...June 2013 Research Paper: Workforce Diversity Chapter 1: Introduction In recent years, workforce diversity has become an essential business concern. Workforce diversity refers to the important similarities and difference among the employees of organizations. In a diverse workforce, managers are compelled to recognize and handle the similarities and differences that exist among the people in the organization. Employees’ conceptions of work, expectations of rewards from the organization, and practices in relating to others are all influenced by diversity. The importance of renewed interest in diversity is that it helps organizations reap the benefits of all the similarities and differences among workers. Diversity helps bring together ideas from cultures all over the world, in addition to new attitudes and perspectives that can help a company be truly competitive. The workforce is only going to continue to diversify through the years. The change is inevitable, and soon minority groups will become the majority. Managers must first recognize that diversity exists in organizations in order to manage it appropriately. Managers who do not recognize diversity may face an unhappy, disappointed, and underutilized workforce. Chapter 2: Review of the Literature "Diversity Management: Expert-Identified Leading Practices and Agency Examples." MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO, 14 Jan. 2005. Web. 11 June 2013. A high-performance organization relies on a dynamic workforce with the requisite talents...
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...INTRODUCTION As we enter the 21st century, workforce diversity has become an essential business concern. In the so-called information age, the greatest assets of most companies are now on two feet. Undeniably, there is a talent war raging. No company can afford to unnecessarily restrict its ability to attract and retain the very best employees available. Although we all share many traits and needs, human beings are different and unique. While diversity has always existed, globalization, an increase in immigration, the sexual revolution and the output of the open formerly taboo subjects - such as living with a disability and gender preference - were placed in front -plan diversity of our concerns and the need to accept it. In the workplace, diversity encompasses elements that are evident, among other demographic differences such as gender, ethnicity and age, and more subtle differences, for example, the way we think or solve problems, social class or education. Because of the variety of backgrounds and approaches, it is not always easy for people to get along in the workplace (Diversityworld.com, 2014). However, it could be quite different. By learning to understand the challenges posed by differences and accept different points of view within your workgroup, you can use the strengths that represent a diverse team, in addition to expanding your horizons. Workforce diversity refers to organizations that are becoming more heterogeneous with the mix of people in terms of...
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...Team C University of Phoenix Managing Diversity Research Paper Proposal Workplaces today are become increasingly diverse with employees of different genders, races, cultures, ethnic origins, and lifestyles. There have been so many changes in the cultural make-up of organizations that it has become imperative for leaders and supervisors to understand cultural diversity and how it can affect their organization. By understanding how this diversity can affect their organization, leaders are taking steps to assure a conflict-free environment and promoting positive outcomes for the business, as well as its employees. “Diversity today is being viewed as a key means to strengthen the human capital of an organization and improve overall performance” (Bowes, 2007/2008). Studies have shown that diverse workforces can positively affect and strengthen the organization, but what can organizations do to assure this type of environment? What programs or tools do leaders need to implement when looking to improve their ability to manage this diversity? The main purpose of this research paper will be to explore what methods organizations and leaders can use to successfully manage increased cultural diversity within the workforce. This research will reflect not only why it is important for organizations to embrace the differences in a diverse workplace, but will discuss the consequences that may occur if they do not incorporate effective methods for addressing a multicultural...
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...Issues relating diverse and cross cultural workforce R.RAAKESH(12608013) INTRODUCTION The diverse workforce has become a reality today. The impact of cultural diversity varies with the type of environment and firm’s overall strategy. As more and more number of firms move from domestic, multidomestic, multinational strategies to operating as a truly global firm, the significance and impact of cultural diversity increase markedly. Management of cultural differences has become more important for creating advantages and getting competitive edge. Companies must also consider stakeholders as employees. The viewpoints of stakeholders such as shareholders, suppliers, public agencies, and government regulators should be considered in shaping the culture of performance and approaching the diverse markets. In number of situations employees, customers and other stakeholders in the service environment interact to produce the ultimate service outcome. To solve the problem of unfair, inequitable treatment of diverse people, both as employees and customers, managers must recognize that such treatment is bound with bureaucratic structure, subjectivity and irrationality, inappropriate policies and practices, ineffective implementation of human. Companies should completely reshape the working culture that make possible the integration of a broad range of viewpoints that leads to a redefinition of how work gets done and how diverse markets are approached and capitalized upon. All employees...
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...diversity we immediately associate it with our work environment and maybe even associate it directly with race and ethnicity in the work place. Multicultural diversity is no longer defined by race and ethnicity alone. In today’s workplace, it is important to also include age, gender, sexual orientation, education, religion and life experience (Okoro & Washington, 2012). With a better understanding of how inclusive workplace diversity has become, companies and corporations can now put greater emphasis in effective interpersonal and group communication as it is essential in today’s success (Okoro & Washington, 2012). As future managers and leaders, it is vital to understand communication and the foundation it provides for business, managerial and organizational communication. All three have a lot in common as well as overlap, in their intended functions (Reinsch, 1991). As Reinsch (1991) put it: “organizational communication is communication intended to affect (overthrow, modify, fortify) organizational structure; Management communication is communication intended to affect or to effect a manager’s decisions; and, Business communication is communication intended to help a business achieve a fundamental goal, to maximize shareholder wealth.” A more contemporary differentiation is that organizational communication is...
