Final answer:
To reduce barriers such as prejudice and stereotypes in a multicultural workforce, organizations should implement diversity training programs, encourage collaboration towards common goals, and professionally manage human resources functions to reduce implicit and explicit biases.
Step-by-step explanation:
To raise employee awareness of multiculturalism and help reduce such barriers to success as prejudice and stereotypes, comprehensive diversity training programs are essential. These programs are designed to educate participants about cultural differences with the goal of improving teamwork and reducing prejudices. Research by Pettigrew and Tropp (2006) indicates that intergroup contact can reduce prejudice, especially under conditions of equal standing, common goals, and institutional support for the interaction.
Furthermore, strategies that encourage collaboration towards superordinate goals, such as the Robbers Cave experiment and the jigsaw classroom technique, have been found to reduce prejudicial attitudes. Professionalizing human resources functions can also help diminish biases in the workplace, as seen in the example of orchestras adopting blind auditions to achieve gender equity in hiring.
However, to address these issues effectively, it is crucial to recognize and challenge implicit biases and use strategies to combat them. Leadership, therefore, must prioritize training and awareness programs that focus on tolerance, sensitivity to cultural differences, and active measures to foster inclusion and equitable interaction among diverse populations.