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The impact of workplace diversity in an organization
Primary dimensions of diversity management
The impact of workplace diversity in an organization
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“Rapid internationalization and globalization has enhanced the significance of workforce diversity”. (Shen, 2009) There is now a growing need for diversity management and interlacing cultural differences into the company’s core values. Within the last couple of decades human resource management has tied in diversity management with compliance to the EEOC and affirmative action. Going forward into the future, companies need to start looking at diversity in the workplace as an individual focus to utilize. “Less attention has been paid to valuing, developing and making use of diversity”. (Shen, 2009) The marketplace is changing rapidly, for a company to be successful the demographics in the work setting must be similar. “Diversity management does not only recognize but also values and harnesses workforce differences, such as individual characteristics, backgrounds, orientations, and religious beliefs, so that individual talents are being fully utilized and organizational goals are met”. (Shen, 2009) Not only are there benefits for external stakeholders to see a company’s diversity management successful, internally having different viewpoints and cultural backgrounds help bring new perspectives to problem solving. A study found that “a diverse workforce has a better quality solution to brainstorming tasks, displays more cooperative behavior relative to homogenous groups, and can raise organizational efficiency, effectiveness and profitability.” (Shen, 2009) Human resources’ role in diversity management is finding a way to implement a strategy to incorporate diversity into a corporation’s day-to-day activity. “Both HRM and diversity management are concerned with individual differences the development and well being of each and every ... ... middle of paper ... ...m-Line: The Metaphor Of "Managing Diversity." Journal Of Business Communication 40.1 (2003): 28-49. Business Source Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. 5.) Diversity Identity Management: An Organizational View Cole, Brooklyn, and Manjula Salimath. "Diversity Identity Management: An Organizational Perspective." Journal Of Business Ethics 116.1 (2013): 151-161. Business Source Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. 6.) Managing cultural diversity and the process of knowledge sharing Lauring, Jakob. "Managing Cultural Diversity And The Process Of Knowledge Sharing: A Case From Denmark." Scandinavian Journal Of Management 25.4 (2009): 385-394. Business Source Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. 7.) Workplace Diversity Practices "Workplace Diversity Practice." SHRM. SHRM, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. .
The Challange of Cultural Diversity in Corporate America The expanding conflict over cultural diversity in corporate America may present as many opportunities and problems as affirmative action. Today, cultural diversity is an important fact of life and business, due to the changing face of society, and therefore, the work place. It is growing ever more essential for people to interact with others outside of their racial, ethical, religious, regional, social, etc. boundaries. To stay on top of their competitors, corporations must change their approach, and see diversity not as a necessary evil, but as a source of enrichment and opportunity that may bring a wealth of benefits to the company.
Cañas, K. A., & Sondak, H. (2014). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
In summary, most workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse as people from different genders, races, cultures, ethnic origins, and lifestyles find themselves working together. The key to making diversity work is management. Knowing what they are and understanding what effects (positive or negative) they have on the organization is very important to the success of the company.
Being successful at managing workforce diversity involves attracting and retaining the highest quality individuals in the talent pool. For managers it means learning how to manage human potential sensitively. It requires an ever-increasing awareness of how people from different backgrounds deal with authority, communication, overall business etiquette, and relate to their communities of affiliation. Successful management of workforce diversity is a process that takes place in many stages and on many levels. It requires managers to first recruit a competent and qualified staff, then to accommodate individual needs within the context of the work team and the organization.
Pollar, Odette & Gonzalez, Rafael. (2011). Dynamics of diversity: strategic programs for your organization. Boston, MA: Crisp Pub Inc.
According to Kinicki, diversity represents the multitude of individual’s differences and similarities that exist among people. When developing a cultural diversity training program, one has to manage diversity with a new approach of inclusion and recognition. Managing diversity enables people to perform up to their maximum potential (Kinicki p. 111). As we analyze diversity, we will evaluate some common barriers and challenges in managing diversity. In developing a diversity program, we will analyze methods and procedures that will be apart of the program. Kinicki (p.*) says an important first step in overcoming these obstacles is for leaders to convey to their employees why the organization values diversity.
Business Firms and organization need to apply workforce diversity in their management. Diversity at the workplace is simply understood as the variation of skills, experience and ideas among employees. This can arise due to differences in various aspects like race, gender, religion and physical attributes. In addition to these, other discrepancies include national origin, medical conditions and so many more (Subbarao 98). Diversity among the workers is an important tool that often leads to prosperity in an organization hence the need for maximum application of this important business virtue.
Gender, racial, and ethnic diversity means different things to different people. Some believe that diversity is about quotas, and affirmative action. Others believe that diversity is something that will happen on its own with out intervention. Some experts who study diversity, however, believe that diversity is not something that should be left up to chance. It is important, therefore, for organizations to take action to encourage and foster diversity in the workplace (Clarke, 1995, p. 13).
Diversity in the workplace is very important in today’s global workforce because workers in the economy all over the world are currently made up of many different ethnicities, varied cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds. People that are involved in management such as managers, and supervisors could greatly benefit from being accustomed to diversity in the workplace because their job entails dealing with a multicultural work environment on a daily basis. Knowing how to handle diversity in the workforce and having the necessary skills for supervisors would be beneficial not only to them but also to the success of the company and economy because a strong, diversified workforce will create a more “creative, innovative, and productive workforce.” (Kerby, 2012).
Within an organization, diversity is considered a having a population of people that are of different races or cultures working collectively. From this collection of people, a variance of perspective is formed and talent is fostered in order to maximize performance. These great minds work
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...
Barak, M. E. (2005). Managing diversity: toward a globally inclusive workplace. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Schein in his book “Organizational Culture and Leadership” explains how different believes and behaviors start to be logical when we understand their cultures by stating “When we learn to see the world through cultural lenses, all kinds of things begin to make sense that initially were mysterious, frustrating, or seemingly stupid” (2010, p. 13). This kind of foresight should be the starting point in order to manage the tremendously growing diversity in the workforce nowadays. Leaders and administrators of both public and private organizations through their influence are responsible to promote and manage diversity in an ethical manner.
The impact of diversity in the workplace is contingent upon several factors. Across companies diversified workforces are becoming increasingly common. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, organizations are ensuring that employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds; are gaining an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves; and behaviors that isolate or intimidate minorities are being improved (Noe et al., 2010, pg. 302).
Today’s management in the workforce is composed of all types of people verses thirty years ago when white males held a majority of upper-management positions in companies. These positions are now held by a mixture of ethnic back grounds and women who hold just as many if not more management positions then men. Just by looking at the changes in management demographics shows how important it is for people to understand cultural competency in the workplace. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1999) stated, “Diversity is the collective mixture of whomever we have in our workforce characterized by their differences and similarities” (p.11). Managers and supervisors must understand the characteristics of a diversity mature individual; they also need to be able to articulate the differences between affirmative action, managing diversity, understanding and valuing diversity to build skills that transforms awareness into productive and supportive workplace behaviors.