Adaptation for Workplace Diversity: A Report

Diversity is a wonderful asset to an organization and brings with it many benefits. Employees bring in their own personal experiences and knowledge to the team (Burns & Kerby, 2012). Having diverse teams allows for the possibility to fix a problem or perfect a process by using different employee’s experiences and past knowledge to find solutions. A diverse workforce can drive economic growth and capture a greater share of the consumer market (Burns & Kerby, 2012). With diversity as a core value, the recruitment pool is widened to find the most qualified candidate and reduces employee turnover as a result. An organization can be highly competitive with a diversity initiative by adapting to a changing environment (Burns & Kerby, 2012).

The purpose of this paper is designed to introduce, educate, and promote diversity within your company. Your company will be shown the merits of diversity and how diversity within your organization can be a benefit. This paper will be broken down into three main areas: Benefits of Diversity, Challenges of Diversity, and Recommendations for an effective diversity within your organization..

According to Ozbilgin (2008), diversity is one of the top global issues and requires management attention. There are both benefits and challenges in managing diversity. However, Golnaz and Hoa (2002) stated that most organizations agree that diversity is a reality and while managing the same, it can be either an asset or a hindrance towards goals (Gleason 2004). Diversity helps the organization become proactive and flexible to new aspects and scenarios (Pwc 2011). To manage a successful diverse workforce, organisations need to promote self-awareness, openness, clear-headedness, adaptability, candour and egalitarianism. This can be a challenging task due to complex human behaviour and biases (Parkin 2009).

In recent years, diversity and inclusion have emerged as an essential business practice. Why are diversity and inclusion so critical to organizations nowadays? Do they really help organizations achieve better results? Why is it a unique issue in the 21st century workplace? To answer these questions, organizations should look into factors such as globalization. Globalization increases interactions around the world and diversifies the profile of the workforce, which also contributes to the changing composition of the current workforce. While globalization offers extensive opportunities for organizations, it also imposes many challenges that require new responses. Organizations are not only looking for ways to effectively manage a diverse workforce but also to leverage it to achieve better outcomes.

Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil

Diversity is a wider concept than just ethnicity, race and gender. Other unique characteristics such as age, culture, style, education, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation also contribute to diversity. Promoting workforce diversity is difficult for organizations especially the larger ones. If conflicts can be controlled performance and productivity may be increased. There are also many advantages to diversity especially in the workplace. We can all gain if we learn how to accept and

The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)

work place. In other words, it is a process that maps the principles and practices that include the vision, goals, mission and values that would correspond with measures to the responsibilities of the organizations and its employees (Guillaume et al., 2013). While, workplace assessment is an assessment of the culture or climate of an organization designed to identify issues or perceptions that inhibit its ability to identify, attract and/or retain a diverse workforce (at all levels); or equitably serve diverse organizations (Guilluame et al., 2013). Studies show that organizations that foster diversity generate more profits and have higher numbers of

In the current fierce competitive global market, diversity management remains critically advantageous if any firm should make progress. Organizations must integrate diversity in their thoughts, actions and innovations. Diversity in organizations goes beyond making numbers to how people are treated in relation to its business model. It’s a time-sensitive necessity in the current workplace. Diversity cannot be bought or lip serviced. Based on authenticity, diversity is people-centered. It responds holistically to the dire needs of both the employees and clients. Long term strategies must therefore be considered so that diverse talents are engaged in the leadership circle. It is important that diversity management be driven by innovative perspectives.

Managing diverse employees in a multicultural environment proves challenging to managers; yet, increasing diversity in the workplace is very beneficial for an organization. Diverse employees will provide a wider array of talents and will relate better to varied customers. Because managers have more influence than rank-and-file employees, it is imperative that managers commit to diversity of the workforce.

Diversity in the workplace has been a hot topic around organizations in the United States for several years. Diversity is the state of employing a staff of people that are different within the same organization. It includes but is not limited to age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and even education (Nixon & West, 2000). Many organizations participate in diversity programs to ensure that all employees fell like they are part of the team not discriminated against. Research shows that having a diverse work environment improves profitability, employee performance, and better customer service. However, being a diverse company can cause adversity amongst its employees.

Diversity is emerging as a major issue in the workplace today, yet most employers are not prepared to deal with it. Nor are their managers. Many managers grew up having little contact with other cultures. They are actually "culturally deprived," and their academic training did not cover the kinds of situations that arise in today's multicultural settings. (Copeland, 2004.)

Managing organizational diversity is the most critical leadership issue facing organizations today. According to Daft, “The growing diversity within organizations brings vitality and many benefits but also brings a variety of challenges, such as maintaining a strong corporate culture while supporting diversity, balancing work and family concerns, and coping with the conflict brought about by varying cultural styles” (Daft, 2013). The United States is becoming more diverse every day. Leadership is now having to deal with issues that were not has prevalent in the past because of workforce diversity, globalization, and technological advancements. An organization that embraces this change and creates diversity management plans will stand out from its competitors. Having employees from various backgrounds lays the foundation for productivity, creativity, and innovation.

As more persons are entering careers in global and international market, today’s workforce has become extremely diverse. Persons are interacting with colleagues of different nationalities, cultures, religions, and employers are expected to respect and accommodate the diversity within their organizations as long as the accommodation does not impact the company negatively.

Diversity in workforce “include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience”(Thomas 1992). Diversity in the workforce is initially perceived as a response toward the increasing diversity of the consumers in the market (Agocs & Burr, 1996). From there, it has been observed that capitalizing on existing differences among the employees provide benefits to the organization. Diversity in workforce fosters and encourages