Diversity ManagementEssay Preview: Diversity ManagementReport this essayIntroductionWorkplace 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 DiversityDiversity 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 Organization of American Manufacturing (OAM) is a non-profit society whose members work to create strong, inclusive and inclusive workplaces in the United States. Through the collaborative and co-creative process established by the American Labor Association and various national labor organizations, OAM is seeking to expand the knowledge base that the workforce has gained through the decades, by supporting workers and families who grow and thrive in these workplaces, thereby enhancing the long-term sustainability of the American labor force. The OAM is seeking to address, and contribute to, important social and political issues that affect its members and its members’ communities today:
• the growing influence of immigrants in the national economy, especially in the construction and service industries;
• the continued efforts of labor unions to improve wages and conditions in the construction and service industries;
• the increasing demands for and recognition of worker rights and rights for all.
The recent mass exodus of workers from the U.S. by foreign workers, as reflected in the recent number of women making over the age of 30 in the construction industry, contributes significantly to the national workforce diversity problem. While many immigrants can have a positive impact on society, their impact is not likely to be immediate or sustained, as it has been traditionally, in the past.[27][28] Immigrants have also affected the quality of U.S.-based public schools, educational systems and the economy on an even greater scale.[29] Among other examples:
• a declining national college graduation rate
• the decrease between 1998 and 2010 in U.S.-born adults graduating from high school.[30]
While some of these trends do not require an immediate, immediate change in the country, it is clear that America’s diverse workforce needs to change, or at least be changed as rapidly as possible. A recent survey conducted by the OAM found that nearly 90 percent of the public and 60 percent of employers in the U.S. say it is important for the workforce to be diverse; it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of this work force. Moreover, this survey shows that even in some parts of the country, where a large percentage of the workforce is Hispanic or black, the current work force imbalance is not only detrimental to the U.S.-born workforce, but particularly to its members:
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 WorkforceGlobal 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.
Graphic: Determining the Positions of a Diversity Group
As noted on Facebook, “[Y]ou have not just created a new job or position that you’re supposed to apply for.” In a survey of employers for a 2016 Pew Research Center document, a majority reported hiring minority or ethnic minority workers who were on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, weight class or age. Of the 1,097 companies surveyed in 2016, there were 10 minority, Latino or African American or Native American companies for which the employer indicated its preferred hiring and retention process; two minority, two non-Native American companies were cited for this policy and one excluded (by the company’s definition in this report); one minority, the second non-Native American company and one non-Native American were cited for recruiting the minority based on national or regional and local laws and codes of conduct; however, this lack of the “narrow and limited” hiring criteria, along with other factors, has prevented minority, immigrant, and minority hiring in many firms.
In general, racial and ethnic minorities have continued to be placed under greater pressure under policies that restrict the number, timing, and manner of their hiring. For instance, in 2014, the number of Latinos hired under the Employment Policies Act increased to 22,500 — the equivalent of 8,000 less than in 1993.
These discrimination is at the root of recent national and local policy efforts to address discrimination online. A recent Brookings Institute survey of 1,015 employers found that the overwhelming majority of employers said that the number of potential or temporary job applicants had been driven by factors that are not directly related to their nationality. These employers expressed concern that the government could not guarantee the safety or protection of all jobs by providing job security assistance to those seeking jobs in other countries.
In 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491 that would eliminate or delay the requirement for employers to ask in-country applicants for work authorization for their applicants. This requirement is in a position to deter unauthorized immigrants from entering the United States to seek job security assistance, provide assistance to lawful permanent residents seeking job protection assistance, and allow people and organizations with business or family ties in or near the U.S. to work legally in the United States. The new ban will not only help ensure that employers understand the laws surrounding immigration and provide them with protections, but also create an environment in which employers can make these plans as the work permit deadline approaches.
In addition to clarifying that the new order is not an executive order, the order allows the administration to conduct audits of other agencies that take steps to evaluate the new policies. As a condition of the administration’s review of policies, the administration will review the new requirements. An agency’s compliance review, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest, will take place during the upcoming months.
“Today we have a nation that has created a unique and productive workforce but has not matched it in quality. These new policies create a new category of employer, requiring companies to demonstrate to prospective immigrants that they have the necessary qualifications in order to hire and retain people based on their ethnicity, religious belief or political views. Employers must do whatever they can to ensure that they have the best and most inclusive hiring process.”
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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 DiversityManagers 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:
Diversity is an ÐŽ§inside jobÐŽÐ meaning that diversity is not about ÐŽ§themÐŽÐ (the employees). Rather it is about each person coming to terms with his or her attitudes, beliefs and expectations about others.
Diversity goes beyond race and gender. It includes everyone: young and old, homeless and affluent, immigrant and native, white, black, brown and green!