Diversity Training Programs as Significant Techniques of Diversity Management - Assignment Example

Diversity Training Program of the of the Introduction This report is aimed at preparing a diversity training program in a small organization. The diversity training program is prepared so that it can be implemented in the business to make it fully capable of managing diversity among its workforce and thereby extracting maximum benefits for the organization through an effective diversity management. The thesis statement is to discuss and evaluate the concept of diversity and diversity management from different dimensions including an analysis of the issues in diversity management and the probable solutions for these issues while focusing on the design and employment of a suitable diversity training program in the organization to ensure the achievement of these objectives. Diversity is a keyword in the arena of modern management. It has become extremely critical for all types of companies operating in the current business environment to manage diversity within the organization. The diversity of workforce groups is consistently increasing with an increase in globalized activities and the opening up of multinational and transnational corporations. As such, diversity has emerged as a main issue in almost every company, irrespective of the scale and industry of operations of the company. Organizations engage in diversity training programs because of two main reasons. These reasons are the development of an inclusive environment within the organization and to create an ethical and legally compliant image for the company. Diversity training programs as a part of diversity management are aimed at bringing about major changes in the organizational culture by creating more clear concepts and open mindsets of the employees regarding the diverse groups of people that they have to work with on a daily basis. Lesson Plan In a business world with rapidly evolving demographics and workforce components, every organization needs to identify the diversity issues in the business and the impacts that these issues may have on the products, services as well as the staffing activities of the company. In this respect, an organization also has to develop a composite diversity training plan that would help to create awareness and consciousness towards diversity management. The diversity training program used here consists of an extensive lesson plan which includes the key objectives of the training program and the overall plan of the training program. The diversity training program encompasses the distribution of suitable materials related to the training. The materials are distributed among the trainees during every step of the training so that they can refer to these materials for having a better understanding of the training areas and objectives. The training materials are based on the background of the diversity management training requirement, the importance of diversity, an identification of key issues in diversity management, and the impacts of diversity management issues on the profitability and performance of an organization and the ways in which diversity management can be done effectively in the organization. The diversity training program is aimed at creating high levels of cooperation and mutual respect among all levels of employees in the organization so as to bring about more efficiency in the individual performances of eth employees and the overall performance of the organization. A range of topics are covered in the diversity training program. These include affirmative action, equal opportunity, assimilation versus acceptance of diversity, understanding and management of explicit and implicit biases based on diversity, creation of activities of inclusion and the importance of creating a positive cultural image. The training program would be divided into five main modules mentioned as follows: Overview of diversity and inclusion Conflict resolution and communication Personal and organizational behaviors that impact diversity Two way benefits of diversity. Issues and solutions in diversity. The diversity training program is aimed at attaining the following main objectives: To create awareness and acceptance about diversity in the organization. To build an environment of mutual respect and recognition. To infuse diversity as an integral factor in the organizational culture. To teach the employees of all levels to approach other people with respect and inclusion. To discuss the benefits of diversity management for the individual employees as well as the organization as a whole. To increase more tolerance and assimilation of diversity in the organization. To identify the existing and potential diversity management issues in the organization. To find suitable solutions for these diversity management issues like conflicts arising out of diversity, bullying and harassment based on culture, religion or gender based differences. To develop skills among the employees to manage diversity themselves through the use of proper communication, mutual respect and an acceptance oriented behavior towards each other. Content The materials of the training would include write ups, presentations, articles, video and audio clips and books excerpts that would help the training participants to understand the imagery and language of diversity. The materials as a part of the training program would also help them to gather knowledge about different forms of diversity, acceptable and unacceptable behaviors related to diversity, primary and secondary aspects of diversity and the significance of diversity management in their personal as well as professional lives. The training would provide for a macro as well as a micro perspective into the various dimensions of diversity as a concept and diversity as a practical issue. Diversity management has assumed a highly significant role in both small and big organizations. The rapidly evolving demographic landscapes have made it mandatory that people from different backgrounds, race, creed, color, gender, religion, culture etc. work together. In this scenario, it is very critical for a company to ensure that the conflicts arising out of diversity in the organization can be controlled and minimized. If not managed properly, diversity related conflicts may have far reaching impacts on the profitability, efficiency as well as on the ethical image of a company. The diversity training program should be developed with an effective consideration given to the existing organizational culture, diversity level and organizational competencies. Also, the diversity training program should be customized according to the specific needs of the organization (Stockdale and Crosby, 2004). There may be different issues related to diversity management in a business which can be identified in the diversity training program. These are discussed as follows. Diversity is concentrated around people. Therefore, most of the issues in diversity management arise because of the conflicts among the workforce of an organization. Often the main issue with diversity is that people cannot accept working with other