Diversity and Equality Management in the UK and Australia - Case Study Example

Diversity and equality management in UK and Australia Introduction The increasing diversity in most organizations today can be attributed to several factors; first, there is a changing demographic structure in our countries due to modernization and technology advances. The demographic structure enables people from different parts of the world to come together in a specific location and live together. Secondly, the importance of globalization to countries’ firms to sustain their profits and long term survival. This entails the recruitment of persons from different parts of the world. Finally, changes within a society on how work is done contribute to diversity within the country. This paper will therefore discuss the issue of equality and diversity management with reference to two countries- UK and Australia. It will examine broader aspects of the two issues especially with regard to the process of diversity management, legislative processes, labour union, gender participation and trends in both countries. It will also look into the challenges, threats and opportunities affecting the two countries when it comes to equality and diversity management. Diversity defined Diversity is the accepting, celebrating, valuing and understanding differences among people with respect to their gender, ethnicity, and race among other factors. Diversity among groups of people means that, within an organization, there is difference of structure and culture which ultimately have a direct effect on the attitudes, feelings and perceptions of the individuals whenever they are within their working places. In the cultural context, issues like normative behaviour, languages or customs are considered as forms of diversity. It may also to some extent explain the style and conventions that people regard as their culture within the society. On the other hand, structure promotes the power, class or statuses of people as they relate to one another in any place including the communities they come from or the organization they are working for. Public relations between different countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia and underdeveloped countries are far much varied because of issues such as; economic status, political will, policy creation and implementation, employee literacy standards, justice systems, type of industry and management standards (Chevrier, 2003) UK and Australia Australia is democratic society that has been considered stable by many economists. It has a qualified workforce that is strong and supports the country’s industrial and service sectors. It has an estimated population of 21,234,089 citizens. Politically, Australia is the only country to govern a whole continent and in fact, up to today, the country boasts of a strong political backbone that drives the systems of governance in that country. In terms of geography, the country is the six largest countries in the world with a very diverse population who are believed to have originated from more than 200 different countries around the world. The society is multicultural in nature and this has led to increased cases of inequality with reference to resource distribution. In the contrary, the UK the population is about 61 million making it a very diverse country. It has a very developed economy, stable government and a more democratic society. It has also been able to draft polices that have been used to mange inequality and diversity. (Mor Barak, 2000) The two countries have abundant resources that provide for skilled labour and high standard of living for their people. Compared to Australia, UK has been able to equally distribute resources effectively as due well structured polices to counter forms of discrimination. The country has a majority of its population speak the native English language while in Australia; more than 4.1 million people speak other languages. Both countries have diverse cultural background that has continued to become a touchstone for their national identities. In Australia, the diversity issue is well pronounced when it comes to religious and cultural diversities. The Muslim population in Australia only is estimated to be about 13%.(Mor Barak, 2000) Labour force patterns Labour force patterns in the two countries began to have a different trend since the beginning of the last two decades. UK has had many of its aging population return to employment especially in the private sector for the last 10 years due to labour shortages, immigration policies and changing economies Source: Lecaillon, J., Felix P., Christian M., and Dimitri G. (1984). Income Distribution and Economic Development in Scotland; an Analytical Survey. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office Pay comparison There is huge disparity in pay comparison between the two countries. First of all, the U.K economy is more than threefold that of Australia. A good economy supports better pay packages for its workforce and hence the UK has better benefits for its workforce than Australia. (Mor Barak, 2000) Labour unions Labour unions are an organized group of employees officially recognized by both the government and their employer that have come together to promote their common interests. Trade unions have a responsibility of ensuring that employees get the value of what they work for. They are directed to provide a communication channel between the employer and the employees. In some cases, In the United Kingdom, trade unions are registered by the specific State that it operates from and they are ratified by the government. The United Kingdom have a national advisory board referred to as Public Relations Advisory Board (ERAB) that is concerned with formulating national policies which must be adhered to by individual Public Relations Advisory Organization (PRAO) which very institution and organizations must have. At