How to Manage Diversity in the Workplace - Term Paper Example

? Final Application Paper The final application paper aims to discuss about three major topics ly: managing diversity, making decisions and designing effective organization. More specifically, the discourse will address how to manage diversity in the work place and the benefits a company can gain from it. In the topic about making decisions, the essay will outline a technique in effective decision-making in an organization. Finally, this paper will discuss the various components of an effective organization design. Final Application Paper Managing Diversity The purpose of this article is to define the term “managing diversity”. It offers an overview on the management of diversity in the workplace. The paper will focus on the general concepts of managing diversity and its advantages to an organization. Managing diversity is defined by Taylor Cox as “planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized” (University of California, Berkeley, 1994). Diversity among people can be with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, educational background, work experience and income. Today’s increasing globalization requires more interaction among people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Now more than ever, managing diversity becomes an important issue in the workplace. Managing diversity, in order for it to be successful requires certain skills from management. First, management must understand that workforce diversity is a reality and that discrimination has its consequences. Second, managers must be able to recognize their own biases, prejudices and stereotypes. An example is in the area or recruitment where the HR manager is considering an Asian and an American for a certain job position. Although the manager is an American, he chose the Asian over the American because he was more qualified in terms of experience and educational background than the American. This case clearly illustrates that the HR manager put aside his biases/prejudices to come up with a decision that will be most beneficial to the company. Finally, managers must have the ability to recognize what will best work for the organization in terms of teamwork among its diverse employees and the dynamics of the workplace (Green, Lopez, Wysocki, & Kepner, 2008). If an organization is able to manage diversity effectively, it poses to gain several benefits. Foremost among these benefits is that it will be able to attract, recruit and retain people from a wide talent base. It will also reduce employee turnover and absenteeism. Management will also pave the way to develop the flexibility and responsiveness among its employees. Creativity and innovation is further enhanced by the heterogeneity of the workforce. The morale of the employees will be boosted; thereby, increasing their commitment towards the company. To illustrate, if one employee is physically disabled yet he feels that he is not discriminated and not looked down upon by his co-workers and by management, then he will be encouraged to perform his best at work because he knows that he is appreciated despite his handicap. Moreover, in this era of globalization and rapid technological advancement, a diverse workforce from all walks of life will certainly benefit the organization. One such example is when a company hired different nationalities in its sales force, their revenue incredibly increased. This was because they were able to tap various markets and serve their clients better since their sales force understood the specific needs of their foreign clientele. To recognize diversity means understanding that people have differences and similarities which can be used for the benefit of both the individual and management. Managing diversity means that there is fairness and equality in the organization. “Diversity must be effectively managed to reap the diversity “dividend”” (European Union , n.d.). Making Decisions Decision making is inevitable in any institution. Everyday a manager has to make big and small decisions which affect the organization. A manager recognizes the importance of an effective decision making process. It is in this context that this essay is being written. The article aims to discuss the techniques and steps in making effective management decisions. It is imperative that a manager develops a logical and systematic decision-making process in order to come up with good decisions. Management decisions can either be as simple as deciding on the day and time of a meeting with your subordinates or as complex as deciding on the area where to best put up another branch. The difficult decisions often involve issues like uncertainty, complexity, high-risk consequences, alternatives or interpersonal issues (Mind Tools Ltd., 2011). Like in the case of putting up another branch, the risks involved are significant because a wrong decision may lead to large losses for the company. Mind Tools suggests six steps to making an effective decision (2011). The first step involves creating a constructive environment which means one has to define his objective, determine whether the decision will be done by an individual or a team. If it is a team, the right people that will comprise the group should be determined. If the decision to be made is about launching a new advertising campaign, then people from the sales force and public relations department should be involved. Creating a constructive environment also means encouraging the team to give their opinions on the issue involved. Step two of the process entails the generation of good alternatives. Generating alternatives makes one look at the different perspectives of the problem and analyze them in all aspects. Brainstorming is one of the more popular methods in getting ideas. In the previous example of deciding whether to put up another branch, an alternative option is simply to increase its sales force in order to cover a larger area. The third step in the decision-making