Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services - Essay Example

? Managing Diversity at side Financial Services s Legal and Ethical Issues at Workplace There are various ethical and legal issues in the workplace. Legal issues are those that are addressed by law and a worker can seek legal redress in court if their rights under this section are violated. Ethical issues regulate a person’s behavior although this issues lie outside government’s control, ethics deals with what is right or wrong. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission implements federal laws that prohibit discrimination at workplace. According to Injury Board (2012), the Commission enforces laws against unfair treatment due to a person’s race, religion, color, sex, disability and age. The law also protects workers from harassment at workplace by their managers and co-workers due to ones race, sex, color and religion. Moreover, Equal Employment Opportunity guards against discrimination in promotion at workplace due to ones race, sex, religion or age. Injury Board (2012) assert that despite the measures that a company puts in place to ensure diversity in recruitment, they risk being taken to court if they do not comply with the federal laws on affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and nondiscriminatory laws. According to Injury Board (2012), disparate treatment and disparate impact is a form of discrimination at the workplace. The Board explains that disparate treatment refers to the outright and deliberate discrimination of persons because of their membership in a protected group. However, Injury Board (2012) argues that it is more difficult to detect disparate treatment since it does not need the intent to discriminate as prove. Further, Injury Board (2012) describe that disparate impact entails a situation where a company has a provision with which just a small in percentage of workers in the protected category can comply. The provision locks out most members of a protected group. The Board concludes that this is a form of unintentional discrimination as result of the policies of the company. Ethical issues are contrasted with legal issues in that one cannot seek legal redress from a court. Joseph (2000) explains that more organizations in the US are currently developing formal sets of standards entrenched in the ethics program. Ethical issues in organizations touch on the workers honesty, respect and trust. Ethics also deal with the way an organizations leadership conducts its affairs and the type of leadership adopted and the culture in the organization. An example of an ethical issue is whether the managers should seek the views of the other workers or who should make decisions. Failure to engage all members of the staff in decision making is an ethical issue in which the managers should reflect on whether what they are doing is good or bad. The choice of management’s decision cannot be resolved in a court of law although this influences the motivation in an organization. The other example of an ethical issue is on how an employee behaves towards their seniors. For instance when the opinion of an employee is ignored in a meeting despite this observation being helpful to organization can strain the relationship between the management and the other workers but one cannot be resolved in court. Impacts of diversity on human capital management and development in an organization According to Choi and Rainey (2010), the American workforce is continuously becoming more diversified due to greater access of equal employment opportunities for the minorities and women. Choi and Rainey (2010) describe that early research on workplace diversity focused on the individual and organizational outcomes; concluding that diversity provides a great opportunity and challenge to the organization. Consequently they argue that understanding the impacts of diversity on the organizational results such as employee satisfaction and organizational performance is critical. Choi and Rainey (2010) affirms that researchers have come to a consensus that the perspective of managing diversity has shifted from the need to comply with affirmative and non-discriminatory laws to taking advantage of the diversity to improve organizational effectiveness. Choi and Rainey (2010) observe that research into the impacts have been shaped by two perspectives. They explain that one perspective is founded on decision-making and information theories which argue that diversity can be beneficial to organizations by offering a broad range of ideas, insights and skills which can in turn enhance the ability of the organization to make decisions and solve problems. In an organization with diverse workforce, this diverse group will propose different ideas during decision and when these different ideas are critically evaluated by people from diverse backgrounds; the most viable proposal is implemented thereby enhancing the customer service. The other perspective as described by Choi and Rainey (2010) is based on social identity and categorization theories and the similarity attraction paradigm. This theory argues that diversity may be turn out to be a burden to an organization with high costs of coordination and conflict resolution. Consequently, Choi and Rainey (2010) observe that diversity may compromise organizational effectiveness. They particularly argue that diversity may not go well for organizations with a long hierarchy of coordination and conflict resolution thereby compromising the effectiveness of the organization. They note that this happens given that people tend to discriminate against in-group members and out-group members that can cause miscommunication and conflicts. Diversity may influence team work in an organization, organizational management and the culture of the organization. Choi and Rainey (2010) assert that personal differences in a diverse organization