The Importance Of Diversity In The Workplace And Its Drivers

Drivers for Diversity

Question:

You have to research and prepare an academic essay on The challenges and rewards of managing a diverse work force.The essay task requires critically evaluatation of  chosen topic statement, discussing the arguments for and against the statement.

In spite of that the fact that there are certain challenges to put into practice and administer diverse work force, the advantages obtained from diversity are incredible and worth assigning purposeful endeavors to make sure a winning accomplishment. In an organization HR is believed to be a source of competitive advantage thus, diversity improves this feature and strengthen the circumstances of worth, complexity, incapability to be emulated and complexity to relocate. Founded on the relationship to RBV, quite a few studies have categorized diversity into two categories, i.e., demographic and human capital. Demographic diversity indicates the set of unchallengeable and visible characteristics, such as nationality, race, orientation, gender, physical ability or age.

While, Human capital diversity are the the less noticeable traits such as an individual’s aptitudeto carry out definite tasks. (Pollitt, 2005) emphasized in his research that Human Resource Management diversity is not only about making sure a alternate workforce in terms of physical ability, religion, age gender or ethnicity. It is really about the worth to the organization that puts into practice equality and enclosure, it’s the worth of a diverse set of points of view, thoughts and practice (Andrea & Marie, 2013).

Organizing diversity in a workplace is said as the measures considered and carried out through human resource management to put into practice a diversity model in the organization and make sure make the most of the probable targeted benefits and reducing the anticipated difficulties. Diversity management does not only differentiates but also ties together the disparities of workers and value them, such as individual characteristics, diverse backgrounds, orientations and religious beliefs, so that individual capacities are fully engaged and objectives of the organization are meet. Despite the fact that Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) strategies are determined by legislative, diversity management is determined by the precise business case of each and every organization.

Drivers for Diversity

Understanding how profit can be obtained from applying diversity is better when appearing at the reasons behind the requirements for diversity. It is the want for a new set of new capabilities in this swiftly altering world. In this day and age there are chief inclination drivers giving emphasizing to the role of variety and insertion. These drivers are technological advancements globalization and immigration, amplified requirement for specific education and skills, and the rising aging workforce around the world.

Immigration & Globalization

Globalization is the most important factor which has impact on human resources. There are precise abilities that are required in order to guide businesses with customers and partners from around the world into accomplishment, as well as operating with team members and employees from diverse backgrounds. Divers categories of employees can give the necessary expert employees to deal with all types of customers and partners. In the same way, immigration has distorted the face of many workforces all over the world which also insist for greater than before cultural capability, and an importance for making sure winning diversity strategy.

Demographic Shifts

In developing countries, high economic growth rates that are coupled with insufficient numbers of skilled workers result in high levels of turnover. The labor pool in developed countries like United States, Canada and European Union is aging, which triggers the demand for reassessing employee prospect, increase flexibility and needs. These coordinated tendencies call for altering conventional events of employing and keeping workforces.

Technology

Fast technological advancements had to great degree amplified convenience to information and gives clearness in organizations. In today’s era Global communication has become easy and faster than ever. The free accessibility of information improves the purpose of diversity by offering employees and managers the right of entry to resources and teaching and adds to prospects of employees concerning the directness of the culture and elasticity (Leigh, 2014).

Socio-Political Environment

Strong political, nationalist and religious splits are quickly growing in communities all over the world and managing these receptive clashes and building a culture of diversity and enclosure within the business in spite of these types of splits is a most important and vital process nowadays.

Advantages of Diversit

This is run into due to employees’ pleasure of being treated moderately, likewise valued and the organization is protecting their self-respect which generates better productivity, happiness and motivation. According to a research of (Ilmakunnas, P, 2011) a mixed worker comprise of both genders, , old and young, and people with varied work experiences is a enjoyable environment to work in. It also conveys economic benefits to workers. For example, a diverse image workers is going to profit productivity and therefore it will be mirrored on individual salaries too (Sanchez, Vinces, & Apellaniz, 2011).