process is to explore the alternatives, which means having to evaluate the feasibility, risks and implications of each choice. In putting up a branch, the costs might be higher because management has to consider purchasing or renting out another property. On the other hand, if the decision is made to just increase the sales force, salary expenses will increase, not to mention the cost of hiring and training new personnel. The implications of the decision must all be taken into consideration. Step four is choosing the best alternative after a thorough analysis of all the options have been undertaken. The next step is to check the decision by checking the assumptions, and making sure that there were no errors in the analysis. If for example, the sales figure was used as a major basis for a decision, an error in that figure would lead to grave consequences for the organization. The last step in the process is communicating the decision and moving to action. After a decision has been reached, it should be properly explained and disseminated to all concerned. The reasons for coming up with the decision should be cited so that management can get the necessary support for such a decision. Decision-making is never easy especially if it involves complex issues. However, with the right information and the availability of the right people and resources, the process can be less stressful and tedious. The decision-making process presented above is just a guide which I think managers can follow but he must remember that there is no magic formula for coming up with the right decision. Often a manager does not have enough time to go through the process step by step but what is important is that he never lose sight of his objective and maybe just rely on his good old intuition. Designing Effective Organization This essay will define what an effective organization design is and discuss its interrelated components. An effective organization design “follows a simple but powerful vision, plans thoroughly, motivates effectively, builds leaders who know how to govern, delegate, build teams, handle conflict, and manage change, has efficient communication and has developed a climate for decision making at the lowest possible levels: all this while each functional employee group and group leader focuses productivity on activities and measurements that are aligned with company plan” (Effective organizational design, n.d.). Five interrelated components comprise an effective organization design as cited by The Bridgespan Group (2009). These are leadership, decision-making and structure, people, work processes and systems and culture. The organization should have leaders who have a clear vision of the company’s goals and objectives. The leadership team must also be cohesive. An organization cannot expect to be profitable if its managers are looking at different directions and have different goals in mind. In terms of structure, there should be a clear delineation of roles and accountabilities for decisions. For instance, if there was as delay in the delivery of a product to the distributor, management must be able to point out whose fault was it. Is it the warehouse supervisor who releases the item or is it the logistics department? The organizational structure must always be in line with the objectives of the firm. If a company gives importance to product quality, then the organizational chart should at least show a quality control department; otherwise, it would be difficult to meet its objective. The third component which is the people in the organization must possess the necessary qualifications and skills in order that an organization design will be effective. The performance measures and incentives of the employees must be aligned with the company’s goals. One such example is if a company puts priority in customer service, then the employees should be evaluated according to how they relate with the clients and how they are able to handle customer complaints. The flow of the work process must be efficient and not complicated so as not to hinder productivity among the workforce. And lastly, the organizational culture should promote high performance values and behaviors. The culture must be open to changes whether inside or outside the organization. It should encourage open-mindedness and flexibility in all levels of the organization. In conclusion, I can say that there is no single best organization design. An effective organization design will have to depend on the environment where the business operates, the work that has to be performed and the people within the organization. Works Cited Effective organizational design. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2011, from orchestratedachievements.com: http://www.orchestratedachievements.com/files/Effective_Organizational_Design.pdf European Union . (n.d.). Managing diversity - what's in it for business? Retrieved June 30, 2011, from www.stop-discrimination.info: ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=1481&langId=en Green, K. A., Lopez, M., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (2008, October). Diversity in the workplace: Benefits, challenges and the required managerial tools. Retrieved June 30, 2011, from University of Florida IFAS Extension: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022 Mind Tools Ltd. (2011). Decision making skills - start here! Retrieved June 30, 2011, from mindtools.com: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_00.htm The Bridgespan Group. (2009, January ). Designing an effective organization structure. Retrieved June 30, 2011, from bridgespan.org: www.bridgespan.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=2982 University of California, Berkeley. (1994). Guide to managing human resources, Chapter 12: Managing diversity in the workplace. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from hrweb.berkeley.edu: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guides/managing-hr/interaction/diversity Read More