1.0. Background
In many countries, diversity management has evolved as an important aspect taken into consideration by many organizations. This is mainly due to the migration of expatriates, globalization and initiatives taken for fairness, equal opportunity and social justice(Rainey2, 2014). In last few decades, the entire world and organizations has faced a significant increase in the demographic diversity of the workplace. Many policies have been formulated by the organizations all over the world to control diversity management. Due to such policies like equal employment opportunity has help certain groups a lot in getting a job who were not being able to get an employment before (Tsui, (1999)). Such growth in the diversity has triggered controversy and has left a question mark among several scholars. Diversity in the workplace can also be an advantage and can benefit the organization but it can also harm the organization in terms of conflicts between different groups in one organization (Wise, (2000)).
2.0. Literature Review on Diversity Management
2.1. Introduction
The recent researches on diversity management has enlightened important evidences for organizations on managing diversification in workplace that are highly diversified (Choi, (2009)).(Thomas, (1990)) In his research he came up with the idea of how to manage diversity in the organization. He said that is order to manage diversity, organization should create an environment in which every employee feel that
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..
Managing Diversity in the workplace is more than just an acquired skill, it is "a way of thinking" (1). It involves creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth. The key is to help employees reach their full potential by creating an environment that will allow them to be motivated and productive and ultimately, be beneficial for the organization.
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.
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 popular topic in today’s business world, but the definition of the word varies vastly between organizations. Some definitions are one sentence where others are a paragraph long. To add to the confusion, employees have their own ideas about diversity when entering the workforce that may collaborate with or contradict the organization’s explanation. This paper will compare and contrast four definitions concerning diversity to highlight the similarities and differences of the word according to national and international organizations. Also, the author will explore diversity categories in regard to her own experiences in life.
Over the decades, diversity in the workplace has started to become a business necessity. But what does diversity actually mean? In broad terms, diversity encompasses a group of people with different biological characteristics such as age, race, gender, ethnicity disability and so on. However, the true definition of diversity in the workplace is about ensuring that every single person that goes to work everyday have the freedom to bring along their full self to work and it is not just about welcoming but it is about embracing and harnessing the diversity of thought, the diversity of background, the diversity of experience, the diversity in education, and not just the traditional aspects in diversity. Even so, one of the major challenges that
“Diversity management is the key to growth in today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace”1. Diversity is to have a different people in the same organization and thin with the same group. We are not the same all of people have different ideas, culture and gender. Because now the word be closer like a small village and we should know how to deal with all of people with their own ideas, culture and things. In addition, each people have a specific ability in a specific experience, education and knowledge. So it is hard to get all of that talent from same country, area or zone. So the diversity will help the company to become better from the different talent and ability from each country, because the organization
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)
Diversity training is defined as a different set of plans intend to eliminating or decreasing discrimination, facilitating with assisting positive team’s communication and improving the skills, abilities, awareness, knowledge, and motivation of workers to interact with diverse members supporting self- disclosure and Intergroup communication. Diverse workforce represents the verity of business organizations. The impact of managing diversity is growing in business world. Effective diversity management is to hire the differences in age, culture, disability, economic background, ethnicity, religion beliefs, education, geographical background, gender, sexual orientation, education and to create a productive teamwork in which every employee feels appreciated, considerate, valued, where talents are fully utilized and in which organizational goals are achieved.
The article presents information on the management of diversity programs that are applied by companies. The article utilized benchmarking assessment to analyze the programs of diversity management. The importance of accommodating various groups in the workforce proves to offer benefits. The practice of managing diversity as revealed by the article, indicates that the training programs on diversity, employing mentoring and networking, together with cultural awareness is critical for the success of an organization. Similarly, the article offers an extensive data, whereby organizations are able to thrive by embracing a diverse workforce. The investigation carried out by the author, reveals that cultivating diversity propels the success of an organization.
Although large strides have been made to promote equal opportunities in the workplace over the past 50 years, diversity management and equal treatment can be improved. According to employment laws are put in place to stop discrimination, but it is the responsibility of people to put them into practice. By tackling diversity and promoting equality, is not only morally right but is ultimately a business advantage. Organizations are making themselves accessible to the talents all over the world and achieving a workforce that is representative of the actual population attracts even more of those talents. Companies that embrace diversity and become inclusive organizations are also able to achieve greater work productivity (Makower, 1995). Demographic changes and equal opportunity legislation call for constant review of HRM practices and improvements in recruitment, training, pay and promotion, positive action, and culture can help increase diversity in the workplace.
Workplaces today are become increasingly diverse with employees of different genders, races, cultures, ethnic origins, and lifestyles. There have been so many changes in the cultural make-up of organizations that it has become imperative for leaders and supervisors to understand cultural diversity and how it can affect their organization. By understanding how this diversity can affect their organization, leaders are taking steps to assure a conflict-free environment and promoting positive outcomes for the business, as well as its employees. “Diversity today is being viewed as a key means to
In a diverse work environment the management of a company or firm is a crucial role. With firms that are growing internationally and having employees of different cultures the management style has to suite those employees. Diversity in the workplace means bringing people together from different ethnic backgrounds, age, and religions. The advances in communication have a great role in management of large cooperation or business. A great management strategy with diverse workplaces is to have strong policies on equality. Allowing individuals to be equal at work and strive to their full potential. Work becomes more enjoyable when the environment is equal and differences/similarities of individuals are valued. A current study examines the
Diversity in the workplace means bringing together people of different ethnic backgrounds, religions and age groups into a cohesive and productive unit. Advances in communication technology, such as the Internet and cellular phones, have made the marketplace a more global concept. In order to survive, a company needs to be able to manage and utilize its diverse workplace effectively. Managing diversity in the workplace should be a part of the culture of the entire organization.