Diversity in Workplace Environment - Coursework Example

Personnel Management – Diversity in a Workplace TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………….1 2. What is Workforce diversity? …………………………………………….2 3. Explanation of a Diversified Workforce…………………………………..3 4. Advantages of Workforce Diversity………………………………………4 4.1. Creativeness…………………………………………………………….4 4.2. Innovation……………………………………………………………..4 4.3. Culture…………………………………………………………………5 5. Disadvantages of Workforce Diversity…………………………………….5 5.1. Conflicts……………………………………………………………….5 5.2. Disorientation in management…………………………………………5 5.3. Mismanagement………………………………………………………..6 6. Managing Workforce Diversity……………………………………………6 6.1. Training………………………………………………………………..6 6.2. Management Commitments …………………………………………..7 6.3. Events………………………………………………………………….7 7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….8 8. References………………………………………………………………….9 Personnel Management – Diversity in Work place Environment Introduction In this paper the attempt is made to explain the existence of diversity at a workplace and its positive and negative effects on the organization, its employers and employees. The diversity at a workplace can be related to different factors: gender, ethnicity, culture, nationality, education, age, and so on. In the current era, the business world has become a global network and the businesses focus on inviting employees from various cultural backgrounds to bring forth versatility and profitability in the organization. Generally speaking, the diversity in the workplace enables the organizational heads to exploit in a maximum way the cultural potential and qualities embedded in the employees. The main significance of diversity in any organization is that the employees can face many adversities and contingencies on a continuous basis. In a workplace where there is diversity, one can see that the employees have more empowerment and official rights. The main objective of an organization in attracting different employees is to enhance the team workability and talent pool. Moreover, the human resource department of an organization has more selection in recruiting employees if the workforce of the organization is supposed to be diverse and versatile. The workforce of an organization can be diverse in relation to many factors: gender, race, nationality, disability and education. Moreover, the organizations can reap more advantages and disadvantages from the employees if work diversity exists in a workplace. What is Workforce Diversity? Practically, if we consider defining the concept of workplace diversity, it can be referred to as the inclusion of variety of people in an organization to receive full potentiality out of them. According to Edwards (2012), “When the workplace is diverse, it shows that your establishment is a true equal opportunity business that hires people with different backgrounds and races, instead of segregating, or discriminating against a certain individual”. The diversity in a workforce has a highlight of extracting potentiality from various human resources available throughout the world. This includes various types of people with different instincts who can contribute to the success and profitability of an organization. In America, the workforce diversity can be reflected in the employer’s option of hiring people aged from 25 to 64 in an attempt to get maximum potentiality and experience from the country’s manpower. In the same manner, it has been recently noticed that the recruitment of Hispanic/Latino employees has doubled in America. Moreover, there are various reasons for the emergence of workforce diversity in organizations around the globe. One of the reasons is that the businesses nowadays operate internationally. The second reason is that we have entered an advanced technological age, when organizations and employees can communicate and deal with any nations’ business fast. Thirdly, the cost of living of people has gone high, which motivates people of all backgrounds to join workforce. Explanation of a Diverse Workforce When we say a diverse workforce, we refer to the variety of employees pooled in together in an organization for the benefit of the management and the organization. When a management chooses employees, it has in mind the concept of exploiting the potential and talent of a person to a maximum level. Here, we can concentrate on three main kinds of workforce diversity. These are employees belonging to different ages, genders and nationalities. As regards age, organizations pull in people aged 25-65 to get maximum amount of talent, potentiality and experience. The employees who are 25-year-old and above have better knowledge and expertise in the technical field, whereas aged employees have real life experience of the business. If we discuss the question of gender, an organization can consist of a combination of male and female employees in order to use the feminine and masculine business tactics. Women in comparison to men are more patient and striving, and men are more practical and logical when it comes to business. So it is ideal for any organization to combine female and male qualities in order to achieve business goals and mission. As regards nationality, the presence of employees from various nations in the staff allows the organization to absorb cultural values and ethics of other nations. For example, while an employee from China can be more hard-working than an Indian employee, the latter can be more intelligent. Advantages of Workforce Diversity Unlike in olden times, the organization with workforce diversity has many advantages, as it uses employees of various cultural, ethical and social backgrounds. There are numerous advantages of maintaining diversity in a workforce, as it bestows the organization with creativeness, innovation, knowledge, culture and marketing tactics. Here we can throw some light upon three main advantages the workforce diversity can deliver to an organization. Creativeness As the business world is getting more competitive, the employees in an organization with a diversified workforce are able to deliver many tangible and intangible benefits to an organization. Being creative, an employee can offer the organization fresh ideas and concepts as regards, for example, marketing a product. Here, employees who are from various backgrounds, use their innate talents and skills to bring goodwill and profitability to the organization. As per Johnson (2012), “Diversity