The Need for Managing Diversity - Coursework Example

Managing Organisations With globalisation the need for managing diversity is becoming stronger day by day. Even though organisations have been facing this issue of diversity for a long time, this issue has gained much importance as more and more MNCs are having operations in foreign countries. A worker today is not just a worker, he is a global worker. The workforce of an organisation is varied and diverse. It may be in the form of age, gender, ethnicity, abilities, sexual orientation, etc. Diversity has been defined “as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status” (Esty, et al., 1995). Developed countries that have zero or sometimes even negative growth in the area of population are forced to depend on global workers from the developing and third world countries in order to maintain their economic growth. Diversity is not only an issue in developed countries but is also an issue in countries that have a variety of culture or races and in countries where there is discrimination against female workforce. In many countries women do not get an opportunity to be in the mainstream.  In a globalised world, there is much interaction among people belonging to diverse cultures, having different beliefs and backgrounds. The marketplace is no longer insular. There is competition everywhere and to survive and grow organisations need to be to become more creative and ready to change. Diversity is here to remain. It is here that a diverse workforce can be of immense help. Managing and capitalising on diversity has become an important issue. It is evident that organisations that are unable to effectively manage diversity suffer, both economically and socially. Diversity, if not successfully managed can lead to increase in employee turnover, absenteeism, harassment, disruption in work and what is more important, a low morale. All this will further lead to low productivity. When workers are isolated and marginalized because of cultural differences an organisation may face charges of harassment and discrimination which in turn may lead to legal complications and increase in expenses. An organisation’s success depends on how well it is able to embrace diversity and reap the benefits of managing diversity effectively. When an organisation develops and implements effective diversity plans, the benefits are many. In an organisation that encourages workplace diversity all employees are inspired, motivated and perform to the best of their abilities which will lead to higher productivity and higher returns on investments. Managing diversity creates value for an organisation and helps it in becoming an “organisation of choice”. An organisation to succeed and remain competitive must have the ability to manage diversity and realize the benefits diversity brings with it. The benefits of having a diverse workforce are many. An organisation having employees from diverse backgrounds can utilise individual talents and experience to arrive at solutions for problems related to services, fluctuating markets and allocation or sourcing of resources. A diverse workforce enables a company to effectively service customers on a global basis. Again, a diverse workforce with varying experiences and points of view helps in creating a large pool of ideas and experiences which the organisation can use to formulate business strategies and cater to the requirements of customers effectively. Diversity can prove to be beneficial to both employees and employers. Organisations that have a successful diversity management in place will have a leading edge when it comes to productivity, retention of employees and competition. Managing diversity, " is not a project; it's a process," according to Will Lucas (1993), Vice President of diversity management in Baxter. He further says, “It's a journey all successful companies must take to maintain their competitive advantage regardless of the product produced or the service rendered. This is an investment in human capital, the most valuable resource in any organisation." As mentioned earlier, when an organisation handles workplace diversity issues successfully, develops and implements diversity plans, multiple benefits accrue. Recent research has shown that managing a diverse workforce successfully has provided real benefits to organisations belonging to the private or public sectors, big or small. According to Sonnenschein (1997,p.3), “Companies that have successfully developed a diverse workforce have saved millions of dollars on turnover costs, improved product quality, and produced twice the rate of return on investment as those which did not use their diversity as well". The following paragraph summarises how diversity benefits organisations. An organisation that manages its diversity well can: 1) Attract, recruit and retain people 2) Reduce turnover and absenteeism 3) Build up the morale and commitment of employees which will in turn encourage the employees to perform to the best of their ability. 4) Manage effectively technological changes and globalisation 5) Can improve an employee’s knowledge of operating in different cultures 6) Enhance creativity and innovation. It has been found that a heterogeneous workforce is more creative and comes out with better solutions to problems. It is also able to deliver a higher level of critical analysis. 7) Understand better the needs of global customers and improve customer satisfaction 8) Enhance the image and reputation of the company across a wider audience 9) Provide opportunities to disadvantaged groups and thereby take part in social activities 10) Have better communication between employees leading to less conflicts 11) Reduce harassment and discrimination suits. According to Esty, et al.,( 1995), “Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business”. 12) Increase organisational flexibility. A diverse workforce may consist of people who can speak two or more languages thereby increasing flexibility of thought. 