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Importance of diversity in organizations
Importance of diversity in organizations
Importance of diversity in organizations
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Operations Management and Ethical Issue
According to Aquilano, Chase, and Jacobs (2005), "Operations management (OM) is defined as the design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm's primary products and services" (p.19).
Operations management is a dynamic field and presents exciting new issues and challenges for operations managers. For example, Maura Sprenger, human resources director at Techno Inc., a fast growing information technology company, is faced with a very difficult issue between winning a multimillion dollar business contract with Apex Company or run the risk of causing a very knowledgeable and valuable employee to quit.
Sprenger faces a dilemma on ethical issues related to diversity in the workplace. And the risk of losing a deal with Apex company, a large client. In addition, Techno presents a false expectation to Apex Company to close a deal which would run the rise of losing the contract deal.
Jack Ridge, Techno's vice president for sales and marketing department tries to sell a major contract to Apex and with a visit to was Apex's headquarter Ridge is impressed with Apex's diversity program. Ridge is under the impression that executives at Apex are very proactive about the diversity of its workforce and likes its vendors to reflect the same commitment.
Techno has its own employee diversity committee, staff training, and recruiting efforts, however, the staff's diversity is very limited. Because Ridge does not want to send the wrong message to Apex and prevent a lucrative contract he decided he needs to have a player from a minority group, therefore, he picked James Tellis, an African American who is Techno's rising star from the research department who knows the technology and industry and has met with other clients before.
Tellis knows that he ask to be at the sales presentations because he is a minority and he will not be allowed to participate in working on the Apex project. However, Tellis and Sprenger worried that because Tellis will not be working on the Apex's project this will create a false expectations to Apex and Techno would lose the contract. Also, Tellis is very resentful of having to attend the sales presentation because he does not want executives at Techno to use him as a sales tool because of his color.
Operations management is essential for the survival and success of any organization. According to Heizer & Render (2011), operations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. Operations managers today contend with competition, globalization, inflation, consumer demand, and consistent change in technology. Managers must focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes such as cost, dependability, distribution, flexibility, and speed. The intent of this paper is to discuss the processes and operations management of the Kroger Company.
...ly manages diversity is critical as organizations attempt to attract, motivate, and retain employees from a workforce that is growing in variety and complexity. American business will not be able to survive if we do not have a large diverse workforce, because those are the demographics. The company that gets out in front of managing diversity will have a competitive edge.
Diversity management initiatives are long term and strategic in focus. They strive not only to recruit, but to actively develop, promote and capitalize on the different skills and perspectives of minority employees (Marquis, 2007.) Every day, peopl...
Gardenswartz, Lee, and Rowe, Anita, Diverse Teams At Work, Capitalizing on the Power of Diversity. Irwin Professional Publishing 1994.
Diversity is a reality in today’s workplace. It shouldn’t be merely tolerated but valued for what it brings to the organization. ‘It’s not about assisting the individual to “fit into” the corporate culture by “fixing” what is different about them.1
Problem: What is the ' The company’s cultural change, which is still ongoing, may lead to a decrease in employees’ morale. As AirTran’s employees continue to embrace Southwest Airlines culture, the issues emerging from this organizational change remain a priority. Another internal challenge for Southwest Airlines is the conflicting management style and business operations with AirTran. On top of that, the external challenges such as the increase in competition and gas prices are some of the issues Southwest Airlines will have to overcome in the future.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Thomas, Jr., R. Roosevelt, (1991). Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of Your Total Work Force by Managing Diversity.
Once plans have been developed, an organization must address how management will be accomplishing be those plans. This involves operational plans that must flow from strategy; specify resource, time issues, and commitment of human resources. Operational plans at the lower - levels of the organization, have a shorter time horizon, and are narrower in scope (Bateman, Snell 2003 p.113). A good example of this is Wal-Mart's main strategic goal. It is to provide quality merchandise at an affordable low cost to consumers. Its operational goals focus on efficient logistics requiring technology and inventory management systems to help reduce costs so it can be passed on to the customer. Operational plans are derived from a tactical plan and are aimed at achieving one or more operational goals (Bateman, Snell 2003 p.113).
Operational level: This is concerned with how the component parts of an organisation deliver effectively. It includes staff likes nurses, doctors, technical, Advisory, analysts, administration.
Diversity in the work place and the ideas from all its unique employees is crucial to enhancing the work environment and to boosting the company’s growth. Having a male dominated work place gives little room for outside ideas. In the article, Diversity - The Gift That Keeps Giving states that “According to Professor Roy Y.J. Chua, “The more your network includes individuals from different cultural backgrounds, the more you will be creatively stimulated by different ideas and perspectives...Importantly, these ideas do not necessarily come from the network members who are culturally different from you.” Having different perspectives give a company the upper hand when compared to other companies that only have similar minded employees working together.
Operations management focuses on managing the processes of producing and distributing products and services. Operations activities often include product creation, development, production and distribution. It deals with all operations within the organization. Related activities include managing purchases, inventory control, quality control, storage, logistics and evaluations. The nature of how operations management is carried out in an organization depends very much on the nature of products or services in the organization, for example, retail, manufacturing, wholesale, etc.
Koonce, R. (2013). Redefining diversity: It's not just the right thing to do; it also makes good business sense. Training and Development, Web. 25 June 2014.
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.
people who are different from each other to diverse the company culture to find different viewpoints and ideas to gain Competitive advantage (Simmons, 1996). Organizations that are lacking diversification and which are also being exposed to the general approach of minimizing the discrimination and injustice will unfavorably affect both customer and employee while diminishing the relationships with both parties (Kundu, 2001). Peters et al. (1982) conveyed that OC should create a diverse body of employees, customers and stakeholders that are being valued and integrated in to all dimensions of the work where that particular company may learn from the people they serve, by listening internally and externally to them.
Operations management strategies play an important role in any organization to achieve organizational goals. An organization uses these operations strategies to maintain and control all its operations...