Performance Management in a Diverse Workplace - Essay Example

Performance Management in a Diverse Workplace Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Executive summary Performance management in a diverse workplace is important because it helps to improve the quality of decisions which are made by the management. This report discussed that the older people in Australia have negatively portrayed by the media since the employed individuals are young and even the programs which are aired like the My Kitchen Rules negatively portray the contribution of the older people at workplace. In addition, the stereotypes argues that the older people are less motivated and are reluctant in taking up the training and development programs since their career can come to an end at the retirement age. Due to the stereotypes, the older people at the workplace can be treated differently. For instance, due to stereotypes the older people are discriminated because they are considered to be old and may not handle some jobs. In addition, there is inequality in that the older employees might not be selected to undergo training and development since they have reached the apex of their career. However, the report found out that the older workforce is experienced and can help to develop the skills of the young employees thus they can compete effectively with the young employees. Finally, the legislation and diversity has helped to increase the number of older employees at workplace since the retirement age was increased to 70 years. In addition, the legislation regarding equity has also helped to promote fair go among the older employees according to this report. The report recommends that performance management in a diverse workforce can be improved by formulating diversity policies that ensure that the employees hired come from the diversity backgrounds. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Popular media and their portrayal of older people 4 Uninformed stereotypes and reality of older people 5 How stereotypes can influence the way the members of old people may be treated in employment 7 How can legislation and diversity management approaches help provide a fair go for old people 9 Conclusion 10 Work cited 11 Introduction Many organizations in the 21st century are concerned with diversity at workplace so that they can be able to handle various situations in the organization effectively. Diversity at workplace takes various forms including the old people, employees from different cultural backgrounds as well as including the young employees at workplace. From the research that has been conducted, it has been determined that the older people are increasingly included at workplace so that they can be able to contribute to decision making at workplace and manage the issues of workplace diversity like favors and conflicts. In this context, workplace diversity is important at any workplace so that it can help to improve the competitiveness of the organisation (Richardson et al 2013). The vulnerable groups selected for this assignment is the older people who have in the recent years have been discriminated. The aim of this report is to assess the stereotypes as provided to the old people at workplaces and how the stereotypes influence the ways in which the older people are treated at their workplace. The report will also discuss the differences between stereotypes and the reality at workplace. Popular media and their portrayal of older people In the recent years, the inclusion of the older people at the workplace has been an issue. The media has played an important role in portraying the inclusion of the older people at workplace although it also portrays negatively the contribution of the older people. From the media shows in Australia, it can be indicated that the older people are not extensively included at the workplace. The most watched TV programs in Australia have shown that the older people are not actively included at the workplace (Richardson et al 2013). For instance, the MasterChef Australia indicates that the young people are energetic and can do better than old people. This means that the media has contributed to ensuring that the older people are not actively included at the workplace. This is because the older people are not included in the program meaning that the older people are not actively included because they are considered less productive thus they are vulnerable to workplace discrimination. The other program that is most watched is the neighborhood which is most watched by young people. This is another indication that the young people are the most preferred unlike the older people. On the other hand, there are TV shows which do not depict that older people are equally important at workplace instead they show that the young people are the most talented and they can offer best skills as compared to old people. For instance, the Reality television does not put more emphasis to the skills of the old people (Rauschenbach et al 2012). The TV programs which are given by the Reality TV like My Kitchen Rules and the Block and House Rule all are aired by young people and this means that the older people are less productive meaning that the young people have better skills and look attractive as compared to older people (Rauschenbach et al 2012). This implies that the aged people are not given the opportunity to show that they can be equally competitive and can give best skills on the TV shows. However, it is argued that the young people look attractive and they have the energy and can work even extra time to meet the deadlines which may not be accomplished by the older people. The main characters of the shows are the young people and this means that there is discrimination at workplaces (Rauschenbach et al 2012). Even the adverts which are placed on the TV shows show little indication of the older people implying that the aged individuals at workplace especially the media portray little positive contribution of the older people. From these perspectives in the media it can be indicated that older people are given little emphasis and this clearly shows that the older people are discriminated at the workplace and instead the young people are preferred since they are considered to be energetic and can do better