Individual Public Managers - Essay Example

Diversity Plan by an individual public manager Diversity Plan by an individual public manager Introduction Within any organization, the human resource function tends to be the most important organ within an organization because it helps in planning and controlling the human capital and also making plans to develop the same. For an organization to achieve this, they are forced to apply strategic human resource management so that they can execute the process in an effective and continuous manner. Strategic management refers to the process that focuses on making an organization to be adaptive to the business environment that it operates in by making use of marketing forces both within and outside an organization. The public administration through the human resource function must be able to develop a strategic plan that will ensure that it achieves its organizational goals and objectives. A strategic plan must be competitive because the main function other than meeting customer demands and making a profit is the achievement of competitive advantage of an organization. Body Additionally, a competitive strategy developed by the human resource function for an organization must be able to generate significant returns on investment (ROI), applies cost-effective technologies, and renders services that are of value. Strategic planning allows a public administrative body to withstand the challenges influenced by change. Strategic planning provides a clear purpose and a sense of direction for an organization as change tends to be a constant factor in every business. In most cases, organizations that do not plan and anticipate challenges always attract failure might also fail because a plan put in place was not properly implemented. The challenge mostly lies in the implementation of a strategy rather in the development of the same as argued by many public managers and company CEOs. In this case, strategic human resources management includes the aspects of recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, evaluation, and compensation of employees in line with the ethical requirements. The plan developed below uses diversity management because this application recognizes and values the fact that people are diverse and applies them to achieve organizational outcomes. Diversity management is an effective application when it comes to managing people within an organization because it puts in mind the strengths, attributes of a workforce for the good of an organization. A Plan that Outlines SHRM Inclusion 1. Assessment of diversity In this step, the inclusion of all employees is essential in this part of developing the plan because they can be helpful in providing insights into the challenges and obstacles they face because of their diversity. Assessment of diversity is obtained by conducting employee satisfaction surveys and the moderation of discussions through open forums where employees will be allowed to contribute without the fear of repercussions. The Development of the Diversity Plan for Company X 2. Why diversity is important to us We understand the importance of bringing on board different cultures, philosophies and ideas to our organization because this is the only sure way that can attract sustainable growth for all the stakeholders in our organization. 3. An overview of the diversity activities i. Sensitivity Training- this mainly focuses on cultural sensitivity training that helps employees to avoid making utterances that might be offensive, which they may do so out of ignorance or malice. This training allows employees to know which terms or language are acceptable within an organization that influences work effectiveness and cohesive working. ii. Support of affinity groups- an affinity group is a smaller subset group within a population that is considered diverse that tend to have their way of doing things. Our organization has always shown support for such groups, for example, Jews by allowing them to practice their conservative activities within our premises, which helps them to feel accepted. iii. Cultural celebrations- Our organization recognizes and respects the cultural celebrations of the different people that work among us because this helps us to understand their culture more and also the values that they hold. Based on this, our organization allows employees to celebrate their cultural holidays and occasions within our premises because it allows all employees to experience` different cultures, helps them to cultivate respect and tolerance for other cultures, which in turn encourages workforce diversity (Saldivar, n.d). 4. Diversity Opportunities a. Influences better teamwork b. Help in the development of new products and services through the generation of diverse ideas c. Creates a better image for an organization d. Leads to expansion of a company’s market because the diverse workforce can work for the same company in any part of the globe 5. Our definition of diversity It is a way of appreciating our individualities attributed by a culture that allows us to achieve overall growth, and influencing both the customer and employee satisfaction. 6. Our plan Vision To become the most respectable employer that factors in diversity and helps our diverse employees to grow as our company grows. We also intend to be the market leaders by recruiting diverse workforces that will generate fresh ideas that will help us stay relevant to our markets. Objectives I. To recruit individuals without having prejudice over their race, age, or gender attributes (Ruccucci, 2009). II. To ensure that the diversity policies are followed by every member of the organization irrespective of their rank in the organization. Strategies I. Board recruitment shall also be on merit and will factor in diversity fairness. II. The recruitment process shall target all members of the community and will seek to have a diverse workforce. The Board/advisors Selection Board shall be done annually where those recruited shall act as mentors to the other organization members. Senior board members are responsible for mentoring the new board members recruited through answering questions and handing down of important knowledge concerning our organization to them. A board matrix analysis shall be conducted on an annual basis. Staff and volunteers It might not be needful to constantly recruit new employees, but recruitment shall be conducted on a need-be basis. The recruitment to be conducted might be dependent on turnover levels and volunteer base that our organization might be having. The recruitment policies and practices of hiring developed by our organization shall be strictly followed at all times to ensure that the recruitment process is inclusive and supports different cultures. Surveys conducted before the diversity plan can be needful at this point because the feedback obtained can help highlight the areas where there might be communication breakdowns, the need for team building, and support for employees so as to increase their job satisfaction levels. 7. Programming a) The program will be inclusive. b) The entire management team shall support the diversity initiative. c) The program will begin by conducting a need assessment. d) The management team will set goals and objectives for the organization that are to be evaluated periodically so as to ascertain whether they are being achieved. e) Managers shall be held accountable for training programs by ensuring that they make them inclusive so as to retain and attract more staff. 8. Communication The plan as developed will be communicated to the board first for approval through official emailing before it is communicated to the various department heads who will in turn communicate with the employees and volunteers if any. 9. Evaluation process The human resource department on a quarterly basis shall do the diversity plan’s successful implementation tracking, while the board shall play the oversight role. 10. Diversity Profile Organization X commissioned a diversity survey in August 2014 where the findings were analyzed and documented in a report in February 2015. The report was presented to the Board of Directors in March 2015 and the report was insightful in providing a basis for this Diversity Action Plan. As much as there are legislations, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that advocate for the inclusion of diversity in the workplace, there are also challenges that are encountered while executing the same. For one, there tends to be the resistance to change, especially the existing corporate culture does not advocate for inclusion. Such a culture can be resistant to change, but can be addressed by effecting a legal action against those that are found not to support diversity within an organization. On the contrary, resentment can also be a challenge, which can be influenced by policies such as the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) imposed by the government and not self-initiated. This can be addressed by conducting training on the importance of such policies because influencing understanding among employees can help decrease resentment. Conclusion Group/ open conflict is another challenge where prejudices against certain diverse cultures might lead to this or even chaos. The prejudices tend to influence mistrust among employees and conflict might arise at any opportunity presented. This can be dealt with by conducting cultural sensitivity training that can help in addressing some of the prejudices and stereotypes that people might have against each other. In so doing, an organization will be able to encourage diversity in a workplace, which creates a conducive working environment and influences job satisfaction and organizational loyalty. References Ruccucci, N. M. (2009). The Pursuit of Social Equity in the Federal Government: A Road Less Traveled? Public Administration Review. Saldivar, K. M. Team-Based Learning: A Model for Democratic and culturally competent 21st Century Public Administrators. Journal of Public Affairs Education. 21 (2), 143-164. Read More