Diversity hampions in Businesses - Dissertation Example

Equity and Diversity Business related drivers play an important part in understanding organisational responses to equality and diversity. Evaluatethe role of diversity champions and representatives using case study examples as well as a theoretical framework to inform your work. (50%) Diversity champions in businesses: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations state that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”(The Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The Declaration further adds that no form of discrimination should be practiced on a person on the basis of nationality or the type of governance followed by the government of any foreign national. The thirty articles that form a part of the declaration provide that basis for equity and diversity policies of many organizations both private and public in the United Kingdom and many other countries in the world. What the declaration wants people all over the world to do is practice these principles in all environments including businesses. This section deals with diversity champions in UK businesses with case studies of company practices in promoting equality and diversity. It will also look at theoretical aspects of social justice which forms the foundation for equality and diversity. It is with specific objective in mind that the Equality and Human Rights Commission was formed to ensure social justice in all areas of human endeavour in the United Kingdom. As per the commission mission objective, “Our job is to promote equality and human rights, and to create a fairer Britain. We do this by providing advice and guidance, working to implement an effective legislative framework and raising awareness of your rights” (Our equality impact assessments). A non-profit organization called ‘Business in the Workplace’ state that nearly ten percent of Britain’s workforce is from an ethnic minority group. It adds that in future, it will go up to twenty percent (Why take action on race). It should be noted that the figures are not just about employees because they also are customers and service providers of other organizations. This indicates the society in the country has a rich ethic mix, an essential element for the need for equity and diversity. The rising levels of globalization, free trade and immigration into the country is the primary reason for such diversity. So business should see that their policies are non-discriminatory towards employees, customers, and other stakeholders. They should also promote diversity in order to be capable of handling the rich ethnic mix in the country. In fact promotion of diversity may make good business sense apart from promoting social justice. Social justice theory: One of the most prominent theorists on the concept of social justice was John Rawls, who wrote the Theory of Justice in 1971. Two prominent principles are set out by Rawls which are given below. “First, each person is to have an equal right to most extensive basic liberty compatible with similar liberty for all. Second, social and economic equalities (i) are to be arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and (ii) should be attached to offices open to all” (Craig, Burchardt & Gordon 2008, 19). Rawls was of the opinion that the first principle of extensive basic liberty should take precedence over other individual, economic and social liberties. His principles may not be acceptable in totality by businessmen. The theory essentially states that the least advantaged should be given priority. In other words, an extremely poor candidate (for employment) should be given preference over a better qualified, but richer candidate. But in most other senses, the principles are more or less in agreement with today’s equality policies. He had written the work nearly forty years back when the concept of diversity may not be some prominent as it is today. Hence he does not specifically include gender, race, or colour in his theory. Rawls also believes that the society should have reached a certain level of economic growth for this to be effective. Till it reaches that level, it can afford to be a little discriminative. In business, employees can pay or reward a better performing employee. This is exactly what is happening now in today’s business world. When this happens, productivity increases and the additional resources now available can be used to help the under-privileged. Ronald Dworkin in his book Taking Rights Seriously, follows another approach to equality. “Instead, Dworkin proposes that law should be based on the truth of a particular principle: that the law should treat all people with equal respect and concern” (Gregg 2003, 56). But, according to its critics, there is a major flaw here when so much importance is given to law. It is good that law should treat people equally. But the principles on which it is based could be biased. According to Gegg, from whose work the above quote was taken states the shortcoming by providing two examples. One is Nazi Germany where it was not unlawful to exterminate Jews. Jews were even discriminated in business during that time. A state or country could then pass laws which its makers claim is based on principles that does not take into consideration the concept of equality. The other was Stalin’s state sponsored terrorism and arbitrary trials. Both these activities came under the purview of lawful activity, but they are not based on the principle of ethics and equality. As mentioned earlier having a diverse workforce can actually be economically beneficial to businesses. Studies have shown that a more diverse workforce is able to attract customer diversity. For example, a person from an Asian country may not very fluent in English, at least for the earlier part of his or her stay. In such a case, the person would prefer to be served by an employee who is from his or her home country. Communication can be conducted in their