Diversity in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

? Diversity in the Workplace al affiliation Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Cultural differences found in geographical regions 3 What is diversity? 6 Pros and cons of a diverse workforce 6 Workforce Diversity in IBM (a case study) 7 Conclusion 8 Reference 9 Introduction With the emergence of global markets and accelerated competition, there is a greater need for the policies and procedures of the organization to include the cultural diversity and ethnicity and construct proper guidelines for the existence of a positive organizational climate. One of the main reasons for this diversity is the migration and settlement of people belonging to different race and ethnicities in a particular region. One of the classic examples of a cross cultural environment is found in the United States of America which currently consists of four minority groups. These are Hispanic – Americans, African – Americans, Native – Americans and Asian – Americans. Scholars estimate that at least 50 percent of the population in U.S.A. will contain ethnic minority clan by the year 2030. This multi cultural population has posed a major challenge to firms and they have to strategize their policies and procedures to handle a diverse workforce (Stone, Stone-Romero & Lukaszewski 2007). Cultural differences found in geographical regions A research scholar, Hofstede has classified nations on the basis of displaying high or low in power distance, individualism and masculinity. He has interviewed manpower hailing from IBM (International Business Machines), a multinational organization which gives a lot of importance in promoting diversity in the workplace. By reviewing the answers from these workers, he has formed the following conclusions: Hofstede gives special emphasis to the fact that the power distance is very less in cultures which has attempted to reduce the disparity in the wealth and strength of the workforce. Classic examples of this kind of power distance can be viewed in countries like Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Israel and the United States of America. On the other hand, there are other societies wherein managers are held supreme and the crux of power rests with the manager. Here the individual workers are not given much importance. Examples of such high power distances are found in countries like Spain, South America, Italy, Africa, Mexico and the European countries having a predominantly Latin population. The relationships between individuals working in the same organization are known as individualism – collectivism. According to Hofstede, a rich and developed nation gives more emphasis to the individual manner of its people and a poor and underdeveloped nation believes in dwelling in a collective manner. The third reference found by Hofstede, is that of the prejudices made on the criterion of genders. He explains this as the emphasis provided by a particular culture on gender equality and terms it as masculineness – womanhood. A male dominated society has clearly demarcated roles of woman and man. Such cultures are seen in countries like Italy, Greece, Venezuela, Switzerland and Japan. This is not the case in cultures which are predominantly feminine in nature. Here such roles can be interchanged and there exists greater equality and integration between both sexes. Such cultures are dominant in countries like Finland, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden (Hofstede, 1996). The fear of the unknown is termed by Hofstede as the control of the incertitude. This fear is far more dominant in cultures which has a greater need for planning, order and security and can be viewed in countries like Greece, Japan, France, Belgium and Portugal. The fear of the unknown is far less in developed nations like United Kingdom, Sweden, United States of America and Denmark. Depending on the constraints of time which can be further divided into long and short, the factor of Confucianism – dynamism has been provided by Hosstede (Lynch, 2002). The societies which are the forbearers of Confucianism, advocate the virtues of hard work and long outlook. Examples of such societies are found especially in nations like South Korea, Hong Kong and China. Societies having a short time outlook and believing in change holds the virtues of taking quick decisions, obligations of the society and the significance of the state. Such societies are found in the Western nations and are especially predominant in nations like Nigeria, United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada. When manpower from different geographical regions and areas migrate, then the society needs to comply with the limitations consistent with reference to their discrepancies in culture. In order to manage the workforce diversity an organization can conduct a number of tasks and activities. It has been observed that organizations emphasizing the need for collectivism in the workplace have benefitted more from the diverse workforce than those firms emphasizing on individualistic approach. It is popularly believed that individuals belonging to individualistic societies emphasize on their own selfish interests and the interests of their immediate family members. However collective society members are loyal to their own group and hence more integrated than people coming from individualistic societies. Hence it is a challenge of the employers and especially the human resource team to organize the diverse workforce in order to work in a multicultural environment (Chatman & Spataro 2005). What is diversity? One of the main issues which managers have to handle in today’s organizations is to manage the diverse workforce. Moreover, this trend is becoming more and more prominent not only in multinational organizations but also national companies. However, scholars do agree that a diverse workforce having varied cultures and traditions has its own pros and cons. The term diversity, can