The Issue of Managing Diversity - Essay Example

QUESTION: Firstly, develop a comprehensive and detailed model of ways in which individuals differ, and support the categories of differences you havechosen with some kind of brief explanation of each. Secondly, select two differences, which you consider to be of primary relevance and importance to the issue of diversity management in organisations. for each perspective on diversity highlighted, consider and discuss the legal and ethical issues. Introduction Individuals differ on many counts and there are innumerable ways of measuring differences in individuals. There can be different levels of inequality as well among groups in the manner of individual differentiation. Difference can be of income, wealth, power, life expectancy, intellectual caliber, sex, colour, and race in different attributes. There can be inequalities with in a group. It is very important that we measure these inequalities of population by enlisting and analyzing their attributes. (http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~delittle/Encyclopedia%20entries/inequality%20measurement.pdf) An individual difference is a major issue in psychology as difference relates to the psychology of a person. Plato remarked 2000 years ago on individual differences, “No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments, one being suited for one occupation and the other for another.” People can be different in their thinking, feeling and behaviour. No two persons can be same but at the same time they can’t be totally unlike. So, it is very important to find ways of judging how people psychologically resemble and the variance of psychological features among them. On the basis of different intelligence and personality traits, people can be classified to a limited extent as they have complex characters resulting in contrasting and opposite theories and proof thereof. Historically, human beings differ on gender, intelligence and personality traits. Men had been hunters while women – gatherers. Some castes and classes possess sharp intellect than others. Education also helps in inculcating intellectual virtues, as intelligence is the most important individual difference based on cognitive capacity to think, reason, learn and adapt; specific jobs create different personality traits. Personality has been defined as “the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being. It is an act of high courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal condition of existence coupled with the greatest possible freedom for self-determination.”- Carl Gustav Jung, 1934 (http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L1-1Introduction.html) Surowiecki has added another dimension to the issue of individual differences by claiming that sometimes a crowd can decide well in a given situation. The wisdom of crowds (TWOC) is right when a different set of people, on the basis of their personal knowledge, reaches at a common solution, which can’t be explained mathematically or scientifically. (http://www.reviews.com/review/review_review.cfm?listname=highlight&review_id=132982) As there are no clear-cut theories to measure individual differences, alternative perspectives must be explored, based on solid research. Individual differences can be measured by analyzing the mean and standard deviation of the factor over the population. (http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~delittle/Encyclopedia%20entries/inequality%20measurement.pdf) In the context of diversity management in organisations, the International Personal Management Association (IPMA) has done thorough research. Its benchmarking committee recommends the following criteria to decide on the best diversity management practices such as: Successful over a period of time, produced quantitative and/or qualitative results, positive outcomes including customer satisfaction, innovative, transferable to other organizations with modifications, add value by improving service, quality and productivity. The subject of diversity is best understood in assuming it as an onion with many layers – each layer offering a chance to find out ways to work in unison. Some of the layers are fear of loss, cultural competency, professional ranking, religious attachments, ancestral influences, disability awareness and gender differences. (http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan000715.pdf) The issue of managing diversity (MD) has been very well dealt in the US, evolving from Affirmative Action (AA) resulting in Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO). MD is proactive strategy to maximum utilization of workforce potential, providing competitive advantage to the company. (http://www.hec.unige.ch/recherches_publications/cahiers/2001/2001.13.pdf) Two differences of primary relevance Race and gender are two major issues that an organization needs to take care of to its benefit. To take the case study of Slough Borough County, committed to the cause of Equal Opportunities Plan 2004 – 2007, where diversity is common in some areas, there are reports of gender and racial discrimination. Race According to Slough Borough County statistics, its population is 119,000, recording an increase of 11% from the last census performed in 1991on race discrimination, which is 2.5% more than national average. The town’s black and minority-ethnic (BME) population registered an increase of 8.5% (from27.7% in 