Productivity & Financial Performance

The right policies of diversity have an effect on productivity in production purpose, a mixed or diversified staff achieves better than a non-diversified staff. Different skills and practices are placed harmonizing to each other, such as that younger personnel can learn from the older and experienced employees, younger personnel can also be more creative than older workers. In studies made by EthnoConnect, a most vital multicultural marketing consultant in the US- Soon (Lee, 2014) the chief specialist and advertising guru, declared that “Overseas administrators are enormously winning in the American business world because of internationalization and globalization. People from India and China profit U.S. firms with their astral quantitative skills. And people from Swiss, Germany, Britain, and French- do well in high-level jobs”.

A research done on Catalyst nonprofit organization on 354 of 500 Fortune companies discovered that the “Financial Performance is Higher in the Companies which have more women at the Top” which give emphasis on the fact that good corporate governance is connected with gender diversity (Lahiri, 2008).

Organizational Culture

Diversity has a great consequence on organizational culture as it extremely emphasizes on attaining ordinary organization objectives rather than individual ones, which was established to be a cause behind enhanced quality management end result of a varied set of problem resolving aptitudes in a project group. According to a research it was found that the amplification of number of women in the employees is taking the business towards horizontal managerial structure. The horizontal structure by itself improves practices and policies to make the most of the positive influence of diversity.

Demographic Shifts

Employee obligation & Group Dynamics

When the human resource managers put into practice the best practices of diversity and equal breaks, the promise of workers to the organization and their work groups is elevated. It reduces the likelihood of absenteeism and attrition, which practices workers normally follow to keep away from stress, unnecessary dissatisfaction or low morale. Hence, high pretention between the brilliant labor force and the organization has proved to have a constructive effect on the capability to managing personal conflicts, and it also produces a greater level of contribution, agreement and accord while following solutions for the project which creates better decision making (Ilmakunnas, & Ilmakunnas, 2011).

New Products and Services

Diversity strains ideas in balanced development firing bigger imagination and novelty. It can stimulate deliberation of “less blatant options”. These outcomes are the result of thriving needs of new products and services that meets the customers’ expectations and demands, because each varied individual symbolizes a section in the market to be beleaguered, and is more conscious of the needs of these segment consumers.

LOREAL Diversity is Innovation

The cosmetic giant’s modus operandi for diversity management is

 INCLUSION = INNOVATION & SUCCESS+ INNOVATION =  INCLUSION + DIVERSITY

This simple formula controls many functions in LOREAL

According to Sumita Banerjee, Vice President of Loreal, USA “The staffing of varied aptitude for our organization is significant to our capability to construct our business and impel growth in future.” Loreal links with skilled talent holders such as stupendous women in through references, inrecruitment fairs, through placement consultants etc.

Better and Bigger Talent Pool

An organization which has a good repute of supporting effectual diversity polices is more capable of attracting a diverse employees set and finding the top quality employees becomes much easier for such organization. When employing the ideal set of varied talents, the competitive environment of organization is hoisted and therefore performance is raised. Also in a growth plan, the company will have all the needed skills to better converse with clients and companies from a range of parts and countries and this is the way it can keep up with globalization and migration trends that were mentioned earlier in the essay (Edwards, Robinson, and Woodall, 1999).

Economic Growth

A study was made by The Center for American Progress, and it was found in that study that economic growth of the country is moving ahead and is joined with the increase of minorities and women inflowing the personnel chiefly at the entrepreneurial level. The National Association of Women Business Owners stated that “women possessed 1.8 million firms, engaged 1.3 million people and made $164 billion in profits annually, as of 2005, another report by National Women’s Business Council, Minority reported that Latin’s industry owners only have “created $55.6 billion between 2003 and 2011

Exchanging awareness and Forming New Attitudes

For example, in Western countries the culture is that the time is money and deadlines are vital in business, while in Arab countries giving deadlines is considered to be rude and there is no time set for performing important tasks. Swap those insights and putting together those with presently adopted ones can turn out better and improved attitudes that can help in better performance to the company. A model projected by (Beena, 2004) shows how team performance will be have an effect on diverse awareness of time.

