Introduction
Globalization has enabled many organizations to operate in
more than one country. The main reason
for expansion is to exploit market opportunities, reduce the cost of operations
and create global competitiveness. By crossing of geographical boundaries,
organizations have a growing need to hire and maintain an exceptionally diverse
and multicultural workforce. With
organizations becoming increasingly globalized, in-house teams become
increasingly multi-cultural. A diverse workforce can yield greater competitive
advantages for the benefit of the organization.
It therefore, becomes necessary
for organizations to embrace diversity and identify ways to become inclusive.
Effective managers recognize the importance of employing certain skills to
successfully manage a diverse workforce.
However, diversity also gives birth to intercultural issues. These
Intercultural issues can interfere with the successful completion of
organizational goals. It is therefore
important for today’s management to solve these problems that arise from
managing the culturally diverse workforce. Understanding and Effective
knowledge and management of diversity issues improves employee productivity and
efficiency and enhances the competitive position of organizations. This paper
discusses main issues in the management of a diverse workforce, new
developments in the field and relevance to the workplace.
Main issues in the
management of a diverse workforce
The workplace is made up of different people from diverse
backgrounds, ages, cultures, ethnic, heritage, races, sexual orientation and
other aspects of diversity. As a result, workplace diversity has become an
essential concern as no organization can afford to unnecessarily restrict the
engagement of different employees. The
management of a diverse workforce presents various opportunities and
challenges.
Opportunities
High level of
Productivity
Employees from the diverse background can offer a selection
of diverse skills, talents, and experiences to the advantage of the
organization. An organization’s competitiveness significantly depends upon its
skills, talents, and experiences. To
realize the benefits, there is a need to embrace diversity and actively
handling diversity issues. When management effectively manages diversity, it
enables employees to feel that they belong to the organization irrespective of
their cultural backgrounds. As a result, they are likely to put more effort and
increase company’s profit and productivity.
Productivity also arises from teamwork and exchange of ideas.
Individuals working on their own cannot perform at the same level as teams. A
team allows each individual to contribute their ideas and offer a unique
perspective specifically during problem-solving. A diverse workforce also increases
adaptability given that they can supply a greater range of solutions to
problems. Additionally, organizations
that encourage diversity inspire individuals to perform to their highest
ability. Organizational-wide strategies can easily be executed; resulting in
high productivity, return on investment and profit.
Growth and
Learning
A diverse workplace creates an opportunity for employees’
personal growth. When employees are
exposed to new culture, perspectives and ideas, they acquire a clearer insight
of their place in the global environment.
As a result, diversity management is seen as the key to organizational
growth in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace. No longer can organizations
hide behind a lack of cultural intelligence. Seeking market relevancy involves
embracing diversity in thinking, acting and innovating (Cullen &
Parboteeah, 2014). Due to the function that diversity plays in organizational
growth, its management is a time-sensitive business imperative. Additionally,
diversity contributes to organizational growth by attracting and retaining
talent that adds a competitive edge to any organization.
Effective
Communication
Workplace diversity can significantly strengthen an
organization’s relationship with its stakeholders by making communication more
effective. Organizations have adopted
the practice of pairing up service personnel with clients that share the same
characteristics. This makes customers feel at home with the representative and
thus with the organization. It also increases organization’s language skills
that propel organizations forward to effectively compete in the marketplace or
increase its diverse customer base. A diverse workforce that feels comfortable
when communicating varying viewpoints is a good source of experiences and
ideas. The business can draw from that
pool to pursue business communication strategy needs and meet customers’ needs more
effectively (Devine et al., 2007).
Diverse Experience
A
diverse workforce is a source of experience as employees come from diverse
backgrounds. As a result, they bring to the table some unique experiences and
perceptions during group tasks and teamwork. Pooling diverse skills and
knowledge of a pool of culturally distinct individuals can greatly benefit the
organization by strengthening the productivity and responsiveness of the team
to adapt to the changing conditions (Yang & Konrad, 2011). The diverse
workforce can also supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in
allocation of resources, service, sourcing, and allocation of resources as they
bring individual talents and experiences.
Improved Morale
Diverse culture in the workplace improves morale. The
important advantage arises when diversity is well-managed, and individuals are
trained on cultural awareness and sensitivity. The result is an organization
where every person is validated and regarded as important regardless of their
differences. Such affirmation of value improves employees’ morale and the
collective positivity in the workplace.
Challenges
Individual versus
Group Fairness
Diverse workplaces present a number of management
challenges. Trying to be fair to
individuals may result in being unfair to a group. Managers are faced with the issues of
balancing between what is better and what is divisive.
Resistance to
Change
The management of a diverse workforce is often characterized
by resistance to change. When employees enter a different environment, they
tend to suffer cultural shock, which is the disorientation and insecurity
caused by encountering a new culture.
Organizational culture may be different from individuals’ culture. There
are also cultural differences among employees.
