The Importance of Understanding Cultural Diversity in Workplace - Essay Example

How important is it for todays managers to have a good understanding of cultural diversity in the workplace? To start with, in an office setting there are certain instances when it is best to choose different people for the various jobs that are assigned in the working environment. This holds true for the rationale that a single person cannot and will not be able to do his work as well as the additional burden that is thrust upon him with zeal and enthusiasm. Hence the need of the hour is to understand that employees and workers need a manager to comprehend their shortcomings in the field of work and thus be assigned tasks and responsibilities in line with the same. The need for recruiting able and established staff is very much there since every organization or company for that matter wants to achieve efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to getting the things done in a quick manner. [Cooper, 2004] There are instances when employees have been known to prolong things just because they do not feel to be in the mood to do so. This is a definitive statement on the part of the employees that they were recruited wrongly at the time of their hiring and the organization did indeed make a mistake in choosing such a worker over other options that were available to it around the world. One sees that the top line personnel present in offices delegate jobs and assignments to their sub-ordinates without even thinking that the same might not be the correct manner and mode of action as to go about carrying out the tasks and responsibilities. They think that delegation would prosper a sense of getting more work within the sub-ordinates who themselves are pretty much occupied with their already assigned tasks and jobs. This is hence not the correct manner in which things should be done and hence a need has to be chalked out to ramify the very same problem. The best possible diversity that could be made in this regard is to appoint top line managers who understand the psyche of the people working under him or her or on the same level as his so that he or she can get a grasp as to what employees usually are best suited at and what they do not prefer under certain strenuous conditions in the office place environment. As a consequence, being able to do more work is definitely considered a plus and an added advantage for an employee but this should not, under any level, exceed his or her capabilities and skill sets. He or she must be assigned the amount of work which is proportionate with his or her pay, already set working conditions and more so the skills on the basis of which he or she was selected in the first place. [Sims, 2002] Moving on, cultural diversity therefore could be pinpointed in the area of managing these people well with the help of a manager who not only takes care of them but also acts as a person who is professional and knows how to get work done from his specialists, technicians and other sub-ordinates present at various levels within the very company. This manager thus not only plans their work that they have to carry out within a specific period of time but also organizes their routines, looks after them both from the company and the human perspectives, and not to forget his integration skills which are deemed so very necessary for involving people and their commitment towards their assigned tasks and jobs over a period of time. Lastly, he also measures their performance that they have done over this time period. [Cappelli, 1999] This measurement tool goes against a number of managers in the work environment of present times as it is usually very difficult to get a hang of because employees feel that the managers were the one to guide them along and hence they should also be held accountable in cases of extreme failure where the burden only falls on the person who carried out a task or a job. This is pretty much true of the negative aspects related with managing people and treating them fairly. It makes all the more reason that the culturally diverse workforce issue gets its base from the fact that people work as a team rather than working alone yet they perform their own respective tasks and duties in their own capacities within the office environment for which there is no direct or indirect connection as concerns the groups and teams that they are working under from time to time. The manager thus chalks out a plan to review each and every sub-ordinate’s performance and then allot him the potential duties which may or may not be linked to their strengths over a given period of time. [Egan, 2001] Hence diversity certainly takes its roots from this scenario and employees feel somewhat at ease whilst carrying out their jobs and assigned tasks globally. The ramifications of the issue of diversifying work and making people accustomed to management tactics only helps the corporate ladder as much as the employees, specialists and top management themselves. Thus a clear understanding has to be the guiding force to tell one and all in this situation as to the rationale behind doing the same. The end result is achieving success for the company or the enterprise that they all strive to be a part of and not to forget their individual growth that will take them up the ladder of expansion and development over the years. However, on the flip side of the coin, falling short of this diversification within the organization can have poor employee morals as well as a work ethic that does not support progress within the company nor amongst the personnel present in different departments of the business and at the end of the day, everyone is on the losing end with no winners to take the center stage. Therefore, cultural diversity in work and its related fields is the order of the day and must be supported by managers, top management and people who are in a position to bring about a change in the hierarchy of the business enterprise and its related departments. On a similar tangent and quite significantly, women are being chosen more and more in the office places of present times so that they are given the much needed respect and encouragement that they rightly deserve. Over the last 100 years or so, women have started to make their mark in every field they have entered into. This could comprise of art, science, music, entertainment, sports, government or any other one can think of. The negative aspects are also there when one discusses the issues and aspects of women recruited in these jobs and different forms of businesses. They have been, at times, subjected to inhuman practices and relationships that have been turned sour due to their good nature or non-complying attitudes. Sexual harassment is also one of the few trivial topics that come under discussion here. This menace has been on the rise ever since women started to get jobs and work in an environment that was so very unique and different from their cozy ones at home, where they were not subjected to indifferent attitudes and dispositions. [Tomei, 2003] In present times, this form of harassment has been entirely changed and distorted, giving way to more newer ones like putting more workload on females than their male counterparts as well as giving the former less salaries as compared to the men in the offices, having more for doing less. The top one of these aspects is the indiscriminate attitude of the staff towards the women working in the offices which has given birth to gender issues like the sexual harassment and racial vilification ones. In the present day workplace situation, white men have encouraged the selection of white women as well as minority group members but there is a totally different posture when the selection of black community staffing within these companies starts making waves. This must be discouraged within the companies if a fair and