Exemplary Leader: Indra Nooyi Essay

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..

Regardless of how diversity is defined, it is an issue that is sweeping the nation. By the 21st century, racial and ethnic minorities will constitute 25% of the U.S. population, affecting the makeup of the U.S. labor force (7). By the year 2000, women will constitute 47% of the total workforce and the average age of the workforce is expected to increase from 36 in 1986 to age 39 (7). If the corporate society does not address the issue by learning how to manage diversity, they will fail.

The way in which an organization tackles diversity determines its negative or positive outcome. All the 5 companies agreed that diversity has contributed to their success. Some barriers were identified in managing diversity like the difficulties faced by women in managing the work and family, fear of discrimination, resistance to change, diversity is not seen as an organizational priority, resistance to change and unsupportive working environment for diverse employees. Diversity contributes to more productivity but if not properly managed could hinder success.

The artifact allowed me to gain knowledge in the approaches of diversity leadership issues. Thomas (1995) offers eight basic leadership responses as an approach to diversity. The foster mutual adaption response approach, “…unequivocally endorses diversity” (Thomas, 1995, p. 251). Thomas (1995) states that under this approach, “…the parties involved accept and understand differences and diversity, recognizing full well that those realities may call for adaption on the part of all components of the whole” (p. 251). Thomas (1995) purposes a diversity framework be used to as a, “… point of departure for evolving a framework to guide managers in making decisions regarding diversity mixtures of all kinds” (p. 252). The framework processes revolve around three objectives for leadership as recognize diversity mixtures present, decide whether a response is required, and select an appropriate response or blended response (Thomas,

Diversity is becoming a more increasing and ever changing dynamic to the business environment. Organizations can either embrace and grow with diversity or be left behind and die out. One of the organizations that is growing with diversity is Target. This paper will look at Target in depth on what they are doing right and wrong, what makes them a leader in diversity, and what leadership is doing to encourage diversity.

Three ways of gaining executive commitment to diversity are to gather data and to assess the organizations current commitment to diversity to show where and why there is a need for change. The development of diversity council can also garner executive support because it offers a way for executive members of an organization to have a dialog with other members of an organization about diversity. Systematic changes are also necessary such as hiring from a diverse roster of candidates when filling a position. (Moodian, 2009,

As diversity and inclusion gain more attention in the society, more research has been done on their impact to organizations. Not too long ago, organizations implemented diversity management initiatives, such as affirmative action and equal employment legislations, just to fulfill their legal requirements (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004). However, diversity and inclusion have since then become a business imperative.

One of the objectives that the team discussed was diversity in the workplace. Major corporations have encountered issues concerning diversity in the work place. Our team can directly relate to this subject in the workplace since all of us are diverse minorities in our individual work place. It was discussed in the group that diversity in the workplace is the manager’s responsibility to insure that the workplace is a diverse environment. Managers in most companies are required to hire a diverse staff. Managers have the ability to use race, religion, and tenure as qualities to inspire success and

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

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 first thing to acknowledge about diversity is that it can be difficult. In the U.S., where the dialogue of inclusion is relatively advanced, even the mention of the word “diversity” can lead to anxiety and conflict. Supreme Court justices disagree on the virtues of diversity and the means for achieving it. Corporations spend billions of dollars to attract and manage diversity both internally and externally, yet they still face discrimination lawsuits, and the leadership ranks of the business world remain predominantly white and male.

Some of the most prevalent factors that shaped Indra Nooyi as a leader, are among the following:

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.

Since being appointed CEO of PepsiCo in 2006, Indra Nooyi has been secure in herself, her Indian roots, and is extremely values-driven. This is demonstrated in her mix of socialized charismatic and authentic leadership in addition to her respect of work life balance for both her self and her employees even recognizing the support of employee families to the company as a whole. Under Nooyi’s leadership, a value oriented and motivated corporate culture was established at at all levels of PepsiCo. Case 10 Indra Nooyi: A Transcultural Leader delves deeper into the more instrumental elements of Indra Nooyi’s