Do Diversity and Inclusion Make Business Sense - Essay Example

? DRAWING ON ACADEMIC THEORIES AND EXAMPLES FROM PRACTICE, CRITICALLY EXPLORE IF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MAKE BUSINESS SENSE. Equality or social equality is a condition where every individual within a society or group has the same status or value. In the least case, it includes equal rights in accordance with the law, which includes security of life, right to vote and freedom of speech, and the extent of property rights. Furthermore, it includes access to health care, education and other such social securities. Also, equal opportunities and obligations come under this category. Social equality works against all legally enforced boundaries based on social class or caste and also any distinction motivated by an unavoidable characteristic of a person’s identity. Providing opportunities on the basis of differences in class, race, gender, religion or language is considered unjustifiable. Equality of opportunity is one of the forms of social equality and is best expressed in the phrase “career open to talents”. It means that individuals should attain public opportunities that they deserve because of the talent they possess and their achievements; color, nationality, religion, gender or any such corresponding characteristic should not hinder their progress. Consequently, equality of opportunity simply demonstrates the concept of equality before the law. The concept allows freedom to accompany an individual’s private interest or ambition without any arbitrary constraints based on inappropriate personal attributes. A good example from practice could be that of matrimony. An individual has every right to marry under any circumstances but it is not necessary that he gets whatever he desires for as his wife. In business, it means freedom to engage in trade. However, it doesn’t give one a right to force someone else to give you a chance in his trade. In a nutshell, equality of outcome is a radically different concept. While equality of opportunity supports the idea that all individuals start at the same time, the concept of equality of outcome makes sure that all finish at the same time. It provides differentiated policies to social groups that have been disadvantaged. It is different from equality of opportunity which is a rather liberal approach and focuses on individuals rather than groups. The business case for diversity formulates that in a global market, a firm taking on a diverse personnel (that includes both men and women, people from different generations, people from diverse backgrounds with respect to ethnicity and race, etc.) understands the enumeration of the marketplace it assists in a much better way and is and therefore has more chances of flourishing and surviving in that market than the one with a diminished variation in workforce statistics. A further consequence of this is that the employees working in a company approving of diversity are more satisfied; help in improving productivity and are more likely to be retained in the business. This contribution of the business case describes how a business makes use of its various diversities. In case of a diverse labor pool, if the span of this background is not recognized by the entrepreneur, then he might be able to enjoy the advantages following from diversity. Generally, the entrepreneurs are not authorized to consider ethnicity or race in recruiting the workforce. However, in case there is a ‘manifest imbalance’ in a ‘traditionally segregated job category’, the US Supreme Court has allowed for a limited selection on the basis of gender, ethnicity or race. Diversity in the workplace casts a special affluence, but also special confrontations. It is up to the organizations’ owners to make use of diversity in terms of an inspiring asset so as to boost organizational performance. C.L. Walck characterizes conducting diversity in the workplace as "Negotiating interaction across culturally diverse groups, and contriving to get along in an environment characterized by cultural diversity". Diversity benefits both the society and businesses. It provides the society with variety and luxuriance in the market. It always has interesting new things to learn and take advantage of. As for the businesses, they are able to utilize broader ranges of competence and talents, and are provided with better and effective decision making and problem solving. Diversity also creates creativity and refinement, leading to magnified product development. Recognizing the importance of diversity makes the talented employees to feel demanded which increases their devotion to the organization and assists them to facilitate in an exclusive way. It is important for firms to imitate the cultures and societies they operate in to clearly comprehend and forecast the varied needs and requirements of their clients. In order to achieve that, and to attain the best from the staff, it is essential for firms to make the positive use of diversity. Also, there is a need to honor and appreciate the differences between people. (Cox) Managing diversity is not just about supporting dissimilarities in people. Culturally diverse workplaces have to face several challenges. One of the major challenges is miscommunication within a business. Judi Brownell describes in her article that any two individuals never go through the exactly similar experiences and because of that, the understanding of messages transmitted are never fully shared between them. Every person illustrates the data conveyed in differing ways. Those workers who are unfamiliar with the primitive language used within the firm should be receiving major consideration that they meet their communication conditions to the full. Another major challenge faced is the resistance to change. Many employees deny the acceptance of change in the cultural and social composition of the workplace. They want to run the systems in the way they have always done, and this hinders progress and new ideas. Also, the