least one representative of PRAO is elected to sit at the Public Relations Advisory Board. In a university setting for example, their organization is responsible for providing the university council with suggestions on how to solicit and disseminate information on plans and programs that are designed for its members especially employees (Chevrier, 2003) Labour laws are very important in addressing cases of inequality and diversity management. They are designed to minimize issues of misunderstandings between the employer and employee when it comes to employment law. These laws help to boost employee-employer relations and that in the long run, cases of inequality and diversity will not arise. These relations are supposed to be transactional in essence and normally work on the foundation of “give and take.” Yet, in many cases the employees end up giving a lot of what he receives. Over time, these laws have been made to favour the employer. It is increasingly difficult to have equal footing with new labour markets and a highly liberalized economy especially in the UK. The labour laws being formed and passed give advantage to the employer. An example, of the laws that give the employer a lot of power is law on redundancy, which states that when an employer does not or no longer need the services of the employee to perform the given work then he can declare the employee redundant. (Cordero, Ditomaso and Farris, 1996) As we progress in the 21st century business-wise, inequality and diversity management continue to take centre stage in the development of countries. Retaining and attracting people to the organization is increasingly becoming more and more of a priority today in al types of organization hence the need to understand diversity management properly. Currently in the U.K, a very tight labour market has brought into sharp focus the issue of market intensity and leveraging human capital. Compounding the challenges of today where there are many jobs chasing fewer people in the U.K, the organizations are becoming more divergent and may try to seek more employees in the Diaspora. Figure 2. Income distribution in the UK Source; New Policy Institute Report, (2007): Britain divided: income inequality and poverty. Retrieved from www.npi.org.uk accessed on 3rd September, 2007 Challenges in managing diversity Incidences of discrimination have led to increased number of legal suits against many companies in both UK and Australia. While trying to manage diversity, the issue will most likely arise as consequence of addressing the negative implications of diversity. Some companies in UK have found the going getting tougher as a result of their diverse workforce. When the company tries to discriminate even against the disabled persons in their workforce, will find itself getting bad publicity and in the long run bad image. (Cordero, Ditomaso and Farris, 1996) Opportunities The achievement of core values by exercising fairness to all individuals within the country is one of the key sections of the mission of any organization. Being fair to all citizens and respecting each and every employee regardless of the education or position in the country is in itself strategic management. Analysts argue that a well managed diversity in a country can add value through the following; i. Increases innovation and creativity ii. Problem solving becomes easier iii. With better recruitment, selection, retention and dismissal, quality personnel are at one time available for the organizations leading to better productivity iv. Organizational flexibility is increased Due to the urge and curiosity of people to know the social, cultural and individual behaviours of people they work with, more interaction processes are taking place. People within an organization in the process tend to become socially close to another. The social closeness making it easier for the management of the organization to promote group or teamwork has been known to promote workplace relationship and increasing the ability of the employees to solve issues together. Getting things done through teamwork is encouraged in every organization especially when duties are common. The interaction process therefore is considered improved within a diverse environment. (Cordero, Ditomaso and Farris, 1996) With a diverse labor market today, only organizations that are retaining, using skills of its workforce and attracting to a large group of labor force will remain extremely competitive. People have various talents and experiences wherever they are. This means that organizations that utilize one or two socio-cultural groups in the organizations become more advantaged than those who do have a more diverse workforce. Human talent in terms of personal ability to handle issues in the company is clearly a plus for an organization which is really handling delicate sector such as the health care provision. Threats High costs are usually incurred while trying to manage a diverse workforce. It is usually very hard to deal with the needs of a diverse workforce/people. To solve issues arising as a result of differences in ethnicity, race or education, many organizations will need the services of a company counsellor in order to provide counselling services. Dealing with such issues as conflicts require that companies spend a lot of revenue to reconcile and bring people to a harmonious situation. The costs of dealing with persons from different locations or religious groups may affect the organizations in some way. Religious persons from various groups have different beliefs on certain issues required by their religious faiths. (Chevrier, 2003) Legislation Research has also shown that all organizations, businesses and companies benefit greatly from a diverse workforce not only in terms of race and culture but most importantly in terms of age. The younger generation learn quickly from the older people while the older ones get new ideas