The Effectiveness of Diversity Management - Essay Example

A Critical Discussion on the effectiveness of Diversity Management in combating discrimination at work Table of Contents Introduction 3 Diversity Management in Workplace 3 Discrimination in the Workplace 4 Effectiveness of Diversity Management in promoting Equality 5 Conclusion 7 Reference List 8 Bibliography 9 Introduction The paper essentially focuses on the practices of diversity management in the organization that would endeavour to reflect on the efficacy of such in creating a positive workforce culture. It would then endeavour to reflect on the different types of discriminations that are practiced from time to time in the business organizations and the impact of the same on the work climate. Finally it would tend to reflect on the manner the diversity management programs can be used by the organizations to effectively restrain the growth of workplace discrimination and thereby aim in generating growth and development in a holistic fashion. Diversity Management in Workplace Diversity related to the workplace reflects on the inclusion of people pertaining to different gender, class, ethnicities, age groups, income levels, physical potentials and also of varied sexual orientations. Management of a diverse work population in the organization requires the building up of a culture of respect and mutual understanding for the needs and expectations of the different people sets. Further the objectives of diversity management in the workplace relate to the creation of a positive work environment that contributes in the mutual growth of the organization and the members involved. Similarly the objectives of organizational diversity also reflect on effectively collaborating the differences and likelihood of the perceptions of the different people to help achieve the organizational goals and business objectives. It thus works as a method aiming to synchronize the knowledge, experiences, expectations and the understanding of the different organizational members to arrive at a common solution that has a larger potential than business solutions generated on an individual level. The effectiveness of the diversity management in the workplace stems out from the fact that it contributes in promoting the growth and development at the individual level thereby helping the people to think and act in a creative and innovative fashion in the organization (Cunningham & Green 2007). Management of a diverse workforce in an organization also contributes in promoting the growth of teamwork such that it helps in the sharing of knowledge, experiences and thoughts between the different team members thereby enhancing their skills, expertise, motivation and confidence levels in meeting organizational objectives. Diversity management in the workplace is generated through the generation of training to the employees based on different languages. It is also exercised by promoting the people to operate in overseas assignments while also providing counselling to the people to understand the operational and interaction skills required to develop to work in a multicultural environment. Training is also required to be generated to help the people rightly accept and honour the cultural differences such that they can work harmoniously in a cross cultural environment. In information technology organizations like IBM the practice of diversity management is conducted to enhance the level of strategic competence such that it enables in fulfilling the organizational objectives of international expansion (Patrick & Kumar 2012). Discrimination in the Workplace Different types of discriminatory practices are carried out in the workplaces that can be observed as follows. Discriminatory policies relating to age signify a case where unfavourable treatment or harassment is offered to the employees owing to his or her age. Relating to United States the legislations related to workplace discrimination does not tend to protect the rights of employees below 40 thereby making them amenable to discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d.). Similarly discriminatory practices relating to disability or physical incompetence is generated such that where the employer or the organizational management tend to discriminate an effective employee from gaining of promotional rights and other organizational benefits owing to the presence of disability (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commssion n.d. ). Discriminatory policies relating to race or colour relate to the maltreatment offered to employees such that he or she belongs to a particular race or origin not favoured by the employer. Harassment or unfavourable treatment offered to employees belonging to a certain colour complexion also amount to the rise of discriminatory policies at the workplace (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d.). The people relating to specific ethnic or national backgrounds are also observed to be subjected to potential discrimination such that the employers tend to behave in an unfavourable manner with such employees. Different types of discriminatory practices are offered to people belonging to different national origins where the people are fired from the organization or are verbally harassed owing to the reason that they belong to a different cultural or national background (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d.). Discriminatory practices are also observed to be carried out in the organization such that people belonging to a certain religious or cultural background is harassed at the workplace and such that rights related to compensation, promotion and other employment benefits are not generated in an equitable fashion. Similarly the act of restraining the individual for availing the benefits related to training and development and in treating the people as effective minorities also constitutes the act of discrimination at the workplace (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d. ). People belonging to different genders and sexual orientations and also people belonging to certain sexual groups and communities relating to gays and lesbians are also subjected to discrimination at the workplace. Discrimination in that accord relates to ceasing of chances of employment growth, individual and professional development and also in affecting the rendering of compensation and employment benefits (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commssion