A typical workplace is made up of employees from different walks of life
with different experiences, cultural backgrounds, ethics, values, and
personalities. With this form of diversity, there is bound to be a clash
somewhere (Jamieson, & O'mara, 2000). Every workplace has a culture. Like
people, workplaces differ in personalities. They have different moods and work
atmospheres. Workplace culture refers to
core values, beliefs, rules of behavior, corporate ethics and attitudes held by
employees in the workplace. Workplace culture defines how things are done. It
guides how individuals in the workplace act, think and feel. This gives rise to resistance. Employees may
fear losing their face or not know how to act. As a result, they may become
emotionally upset, often isolating themselves.
As a result, it is challenging to implement changes in organizations
with a diverse workforce.
Group cohesiveness and interpersonal conflict
Organizations are made up of a varied workforce. The
workplace is filled with incredibly complex human beings with different
personalities, values, and motivations. The sources of diversity in
organizations may result from demographic factors, economic factors, and social
factors among others. Inherent employee diversity is often linked to positive
benefits to the organizations. However, it may also present some challenges. In
keeping with this growing level of diversity, conflicts occur. Conflict is a
product of non-functional diversity. Non- functional diversity presents a major
challenge to organizations. The forms of diversity may cause harassment and
hinder organizational effectiveness. On
the other hand, the highly stressful environment that characterizes workplaces
is fertile ground that can promote the development of discrimination among
employees.
Every employee at the workplace shares a certain relationship
with other employees. It is human nature to relate to others and discuss ideas.
Thus, a person cannot work in isolation; one requires other people around. In
fact, an isolated environment will only negatively influence people’s
motivation and spreads negativity around. It is critical that employees share
positive relations with each other at the workplace. When a work environment is friendly and
efficient, the possibility of unproductive conflict within the work environment
is minimized. Minimal conflicts result in the people being able to focus on the
tasks at hand, hence becoming more productive. Conflict among employees may be
expressed in the form of Passive Hostility and other forms of toxic behavior.
Retention
A poorly managed a diverse workforce may give rise to a
hostile working environment that makes employees uncomfortable. Instances of
discrimination or harassment may arise and jeopardize the victim's mental and
emotional health. It may also compromise personal relationships, significant
stress, and anxiety. In the short-term, employees will likely be irritated and
dissatisfied with their job (Bassett, 2005). They are likely to be less productive in their
position as much effort will be made replaying the harassment episodes and
avoiding the harasser. Employees may begin leaving early, calling in sick more
often or showing up late in efforts to avoid the harasser. Harassment often alters employees’
confidence, making them less likely to speak up suggestions or new ideas.
Employees may also feel that their organization has failed them. As a result,
they may start resenting their jobs and searching for other organizations with
accommodative policies.
New learning:
Diversity management
Organizations are recognizing the need and significance of
investing in diversity as a component of their general workforce management
practices. The payoffs touch in all areas of the organization by potentially
resulting in increased productivity, increased creativity, global
understanding, new attitudes, new language skills, processes and new solutions
to challenges. Organizations that effectively manage diversity record stronger
customer loyalty, greater agility, innovation, better market insight and
improved employee recruitment and retention.
Businesses that fail to see the significance of diversity might find
themselves unable to attract and retain the kinds of employees, customers and
stakeholders that constitute the changing world in the long-term.
Diversity management is an evolving concept. At the
beginning, theories and models were developed from the need for pragmatic
strategies to meet the objectives of civil rights movements. Today, global
diversity management recognize the importance of implementing, planning and
coordinating strategies for a growing number of organizations with global,
transnational and international business activities. Central to this concept is
the belief that businesses stand to benefit from having a diverse workforce.
Therefore, it is in the best interest to understand and cater to the needs of
individuals (Myers & Dreachslin, 2007).
Incidents that
facilitated learning and understanding
Given that discrimination was a reality in the past, the need
for constitutional protection increased. This led to the enactment of laws that
prohibited different acts of discrimination, thus the birth of
anti-discrimination legal frameworks. This formed the basis of the
implementation of diversity management practices in organizations in order to
meet legal requirements. Today, the need for diversity management largely
arises from the need to achieve a competitive advantage particularly for
organizations operating in the global marketplace. Organizational change,
specifically as it relates to organizational culture is another reason for
increased diversity management. Organizational change calls for a commitment to
diversity as management make both implicit and explicit changes to bring about
the organizational change necessary to competitive advantage.
These incidences call for valuing of diversity. Obtaining
management commitment is critical for the realization of diversity objectives.
This involves reflecting diversity in the organizational mission, vision, and
strategy. Further, management should
demonstrate leadership behaviors that promote inclusivity. Additionally, they
should commit resources to foster an organizational culture that values
diversity and ensure effective implementation of resources. Some organizations
go further and hire director of workforce diversity to manage and coordinate
companywide diversity efforts. When diversity is valued and managed, it can be
a useful tool for organizational success and growth.
Developing and implementing an organizational culture that
supports diversity has some challenges that require management knowledge,
commitment, skills, and efforts. It also requires a type of organizational
culture in which every employee is encouraged to succeed and grow without being
inhibited by gender, race, age, religion, nationality or other factors that are
not related to performance. HRM is required to develop a culture that helps
people to embrace diversity and unify them in order to augment organizational
performance and effectiveness. In addition, they endeavor to promote a positive
work environment that promotes a positive working environment that enhances
satisfaction, commitment, and satisfaction of diverse people. However, the
effects of diversity can also be negative or neutral depending on how well it
is managed. Hence, a successful diversity management program must address
culture in order to create an environment where diversity is nurtured and
valued.
