Abstract: Background: Cultural diversity within a workplace is increasingly becoming important as more organisations are embracing it within the global workforce. Some of its effect have been linked to performance outcomes according to past reviews and as a result, there are more suggestions on the need to study how various organisations manage their cultural diversity. Universities as an organisation has also blended in the internationalisation practice through human resources and diverse employees to form a part of the economic globalisation. Purpose: The purpose if this paper is to examine how cultural diversity is managed in a Swedish university, Jönköping International Business School (JIBS). Also, further investigation is on the employee’s perception of how the practices and policies of cultural diversity is being delivered by the management at the university. Method: An exploratory research is conducted for this paper and the empirical findings is gathered through a qualitative research. The primary research is retrieved by semi-constructed interviews. The human resource department and teachers from different backgrounds and countries were interviewed to find out how the teachers perception of cultural diversity management at their workplace based on how the practices and policies were delivered to them. Findings: Based on the interviews it was found that the cultural diversity management as a topic is well understood by both the management and the employees. However, the study revealed that the employees do not perceive it in the same manner it was being delivered to them by the management. The issues and practices connected to managing cultural diversity is not entirely provided by the management within the work environment. It essential that the management provide for more effectively communicated structure.

Title: Factors that affect conflict in a cultural diversified workforce in the shipping industry: The case of the shipping company Seascope Level: Master thesis in Business Administration Author: Ioannis Siarapis Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-Malama Examiner: Akmal Hyder Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate factors that affect conflict in a workforce characterized by cultural diversification in the shipping industry. Methodology: A qualitative approach was used. The primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten employees who were interviewed both on the yacht and in the on-shore office of the company. In order to generalize the results from the case study, the inductive approach was used. Thematic analysis was also my approach for finding different patterns in the empirical findings Findings: There are different factors that affect conflict either by enhancing it or by eliminating it. These are the differences in cultural values, differences in communication, continues feedback to the employees, establishment of a “family” climate and the general management of cultural diversity. In addition, when the employees in high positions are from the same background with the owners, this reduces the possibility of conflict. Limitations: The research was based on a Greek company with approximately 10 employees working on the yacht. Therefore, the current limitation is the relatively small number of employees comparing to big ship companies. Contribution: The managers of shipping companies should consider these factors and act accordingly for the benefit of the company. There are significant differences in the employees’ behavior when they are coming from a different cultural background. Moreover, there are differences in the way they communicate. Key words:  intercultural communication, yacht, conflict, cultural diversity management, shipping industry.

This study explores the conceptualisation of glass ceiling by Bahraini female managers in their bid to attain senior management position as a career advancement. It assesses their perception of the concept of the glass ceiling, and what coping mechanisms adopted in eliminating barriers and empowering women to attain senior executive positions in the finance sector. The study identifies gender discrimination as a cause that impedes female career progression to senior management levels in the banking industry which originate in multiple environmental levels: organisation barriers (i.e. meso level), societal barriers (i.e. macro level) and individual barriers (i.e. micro level). The study adopts a qualitative approach to uncover the research questions and conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 37 Bahraini female managers in the banks to extract their lived experiences on barriers that hamper their advancement to senior levels. The study captures barriers common to women within an Arabic-Islamic cultural context and seeks to explore its differences from the barriers experienced by western women in their career. The study found out that women’s career progression is affected by social, religious and cultural dogmas, gender stereotype, individual limitations, and organizational structures. This study finds that patriarchal societal pressures, cultural norms, and religious studies influence glass ceiling experienced by Bahraini women. The findings also revealed the limited ability of women to take decisions that affect their advancement. Furthermore, this study highlights the differences in experiences between the majority of women in Western countries where they have autonomy and freedom as their male counterparts in the society. The societal norms and culture appear to undermine women’s empowerment and result in stress, tension and losing valuable talent within the work milieu. The research also revealed the strive by women under the pressure of organisational, societal and individual barriers and the influence of the religious aspects impeding their career progression. The study has added a new insight by emphasising on the value of empowerment for women as a key to breaking the glass ceiling. The analysis shows barriers are varied by the level of empowerment of women, where empowered women can overcome the barriers they encounter while disenfranchised women believed that the barriers operate to their disadvantage and justification for not attaining senior executive positions by making it stiffer. The study concludes there is a need for the re-evaluation of the foundational rubric of the education system on gender equality at an early stage and empowering women in several aspects. These include building up women's capacity by training, mentorship, and networking, presenting inspiring female role models, temporary measures such as mandatory quota, and raising awareness regarding gender equality and emphasis on revising the educational curriculum at schools.