Perfection Is An Illusion Organization

The organization must stop designed consciously all the resources available to achieve the objectives, assigning them to the different

Workplace diversity in an organization can provide many benefits but it can also create new challenges for employees and their managers. The organization I work for is in the tech sector and we have a modern competitively driven sales force. With that comes

Diversity and inclusion are hot topics in today’s business world. While treating individuals fairly and equally is a social imperative, it is also extremely important to the success of a business. With the changing demographics of society and its affect on the American workforce, organizations must truly embrace diversity and inclusion. “For companies to succeed in the global marketplace, they must make the most of the full range of their people. Companies must attract and retain the right skills, the best minds, all the required resources – and that means diversity” (Royal Bank of Canada, n.d.). There are a number of compelling reasons companies should adopt the core values of diversity and inclusion. This paper sets out to

As one would expect, we are also seeing a diversification of the American workforce. While most would agree that diversity within the workforce can build a positive workplace environment, it is

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

Many organizations are beginning to view diversity as an organizational change. This could possibly mean changes in the power dynamics and organizational structure, the way decisions are made, and the way an

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

With a shift in demographics in the last decade, workplace diversity has become one of the main concerns for companies. Diversity is now based upon race, gender, ethnicity, disabilities, and sexual orientations. A diverse company will seek individuals who bring “unique perspectives or outlooks to the organization” (Shackelford, 2003). Workplace diversity allows for each individual to have an equal chance no matter what his or her demographic is. Diversity in the workplace also shows that the company is not discriminatory.

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE As companies start to regain their footing after the recent economic downturn,

and Konrad, A.M. (2006) ‘Examining the contours of workplace diversity: Concepts, contexts and challenges’, in Handbook of Workplace Diversity. SAGE Publications, pp. 3.

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.

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)

In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.

For example, the operations department within an organisation need to be ensuring that production levels are high, whilst the marketing department need to be advertising the products to the extent that makes production meet sales. Without the right mind-set in departments and the attitudes of organisational members being consistent throughout an organisation, the likelihood of success is minimal. People will be working towards different things and resources will be divided amongst different projects and therefore never actually reaching their full potential (Mintzberg et al, 1987; Hamel and Prahalad, 1993).

Diversity in workforce “include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience”(Thomas 1992). Diversity in the workforce is initially perceived as a response toward the increasing diversity of the consumers in the market (Agocs & Burr, 1996). From there, it has been observed that capitalizing on existing differences among the employees provide benefits to the organization. Diversity in workforce fosters and encourages