Support for Diversity in Organization - Term Paper Example

Support for Diversity in Organization Name of Student: Name of Professor: Name of Course: Code of the Course: Date of Submission: Support for Diversity in Organization Abstract In recent years, HR policy makers and industrial relations scholars have expressed the support for diversity in organizations. Although the growth of diversity in organizations is noticeable and highly recommended, many organizations still lack to provide a climate of workplace diversity in the workplace. This literature review gives an insight into diversity in organizations. It will look at the origins and recent developments in diversity in organizations. This paper will also discuss literature on diversity management; a recent trend in human resource management which is aimed at ensuring diversity is achieved in the workplace. Introduction One of the issues that modern organizations have to deal with is diversity in their workforce. One of the major forms of diversity is cultural diversify which is a result of the integration of people from varying cultural backgrounds. Generally, cultural diversity is a product of globalization, a trend that leads to the political, economic and social integration of people and countries around the world. With the need for an organization to attract a competent labor force, bearing in mind that human resources offer an organization a competitive advantage, an organization has to exploit the international labour market, hence leading to a diversified labor force. Other forms of diversity that exist in an organization include age diversity and gender diversity amongst others (Avery, 2011). It is imperative to note that diversity has a direct influence in the performance of an organization. Therefore, it is vital that organizations embrace diversity management strategies so as to ensure that they are able to maximize their productivity. The following paper will give a literature review on diversity in organizations. Origin of Diversity in Organizations Diversity and its management have not been major issues in organizational management in the past. However, the relationship between the two elements and the performance of an organization has forced organizations to acknowledge and manage diversity (Buregen, 2005). According to Strachan, Burgess and Sullivan, (2004) issues such as discrimination in employment in addition to other equality issues have forced organizations to consider diversity management as a key management element. The main aim of diversity and its management is to ensure that all people have equal opportunities regardless of their demographic, racial, cultural or ethnic orientation. According to Avery (2011), diversity in organizations is a result having a workforce that hails from various demographic groups. In his article, Avery notes that the need for organizations to attract and retain the best employees in the market has led to diversity. This is due to the fact that most organizations strive to exploit the international labor market; which is rich is competent labor supply. He also notes that the changing demographic patterns are also a cause of diversity in organizations. There are various types of diversity that organizations have to deal with. As identified earlier, the major one of them is cultural diversity. Cultural diversity develops when an organization draws employees from the global labor market. Another type of diversity is age diversity. This is caused by the ever-changing age demographics in organizations; which causes major divisions in the employees according to their age. According to Durbin, Lovell and winters (2008), age diversity is one of the major problems that modern organizations have to deal with. With an increased employment of young people, there is a rising division between them and the older generation (Durbin, Lovell & Winters, 2008). The other main type of diversity in organizations is gender diversity. Gender diversity occurs when there is an incorporation of the two genders in an organization’s labor force. Recent Developments in Diversity There have been several developments in diversity in the recent past. Diversity has a direct effect on the performance of an organization (Beauregard, 2008). According to Avery (2011), there is a need for an organization to manage diversity appropriately, so as to ensure that is performance is maximized. Beauregard notes that appropriate diversity management is aimed at ensuring that the employees in an organization are able to work together in harmony towards achieving the objectives of an organization. Due to the fact that diversity is increasing in many organizations, its management has been developing gradually over time. Ideally, it is important to note that diversity management is a recent development in organizational management. Diversity management aims at enabling the stakeholders in an organization acknowledge and appreciate diversity, after which they find unity and strength in the diversity and work together in harmony. Key to diversity management is the need to uphold equality and equity. As the famous saying goes, the majority have their way while the minority have their say, recent developments in diversity management are geared towards ensuring that all people are given equal chances of achieving exploiting their full potential in organizations. One of the issues that have recently received much focus in diversity management is equality in employment (Burgess, French & Strachan, 2009). Previously, employees were faced with a rather disadvantaging situation where they would be discriminated against according to their demographic/ racial ethnic group orientation. However, recent developments in the diversity management are changing the face of recruitment in the modern organizations. According to Burgess, French and Strachan, (2009), it is important that organizations adopt a diversity management strategy which enables it to offer equal employment opportunities to its employees. An equal opportunity employer is able to attract and retain the best employees in the labour market, hence gaining a competitive advantage over its competitors in the market. This is owing to the fact that such an act is an act of diversity management, a practice which enables an organization to maximize its performance (Bergen, 2005). For this reason, Bendl, Fleischmann and Walenta (2008), argue that diversity management has become a very important