may lead to excessive conflicts. If these conflicts are not adequately addressed, they lead to decrease in the satisfaction of team members. Team work is a critical feature that enhances the efficiency in an organization when serving its customers. Moreover, team work is important for good coordination with organization. Choi and Rainey (2010) therefore noted that effective team processes should be put in place to mitigate any negative effects of relational conflicts. Team processes encourage cooperation and communication to continuously encourage team work. Teamwork can be enhanced by having diverse teams, organizing teambuilding sessions and adopting an effective leadership that is responsive to the ideas from all members of the organization. If well implemented, effective team processes will lead to increased organizational performance. Choi and Rainey (2010) assert that when diverse organizations are moderated by diversity management performance management policies, practices and team processes; they show positive organizational performance. According to Choi and Rainey (2010), diversity can influence the management of an organization. They argue that to manage diversity, human resource management should implement policies that promote and enhance diversity in an organization. An organization can therefore institute policies to guide the process of hiring to ensure diversity is achieved. Moreover, the organizational culture and managerial attitudes should support diversity in hiring, development and retention of staff. This can be enhanced by the application of the integration and learning perspective. Choi and Rainey (2010) explain that this perspective calls for integration of diverse employees in organizational tasks as this provides an opportunity for the team to learn from each other. Choi and Rainey (2010) further describe that when diversity is properly managed it provides an opportunity for growth and learning. Moreover, Choi and Rainey (2010) note that learning from each other creates an opportunity to discuss cultural diversity openly and enhance embracing of diversity by each member. This reduces any tensions that the staff may be harboring due to their racial diversity. The minority group would be able to prove that they can accomplish tasks equally well as their counterparts. They would also receive more acceptances from their colleagues. Legal and Ethical issues in the case study Violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity at CitySide may not evident when one makes an analysis the organization as a whole given the fact the bank has implemented various policies to ensure that it hires diverse workforce. However, taking a closer look at the management practices within the two sections reveal glaring violation of the act. At Cityside Financial Services, the legal issue in the case study touches on disparate impact which is a form of discrimination as described by Ely and Vargas (2004). He defines disparate impact as a situation in an organization in which there is a requirement with which only a little percentage of the protected group can conform. CitySide Financial Services has two units; retail operations and external operations within its sales department. The retail department serves the local community by offering services on personal savings accounts, home and real estate mortgages and loans for their small businesses. On the other hand, the external deposits operates national wide and mostly to the wealthy business people as explained by Ely and Vargas (2004). Although initially the bank did not have a policy on hiring diverse workforce, Ely and Vargas (2004) explain that when Wilkins and his partners bought the bank, they instituted policies to ensure they hired a diverse people. Ely and Vargas (2004) record that by 1999; CitySide had nearly achieved equal gender parity with almost half of the staff being female. They had also hired African-Americans who were occupying senior managerial positions. Despite these efforts, Ely and Vargas (2004) explains that African-American could not be promoted to become an officer while at the External Deposits section since it was argued that most customers in this section are whites who required to be served by whites. Therefore this factor excludes African-American from being promoted within this department. This is a form of disparate impact since it is not done intentionally but causes discrimination to this group. External Deposits serves all investors and offers diverse products such as IRAs, money accounts and CDs. When African-American are discriminated from holding managerial position in the external deposit section; amounts to violation of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Act. In fact Ely and Vargas (2004), explain that the reason why an African-American could be suited to work in the external deposits section is based influenced by racial stereotype. They note that the external deposits position was absolutely a perfect a preserve of the whites who are considered to be smart, dedicated, and loyal and workaholic. This stereotype locks a minority group outside external deposits section although they may perform well in one of the areas. Discrimination in the external deposits section is evidenced by the fact that there has never been an African-America a managerial position in this section. Discrimination in the form disparate impact is also evident in retail operations section. The head of this department, Bernard Thomas argues if the bank was all white in a community dominated by the minority would raise eyebrows with customers questioning what the white people are doing within their community. This is an argument to justify discrimination in the section. The department is dominated by African-Americans. The two sections run by CitySide Financial Services were at one point described as two different banks by McMillen; the head of