Culturally Diverse Workforce

Culturally Diverse Workforce

Day by day our nation is becoming increasingly diverse. Organizations, which run a culturally diverse workforce, have the advantage to experience a greater range of ideas, which would bring the organization a higher than normal yield, due to stronger business results. It is important that organizations learn to embrace workplace diversity to successfully thrive in today's highly competitive global market, while providing independent development among their employees on a broader scale.

The need for a diverse workforce is part and parcel of the human resource requirements associated with successful continuous quality improvement initiatives. A diverse workforce in which the contributions of each member--faculty, staff, or administrator, are respected and valued is an institution's most important asset. Such a workforce is able to synthesize a variety of perspectives and processes for the successful completion of tasks. Employers can build on established individual and group strengths and develop policies that create an environment to get the best out of each individual. (Penn State University)

Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status is an individual's or group's position within a hierarchical social structure. Socioeconomic status depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socioeconomic status as a means of predicting behavior. (The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy). The socioeconomic status is often used to gage one's financial position; however, there is no definite way to measure an individual's status. There are educated individuals with low income as well as uneducated individual with a high income, who may have gained wealth either by inheritance, entrepreneurship or plain old hard work.

Different people prefer to behave in different ways. Some like parties; others find solitude of small groups more energizing. Some want detail and data; others leap to conclusions. Some naturally give objective criticism; others spontaneously praise. Some are always seeking new ideas; some live in chaos; and others prefer organization and finishing things before moving onto something else. These differences fit together into an individual's personality. Understanding the personality and preferences of others is the third key collaborative decisions making. (UOP, Article 2, Howard Hills)

An organization can benefit from hiring an individual who has a good education, but has an area code in the poor side of town. This individual may be highly valued by what they contribute to the organization, regardless of his/her socioeconomic status.

Gender

"Despite significant changes in the status of, and interactions between, women and men at work the balance of power between men and women in management remains unequal, with the structure and power of organizations emanating from male based values and prerogatives. Employers often use human capital theory to explain the different workplace achievements of women and men managers. Yet this perspective has been challenged by the gender literature as being insufficient. Rather, a gender and organisational analysis approach may offer better explanations to the persistence of men and women's relative positions in the management hierarchy." (Knights & Kerfoot, 2005)

There are good and bad leaders of both genders, but research by Alice Eagley and her colleagues at northwestern University suggests that women may be more likely than men to use leadership styles that result in high performance by followers. During a meta-analysis of 45 studies dealing with male and female leadership styles, the researchers found that women are more likely thenmen to lead by inspiring, exciting, mentoring, and stimulating creativity. These behaviors have transformational qualities that build stronger organizaitons through innovation and teamwork. (UOP, Chp 1, pg 12) . Women are becoming more involved in the success of larger corporations that are normally dominated by men.

Personality Traits

Tests can help to reduce the guesswork inherent in hiring, thereby allowing workforce

managers to be more confident in the employee selection process. Some workforce experts argue that the surge in pre-employment testing currently unfolding is embedded, at least partly,