Strategic Diversity Plan For The U.s. Department Of Veterans Affairs

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).

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.

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,

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.

The target of this research is to explore the diversity strategies of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ' (VA) with the objective of supporting its efficacy. Accordingly, this paper organizes this exploration into three correlating sections, the first of which introduces an overview of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) within the VA. In addition, this area summarizes the ODI installation of the VA diversity plan. This leads to the second exploration section, which outlines specific focus areas of the VA diversity plan as defined in the Standard University Publication: Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity (2007). The third and final segment offers a concluding synopsis along with recommendations for

Diversity has become a major part of society in the past decade and organizations have continued to adapt to our changing world. One way that organizations provide support for human and world differences is by creating a diversity mission statements that support the company’s actions. Diversity mission statements for corporations compared to non-profit organizations are more similar than I expected since. Verizon Wireless is the corporation I chose to research due to their current market share and success of the company. Verizon (2017) stated in their diversity statement how important and vital their employee differences have contributed to their success. According to Verizon (2017), 59% is their current workforce diversity and over half of

In an ever-changing society, it is necessary for Dexter R-XI Schools to prepare its students to live and learn in a diverse world. This plan will serve as a model to provide a positive learning and working environment for all students and employees. Schools will be expected to develop, implement, and monitor procedures which provide meaningful multicultural and diversified educational opportunities for all students.

The purpose of this strategic diversity plan is to ensure Lamar County School District is abiding by its mission to provide a quality education with opportunities for all students to experience success. Recognizing a deficiency in our district, such as a lack of addressing learning obstacles for Hispanic/Latino students, is important to address so all students are successful attaining an quality education. Reaffirming the district’s core values of equality, mutual respect, lifelong learning, honesty, and responsibility will enable the district to relay these values to all of our students, including this group, to provide knowledge in this continuously diverse

The United States Army is a gigantic institute with an international presence. One of its fundamental sources of power is the diversity of its personnel, which includes 1.6 million workforce across the active, reserve, civilian, and contractor parts. While the Army was at the vanguard of ethnic incorporation in the 1950s and at present is one of the most assorted institutes in the U.S., further advancement must be made on the diversity front. The term "diversity" can be classified along countless aspects; this paper concentrates on racial diversity since the exceptional and traditionally important role that race has in matters of diversity in the Army. Internal communications concerning delegate leadership throughout the force, the Army sketches power from its cultural and racial diversity.

Diversity at Target, like everywhere, is a work in progress. Target is ahead of the national average in terms of minority hiring. Additionally, the company has a higher percentage of minorities in management positions than the industry average. “The Strength of Many. The Power of One,” is Target’s tagline for diversity. It is realized that we need many points of view all working towards the common goal in order to be successful. The goals set forward in this plan are: to increase diverse hire mix by 30% over last year; improve retention rate by 30% over last year; and to develop high potential diverse talent in the ST. Louis market. This can be done

The United States military is often described as a melting pot. That mixture of race, religion, culture and age carries strength along with it, strength that could not be achieved by any one alone. Defined by Rue and Byars diversity in the workforce is “including people of different genders, races, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, age groups and physical abilities.” (Rue and Byars, pg) Management is described as the ability to allocate resources to achieve the company’s objective and mission. One of the most important resources in any organization is the employees, the members who make up the organization. A strong sense of diversity within the ranks is a force multiplier when implementing missions. The military has grown with the changing times in our country; from civil rights to women’s rights and war on terror. A well-known example of utilizing diversity in the military occurred during WWII when the Marine Corps and Army used Navajo Indians as code talkers in the Pacific Theater. A group of 24 men maintained a secure line of communication for the forces. “By recognizing and utilizing something unique within the fabric of Americana, the military identified a means to transmit secret messages in a code our enemies could never break.”(Marin, 2009) Military organizations such as 9th Communications takes great strides to ensure diversity is present. Diversity is found in low ranks, as well as extending to the high ranked

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 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.

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

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