deposits section. This is a fact given the diverse operations the two departments handle and therefore imposing restrictions on the kind workers who can be in a given section amounts to discrimination. In addition, there is an ethical issue of how the views of workers are handled by the management. One worker from the External Deposits department explains how his contribution during a staff meeting was handled by the management. The worker as explained by Ely and Vargas (2004) echoed what their manager had said a year ago that one should bite what they can chew. Consequently, he was misunderstood and rhetorically asked whether he was proposing that the department does nothing. He explains that from that instance he noted that it was not the right time for him to be forthright about what he wanted to pass across. He went further to explain that whenever a white man disagrees he is viewed as being strong while when a black man disagrees, he is described as being negative and militant. This is an ethical issue that discourages the blacks from contributing in decision making process. However, this does not have any legal remedy but is a moral issue of whether is good or bad. Diversity at CitySide Financial services is critical for organizational effectiveness. Dealing with diverse customers calls for a diverse workforce that can effectively handle the sensitivity of these customers. Following the adoption of a policy to implement to hire diverse workforce, the bank had a reputation of being high-functioning. Hiring diverse workforce was adopted as a strategy to lure customers from competitors. The management observed that diversity at both service and managerial level would appeal the local clients. However, some years after the adoption of the policy, some questions were raised on whether the bank was optimally structured in terms of cultural diversity. Discontentment started to be experienced among the staff who felt they were being discriminated due to their race and cultural background. This negatively impacted by bank; with coordination between the two units compromising the efficiency of the bank. Ely and Vargas (2004) observe that a staff in the external deposits unit claimed that it could take him seven hours eto accomplish a task that could be completed in the retail department more quickly. It is therefore evident that Cityside Financial Services stands to gain a lot by hiring a diverse workforce. On the other hand, if the company fails to manage diversity well; it could lead to the downturn of the bank. To harness the potential of a diverse organization, CitySide has to address the legal and ethical issues raised above. To deal with these legal and ethical issues, there should be changes in the management attitudes towards the blacks and the organizational culture should be changed. They should adopt the integration and learning perspective described by Choi and Rainey (2010) so that the workers can work together both departments in all levels where they can learn from each other. This would do away with the stereotype that African-Americans cannot work for long hours and to perfectionism. The company should also institute processes to encourage team work. When working as a team, the workers can learn from each other and encourage embracing of cultural diversity. Dealing with ethical and legal issues at Cityside Financial Services does not call for expert since it’s a matter that requires change of organizational cultural and managerial attitudes and their implementation would require personal commitment. As observed by Choi and Rainey (2010), a long hierarchy within organizations may hamper coordination and conflict resolution thereby compromising the effectiveness of the organization. Consequently, I recommend that the bank implements a lean management that coordinates the activities within both units. Executive management should comprise managers from both units who can handle any conflict. Moreover, there is need for the bank to seek the opinion of an attorney to evaluate whether a proposed policy would lead to discrimination and thereby predispose it to face legal action. Conclusion Diversity at workplace is can be an important aspect in ensuring organizational effectiveness. However, if diversity is not properly managed it could lead to conflicts and miscommunication leading to poor team work and problems in management. The laws require all organizations to be diverse by complying with the provisions of equal opportunities commission. Discrimination may not be intentional in all circumstances since implementation of some organizational policies may lead to disparate impact and disparate treatment. In the case study of CitySide Financial Services, the bank is locking out African-American from holding managerial positions in the External Deposits units in a claim of trying to be responsive to the kind of customers served in the unit. To deal with ethical and legal issues that can arise in an organization, businesses need to seek the opinion of a legal expert. Moreover, organizations can manage diversity through adoption of a lean management hierarchy that coordinates and resolves conflicts with it. References Choi, S. and Rainey, H. (2010). Managing Diversity in US Federal Agencies: Effects of Diversity and Diversity Management of on Employee Perceptions of Organizational Performance. Public Administration Review. Ely, R. and Vargas, I. (2004). Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services in Ely, R and Thomas, D. (Eds) Cultural Diversity at work: The effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Injury Board, (2012). Legal Issues and Workplace Discrimination. Accessed February 1, 2012 from < http://wiki.injuryboard.com/help-center/articles/legal-issues-and-workplace-discrimination.aspx> Joseph, J. (2000). Ethics in the workplace. Ethics Resource Center, Inc accessed on 1st February, 2012 from Read More