Diversity in the Workplace
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Importance of Diversity 1-2
Avoiding Discrimination EEO 2-4
Affirmative Action 4
Types of Diversity 4-5
Recruitment, Selection, Retention 5-6
Managing Diversity 7
Measuring Diversity 7-8
Inclusion 8-9
Conclusion 9
References i
Creating and Maintaining Diversity in the Workplace
Introduction:
Diversity is one of the most important aspects of an organization. According to Webster’s Dictionary, diversity is “the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization.” The effort must be put forth to create and maintain a diverse work environment. The process is not over at the hiring
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The example given was a company that the majority of customers were Hispanics. After the organization hired a Hispanic direct for that target market, profits increased drastically in less than one year. The director was able to have a better understanding of the needs of that specific market of customers. The diversity that different types of employees bring to the table can help an organization benefit both in the short and long term. Avoiding Discrimination EEO
One of the most important aspects that a company must focus on is to avoid any discriminating practices. Discrimination could cause a potential, current, or former employee to bring legal action against the organization. These types of lawsuits or accusations are costly in terms of time and money. There is a possibility for frivolous lawsuits to be brought about by disgruntled employees, but having direct practices and procedures in place to avoid discrimination could reduce this risk. An organization can avoid a bad reputation and lawsuits if all employees are engaged in non-discriminatory activities. Over the years, the United States Government has enacted laws and regulations. These were put into law to create consequences for those engaged in discrimination and protect those who have been discriminated against. During the 1960’s the U.S. government took huge leaps towards ending
Diversity in any organisation includes hiring and promoting a workforce of people with differences. These differences include race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical abilities and economic backgrounds. The premise of a diverse workplace is that employees are
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 concept of diversity has broadened in scope in the recent past, evolving from the concept of mandated quotas and affirmative action, to the reality of a diverse workforce being capable of providing quantifiable business value. A variety of external factors have influenced the conceptual evolution of diversity within the workplace. For example, globalization of markets has provided the concept of diversity with an opportunity to demonstrate a clear competitive advantage. A native understanding of the cultural values, norms and business practices of a foreign market can give an organization a clear advantage over their competition. Another area where diversity offers advantages is in the
The success of the organization and its competitive advantage depend on upon its ability to increase the number of diverse employees, and to realize the benefits of it. Furthermore, the diverse workforce has become an increasingly important part of the American workforce. People with different backgrounds, knowledge, experience, and skills will bring new ideas which will benefit the entire team. A diverse workforce brings with it a lot of different benefits, as well as the potential disadvantages for corporate managers to manage. Organizations recognize the need and importance of diversity in the workforce. Diversity influences every area of the organization by potentially resulting in increased creativity, higher productivity, new attitudes, new language skills, global expanding, new processes, and new solutions to difficult problems. The businesses that do not see the importance of diversity might find themselves unable to attract and retain customers, employees, and business partners. Several advantages will be covered following by disadvantages in the diverse workforce.
As companies become more diverse in the work field employees are getting harder to manage and understand. One issue in the global market today is workplace diversity. Workplace diversity is defined as all characteristics and experiences that defined each employee as individuals, but it can also be misunderstood as discrimination against employees. Diversity can include race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability and sexual orientation discrimination. One reason why workplace diversity is important is because when you respect your employees productivity rate rises and many companies do not know that. A diverse workplace targets to create an inclusive culture that values and uses the talents of all employees.
Furthermore, the power of context is the things in the environment can change people’s behaviors. This will let them know what kinds of actions are properly doing at what time. Lofferda proposes that some higher level people in the society always do not have good behaviors and take advantages of gays, she states that “the Supreme Court upheld a Cincinnati ordinance that denied gays and lesbians legal protection from discrimination in housing, employment, and other public accommodations” (249). This quote shows that even in higher government, the gays cannot get the same treatment like the housing and employees as the other residents. The surroundings around them are really terrible. They cannot get really benefits and advantages from the society or the government.
An organisation that promotes diversity shows their employees that they don’t have to worry about their ethnicity or cultural background in order for them to progress in that company. Only relevant things like competency and the knowledge of the work matter the most. (Bryan, 1999)
Why am I here? I am here because I am everywhere that I am invited. I am here because that is my job, that is what I have been doing for years and years. Does it mean I endorse any meeting I attend, or any Eritrean configuration that I see? Nope. Do I feel comfortable to talk about diversity in a very congregation that has no semblance of diversity? Not at all. If I did, I will betray the cause for which I struggle. When I see warts in our operations, I have to mention it. I do not feel comfortable as the only Muslim among the 21 assembled "speakers" or "panelists," among who are people I respect very much. And I have to emphasize, I object to tokenism even if I understand it is not for lack of good intentions.
Diversity management is important to every company because no one wants a cookie cutter company and if you don’t you diversify that is what you will have.
As we go into another century, the workforce is becoming more diverse than it has ever been. Women, people of color, and other minority cultural groups are now expanding in the rankings and demanding change. Through a variety of studies, experiments, and ideas, leaders across the nation are looking for solutions to find ways to manage such a diverse group of employees when dealing with conflict and communication. Since employees are now coming from different ethnicities, organizations are experiencing an increase of workers from all across the globe. Employees must be able to feel comfortable in their workplace environment in order to keep the level of job satisfaction high. It is impossible for managers to understand everything about all
“Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?” When George W. Bush spoke those words amongst a crowd of people in Florence, South Carolina several years ago, he probably had no idea that it would one day be put on a list called The top 25 Bushisms of all time -- and it wouldn’t even be #1. As a politician, no matter how inconsequential your position may seem, you are constantly under a microscope being looked at by your peers, your employers, and the media. Everything you say or do will have an outcome on your career, no matter how unrelated to your field it may be, or how secret you try to keep it. It is for reasons such as this that one must always be aware of their words and actions. To survive under the scrutiny of others, a
Having a diverse workforce is very important, people of different genders, age, religion and ethnicity may all bring something to the table in their previous work experience. When companies focus on having a diverse work force within their company, there is more opportunity for enhanced creativity, better ideas, and increased productivity. When people of different backgrounds work together, they each bring a different set of eyes, opinions, and experiences to the table. A company benefits from the teamwork that all employees brainstorm and do together.
Leaders make the mental environment that encourages supported advancement at all levels. The test is that as an association develops, administration structures and organizations, intended to channel development, have a tendency to make obstructions to little scale upgrades.
According to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, “Diversity refers to variety in the field of concern. However, Leopold, J. et al (2005) refers to managing diversity as a belief that all individual differences should be valued and recognized. It is in this context that diversity has become center of concern in most organizations. It is believed that employing a more diverse workforce could enhance an organization’s service or products to a wider range of clients or customers. It is also said that diversity emphasizes for four main reasons, namely maximizing the resources available in the labour market, maximizing the potential within the organization’s workforce, creating business opportunities through the employment of a diverse
Most organizations in their own viewpoint, take on diversity at their organization to develop into more ingenious and open to change. Growing and improving workforce diversity has developed into an important issue for managers in the recent years due to the recognition of how the workforce is changing. While managing diversity still remains a challenge in organizations, managers tend to learn managerial skills required in a multicultural working environment and prepare themselves to teach others within their organizations to value cultural differences and treat all employees with poise.