experts believe that heterogeneous groups can contribute more creative ideas to the mix”. Innovation In an organization with workforce diversity, the talent and versatility of an employee give way to the origination of innovative ideas and techniques. The application of innovative ideas is crucial for the successful growth of any organization in an economically competitive world. When the workforce of an organization is diverse, unique perspectives concerning business and authentic innovative marketing techniques and strategies emerge in the organization. Culture The diversity in a workforce is an integral part of an organization, and it delivers to the organization different sets of ethical and moral values. It also allows the organization to utilize the skills and talents of different countries, which can be highly profitable for any organization. For example, an employee from England can be more committed to work than other nationals as English are workaholics. Disadvantages of Workforce Diversity Same as advantages, disadvantages are also experienced by organizations due to the implementation of workforce diversity. Every element has negative and positive side, and workforce diversity is not exception in this respect: it can give way to conflicts, disorientation in management, and mismanagement. These three disadvantaging factors are detailed below. Conflicts As the workforce diversity increases, there is more accumulation of minorities, woman employees, non-immigrants and immigrant workers in an organization. The thinking potential and practical knowledge of employees thus change drastically due to the variations in their physical and mental outlooks. This aspect can create conflicts on the basis of diversity of opinions and suggestions. Everyone can develop their own ideas and concepts, and in the process of implementing them, conflicts arise among various employees. Disorientation in Management In an organization with a diversified workforce, disorientation in management is highly likely. At some point of the business process, a high-level manager can be intimidated by the cultural and ethical values of another high-level manager or subordinate. Moreover, some managers who are young and competent and hold a higher post can agitate a lower positioned manager who is old and does not like challenges. Misunderstandings When there is workforce diversity in an organization, many mismanagement issues can emerge. This is primarily due to the conflicting nature of the employees, subordinates and high-level management. Sometimes, it can be possible that a female manager can favor a male subordinate. Also, a manager can be lenient to a subordinate or lower staff of his nation, and this can lead to inequality and misunderstanding in the working system of an organization. Managing Workforce Diversity In an organization with workforce diversity, advantages and disadvantages abound. An organization in this economically competitive world needs employees from all cultural, social and national backgrounds. However, if the business organization fails to exploit the real potential of a diversified workforce, then it definitely is at a loss. Therefore, in order to manage a diversified workforce, an organization should follow certain concepts. Training In order to benefit positively from a diversified organizational environment, specific training needs to be given to the management and employees of an organization. The employees of an organization need to be informed about the benefits of team work, co-operation and coordination in a working environment. According to Patrick and Kumar (2012), “The concept of diversity includes acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences” (p. 1). Management Commitment In general, any organization with a diversified workforce must strive to achieve utmost commitment from the employees and management. This can be possible by setting up flexible working conditions, utilizing the office hours in the best manner, and incorporating long work-hour schedules. If commitment is built among employees of an organization, there will be lower chance of conflicts and chaos, as employees will be focusing more on the success of an organization. Events In an organization which holds a diversified workforce, there is a definite need of organizing of events and functions to celebrate the cultural diversity and collaboration of different talents. It is highly needed for the business organization to motivate and provoke employees to work in coordination with one another in order to deliver the best results. Conclusion To date, workforce diversity has become an integral part of many international organizations. Business world is highly competitive and challenging, and the inclusion of employees of various cultures, nations, and genders allows the organizations to achieve the best results with the help of their workforces. It can be said here that there is a war waging regarding the talents and skills available in the business world. Organizations in general will attempt to pool in human resources from every segment of the nation and society in order to achieve success and high profitability. However, maintaining a diversified workforce culture is not an easy task. In order to avoid chaos and conflict in the organization, management must show considerable precaution and alertness. In general, workforce diversity refers to the practices and policies implemented by organizations to hire varied natured personnel. Though workforce diversity has its advantages, pessimistic thoughts and beliefs can arise when one thinks of the disadvantages such as conflicts, disorientation in management, and misunderstandings. For the organization to cope with a diversified workforce, there need to be the implementation of training programs, management commitment principles and event-organizing agendas. It can be concluded that workforce diversity should be heart and soul of any organization if it is to stay alive in this competitive business world. References Edwards, T. (2012). What is the definition of workplace diversity? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5154350_definition-workplace-diversity.html Johnson, R. (2012). What are the advantages of a diverse workforce? Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron. com/advantages-diverse-workforce-18780.html Patrick, H. A., & Kumar, V. R. (2012, April 25). Managing workplace diversity. Sage Publications, 10, 1. Read More