13) Can give a boost to marketing efforts. The insights of employees from various cultural backgrounds can help organizations in understanding buying decisions and in formulating strategies. This may also help when one has to deal with customers coming from diverse cultural backgrounds. However managing diversity well is not a simple exercise. Diversity being a recent phenomenon there is no fixed theory. Diversity in the workplace is very often viewed only in terms of protection of human rights and legal compliance. Again, diversity is not just acknowledging individual differences or formulating human resource management policies. It is about valuing the differences, preventing discrimination and including the entire workforce in running the organisation. The manager has to understand how these issues affect the performance or success of the company and how they help in motivating employees. One has to look at the organisation on a global perspective as well as consider characteristics of the domestic workforce. One needs to formulate, implement and monitor a strategy that will result in a positive effect on the employees, customers, suppliers, services and products. The strategy should benefit the business. The challenge of managing diversity lies in minimizing the performance barriers a diverse workforce may bring in and in creating conditions that maximize organisational performance. Here what Christine Sleeter (1992) says is very true, “A major problem with most staff development programs for multicultural education is that the unit of change on which they focus is the individual rather than the [institution] as an organization”. There is no doubt that managing diversity is one of the most challenging tasks a manager will face. Diversity issues are related to people’s beliefs, values and emotions. It requires people to make changes in their behaviour. An organisation has to change its policies, practices and systems which have been in place for years without questions being asked. For a manager managing diversity it is not only issues of under representation of women and people of color in organisations as many think it is. It encompasses much more than that. It involves transforming the organizational culture such that it reflects the values of a diverse workforce. A manager must know that the identity of the worker identity is not limited to gender, but is also related to race and nationality. Also workers may belong to different levels of organisation and work specializations. Again there are working mothers and dual-career couples. These different identities make the job of managing adversity all the more difficult. A diverse worforce brings with it differences in identity, prejudices,biases, discrimination and problems of harrassment. These may prove to be barriers. Diversity is not about differences among groups, but is also about differences among individuals. Each individual is unique and does not represent or speak for a particular group. While trying to achieve this many managers managing a diverse workforce may face many issues and challenges. These issues are different from the regular training, performance management, and quality management or production control that a manager generally supervises in an organisation. The major issues a manager managing diversity are: Resistance A manager is likely to face resistance when introducing diversity programmes. There will always be some employees who will not accept the fact that the culture or the social structure of the organization is changing with the changing times. They will refuse to incorporate new ideas thereby inhibiting progress. They will want to do things in the way it has always been done and refuse to change the system. Getting such people acquainted to the changes may prove to be a difficult task as the employees may turn out to be unsupportive and sometimes even hostile. Again, people who have been in power for years may not be willing to share that power. Communication A manager to succeed has to overcome the barriers of culture and language that a diverse workforce may bring. There will be differences in perception because of the differences in the way of thinking of the people from various backgrounds. Communication can prove to be ineffective because of the language barrier leading to confusion. Ineffective communication may also lead to lack of teamwork which may further lead to a low morale. Implementation All managers will find it challenging to implement diversity plans. One has to assess the employees correctly using a lot of research data if one has to arrive at a correct strategy. He may have to revamp completely the organisation’s Performance and Appraisal System. When the workforce is diverse the workers are not stereotyped but come with a baggage of prejudices and a lack of political savvy. He may also find it challenging to enforce a suitable work culture and have ethics and values in place as there will be a few employees who are narcissists. Conflicts Again in organisations with a diverse workforce, there is bound to be differences in culture, gender,religion, education etc. These differences are bound to lead to short term or long term interpersonal conflicts, factionalism and groupism. People coming from different cultural backgrounds perceive things differently and their ideas and opinions may differ and conflicts may arise due to these differences in perceptions. Conflicts may also arise when an individual’s or a group’s need, emotions or feelings are ignored, and this is very common in organisation having a diverse workforce. All this may lead to low productivity and even litigitations. As Devoe (1999) says, “Managers may also be challenged with losses in personnel and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination and complaints and legal actions against the organization”. In conclusion it can be said diversity reflects the changes that is taking place in the global marketplace. It has become necessary to have a diverse workforce as it adds value to an organisation. A manager has to recognize and respect individual differences that may arise in the workplace. This will benefit the organisation and lead to more productivity and also give a competitive edge to the organisation. Good diversity management creates a fair environment for the employees. “What is clear is that different kinds of diversity can impact on organisations in different ways in different contexts and at different times and that traditional ways of managing people and businesses may not be appropriate if organisations want to gain benefits. The challenges to organisations in managing diversity are great and will provide rich opportunities. (CIPD, 2009)”. However having a diverse workforce by itself does not result in benefits to the organisation. Diversity has to be effectively managed to reap the diversity “dividend”. References 1. CIPD Bulletin 2009, Diversity: stacking up the evidence, Retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/dvsequl/general/diversity.htm on 5/4/09 2. Devoe, Deborah. (1999). Managing a diverse workforce. San Mateo, CA: InfoWorld Media Group. 3. Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation 4. Sonnenschein (1997), Quote retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/97185163_3.html on 5/4/09 5. Sleeter Christine (1992), “Restructuring Schools for Multicultural Education,” Journal of Teacher Education, March-April, 1992, Vol. 43:2. 6. Will Lucas (1993), Quote retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_n12_v23/ai_13220969/pg_3/?tag=content;col1 on 5/4/09 Read More