Diversity Initiative – By definition
A strategic response formulated by top management of an organization to acknowledge, value, unify and manage the presence of variety among the workforce related to culture, religion, gender, age, national origin, race and their statuses. Meaning of diversity as defined in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010); the condition of being diverse: variety; especially: the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization; programs intended to promote diversity in schools. Even though the differences in the human factors are indisputable, corporations can reap enormous benefits from the existing diversity by valuing and managing it properly. Inclusion of diverse workforce, added persistence, and committed approach by the management will bring the intended outcome.
Need for Diversity
The need for diversity in an organization arises in order to unleash the potential of every member of the company’s workforce. Diversity management will cater to develop the critical skills of the employee’s thereby decrease turnover and absenteeism. Organizations can serve a wide range of customer base in many different markets with its diverse workforce; appeal the global market by the understanding of how various communities and cultures in the different parts of the world distinguish the products and services. The labor forces entering the emerging market are going to come from highly diverse demographics. Therefore, companies should be prepared to employ them. By employing a diverse workforce they can provide a variety of answers to issues in the field. Globalization is leading to the worldwide competitive markets for the production of goods and services to ...
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Workplace diversity is similarities and differences among employees in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, education personality. It is how people perceive others and how they perceive themselves. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For most of us it is a lifelong process of learning and dealing successfully with diversity.(Diversity in the work place, Oregon.gov)
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
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.
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.
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)
Diversity problems are currently thought of necessary and are projected to become even more necessary within the future because of increasing variations within the U.S. population. Corporations ought to target diversity and appearance for tactics to become all-inclusive organizations as a result of diversity has the potential of yielding bigger productivity and competitive blessings (SHRM, 1995). Stephen G. Butler, co-chair of the Business-Higher Education Forum, believes that diversity is a useful competitive asset that America cannot afford to ignore (Robinson, 2002). Managing and valuing diversity may be a key part of effective individuals management, which might improve work productivity (Black Enterprise, 2001).
Workforce diversity at the international level encompasses race, ethnic groups, gender, sexual orientation, educational background, socioeconomic and cultural statuses and norms (Pringle & Ryan, 2015). Diversity goes beyond how individuals at the workplace view themselves and touches on how people perceive their colleagues, bosses and their organisation (Greenberg, 2010). Adaptability, change and communication are some of the core issues that management and human resource departments have to handle well to address issues of diversity and perception towards diversity. The benefits associated with diversity include increased adaptability, broad range of service, divergent view points, and effective implementation of tasks (Greenberg,
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Managing workplace diversity well requires the creation of an wide-ranging environment that values and utilizes the contribution of people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspective. All organizations policies, practices and processes that impact on the lives of employees need to recognize the potential benefits that can be derived from having access to range of perspectives and to take account of these differences in managing the workplace. Work systems, organizational structures, performance appraisal measurements, recruitment and selection practices and career development opportunities all have impact on the organizational behavior upon the management of diversity.
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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:
“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)
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...