Cultural Diversity Audit Research Report of PwC

Preamble

The objectives of this research report include providing the careful cultural diversity audit of PwC based on the materials from the Website of the company and other sources and identifying the possible improvements required for enhancing the internal cultural diversity of the company. The report consists of the introduction, main body (including research approach and data collection, analysis, and interpretation), and conclusions and recommendations sections.

Introduction

Objectives and Uses of a Cultural Diversity Audit

The main objectives of such audit include revealing the degree of companys involvement in the activities promoting equality of employees coming from different culture and analyzing the methods employed to promote the cultural diversity. The cultural diversity audit can be used to identify the weak sides of the organizational cultural diversity politics and suggest possible improvements that can help the company to provide better management of the discussed issue.

Importance of Managing Internal Cultural Diversity Proactively

Internal cultural diversity should be managed proactively to prevent the inequalities and discrimination. Only proactive involvement in the process of adjusting the working environment to the needs of all varieties of employees can help to avoid the situations putting a threat to the companys reputation of a tolerant and inclusive employer. Therefore, a proactive position is the key to success in promoting the cultural diversity as timely prevention is always better than intervention.

Overview of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

PwC is a globally recognized auditing firm that provides a wide range of professional services including audit and assurance, advisory, IFRS services, people and organization services, entrepreneurial and private client services, sustainability and climate change, etc. The company has created extensive multicultural networks relying on employees and suppliers coming from various cultural backgrounds. As the company operates in 157 countries and has nearly 200 thousand employees, PwC has a strong need to enhance cultural diversity ideas and principles (Shaping our future: Global annual review 2015, 2015).

Research Approach

Type of Research and Sources

The research used for this report is secondary, as it includes the collection of secondary data the information that is presented in books and Web sources. Besides the official website of the investigated company, the various reports created by PwC, academic publications, and Web sources were used for gathering the information about the subject of the research.

Cultural Diversity Audit Processes

Cultural diversity audit processes include various steps aimed at providing important information about current state of affairs and determining the needed improvements. The first one is gathering the key information about the organizations current diversity efforts, the obtained results, and the primary goals planned to be achieved. The second step is the analysis of the gathered information and the assessment of the cultural diversity based on the usage of the identified set of benchmarks. The final steps involved in audit processes include making the appropriate conclusions and suggesting the potential course of actions needed for a further promotion of cultural diversity in the organization.

Benchmarks

The following benchmarks will be analyzed for cultural diversity audit of PwC: leadership, education and training, development and advancement, cooperation, and social responsibility. The leadership refers both to the effectiveness of diversity leadership team and the willingness of the company to be the leader in promoting the cultural diversity. Education and training refer to the educational activities organized for the purpose of promoting the cultural diversity tolerance. Development and advancement refer to the efficacy of the efforts of the company aimed at broadening the limits of cultural diversity promotion. Cooperation refers to the ability and willingness of the company to collaborate with various partners for achieving better results in enhancing cultural diversity. Recruitment refers to the realization of companys diversity principles on practice through the recruitment of people coming from all cultural backgrounds.

Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation

Leadership

The official Website of PwC gives an opportunity to explore the leadership team. The website does not only enlists the members of the team but gives an opportunity to learn more about the role and personal attitudes to a cultural diversity of each of the listed persons. The materials presented on the Website and in certain books reveal that the company has developed an effective leadership team, which consists of people that come from various cultures, are willing to promote the diversity and inclusion, and have appropriate experience in this field (McFarlin, & Sweeney, 2013). The willingness of the company to occupy leading positions in the promotion of diversity is reflected in its numerous awards listed on the Website and the high ranks in various lists, e.g. the third place in the DiversityInc Top 50 (DiversityInc, 2015). The efficacious diversity leadership team and the willingness to be the leader in this area contribute to the organizations overall internal cultural diversity through the usage of the most appropriate methods of its enhancement (Williams, 2011).

