The Concept of Workforce Diversity - Essay Example

Workplace Diversity Student’s Name: Name of Institution: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction Today, all organizations need diversity. As globalization increases, the interaction among people from various cultural backgrounds, characterized by different beliefs, values and norms amongst others, also becomes increasingly significant. This new setting demands tolerance, i.e. creativity and openness to change1. This is where workplace diversity comes in2. However, the management of diversity comes with challenges. For managers to acquire necessary skills for managing a diverse work environment, they should first recognize how the work setting is changing, evolving and increasingly diversifying, and not only learn, but also train other staff members to value diverse differences. This paper aims to examine the concept of diversity of workforce, its contribution to effectiveness at workplace, how it can be achieved and the challenges involved. The Concept of Workforce Diversity Essentially, ‘diversity’ refers to the differences in human qualities, and is manifested in groups and/or individuals3. As Judge and Boyle put it: “we are not all the same” (p. 36)4. These differences may be viewed on the basis of race and ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical qualities, geographic location, educational background, religion and work classification, amongst many others5. In this light therefore, diversity in the workplace is based on the premise that an organization’s workforce should reflect the elements of the population it serves in all its dimensions6. This involves creating a workplace that accepts and respects differences, recognizes individual uniqueness and how these can help maximize all employees’ potentials. The need for diversity is necessitated by both individual differences and shifts in the workplace settings. For instance, research has found differences in aptitude and competence at certain aspects of work in relation to age, gender, race, etc. For instance, Judge and Boyle (p.39) show a correlation between age and productivity, absenteeism, work stability, etc7. They also point out that while men are more likely to excel in math than women, women also score higher than men on verbal ability (p. 40). Through diversity, both sides of talents are pooled together. Benefits Diversity presents many benefits that enhance an organization’s competitive advantage. One such an advantage is related with problem solving, which can increase revenue. Diverse groups have a wider and richer foundation of experience from which different approaches to problems can be gotten. Even further, diversity boosts critical thinking and analysis during group decision-making. Charlene Nemeth (cited in Cox8) conducted a number of research studies in which she found that minority views- irrespective of whether they were adopted or not- facilitate critical analysis and therefore improved the quality of group decision-making process. Two, diversity provides the organization with a pool of talent that enhances creativity and innovation. Innovation is best in organizations that undertook efforts to eradicate sexism, racism and classism; recruited a diverse workforce on the basis of race and gender; and undertook efforts to build heterogeneous work teams9. The third benefit is organizational flexibility. Diversity, in the first place, means a tendency towards the accommodation of others. This accommodation leads to flexibility. Diversity improves organizational flexibility by changing the cognitive structure of employees, i.e. how they organize and respond to information10. For example, it has been found that bilinguals are more cognitively flexible than monolinguals. The fourth benefit relates to human talent. Diversity policies help organizations to attract, retain and utilize diverse talent to the maximum (Cox, 2001). However, organizations that are effective with only a few socio-cultural groups is more disadvantaged that the one that is effective with more socio-cultural groups. This influences the quality of employee input. Finally, diversity is also an important marketing strategy. With globalization, consumer markets have also become diverse. Research has shown that socio-cultural identities influence consumer behavior (Cox, 2001). Therefore, the success of marketing depends- to a given degree- on how well a company understands and effectively responds to the factors that drive specific market contexts. Diversity at workplace provides this knowledge as well as the expertise on how to best apply it. Challenges of Implementing Workplace Diversity Despite the benefits, there still are challenges involved, such as ethical issues. Studies have linked diversity in the workplace with high organizational performance. But there is a difference between merely practicing diversity and actually developing a capacity to make it an effective resource11. It is in reconciling these two aspects that the process of implementing diversity presents challenges12. One of the main challenges is the misdiagnosis of the diversity problem. According to Cox (2001), the problem of diversity is not merely that there are not many from diverse backgrounds per se. Neither is it that certain people are insensitive to the significance of such efforts- although this is part of the problem. Instead, the main problem is that many organizations run culture that do not favor efforts towards diversity. Infact, these cultures may be “toxic