own language. According to an article by the London Development Agency, “there is evidence to suggest businesses with a diverse workforce are more strongly placed to attract and retain quality staff. Well-led diverse teams can outperform homogenous teams by as much as 15%. Research also confirms that many major companies have identified the benefits that the different perspectives and experiences of a diverse team can bring to their workplace” (The business case for diversity). In effect, there are multiple economic benefits to businesses with diverse ethnic force apart from adhering to the principles of justice and equality. It would appear that the performance of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has not been very outstanding. According to their 2008 annual report, it has found that many instances of inequality and lack of diversity still exists within business, especially in the area of employment. The fact remains that these remain detected but not yet corrected. Some instances are provided here to illustrate the point. The number of women in the workforce is increasing steadily, but the range of employment that there are available for them still remains limited. For example, very few women find their way into top and sometimes even the middle management of a company. One positive aspect is that ethnic employees are now seen in all levels of employment even though the percentage may be low. There is also a great diversity in employment with regard to original nationalities of the ethnic groups. There is a pay gap of nearly seventeen percent when comparing the earning of men and women. Women are paid lower even if the nature of the employment is the same. The EHRC declares that gender discrimination with regard to pay is strongest in the United Kingdom when compared to other members of the European Union. Pregnant women are also subject to some level of discrimination and nearly thirty thousand have to quit their jobs because of maternity leave and other issues. The EHRC admits that these problems will not be solved easily. It will need efforts from the national and local governments, governing bodies, employers, employees, trade unions, and other stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the problems identified. But it is felt that the organization has only been in existence for two years and it is too early to make a harsh judgement as of now. It should be given more time to prove its worth. The report admits that through its findings, the government has not put in adequate measures “to adequately promote the importance of human rights and a related public misunderstanding of human rights” (Submission from the Equality and Human Rights Commission 2008, 5). Diversity practices of UK business houses: In spite of the rather gloomy outlook provided by EHRC and other organizations many of the larger corporations have initiated policies at improving their standards in this regard. This does not mean that smaller companies do not follow or attempt to improve their standing in this regard. But larger corporations are bound to have more publicity regarding such policies and information about such practices are easier to obtain, One example is Tesco, UK’s largest supermarket chain. It has a large and diverse workforce. The efforts of the giant have been with regard to religious harmony and understanding among those employees who profess different faiths. This was done through printed toolkits that have been distributed free of cost to all employees. “The guides are designed to improve employee knowledge and understanding of all religions and their corresponding festivals, daily routines and eating habits. The Company states that “the guides are designed to improve employee knowledge and understanding of all religions and their corresponding festivals, daily routines and eating habits” (Tesco vows to distribute religious knowledge to UK workforce 2006). It should be noted that diversity need not be with regard to customers or employees. It can be valid for other areas like suppliers. “Supplier diversity is not a social programme provided by generous big businesses nor is it a tool to provide handouts’ to SMEs. Supplier diversity makes good business sense to companies…..” (Business action on supplier diversity 2007, 9). It is an instance where companies will look at a wider variety of suppliers that are able to provide service that is flexible, innovative, has good quality, in time, and cost effectively. BAA the airport company organizes ‘meet the buyers’ event. Over the years SMEs owned by ethnic minority is growing because of targeted invitations to such groups. The company finds that apart from offering good quality products, these suppliers can also provide employment to more people thereby giving a boost to the economy. British Telecom also has the same policy and is trying to diversify its supplier base be including more suppliers and sub-contractors from the ethnic community. Other companies that follow this policy of increased supplier diversity in UK are IBM, ERAC, and Lehman Brothers. Land Rover and Jaguar targets Asians in UK through appropriate tie up with TV channels that cater to such communities. This is in order to bring them closer to ethnic customers (Jaguar and Land Rover case study 2009). KPMG has developed an Islamic Network to cater to their increasing number of Muslim employees and customers (KPMG case study 2009). Goldman Sachs conducts regular workshops with many charity organizations where it promotes a promising career with the company to people different ethnic and under-privileged groups. There are many such instances of diversity driving factors or practiced in the country today and som of them have been randomly given here to illustrate the fact. Conclusion: The need for equality and management of diversity is growing in today’s globalized and networked world. It can be seen that the establishment of the EHRC is a good beginning in this regard