Managing Research, Development, and Innovation: Managing the Unmanageable, Third Edition

7.1. ASSIMILATION AND MULTICULTURALISM

Until the 1960s the emphasis was on assimilation in much of the Western world. People from a minority group were expected to change and become like the members of the rest of the work environment.

But the world is changing. Multiculturalism is emerging as the typical pattern in many places. In multiculturalism each group is allowed to retain those of its own attributes that it finds most important. People are allowed to satisfy their special needs and rights to express their cultural identity. People are treated equally, regardless of ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, or physical disability.

Multiculturalism is increasingly recognized as desirable, as people realize that talent is not linked to specific ...