This study aimed to explore how immigrant employees in the United States view their journey to becoming bicultural through their employment. The researchers conducted an online survey of 163 immigrant employees to examine factors that affect their ability to integrate their native culture and the U.S. workplace culture. The results provided preliminary insight into how demographic variables and workplace factors like social support from coworkers and supervisors influence an immigrant employee's path to biculturalism. However, the researchers noted limitations in the sample and call for further research.

1. The Road to Biculturalism within
United States Businesses
Dr. Maja Zelihic, Forbes School of
Business at Ashford University
Dr. Crystal Makowski, University of
North Florida

2. The Road to Biculturalism within
United States Businesses
• This study aims to explore how U.S. immigrant
employees view their journey to biculturalism through
employment.
• Study’s results provide researchers and organizational
leaders preliminary insight in facilitating biculturalism
within the workplace through diversity initiatives.
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3. Study’s Background
• The immigration demographics within the U.S. has an undeniably
significant impact on:
• U.S.’ educational system
• Politics
• Businesses
• Economy
• Country’s adaptability to increased cultural diversity.
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4. What is Biculturalism ?
• True biculturalism is defined as fully accepting and adopting a different
culture, while the individual maintains their native culture.
• The concept of an immigrant employee’s acculturation is the main focus by
organizations through initiatives to get any employee (regardless of
country of origin) to acclimate and fully adopt the businesses’
organizational culture through policies, procedures, mission, vision, etc.
rather than the holistic and internal adaptation of another culture.
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5. Literature Gap
• While current body of research agrees that biculturalism is an important
milestone of employee integration and efficiency within the US workplace
the specific variables impacting and enhancing bicultural processes have
not been clearly defined.
• According to Fitzsimmons (2013), prior research on multiculturalism or
biculturalism (used interchangeably) within organizations expected such
employees to “either suffer from inadequately defined selves or feel torn
between their multiple and sometimes incompatible selves as well as feel
marginalized and confused (p. 536).
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6. Research Questions
• How is immigrant employees’ road to biculturalism affected by their perceptions on employer’s
receptiveness and adaptability to cultural diversity?
• How do immigrant employees’ behaviors relate to their normative culture, personally and
professionally?
• How does that relationship correlate to immigrant employees’ perception of acculturation and
how does it impact positive workplace behaviors?
• What kind of transition do employees go through on their path to biculturalism at a workplace?
• What immigration factors (i.e., immigration status, age of immigration, previous immigrations,
etc.) affect an employees’ ability to become bicultural?
• How can employers assist immigrant employees in becoming bicultural?
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7. Research’s Purpose
• As such, researchers will attempt to determine which variable in particular out of the
pool of the studies ones are positively correlated with the concept of true
biculturalism and how achievement of “true biculturalism” impact both employee
effectiveness and job satisfaction.
• Researchers and businesses will find results to be beneficial theoretically and in
practicality, as this study will result in future research and preliminary diversity
management recommendations specific to immigrant employees.
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8. Research Methods
• The study proposal utilized a hybrid research analysis methodology, with the
majority of the survey questions as quantitatively-based, and one exploratory open-
ended question .
• Electronic surveys were utilized and disseminated to a sample of current U.S.
immigrant adult employees.
• The proposed study will utilize an electronic survey consisting of 30 items, which will
was distributed via Survey Monkey, an online survey/data collection program.
• The survey consists of 29 items that can be quantitatively analyzed and one item
that is exploratory and qualitative in nature.
• Convenience sampling – 163 participants mainly from Florida, Texas, and
Massachusetts.
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9. Research Participants
• Two participants were from Africa, seventy three participants were from
Europe, 30 participants were from Asia, eight participants were from South
America, six from Caribbean, seven from the US territory, three from
Canada and Mexico, one participant was from Oceania one from Pacific
Islands.
• 16.79% of participants are 18-30 years old, 25.95% are 31-40 years old,
40.46% are 41-50 years old, 11.45% are 51-60 years old and 5.34% of
participants were 60 years or older.
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10. Results
Table 6. How often do you engage in customs (i.e., celebrations, holidays, eating traditional food, other traditions) according to your country of origin?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid All of the time
40 24.2 31.0 31.0
Some of the time
56 33.9 43.4 74.4
Occasionally
29 17.6 22.5 96.9
None of the time
4 2.4 3.1 100.0
Total
129 78.2 100.0
Missing System
36 21.8
Total
165 100.0
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11. Results
Table 7. Culturally, what do you consider yourself?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Member of the USA culture only
5 3.0 3.9 3.9
Member of my native culture only
12 7.3 9.3 13.2
Member of the USA and my native
culture equally 77 46.7 59.7 72.9
It varies/depends on the situation
31 18.8 24.0 96.9
I feel like I do not belong to any
culture 4 2.4 3.1 100.0
Total 129 78.2 100.0
Missing System 36 21.8
Total 165 100.0
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12. Results
Table 14. Workplace factors for adjustment: Coworkers
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Coworkers 74 44.8 100.0 100.0
Missing System 91 55.2
Total 165 100.0
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Table 15. Workplace factors for adjustment: Supervisor
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Supervisor 29 17.6 100.0 100.0
Missing System 136 82.4
Total 165 100.0

13. Conclusion
• The researchers acknowledge that the sample selection method, sample size, and respondent
self-reports may adversely affect internal and external reliability. Furthermore, external validity
is greatly limited as the majority of the sample respondents emigrated from Europe, and other
foreign countries were not evenly sampled.
• Despite these limitation, this study provides preliminary results that suggest certain
demographic variables may influence a foreign-born employee’s road to biculturalism (i.e.,
number of fluent languages, age of immigration, speaking their native language at work, and
the number of USA jobs).
• Regarding workplace factors, social belonging among peers and supervisors, workplace
considerations to assist respondents and others in understanding cultural differences and/or
provide additional trainings, increased company size, and hiring of other foreign-born
employees indicate to have positive associations with foreign-born employees perceiving that
their workplace values foreign-born employees, being foreign-born offers more opportunities
within the workplace, and being foreign-born is an asset to their skills sets and work
performance. Past and current work experiences (positive or negative) were self-reported to
affect respondents’ road to biculturalism.
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14. Any Questions???
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