluded from the data above, the number of Hispanic employees in organizations will grow considerably during the next years.