Technology

Better Image

Companies who support diversity have better image, reputation and status and might be positioned and honored for putting into practice diversity ( Kirton and Greene, 2005). . Because of a better brand image and name it would be easier for the company to attract best talent in the market. While there are many advantages of diversity, there are also some challenges in having a diverse workforce, these challenges are mostly a product of people’s resistance which can be prevail over assured events and gradually get rid of negative effects of diversity. Some of the most common challenges in diversity are –

Resistance to Change

This is the chief challenge which comes into force while putting into practice diversity in a workplace, for long recognized corporate, the staff might be very opposed to change which is an obstruction to the varied workforce who wants to survive in the organization.

Interpersonal Conflict

Even though diversity can lead to more creativity and enhanced problem solving; it might also lead to conflict and disorder if there is lack of admiration amongst group members. As organizations raise into more varied, they might face superior peril that employees will not work together efficiently and conflicts may become the custom (Morgan, 2014).

It happens if people allocate individuality to the whole group rather than reviewing each individual on his own qualities, and if unconstructive attitude is formed, it might result to pestering. This manner can in future lead to the employee leaving the company which can cost the company A diversity plan should be put into practice effectively to keep away from such issues. The best way to conquer these challenges is to increase knowledge of the diversity plan and the positive points of diversity to the employees, as well as to the whole business. Training programs should start with managers and should also cover all the employees, which is advantageous in making sure that the awareness is not underestimated.

It is vital for organizations to realize that Diversity is about people and people need to be taught about acknowledging this change. Employees can oppose and have unconstructive attitudes which can in future affect the whole environment off the company. It is needed for the workers to be conscious and be trained on agreeing to and even endorsing diversity. Another significant factor in conquering the challenges are the right HR s and policies to put into practice the diversity; this can best be done through top level management (Shen, Chandra, D’Netto, & Monga, 2013). 

Conclusion

In a globally competitive business world, having a varied workforce is becoming a norm. It offers the organization with a variety of competitive advantages in the market which differs from a happy, dedicated and imaginative and innovative work force to an improved production, presentation and strong status and name. These plus points surpass the challenges as diversity certainly have an effect on the entire company structure and nature of doing business, while challenges take place only because of people who are not willing to agree to or are not able to handle the diversity requirements. These challenges can be conquered by making the workforce conscious and skilled on accommodating diversity. We can also conclude that the role of HR managers is vital in realizing diversity in a way that helps the organizations strategic objectives.

References

Andrea B., & Marie S., (2013). Reaping Beneï¬Âts From Diversity , STRATEGICHR REVIEW VOL. Vol. 7 NO. 5 2008, Pp. 5-10, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Beena S., (2014). Workforce Diversity, Temporal Dimensions and Team Performance, Cross Cultural Management Journal, Volume 11 Number 4 2004, 40-59

Edwards, C., Robinson, O. and Woodall, J. (1999). Lost opportunities? Organizational restructuring and women managers. Human Resource Management Journal, 9 (1)

Ilmakunnas, P., & Ilmakunnas, S., (2011). Diversity at the workplace: whom does it benefit? De Economist, 159, 223-255.

Lahiri, I., (2008). Creating a Competency Model for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners,Council Perspectives, Insights from the Conference Board Council on WorkforceDiversity, US

 Lee, M.., (2014). Business Advantages of Diversity in the Workplace, Ethno Connect.

Leigh G., (2014). Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace.

Morgan, S, (2014). What Are the Benefits of Workplace Diversity?, Demand Media, GlobalPost – International News.

 Kirton, G., and Greene, A., (2005). The Dynamics of Managing Diversity: A Critical Approach, 2nd edition, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann

Marinas, C., & Bacaescu, M., (2009). Cultural diversity and human resources management in Europe. Review of International Comparative Management, 10(1), 176-186.

Sanchez, T., Vinces, J., & Apellaniz, M., (2011). HRM is Spain its diversity and the role of organizational culture: an empirical study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 26(3), 389-407

Shen, J., Chandra, A., D’Netto, B. & Monga, M. (2013). Managing diversity through human resource management: an international perspective and conceptual framework. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-251.