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...Outcomes of a Cultural Diverse Workforce on leadership Eligio Solis Southern New Hampshire University Abstract This paper explores three articles that reports on results for research on the positive and negative outcomes for leadership when working whit diverse workforce. These articles explore different perspectives of diverse workforce and its challenges. These challenges are mainly affected by the different types of culture and personalities that employees bring to organization mainly affecting its leaders. Outcomes of a Cultural Diverse Workforce Diversity is becoming more common among organizations and its rapid growth especially in the United States, is creating challenges across the globe. Diversity is not just defined for the different type of cultures that there is within an organization, there are other definitions to diversity. You can also find diversity in organization from the gender of a person, the sexual preference, religion, nationality, age and color. Diversity refers to an individual differences, that are within each person and creating some challenges for the organizations. Research shows that a diverse workplace can challenge the leader’s skills, attract top performers and eventually making corporations more global competitive by adapting to new culture and having more proficient leaders. Diversity is becoming more common among organizations and it is rapidly growing in this business. Diversity is refers to the differences between individuals...
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...of differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now. Benefits of Workplace Diversity An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as: Increased adaptability Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands. Broader service range A diverse collection of skills and experiences...
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...An organization utilizes a number of resources in order to obtain efficiency and to reach set objectives and goals. Internal and external factors affect the four functions of management and if approached successfully can lead to productivity and accomplishment of organizational goals. An internal factor that influences the four functions of management is diversity. Diversity or demographics represents age, ethnicity, race, gender, education, skill sets, and more (Bateman & Snell, p. 53, 2011). Laws and restrictions are set in place to ensure organizations incorporate a diverse workforce to avoid discrimination and to allow for a varied group of employees who add individual skills and knowledge to business objectives. An organization can be successful if they adapt to diversity and utilize a diverse workforce in order to obtain set objectives and goals. Diversity as an internal factor can affect the four functions of management. The four functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Employing a diverse group of employees can be utilized in the first function of management. Planning is used by management to identify resources and make decisions about how groups or units within an organization will carry out job functions to reach organizational goals (Bateman & Snell, 2011). Resources include employees and each employee will have different educational and skill sets. Utilizing the internal factor of diversity, management can organize...
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...women are seeking new ways to manage the time they spend working so they can spend more time living. In the boardrooms, executives are seeking ways to attract - and retain - the best employees so they can continue to survive and thrive in a highly competitive global economy. As companies are becoming more and more diverse it is becoming more and more important for companies to understand and manage diversity. The people of different background, races, religion creates diverse workforce. There is an importance of having diverse workforce to provide better performance. There are perspectives of managing the diverse workforce, which require organization leaders and managers of being responsible of attaining better diverse workforce. Diversity means differences, difference of age, sex, race, religion and culture etc. People with different demographic differences working in the organization makes diverse workforce. And it is becoming more important for the organizations to know about these differences and how to manage it. Diversity is also the common issue in the workforce environment, in some companies employees often get discriminated or misunderstood because of the diverse features. So it is important for the companies to manage the diversity workforce to value best performance. As differences have often been associated with discrimination, bias, unfair treatment and conflicts, managing diversity in workforce is an important task for managers today. Managing diversity in the workplace...
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...Assignment – Manage workforce planning Assessment due date: Click here to enter a date. Instructions You can use Fynntown scenario, or develop a workforce plan of approximately 4 x A4 pages based on your own organisation. Alternatively, you can use the template provided or develop your own Workforce Plan. Fynntown Scenario: You are an ambitious Customer Service Team Leader at Fynntown City Council Customer Service Centre (FCC CSC). FCC CSC does not currently have a good reputation for customer service with either the business or general community. You have a lot of ideas on how to improve this situation, but as a Team Leader, you do not have the authority to implement any of these ideas. Also, you have recently undertaken a risk assessment that identified workforce planning, in particular a skills gap within the CSC, as a significant risk to the organisation. There is a genuine risk that FCC will lose its State and Federal Government funding, which accounts for 40% of all Council funds, if customer service isn’t dramatically improved within 18 months. Consequently, the Council members are desperate to see improvements, without cutting into current spending or increasing rates. Fynntown documents available for research. • Fynntown Council’s Draft Community Strategic Plan 2012 – 2013 (to be found in Additional Resources) • Fynntown Council’s 2012-2013 Operational Plan (to be found in Additional Resources) • Fynntown Customer Service Centre...
