...Abstract Diversity management practices are specific activities, programs, policies and any other formal processes designed to improve management of diversity via communication, education and training, employee-involvement, career management, accountability and cultural change. Overall, diversity management places emphasis on the development of organizational strategies and cultures that are not only tolerant of diversity but actively encourage flexibility and inclusion (Burke & Ng, 2006; Childs, 2005). Workforce diversity is increasing and managers need to develop ways to effectively manage the different views and characteristics of the new, diverse workforce. While there has been considerable research exploring the ‘value-in diversity’ approach, many questions remain unanswered. The evaluation of diversity programs remains an area for attention. While many firms have implemented diversity practices, it is difficult to measure the relationship between diversity practices and organizational performance outcomes. Recent research has explored the factors that moderate the relationship between diversity and performance (Grimes & Richard, 2003; Richard, 2000). Richard (2000: 174) concluded that diversity does add value to a firm but the effects of diversity “are likely to be determined by the strategies a firm pursues and by how organizational leaders and participants respond to and manage diversity”. Introduction Diversity is a commitment to recognizing...
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...ijcrb.webs.com APRIL 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 4, NO 12 EXAMINING FACTORS AFFECTING DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE Arslan Ayub1, Muhammad Salman Aslam2, Adeel Razzaq3, Hanan Iftekhar4, Sabiha Hafeez5 1234 MS Scholar, Iqra University Islamabad, Pakistan National College of Business Administration & Economics Bahawalpur, Pakistan 5 Abstract The purpose of the study is to examine various organizational factors that influence diversity in the workplace. The factors incorporate organizational policies, management practices, and perceived inequity. The current paper is a conceptual paper solely based on literature review. The findings are reliable with consideration view of these organizational variables to be the factual obstacles in employing and heading workplace diversity issue on. The current study throws light on the significance of managing workplace diversity. Keywords: Organizational Policies, Workforce Diversity, Management, Management Practices, Staffing INTRODUCTION The "business case for diversity" curtails from the development of the replica of diversity within the workplace since 1960's. The inventive model for diversity was positioned around affirmative action drawing strength from the law and a need to act in accordance with equal employment opportunity objectives. This observance based model conferred to the thought that tokenism was the reason; an individual was hired into a company when...
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...Chapter 12: Managing Diversity in the Workplace The Chancellor's Committee on Diversity defines Diversity as: "The variety of experiences and perspective which arise from differences in race, culture, religion, mental or physical abilities, heritage,age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and other characteristics." So why is it when many people think of diversity, they think first of ethnicity and race, and then gender? Diversity is much broader. Diversity is otherness or those human qualities that are different from our own and outside the groups to which we belong, yet present in other individuals and groups. It's important to understand how these dimensions affect performance, motivation, success, and interactions with others. Institutional structures and practices that have presented barriers to some dimensions of diversity should be examined, challenged, and removed. A good starting-point for thinking about diversity is to become familiar with UC’s systemwide Non-Discrimination Statement: “It is the policy of the University not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person employed or seeking employment with the University of California on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran. This policy applies to all employment...
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...Managing Diversity To address diversity issues, consider these questions: what policies, practices, and ways of thinking and within our organizational culture have differential impact on different groups? What organizational changes should be made to meet the needs of a diverse workforce as well as to maximize the potential of all workers, so that San Francisco can be well positioned for the demands of the 21st century? Most people believe in the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. The implicit assumption is that how you want to be treated is how others want to be treated. But when you look at this proverb through a diversity perspective, you begin to ask the question: what does respect look like; does it look the same for everyone? Does it mean saying hello in the morning, or leaving someone alone, or making eye contact when you speak? It depends on the individual. We may share similar values, such as respect or need for recognition, but how we show those values through behavior may be different for different groups or individuals. How do we know what different groups or individuals need? Perhaps instead of using the golden rule, we could use the platinum rule which states: "treat others asthey want to be treated." Moving our frame of reference from what may be our default view ("our way is the best way") to a diversity-sensitive perspective ("let's take the best of a variety of ways") will help us to manage more effectively in a diverse work environment. ...
