Managing Diversity Essay examples

From Hollywood to the the social sector, diversity, rather the lack thereof, has been a topic of conversation. Although many organizations have begun to advocate for diversity, more work must be done. Across the social sector,women and people of color remain severely underrepresented in leadership positions. Organizations must become intentional about creating a diverse workforce and implementing inclusive policies that foster positive work environments. When employees feel represented and included they are happier and more likely to contribute to fulfilling the organization's mission.

This paper covers diversity management theory and how it affected my academic experience. Diversity management is an important and rapidly growing concern in many workplaces. Managers want to insure a safe environment for their employees and increase productivity, awareness, and morale. If the employees are happy, there will be more successes within the company. People respond to positive and guiding help or advice better than discrimination and down talk from a boss. The training in place for managers deals with cultural, gender, and social diversity. By enhancing the workplace and creating a team environment, companies can unleash their potential.

The first challenge in effectively communicating with today's workforce is diversity. The work force today is more diverse than ever and is rapidly becoming even more diversified as time passes.

Across the world much attention has been given to workforce diversity. As a result of the expansion of the global economy across national territories, and the growth in workforce diversity as it relates to ethnicity, race, gender, age and disability, many organizations are now more intentional in their efforts to enhance and maintain workforce diversity (Peretz, Levi, & Fried, 2015). At the core, diversity is about inclusion. Firms have a responsibility to promote equity and social justice by considering the experiences, perspectives, knowledge, and abilities of various groups of people.

Managing diversity is an important add-on to the management skills they already have. Managing diversity is simply acknowledging differences in people. It involves recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination, and promoting inclusiveness. I may also be challenged with losses in personal and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination, as well as complaints and legal actions against the organization. Communication diversity is that as employees from different cultures and backgrounds communicate in slightly different ways. This can lead to confusion and frustration, as if the signals result is missed in miscommunication, and the productivity is going to be lost. Miscommunication can also enforce existing stereotypes about minorities, further exacerbating tensions, and in the worst cases leaving the company vulnerable to

This training guide for diversity in the workplace has been developed for business owners and management in, to help recognize and encourage cultural diversity in the workplace. It is important that business acknowledge economic , social contribution of diversity in the workplace and use the skills and views of today’s society. Diversity training will help improve customer service and competitiveness here in the U.S. and globally.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the racial and ethnic makeup of the U.S. workforce in 2020 is expected to be 79% white, 12% African-American, 6% Asian, and 3% other minorities (Noe, 2014, p. 32). The increasing cultural diversity in the workplace has a lot of effects on U.S. organizations, especially on HRM practices. For this reason, managers and supervisors in companies have to adapt diversity policies as well as diversity strategies in order to manage and operate their companies effectively. In order to let American people have a broader understanding of workforce diversity, the following paragraphs will define cultural diversity in the workplace, discuss the benefits and challenges of managing diverse workplaces, and best practices

Ongori and Agolla (2007) state that managing workforce diversity in an organization is a complex phenomenon. They suggest that with the current organizational transformations being implemented across the globe, management of workforce diversity cannot be downplayed. Diversity in the workforce is based on the acknowledgement of the reality that people are different in more than one way, mainly in terms of culture and ethnicity, personality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, social status, marital status, gender, and age (Shem et al., 2009). Affirmative actions taken by various groups to address the plight of minorities coupled with the free movement of labor has made workforce diversity management a core issue in both private organizations and government agencies (Ongori & Agolla, 2007). The following is a discussion of the need for diversity training for all employees in a company for the purpose of avoiding future litigations and issues of equal opportunity employment, EEE. The paper also addresses how diversity fits in the development of the organization and suggests a strategic plan for diversity training inclusion and implementation.

      Recently, the concept of diversity has completely changed from before. It was predicted that by the year 2005, women, minorities, and the disabled would dominate the workforce ("Managing Diversity", 1999). Organizations that

Needs, values, priorities of employees and employers have changed dramatically over the last decade. On all levels of the corporate ladder, men and women are seeking new ways to manage the time they spend working so they can spend more time living. In the boardrooms, executives are seeking ways to attract - and retain - the best employees so they can continue to survive and thrive in a highly competitive global economy. As companies are becoming more and more diverse it is becoming more and more important for companies to understand and manage diversity. The people of different background, races, religion creates diverse workforce. There is an importance of having diverse workforce to provide better performance. There are perspectives of

Diversity of an organization’s workforce and its efforts of taking affirmative steps to attract, develop, and retain diverse employees has become an essential component to business success. To influence managers to utilize every resource when attempting to enhance the cultural diversity in the work place as a “dynamic atmosphere of collaboration”.

Many companies are now focusing on achieving workforce diversity. They are aiming to employ workers from different backgrounds to provide benefits to the organization. But there are many types of diversity. It’s better explained as, “Diversity includes visible differences (such as ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and national origin), identification and experience (such as sexual orientation and identity, veteran status, and religion), diversity of thought, and other differences” (Ebsco, Derven, Marjorie). Diversity experts believe that mixed groups in a workplace can contribute to more creative ideas brought up within the organization and offer more solutions to its customers. Workforce diversity brings an increase in productivity and competitive advantages. Additionally, diversity within the workplace develops more morale with employees and causes employees an appeal to work more effectively and efficiently. “If a business opens its doors to all comers, they broaden the pool of talent from which to draw, and open up a world of possibilities.” (ebsco, O’neill Rachel)

While opinions vary on the historical start of workplace diversity initiatives, several initiatives spawned discussion and provided specific focus on equal treatment, protection, and opportunity. In 1948, President Truman entered an executive order to establish the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. Diversity management principles have their origins in the American Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and subsequent laws, rules, and regulations that promote practices of equal employment (Davis, Frolova & Callahan, 2016, p. 82). Title VII of

Workplace diversity has become an increasingly important component of human resource management with organizations implementing programs to address (Bond & Haynes, 2014, p. 183). One strategy to address is the development of a workforce diversity management program. While there are several strategies to consider in the implementation of such a program, one strategy is to ensure the program is founded on an organizational culture of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that support diversity and inclusiveness. Gotsis & Grimani (2016) suggest leadership styles and principles help shape inclusive climates that value, affirm, and support workplace diversity (p. 242). As such, development of a comprehensive diversity program should be a strategic priority that moves beyond policies and framed on the culture of an organization.

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)).