work than the older people hence there is discrimination at workplace (Australian Human Rights Commission (2012). However, it is argued that the older people possess better experience as compared to young people since they have worked for long and they have better experience especially when it comes to technical jobs. From the research that was conducted by Australian Human Rights Commission, it was determined that about 61% believed that the media in Australia portrays the older people negatively which is unfair (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). Uninformed stereotypes and reality of older people Stereotypes are the beliefs people have towards the certain age group like the older people. It can also be defined as the negative expectations among from the people from the selected vulnerable groups like the older people. Due to negative influences and portray from the older people, it can be determined that the older people are portrayed negatively because they are considered to incompetent. Uniformed stereotypes can therefore be defined as the negative expectations and portray which is not true and turns out to be wrong in reality (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). For instance, the media in Australia has portrayed the older people as incompetent because of their age and this is not right because the older people can be equally competent thus the negative perception is not true. In the first place, the research that has been conducted has determined that the stereotypes for aged employees are that the older people are considered to be less motivated. This is because they are reluctant in taking the training and development so that they can develop their skills effectively. The older people are considered to resist the change especially if the changes will affect their traditional way of doing things and can lead to loss of job (Michaels et al 2012). This is because the older people are considered to have many issues like the family issues and this affects their concentration at the workplace hence they may not undergo the training and development. In this effect, the older people are considered to be less motivated because they have many issues to attend to hence their productivity is compromised. However, this is not right because the older employees can undergo training and development to acquire better skills like the ICT skills to apply at their workplaces. Furthermore, the aged people possess competent skills and experience since they have been in the field for a long period of time hence they can apply their expertise to achieve better results. In this context, it is not right that the older people are less motivated and reluctant to undergo training and development to improve their competitiveness (Michaels et al 2012). In addition, the other stereotypes believe that the older people are less energetic in their activities and they may not work overtime to achieve the deadlines. This is because the older people are likely to take time off regularly because of their health issues that might affect their productivity at the workplace as compared to the younger people (Martin et al 2014). The young people are faster in doing their things and daily activities thus they are preferred as compared to the older people. It is believed that the older people are used to doing things the old way and this means that they are reluctant to accept the change required by the organisation. In addition, some of the line managers believe that the older people are not able to adapt new skills and this means that they will resist to change since they feel that their jobs will be at a stake (Martin et al 2014). However, this is not true because the older employees will have competent skills and can also be willing to learn new ways of doing things thus they can also be equally competitive and offer quality services unlike it is depicted in the media and other workplaces. As a result, the older people are equally competitive and can accept the change and provide services which can be provided by the young people. Moreover, other stereotype is that the older employees are less adaptive to new culture. This is because the older people may find it hard to learn new ways of doings things and this will affect their ability to learn new culture (Martin et al 2014). This implies that they are not flexible when performing their activities and this leads to workplace conflicts between the young employees who come up with new ideas on how things should be done while the older people feel that they are being underrated and they don’t want to change from their traditional way of doing things (Kulik et al 2014). For instance, the application of the ICT may not be agreed by the older employees instead the young people will enjoy working using the most appropriate technology. As a result, the old employees are discriminated. However, this may not be true since the older employees can also be able to learn new ways of doing things and this will improve the productivity of the employees. From this perspective, it can be indicated that the stereotypes destructs the view of the older people especially the employees. The research has shown that the older people are less motivated, they can resist the change as well as training and development and also less adaptive to new cultures. This means that the young people like the employees are better placed and preferred by organizations as compared to old people (Kulik et al 2014). However, this is not correct because the older employees can also give their skills and experience to perform their tasks affectively and can improve their productivity than the young people who may not possess competent skills. In this regard, workplace diversity should be practiced including employees from diversified backgrounds including young and old people. How stereotypes can influence the way the members of old people may be treated in employment The way the older employees are treated can be different from the young and physically challenged employees. Initially, the older employees were seen as less productive and it has been depicted by the media and other workplaces (Gringart et al 2013). According to the Australian employment law, the retirement age has been increased to 