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...Workplace Diversity: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions Workplace diversity refers to the variety 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...
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...changes in the workforce composition and consumer profiles has increased diversity within organizations. Consequently, organisations have to review their management practices and develop new approaches in managing its people in order to cope with these demographic changes. Such policies implemented have to be done with the consideration of maximising the reaping of potential advantages of diversity while minimising its potential disadvantages (Cox, 1994). Studies have indicated that embracing diversity has a positive impact on individual productivity, organizational effectiveness and sustained competitiveness. It enables the creation of new and innovative ideas from employees equipped with a variety of different experiences and beliefs. These are vital to the growth of the organization as they provide for new business opportunities and allow for the recognition of potential areas of future growth. Furthermore, a diverse workforce has greater knowledge and understanding of the preference and consuming habits of a increasingly diversified marketplace. For organisations to reap the benefits of diversity, people within the business has to change how they interact. As such, diversity management often falls under human resource management (HRM) as it deals with people management. It would, therefore, be imperative to incorporate diversity into the organisation's strategic HRM in order to achieve efficient diversity management and foster a inclusive working environment. The report...
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...Specific Best Practices 1. Leadership Commitment: This is an initiative that shows a vision of diversity can be communicated and demonstrated in the organization by top level management (Kreitz). The leaders and managers may decide to hold town hall meetings to listen and talk about diversity. While some organizations create an Office of Diversity to lead the company’s diversity efforts where the Vice President of Diversity, who reports directly to the Vice Chair, heads the office and has broad decision making authority. The Vice President of Diversity works closely with the human resources division, the minority and women-owned business program, and is a representative on every board and almost every committee in the organization. 2. Diversity Training: This is a program set by organizations in an effort to inform and educate its management and employees about the benefits of diversity to the organization. It should inform employees on the impact that a diverse client upon the success and failure of the organization. 3. Incorporation of Diversity and Organization’s Strategic Plan: This initiative aligns an organization’s diversity strategy with its strategic plan. The incorporation of diversity policies into all aspects of the organizations functions which should be aligned with the organizations core goals and objectives (Kreitz). Some organizations build its diversity strategic plan upon its core values: (1) respect for the dignity of the individual, (2) integrity...
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...MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN WORKPLACE TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN MERU MUNICIPALITY KENNEDY MUTWIRI MUKARIA MUC-SBS-555-0056/2009 A RESEARCH PROPOSAL A research proposal submitted to the department of business in partial fulfilment of requirements of degree of Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) of Meru University College of Science and Technology DECLARATION This is my original work and has not been presented for the degree or any other award to any other University Signature ___________________________ Name __________________________ Date Approval This proposal has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University supervisor Signature ___________________________ (Name of supervisor of department; Meru University) __________________________ Date TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the problem.............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Objectives of the study................................................................................................. 1.4 Research questions...................................................
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...Leadership Assessment Joel Blakeney Strayer University Dr. James Ruether Businesses 302 Management Concepts 6 September 2014 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to analyze the leadership style(s) of a senior executive (CEO, CFO, COO, Director, etc.) in a current or previous organization who made a positive or negative impact. Secondly analyze the organizational structure and culture of the company for which work to determine its approach to team development, and whether that approach helped to enhance the relationship skills in the workplace. Thirdly evaluate the performance of selected leader based on his or her ethical conduct and effective communication to determine if this leader was successful in motivating and empowering to improve on your work performance. Fourthly determine three (3) best practices organizational leaders can use to motivate employees and discuss their potential benefits. Fifthly discuss some of the challenges leaders encounter when managing diversity and how diversity helps business organizations better compete in global markets. Lastly develop an effective business strategy to address the challenges and issues identified above. The leadership style(s) of a senior executive What is leadership? Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish a goal or mission. There are many leadership styles ranging from authoritative to democratic to a mixture of both and many others. According to Johnson (2014) there are five...