working teams of organizations which are highly diverse in their characteristics are difficult to motivate. (Brownell) Inclusion is the term that describes a deviation in organizational culture. This practice of inclusion secures each individual and makes them feel important, which is crucial to the accomplishment of an organization. This allows people to work at 100% capacity and to feel part of the organization. It involves changes in structures and systems of organizations to help an individual flourish. This shift in the culture creates organizations with higher performance, greater motivation levels and morale. It refers to a person’s ability to contribute fully and efficiently to an organization. Miller and Katz define inclusion as “a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work”. Roberson (2006) points out that inclusion is often mentioned along with diversity and that the two terms are used reciprocally. However, the meanings are precisely contrary. While diversity represents the demographics of the composition of groups in organizations and is a spectrum of human similarities and differences, inclusion on the other hand refers to the organizational objectives formulated to increase the participation of all workers and is a way to limit drawbacks from differences between people. Microsoft is a very basic example that supports diversity and inclusion at present. The Microsoft Corporation realizes the importance of creating a corporate culture and an inclusive business environment which possesses the brightest and most talented diverse minded employees join and work together to meet the demands of consumers globally. They understand that the combination of different ideas, perspectives and cultures brings creativity and innovation to the organization. Here, global diversity and inclusion is a long-term business-critical principle which is linked to the present and future success of the company. In order to achieve our aggressive leadership goals, they seek to take advantage of top, highly trained individuals from all areas of the world and from diverse backgrounds. Microsoft recognizes that success for global diversity and inclusion is best achieved when it is integrated into the daily operations of business. Another example of a firm adopting diversity and inclusion concepts to their policies is Allen and Overy. They say, “We want to recruit the most talented and ambitious people to work at Allen & Overy. It doesn't matter where they have come from or what their background is: we look for their skills, experience and potential.” This explains that they make no discrimination to people in terms of color or creed but hire them in accordance with their abilities. In return, they provide them with a collaborative and inclusive atmosphere, where they can achieve their full potential and contribute to the success of the firm. As race differentiates people from each other mostly physically, like skin color or the place from where they belong like Asia, Africa and so on creates problem in racist societies, racialization goes one step forward in differentiating the human beings from each other hereditarily. Racialization results in creating problem for both majority and minorities. As minorities try to mingle together and stand against the force of majority people it has a chance of collision of the two. In organizations it creates a stronger impression as from start till the end, which is from the recruitment till the end of contract minority community faces racial issues. It should be avoided in organizations so as to create a better working environment and no grouping. Racial differences discriminate among individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences, and have been official government policy in several countries, such as South Africa and the USA. Also, this practice prevails in many developing or underdeveloped nations. Being racially biased means to impair those who belong to different national origins or ethnicity. The Civil Rights Act, passed in 1964 guaranteed civil rights and exclusion of racial discrimination, but in practice the thought and action in this regard has always been the same, just grown more indirect and ambiguous. White people usually get higher positions in firms through the fast track, whereas the minorities have to face slow processes to reach to higher positions. Because of this they become frustrated as a result of no promotion, and many give up their jobs. There is a ‘concrete ceiling’ established between people from different ethnicities, hindering the black people and the minorities from progressing. They create discrepancies in terms of employment rates, wage rates, earnings and pay, promotion, measures of managerial competence and so on. It is a wise business strategy to mentor the minority groups in the organization in order to help them get a clear insight to their abilities and making them aware of their potential. David Thomas studied the advancement of major US organizations over a period of time and concluded that the white professionals were promised a fast-track in their career while the minority groups, even if they have a high potential, accelerate their career development much later than the whites. In order to motivate, and receive the best from them, it is considered vital to mentor the minority groups within a business. It is important to reach a developmental approach to mentoring, and also counsel the workforce along with teaching and preparing. The impact of mentoring on these minorities is huge. It leads to personal growth of workers and assists and building up capability, confidence and integrity. If motivated and successful, the workers give credit to their seniors and fellows. Also, better relationships are established between people from different races. Lack of diversity fuels racism and inequality among society. Diversity reduces racial differences as studies have shown us that favoritism of people for their own race (color cast or belief) favors