even though there are criticisms regarding its effectiveness. There are many other organizations that promote these concepts and recognize companies that show initiative to bring diversity into their business. The EHRC should work in tandem with all the stakeholders involved in finding solutions for shortcomings, some of which have been mentioned here. It is also heartening to note that many companies large and small are now taking initiatives to bring about equality and diversity in their different activities and areas of business. The universal and impartial acceptance of this concept by the society at large will be patient and slow process. But a cooperative effort from all the stakeholders and the support and guidance of the EHRC can bring about a major change in the minds of the people in general and those in the business community in particular. References Business action on supplier diversity 2007, Business in the community, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.bitc.org.uk/document.rm?id=4677> Craig, G., Burchardt, T. & Gordon, D 2008, Social justice and public policy: seeking fairness in diverse societies, The Policy Press Gregg, S. 2003, On ordered liberty: a treatise on the free society, Lexington Books. Jaguar and Land Rover case study 2009, Business in the Community, Viewed 25 November 2009, KPMG case study 2009, Business in the Community, Viewed 25 November 2009, Submission from the Equality and Human Rights Commission 2008, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, Tesco vows to distribute religious knowledge to UK workforce 2006, Personneltoday.com, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2006/04/24/34990/tesco-vows-to-distribute-religious-knowledge-to-uk-workforce.html> The business case for diversity, London Development Agency, Viewed 25 November 2009, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, Viewed 25 November 2009, Our equality impact assessments, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-job/our-equality-impact-assessments/> Why take action on race, Business in the community, Viewed 25 November 2009, 2. Through a critical examination of the role of the EHRC in supporting the development of a diversity culture in the UK, discuss the extent to which the Commission has been able to successfully represent the interests of so many diverse groups? (50%) Ever since its establishment in 2007, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has played crucial roles in supporting the development of diversity culture in U.K at a national and an organisational level. EHRC took over from three commissions; the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and the commission covers other areas of equality such as age, sexual orientation, religion and beliefs as well as human rights. The mission statement of EHRC reads: “our job is to promote equality and human rights, and to create a fairer Britain. We do this by providing advice and guidance, working to implement an effective legislative framework and raising awareness of your rights” (EHRC-Home). Equity and diversity in the work place involves the fostering of multiculturalism, protection of human rights, eliminating gender pay gaps and ensuring equality of opportunities for everyone. In this regard, the Commission has designed special strategies towards preserving human rights in the work place and organizational setting. The human rights strategy and the programme of action 20009-2012 of the EHRC are worth analysing. The programme seeks to “work with domestic and international organizations to encourage the implementation of a human rights based approach, while tackling myths and misconceptions about human rights” (EHRC-Our Human Rights Strategy). The human rights protection programmes of the organization are aimed at offering equal opportunities to everyone without any sorts of ‘prejudice, discrimination or arbitrary restraint’. Public, private and voluntary organizations need to respect the human rights of everyone; there should be measures undertaken to protect human rights in the organizational setting and human rights violation at the work place need to be taken seriously. The efforts made by the commission to ensure gender equality and to resolve gender pay gaps are also remarkable. The commission encourages proposals for gender pay reporting from the private and third sectors and indulges in consultation with other organizations and stakeholders who are interested in gender pay reporting. The 2009 proposal by the EHRC seeks to bring about gender pay transparency in the private sector. In his forward to the proposal Trevor Phillips states that the pay gap between men and women is an economic issue and he observes that the underlying factors that cause this gender pay gap stem from factors such as direct discrimination against women, educational backwardness of women, indirect influences of organizational culture, the nature of the work, “the influence of social norms on the kind of work which men and women choose to do; the context within which the business works, and the availability of quality flexible working at all levels” (Proposals for promoting greater transparency in the private sector, 14). Eliminating the gender pay gap in the organizational setting is a major challenge before the EHRC. The statistics on the existing gender gaps in UK shows that “the pay gap is wider in the private sector than in the public (a full-time gap of 20 percent (median) or 21.7 percent (mean) as compared to 11.1 percent (median) or 13.8 percent (mean)” (Proposals for promoting greater transparency in the private sector, 12). Similarly, researchers such as Stockdale & Crosby observe that even after 30 years of the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, women are poorly paid: “women working full-time earn only 72 percent of the average male weekly earnings and 80 percent of hourly wages” (Stockdale & Crosby 2004, 288). This calls for the need to ensure equal or