Myriad Benefits Of Diversity In The Workplace

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).

Diversity is vital in today's workplace. Having a diverse workforce opens up a wealth of possibilities and helps to encourage creativity and innovation.

As we enter the new millenium, diversity in the workforce is rapidly increasing. Businesses and organizations are living up to the great melting pot image the United States has always been popular for. Employees now reflect a diversity of cultural perspectives, ethnic backgrounds, ages, genders, physical abilities, and levels of education. This wave of multiculturalism is here to stay and cannot be ignored. It is in need of attention in order to uphold the well-being and success of businesses and organizations all over the country.

Hiring a diverse workforce is valuable in enhancing effectiveness of any manager or leader for many reasons, as outlined by Kerby and Burns (2012): (1) a diverse workforce drives

Benefits of a high workplace diversity environment is it not being stuck to conformity in group thinking, or being narrow-minded with similar thoughts and having preference to only be around people who think like you do which is known as the “diversity paradox”. According to a quote stated from Friedrich Nietzsche, Hackett (2014) “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently” (p. 415). Instead, it reiterates the importance of having a diverse workplace because it constructs better ideas, coming from different minds, and build upon each other through brainstorming. However, a poor workplace diversity can also adversely affect one’s motivation, which leads to overall job dissatisfaction and demotivation. When there is poor workplace diversity, you can see less communication barriers and cultural resistance, but it also makes it harder for individuals to get used to working with others that aren’t the same as them. This can become a form of adversity for businesses if their employees cannot develop a strong skill set to adapt with not only coworkers but also customers in the environment. Therefore, better communication and interaction skills are essential to promoting a business and making it successful.

Diversity in the workplace is a subject that has gained increased attention in the workplace over the past few years. After all, the impact of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity programs on the nation's work force is undeniable. Women and minorities were the first to dramatically alter the face of the economic mainstream, while gays, persons with disabilities and senior citizens followed not far behind. The result is a diverse American labor force representing a microcosm of our society - yet one that continues to struggle with its identity. Diversity as a social condition is not new to America. We were founded as a nation of Diversity. “America has always been a merger of cultures and, as such, has undergone periods of

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)

Today's workplace is more diverse than it has ever been in history. While the workforce has made strides in the direction of equality, it is still far from attaining total equality in the workplace. A company must value diversity. The main objectives of valuing diversity include awareness, education, and positive recognition of the differences among people in the workforce. Organizations are increasingly emphasizing group work or teamwork as a source of competitive advantage in a diverse workforce. It has been suggested that such organizations must target their recruitment efforts at applicants who are both diverse and amenable to working in teams ( Rau, Hyland 2003).

Men are 30% more likely to be hired for a high level position job than women (Stutes). Jobs discriminate and separate genders, races, etc. in a workplace. This is not fair because it should not matter what you look like or who you are, we should all be treated the same no matter what. It is hard for someone to get a job because bosses can discriminate and that makes people not succeed. You should have to work towards the higher level position so you earn it and not just be given it because you are the gender the boss wants. Diversity should be acknowledged so everyone can have a chance to make a living and support their families. Companies need to be fair and treat everyone equally and not just by looks. Diversity means that everyone works together no matter what race, culture, gender they are. Workplaces should have diversity taken place in them so they succeed and people have to work with others no matter what. It shouldn’t be about the looks or beliefs, it's about supporting your family and working together to create one goal. Diversity is becoming a big part of our world and it should continue as companies are growing and hiring. 67% of bosses and job seekers seek for diverse workplaces (Stutes). That still leaves room for 33% of bosses that are against having diverse workers. This shows that companies are against a certain race and gender. That should not be present. Continuing, diverse workplaces provide families with the money they need to survive.

In this paper we will uncover the disadvantages of introducing diversity in the workforce. I will also look at how diversity can cause a business to become less profitable. The reason I chose this topic is because I do not know the negative effects diversity could have on a business and it intrigues me. There has been much publicity in the media about the benefits of introducing diversity in the workforce. Yet, there has not been as much about the consequences of introducing diversity. I want to understand the potential causes and reasons diversity can have a harmful effect on a business. I do know there are many benefits in having a diverse workforce, and that no one should be overlooked for a job. I just believe it is important to

With the changing demographics of the U.S. workforce (Ng & Burke, 2005) and the need for organizations to continually innovate their products and services to remain competitive, embracing diversity and the benefits its brings is going to be key to driving a successful organization

Digitalisation and globalization of business world has promoted Diversity within a team which acts as some double-edged sword i.e. positive and negative outcomes at workplace. Diversity can be defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, and valuing differences among people with respect to age, class, race, ethnicity, gender, disabilities, etc. (Esty et al. 1995). The meaning of diversity within the workplace is not limited to those attributes which are observed but also include invisible characteristics such as differences in educational background, creativity, comprehension, learning style, and problem-solving ability (Nafukho et al., 2011). To respond rapidly changing and challenging business environments, organizations have increasingly adopted “work teams” to increase organizational flexibility and innovation (Lovelace et al., 2001; West, 2004). They continue to rely on teams within the workplace to achieve goals through task performance (Garrison et al., 2010; Jackson et al., 2003; Klein et al., 2011; Mannix et al., 2005; Van Knippenberg et al., 2007). Teams are generally some small groups of people with complementary skills, who work together as a unit to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable (Wood et al. 2004). It is well reflected that Team-based organizations can promote innovation through the effective cross-fertilization of ideas and “work team” helps in integrating various types of information and perspectives

The primary reason for this article is to review the issues of workforce diversity at World Duty Free Group. World Duty Free is one of the most airport retailers in the world, with 550 stores in 20 different countries, with over 5000 employees.

Diversity in an organization creates a diverse experience. Fellow employees with different cultural backgrounds come up with a new set of experiences to share with other members in their departments. Pooling the diverse knowledge and skills of culturally distinct workers together can benefit companies by strengthening teams' productivity and responsiveness to changing conditions which benefit the company (Hndlaechner 2008, p. 152). If these new ideas they bring up with them are used accordingly, it will have a positive impact on all employees within the organization and hence bringing the best out of them.