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...Management Behavior Background This memo is going out to the senior management in light of our company, InterClean, Inc., going into a merger with one of our competitors, EnviroTech, Inc. This memorandum will discuss how our behavior as managers can affect productivity of our current staff, management actions that do or do not align with employment laws, and some best practices we will adopt for the new diverse workforce across the globe. When I refer to management behavior, I mean myself, and the frontline managers who report to me. I will try to address them here as well although this memo is supposed to go to the senior management. This merger is supposed to create new opportunities and larger footprint in domestic and global markets for the new company. Although there is a lot of excitement, all of our stakeholders are envisaging new challenges. One of those challenges is our new sales team will need to adopt different approaches and develop a new organizational structure to align with service-oriented solutions. Impacts on productivity during transition To begin with, let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for all the hard work, dedication and relentless efforts to bring InterClean, Inc. to a milestone where they can think of going global. Our industry has evolved with changing government safety codes and regulations. The new company is going to follow the aforementioned regulations and create world class turn-key solutions for our worldwide customers. Very...
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...the cultural changes within Diversity has brought a new importance to the work place. With the world becoming more diverse, and the work place becoming more multicultural, political correctness, affirmative action and disparities in pay pushed their employers to change their recruiting practices. A progressive workplace should consist of employees of wide-ranging cultures, ethnicities, religions, genders, and ages, and other factors. When you add people from the different backrounds there’s always going to be tension. However, each individual from each different culture or reign can bring something different, something new and exciting to the table. Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc. is meeting this rather complicated issue directly in the hopes of turning it into an opportunity to promote a multicultural work environment that its customers can connect with. The various cultures of the workers will have an effect on the way that the community understands and interacts with the organization in an affirmative way. This distinctive idea will not be without its difficulties. A diverse workplace can lead to challenges and struggles as people from different cultures, ethnicities, religions, genders, and ages learn to work together. When they see the additional benefits of bringing such a diverse group of people together, the connection between the individuals of this distinctive group will be stronger, and they will have more comfortable...
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...3RTO ACTIVITY 1 1.1: 3 organisation benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce In this era of economic globalization, many companies are making efforts to achieve workforce diversity, which aims to employ workers from different backgrounds to provide tangible and intangible benefits to the organization. Understanding the advantages of workforce diversity helps an organization to establish with a competitive edge. This can include employing workers with cultural and language skills that can lead to greater reach for the business. 3 organisation benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce 1: Increase in Productivity Workforce diversity can bring about an increase in productivity and competitive advantages. Employers can offer more solutions to customers because of new ideas and processes brought into the organization. Workplace diversity increases employee morale and causes employees to desire to work more effectively and efficiently. 2: Increase in Creativity Workforce diversity increases creativity within a company because people coming from many cultures can give many ideas and their own experience. Employees from different backgrounds bring in a variety of solutions on how to achieve a common goal. In atmospheres when brainstorming is necessary, more ideas are formed because team members are culturally diverse. For example, employees from China working in American companies may approach a problem totally differently than do American workers...
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... These differences can be expanded upon to not only include race and gender but to also include religion, culture, age, marital status, educational qualification, and many more. As companies become more globalized we will continue to see an increase in the number of diverse employees as well as the types of diversities within an organization. With this diversity comes some difficulties but the benefits exceed the negative by increasing an organizations competitiveness. This competitive increase is due to the ability of diverse groups to enhance creativity and innovation while making better decisions but only if diversity is properly managed. If organization want to become leaders in their market then effective practices and diversity initiatives must be a cornerstone beginning with Human Resource Departments and expanding though every aspect of the organization. Why encourage Diversity? One important if not overlooked reason is to meet legal requirements. The government has mandatory non-discrimination laws which can result in large monetary penalties or the loss of government contracts. Therefore, it makes sense to employ a diverse workforce if for no other reason than to prevent loss of revenue through legal ramifications. Second is organizational marketing strategy. Having a diverse workforce will assist in selling products to people from different ethnic groups and backgrounds. By hiring employees with diverse backgrounds, organizations ensure that their products...
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...| | The benefits of having a diverse workforce Diversity is more than just a buzz-word. In today's workplace, it can hold the key to fostering new ways of thinking, reaching out to a wider range of customers and growing your business. Our workforce and working patterns are changing. Our working population is getting older, and increasing numbers of women and people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds are entering the workforce. Valuing diversity is becoming increasingly important for businesses. Publisher Malcolm Forbes once said that 'diversity is the art of thinking independently together.' Organisations can't thrive and grow if everyone in them thinks and behaves the same way. Having a diverse workforce with people from different racial, educational and social backgrounds and a diverse age range opens up a wealth of possibilities and helps to encourage creativity and foster innovation. There's also a clear competitive advantage to be gained from employing a diverse workforce. An organisation with a diverse range of employees is well placed to understand the needs of a wide range of customers, and can interact with a broad client base. Not only that, but it is also in a good position to recruit and retain staff in an increasingly diverse and competitive labour market. Embedding diversity of thought throughout an organisation also means that talent can be properly recognised and nurtured - wherever it may be. The best starting point for any organisation...
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