their own kind and the end result is not desirable. Racism creates hatred and negative thoughts among other people, which can cause a big nuisance in the shape of law contravention. This inclination or preference should be avoided as better results can be achieved through diversity that is if we work together without considering these differences as major issues life can be much easier and fruitful. Another major discrimination in the selection of workplace is on the basis of one’s sexual orientation. A heterosexual, the one who is sexually attracted to the opposite sex, is considered to normal in most businesses while other forms are referred to as ‘others’. Businesses might portray that sexual orientation or gender identity is of little or no importance to jobs or careers. Grievously, discrimination is experienced by many individuals who are known as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender), in the form of slow or lack of promotion, dismissal, etc. They are also subject to physical, verbal or psychological violence or degradation from the entrepreneur or fellow workers. Especially people at the higher position give preference to their opposite sex subordinates that results in off-putting of low morale of other workers as it is unfair to them. Heteronormativity is a condition that supports the idea that sexual or marital relationships are most fitting between a male and a female. This heteronormative view establishes a climate where LGBT are disadvantaged against in matrimony, employment and tax codes. This discrimination discourages the disadvantaged group to come out in public openly about their sexual relationships. They do not want to disclose their sexual orientation to their fellows, and because of this sometimes the simple conversations can become difficult for them. These people remain secretive out of fear of rejection from our co-workers and fear for our personal safety and a target of discrimination as well. The next issue concerning discrimination in the marketplace is the gendered nature of the labor market. If a closer look is take on the issues surrounding the differences between men and women in the workplace, it will be clearly noticed that women are always one step below men in terms of status or importance. Generally, the traditional role of women in all societies has been that of a homemaker or a caretaker. Even when women leave the boundaries and join the workforce, they are given no advancing recognition, no matter how progressive the job is. Towards gender changes, females now out-perform males in schools and universities and women are capable enough of taking up any position in organizations. However, there is still a gender pay gap in firms and there are very few women on top positions in most firms. There is obvious segregation in the workers’ hierarchy as noted by a cluster of talented females required mainly at the bottom of the hierarchy. Horizontally, men and women are appointed in different departments, with men appointed in relatively more important areas; vertically, women are usually at the bottom of the hierarchy with men governing them from the top positions. Since old times, women have faced difficulties in getting experiences, mentoring and training in the workplace. Also in the racial and ethnic differences, it is mainly the female part of the minority groups that suffer the consequences of discrimination. The road to the top management positions in any business are full of twists and turns for women. Furthermore, being a manager requires a woman to react in a masculine way; however women are also expected to behave in a feminine way in all phases of life. This injustice is seen in all types of organizations, irrespective of whether they are public or private, small or large. This situation was given the name of ‘Glass Ceiling’ which is described as an invisible barrier that hinders the development and growth of women in the society. It is argued that females lose interest in work once they have children. They are more concerned with family and home and become less work-oriented. Men on the other hand are inclined towards paid employment and make efforts to improve their position which in turn benefits the organization. Women without children can avoid many gendered discriminations, but it should not be forgotten that all women are seen as potential mothers and this factor is sufficient to disadvantage them. As we are in the 21st century women are equal to men in every way. Organizations are slowly learning to give women their due respect as today’s women have shown that they can work as fine as a man can. Employers now try to find a better performer rather than differentiating between genders as they need to compete with other organizations. In backward countries people still have their reservations on women working and not looking after their homes but this thinking is changing slowly and gradually and with time people understand that they should absorb the idea of diversity and let women work alongside men. (Mead) Social construction of gender refers to the way ideas and characteristics are building up in a society on varying issues and cultures. Many theories have been derived, suggesting the development of varying differences between men and women in a society. This social construction of gender leads to major discrimination between the two in every field of life, including education, workplace, society and politics. It deprives women of what they deserve most of the time. Therefore, such discrimination must not be made, especially in business organizations, so as to create a peaceful and effective workplace environment. It will be helpful to understand some common concepts that relate to diversity in business societies in some manner. Socialization is the process of adopting cultural ideologies, norms and customs. A society is composed of a combination of different cultures and traditions, so socialization trains individuals for the necessary habits and abilities for