part of organizational management and management studies. Diversity management has also developed to be a business model in the modern organizational management (Brdulak, 2009). According to Brdulak, a diversity management business model aligns an organization’s human resources with its strategic plan, hence enabling it to reach its goals and objectives. Key to the model is talent management. On this point, it is important to acknowledge the fact that talents are very important to the performance of an organization. In the modern competitive business world where innovation defines a major division between successful and unsuccessful organizations, it is important for an organization to embrace a model that encourages it. Basically, a diversity management model has the ability to manage talents, hence giving an organization a higher chance of embracing innovation, hence being able to compete effectively in the market. According to Harris and Foster (2010), an organization should counter the challenges posed by diversity and equality with an aim of managing talents via the use of an appropriate/ effective diversity management strategy. The diversity management strategy must then be implemented accordingly in order to achieve an organization’s objectives. On this point, Risberg and Soderberg (2008) argue that the diversity management should be incorporated into the management concept of an organization. One of the major concepts which have developed in diversity management is endorsement and activeness. Endorsement is the acknowledgement of diversity while activeness is the practical implementation of strategies aimed at embracing diversity. According to Avery (2011), the success of diversity management is influenced by these two factors. Avery argues that an employee or any other stakeholder may endorse diversity; meaning that he/she acknowledges the existence of diversity. However, he/ she may not be involved in a practical activity which illustrates diversity management; hence the diversity management concept is not successful. Successful diversity management occurs when endorsement and activeness occurs in concurrence. Avery goes forward to note that activism is a product of endorsement. For this reason, Avery notes that endorsement of diversity is the first step towards achieving successful diversity management. He notes that endorsement must be extent in an organizations climate/culture, the management, coworkers and customers (Avery, 2011). This explains why diversity training is a trend which is developing steadily in modern organizational management. According to McGuire and Bagher, (2010), diversity training is one of the strategies which enable an organization to embrace diversity. It can be argued that diversity training leads to endorsement and consequently activism, hence achieving success in diversity management. The Future of Diversity Taking a glance at the past and current trends in diversity, it can be acknowledged that diversity is here to stay. The increased globalization and the ever changing demographic patterns continuously lead to diversity in organizations. For this reason, there is a need for organizations to ensure that they have the most appropriate diversity management strategies so as to be able to manage in diversity (Baugh, 2007). Some of the current trends which will surely be part of future diversity management strategies include equality, gender, age, racial, cultural and ethnic management strategies. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen from this literature review that diversity is an element which organizations have to consider in their management. The paper has defined diversity as varying orientation according to gender, race, ethnicity, culture and age among others. The review has also identified that diversity has a major influence on the performance of an organization. The literature review has identified that an organization’s performance is due to benefit from a strategic diversity management approach. For this reason, the review identified that diversity management, which is a young development in organizational management is currently a major management element in organizations. On this point, the review has identified that successful diversity management is achieved when the endorsement / acknowledgement of diversity is met by activism, the implementation of diversity management strategies. The review has also identified that diversity is due to have more effect in organizations in the future due to the rapid globalization and changing demographic patterns. Therefore, organizations will have to embrace appropriate diversity management approaches. References Avery, D., (2011). Support For Diversity In Organizations: A Theoretical Exploration Of Its Origins And Offshoots, Organizational Psychology Review, 1(3); 239–256 Baugh, S.,(2007). The Southern Management Association Looks At Gender And Diversity, Equal Opportunities International, 26(3); 250-255 Beauregard, T., (2008). Managing Diversity In Organizations, Equal Opportunities International, 27(4);392-395 Bendl, R., Fleischmann, A., & Walenta, C., (2008). Diversity Management Discourse Meets Queer Theory, International Journal, 23(6); 382-394 Buregen, C., (2005). Workforce Diversity and Organizational Performance, Workforce Diversity and Organizational Performance, 24(4); 1-16 Burgess, J.,French, E., & Strachan, G., (2009). The Diversity Management Approach to Equal Employment Opportunity in Australian Organisations, The Economic and Labour Relations Review,20(1);77–92 Brudlulak, H., (2009). Diversity Management as a Business Model, Kobeita I Bizness, 1(4); 29- 35 Durbin, S., Lovell, L., & Winters, J., (2008). Diversities in an Organizational Context, Equal Opportunities International, 27(4); 396-400 Harris, L., & Foster, C., (2010). Aligning Talent Management With Approaches To Equality And Diversity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal,29(5); 422-435 McGuire, D., & Bagher, M., (2010). Diversity Training In Organisations: An Introduction, Journal of European Industrial Training, 34(6); 493-505 Risberg, A., & Solderberg, A., (2008). Translating a Mangemnet Concept: Diversity Management in Denmark, Gender in Management: An International Journal,23(6); 426-441 Strachan, A., Burgess, J., & Sullivan, A., (2004). Affirmative Action Or Managing Diversity: What Is The Future Of Equal Opportunity Policies In Organizations? Women in Management Review, 19 (4);196-204 Read More