Diversity management and cultural practices
Many organizations are now working with the motto that their
workforce characteristics should mirror customers’ characteristics. The need to
manage diversity, therefore, arises from the need to satisfy the requirements
of diversified customers. What’s more, dynamic companies are implementing
essential Human Resource strategies. There are various diversity management
practices that human resource departments implement including diversity related
recruitment, managing workforce diversity, diversity-related selection,
diversity-related training, and diversity-related rewards programmes.
Diversity-Related
Recruitment
Recruitment programs
that are diversity-related help organizations gain competitive advantage by
recruiting diverse people. Many international organizations hire people with
diverse characteristics to mirror the nature of the diverse market. Such
programs have been important in realizing the importance of gender
diversity. Achieving greater diversity
calls for recruitment strategies to attract diverse potential employees.
Diversity recruitment is in line with increasing collaborative and team-based
structures of the modern organization.
Managing Workforce
Diversity
There are various workforce diversity practices that
organizations carryout. They include aligning diversity goals and objectives
with organizational goals and missions. Others include developing recruiting
strategies designed to augment diversity and advertisements. For example, an
organization can advertise positions through media that can reach a diverse
audience. An effective diversity management program should promote respect for
individual differences and encourage members of the organization to see their
differences as benefits rather than disadvantages. It also involves creating a
good environment where employees support one another and communicate. This way,
employee can be comfortable with diversity reflected in the work environment.
Management should also clearly identify and outlines organizational beliefs and
values in relation to diversity.
Diversity-Related
Selection
Selection programmes for effective diversity recruitment are
implemented by human resources based on diversity sensitive criteria. Selection-related programs include selection
process based on job-relevant duties, the presence of managers in committees,
competencies, qualifications, experience, and one that complies with
anti-discrimination laws.
Diversity-Related
Training
Diversity-related programmes refer to a systematic process in
which employees are well-informed about the socio-economic, cultural, religious
and racial differences among employees. It can be separated two categories:
skilled-based and awareness-based. Skill-based training is focused towards
promoting change in behavior while awareness-based is focused in enhancing
employee knowledge. Training programs
may be in the form of seminars, workshops, and experiential exercises. Benefits
of effective diversity-related training programs include the development of
latent skills and talents among employees, the realization of innovative
potential and employee empowerment. Often,
individuals may feel unable to move forward in an organization owing to factors
such as gender, race, and cultural differences. Training allows these
individuals to realize their innovative potential as they may feel valued and
more willing to get make extra effort and increase their knowledge and skills
for the benefit of themselves, their teams and organizations.
Diversity-Related
Rewards Programmes
Promoting diversity may also necessitate the use of reward
programs. Many organizations unambiguously provide incentives to managers based
on their performance in diversity management. These programs are meant to help
minorities in organization advance through their career.
Applications and relevance to the typical workplace
Managing diversity involves effective planning and
implementation of organizational practices and systems to manage workforce with
the aim of minimizing potential disadvantages and maximizing potential
advantages. Diversity management provides a distinct advantage in an era when creativity
and flexibility are keys to competitiveness.
Diversity management begins with an understanding of how various
dimensions of diversity affect motivation, performance, interactions, and
success of the organization and its members. Organizational practices and
structures that present barriers to some dimensions of diversity are challenged
examined and removed.
Besides being ethical and social, cultivating a diverse
workforce demonstrates a good business-oriented approach. Effective diversity
management does not only involve effectively and efficiently accepting and
accommodating individual differences, but also supporting, nurturing and
utilizing these differences for organizations. A shared responsibility between
human resource managers and top executives is critical to learning and
recognizing these differences. Valuing diversity is not enough. Managers must
develop an organizational culture that supports diversity initiatives.
Conclusion
It has become necessary for organizations to embrace diversity
and identify ways to become inclusive. Effective managers recognize the
importance of employing certain skills to successfully manage a diverse
workforce. Diverse workplaces present a
number of management opportunities and challenges. The payoffs touch in all
areas of the organization by potentially resulting in increased productivity,
increased creativity, global understanding, new attitudes, new language skills,
processes and new solutions to challenges. Challenges include conflicts and
resistance to change. It is therefore important for today’s management to solve
these problems that arise from managing the culturally diverse workforce.
Understanding and Effective knowledge and management of diversity issues
improves employee productivity and efficiency and enhances the competitive
position of organizations.
References
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Cullen, J.B., & Parboteeah, K.P. (2014). Multinational
management: A strategic approach (6th
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Devine, F., Baum, T., Hearns, N., & Devine, A. (2007).
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hoteliers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(2),
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Jamieson, D., & O'MARA, J. U. L. I. E. (2000). Gaining
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Myers, V. L., & Dreachslin, J. L. (2007). Recruitment and
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Yang, Y., & Konrad, A. M. (2011). Understanding diversity
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Carolyn Morgan is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in nursing research paper writing service California. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from nursing paper writing services Pennsylvania.
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