Managing Organisational Diversity - Assignment Example

XXXX XXXXXX Number: XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XX – XX – 2009 Certificate in Managing Diversity – Unit Two Assessment Part 1: Identify a manager or leader within your organisation and list the skills and competences they have or have not got to enable them to manage diversity. Diversity is one of the most sensitive issues to deal with in any organisation. I work in a refugees support centre. This place is on a regular basis filled with people from diverse places and hence requires a high deal of attention in terms of dealing with people. There is a manager within this centre who has been here for quite sometime now and is one person with all the skills, knowledge and competencies needed to manage diversity. He takes into account every minor detail and is able to relate to every person at their level of comfort. Looking at his mode of working, it is clear that he follows the ‘Diversity Competency Model’ (Cox & Baele, 1997). I feel so about this manager, as he is able to follow and be Aware, Understand, Action, and feedback. This forms the Diversity competency model and all of these is clear in the functioning of my manager. The manager at my job is one who portrays his understanding on the fact that diversity in a place would mean various different behaviours and group outcomes. He is aware of this fact and he uses this as a base to understand why the performance in the group is different due to the diversity and he identifies the exclusionary factors the affect the group as a whole. He uses this knowledge and understanding to be able to adapt to the diversity among the groups and also within the groups and takes actions based only on this. He takes a number of decisions each day and these always are based on managing the diversity among the group. Hence with each day he learns from the consequences of his actions and he uses these as the awareness while working on the next process, issue. This highlights his knowledge, awareness, actions and feedback that he follows to develop and improve his management of diversity. __________________________________________________________________________ Part 2: a. What are the key leadership areas for managing diversity? As has been discussed above the four main factors that affect the competency of the leaders in terms of diversity are Awareness, Understanding, Action and Feedback. These form the basis of any manager or team leader to be able to provide better management of the organisation. b. For each key leadership area what action does a manager have to take to achieve this? Awareness requires the leaders to have a better knowledge of the people around him and where each person comes from. Also along with the basics of awareness it is essential that they have a strong understanding of how people from different cultures differ and an idea of the various cultures will prove to be very beneficial for the leaders as well. Also it is essential that the leaders take on steps to ensure that the people from different cultures and countries are given a chance to be a part of the organisation based on their skills and qualifications, irrespective of their cultural background or even other elements. Using this as an option the leaders can then gain feedback and try and improve the number of diverse employees in the organisation. c. Provide an action checklist for your identified manager and outline, for each key leadership area, what action they need to take to manage diversity. As discussed in the previous section, it is essential that leaders try to gain as much information about various diverse elements and then use these to ensure complete diversity within the company. The checklist would be designed as check for talent, aim at understanding their need and requirements, introduce them to the organisation, continuously monitor the performance and provide for feedback. ___________________________________________________________________________ Part 3: a. Give a brief overview of some of the model theories used by organisations to manage diversity (minimum of two models). There have been a number of models that have been discussed by management to manage diversity. The two models being discussed here are: MOSAIC Model: This model was introduced by Kandola and Fullerton. This model highlights that there are six sections based on which organisations rank their score and determine the action needed to take to achieve excellence. These are mission and value, objectives processes, skilled workforce, active flexibility, Individual focus and culture that empowers. According to Kandola and Fullerton, this is a method of a diversity oriented organisation and is also focused on the individuals, and their individuality and also diversity. They also argue that this is a relatively open style and that the organisation generally do not downplay or even increase the group differences. ASME Model: This model focuses on a common vision which is discussed in simple language and the importance of this is defined to all within the organisation. Also the value creation is seen based on the common vision and all attempts made is to ensure that employee motivation is high. This theory also focuses on the need to build trust and cooperation among the employees and to treat everyone within the organisation as equal, with complete fairness and respect. Also it aims at recognising success and celebrating the success. b. What are the key similarities of these models? The key similarities among the two models are that they both focus on individuals and the motivation of the employees within the organisation. Also the focus is on explaining to the employees the importance of the company’s goals and vision and building motivation to achieve the goal. Both the models have the central focus as the missions and values of the company. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________________________ Part 4: From your knowledge of the diversity models you have discussed and your understanding of managing diversity, devise your own model for managing diversity and discuss how a manager could play a part in implementing your model. Based on an understanding of the various models, my idea for a diversity model is as below: Responsibility Encourage Support Patience Exhibit Courtesy Togetherness MODEL This model is based completely on the manager and employee relations and it highlights the essentials of this relationship. As it has been discussed in the previous models all diversity models are based on the company’s mission, vision and values, so is RESPECT. Manager’s Role: The manager is expected to be responsible and take up responsibility to introduce and involve newer members in the company from various cultures and diverse backgrounds. This responsibility also involves them to understand the cultures of various backgrounds. Also it is up to them to encourage the newer ideas, skills and talents into the company and show complete patience and support. This is mainly because everyone is different and has their own style hence patience is the only way to be able to easily adapt to changes and improvements. Also they need to exhibit complete fairness in every step and ensure every employee is treated with fairness and that there is no prevalence of discriminations. Also it is up to the managers to extend courtesy and also togetherness in the organisation and this can be the strongest motivational factor for the employees within the organisation. Thus for a diversity oriented organisation it is essential to have RESPECT to be successful! __________________________________________________________________________ Part 5: Discuss the main characteristics of a diversity oriented organisation and explain what part culture would play in such an organisation. Rob Routs, the Executive Director Downstream of Royal Dutch Shell plc said, “Don’t tolerate differences, value them. Seek out talent wherever you can find it. Allow your people to be themselves, so they can be their best. The companies that do this best will be the ones that survive and prosper for the next 100 years and beyond”. Diversity – Oriented organisation is one which spends a lot of time and efforts to ensure that the employees within the organisation are given the freedom and the openness to display their talents (Carrell, Mann, Sigler, 2006). The culture that is followed in this organisation type encourages the employees to participate in the organisation and this allows them to bring out all the creativity from within. Having a difference in the office is one of the best things that could happen to any organisation simply because it allows the organisation to have a more varied and wider outlook from every aspect. Also the other major characteristics of the diversity oriented organisations is that they are robust, have positive missions and have strong core value statements which highlights the openness and willingness for diversity within the organisations. These organisations tend to have strong systems and processes in place with high number of audits which help ensure that there is no kind of discrimination that is found within the organisation due to diversity. There is also a higher level of flexibility in the working policies and procedures. The practices within these companies tend to be more focused on the needs of the employees. Culture has a very important part in these types of companies and it is based on this that the companies may succeed or fail. ___________________________________________________________________________ Part 6: Describe the current culture within your organisation with regard to diversity and discuss how you feel the manager contributes to this culture. Since I work at a centre for refugees the culture for diversity in this place is one which accepts all the people and understands that each person is different with different requirements both materialistically as well as emotionally. My manager plays a very important role in retaining this culture within the organisation. He has all the qualities of a good manager and is well versed with the Issues of diversity. There is a class of patience and understanding that is seen in my manager when he deals with the refugees. Although every single person will be provided with the same treatment, my manager is able to calm people down easily and make them feel like they are receiving preferential treatment although the things provided are the same for all (NCFE Level 3, 2009). This ability to treat everyone the same yet be able to reach out to them and help them emotionally is one of the best qualities and this is what makes the culture in the organisation so successful and comfortable. The success of the operations of the company is due to the culture that has been balanced within the company by the managers and team leads. They provide a chance for the employees to be creative and open, and yet also ensure that the employees be the same with all in organisation. References Carrell, M.R., Mann, E.E., Sigler, T.H., (2006). Defining workforce diversity programs and practices in Organizations: a longitudinal study. Labour Law Journal, CCH Incorporated Cox, T., & Beale, R.L., (1997). Developing Competency to Manage Diversity. San Fransico. Berrett – Koehler Foothill, (2004). Diversity in workplace. Foothill DE ANZA, 3 March 2004, Accessed on 18th July 2009, Retrieved from http://hr.fhda.edu/diversity/ NCFE Level 3, (2009). Certificate in Managing Diversity. New Castle College Read More