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America is often referred to as “The Melting Pot” of the world. With this appellation, it is not wrong to assume that the U.S. has one of the most diverse cultures. Conversely, a majority percentage of people in America would disagree with this sentiment and argue that the U.S. is comprised of many subgroups. These subgroups vary based on race and skin color and are hardly “melted” together. This apparent racial divide is very common in many American corporations as well. Management researchers have found that maintaining a racially diverse workforce has been proven to have many important benefits within a corporation. For example, having a racially diverse workforce can help match the culture of the customers in the economy to build trust, provide new and differing insights, and right some of the wrongs caused by racism and sexism in our society. Facilitating diversity is not easy, and many organizations have encountered challenges from attempting to do so. Fortunately, there actions that organizations can take to overcome these challenges in order to make diversity a reality. Increasing diversity in an organization can drastically change the way customers view and trust the company as a whole. It can be the difference that causes a customer to choose one company over another. For example, City Side Financial Services recognized this fact in the article we read, “Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services”, and set forth to boost their diversity. Some of the steps that Cityside took in order to realize the benefits that diversity can bring to their organization were to hire based on local demographics and break into two different teams to handle different types of accounts. Cityside was located in an increasingly African-A... ... middle of paper ... ...tly creating an internal racial divide, and giving off a sense of superficial diversity. Organizations can overcome these challenges by administering a company wide survey to collect the thoughts of the employees and by giving the employees a means for anonymous opinion sharing during meetings. The challenges of implementing a diverse workforce structure more than outweigh the problems that arise from a racist and sexist organization. It is necessary for companies in our society to be diverse, and for that reason, overcoming the challenges that occur is something that organizations simply have to deal with. In my personal experience, working for companies that are diverse in their culture are immensely more successful. Having unique insights from males, females, African-Americans and whites lead to the most collaborative and successful organizations in the country.
Diversity in the retail marketplace is something that is significant to the company’s success. Retailers are comprised of people selling things to people. Thus, the people that do the selling must be a good representation of the people that are doing the buying. Companies that are well diversified in their hiring practices, as well as organizational goals, are well recognized by the public. Likewise, companies that are unjust in the functioning of their company will be viewed in a negative light, which could lead to decreased sales and company accountability. Taking this into consideration, observing the diversity profiles for two major retail companies can lead to a firm understanding behind their success and company values.
The core standards of America are founded, in principle, on the basis of its diversity and equality among citizens. Begin- ning with its Declaration of Independence, the United States distinguished itself from other modern nation-states by establishing a country of men who were different but equal. Yet, despite the unifying images America projects within and beyond its borders, the idea behind E Pluribus Unum does not resound as one might assume it would.
The climate and landscapes of America are as diverse as the 300 million people that live here, and the choices to which region to live this often determined by the cultures and traditions of its people. Most citizens chose to live in (or around) one of America’s largest cities, where you will be exposed to the unlimited diversity of races, cultures, art and architecture. Other people may prefer to live in much smaller cities or towns, where one culture may be more traditional and consistent. There are many American’s who prefer to live in a more rural or private area, like in remote mountains, isolated forests or vast desserts. Yet wherever a person lives within the United States of America, there will be a blending of heritages, the mixing of traditions and the merging lifestyles. The immense combinations of people and cultures have been brought here from all around the world. Since the beginning of the Spanish settlements in the West, to the earliest European colony in the East, America has had a great mix of multicultural peoples living together. For instance the millions of ‘Native Americans’(living amongst their native cultures for thousands of years) were the first peoples/tribes encountered by European inhabitors when reaching this continent (which later became the United States of America). This excessive gathering of diverse peoples: in a new land, holding on to their own customs and cultures, has created the America we know today. This combination of multi-cultural people, are who formed together and later gained their independence through war and became a strong and powerful nation. The history of America’s ‘mixed inhabitants’ is complex yet fascinating. America has been called ‘The Melting Pot’ of the world, ...
Diversity in the work place has generally been thought of as purely an employment equity issue. However, diversity is coming to be recognized as an asset which can, like any other asset that is well managed, contribute to the bottom line. Diversity is growing almost as quickly as the number of software vendors at an accounting convention (Talbot-Allen, 1995, p. 3)
Now more than ever a company needs to be diverse in their leadership and throughout the entire company. Moreover, to reach this extraordinarily diverse market, it takes an extremely diverse workforce that is able to tap into to their various differences to understand exactly what a diverse customer base needs and wants, which provides greater innovation in productivity. Furthermore, research has proven that for every 1 percent rise in gender diversity there is an increase in sales of 3% and in for each 1 percent increase in ethnic diversity there is a 9% rise in sales, this can equate large revenues for the firm that reaps the rewards of having a diverse staff (Smedley, 2014).
