1. Introduction
According to Black (2014), the occupational environment can be difined as “the workplace surroundings that encompass the physical and social environment,”. The social environment can be seen as social relationships, immediate physical surroundings and cultural setting in which groups of people function and interact. It includes the industrial and occupational structure, the social and economic processes and labour markets among others. Social environments also include the social, historical and power relations that have become institutionalized over time. Social environments are dynamic and change over time as the result of both internal and external forces. ( Barnett & Casper, 2001).
The work environment however, refers to the qualities and characteristics of the experience of working at the specific organisation, for example, what it is like to work there, the employer-employee relationships and work setting (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2006).
The South African labour environment and workplace has undergone a wide range of transformation since apartheid laws until the successful implementation of employment equity policies.
In order to understand the full impact of change in the work and occupational environment, the history of the South African history, the industrial revolution as well as the change in South African labour legislation were explored.
Several factor have an impact on the work and occupational environment. Globalisation influenced the way business is conducted and will continuously change it, the increase in diversity in work environments also call for change and brought about a new concept of diversity management not only in South Africa, but also worldwide.
Various changes...
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.... Social Transition
Workplaces will continue to experience change or undergo transition from a social perspective, especially with ongoing attempts to diversify and empower the workforce (Venter & Levy, 2013). Social transformation will continue to take place through employment equity and black economic empowerment and other attempts to increase diversity in the workplace.
7.4. Other changes:
As human population doubles, the resources available per person will drop, and a remarkable transformation of industry can occur. Through this transformation, society will be able to create a vital economy that uses radically less materials and energy. This economy can free up resources, reduce taxes on personal income increase per capita spending on social ills and begin to restore the damaged environment of the earth. (Hawken, Lovins, & Hunter Lovins, 2010).
8. Conclusion
Workforce diversity refers to the existence of individuals with different cultural, economic and social backgrounds within an organization (Claretha, 2014). In the modern world, there is increased level of diversity in the workforce due to increased level of awareness and socioeconomic interactions among people. Therefore, organizations have become multicultural places which require effective communication to ensure organizational success. That is, in the modern global community, the workplaces in various organizations have become more culturally diverse (Claretha, 2014). This has had serious impact on the personal and professional relationships among employees depending on the communication model that is established in an organization. In addition, due to the increased level of competitiveness in the business environment, organizations have been forced to establish suitable framework to effectively manage human diversity. This paper will analyze the concept of workforce diversity and organizational communication and determine its benefits and possible disadvantages in relation to business success.
As small mobile groups of hunter-gatherers adopted a sedentary lifestyle, they mastered both agriculture and animal domestication. These small settled groups quickly evolved into cities and towns that encompassed the entire globe. Today the estimated population of the world is over 6.2 million people.1 As the population has grown, it has had several deleterious effects on the Earth. These include climate changes, the spread of diseases, declining food production, deforestation, and environment pollution (particularly air pollution). As people have become more conscious of these harmful effects, they have begun to devise strategies to combat this problem. Among the suggested responses include a switch to renewable energy, a call for zero population growth, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices.
With market globalization and international competition, firms have come to realise that a diverse workplace is a strong competitive advantage in today’s markets. It helps to attract a diverse customer base and provides new perspectives in an organization. We see diversity initiatives being implemented to improve corporate productivity and performance.
Workplace diversity includes the attributes, elements, and differences that set a person apart from others in the work setting. There are many factors that influence diversity including age, race, culture, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, education and work
Modern day organizations have to constantly change to meet the demands of customers. Workers have to change with the organizations to be able to perform new functions and complete new sophisticated tasks.
Working in today’s society has changed in the last few decades. The economy and technology are the main reasons for this change. The type of job and environment where one works has also changed. The fact that many people work from home via the internet has drastically changed the workforce and the environment surrounding it. With this change comes new demands, expectations, and opportunities for employers.
Environments: Environments should be designed in such a way that it facilitates staffs to work in a person-centred way.
The work place has changed through the course of the centuries. Technology and globalization are the causes of the change in the workplace in the twenty-first century. Who does what work, when, and how will continue to evolve as technology becomes increasingly more advanced and communication across the globe becomes more seamless.
It would be wise for organizations to pay extra attention to the study of diversity so that executives will be able to manage and determine new effective strategies to adapt to change in the workplace; also be prepared for leading organizations to achieve its desired goals for the future. Managing diversity appropriately can create a healthy work environment in the workplace and also encourage employees to be loyal toward organizations. “The challenge of implementing is to simulate managers and employees in the whole organization to work with pride and enthusiasm toward achieving stated goals and objectives” (David, 2011,
Without a doubt, the greatest asset an organization can have is its human resource. Therefore, issues affecting the staff have increasingly become popular among business managers, scholars, policy makers and other stake holders. One of the issues that have particularly generated sufficient interest is managing workforce diversity. O’leary & Weathington (2006) defines diversity simply as way of differentiating one person from another. Diversity is about recognizing and appreciating the uniqueness of each person. People can be different in terms of race, sexual orientation, age, gender and physical abilities just to mention a few (Burke 2007). As a result, workforce diversity has become a major business concern. Managing it should not be merely motivated by the potential of increasing the profit margin, but also should be to ensure the working environment is conducive, safe and nurturing (O’leary & Weathington 2006). Any business that manages its workforce effectively is bound to enjoy a number of benefits.
Employment relations refer to the relationship between the employer and the employee. Employment relations are governed by the provisions of the employment contract and/or collective agreement where applicable, common law principles and legislative provisions governing specific situations. Many factors in the external environment have an effect on the employment relations within an organization, which they need to monitor and possibly adapt to the necessary changes. The external environmental factors that would influence employment relations are political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental.
Diversity issues will gain importance because of the effective interactions and communications between the people. Diversity is the reality of the business world. It can have negative and positive impact on the employee’s behaviour towards work and work results. This also depends on how the employees have understood it and grasps it.
In Today’s world, the composition and how work is done has massively changed and is still continuing to change. Work is now more complex, more team base, depends greatly on technological and social skills and lastly more mobile and does not depend on geography. Companies are also opting for ways to help their employees perform their duties effectively so that huge profits are realized in the long term .The changes in the workplaces include Reduction in the structure of the hierarchy ,breakdown in the organization boundaries , improved and better management tactics and perspectives and lastly better workplace condition and health to the employees. (Frank Ackerman, Neva R. Goodwin, Laurie Dougherty, Kevin Gallagher, 2001)
The reduction of the Earth's resources has been closely linked to the rise in human population. For many thousands of years people lived in relative harmony with their surroundings. Population sizes were small, and life-supporting tools were simple. Most of the energy needed for work was provided by the worker and animals. Since about 1650, however, the human population has increased dramatically. The problems of overcrowding multiply as an ever-increasing number of people are added to the world's population each year.
Britain became major exporters. However these new working conditions were often very harsh and pay was very low. Workers went from the flexibility of working for themselves, or working with family ...