What is the future of diversity management - Essay Example

? WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT? by 03 February What is the Future of Diversity Management? Introduction Leadershipand diversity are among the most frequently discussed topics in scholarly research. The growing diversity of national and international workforce presents a serious challenge for leaders, who must develop new, efficient approaches for managing diverse employees and using diversity as the source of competitive advantage. Unfortunately, previous research was increasingly concentrated on searching for “one best way” of leadership in organizations. Put simply, researchers were preoccupied with an idea to find one, universal leadership model, which would be equally effective in all organizational settings. With time, the idea of “one best way” was gradually replaced with the ideals of contingency leadership, which came to dominate organizational and leadership consciousness in all parts of the world. According to Day (1991), “implied in the contingency approach to leadership is the need for leaders to be flexible in their choice of leadership style based on the situation” (p.362). Today, contingency exemplifies the key component of diversity management decisions in organizations: a multitude of diversity management models suggests that there can never be a universal solution to diversity management issues. The current state of workplace development suggests that diversity in organizations will continue to persist. The coming years are likely to witness a dramatic shift from diversity management to diversity cultures in organizations, which will serve an essential source of competitive advantage and an instrument of continuous organizational learning in the long run. Literature review Workforce diversity is rightly considered as one of the most popular and controversial topics in contemporary business literature. Globalization and integration of markets and businesses lead to the growing diversity of employees in small organizations and large corporations. Thus, it comes as no surprise that organizations and professionals in organization studies seek to develop and test new models of leadership and management, which will let organizations utilize their diversity potential to the fullest. It should be noted, that present day organizations are undergoing a dramatic change in diversity philosophies and principles. Today, the scope of diversity management is no longer limited to increasing the share of minorities in the workforce but implies the need to develop and sustain diversity-sensitive organizations (Dreachslin, 2007). In this situation, senior leaders are expected to develop sound commitment to recruiting, retaining, and supporting applicants and candidates that had been previously underrepresented (Dreachslin, 2007). Furthermore, diversity-sensitive ideology in organizations obligate leaders to convince and educate other stakeholders that diversity is the key strategic value and defines the course of long-term development in organizations. Unfortunately, “the effects of diversity on performance are mixed” (Haas 2010). The factors mediating the relationship between diversity and organizational presentation are numerous and varied. In the meantime, researchers develop and test new models of diversity management and their implications for organizations. The current state of research displays a tendency toward describing and analyzing numerous models of diversity management and their implications for the future of global business. Mitchell and Boyle (2010) tried to create a single, theoretical framework of diversity management and tested a model of leadership, in which diversity management would be closely connected to innovation and creativity, learning, and organizational transformations. The researchers found out that transformational leaders facilitated the creation of knowledge in organizations, leading to increased recognition of diversity and acceptance of diversity management within the staff (Mitchell & Boyle 2010). However, while Mitchell and Boyle (2010) concentrated on the theoretical aspects of diversity management, other authors and professionals explored the benefits and potential drawbacks of practical diversity management models. The variety of diversity management models in contemporary organizations is difficult to underestimate. For example, Syed and Murray (2008) described a feminist approach for diversity management in organizations. According to them, leadership practices demonstrate considerable gender differences. Female leadership styles are more social-expressive compared with those of men, as far as women are more oriented toward supporting and caring for their colleagues, subordinates, and organizational others (Syed & Murray 2008). Women-leaders are more likely to exercise team-oriented approaches to diversity management than their male colleagues (Syed & Murray 2008). The relationship between female leaders and the effectiveness of diversity management requires empirical validation, but it is possible that the incorporation of female values, including communication and nurturing, could enhance the capacity of diversity management and leadership in organizations (Syed & Murray, 2008). In a similar vein, Neck, Smith and Godwin (1997) developed a new, self-regulatory model of diversity management. The proposed model was a form of cognitive approach to diversity management, which had to comprise three essential elements – reducing dysfunctional beliefs about diversity, using self-dialogue and self-talk to revisit diversity values and symbols, and mental imagery (Neck, Smith & Goodwin 1997). Self-regulatory model of diversity leadership was just another attempt to create “one best way” of leading diverse organizations. However, no best approach is possible in diversity; this is one of the reasons why organizations and countries develop their own, specific diversity management systems, to meet their cultural and organizational needs. Contemporary literature describes the Australian model of diversity management (Syed & Kramar 2010) and a diversity management approach used by Pakistani managers (Syed 2008). The latter is based on the fundamental principles of Jinnah, which cover democratization, egalitarian vision of the Islamic religion, a strict rule of law, and complex measure for protecting women, minorities, and other socially disadvantaged groups from workplace discrimination (Syed, 2008). Apparently, different models of diversity management reflect the role and dominance of the contingency principles in contemporary leadership. Seymen (2006) supports this idea and suggests that the future of diversity management is in the development of models that are peculiar of particular organizations and meet their individual cultural requirements. Unfortunately, none of the models is not without limitations and can be applied as a universal solution to diversity management problems in organizations. The future will witness a profound shift from diversity management to diversity cultures, which will serve the driver of competitive advantage and the source of continuous learning in organizations. Discussion The future of diversity management is closely associated with the future changes in the structure of the global workforce and workplace relations within organizations. D’Aprix (2009) provides a list of hypotheses, which summarize and describe future changes in the global workplace. The most important changes include improved accountability of leaders and increased emphasis on ethical performance, a shift from individualism toward collective values of morality and freedom, the rapid enhancement of intellectual and technological