Essay on Successful Management of a Diverse Workforce

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).

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.

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.

Workforce diversity is increasing. There are more women, minority men and immigrants entering the workforce.

The discussion of diversity in the workplace has two key components in the federal establishments of the United States Federal Government from both literatures

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)

This paper is aimed at providing a framework for discussion of diversity and how it pairs with demographic characteristics. It is divided into four parts. Part I represents diversity in the workforce, which reflects the rational of organizations and how they handle diversity in the occupations of their workers. Parts II characterize diversity and age, as it responds to the fact that older people have the skill set to keep them working well past retirement age. Part III denotes religion, where as more employers are beginning to recognize the need to allow employees to take time to pray. Part IV symbolizes the personality traits in diversity and how “different” is not always viewed as wrong but can be an incentive to other

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.

Companies today are looking to create a diverse workforce not to have the best staff, but also the right mix of cultures as companies expand globally. Diversity is a collection of many attributes that a person, group or culture has, and how they interact together offering these individuals strength to grow a company’s business. As companies grow globally they need to pay special attention to how they market their business, offer their services in different parts of the world and having a diverse workforce helps meet those demands and achieve a competitive edge over its competitors. For one company, MasterCard, having a workforce that is diverse and a culture of inclusion is vitally important, and ‘to compete in today’s ever-changing global

Over 20 years ago, a prediction was made that the demographics of the workforce would start to change significantly and researchers and writers began endorsing the need for organisations to create supportive workplaces where diversity is valued, (Cox, 1994). “They have argued that diversity is a double-edged sword; it has the potential for positive and negative outcomes,” (Chrobot-Mason & Aramovich, 2013). Chrobot-Mason and Aramovich (2013) also added that the way to ensure positive outcomes from diversity was the effective management of the workplace. This review will be exploring how effective management of a diverse workforce can bring about positive outcomes for employees and whole organisations through increased senses of identity for workers leading to lower turnover rates, and increased innovation within an organisation.

The need to understand diversity is also driven by women in the workplace. Today's workforce has the highest levels of employment participation ever by women. The number of dual income families and single working mothers has increased. Change in the family structure means that there are fewer men and women in traditional family roles (Zweigenhaft and Domhoff, 1998). Therefore, diversity issues cut across both race and gender.

Diversity refers to the ways people differ from each other. These ways are significant and plentiful. Culturally, people vary in gender, age, ethnicity, race sexual orientation, educational background, religion, lifestyle, as well as veteran and/or immigrant status. Functionally, people vary in the ways we think, learn, process information, respond to authority, show respect and reach agreements (Pollar & Gonzalez, 2011.)

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.

The discrimination-and-fairness paradigm is considered the “dominant way” of understanding diversity by most organizations. It attempts to remove discrimination and create employment equality by seeking to increase diversity among employees. Progress is measured by how well the company is able to meet its diversity number goals but avoids looking deeper at the reality behind the numbers. (Thomas & Ely p. 81)