Advantages of Cultural Diversity in Singapore

1.Promotes humanistic values.
When an organization has a group of employees belonging to diverse cultures, it demonstrates that the organization recognizes and celebrates and commemorates the diversity that exists in people of different backgrounds. It makes the people of the organization think that their value and worthy contributions are being realized by the organization and the management.

2.Improves productivity and profitability.
Apart from these humanistic values, cultural diversity also brings some tangible benefits to the businesses all over the world. Active persuasion of diversity at the workplace directly impacts productivity and profitability of the organization as well as the employees. There is an enhancement of productivity of the workers and profitability for the organization.

3.Helps to create a pool of talent.
When any organization invests in diversity, it results in the creation of a bigger pool of talent. This is a win-win situation for both the employees and the organization. The employees exchange and learn each other’s positives and competencies. Such a pool of talent provides the organization with a competitive edge, which help it to progress in a huge and competitive environment.

4.Exchange of innovative ideas.
When an organization comprises of people with diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences, new creative and innovative ideas prop up in the minds of different people. It is natural that people with varying experiences and perspectives in life would be able to generate unique ideas and solutions to problems. This is of immense value to both the organization and employees. Such dynamic exchanges that take place between people having different perceptions yield creative results. Such a situation is never created in groups of people who think similarly and belong to similar cultures.

5.Other benefits of diversity.
Many studies related to organizational behavior conclude that promoting cultural diversity reduces absenteeism rates, lower employee turnover, reduce the costs associated with hiring new employees and reduce legal responsibility in discrimination lawsuits.
In this world of competition, where cultural diversity has so many benefits, it deserves a place in all organizations. This will not only bring profits for the organization but will lead to the development of competencies among all employees.

http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-cultural-diversity/

Disadvantages of cultural diversity in singapore

Racial Riots in 1964

The 1964 Race Riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September betweenChinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession that marked Prophet Muhammad's birthday. In total, the violence killed 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were arrested. The riots are also known as the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots, 1964 Racial Riots, and 1964 Sino-Malay Riots. At that time, Singapore was a state in theFederation of Malaysia.

The riots occurred during the period when the People's Action Party (PAP) and UMNO relations were severely strained after the PAP challenged the UMNO in the March 1964 Malaysia federal election. PAP ran on the campaign slogan of Malaysian Malaysia. In addition, analysts suggested the participation of Chinese secret societies in the riots increased the level of violence.^{[citation needed]}

^{Maria Hertogh Riots}

Casualties
For three days, mobs of Malay and Indian Muslim rioters attacked any European and Eurasian in sight. They set up barricades along major roads, set cars and houses on fire and took control of districts in the vicinity of Sultan Mosque, North Bridge Road and Jalan Besar. Rioting was stopped only after two troops of the Internal Security Battalion were called in, supported by several Malays within the troops. Even so, scattered attacks continued over two days. A 24-hour curfew had to be imposed for two weeks before British and Malay troops and the Constabulary regained control of the situation.

Altogether, 18 people were killed and 173 were injured. Nine were killed by rioters while the others were killed by policemen. Aside from a Police Inspector and a Special Constable, those killed by rioters had little to do with the Hertogh case and their murder was motivated more by fanaticism and racial hatred.

Significance and Consequences
The riots highlighted the insensitive way the media handled religious and racial issues in Singapore. The British colonial authorities also failed to defuse an explosive situation when emotional reports appeared in the local press of the custody battle accompanied by sensational media photographs of a Muslim girl in a Catholic convent.

Although the rioters were mainly Malays, they included a large number of foreigners including Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims. Added to this, the mainly Malay Police Force appeared to sympathise with the Muslim rioters and displayed some measure of deliberate inaction and defection during the riots. Gurkha Police Riot Squad Detachment, constituting at least 149 men were unfortunately not utilised and were in fact withdrawn at critical locations.

As a result of this historic event, the Government of Singapore, upon independence in 1965, instituted legislation against racial discrimination. It became an offence to incite racial and religious hatred in Singapore. The local media exercised greater discipline in the coverage of sensitive issues. National integration and nation-building took top priority in the formulation of government policies.

^Aftermath

Leaders in Malaysia and Singapore were surprised by the rapid escalation of racial violence and both sides made frequent appeals for calm. The riots exposed serious racial tension. The fear of further violence contributed to Singapore's decision to secede from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, when both sides were unable to resolve their disputes. Three-quarters of Singapore's population was of Chinese descent. In contrast, the rest of Malaysia had a majority of Malays, who lived in mostly rural areas, with ethnic Chinese comprising about 37% of the population and ethnic Indians another 10% (census 1971).

During the riots, the government made numerous arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA), for those involved in subversion and rioters who were members of secret societies. This helped to contain the violence, especially during the September riots. Both Singapore and Malaysia use the ISA to counter potential threats of communism or racial and religious violence.

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html

Cultural Diversity of Singapore

Singapore was a part of British Malaya for many centuries. It was ruled by the Sultanate of Johor. In 1819, the British came to the Island and set up a port and colony. During British rule, the port of Singapore flourished and attracted many migrants. After World War 2, Singapore became an independent nation and a republic, which it remains today.

Singapore has a diverse populace of nearly 5 million people^[1] which is made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Caucasians and Eurasians (plus other mixed groups) and Asians of different origins, which is in line with the nation's history as a crossroads for various ethnic and racial groups.

In addition, 42% of Singapore's populace are foreigners, which makes it the country with the sixth highest proportion of foreigners worldwide.^[2][3]

Singapore is also the third most densely populated in the world after Macau and Monaco.

Singaporean culture is best described as a melting pot of mainly Chinese, British, Malay, and Indian cultures, a reflection of its immigrant history.

Singapore is a multi-religious country, the roots of which can be traced to its strategic location; after its declaration as a port, a wide variety of nationalities and ethnicities from places as far as Arabia immigrated to Singapore. 33% of Singaporeans adhere to Buddhism, the main faith of the Chinese population of Singapore. Other Chinese are followers of Taoism (11%), Confucianism, and Christianity. Christians constitute about 18% of the population of Singapore. Most Malays are Muslims, who constitute about 15% of the population, while most Indians are Hindus, constituting 5%. There is also a sizable number of Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian population. As a result of this diversity, there are a large number of religious buildings including Hindu temples, churches andmosques, some of which have great historical significance. There are also some Sikh temples and Jewish synagogues. These interesting buildings often became prominent architectural landmarks in cosmopolitan Singapore. In addition, about 17% of Singaporeans do not belong to any religion and consider themselves as free-thinkers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Singapore

From: