Managing a Diverse Workforce - Essay Example

? Managing a Diverse Workforce of Managing a Diverse Workforce Introduction In the current times, most organisations operate in a more competitive environment which requires them to manage their resources effectively by developing appropriate strategies. One of the most critical strategies that organisations have been pursuing is to increase diversity of their employees (French, 2005). Most firms have instituted specific programs and policies to improve inclusion, recruitment, promotion and retention of workforce from diverse groups of the society. Despite the enactment of Equal Rights and Opportunities Legislation, the disadvantaged members of the society have not been favoured in getting lucrative jobs. Consequently, policies and programs intended to enhance diversity in organisations are developed to ensure a welcoming environment to such groups. Diversity management is described as the voluntary actions designed by organisations with an intention of creating increased inclusion of workforce from different backgrounds into formal and informal structures of the organization via deliberate policies and programs. Diversity management comes in different perspectives. Intra-national diversity management is described as managing diverse employees of immigrants or citizens within one national organization. Cross-national diversity management refers to managing of employees of immigrants or citizens in various countries. According to Mor Barak (2005), the main challenge in diversity is not just ensuring that it is present but rather how to create conditions in which it will not act as a barrier to performance but enhance performance. There several advantages that comes with institution of diversity policies and programs. According to Mor Barak (2005), diversity management offers a competitive advantage in various areas of the organisation such as resource acquisition, problem solving and marketing. Aldway, an Australian company having more than 100 shopping centres and employing over 3000 employees nationwide has recognized the importance of having a diverse workforce. This followed a study conducted six years ago that revealed that the women employed in the company are only 35 percent and that the indigenous and persons with disabilities are also underrepresented in the workforce. The senior management of the company issued policy guideline to ensure higher representation of the disadvantaged groups and although there has been an increase in the number of women in the organisation to 45 percent, they do not make to the higher levels of management. Additionally, the company is not able to retain the disabled employees it hires. Rationales for Increasing Diversity There are various rationales for increasing diversity an organisation. Firstly, by promoting diversity, organisation seeks to conform to the requirements of the equal employment opportunity legislations which illegalize discrimination of the disadvantaged members of the society. Consequently, by ensuring diversity, organisations are able to demonstrate that they uphold the antidiscrimination laws (Cox, 2001). The other driving force behind diversity initiative is to ensure that an organisation conforms to the affirmative action. Most companies have also recognized that by ensuring a diverse workforce, they are able to benefit from a better public image. Enhancing diversity is particularly seen as a strategy for companies which help improve marketing, acquisition of diverse talents and enhancing the process of problem solving thereby giving such organisations a competitive edge over its competitors. Laws that discourage discrimination have also been entrenched by international labour organisation (ILO) and the European Union leaving companies with no choice but to ensure compliance (Mor Barak, 2005). In addition to the antidiscrimination laws, organisations adapt diversity management strategies following a realization that diversity is reality is strength rather than a weakness (Mor Barak, 2005). The present and future workforce is more diverse and organisations have no option but to implement strategies to adopt the reality. The other motivation behind diversity management is that it is the right thing to do. Organisations have a responsibility to enhance social justice by implementing policies and programs that ensure equal treatment of all in the society. From the point of view of Aldway, the rationale behind development of policies to encourage diversity includes a realization that diversity is a reality and part of the modern global organization. The company has recognized that the employees are becoming more diverse and therefore it has no option but to adapt the ideals of diversity management. Another motivation that seems to be driving Aldway towards adoption of diversity management is a realization that the company has a responsibility to promote social justice (French, 2005). The company has recognized that it has a responsibility to ensure that gives opportunities to women, the disabled and indigenous persons who are considered as a minority in the society. Diversity Management Paradigms Recent years have witnessed consistent installation of a number of distinctive diversity management paradigms that demonstrate exceptional traits and purposes. The two main diversity management paradigms that can be applicable in Aldway Company in Australia include: multicultural organisational paradigm and human resources paradigm The Human Resources Paradigm in Diversity Management The Attraction-Selection-Attraction (A-S-A) cycle stresses that, conventional human resource practices ought to demonstrate and produce homogeneity in the workplace. In most cases, employees are attracted towards working in organisations that absorb the commonly known values and perceptions (Mor Barak, 2005). In consequence, organisations select new employees that hold similar characteristics to those upheld in they hold to facilitate the assimilation of all employees. Additionally, organisations search for employees from reliable sources as well as employees who demonstrate characteristics of flourishing employees in the organisation. As a result, employees that are not comfortable with the dominant organisational cultures either leave the organisation before retirement period or are in most cases fired by the management. These leads to a selective attrition process in organisations that maintain and support a homogenous works force. In spite of coming up with several plans to incorporate women and disabled people in the company, most of the Aldway company’s disabled employees leave the organisation before retirement period due to their inability to fit in the organisation’s dominant culture. This trend has threatened the Aldway company’s management as it it’s feared to limit the organisation talent pool. Poor organisation’s talent pool may lead to reduction in the organisation’s ability to deal with emerging environmental changes, to venture in new markets as well in reducing the level of the company’s growth and renewal. In the last few years, the Aldway Company’s human resource management has acknowledged the significance of embracing a practical diversity management practice in order to counter diversity barriers and acquire the maximum benefits from diverse workforce. The organisation has so far embarked on four main approaches necessary in advancing diversity management (Mor Barak, 2005). Diversity Enlargement This approach embarks on enlarging the representation of people from different cultural background as well as ensuring equal representation of individuals from the two genders in the organisation. The main aim of employing this strategy is to alter the demographic composition inequalities in the organisation’s workforce. To execute the initiative, the Aldway Company is currently focusing on ensuring equal representation of disabled people, women and individuals from indigenous backgrounds in the company’s workforce. The assumption of this approach is that, new employees will with time understand and conform to the existing practices thus limiting the need for future intervention. Diversity Sensitivity The approach acknowledges and appreciates the potential complications that are associated with the inclusion of people from different cultural and social backgrounds in the company’s workforce. To counter these complications, the Aldway Company has focused on offering diverse training to sensitize the employees on the dangers associated with negative stereotypes and discriminations as well as to promote effective communication collaboration. The assumption in this strategy is based on the fact that, high level of sensitization on cultural and background differences may lead to improved performances in an organisation (Mor Barak, 2005). Cultural audit The core obligation of this strategy is to identify potential obstacles that may interfere with the employees’ development in diverse cultural backgrounds as well as the obstacles that may hinder workable communication and collaboration among employees from different cultural and social background in the organisation. To implement this approach, the Aldway Company has engaged an outside consultant in collecting data on focus group and in the identification of the main hindrances that may interfere with effective company’s interaction. Strategy for Achieving Organisational Outcomes The approach focuses on helping the organisation in achieving its end objective. To execute this strategy, the Aldway Company’s human resources management has focused on identifying the existing differences between the organisation’s and individual’s outcome and the company’s diversity management objectives. In this approach, the organisation’s strategic choice is based on environmental drivers, global economy service, economy shift as well as governmental and legal pressure. The Multicultural Organisation Paradigm in Diversity Management Referring to the multicultural organisation paradigm, the diversity management ought to create a multicultural organisation that includes total inclusion of the contributions of members from different socio-cultural backgrounds .The multicultural organisation paradigm incorporates: multicultural organisation, plural organisation, and monolithic organisation. The Monolithic Organisation Monolithic organisation is an entity that demonstrates culturally and demographically homogeneous structure. The Aldway Company is however not monolithic in terms of gender and cultural background as it has incorporated only a small number of female and members from indigenous background in its management. Moreover, women and disabled people are employed in the lower organisational levels, making women and marginalised population to have limited contributions to the organisation’s operations. Monolithic organisations have a culture that perpetuates the workforce homogeneity in promotion and hiring practices. The policies and practices of a monolithic organisation are in most cases biased to favour the majority group. However, in the modern globalised economy, the monolithic organisation has faced consistent global challenges due to the influx of women and other minority groups in the workforce (Mor Barak, 2005). The Plural Organisation The plural organisation has a heterogeneous form of workforce. The organisation is also committed towards complying with public policies and laws designed to ensure equality in the workplace. These organisations take substantive steps toward protecting any form of discrimination in the workplace by conducting an independent audit that ensures compensation equality, equal opportunities, and reduction in sexual harassment. The Aldway Company is a good example of a plural organisation. Although, there is fair representation of women and minority groups in the workplace, these groups make an incredibly small contribution in the company’s management (Mor Barak, 2005). The Multicultural Organisation The multicultural organisation fosters cultural differences in their workplace. The organisation incorporates the entire employees in the running and in the operation of the organisation through acculturation process as opposed to end products in assimilation process. It is sometimes exceedingly difficult to accomplish this form of an organisation. Multicultural organisation is more of an ideal organisation than an actual type of an organisation. However, the understanding of this type of organisation is used as a platform in coming up with a vision for an effective diversity management. The multicultural organisation holds total structural integration, condemns favouritism and any form of biases directed toward minority groups in the society. These organisations have very limited intergroup conflicts thus resulting to effective management of diversity. The Aldway company is however committed toward becoming an effective multicultural organisation through working towards adopting a multicultural form of organisation (Mor Barak, 2005). Barriers to Implementation of Diversity Management In spite of the importance of diversity management in any organisation, there are various barriers that can limit its implementation. Organizational culture and past performance may make a company fail to acknowledge that lack of diversity is one of its shortcomings and therefore it fails to develop strategies to ensure diversity (French, 2005). Lack of involvement and support of the top managers may also limit the adoption of diversity. The other barrier to diversity is its definition where lack of an inclusive definition of the term may mean that some employees could perceive themselves as excluded and resist further efforts to enhanced diversity. The other barrier to diversity management is the reliance of unsuitable consultants who lack the needed skills and experience. Over reliance on consultants is also recognized as a barrier to diversity management (Mor Barak, 2005). The other barrier to achieving diversity is the complexity of organisations and the resistance for its employees to change. Recommendations to Promoting Diversity To ensure that Aldway is able to promote diversity, it should adopt the recommendations below. The company must clearly define the meaning of the word diversity in its organizational context. This is because different people have varying understanding of the term and in its definition. However, diversity goes entails race, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical capabilities, family status, language and working style (Kampf, 2010). The other recommendation is that the company should develop realistic goals. The process of diversity management is usually lengthy and therefore the company must develop goals that are realistic (Kampf, 2010). The company should also develop strategies to assess its progress towards achievement of diversity management. The company should develop strategies to monitor the progress towards achievement of diversity management. The company should also develop a system for the acquisition of talents from different groups of the society. The company should develop strategies to ensure that all members of the society get to know about the vacancy. The company has already instituted measures towards this end (Mor Barak, 2005). The company should also enhance trainings to its managers on the importance of diversity management. The other recommended action that Aldway should adopt is foster support and engagement of the senior management. References Cox, T., Jr. (2001). Creating the multicultural organization: A strategy for capturing the power of diversity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. French, E. (2005). The importance of strategic change in achieving equity in diversity. Strategic Change, 14, 35-44. Kampf, J. (2010). Seven steps to more effective diversity management. JBK Associates, Inc. Mor Barak, M. E. (2005). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. CA: Sage Publications. Read More