participation within their society. Categorization is the process of recognizing, differentiating and understanding different ideas. It implies grouping the multitude of information overflow to different categories for ease of understanding and economizing our social thinking. Social categorization is usually spontaneous, automatic and uncontrollable. Another important concept to consider is stereotyping. These are generalized views attributed to a group of people. The views can be both affirmative and pessimistic and they are usually very disturbing as they are subject to apprehension. Social differences are like discrimination within societies. As we can see in different religions, people differentiate others by their bloodline, not by their talent. Someone from a higher background or a well known community will get preference and the other with the same capabilities or maybe better talent turned down due to his unknown family/community background. This caste system affects society in a very negative way as it results in the pessimistic thoughts and higher crime rate if situation gets worse. According to the diversity principle these social impacts should be minimized if not fully eliminated. Everyone should get equal chance within a society strictly on the basis of merit. Next, prejudice is an indefinite opposing delusion of individuals or groups, based on differences in ethnicity, religion, gender, age, etc. Rosnow, Ralph L. describes prejudice as “any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.” Diversity is also known as anti-prejudice. Prejudice in our society is normally due to different criteria of discrimination. It can be because of culture, language, race, religion, gender, etc. This attributes to hatred between different sections of the society and thus creates small groups within a society. Prejudice causes high rates of crime and hatred among people. Diversity is totally against prejudice, it defines how to mingle and work together to make this world a better place. Inequality regimes are interlinked practices and behaviors which result in continuous inequalities in all organizations. Firms are also the target for many attempts to change patterns of inequality. It implies systematic disparities between participants in power and control over opportunities, securities, goals, respect, pay, etc. Increasing spread of globalization has led to externalization of inequalities in work organizations. Talent management indicates the strategy of fascinating highly skilled employees, composing new employees, and developing and holding on to current employees in order to meet present and upcoming organizational objectives. Firms adopting this strategy upgrade the employee responsibility from the HR department to all managers throughout the organization. Talent management is about managing diversity in the talent pipeline on the business. There are several processes involved in this method of management; diversity recruitment, training and mentoring. Diversity in recruitment is important in order to attract the underrepresented and under-utilized potential labor. To improve productivity, it is vital for entrepreneurs to realize that innovative ideas come from combining different perspectives. Diversity training is done for raising employees’ cultural awareness, skills and knowledge based on the assumption that training will help businesses through protection from civil rights violation, increase inclusion of different groups, and promote improved teamwork. However, it is argued that diversity training enhances differences between fellows instead of their similarities, thus creating further racialization. Diversity mentoring is carried out for career development and advancement of workforce, and involves the transfer of experience from mentors to mentees. In this program, applicants learn about the processes and qualities required in an efficient leader and prepare for their own success. Although mentoring prevents quitting, but it might also lead to unrealistic expectations and therefore cause disappointment. Talent management is the most basic principle of all the top notch organizations and industries. People from different countries, regions, religions, colour work in these industries. It is important to alleviate all these differences and work as a group with equal rights to everyone strictly base upon their talent only. Diversity is the main essence of peace and success in every walk of life is it business, institutions, politics or society, it increases acceptance of each other existence in the society. Bibliography Brownell, Judi. "Developing Receiver-Centered Communication in Diverse Organizaitions." Listening Professional 2003: 5-25. Cox, Jr., Taylor. "The Multicultural Organization." Academy of Management sweaty ball sack boobs Executive (1991): 34-47. Duany, Jorge. The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island and in the United States. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Global Diversity and Inclusion. 10 January 2011 . Krupat, Kitty and Patrick McCreery. Out at Work: Building a Gay-Labor Alliance. 2001. Kutik, Bill. "Who First Called it 'Talent Management'?" 10 March 2009: 1. Mead, Margaret. Male and Female. New York: William Morrow & Company Publishers, 1949. Miller, Frederick A., Katz, Judith H. The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002. Racial Discrimination in the Workplace. 1 June 2010. 10 January 2011 . Roberson, Quinetta M. "Group & Organization Management." Disentangling the Meanings of Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations 31 February 2006: 212-236. Rosnow, Ralph L. "Psychologist Today." Poultry and Prejudice March 1972: 53. Vaughn, B. "The history of diversity training and its pioneers." Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management. San Francisco: DTUI.com Publications Division, 2007. 11-16. Walck, C.L. "Editor's introduction: Diverse approaches to managing diversity." 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