Equal Opportunities Or Managing Diversity In Organisations Are These J

Introduction

Equal opportunities are very important in the modern workplace. Providing equal opportunities involves providing the same opportunities to all the employees and prospective employees regardless of their sex, age, disabilities, ethnic origins, sexual orientations etc. Equal opportunities allow the employee to have rights therefore the employer is unable to take advantage, discriminate or manipulate staff. Employers have an element of power over their employees but by having the law on the side of the employees, employers therefore need to think twice before discriminating in any form. Organisations will need to ensure that there is no unlawful or unfair discrimination. Employees are not stupid – a company that behaves badly to one employee will do the same to another, and then one day it could be them.

In the workplace there should be no form of discrimination. Alleged cases of discrimination can be taken to an industrial tribunal or a body such as the Race Relations Board.

“The prejudiced person is capable of rationalising the situation in a such a way as to conclude that the person he or she met unique in some respects and is unlike stereotype.”

(McKenna 1994)

Employee View

When you start work you have several expectations. For one thing, you expect to get paid, unless you are a voluntary worker. You also expect to be paid a fair wage in relation to other people in similar jobs and to receive money at specified times. You expect to be treated fairly and reasonably by both your boss and by others who work within the same organisation. You expect to work in a clean and safe environment and not be asked to undertake dirty or dangerous jobs for which you have received no training or protective clothing. You expect to have holidays and to work a reasonable number of hours each week.

As an Employee you have a right to:

§ To be given a written statement of the terms and conditions of your employment

§ Be allowed to choose whether or not you join a trade union

§ Not to be discrimi...

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...sconception. People are not equal not can they have equal opportunities. Native talents vary from person to person and it is an illusion to think otherwise.

Moreover the human resource manager spends a great deal of time discriminating between one employee and another. Differences between employees abound the terms of skills, attitudes, human relations, education and so on. People are not equal and therefore their opportunities for advancement or achievement of personal aims will differ markedly.

The key issues for human resourcing is that the respect for people requires that they are free to stay and use their skills and abilities in the way they want. Organisations cannot provide equal opportunities but they can provide open access to selection processes and ensure that discrimination between candidates is not based on unfair or unlawful factors.

Equal opportunities is important in companies. First an organisation will want to ensure that it meets any statutory provision. Secondly, it may wish to project an image as a good employer to demonstrate that it puts faith in its people both to attract and to retain employees and also as part of a customer-oriented strategy.