and deadly” (Cox, 2001) to diversity. As a result, the culture of diversity cannot be sustained. For instance, many organizations subject new employees to much pressure to conform to the prevailing organizational culture, so that real individual differences/diversities fade over time. Because of this pressure, therefore, those with high cultural gap from the overall organizational norms either modify their way of thinking or they simply quit. In the end, while organizations recruit from diverse groups, the recruitment criteria usually remains and the same prejudicial attitudes, the incapacity to accommodate diverse cultural and ethical differences, for instance, remain. An organization may also pick the wrong approach. This comes as a result of wrong diagnosis. Since problem diagnosis is already based on what Cox (2001) refers to as ‘insufficient diversity’, approach taken addresses the wrong problem. For instance, solution mostly focuses on injecting new HR inputs into the system. This means taking such actions as creating cross-level and multifunctional work teams, including foreign nationals on the organization board, and recruiting more people from minority groups, amongst others. Although the composition of the HR is a significant effort toward cultural change, especially where such human input involves key positions of decision-making, it is not enough. It is only a single element in the whole puzzle of diversity. Cox13 raises the question of systems theory, which asserts that a system’s elements are greatly interdependent. Thus for a diversity to work appropriately, changes have to be made in all other elements as well. In other words, new HR input is not a bad thing. Nevertheless, it is not all there is. It is merely a superficial change. Diversity Management Programs: Solutions to Challenges Involved There are a number of programs that can be employed in the process of managing diversity. These programs do not simply outline points to follow, but also help take of the challenges mentioned above. These programs include: Mentoring Program: Mentoring programs are suitable means of managing diversity, and should involve the various departmental heads14. This is based on three key components presented by Judge and Boyle15. One, teaching managers and employees about the prevailing legal framework and what it dictates about equal opportunities for employment and fair treatment irrespective of one’s demographic traits; two, teaching managers and employees on the benefits of diversity, including better service to a diverse market; and three, teaching managers and employees how diversity can foster practices for personal development, bring out all worker’s skills and abilities, and boost every employee’s potential. The program should provide practical training, utilizing the help of experts and consultants. Such a program does not only encourage employees to present their opinions so as to help find solutions to diversity-related conflicts, but also encourages employees to look beyond their own cultural scope. Programs for Organizing Talent: Winning a competitive edge over other organizations in the global platform is the central goal. For this purpose, diverse talent becomes a key tool. This takes the recognition and understanding of the various niches in the marketplace and how diversity can offer ways to take advantage of the opportunities presented therein. Accountability Programs: These are programs aimed at measuring the representation of minorities and women in managerial positions, which then provide a basic metric upon which senior organization managers can be judged and held accountable for achieving demographic diversity16. In line with this, Safeway (cited in Judge & Boyle, 2010) developed the Retail Leadership Development (RLD) Program. This program involves taking a series of exams to measure if individuals have the potential for management, and encourages the participation of, amongst others, minority groups. The program is also accompanied by workshops that help managers present diversity-related issues in the staff meetings, and incorporates incentives, e.g. bonuses, for managers to meet diversity goals. Since its inception, 31percent of white women have risen to store manager positions, while that of the women of color has risen by 92 percent17. Conclusion This paper is a basic discussion on diversity. Still, it provides a crucial introduction and examination that can pique managers and supervisors to seriously take note of new trends in the workplace and marketplace, and the tools necessary to manage these elements. Indeed, as Oyler & Pryor put it, diversity is the key to success in the global market18. Managers must therefore acquire necessary skills to manage diverse work environments. Bibliography Cox, T., Creating the Multicultural Organization (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001). Green, K., López, M., Wysocki, A. & Kepner, K., ‘Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools’,[web page] (2005) 28th April, 2012. Judge, R. & Boyle, M., Organizational Behavior, 6th Ed. (Australia: Pearson, 2010) Konrad, A., ‘Leveraging Workplace Diversity in Organizations’, Organization Management Journal, 3/1 (2006), 164-189. Oyler, J. and Pryor, M., ‘Workplace Diversity in the United States: the perspective of Peter Drucker’, Journal of Management History, 5/4 (2009), 420-451. Thomas, D., Cross-cultural management: essential concepts, 2nd ed. (Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Limited, 2008). Read More