Sales Force Diversity - Research Paper Example

Sales Force Diversity Abstract In recent decades, sales force diversity has become a central issue in the lives of working Americans as well as corporations big and small. For many this subject has become a component of American culture and conversation. There have been controversial issues surrounding sales force diversity and how to understand and accept it. This is a subject of equal opportunity and careful consideration of the human spirit and character. This paper will examine women and other minority groups that have entered the sales force; what benefits and obstacles have they and their employers gained and faced? Are sales managers effectively able to manage such diverse employees? For Americans as a whole, how much diversity is expected and considered necessary in today’s job marketplace? Additionally how does the importance of a higher education play a role in a diverse sales force? This paper will seek to uncover the answer to these issues. Literature researched proposes that a select number of corporations see diversity as not only gender and color, but a type of philosophy or corporate culture that emphasizes corporate diversity rather than limiting it to only to its sales force. Research on some of these corporations within their respected market will be investigated to learn of implementation if any and attitudes on sales force diversity and philosophies. Introduction Diversity is important in human resource management since it is essential in attaining the goals of an organization. Companies, particularly in sales, need to hire the best out of the available human resources in order to improve their performance. This creates the necessity of hiring and managing a diverse workforce. According to Carter, there are six elements which define the diversity in a workforce. These are “age, ethnicity, gender, race, sexual orientation, and physical abilities.” Since diversity is defined as anything that makes a person different from the majority, personal values can also qualify a person or group of people as diverse (1998, p. 146). These employees who are considered diverse are given additional protection under the law because they are at a high risk for harassment and discrimination (Booth, Robson, & Welham, 2004, p. 1). Consequently, business organizations must also provide special protection to women and minorities if they want to diversify their workforce. The Necessity of a Diverse Workforce Sales companies that employ diverse workers enjoy greater success than those which do not. An excellent example is the case of a Miami Toyota dealer, who increased sales by 400 % by hiring bilingual salespersons (Gold, 1996). Companies that diversify their workforce not only attract more clients. They attract more job applicants as well. According to Ash, most people prefer to work in places where diversity is tolerated, or even encouraged (2007, p. 223). Not only is a diverse organization more apt to responding to a diverse clientele, employees from different backgrounds also tend to produce more creative means in meeting company demands. In a country that has become more and more diverse, diversity seems to have become synonymous with desirability. Companies now already see the necessity of creating a more diverse workforce instead of sticking to homogeneous employees. The growing diversity in U.S. population causes this need. From the necessity a diversified workforce arises the question of how much diversity is necessary. The answer to this question will be based on the analysis of 2010’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” compiled by CNN Fortune 100 (CNN, 2010). Company % Women % Minority SAS (software) 45 16 Edward Jones (investment) 63 7 Wegman Food Markets 53 17 Colgate-Palmolive 40 29 Winchester Hospital 84 7 Intel 24 40 SAS, Edward Jones, and Wegman are on the top three while Colgate-Palmolive, Winchester Hospital, and Intel round up the top 100 list. Based on the given data, it can be concluded that a company ideally should have a high level of diversity. Companies whose workforce is more or less 50% female are found by the whole of its staff as a desirable place to work. However, companies need to work more on recruiting minorities since they still lag behind in terms of employment opportunities. Obstacles Faced by Employees and Employers in a Diverse Sales Force In order to fully understand the situation of diverse salespeople in the United States today, one needs to go few decades back to one of the landmark cases filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It was a case filed against Sears, Roebuck, and company, at that time, second-largest employer of women—just next to the federal government. In 1973, 35 women filed a legal complaint against Sears because it discriminated against women in terms of “recruitment, selection, assignment, transfer, training and promotion” (Sorrel, 1986, p. 17). As a result of the lawsuit, the company promised to prioritize equality in its sales force by making sure that half of its new employees would be women and minority males. Six years later, EEOC found that Sears did give equal opportunity to minority males but women were still behind in terms of rights and opportunities. A huge disparity against women in recruitment and promotions still existed. Sears defended itself by claiming that women are less effective salespeople since they are not as competitive and because “feminine” values do not fit the job of commissioned sales. Sears further claimed that there is no discrimination because its male-dominated staff does not discriminate against women since women are essential parts of men’s personal, family, and social lives. The case of EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck and Company shows how women, who fall into the category of diverse employees, face obstacles towards success because of the general sexual bias. In a 1993 study by W. Kenan, he found that women are often discouraged in sales because of the strong dominance of males in the field. Also, minimal support, smaller salaries, and fewer bonuses add to the obstacles they encounter towards reaching their full potentials (qtd. in Carter, 1998, p. 151). Gregory supports the claim that women still experience discrimination against them because of their sex. Such discrimination could take up a “blatant, subtle, and covert” form (2003, p. 5). Presently, the American society’s discrimination against women does not take the more obvious manifestations such as the deprivation of work or the preference of males during recruitment. It takes a less subtle form, such as the non-appointment of women to higher positions. Although many experts observe that the number of male and females in the American workforce is nearly equal, they still note that there are only very few women who hold top positions in American companies (Gregory, 2003, p. 6; Kotkin, 2009). Discrimination aside, among the reasons why employers choose to have a less diverse workforce is organizational attachment. A widely diverse workforce may find it more difficult to interact with each other or may see their diversity as a hindrance towards working successfully with others (Tsui, Egan, & O’Reilly, 1992). A workforce that is very loosely attached to each other becomes a problem for the employer not only because it affects a sales organization’s unity. It also increases the likelihood of employees to quit once they find their relationship with other employees unsatisfactory. Additionally, people in a diverse environment prefer to identify within their own sex or ethnicity. This creates problems since it increases the tension among groups as they try to rival with each other (Chatman & O’Reilly, 2004). Although competition among salespeople is good since it drives them to increase their productivity, competition caused by ethnocentrism