1991to 36.6% in 2001). Statistics reveal that Sikh population is highest – more than 9.1% of the population. The Muslim representation in the BME grouping is the largest at 13.4% of the total population. Another aspect relates to increasing presence of refugees and asylum seekers coming from Zimbabwe, Somalia, Kosovo, Romania, Poland, Algeria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Racial inequality exists in the education field. Pakistani and Black Afro-Caribbean students face racial discrimination. The GCSE results for 2002 show that Indian (69%) and White (48%) students scored 5 good passes (A*-C). Only 38% Afro-Caribbean and 40% Pakistanis scored the same level. Thus, rate of unemployment is higher in BME communities like Baylis and Chalvey at 4%. BME communities don’t get high profile posts in comparison to White people. Individuals from BME background taking lower-order occupations are 30% in comparison to 21% White individuals. Gender Gender bases discrimination is common in Slough Borough County. Although women constitute 51% of its population, out of which 62% belong to working age. The percentage of women, seeking job allowance is 1.7 – double the average for the Southeast and higher than the national average. They are paid less than men – their full time weekly gross pay is less than 75% than that of men. The presence of female population is above normal in comparatively low-paid jobs like intermediate services. Larger ratios of women work in fields like administrative, secretarial and personal services (hairdressing, care assistants and nurses). Their lower incomes become an obstacle in making choices of advancing in different lucrative fields of life. Women can’t enter housing market due to their lesser earning potential, leaving them to depend on ‘social housing’. According to Slough Borough Councils Annual Attitude survey, 19% of females rented homes from the council in comparison to 11% males. Further compounding the situation, females are more likely to occupy single-parent households (21%) when compared to male figure of just 4%. This race and sex based discrimination has raised certain legal and ethical issues. Government policy and Act on Race Relation was introduced in 1976, followed by Amendment Act in 2000. The Sex Discrimination Act was passed in 1975. The UK government wants to achieve positive results by promulgating Article 17 of Amsterdam Treaty, resulting in new UK legislation forbidding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and religious faith. The steps taken will ensure correcting the wrongs committed on religious and ethnic groups in the field of employment and minorities right to goods and services. To manage diversity in its organization, Slough Borough Council is committed to provide a clean environment to its employees so that they perform their duties without any type of discrimination and harassment at the workplace. There is a set formal procedure to investigate cases of discrimination based on sex, race and employment through different Acts passed by the UK government. To resolve ethical dilemmas, it is recommended to lodge a formal complaint within one month of the incident. Formal procedure commences irrespective of informal negotiations. Maximum four weeks time limit is set to resolve the matter in a confidential manner. There is provision to interview both parties at different times. A redress seeker can come along with trade union representative or friends or colleagues. The investigating officer will give the report to both parties in writing. "Codes of conduct specify actions in the workplace and codes of ethics are general guides to decisions about those actions," explains Craig Nordlund, Associate General Counsel and Secretary at Hewlett Packard. The legal departments of organizations should review ethical policies and codes of conduct annually.(https://www.slough.gov.uk/documents/equal-opps.pdf) Conclusion Individual differences, based on whatever ground, can be utilized for the benefit of the organization by leveraging different personality traits of workforce. Surveys have shown a positive impact on workforce performance when senior management represents age, ethnicity and gender in its team. It increases creativity and productivity in the organization. Accomplishment and conflict can go hand-in-hand to enhance the value of an organization although it could be very challenging to tackle diversity management in an organization.(http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan000715.pdf) Works cited list http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan000715.pdf http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L1-1Introduction.html http://www.reviews.com/review/review_review.cfm?listname=highlight&review_id=132982 http://www.personal.umd.umich.edu/~delittle/Encyclopedia%20entries/inequality%20measurement.pdf http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L1-1Introduction.html http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L1-4Definitions.html http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L1-2WhyStudyIntelligence.html http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L5-1WhatIsPersonality.html http://www.hec.unige.ch/recherches_publications/cahiers/2001/2001.13.pdf https://www.slough.gov.uk/documents/equal-opps.pdf http://www.managementhelp.org/ethics/ethxgde.htm#anchor50477 http://www.freemaninstitute.com/diversity.htm Read More