be better explained as the means to comprehend, acknowledge, value, accept and celebrate the discrepancies in various individuals with reference to class, age, gender, status of public assistance, sexual reference points, mental and physical capabilities, spiritual performance, ethnicity and race (Esty, et al., 1995). Pros and cons of a diverse workforce Diversity in the workplace helps both the organization and the people working in it. This is despite the fact that the acquaintances working in the organization have to depend on each other and also revere the discrepancies in individuals in order to integrate together and work to augment the productivity of the organization. In fact, a varied manpower in a firm can lead to a decline in the lawsuits and boost the opportunities for recruitment, marketing, image of the firm and creativity. In today’s markets the key ingredients to gain a competitive edge over rivals is to be creative and flexible. Hence, it is essential to have a workforce from all strata of the globe in order to gain success in the organization. At the same time managing a varied manpower has its own hurdles and challenges. Diversity management is not simply recognizing the fact that there are significant discrepancies in individuals. It is much more than this. Handling a diverse workforce means that the organization has to engage in first acknowledging the worth of discrepancies in the manpower, fight discrimination and biases and encourage inclusiveness. In fact managers and superiors may have to face issues with compromising productivity in work or loss in manpower due to discrimination and biases and further face hurdles of formal protest and lawsuits filed against the firm (Devoe, 1999). Negative behaviors and attitudes can be hurdles to the diversity in firms as they hamper relationships and bring about less productivity and low morale at the workplace. Such behaviors include discrimination, biases and stereotyping and should not be practiced by the organization for retention, termination and recruitment policies. Workforce Diversity in IBM (a case study) International Business Machines or IBM displays a diverse and talented manpower. Getting the full advantage out of diversity is one of the primary aims of this multinational firm as it believes that diversity leads to obtaining competitive edge over rivals. One of the main functions of this organization’s focus on diversity in workforce is its promise to provide the same opportunities to all individuals (IBM, 2012). By IBM terms, diversity means that individual discrepancies are expected, encouraged and revered so that every personnel in order to enhance productivity, achievement and innovation. The main goal of this organization is to form and preserve a culture which makes personnel valued and welcomed to this firm by maximizing the best use of varied talents and make IBM as the organization of choice to its customers and workforce. Currently IBM is focusing on the below mentioned diverse networking clusters. a) Disabled people – This is an association of disabled personnel and has strong links with the wider groups and is one of the most active clusters in IBM. b) Flexibility – This is another set up which actively finds personnel open to job sharing, part time or other supple working choices. c) Women in technology – Another association aiming to encourage and bear the development, growth, recognition and advancement of IBM’s current female workforce in the technical area. d) In order to emphasize multiculturalism, IBM has especially come out with a cultural diversity group. e) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT) – This cluster supports the GLBT group in IBM and also contribute in partnerships externally (IBM Australia, 2008). Conclusion Firms need to maximize benefits from a diverse workforce by successfully integrating them and optimizing maximum returns for the organization. The initiative to manage a diverse manpower should be viewed as a chance to promote learning and integration. It should guarantee the encouragement, commitment, participation and responsibility of the management to promote diversity in the organization. The organization should convey to its personnel the significance of a diverse workforce to get overall organizational growth. At the same time the employees should be conveyed the value of diverse manpower. Harmony in the teams or work groups should be stressed. Lastly, the diversity management policies should be reviewed by means of well known metrics (Guidroz, Kotrba & Denison, 2005 – 2009). Reference Chatman, J. A. & Spataro, S. E. (2005). ‘Using self-categorization theory to understand relational demography-based variations in people’s responsiveness to organizational culture’, Academy of Management Journal, 48, 321-331. Clipa, F. & Clipa, R.I. (2009). ‘Cultural diversity and human resource management in multinational companies’, CES Working Papers, I (1), 10 – 16. Devoe, Deborah. (1999). Managing a diverse workforce. InfoWorld Media Group: San Mateo, CA. Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Adams Media Corporation: Avon, MA. Guidroz, A.M., Kotrba, L.M. & Denison, D.R. (2005 – 2009). ‘Workplace diversity: is national or organizational culture predominant?’ The Linkage Leader. Hofstede, G. (1996). Management of multicultural structure. Software of reasoning, Bucharest: Editura Economica IBM (2012). ‘IBM Policies’. Retrieved February 24, 2012 from http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/policy4.shtml IBM Australia (2008). ‘Workforce Diversity’. Retrieved February 24, 2012 from http://www-07.ibm.com/ibm/au/corporateresponsibility/pdfs/GL_9833_diversity_nocov.08.pdf Lynch, R. (2002) Corporative Strategy, Bucharest: ARC Publishing House. Stone, D.L., Stone-Romero, E.F. & Lukaszewski, K.M. (2007). ‘The impact of cultural values on the acceptance and effectiveness of human resource management policies and practices’, Human Resource Management Review, 17, 152 – 165. Read More