Human Resource Management: Challenges of Managing a Diverse Workforce - Literature review Example

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES OF MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Diversity and equality subsist to guarantee a comprehensive workplace where differences in race, age, gender, disability, culture and class are never a barrier to attaining a job or advancing ones career. Diversity and equality facilitate enhancement of HR excellence and employment relations. Successful organisations put in place procedures and practices that guarantee equal and fair treatment of their employees. However, attaining diversity entails addressing discrimination and promoting equality in workplace. Contemporary workplace necessitates supervisors and managers to acclimatize to the requirements of the ever-increasing diverse workforce. This essay evaluates the terms discrimination, equality and diversity in the context of the workplace and HR practices. The essay also explores the importance of adopting diversity and equality policies in an organisation with particular focus to Hilton Hotels. Defining Diversity, Discrimination and Equality According to OECD (2011, p.205), attaining diversity is a confidence-building and a long-term process. However, diversity is attainable through addressing discrimination and promoting equality in workplace. The idea of diversity includes respect and acceptance. It implies a comprehension that every person is unique in his/her own ways and understanding individual disparities. Barak (2010, p.146) asserts that diversity entails everyone and it is not something described through gender or race. Diversity extends to corporate and personal background, education, age, personality and function. It entails life-style, geographic origin and tenure with the firm. Equality, on the other hand, entails making sure that groups or people are equally and fairly treated. Promoting equality removes any act of discrimination. Discrimination entails the potential to make or see fine distinctions. It entails consideration or treatment founded in category or class such as gender or race instead of individual merit. Equality, Discrimination and Equality in HR Practices and Workplace Discrimination in the context of HR practices and policies entails ensuring that workplace practices and policies do not show prejudice on the biases of sexual orientation, disability, race, cultural background or gender identity. In this regard, employers and managers can establish written objectives principle for assessing candidates for recruitment, hire or promotion. Organisations are required to make a commitment to anti—discriminatory practices and promote equal prospects through removing systemic barriers. Employers, through their associations and human resources management and development practices and policies that they pursue at the workplace are crucial in conquering discrimination at workplace (Sharma 2009, p.149). With respect to equality, a human resource management practice brings about more inclusive workplaces where everyone is treated equally and fairly. The concept of equality in workplace is a major feature in HR practices. Effective and fair HR practices aims at matching skills and capabilities of individuals to the requirements of specific jobs. Diversity on the context of HR practices entails recognition of disparities amid people, and it promotes teamwork, cohesiveness and participation in workplace. According to OECP (2011, p.205), human resource management practices must be in a position to limit or avoid discrimination against other people, securing equal prospects but still base promotion and recruitment on merit. Managing diversity entails addressing equality and preventing discrimination in workplace. However, Shakhray (2009, p.1) asserts that managing diversity does not only entail centring on matters of discrimination, but also guaranteeing that people make unsurpassed use of their contribution and ability to their workplaces. Managing diversity centres on matters of development within a firm, its culture and its business goals and objectives. The main idea behind managing diversity recognises that the workforce comprises of a diverse populace of people. Diversity comprises of non-visible and visible disparities such as work-style, background and personality. Diversity management is the consideration of all employees, particularly managers in a workplace. Equality and diversity in the context of HR practices and workplace appreciates that individuals are diverse in different ways, invisible or visible mainly marital status, disability, sexual orientation, social status, age, culture, ethnicity, religion and personality. A diverse workforce encompasses a mass of values, understandings, beliefs and world views. Rapid globalisation and internationalisation has promoted the importance of workforce diversity. According to Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga (2009, p.236), multicultural and cross-cultural workforce is a general thread in modern organisations. Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga ( 2009, p.236) further assert that the key to management of diversity that entails addressing discrimination and promoting equality, hinges on people-centred and tactical thinking policies. While management of diversity is a perspective that revolves around workers, the HRM function becomes the curator of the people management procedures. Firstly, diversity management and HRM are concerned with the contribution of human resource department to business strategy. Secondly, diversity management and HRM are concerned with personal disparities, the well being and growth of each individual in a workplace. Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga (2009, p.237) confirms that utilising the human resource management toolkits in dealing with inequality in appraisal, advancement, reward and recruitment promotes equal employment prospects, enhance creativity and inclusiveness in a diverse labour force. Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga (2009, p.237) confirmed the relationship between formalising HRM practices which tackle demographic representation in human resource decision making and increased illustration of minorities and women in managerial positions. From this perspective, productive diversity management is achievable via utilisation of suitable HRM strategies. HRM strategies are vital in prevailing over group and individual process issues while enhancing the triple bottom line. Productive HR practices and strategies centre on augmenting organisational flexibility, learning, development and knowledge creation in workplaces. As a result, diversity, equality and discrimination hold a key place in HRM practices and diversity management is the hub of HR policies and practices. HR diversity practices augments diversity and promotes organisational performance (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga, 2009, p.237). Management of diversity recognises; harnesses and values workforce disparities so that people utilise their talents fully in efforts of attaining organisational goals. Diversity management capitalises in the developing cultural pluralism that is as a result of globalisation of businesses, growth of world markets, developing mobility of workforce and the augmenting recognition of individual disparities. Diversity management promotes equality and anti-discrimination and it begins internally, via the efforts to establish an environment of equality and completely comprehensive organisational culture at workplace. Diversity management overcomes the segregation of labour market via tacking inequalities founded on individual disparities such as class, race and gender. Management of diversity stresses on taking advantage and valuing individual disparities so that people can take full advantage of their abilities. Benefits and consequences of adopting diversity and equality policies: Hilton Hotels Adopting diversity and equality policies offers apparent benefits for organisations. These benefits include improved performance, greater innovation; increased workflow, hence reduced labour shortages, improved marketing prospects and enhanced corporate image and reputation. Diversity and equality policies also promote enhanced communication procedures, lower absenteeism, reduce employee turnovers and enhance managerial styles. More importantly, diversity and equality policies promote productivity and profitability of an organisation. Diversity and equality policies increase access to novel labour pool and the probability of retaining and attracting high quality employees from diverse regions. They also promote information sharing. According to Cowling and Mailer (2010, p.167), diversity and equality hold an impact on all people management procedures, from the employment contract temperament via benefits and compensation to employees attitudes and behaviours. Adopting equality and diversity policies ensures organisational success. These policies also help in eliminating and prevent discrimination in workplace. An organisation such as Hiltons Hotel has continued to grow and expand internationally because of adopting diversity and equality policies. These policies have helped in maximising the contribution of employees with their diversified knowledge, social capital and talents (Belser and Sezerel 2012, p.627). Hilton Hotels aligns its inclusion and diversity approach with its mission to be the leading worldwide hospitality company. The company leverages distinct cultures of its global communities and develop marketplace strategies, workplace and talent to establish an inclusive work environment. The company leverage and value the diversity of its suppliers, partners, guests and team members (Belser and Sezerel 2012, p.630). Diversity and equality policies help Hilton Hotels to establish an environment where everybody is treated equally. The fact the company allows employees to contribute with respect to his/her ability has helped the company to grow and become successful through the years through attaining a competitive edge in the hotel and hospitality industry. The policies have also helped in effective recruitment and hiring of employees who are key to the success of the organisation. Workforce diversity holds more positive and notable impacts in groups or organisational productivity when an organisation holds an effective organisational culture (Roberson 2013, p.245). One of the major issues facing HRM in the contemporary world is managing diversified workforce. However, firms can conceptualise HR practices to addresses issues linked to diversity through strategic, tactical and operational HR practices subdivisions. Strategic level should include organisational culture, vision, mission and formalised policies; tactical level should include performance evaluation, professional development and compensation while operational level should include workplace flexibility, support communication and work/life balance (Chun & Evans 2013, p.48). Conclusion The environment within which firms and their units function greatly influences their operations, daily work activities and processes. Equality, diversity and discrimination hold broad effects in HR policies and practices as well as the organisational success. This is because HR practices and workplaces are powerfully influenced in diverse means through the extending cultural diversity of the workplace. Managing diversity entails addressing discrimination and promoting equality and helps in ensuring equality in the workplace and a diversified workforce. Diversity and equality policies facilitate attainment of competitive advantage for firm achievable through supporting recruitment and hiring of high quality, productive, skilful and innovative employees. Reference List Barak, M.E 2010, Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace.UK: SAGE. Besler, S & Sezerel, H 2012, ‘ Strategic diversity management initiatives: A descriptive study’, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol.58, no.1, pp.624-633. Chun, E & Evans, A 2013, The new talent acquisition frontier: Integrating HR and diversity in the private and public sectors and higher education. USA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. OECD 2011, OECD public governance reviews towards more effective and dynamic public management in Mexico. UK: OECD Publishing. Roberson, Q.M 2013, The oxford handbook of diversity and work. UK: Oxford University Press. Shakhray, I 2009, Managing diversity in the workplace. Germany: GRIN Verlag Sharma, S.K. 2009, Handbook for HRM practices: Management policies and practices. India: Global India Publications. Shen, J., Chanda, A., D’Netto, B, & Monga, M 2009, ‘ Managing diversity through human resource management: An international perspective and conceptual framework’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.20, no.2, pp.235-251. Read More