n.d.). Effectiveness of Diversity Management in promoting Equality It is observed that activities related to diversity management act as effective organizational strategies to help in promoting and implementing the policies based on generating equality and opportunity at the workplace. Business organizations operating in the Australian region are observed to considerably invest in activities pertaining to diversity management where the changes brought in the workplace owing to the management of diversity are identified as assets. Diversity management initiatives generated in the workplace not only contribute in generating effective work-life balance but is also observed to help in the inclusion of women in the organizations. Thus human resource strategies related to diversity management are observed to operate as an effective tool in countering the rise of discriminatory policies in the organization. Further the government and the employment bodies in the region are also found to observe that the incorporation of diversity management activities in the organization contributes in the identification of differences and thereby in resorting to actions to help reduce the incidence of harassment and discriminatory practices in the concern. It is further observed that the implementation of the diversity management activities in the organization contribute in generating greater opportunities for growth at the individual level thereby signifying increase in organizational productivity (Strachan, Burgess & Sullivan 2004). The generation of a diversity program in the Australian workplaces is observed to generate potential benefits pertaining to generation of large scale opportunities in the employment scenario. Inclusion of an effective diversity program contributes in generating an equitable and fair recruitment and selection process in the organization that is not ruled by any type of bias or prejudice. Similarly the incorporation of diversity program in the workplace is taken to contribute in the generation of effective training and development standards for the people in the organization. This practice helps in countering the discriminatory mechanism in segregating the people for training and development functions. Similarly the inclusion of a diversity program also governs the actions of the external recruitment agencies to potentially meet the diversity requirements of the concern. Further the generation of workplace diversity program also contributes in removing potential constraints related to the attracting of people suffering from disability and also of non-English speaking people in the organizations. It thus helps in breaking down the discriminatory rules and policies thereby creating a fair and equitable organizational environment promoting growth and prosperity for one and all. The development of a diversity program at the workplace rightly helps in retaining ad sustaining the existing workforce and thereby reduces the chances of layoffs and retrenchment on discriminatory grounds. Similarly the development of a diversity program also contributes in evaluating the level of consciousness among the organizational members relating to organizational diversity. This helps in devising of training programs to enhance the diversity awareness level in the organization leading to reduction of discriminatory mindset. Finally the generation of a diversity program in the organization significantly focuses on the generation and enhancement of workplace harmony and a collaborative environment in the organization (Commonwealth of Australia 2013). Conclusion The paper effectively presents the concepts related to diversity management at the workplace also citing some potential benefits. It then reflects on the different types of discriminatory practices carried out in business organizations and the manner the same affects the workplace situation. On a final note the paper aims to integrate the parameters of diversity management pertaining to the reduction of the discriminatory practices such that it tends to reflect on the creation of a diversity management program in Australia to contribute in the generation of workplace harmony and reducing the growth of discriminatory policies. Reference List Commonwealth of Australia 2013, Workplace Diversity Program - 2012-2015, viewed 16 July 2014, . Cunningham, DD & Green, DD 2007, Diversity as a Competitive Strategy in the Workplace, Journal of Practical Consulting , vol 1, no. 2, pp. 51-55. Patrick, HA & Kumar, VR 2012, Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges , SAGE Open , pp. 1-15. Strachan, G, Burgess, J & Sullivan, A 2004, Affirmative Action or Managing Diversity – What is the Future of Equal Opportunity Policies in Organisations?, Women In Management Review, vol 19, no. 4, pp. 196-204. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d., Age Discrimination, viewed 16 July 2014, . U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d., National Origin Discrimination, viewed 16 July 2014, . U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d., Race/Color Discrimination, viewed 16 July 2014, . U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission n.d. , Religious Discrimination, viewed 16 July 2014, . U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commssion n.d. , Disability Discrmination , viewed 16 July 2014, . U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commssion n.d., Sex-Based Discrimination, viewed 16 July 2014, . Bibliography Kirton, G. and Greene, A-M., 2010. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann 3rd edition. Cockburn, C. 1989., Equal opportunities: the short and long agenda. Industrial Relations Journal. 20 (3), pp. 213-25. Collinson, D., Knights, D. and Collinson, M. 1990., Managing to Discriminate. London: Routledge. Cunningham, R., Lord, A. and Delaney, L. 1999. Next Steps” for equality? The impact of organizational change on opportunities for women in the civil service’. Gender, Work and Organization, 6 (2), pp. 67-78. Dickens, L., 1999. Beyond the business case: a three-pronged approach to equality action. Human Resource Management Journal, 9 (1), pp. 9-19. Hoque, K. and Noon, M., 2004. Equal opportunities policy and practice in Britain: evaluating the “empty shell” hypothesis. Work, Employment and Society, 18 (3), pp. 481-506. Webb, J. 1997., The politics of equal opportunity. Gender, Work and Organization, 4 (3), pp. 159-69. Read More