Managing Diversity in an Organization - Nordens Confectionary - Case Study Example

Insert Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Institution xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Instructor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Introduction Managing diversity in an organization is a herculean task for any organization; it is even more complex when it comes to a family business. The case study aims at advising Nordens Company on how to approach the issues of managing diversity. The case study begins with the exploration of the company, its background as well as the issues at hand. The reports also outlines the path the company can follow in implementing equality and diversity practices as well as offering recommendations. Lastly the report outlines the issues that may affect the implementation process. Nordens is a confectionary manufacturing company in North West London. The company markets its product both locally (United Kingdom) and in other countries within the European Union.Nordens is a family owned business, started in 1920s with its top management dominated by members of the family. The company employs five hundred permanent staff and a slightly above three hundred temporary staff who are contracted for three months during the peak season. Out of the five hundred permanent staff, two hundred are part time and are dominantly women. Also the better part of the full time permanent staff is women and is involved in production and dispatch. Men dominate technical departments. Other employees include those who are in sales, accounts and supervisory. The staff is unionized. The company workforce is predominantly women, there are women friendly practices such as child caring responsibilities and holiday cover to take care of the child although there is no policy towards this. The salary and benefits in this company are high above the industry average. Future plans The company is considering restructuring its operation with introduction of new products and diversification. It aims to tap the new market presented by the increasing multi cultural population in town as well as increase its products to the markets in European Union. To succeed in this expansive endeavour the company will be required to buy new machinery, train the staff, employ more skilled staff, starting of the new shift patterns. Strong points The company has a good start point since the union is supportive of the activities being undertaken by the company. There is also exists a potential market for labour force presented by increasing multi ethnic population in the area. Challenges In the course of expansion the company will face human resource challenges. There will a cost implication in this expansion since finances will be required to buy new machinery as well as carry out staff training on numerical and literacy as identified by the unions. This means that the workers might not get any increase in the foreseeable future. There is a reported high turnover among the young, temporary staff and people from minority groups. High turnover leads to high cost of hiring, therefore this need to be checked. There is also need to adopt the Equal opportunities policies as envisaged by the government through legislation. One of the members of the management team sees this as a move by the government to reduce the companies’ profitability but others see it as an opportunity to add value. The company is also seen as lagging behind as far as employing people with disability and those from minority groups. Identified diversity issues Diversity is defined as the perspectives and experiences that arise form the qualities that people exhibit. The qualities may be brought about by race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, age, sexual orientation; physical attributes and other characteristics (Kossek and Lobel 1998).These are qualities that are different from what we have as individual but can be found in other people. At Nordens, workforce is drawn from diverse backgrounds. In terms of gender, the company is doing well in terms of the number of women who are working here; they form the larger proportion of the workforce. In terms of affirmative action where women empowerment in terms of having an income is concerned, this company would score highly. On the other hand it can be argued that men are disadvantaged in terms of their numbers. There is a need for the company to increase the number of men working in the company to match or near that of women. The company has recently started to employ people from minority ethnic groups. Despite this fact there numbers are still low given that the dominant ethnic groups in this area continue to form the majority. In terms of age, the Company has been experiencing a high turnover of young people. A high turnover of young people means that the company is missing out as far as nurturing and developing talent is Concerned.The Company In Future may not have people who have risen through the rank. In most companies these are the people who have steered organization to greater heights. This is a problem that needs to be addressed in line with Nordens future human resource strategic plans. Nordens Company has been performing well as far as handling workers issues is concerned. The company pays better salaries and benefits compared to what others in the industry give. One area which has been identified as having issues is treatment of women workers. Although they form the largest numbers of the employees most of them work in low levels. Promotions and employment opportunities in high levels have also been identified as an issue facing women in this company. There has also been a case of mistreatment of women and people from minority groups by one of the supervisors. The company also lags behind as far as embracing diversity is concerned. Despite the company being located in an area which has a high population of people from diverse