Discuss about the Understanding and Managing Diversity.
Manoharan, Gross and Sardeshmukh (2013) describe diversity as a characteristic that identifies the differences that exist among members of a group which include visible factors like age, gender, race as well as ethnicity and it also includes invisible features like personality, education and lifestyle among other factors. Against this background, the focus of this paper is to discuss the relevance of gender as an important component of diversity to the tourism and hospitality industry. The paper starts by explaining the meaning of gender diversity and this is followed by outlining the relevance of gender to the tourism sector. The main body of the paper discusses the benefits and gains to businesses that embrace this form of diversity as well as the costs and consequences to those businesses that fail to account for this form of diversity. The last part outlines the measures that ought to be taken into account organizations in the tourism and hospitality industry to manage gender diversity in their work practices.
Gender refers to the method that is used to make a distinction between male and female roles on the basis of societal expectations placed on each group (Robbins, 1993). The issue of gender has historically been associated with sexual orientation where the women were viewed as inferior to their male counterparts. Thus, gender inequality is viewed as the oldest and most common issue of diversity in different places (Shen et al, 2009).The historical role of women in particular has been associated with child caring and other household chores while men were viewed as the breadwinners in the family. However, various studies have suggested that apart from biological differences, there few if any other differences between men and women that can affect their job performance (Robbins, 2000). Women are increasingly being empowered in different scenarios to perform various tasks that were often viewed as a preserve for their male counterparts.
Schanzel and Yeoman (2015) suggest that the continuing change in gender roles and parenting behaviour have significantly influenced family holiday experiences in different situations. It can be seen that both mothers and fathers are increasingly embracing the notion of gender equality that is characterised by shared responsibility. Traditional roles of women related to weekend shopping with kids are also increasingly being challenged as they also actively participate in other leisure related activities. Research has shown that females represent the fastest growing demographic group that now actively participates and demand leisure activities in sectors that were previously viewed as male dominated (Schanzel and Yeoman, 2015).
Women were often expected to stay at home caring for the children while men would frequent various leisure destinations. The rate of family travel is also predicted to grow faster than all other types of leisure travel mainly because it is viewed as the best way of reuniting members of the family away from other demanding tasks of work (Schanzel and Yeoman, 2015). Female participation in the tourism sector is also gaining prominence in the tourism and hospitality sector. On the other hand, both blended families and those comprising of single parents are increasingly seeking travel destinations that offer them relaxation environments. As a consequence, it can be seen that the tourism sector should embrace the aspect of gender diversity in their operations so as to be able to cater for the needs of diversified genders not males alone as was previously the case in some instances.
It is imperative for the organizations that operate in the tourism industry to adopt demographic diversity in their workforce. According to Jackson and Schuler (2010), demographic diversity reflects the degree and mix of characteristics such as age, sex, race as well as nation of origin. However, in this case focus is on gender whereby it can be seen that companies that operate in the tourism industry ought to create gender balance in their workforce so that they can be capable to cater for the needs and tastes of all tourists who may visit their places at any given time. There are certain issues that may be of interest to the tourists but are gender specific. For instance, pregnant mothers have special needs that ought to be catered for since they also have a right to enjoy leisure in different tourist destinations. This means that the right person should fill that position in order to help the company to attract the visitors who may be particular about gender related issues.
Managing diversity is a very important component of management during the contemporary period since this helps to create a harassment free environment in the workplace where the employees also feel respected. There are quite a number of benefits that can be derived from managing diversity. For instance, managing gender diversity is beneficial in that it promotes creativity, productivity as well as morale among the people in a particular setup (Amayilah, 2015). Organizations that promote gender diversity are in a better position to appeal to the interests of the employees since they are motivated by sense of belonging to the company that is created among them. Motivation in the workplace also helps to improve productivity in the company. Employees who work in the tourism sector can put optimum performance if they are satisfied by their working conditions which in turn help to attract more visitors if they are happy about the quality of services they get from the company.