reasonable gender pay in the private sector and for this the commission seeks to follow the existing good practices among various private and non-governmental organizations It is a fact that racial discrimination still dominate in the UK organizational setting and this poses another great priority for the commission. Sandra Kerr, national director for the BITCs Race for Opportunity campaign, argues that the work place setting in UK represents the UK society; the racial minorities in the nation are discriminated against and “the progression of ethnic minorities to management and board level remains a challenge for all” (Kerr 2009). Mary O’Hara, in this regard, reports that even though the government has undertaken many diversity initiatives over the last few years many talented black and minority ethnic managers fail to step into top executive jobs (O’Hara 2009). Similarly, Stockdale & Crosby observe that racial tensions in Britain have increased considerably recently and have resulted in ‘frequent outbreaks of ethnic rioting across the country’; however, “the UK’s focus for diversity remains primarily on gender equality” (Stockdale & Crosby 2004, 288). Even though the British trade unions follow a combative approach towards racial inequality in the work place, it is sad to note that such anti-discrimination initiatives are not sufficient enough to promote equality and diversity in the workplace; the 1997 TUC national Black Workers’ Conference and the British trade union activists expressed “attitudes ranging from scepticism to outright hostility to diverse management” (Wrench 2007, 82). Equity and diversity is something much more than an HR issue in an organization as successful organisations need to recruit the best employees irrespective of any discrimination. Therefore, Equality Works have a pivotal role to play in the organizational setting of the nation; the Equality Works seek to offer “equality training, equality consultancy and strategic advice on all aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)” and it also helps to develop competent policies that promote equity in the work place (Welcome To Equality Works). It has been identified by many researchers that managing diversity has a number of potential benefits as far as the growth and development of the organization is concerned; the managing diversity model has been greatly valued in the business scenario because of “the increasing realization that valuing differences makes business sense and can be a source of competitive advantage” (Mabey, Skinner Cark 1998, 189). The authors believe that innovative diversity management strategies can “contribute to sustained competitive advantage by helping in retaining and developing staff from diverse backgrounds who do not leave or under-perform because of the firm’s reneging on its side of the diversity contractor because of a lack of trust or commitment by the organization to diversity” (Mabey, Skinner Cark 1998, 192). Therefore it is mandatory that the commission plays an active role in matters associated with equity and diversity in the work place. Trevor Philips, talking on apprenticeships and diversity makes it clear that equity and diversity management strategies need to take into account the ‘forces of economic and social change’; globalization and the increasing number of migrant population have brought about a new migrant labour force to Britain and therefore the commission seeks to “break down the barriers of occupational segregation and unequal pay for women and ethnic minorities, and can support disabled people to use their often neglected potential in good jobs” (Phillips 2007). To conclude, it can be stated that the EHRC has played a dominant role in the UK for the preservation of equity and diversity in the work place. Diversity management has become one of the major challenges in the modern business scenario and it is high time that organizational design and organizational culture are radically adapted so as to accommodate diversity and promote equity in the work place. For this, as Cornelius suggests, organizations need to “move away from an individualized perspective on equality towards social power relations” and organizations should ensure that equality is ‘embedded into organizational design’ (Cornelius 2002, 32). References Cornelius, Nelarine 2002, Building workplace equality: ethics, diversity and inclusion, 2nd Illustrated Edition, Cengage Learning EMEA. EHRC-Home, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/> EHRC-Our Human Rights Strategy, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/our-human-rights-strategy/ > Kerr, Sandra 2009, A Work Force that reflects Society, Guardian News and Media Limited, viewed 26 Nov. 09, < http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2009/jun/18/employmen-race-diversity> Mabey, C., Skinner, D & Clark, T 1998, Experiencing human resource management Personnel and Human Resource Management Series, Illustrated Edition, SAGE. O’Hara, Mary., Race still a bar to boardroom, report says, The Guardian, 8 January 2009, Guardian News and Media Limited, viewed 26 Nov. 09, Phillips, Trevor 2007, Apprenticeships and diversity: meeting the skills challenge, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, Proposals for promoting greater transparency in the private sector: A consultation on improving gender equality in the workplace, August 2009, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Viewed 25 November 2009, < http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/consultations/gender_pay_consultation.pdf> Stockdale, M.S & Crosby, F.J 2004, The psychology and management of workplace diversity, Illustrated Edition, Wiley-Blackwell. Welcome To Equality Works, Equality Works Ltd, viewed 26 Nov. 09, Wrench, John 2007, Diversity management and discrimination: immigrants and ethnic minorities in the EU, Research in migration and ethnic relations series, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Read More