cultures, they have not employed enough from the minority groups. The company is also noted be performing poorly as far as employing people with disability is concerned. Implementation of equality and diversity practices in the company and recommendations Cox Taylor(1993) explains that managing diversity involves planning and implementing company’s practices and systems to manage people so that the potential advantages which are presented by diversity are maximized and at the same time disadvantages minimized. Stefan (2011) observes that managing diversity involves acknowledging that people are different as well as recognizing these differences as assets for an organization. This is partly achieved through preventing any kind of discrimination in the company; instead everybody is encouraged to promote inclusiveness. As Nordens have realized embracing diversity in the organization through adopting the principles dictated by Equal opportunities legislation will lead to value addition. The company desire to reach out for markets other than the traditional ones will be boosted by their image. When Nordens present itself as a company which values diversity, through employing people from different ethnic backgrounds including the minority groups, people with disabilities, the young as well as adopting policy which respect diversity, it places itself in a higher level as far as competition is concerned (Richard and Johnson 2001). Heterogeneity in an organization has been noted to promote creativity. (Cox Taylor 1993)It has been found out that heterogeneous groups come up with better solutions and produce higher level of critical analysis. (Kossek and Lobel 1996) Having a heterogeneous team at Nordens, in terms of ethnicity, age, physical attributes and gender among other characteristics will be a vital asset especially when the company is undergoing through expansive process. Workers from different backgrounds will contribute diverse ideas which will be filtered through to ensure that the best are adopted. Innovation and creativity at a time when the line of business is facing a stiff competition goes a long way in helping a company remain a force to reckon with as far as the industry is concerned. Nordens also need to come up with an effective management which will deal with diversity issues. There is need to have sound policies in place which address human resource issues such as hiring,training,retention and developing a diverse workforce. (Thomas 1990). Through such an effort the company will develop a reputation as a company of choice as far as employment is concerned. When the company has such a reputation in the eyes of the public, its products will also be highly regarded in the market. The company needs to come up with policies which encourage career development. Young people should have a feeling that they have a long term career in this company. They need to be nurtured, trained and developed such that they are allowed to climb up the ladder. Through such measures the company will be developing a team that will take it to the higher levels in future. When young people feel that they have a future in a company, where they are allowed to move upwards in terms of career they will tend to hold on to their jobs as well as develop their career in that organization. This will go a long way in retaining talents and at the same time reducing the turnover of the young people in the company. (Richard and Johnson 2001) Nordens should come up with policies which will encourage people with disability to seek position in the company. They can start by putting in place infrastructures which are cater for the people with disability. In the recruitment and selection process people with disabilities but are qualified for positions need to be considered along the others. Through doing this the company will be meeting the requirements set out by the law as well as building an image in the eyes of the public as a sensitive business. (Thomas 1990). This is a strong marketing strategy, more effective than running tens of adverts in different media .A company which has build a positive image in the public performs better in terms of sales and revenue since people will opt to buy a brand that they identify with as far as sensitivity to other people’s need is concerned. Challenges in the implementation Implementation of equality and diversity practices in Nordens Company will not be a smooth process. It will have experience some challenges .One of the major challenge is the cost implication. Employing people with disability will mean putting in place infrastructure which helps them work comfortably. This will have a cost implication, but if at the long end it will help the company meet the legal requirements and build a positive image, it is a cost worth incurring. (Richard and Johnson 2001). The process of hiring people from the minority groups as well as those with disability might cost the organization time as they may not get qualified staff. This makes the process of hiring tedious and time consuming. There is also a danger of hiring people who may not add value in the quest to meet the diversity target. The company will loose out in terms of talent acquisition as well as getting the best staff. There is also a possibility of clashing with the labour unions when the organization lays some staff in the attempt to include people who will give the company a diverse look. References Richard, O., & Johnson, N. (2001). Understanding the impact of human resource diversity Practices on firm performance. Journal of Managerial Issues, XIII(2), 177–95. Stefan Gröschl (2011) Diversity in the Workplace,Multi-disciplinary and International Perspectives Taylor Cox Jr,(1993) Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory Research & Practice, Berrett. Koehler Publishing, San Francisco Thomas, R. (1990). From affirmative action to affirming diversity. Harvard Business Review, March/April, Read More