As the borders that once divided global citizens continually fade it is critical for corporate leaders acknowledge the importance of diversity management. Gone are the days of corporate leaders talking about diversity put placing little action behind it. Parks (2008) explained that diversity management has become more than tracking the number of minorities reflected in your workforce and evolved into a creating an inclusive work environment which embraces the varying perspectives utilizing in benefit of organizational goals (p 1). These varying perspectives can include the standard protected classification such as religion, race, culture, handicaps and sexual orientation as well as other aesthetic factor. Managing diversity holistically as the business necessity increases team collaboration, productivity and efficiency. “Recent studies of factors that moderate the relationship between cultural diversity and work group effectiveness have begun to make some sense of these findings, suggesting that when group members share common goals and values, cultural diversity leads to more beneficial outcomes" (Ely & Thomas, 2001, p235). In a world where the slightest accusation of discrimination can cause an organization millions in public image rehabilitation, there are still organizations that haven’t embraced the importance of properly maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment. Abercrombie & Fitch’s challenges with diversity management are well documented. The clothing retailers history of discrimination centering on the CEO Mike Jeffries and his controversial “look policy” have resulted in multiple discrimination law suits, a battered brand image and plummeting profit margins.
The foundation for developing an effective diversity management program relies on leadership commitment and the CEO should communicate the organization’s position on diversity management and his or her sincere belief in the importance of diversity (Cañas & Sondak, 2010). Indra Nooyi, the current Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, is a leader who demonstrates a strong passion for managing diversity. In this paper I will be discussing Indra Nooyi’s personal and professional background, the status of diversity within PepsiCo before her role as CEO, the leadership philosophy on managing diversity Indra Nooyi has taken, the strategies she has used to implement diversity management, and her diversity related goals. I will conclude with a discussion on the current status of PepsiCo in terms of diversity, their future diversity goals and how Nooyi’s diversity management efforts have affected the overall success of the company as a whole.
This document will explore what a company can do to foster diversity in the workplace. The business case highlights the development and implementation of organizational initiatives that could:
Jefferson P. Marquis, Nelson Lim, Lynn M. Scott, Margaret C. Harrell, Jennifer Kavanagh "Managing Diversity in Corporate America, An Exploratory Analysis" Rand Corporation. Web. 29 June 2015.
In many companies, employees feel diversity ix not an organizational priority. Diversity has to be apart of...
Diversity is a highly important issue in today’s business, especially in a globalized company. Workplace diversity helps to get better solutions to business problems (Schawbel, 2012). When you have a group of individ...
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) defines diversity as “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements; especially, the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization”. In general, diversity is often only related with differences in race and gender. In actuality, numerous elements can determine diversification in the workplace. Elements such as skills, abilities, experience, values, age, and education could be part of a diverse footprint in an organization. Other important attributes related to diversity include disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, and marital status (Guillame et al., 2013). The adoption of diversity in the workplace has the potential to increase organizational effectiveness in many ways. Organizations that practice diversity tend to increase their capacity to innovate and make better decisions.
"Each person's map of the world is as unique as the person's thumbprint. There are no two people alike. No two people who understand the same sentence the same way . . . So in dealing with people, you try not to fit them to your concept of what they should be." (Milton Erickson)
Diversity is all around us and how organizations deal with the notion of diversity can be complex and quite diverse. We know that being diverse in the workplace is important to the organization's success, should be recognized, accepted, and embraced. It’s how the organizations live up to what they believe in and must go above and beyond legal compliance and requirements to promoting diversity and inclusion. Otherwise, employees may view the organization's vision and policies as lip service and only be tolerant of diversity because the organization said so.
In my readings, I have agreed with the term for culture in the book?? Cultural Diversity?? written by Jerry V. Filled. It states that "One 's culture becomes one?s paradigm, defining what is real and what is right.? in other words culture is taught to children by family it is a variety of learned behaviors, beliefs, values, traditions etc. All of which help shape a person and is a huge portion of who they are.