may prevent employees from cooperating with each other. Employees who adopt ethnocentric views see themselves as superior to others, which consequently makes the “other” group inferior to them. Ethnocentrism, racial preference, and gender bias hinder the performance of a company. However, diversity is still necessary in a sales force since a diverse human resource is more effective in providing creative strategies and attracting a broader customer base. Most people prefer dealing with salespersons they can identify with whether in sex, age, or ethnicity, which is why a homogeneous sales force may not always perform better than a diverse one. It is for this reason that companies need to diversify its workforce. Having diverse salespeople increases the diversity of clients, which consequently leads to higher sales (Wilkins, 2007, p. 44). Since diversity naturally exists and since companies cannot retain a homogeneous workforce, the challenge now is to manage diversity well. Managing Diversity Organizations require their employees to undergo diversity training in order to minimize, if not eliminate, the conflicts caused by their differences. In the past, such trainings have not been effective in resolving diversity issues since they only focus on understanding the differences among employees. They do not teach employees concrete skills on developing better relationships with a diverse team (Combs, 2002). A more effective strategy that employers can use today is to educate their sales force on how to deal with diverse employees within and outside of the workplace. Additionally, Combs (2002) suggests that employers include diversity training in other training programs for their employees, instead of making it a separate program, for it to be more effective. For instance, they can include diversity training during team building and sales management program. In order to respond effectively to diversity problems in a workplace, it is ideal for employers to create a diversity policy. This will provide managers or management teams with guidelines in dealing with diversity issues in the workplace and provide reassurance to diverse employees that their rights will be protected at all times (Booth, Robson & Welham, 2004, p. 77). Since each sales organization have varying needs, it is impossible to create a specific policy that will suit everyone. However, it is important that every diversity policy should center on creating equal opportunities and defining conducts which are considered discriminatory. A highly-competent manager is very important in implementing such policies and in managing a diverse sales force. The job of this sales manager is to recognize the differences among individuals and provide them with the supervision that they need (Weitzul, 1993, p. 86). In terms of hiring diverse candidates, sales organizations can pattern their recruitment process after the NFL and the University of California. In the National Football League, each team is required to interview a minimum number of minority applicants before filling in a coaching vacancy. This helps in ensuring that minority applicants are given fair opportunities for the coaching position. On the other hand, interviewers for the University of California are required to state the specific reasons for rejecting a teaching applicant in order to prevent them from arbitrarily dismissing candidates (Morgan & Vardy, 2006, p. 20). Managers will know that they are able to manage their diverse workforce properly once they are able to do the following: accomplish what the company wants to do; be as close as possible to their ideals of success; and create strategies that will enhance their competitive advantage (Thomas, 2006, p. 103). The Diverse Sales Force and Higher Education In July 2002, Fortune Magazine listed the 50 most influential African American chief executives. Of the 50, 47 of them are college graduates (“African-American Business Leaders,” 2002). This confirms that minorities who finish higher education have greater chance of succeeding professionally. Consequently, it implies that minorities that finish higher education fare better when competing with employees from majority groups. Moreover, higher education has been found to reduce the income gaps between black and white employees. A study shows that blacks who finish college education earn 119% more than blacks who only hold high school diploma. On the other hand, whites who finish college earn only 47% more than those who did not ("One Statistical Measure," 1996). Findings show that a college diploma is more important for minority employees compared to white Americans. Whether this is a manifestation of racial preference or not, the more important thing is that it reveals to minorities that college education is necessary if they are to succeed in a diverse workforce. The study further notes that African Americans who have attained higher education contribute to the elimination of cultural stereotypes against them and the decrease of income disparity between blacks and whites. As for women, attaining higher education has become more important whether in sales or any other career. In a research letter, the Postsecondary Education Opportunity notes that today’s more successful individuals have studied in colleges and universities (qtd. in Hansen, n.d.). Women did not fall short in meeting the higher demands for professional success. The letter discloses that more women than men have attained higher and graduate education back in 2000. Women who also belong to the minority race have greater chances of succeeding in the field of business if they have attained higher education. In the list of the most powerful black women in business published by Black Enterprise, only one of them have not completed college. Several of those successful black women also took up postgraduate studies and hold graduate degrees (“Higher Education Credentials,” 2006, p. 46). These findings show that women and minority in a sales force have greater chances of succeeding and can cope with a diverse workforce better if they have attained higher education. Conclusion Diversity is essential in a sales force since it creates a deeper pool of employees and a wider customer base. The number of women and minority professionals has grown greatly in the past couple of decades, making it a necessity for sales managers to pay more attention to diversity issues within the workplace. Among the problems of a diverse sales force is the tendency of employees to be less cooperative with people they do not identify with because of gender, ethnicity, age, and other factors that make other employees different. It is necessary for sales managers to make everyone understand that differences exist and to provide specific guidelines on how to create a harmonious relationship amidst the diversity that exists. Companies must also make their minority and women employees feel that they will be protected against likely discriminations without alienating the rest of the employees. References “African-American business leaders: The importance of a college education.” (2002, October 31). The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 37, 29. Ash, S.R. (2007). Why should small businesses care about employee diversity?: Five areas of research that influence organizational results.” Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, (20) 3, 223-232. Booth, N., Robson, C., & Welham, J. (2004). Tolley's Managing a Diverse Workforce. Croydon, England: LexisNexis. Carter, T. (1998). Contemporary sales force management. Binghamton, NY: The Hawthorne Press Inc. Chatman, J.A., & O’Reilly, C.A, (2004). Asymmetric reactions to work group sex diversity among men and women. Academy of Management Journal, 47 (2), 193-208. CNN. (2010). 100 Best Companies to Work For. The Cable News Network. 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