The other issue is that managing diversity in the organization helps to promote employee engagement which is very important creating unity among the employees while at the same time minimizing chances of conflicts which can affect their performance (Skalsky and McCarthy, 2009). Equality and fairness are also promoted in the organization if the management prioritizes the aspect of gender diversity in their operations. When both men and women are treated as equal, they are likely to improve their performance since they are all treated as important not just mere workers. Diversity management is also beneficial in that it helps the organization to be responsive to social and demographic changes (Amayilah, 2015). In order for the company to be in a better position to keep pace with these changes, it should adopt a policy framework that promotes gender diversity so that it can cater for the needs of all the stakeholders.
Improper management of diversity can negatively impact on the operations of the organization (Bergen, 2002). For instance, morale among the employees can be negatively affected which in turn affects their performance. Employee relations in the organization also suffer a great deal as a result of the fact that conflicts are likely to be witnessed. These are counterproductive since the company operating in the tourism sector can end up failing to attract customers as a result of the poor customer service they will be getting from the firm. The other issue is that organizations that fail to handle gender issue properly are likely to witness staff turnover since the employees will be demotivated. This is costly to the organization since it may fail to attract as well as to retain talented employees who can positively contribute to its overall performance.
Diversity management is a virtue in any business since it can be noted that workforces in different businesses are increasingly being characterised by people from diverse backgrounds. It important for organizations that operate in the tourism sector to put measures that are meant to promote gender equality between men and women so that they can positively contribute towards iproved productivity as well as overall performance of the organization as a whole. Amaliya (2015) posits that gender equity in the workplace significantly contributes to increased morale among the employees which is beneficial to the company. This also means that the quality of customer service is greatly improved. This in turn helps to attract many tourists to the company. Overall, proper management of gender diversity helps the company to gain competitive advantage since the tourists in particular are satisfied by the quality of service they get from the company rather than the service itself.
Conclusion
Over and above, it can be seen that the concept of diversity encompasses different factors that differentiate individuals from each other. As discussed above, gender is one of the major components of diversity and is topical in different organizational settings. Gender has been historically used to suppress women in various aspects of life in male dominated societies. However, this trend is changing as women are also increasingly being empowered to perform other tasks that were previously viewed as a preserve for the males. Like any other industry, the tourism sector affected by issues related to gender which calls for the actors in this sector to carefully manage gender diversity in order to improve their operations.
References
Amayilah, I. (2015). “The Importance of Workplace Diversity Management .” International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research Volume 17, No 2, pp 175-182.
Barak, M. et al. (2011). Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Bergen, C.W. et al., (2002). Unintended Negative Effects of Diversity Management. Public Personel Management, Vol. 31 No. 2 Summer 2002: 239-251.
Edewor, P.A & Aluko, Y.A. (2007)“Diversity Management, Challenges and Opportunities in Multicultural Organizations.” International Journal of Diversity, Volume 6, Number 6.
Jackson, S.E. & Schuler, R.S. (2010). Managing Human resources: A Partnership perspective. 7th Edition. Boston: South Western College Publishing.
Manoharan, A., Gross, M.J. & Sardeshmukh, S.R. (2013). “Two sides of the same coin: Benefits and challenges of employing an ethnically diverse workforce in Australian hotels.” Anzam. School of Management, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Robbins, S.P. (1993). Organizational behavior: Concepts, controversies and applications. 6th Edition. New jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Robbins, Stephen P. 2000. Organizational Behavior, 9th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Shen, J. et al. (2009). “Managing diversity through human resource management: An international perspective and conceptual framework.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 20, No. 2, p. 235–251.
Skalsky, P. & McCarthy, G. (2009). Diversity Management in Australia and its Impact on Employee Engagement. World at Work, 5p.
Schanzel, H.A. & Yeoman, I. (2015). “Trends in family tourism”, Journal of Tourism Futures,Vol. 1 Issue: 2, pp.141-147.
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