Diversity Management

Introduction

Workplace diversity practices refer to efforts organizations engage in to provide an inclusive corporate culture that values differences and promotes opportunities for all employees.

Traditionally, diversity programs have focused mostly on race and gender and other physical dimensions. However, todayÐŽ¦s definition of diversity covers a broad spectrum of individual and group differences ranging from work styles and generational perspectives to political and religious preferences. The illustration below represents how diversity can be understood from a corporate/business point of view:

Under the umbrella of diversity practices, organizations are employing methods of understanding and relationship-building that encourage the voices of all employees to be heard and embraced. To gain a competitive advantage, organizations are learning that perspectives of diverse employee groups add value and creativity to organizationsÐŽ¦ strategic direction. The practice of embracing and leveraging differences for the benefit of the organization through the collaboration of cultures, ideas and experience is something most organizations strive to achieve in todayÐŽ¦s global marketplace.

The Importance of Diversity

Diversity is even more relevant due to the interconnectivity of global markets. The world no longer operates in silos, nor do businesses. To remain competitive, organizations must understand the preferences and needs of their diverse customer base, which may include ethnic and cultural groups that go beyond simply race and gender. The intricacies of knowledge necessary to serve a wider market share require that organizational leadership rely upon a conglomeration of ideas.

Successful management of todayÐŽ¦s increasingly diverse workforce is among the most important global challenges faced by corporate leaders, human resource managers, and management consultants. Workforce diversity is not a transient phenomenon; it is todayÐŽ¦s reality, and it is here to stay. Homogeneous societies have become heterogeneous, and this trend is irreversible. The problems of managing todayÐŽ¦s diverse workforce, however, do not stem from the heterogeneity of the workforce itself but from the unfortunate inability of corporate managers to fully comprehend its dynamics, divest themselves of their personal prejudicial attitudes, and creatively unleash the potential embedded in a multicultural workforce.

The global economy moves diversity to the top of the agenda. Immigration, worker migration (guest workers), and gender and ethnic differences continue to dramatically change the composition of the workforce. There is a growing demand for equal rights for these workers and for other groups like older workers, workers with disabilities, and gays and lesbians. Even without globalization, population projections suggest that the trend to a diverse workforce will be amplified in the coming decades. For example, due to consistently low birthrates and increased longevity, virtually all the industrial countries will need even larger waves of immigrants just to sustain their current ratio of workers to retirees. At the same time, developing countries are experiencing an unprecedented growth in the numbers of young people. This combination of push and pull factors is moving all countries toward the same outcome: a more diverse workforce.

Possible Tensions Emerging from a Diverse Workforce

Global demographic trends create unprecedented workforce tensions. Global legislative trends banning discrimination against women, immigrants, minorities, and other diverse groups in the labor force have required employers in most democratic, and quite a few non-democratic countries, to institute policies that ensure fair treatment of all employees. Some countries have introduced public policies stemming from the ideology of compensating population groups that have been discriminated against in the past. Employers are required to provide designated groups of applicants, such as racial and ethnic minorities and women, with a competitive advantage by actively recruiting them for open positions.

Disregarding these economic, demographic, and legislative trends can be devastating to companies, their employees, and the communities surrounding them. Companies unable or unwilling to change their policies and practices may suffer dire consequences. They may experience inter-group conflicts among their employees; they may limit their access to the pool of potentially talented employees; they may miss opportunities for creating alliances with business organizations; and they may be vulnerable to expensive lawsuits or government sanctions resulting in serious damage to their earnings, their public image, and their access to investment.

In addition to the increasing policies and trends that relate to diversity, internal problems among employees are also often the cause of low productivity. Problems such as frustration about staff speaking other languages on the job, miscommunication due to limited or heavily accented English speaking employees, ethnic or racial slurs and jokes, and little social interaction between members of different groups can substantially limit performance. If a group of people working together donÐŽ¦t get along, the quality of their output suffers. Organizations may also face charges of discrimination in promotions, pay and performance reviews by employees. Managers may be seen as favoring a particular group of employees over another. Such problems are guaranteed to affect an organizations productivity and performance in a negative manner. To effectively avoid such situations and create a diverse, yet integrated workforce, managers need to be well trained on how to work with people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives.

Empowering Managers to Manage Diversity

Managers today are a vital element in managing diversity in a multinational corporation. Building awareness among employees and managers is essential to ensure a diverse yet equally treated workforce. Certain core principles should be inculcated in managers and executives for them to manage a diverse workforce more effectively:

Ñ"ж Diversity is an ÐŽ§inside jobЎЁ meaning that diversity is not about ÐŽ§themЎЁ (the employees). Rather it is about each person coming to terms with his or her attitudes, beliefs and expectations about others.

Ñ"ж Diversity goes beyond race and gender. It includes everyone: young and old, homeless and affluent, immigrant and native, white, black, brown and green!

Ñ"ж No