Human Resource - Case Study Example

Q1: Why do many companies find increasing and managing diversity a difficult challenge ? Ans1: Although increasing diversity in the company represents your company as more socially responsible. To gain competitive advantage and improve performance it is important to manage the diverse workforce. But there are certain issues managing the diverse workforce which become more of a challenge for companies to tackle. In the light of this case certain challenges can be identified. The women and minorities in the workforce can feel neglected hence lowering their moral decreasing their work efficiency.

They can feel underappreciated and not valued for their efforts although their turnover rate is higher. In such cases there is a high exit rate of minorities as they feel they can avail better chance of growth elsewhere. Discrimination charges are also feared by the organization which can bring bad name to the company and ruin reputation Q2:What were the key elements in BLAHNA’s successful diversity strategy ? Ans2: The finding of workplace diversity committee was the stepping stone which lead to the successful diversity strategy of BLAHNA.

Working on these findings the advisory committee formed a multi-pronged approach which built bridges between broader communities outside the organization which proved very vital. Apart from these the learning and training seminar to improve communication and interaction were quite important. The “consulting pairs” process is also a key to success of diversity strategy as it is really helpful in resolving conflicts within the company. Q3:Under what circumstance consulting pair approach is most useful ?

Ans3: When there is a conflict between two peers or between a manager and a employee a consulting pair is called for the facilitation of the discussion and conflict/problem resolution. Q4: What steps should be taken by the management to ensure that consulting pair approach is working ? Ans4:To ensure that the consulting pair approach is working , the members of the pair should be selected to match as closely to the backgrounds of the individuals involved in the conflict and at the same time maintain the confidentiality of details so that the participating members wont have hindrance taking part in conflict resolution.

Reference: S.Daus, Janice R.W Joplin and Catherine. Accademy of Management Executive. 1997.