Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil …show more content…
Cultural differences in the workplace can sometimes become a challenge in the work environment. In order to facilitate these differences, there must be some form of cultural awareness. Cultural awareness can help employees face the challenge of responding to individuals with different religions in the workplace, expose religious practices, and eliminate stereotyping in the workplace. Awareness of religions, and the beliefs associated with different religions, can be accomplished in many ways, such as training courses, workshops or company handouts (Thomas Kochan, 2003, p. 4). Companies must embrace multiculturalism and diversity. The impact of diversity is a successful learning experience for companies, and is equally as important to a company as its mission statement because of the educational and work ethics of its employees. Awareness and knowledge of diversity in addition to the similarities that humans possess can build relationships between employees and employers. Diversity helps employees and employers to be well educated and informed as to what forms a person’s values, attitudes, and behaviors. Many organizations are beginning to view diversity as an organizational change. This could possibly mean changes in the power dynamics and organizational structure, the way decisions are made, and the way an
As we enter the new millenium, diversity in the workforce is rapidly increasing. Businesses and organizations are living up to the great melting pot image the United States has always been popular for. Employees now reflect a diversity of cultural perspectives, ethnic backgrounds, ages, genders, physical abilities, and levels of education. This wave of multiculturalism is here to stay and cannot be ignored. It is in need of attention in order to uphold the well-being and success of businesses and organizations all over the country.
According to Ozbilgin (2008), diversity is one of the top global issues and requires management attention. There are both benefits and challenges in managing diversity. However, Golnaz and Hoa (2002) stated that most organizations agree that diversity is a reality and while managing the same, it can be either an asset or a hindrance towards goals (Gleason 2004). Diversity helps the organization become proactive and flexible to new aspects and scenarios (Pwc 2011). To manage a successful diverse workforce, organisations need to promote self-awareness, openness, clear-headedness, adaptability, candour and egalitarianism. This can be a challenging task due to complex human behaviour and biases (Parkin 2009).
Over the decades, diversity in the workplace has started to become a business necessity. But what does diversity actually mean? In broad terms, diversity encompasses a group of people with different biological characteristics such as age, race, gender, ethnicity disability and so on. However, the true definition of diversity in the workplace is about ensuring that every single person that goes to work everyday have the freedom to bring along their full self to work and it is not just about welcoming but it is about embracing and harnessing the diversity of thought, the diversity of background, the diversity of experience, the diversity in education, and not just the traditional aspects in diversity. Even so, one of the major challenges that
With a shift in demographics in the last decade, workplace diversity has become one of the main concerns for companies. Diversity is now based upon race, gender, ethnicity, disabilities, and sexual orientations. A diverse company will seek individuals who bring “unique perspectives or outlooks to the organization” (Shackelford, 2003). Workplace diversity allows for each individual to have an equal chance no matter what his or her demographic is. Diversity in the workplace also shows that the company is not discriminatory.
A critical concept all businesses or companies should strive for is diversity. It’s been lacking for earlier parts of history and still can be an issue in today’s world. Diversity in the workplace focuses on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. Differences or similarities including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. For many companies, diversity of the workplace is an enormous strength that can attract job seekers, create a competitive advantage, resolve or prevent many internal conflicts, and helps give a better approach to many obstacles in every-day
Today’s an age of competition. Every organization finds ways to be successful. The success of an organization lies in making profits and building brand image. The search by various scholars has found that a diverse workplace, if managed properly, can do wonders for the success of an organization. Diversity means differences due to race, gender, ethnic groups, age, personality, tenure, organizational function, educational background, etc. Diversity involves how people perceive themselves and how they perceive others. These perceptions affect their interactions.
Diversity is a wider concept than just ethnicity, race and gender. Other unique characteristics such as age, culture, style, education, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation also contribute to diversity. Promoting workforce diversity is difficult for organizations especially the larger ones. If conflicts can be controlled performance and productivity may be increased. There are also many advantages to diversity especially in the workplace. We can all gain if we learn how to accept and
Planning, initiating and maintain a diversified workforce and environment allows for the development of a well-equipped workforce that is poised to meet current and future challenges. In the public sector, these issues, including addressing skills shortages, recruitment and retention, succession planning and knowledge management for an aging workforce.
Choosing a study supplier that gives far reaching reporting is a key choice. This supplier would find the outliers in diversity differences that could potentially be eliminated, developed or changed. That report will be the starting structure of your assorted qualities in the working environment arrangement. The arrangement must be far reaching, achievable and quantifiable. An association must choose what changes should be made and a timetable for that change to be accomplished. Having goals and objectives to optimize the team’s abilities is an integral part of making diversity work for management and the
Diversity is defined as a different kind; a variety. (Abate, 1998) When looking at the diverse world that we live in today many differences in every day people are seen, such as race, religion, ethics, morals, age, background, life and work experience, politics, financial, and education. At first glance it would seem that a diverse workforce may be harmful to the organization because the diverse group would not be able to get along or understand each other due to their differences. Having a diverse workforce is a plus for the organization because the differences in the people will allow them to view and handle tasks and
The importance of diversity in the workplace cannot be denied. With the population of the United States becoming increasingly diverse, it is important to be able to respond to and mirror such diversity. By employing a diverse workforce, employers are certain to tap into knowledge and insights that they would otherwise forego.
Since the 1970’s, diversity program consisted of recruiting and promoting African Americans in the workplace. Since then, companies are now broadening the definition of diversity to include a vast range of cultures, age, and gender. Employers consider how to effectively incorporate diversity as a serious issue. Companies put in effect strategic reviews to determine how diversity impacts the organization and what actions are needed to prepare for a foreseeable future. Over the past four decades, corporate diversity in the workplace has strengthened to build more effective corporations by building greater corporate social responsibility, greater team work, and greater opportunities for women.
Many corporations will develop diversity work teams as a competitive strategy in order for corporations in the U.S. to become competitive organizations that produce high quality products and services. This high quality production and services will only transpire if U.S. corporations have effective work teams consisting of people who differ in ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and numerous other categories of uniqueness. A well-managed diversity team will lead to effective diversity work teams that understand their labor differences, trust in each other, and value each member of the team (Lombardo, N.D). When managed effectively, employees offer potential for innovating, increasing creativity, developing collaboration and commitment to work and diversity is respected and supported. Issues that need revamping before business can call this a triumph would be that diversity training faces a number of issues as it evolves as an important element of many companies’ overall human resource and business policies. Key issues include the nonexistence of effective measurement tools, gaining clarity with desired outcomes, and assessing the aptness and effectiveness of technology-driven methods team (Lombardo,
Different organizations approach the management of diversity from several perspectives. For the success of diversity, the most crucial component is seeing it as a commitment throughout the organization
Diversity is a term that we can all relate to in some way or another. The term diversity represents the multitude of individual differences that make people different from and similar to each other, (Kinicki&Kreitner, 2009). Although some people view diversity as an issue of age, race, gender, religion, or sexual preference, it is actually much more than that. It actually pertains to the differences that make each individual special or unique and this is why it becomes important to learn how to interact and grow with one another. In order for this to take place in the workplace, establishing a strong diversity management program is essential to the success of any organization.