impartial selection policy has to be devised – one that is evenhanded for both the sexes and bears no prejudices for a particular black or white community or nationality, for that matter. This all goes to show the problems that a particular society and more so an individual has within him or her which eventually gives birth to domestic ones and thereafter he or she transfers the same into his or her workplace environment. On the same count, it should be kept in mind that office is not a part of home and its environment must be, in all cases, totally different from what is going through at home, no matter how hard and tough the times might be for a person. Plants and offices have in recent times been filled by women who were reckoned by the authorities as of less efficiency as compared to their male counterparts some years back. This has changed for the better and more and more companies in the world of today are recruiting female candidates for suitable positions within their staff. Apart from this positive change in mindset of the companies and businesses, there have been some pretty negative points attached to the same notion moreover. [Dipboye, 2005] The struggle within working women for gaining an equal status at workplaces has not finished today. It still exists today. If ever there was any kind of endurance attached with it, it has given way for a more indiscriminate form of workplace attitude. This indiscriminate behavior is actually sorted out by the seniors and more so by the male co-workers who view their female colleagues as threatening for their jobs and their up and coming opportunities in life. The women of 1980’s had a different struggle to which they tried to adhere to and give in their premium at the best of times but with the changing attitudes of people as well as a new world order without procrastination, these women rights have somewhat deteriorated and touched their lowest ebb. [Lee, 2004] It may be mentioned here that the aspect concerned with recruitment of female staff within the already present setup of a company has slightly changed, in the positive direction but the attitudes that the people posses as well as their behavior to this sex have not improved a bit. The discrimination acts are not only limited to women but apply in the same manner towards different male colleagues as well. They are also subjected to gender harassment in a totally female oriented atmosphere where there is nothing but favoritism and nepotism coming down from the female staff members and the bosses who incidentally are also female. Hence the aspect of discrimination holds true for not only the women in the present times but also the men who work alongside the females in the same environment day in day out. Speaking from a rational standpoint, a more diverse workforce could only be encouraged when there are equal and fair laws enacted for all the employees and when no one is allowed to discriminate on the basis of any variable whatsoever. This is a significant debate which is making the rounds of nearly each and every organization of the world in the current times since the subject is so magnanimous. Further, coming back to the notion of recruitment and selection regimes of the culturally diverse workforce and whether or not the same benefits in one way or the other towards the environment within the workplace, it is an interesting proposition to state in a mild way. The aspects of selection require stiff challenges on the part of the recruiters, the organization’s human resources department and top management since they need to make the right decision when it comes to employees coming from different professional backgrounds. [Cronshaw, 1999] There could be so many reasons behind a person’s leaving a job and coming to a new organization. He could state completely different reasons for doing the same but then again one cannot be sure as to what is right and what indeed is wrong when it comes to taking the final call of judgment. The reasons could be best ascertained by an able and competent human resources unit present within the organization so that it gives its very best for the positives that will eventually be gained by the organization itself. Similarly, a more culturally diverse workforce could only be encouraged when there are efforts made by the organization to incorporate certain policies which are in line with the ethical and moral code of workers regimes. This means that the workers must be considered human beings first and then they are assigned work in a manner which is manageable for them realistically as well as theoretically. Just getting the work done out of them is an exercise in futility since it would not reap rich dividends at the very end and there would be problems for the organizations left, right and center. This could be made applicable if the human rights policies are in line with the procedures as laid down in the companies’ act. The laws that permit the effective handling of employees and workers within United Kingdom are being followed to the end limits since the authorities at the helm of affairs know that it is best for both the organizations as well as the employees to make effective use of these laws and respective procedures as the end result is one that will benefit not only them but also the government and the related industries. [Kofman, 2001] To end the discussion, it is appropriate to suggest that proper and adequate recruitment and selection ensures that the business processes and management activities are carried out in a fine manner, a manner which will ensure sustainability of processes and activities which have been thus undertaken. Also it guarantees success to the well being of the employees and workers who expect growth and profitability to touch their feet and not only that but also the organizations start reaping rich dividends from these steps in all essence. Thus the anti-discrimination acts and effectiveness of cultural diversity in workforce is absolutely in line with the ethical and moral codes as laid down in its charter. [Blackman, 2006] They are being followed duly and it is only that a few organizations and companies are abstaining from the set course of action that the whole blame game is laid on the overall fabric of organizations and companies which is surely untrue of the real picture at hand. One must understand the true realities and take them steadily with what the reality is like on ground and then analyze for the rights and wrongs so that the whole picture is seen from both the angles. All said and done, it is pertinent to understand that much good work is being carried out in the related ranks and the anti-discriminatory laws are set in the right direction to state as a matter of fact. BIBLIOGRAPHY BLACKMAN, Anna. (2006). Graduating Students Responses to Recruitment Advertisements. The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 43 CAPPELLI, Peter. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxford University Press CRONSHAW, Steven F. (1999). Functional Job Analysis: A Foundation for Human Resources Management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates COOPER, Cary L. (2004). Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions. Routledge DIPBOYE, Robert L. (2005). Discrimination at Work: The Psychological and Organizational Bases. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates EGAN, Mary Lou. (2001). Workforce Diversity Training: From Anti-Discrimination Compliance to Organizational Development. Human Resource Planning, Vol. 24 KOFMAN, Eleonore. (2001). Human Geography of the UK: An Introduction. Routledge LEE, Monica. (2004). Human Resources, Care Giving, Career Progression, and Gender: A Gender Neutral Glass Ceiling. Routledge SIMS, Ronald R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Quorum Books TOMEI, Manuela. (2003). 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