employees who are significantly different from them. This may result in a biased behavior among the employees towards each other and also sometimes among the managers towards the employees. A biased environment often creates barriers in two way communication within the organization. On the other hand, the management of biases has positive impacts on the quality of relationships among the internal entities of the organization as well as among the internal and the external entities of the organization. The internal entitles of an organization mainly includes the employees while the external entities may include customers, suppliers, distributors, investors etc. Ineffective diversity management generally leads lead to a high level of conflict among the workforce. The unresolved conflicts are likely to pile up and may be detrimental to the organizational health and long term success of the company. The high levels of conflicts may lead to lack of motivation and subsequently affect the performances of the individual employees as well as teams and departments. Also, an absence of cooperative behavior among the employees may lead to slow and confused work processes. Unmanaged diversity in the workforce may lead to negative impacts on the organizational culture; promote prejudice, bias, harassment and unacceptable discrimination which would be derogatory for the overall performance and image of the organization. Ineffective diversity management would also lead to general dissatisfaction among the employees and prevent the formation of a harmonies and cooperative relation between the organization and its employees. There may be a number of solutions that can be identified for these issues related to diversity and diversity management. The training program is aimed at finding suitable solutions for the issues of diversity. Encouraging the managers and other employees to communicate effectively is a main way of managing diversity. The managers and leaders should display an unbiased and fair behavior towards all the employees. This would inspire the followers to demonstrate similar kinds of behavior. The training program should include modules dedicated towards removing the stereotypes and pre conceived notions among people regarding other religions, cultures, customs etc. The creation of mutual cooperation through extensive focus on the benefits of diversity acceptance and assimilation would help to foster a positive work culture and a positive work environment in the company. This would also create harmonious relationships between the employees and add to the job satisfaction of the employees. The employees should be made aware of the repercussions of harassment and discrimination caused to other employees. The training program should also present clear guidelines about the acceptable and unacceptable norms within the culture of the organization. This would act as an effective measure in restricting any kind of discriminative and biased behavior on the part of the employees. Most companies engage in diversity with the aim of achieving the following business and corporate objectives (Kirton and Greene, 2010): The companies want to promote a socially responsible and ethical image by treating all people alike and by giving fair chances of employment to all. This is generally done through the implementation of an equal opportunity employment system. The companies expect a high economic payback from investing and engaging in diversity maintenance and diversity management. Diversity measurers gives individuals the opportunity to get fair chances for accessing sources of income irrespective of their backgrounds or origins and thereby, helps to improve the overall economy of the country. This, in turn helps in creating a positive and ethical image for the company. The company also has a resource imperative to employ diverse people. The support of diversity helps the company to recruit the best talents available in a labor pool, A diverse workforce is useful to reflect a diverse base of customers. This can be a significant marketing strategy for the company. A diverse workforce ensures effective communication of the company with all its stakeholder groups. Engaging in diversity is also a strategy of capacity building and makes the company more adept in responding to changes in the external business environment. There may be a number of benefits for the employees that can be expected as outcomes of the diversity training program. The training program would help the employees to form a clear and assimilated idea about the importance of diversity and the need for embracing diversity in their workplace. It would also create proper idea among the employees regarding the differences between acceptance and tolerance from the perspective of diversity. Acceptance in diversity encompasses mutual respect and recognition while tolerance in bearing some action, word or discrimination because of diversity which are not ethically acceptable. The ability of the employees to differentiate between these two terms is extremely necessary to foster a valuable diverse workforce on an organization. The training program would help the employees to incorporate different diversity principles in their day to day work and learn and correct their own biases. A diversity training program would also communicate to the employees that the organization cares for the well-being and benefits of its employees. The training program is expected to promote diversity, equal opportunity, positive cultural identity formation and intersectionality among the employees. Also, the diversity training program is likely to help in the identification of biases, the influence of biases on the physical and mental health of the employees and the ways of managing these biases. Conclusion Diversity training programs are significant techniques of diversity management. They are extremely necessary for building up a cohesive work culture and environmental and for promoting healthy work relationships. Since, a well-managed diversified group of people is found to perform more efficiently than a conflict burdened group; therefore, diversity management has become a key focus for all organizations. The diversity training program can solve many critical issues related to diversity and diversity management. This kind of program would pave a way for an inclusive environment which facilitates the development of a satisfied and motivated workforce. A valued, accepted and rewarded employee would experience more job satisfaction and would subsequently add to the overall performance of the organization. Effective diversity management through corporate diversity training programs would create a positive work culture and a more efficient workforce. Thus, engaging and investing in diversity training programs as a part of diversity management would create a win-win situation for both the employees and the organization as a whole. References Kirton, G. & Greene, A. M., (2010). The dynamics of managing diversity: a critical approach. Netherlands: Elsevier. Stockdale, M. S. & Crosby, F. J., (2004). The Psychology and Management of Workplace Diversity. New York: Wiley. Read More