Benefits Of Managing Diversity

Managing diversity is defined as “the practice of addressing and supporting multiple lifestyles and personal characteristics within a defined group. Management activities includes educating the group and providing support for the acceptance of and respect for various racial, cultural, societal, geographic, economic and political backgrounds” by the businessdictionary.com (2016). On the other hand, equal opportunity is defined as “Principle of non-discrimination which emphasizes that opportunities in education, employment, advancement, benefits and resource distribution, and other areas should be freely available to all citizens irrespective of their age, race, sex, religion, political association, ethnic origin, or any other individual or group

al 2000). Changes in the collective view on equal opportunities have become a part of business practice and culture (Carnevale and Stone 1994). Christensen (1993) says, “as society becomes ever more diverse, the challenge of responding to cultural diversity will heighten in the hotel industry because the service offering is a social experience that is culturally relative and defined”. These are reasons why managing diversity has become crucial, but in fact, organisations can gain many benefits from managing diversity effectively.

One of these benefits is improving “equality and service quality simultaneously” (Maxwell et. al 2000). Gardenswartz and Rowe (1998) explain that developing employee skills and potential may ensure a healthy return on investment from human capital. It also amplifies the possibility to recruit and retain the best talents, decreasing turnover (Ross and Schneider, 1992) and ensuring that costumers receive a “quality service experience that at least meets their expectations” (Nykiel,

Whether we are talking about ageing workforce in Australia, which was predicted to rise by 33% for males and 51% for females by 2005, or female workers building the majority of the workforce in the USA by 2000. It is difficult to predict what effect these trends will have on the work environment and employee productivity, either positive or negative. Diversity and equal opportunities in general, I believe, will have a positive impact in terms of increasing communication and ultimately job satisfaction.

To put it in a nutshell, this report has shown insight into why it may be challenging to manage cultural diversity within a Hospitality Management organization, as well as why it may be considered a priority. A definition of the term diversity management has been given and from the case study concrete examples of benefits that may arise from encouraging diversity and standing up for equality have been presented.

In this report I have also shared my personal thoughts on managing diversity and equality in the hospitality industry, future trends, and how these may influence the work environment and employee