Business Management Diversity Issues

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..

During the last part of this century, businesses and organizations have heavily relied on affirmative actions laws to ensure equal employment opportunities. The failure of this dependence upon legislation is that is doesn't address the full spectrum of diversity in the workplace (6). Affirmative actions laws have limitations, discriminating against people holding protected-class status such as women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans,

Workplace Diversity refers to the human characteristics that are present in the workplace making people different from one another. Various human characteristics would include race, gender, age, certain physical attributes, experience, and personal habits.

The issue of diversity in the workplace surfaced as the world began to change. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed egregious forms of discrimination against African Americans and women for all forms of segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 terminated unequal applications in voter registration, racial segregation in schools, the workplace, and all facilities that offered services to the general public. (Civil.Law.com) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened the door for many Americans to advance in the workplace and schools. As the decades moved forward the Civil Rights Act of 1964 need to be updated to adapt to the new changes in the world. The Civil Rights

As times are changing, so is the world’s vision of normal. Discrimination and segregation were a huge part of history, but the fact is that in this modern society, culture diversity is the new norm. Companies and organizations incorporate culture diversity in the workplace due to the benefits of various experiences, language skills, and productivity. Employees are the face of the company, and if they have the mentality of prejudice and ethnocentrism, it can affect the success of the business. While most people understand that the world is a melting pot, discrimination still exists in this world and these people are at a disadvantage. Whether it is because they are living in the past, had a bad experience, or have not been exposed to it, the world is a melting pot of culture, gender, and ethnicity. Regardless of how we are different, once “we can learn to appreciate that differences do matter and that becoming aware of those differences will make interactions with others much easier” (Devry University, n.d.).

Many employers are unaware of the benefits of and ways to achieve workplace diversity. This Diversity and inclusion training plan provides this information. This plan is designed to be presented by an individual who is knowledgeable in diversity and business strategies and who is familiar with the company’s strategic business plan. By the end of this training the employee should be able to provide a clear understanding of what diversity is and what it is not, to raise a greater awareness and sensitivity to diversity issues that go well beyond

In order for Louie to become culturally sensitive, this paper proposes diversity training. According to Dubrin, (2013) diversity training is different from culture training which ideally seeks to understand individuals from other cultures. The main objective of diversity training is to establish workplace harmony by teaching individual’s ways in which they can get along better in an environment with diverse work associates. In a majority of diversity training programs, curriculums seek to minimize open racist and sexist

Today’s management in the workforce is composed of all types of people verses thirty years ago when white males held a majority of upper-management positions in companies. These positions are now held by a mixture of ethnic back grounds and women who hold just as many if not more management positions then men. Just by looking at the changes in management demographics shows how important it is for people to understand cultural competency in the workplace. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1999) stated, “Diversity is the collective mixture of whomever we have in our workforce characterized by their differences and similarities” (p.11). Managers and supervisors must understand the characteristics of a diversity mature individual; they also need to be

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)

The business case for diversity is often expressed in terms of managing diversity (Urwin et al. 2013). It is defined as managing the diversity in the workforce to reduce or eradicate the discrimination amongst the employees in the workplace. From the business case perspective, the main focus will usually be on equality practices, or diverse workforce that will possibly benefit the organisation. Thus, from the business case perspective, organisations will recruit and select

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many

In today’s society there are many culturally diverse people in the workforce. Most organizations can no longer make the assumption that every employee has similar beliefs or expectations. When entering into the global marketplace, people are considered one of the most valuable resources to an organization’s success. A well-managed culturally diverse workforce has the potential to thrive if managed correctly; or if mismanaged, there can be devastating negative attributes. With great expectations, culturally diverse employees can foster positive outcomes in the workplace. A company’s acknowledgement to embrace diversity and change, and implement the value of management techniques are

In any society, how we see ourselves and how others treat us depends on many factors. Race, ethnicity, and cultural background are identifiers of individuals. Most people have confronted prejudice based on these identifiers, either personally experiencing discrimination or knowing someone who has. Beyond ensuring organizational compliance with a country’s anti-discrimination laws, it is incumbent upon managers to support diversity in the workplace and to be culturally competent.

Organizations have been becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. This diversity brings substantial potential benefits such as better decision making, greater creativity and innovation, and more successful marketing to different types of customers. But, increasing cultural differences within a workforce also bring potential costs in higher turnovers, interpersonal conflicts, and communicational breakdowns. The utilities of diversity training and the essential managerial skills required for effectively managing diversity will also be discussed.

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