70 years and this means that there will be an increase in the number of older employees as compared to young people. This means that the older employees should have to be treated equally as other employees. As the older employees retire, the new employees are hired and they can come in with new skills and stereotypes and this means that the employees should be treated equally. From the research that has been conducted, it was determined that the employees of aged 30 years and below regarded the older employees differently since they used to consider them stick to old skills. However, the young employees came to realize that the older employees train and develop their skills through mentorship and coaching thus developing the skills of the young employees hence they are treated equally (Gringart et al 2013). Furthermore, there are various forms of discrimination that take place at workplace. One of the discriminations that can take place is age discrimination whereby the old employees are discriminated based on their age (Carter 2006). In most workplaces, the old employees are discriminated as well as the young employees because they are considered not to possess competent skills to hold senior possessions at the workplace. However, the stereotypes influence the forms of discrimination that take place at the workplaces. This means that the direct discrimination can be experienced at the workplace because of the stereotypes and this will affect the productivity of the employees especially the older employees. In this context, the stereotypes can lead to direct and indirect discrimination of the older employees at workplace (Arnold et al 2005). For instance, the older employees may not be selected to undergo training and development because they will retire shortly hence their skills will not be needed by the organisation. Therefore, the stereotypes can lead to discrimination. However, the discrimination can be managed by ensuring that there is effective legislation that protects all the employees against any form of discrimination. Another way in which the older employees can be discriminated is based on the positions which they take up in the organisation. This is because the employees of the old age will be discriminated especially when it comes to training and development because they are considered to work for the organisation a short period of time before they retire (Calo et al 013). It is therefore the responsibility of the management to ensure that workplace diversity is practiced and supported by the employees and this will promote equality at the workplace by formulating legislations that help to eliminate any form of discrimination and instead ensure all employees are treated equally and fairly. How can legislation and diversity management approaches help provide a fair go for old people In the first place, there is the legislation that requires that the employees should retire at the age of 70. This means that at the workplace the old employees should be treated fairly well until they retire officially from their workplace. In addition, the research that was conducted by (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013) indicates that 14% of the population of the employees is aged employees and this means that the legislation has improved the number of old employees who are engaged at workplace. The anti-discrimination law requires that all the employees should be treated fairly and avoids any form of discrimination based on their age and background. In this context, the employees are protected from any form of bullying and discrimination thus workplace can be enhanced. In addition, the equal opportunity legislation requires that all employees should be treated fairly and equally. The equal legislation requires that the employees who are old should not be denied their employment rights like being discriminated when duties and responsibilities are being assigned (Billett et al 2011). Due to this legislation, all employees including the young and old employees should be treated equally by giving equal opportunities to all employees. In this approach, the employees will be treated fairly and in the process promote workplace diversity that helps to provide opportunities to all employees effectively. Furthermore, according to fair discrimination Act, there is fair and equal recruitment and selection for the employees. This is the approach that requires that all the employees should be hired and trained without any form of favors. As a result, workplace diversity will be practiced since the employees will be hired from different backgrounds (Attwood & Markus 2007). For instance, the old employees will be provided equal opportunities and the young employees and finally an organisation will have employees from diversified backgrounds thus managing the performance of an organisation by promoting workplace diversity since the old employees will also be provided fair go at the workplace. Conclusion Performance management in a diverse workplace can be enhanced by ensuring equity at workplace. In Australia, the media has played a big role in stereotyping the old employees. Most of the TV programs employ young people meaning that the old employees are being discriminated. The old employees are regarded to be less active at the workplace and they are not motivated as well as are reluctant in accepting new ideas and organizational culture. Stereotyping has promoted discrimination among the employees as well as inequality. The equality act has provided fair go for the old employees because they have the opportunity to be treated equally. The legislation helps to promote workplace diversity. Recommendations The workplace diversity can be improved by ensuring that there are organizational policies that ensure that employees are employed from diverse backgrounds. This will help to promote workplace diversity since the employees will come from different backgrounds hence there will be no discrimination. In addition, it is recommended that the organizational culture of diversity should be practiced by orienting the new employees to the workplace diversity culture so that they can avoid any form of discrimination. Work cited Australian Human Rights Commission. 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