from the energetic younger generation. This will result in a mutual relationship. The UK in 2006 brought into effect a law requiring that all employers and public agencies get instructions on how to deal with inequality and diversity issues such as discrimination. This is the basis for this regulation as it identifies the benefits of equal opportunities and rights of all people within the company. It also come inline with the United Nation’s call for equality among all humanity. (Joan & Jeffrey, 2003) In addition, any form of victimization and discrimination regardless of its nature will lead to underperformance of employees, low morale, diminished job satisfaction attributes and greater employee turnover. This new legislation aims to put a framework in place that will protect generations to come from age related discrimination cases. The scope for the new legislation is however very wide and covers every aspect of workplace issues; employment, manpower training and development, workplace policies etc. The regulation is to apply to vocational training and to any other firm that employs members of the public including the government. It prohibits any unjust, indirect or indirect form of discrimination or even unequal distribution of resources against employees on any ground (Peter, 2000) The ‘Employment Equality Regulation’ in Australia The plan by the government to introduce clear legislations such as the ‘Equality Regulation’ will ultimately draw sensible frameworks and balances between the employer and employee dismissal cases that will bring more clarity. It will create barriers that according to the government will weigh reasonable community standards and the judiciary. This has been necessitated by the fact that there is need for fairness in addressing dismissals. The law will address issues of age, religion, harassment and conduct of both employers and employees. (Peter, 2000) Conclusion Today, diversity management is no longer an issue of male or female, old or young, black or white, today. Managing diversity is therefore the extra step of incorporating the diversity issue of any kind into the organization or the nation itself. Today, diversity management is becoming more interesting and complicated. Harris, a sociologist describes it “Managing diversity is about a relatedness, connectivity and interactions where lines cross i.e. a bridge of reality in people’s lives and the organizational live”. (Joan & Jeffrey, 2003) Diversity management in a country is a reflection of how the changing world and market place will be in the future. Diversity will enhance respect for individual differences within the organization and hence able to create a competitive advantage in the organization. Diversity management is able to benefit associates through the creation of safe and fair environment for all. Poverty, inequality, discrimination and diversity in the UK and Australia have been one of the issues discussed at large with a view to completely eliminating them. There is however a positive improvement in the trend of increasing poverty and inequality in the country. In this essay, the main causes of the issues above are; politics, corruption, regressive taxes, decreasing relative value of state benefits, inequality in earnings, inheritance, political developments, lack of policies, long term and high levels of unemployment rates including structural adjustments. Countries that implement effective human resource practices outperform those that do not. It is advisable for countries such as Australia that has higher goal growths to clearly commit them to diversity management polices in order to effectively meet their future needs in terms of the economic growth. There is no single recipe for success that must be desired from diversity. The main determinant that needs to be clearly understood is the basis of teamwork provided by the management of the organization. Diversity management in any country has become a comprehensive process needed for creating a workplace environment that includes everyone regardless of their diverse nature. In doing so, the organization will be in a position to reap the benefits of diversity. These two countries have therefore become a source of inspiration for other countries in the world especially the third world countries where diversity and equality management is not addressed well. Reference Anderson, T. and Metcalf, H. (2003): Diversity: stacking up the evidence. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Chevrier, S. (2003) Cross-cultural management in multinational project groups Journal of World Business. Vol. 38, No. 2, summer pp141–146 Cordero, R., Ditomaso, N. and Farris, G.F. (1996): Gender and race/ethnic composition of technical work groups: relationship to creative productivity and morale. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management No. 13 pp205–220 Joan. E & Jeffrey. A (2003): The Politics of International Economic Relations. 6th Edition, Wadsworth/Thomson Kirchmeyer, C. and McLellan, J. (1991) capitalizing on ethnic diversity: an approach to managing the diversity workgroups in the 1990s Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences Vol. 8, No. 2 pp72–77 Lecaillon, J., Felix P., Christian M., and Dimitri G. (1984). Income Distribution and Economic Development in Scotland; an Analytical Survey. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office. Mor Barak, M.E. (2000): The inclusive workplace: an ecosystems approach to diversity management. Social Work Vol. 45, No. 4. pp339–359 New Policy Institute Report, (2007): Britain divided: income inequality and poverty. Retrieved from www.npi.org.uk accessed on 21st September, 2007 Peter H. (2000): Three Centuries of Inequality in Britain and Australia. in Handbook of Income Distribution, Volume 1, edited by Anthony B. Atkinson and François Bourguignon. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science Read More