Racial Diversity on Organizations - Coursework Example

RACIAL DIVERSITY ON ORGANIZATIONS Introduction Diversity essentially refers to variety in humans. The term reflects the different races, ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds of people. This paper will discuss a personal experience that dealt with diversity. In this paper, I will talk about my experience of working in a firm that encouraged ethnic and racial diversity. I will give a little background to illustrate this occurrence. The paper will then discuss the issue of diversity itself and all other related issues. Ways of solving the problem will be given light. The satisfaction from this resolution will be determined after which recommendations on how to improve current practices will be given. Background I worked in a small/medium enterprise where the workforce was very diverse. The employees all came from different backgrounds, some had different skin colors, and others had different religions and ethnic circumstances. There were two Muslims, a couple of Asians and a few more from different backgrounds. The term ‘diversity’ refers to differences in human resources and when an organization implements this, it accepts and values these differences. Basically, it is when organizations hire employees regardless of their race. This is, in a way, a stand against racism and simply, prejudice. The question is why might organizations implement this? There are a number of reasons why organizations employ a diverse workforce. There are many opportunities such as reputation in the corporate world, greater pool of ideas, better ability to meet customer requirements and much more. ‘Going diverse’ has its share of challenges also. The biggest of these challenges is that it acts as a barrier to communication, cultural biases may be formed, frustration amongst team members and many more which will be discussed in the following sections. The Racial Diversity Issue – what is it? The diversity issue is a growing concern for many firms in the corporate world. It is a big decision for them to decide on the kind of workforce they are going to employ. Why is it such a huge decision when it’s only a matter of hiring the right kind of people, even if they look different? Human variations can be of different kinds. Some people are genetically or biologically different while other variations are in culture and environment. Human variations could also be of different levels; individual or population level. When there is racial diversity at the former level, it distinguishes people as individuals while the second distinguishes them as a race (McCulloch, 2007). I think that when people are perceived as a part of a race, and not as individuals, that is when problems arise. This is, hence, the central issue of racial diversity; people are not appreciated as individuals, instead they are misconceived as something or someone else. This was happening, only to an extent, in the organization that employed me. There were two people from a different religion. They were looked down on by some of their colleagues because these colleagues had preconceived notions about them. They had stereotyped these people to have some traits that they did not even possess. As a result, many other theoretical issues come up also. When individuals are not respected for what they are, it causes frustrations amongst them. In an organizational setting, this would be especially unacceptable because it will affect the performance of team members in a group, and ultimately productivity will be affected. Another issue that may arise as a result of racial diversity is the augmentation of cultural biases. Even if people do not wish to be biased against people who look or believe differently, it sometimes becomes inevitable not to. As a result, cultural biases are usually formed against people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This discourages them particularly in an organization. If they have to work with people who are thought of as superior, ethnic people will be de-motivated to work. Also, cultural biases are spawned when trying to change the corporate culture. If such biases and behavior grow in frequency and intensity it can result in legal charges of discrimination, in its most serious form (Thomas, 1997). When there is variation in humans, it is very probable that this variation would act as a barrier to communication. People with diverse backgrounds speak differently, think differently and even perceive differently. For this reason, it may be difficult for these people to commune. This is another theoretical issue that rises as a result of racial diversity. In an organizational environment, this can be harmful for the firm. Imagine a situation where employees do not understand what their employer is trying to tell them. They perceive it to be something other than the reality and perform their work accordingly. This could have detrimental effects on the organization, especially if it is large. In my organization, the Asians found it hard to understand their colleagues’ language, mostly informal. The argument that can be taken here is that informal communication is extremely important for any organization too, so it did cause problems, but at a lower level. Resolution The most obvious resolution to solve this problem is to make the employees feel as if they are like any other employees of the organization. This was adopted by my organization as well. The management did not differentiate between its employees and gave every one an equal chance to voice any opinions they might have had, or to bring anything to the table that they wished. This made employees feel at home, but only at one level. The organizations did not take any action to make them feel at home when they were not working. The actual problem arose when these individuals were in an informal, casual, after/between work setting. There was not much the organization do to prevent their colleagues from making ethnic jokes. However, in their code of ethics, they could have defined this as a breech of ethical conduct of the organization. The firm tried to solve the problem of de-motivation in a team environment by making separate teams; a different team for the variant human resources and a separate one for the regular, white American employees. They thought this would egg on competition and hence, improve efficiency. However, I feel that the management should have done otherwise. Racial diversity has shown to improve group decision-making, according to Tufts University Research. They studied that diverse groups perform better than homogenous groups (Science Daily, 2006). Therefore, the firm should have emphasized more on diverse group orientation. Lastly, diversity also helps to increase marketing opportunities and creativity (Esty, et al., 1995). For all these reasons, the firm should have made diverse teams. Recommendations When an organization employs a diverse workforce, it becomes important to acknowledge their needs and earlier unrecognized discrimination so that no single group or individual feels left behind. Hence, laws have to be enforced to meet these requirements. For example, laws for protecting physically disabled employees are enforced. Once these are imposed, steps have to be taken to monitor that people are following them. This is an added cost in terms of money, time and effort. Conclusion A changing marketplace gives rise to diversity. To cope up with this change, the organization should continue to employ diversity in the workplace. This allows for higher productivity, quick problem-solving techniques and much more. However, there are many problems of multiculturalism. But to overcome these, the organization could provide training on how to effectively manage a diverse workforce along with communication tips. Managers must be made aware of the problems of diversity. Finally, the organization should weigh the costs and benefits to decide on an appropriate diversity action plan. This plan can only be made successful by learning how to adapt to diversity. BIBLIOGRAPHY Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. McCulloch, R. (2007). Racial Diversity. Retrieved Sept. 27, 2008, from Racial Compact. Web site: http://www.racialcompact.com/racialdiversity.html Morrison, T. & Conway, W.A. (2006). Kiss, Bow, or shake hands: The bestselling guide to doing business in more than 60 countries. (2nd.ed.). Avon, Mass. Thomas, R.R. (1997). Have You Met the Challenge of a Diverse Organization? Retrieved on Sept. 27, 2008 from American Management Association. Website: http://www.amanet.org/editorials/editorial.cfm?Ed=263&pending=true Tufts University (2006, April 10). Racial Diversity Improves Group Decision Making In Unexpected Ways, According To Tufts University Research. Read More