Education and Training

The Website of PwC provides numerous educational materials for its employees and visitors. First of all, the Website provides various guides exploring the importance of cultural diversity and describing the companys position on this issue (e.g. Leveraging the Power of Our Differences). Besides, the option Read, Watch, and Listen in About us section gives an opportunity to discover various issues related to diversity and inclusion with the help of reports, studies, books, and presentations. The Website also presents numerous videos depicting the major figures of the company talking about the issue of cultural diversity and educating the people about its significance. Besides, the Website gives an opportunity to read the blog exploring the issues related to gender agenda. However, a certain imbalance can be identified, as most of the materials presented by the company explore the issues of gender equality and leave other aspects of diversity unattended. Therefore, the organization can be considered as scoring relatively high with the respect to training and education related to cultural diversity but needing more focus on various issues outside the gender theme. The overall internal cultural diversity of the company is directly influenced by the high score with the respect to the discussed benchmark, as educational materials improve the awareness of the current employees and attract the potential employees interested in working in a culturally diverse environment.

Development and Advancement

The materials presented on the Website reveal that the company continuously organize and participate in various activities aimed at the promotion of the cultural diversity tolerance among its employees and in the whole society. For example, each year the company organizes Global Diversity Week, during which every PwC firm participates in a wide-scale of inclusion events that touch all professionals working in the organization (Global diversity week, 2015). The website offers an opportunity to download the report explaining the specifics of the event and its details in 2015. Besides, the company launches special publications dedicated to exploring and celebrating the achievement of women across the globe. All publications are available for free on the Website. Moreover, the company organizes Employee Resource Groups that encourage employees who are united by a common dimension of diversity to come together (Jowett, 2012). The examples of companys activities aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion mentioned above can be considered the proof of the PwCs high score with the respect to continuous development and advancement of cultural diversity. Such development contributes to the overall internal cultural diversity of the company as by participating in such activities the employees are encouraged to be proud of their cultural background and respect the cultures of those surrounding them.

Cooperation

PwC is actively cooperating with numerous international organizations for the promotion of cultural diversity, as the materials from the Website reveal. PwC collaborates with such organizations as Arab International Womens Forum, The Boston College Global Workforce Roundtable, Catalyst, The Glass Hammer, London Business School, NASSCOM, Opportunity Now, etc. (External relationships, n.d.). The collaboration with such organization contributes to the overall internal cultural diversity as the sharing of international experience is crucial to ensuring the healthy working environment. However, a certain imbalance mentioned above can be identified with the respect to cooperation benchmark, as the company cooperates mostly with the organizations focusing on the gender agenda. Such one-sidedness decreases the companys score related to cooperation benchmark.

Recruitment

The organization realizes it cultural diversity priorities through the recruitment of employees. According to the annual report published on the Website, the company recruits employees in 157 countries, which means that the employees of PwC come from a significant number of various cultures (Shaping our future: Global annual review 2015, 2015). Besides, according to the report, the number of female employees recruited during the previous year raised to 26% compared to 1% during the last year (Shaping our future: Global annual review 2015, 2015). Therefore, the materials presented on the Website reveal that the company strives for demonstrating no bias to sex, race, or culture while recruiting the employees. Such strategy provides high scores in recruitment with respect to cultural diversity management that contributes to the organizations overall internal cultural diversity by broadening the range of cultures represented by the employees of the firm. However, the mentioned one-sidedness can be determined with the respect to recruitment benchmark, as the annual review focuses on the gender aspect of cultural diversity and pays much less attention to other aspects.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Organization

The strengths of organization rely on its high benchmark score with the respect to leadership, development and advancement, and educational activities. The one-sidedness related to the primary focus of the company on the female empowerment is reflected in lower scores with respect to recruitment and cooperation benchmarks.

Suggestions for Improvements

The suggested improvements that can help the company to achieve even greater success in the field of promotion of cultural diversity include paying more attention to the aspects of diversity other than gender agenda and cooperating with organizations aimed at promoting the tolerance to different religions and cultural traditions. Such steps will help the company to raise the scores for the discussed benchmarks and implement the comprehensive approach to promoting the environment relying on cultural diversity principles.

Implications for Relationships with External Shareholders

The relationships with the main group of external shareholders, including customers and suppliers, are heavily influenced by the companys high internal cultural diversity. Both customers and suppliers meet no challenges related to the uniqueness of their culture when dealing with the company as its employees are trained to be tolerant and have excellent skills in finding an appropriate approach to a person with any cultural background. Therefore, the internal diversity of PwC contributes to its ability to adjust to any external factors and find appropriate strategic decisions in any environment.