skills in workers, the growing role of women in organizations, which will become less hierarchical and more competitive and collaborative (D’Aprix 2009). As a result, future diversity management will have to explore and define the common values and use them as the foundation for developing collective thinking, which incorporates the elements of male and female leadership, emphasizes ethics and morality of doing business with diverse employees, and promotes accountability and collaboration at all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Unfortunately, the current approaches to diversity management are increasingly concentrated on differences, rather than commonalities. Diversity management and affirmative action are all about reducing the differences, rather than using the commonalities between different workforce groups, to generate competitive advantage. For example, the Australian model of diversity management does not adequately address the workplace needs of ethnic minority workers (Syed & Kramar 2010). Instead of identifying and using the commonalities between diverse employees as a competitive advantage, Australian firms persistently underline the value of assimilation, which deprives ethnic minority people of their individuality and demotivates them (Syed & Kramar 2010). These problems are characteristic of most or all diversity management programs in contemporary business reality. Jackson-Weaver (2011) is correct in that isolation, racism and prejudice, absence of mentoring, and hostile workplace environments are still the vital components of daily workplace routine. In the meantime, “the key to greatness is to look for people’s potential and spend time developing it. […] Today’s knowledge workers are not just labor – they are capital. And what differentiates outstanding companies is the productivity of their capital” (Oyler & Pryor 2009, p.433). Surprisingly or not, diverse employees operate similar values and attitudes to life. Lindorff (2010) suggests that diverse workers are incredibly consistent in their reliance on the values of happiness, friendship, material success and work-life balance. Therefore, future models of diversity management will have to develop collective values and ethical frameworks, which unite diverse employees around strategic goals and lead them to positive growth and change. The most obvious weaknesses of the modern management diversity programs are: (1) the lack of an effective theoretical framework (Qin, O’Meara & McEachern 2009); (2) the lack of a clear relationship between diversity management and workplace performance (Haas 2010); and (3) the fact that diversity management approaches do not embrace the factors and values of disability workers (Thanem 2008). All these inconsistencies make the implementation of diversity management programs increasingly problematic. In the meantime, organizations create and fail to eradicate institutional, organizational, and cultural barriers to diversity management. The example of NHS suggests that victimization and harassment, underrepresentation of minority workers, perceived unfairness, and insufficient involvement in the decision-making processes impede the progress of diversity initiatives in the workplace (Kalra, Abel & Esmail 2009). All these are the reflections of inconsistent and misbalanced organizational cultures. Simultaneously, it is clear that diversity in organizations will persist (McMurray, Karim & Fisher 2010). Therefore, the future of diversity management is to cause a shift from conventional management practices toward the development of diversity cultures, which will be unique, specific, complex, collaborative, and continuous. The future of diversity management is in producing a cultural shift in organizational consciousness. This cultural shift is justified and required, to address the most common barriers to effective diversity in the workplace. The experience of NHS proves that most or all barriers to diversity in the workplace are cultural in nature, including hostility and perceived unfairness (Kalra, Abel & Esmail 2009). Traditional management practices cannot address these cultural inconsistencies, and only continuous training and learning can create and sustain an atmosphere of diversity and collaboration in the organizations. The future diversity models must emphasize commonalities, rather than differences. They must be specific, as long as no universal approach can address and fit in the peculiar conditions of workplace performance in organizations (Brdulak 2009). Finally, the future of diversity management is in redefining the role of control in managing and developing diversity cultures. The complexity of the diversity trends in organizations implies that future leaders must find and maintain a reasonable balance of organizational order and flexibility (Brdulak 2009). Put simply, it is a balance of control and self-regulation between the various elements of one and the same diversity machine (Brdulak 2009). Following these changes, the concept of diversity management in its current sense will cease to exist, giving place to essentially new diversity cultures, which will serve the source of competitive advantage and organizational learning in the long run. Conclusion The current state of management science operates a multitude of diversity management approaches and models. These models reflect the growing importance of the diversity issues in the workplace and signify a new stage in the evolution of the diversity consciousness in organizations. Based on the American model of diversity management, these approaches exemplify a good attempt of senior managers and organizational others to reduce the diversity gap between employees and use the organizational potential of diversity to the fullest. Unfortunately, none of these models is fully effective and can lead organizations to their strategic goals. First and foremost, that a diversity management model emphasizes differences but ignores the commonalities between employees is one of its principal drawbacks. More often than not, diversity management models aim at reducing the cultural and social gap between diverse employees, instead of using their cultural commonalities, values, and beliefs to unite them around a common goal. Second, most or all diversity management models fail to embrace the values and needs of disability employees. Third, diversity management lacks a well-integrated theoretical framework. Also, the link between diversity management and performance remains unclear. Ultimately, it is due to numerous cultural barriers that organizations fail to implement effective solutions to their diversity problems. This is one of the reasons why the future must witness a gradual transition from diversity management to diversity cultures, which will have the commonalities, values, attitudes, and beliefs of the diverse employees embedded in organizational processes and operation. Until then, diversity will be scattered across a multitude of topics, problems, and organizational goals. Given that diversity in organizations will continue to persist, the current concept of diversity management will have to give place to a new vision of diversity culture, which will serve an effective source of competitive advantage and organizational learning for years ahead. References Brdulak, H 2009, ‘Diversity management as a business model’, Kobieta I Biznes, vol.1, no.4, pp.29-35. D’Aprix, R 2009, ‘How the workplace will change in the future’, Leadership Communication, vol.13, no.5, pp.13-14. 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Thanem, T 2008, ‘Embodying disability in diversity management research’, Equal Opportunities International, vol.27, no.7, pp.581-595. Read More