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...Solving the Dilemma A Leader’s Guide to Managing Diversity Increasing workforce diversity has become an inevitable fact of organizational life, but it is still unclear whether this increasing diversity has a positive or negative effect on organizational performance. Leaders seeking to manage diversity effectively should consider research findings that suggest that when the tasks to be performed are complex, diverse workgroups produce more creative and innovative solutions and achieve better results than workgroups that are more homogeneous; for less complicated tasks, however, the complex dynamics of a highly diverse workgroup can actually hinder the work process and lower performance. T he first and foremost task of leaders is to successfully implement organizational strategies. In today’s business environment, one of the critical elements of achieving this goal is effectively managing an increasingly diverse workforce—teams of people of different races, cultures, religions, languages, and so on. Corporate strategists are increasingly viewing workforce diversity as something that can drive organizational value by sparking innovation and increasing competitiveness in an ever more global marketplace. Often overby David L. Dinwoodie looked, however, are the leadership challenges inherent in managing people who have vastly different backgrounds, traditions, motivations, and concerns. In facing these challenges, it is essential for leaders to consider that individuals draw...
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...Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show how important it is for companies to have great organizational leaders and what role they play in building and maintaining sustainability in order for the business to be competitive and successful globally. The research performed indicates what best practices and business strategies are needed to be effective when faced with challenges of diversity, ways to motivate and empower their employees for the business to be successful. Assignment 2: Leadership Assessment The writer of this paper will analyze the leadership style of their District Manager from a previous organization, Dollar General that made a negative impact on them. The writer of this paper will also analyze the organizational structure and culture of BI-LO Holdings to determine its approach to team development, and whether that approach helped them to enhance their relationship skills in the workplace. Also the writer will evaluate the performance of the District Manager based on their ethical conduct and effective in determining how successful in motivating and empowering them to improve on their work performance. The writer will select three best practices that they think organizational leaders can use to motivate their employees as well as their potential benefits. The writer will also discuss some of the challenges leaders face when managing diversity and how diversity can help their business organization better compete in global markets. The writer will also develop...
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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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...How Successful Companies Manage Diverse Businesses How victorious business run different industry. Abstract Diversity is the result of past diversification or merger. In the global competition and slow growth context of the 1980s, highly diversified companies have to manage diversity in order to benefit from it and to avoid its drawbacks. The benefits are compensation effects and cross-fertilization and the draw-backs are dispersion of resources and internal inconsistencies. To balance integration and differentiation is the key success factor in managing highly diversified companies. Multiplicity is the result of history expansion or merger. In the global rivalry and slow growth background of the 1980s, extremely branch out corporation boast to direct variety in order to profit from it and to keep away from its weakness. The payback is costs sound effects and cross-fertilization and the draw-backs are spreading of wealth and inside discrepancy. To poise combination and separation is the key triumph feature in running extremely diversified companies. Diversification A portfolio strategy designed to reduce exposure to risk by combining a variety of investments, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, which are unlikely to all move in the same direction. The goal of diversification is to reduce the risk in a portfolio. Volatility is limited by the fact that not all asset classes or industries or individual companies move up and down in value at the same time or at the same...
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...Review on Workforce Diversity Training Abstract Diversity training has significantly influence equality and fairness in the workplace. Many organizations may face challenges how to balance diverse workforce, and they have realised the importance of diversity as a key of their business in order to quickly respond the needs of customers. Accompanying with the global economic integration, diversity has been a priority on the development of human resource. Creating equal and fair working environment would be significantly associated the profitability of organizations. This essay will mainly review the literature of workforce diversity training from several perspectives: definitions of diversity, benefits of diversity, diversity training and organizational attitude, evaluation of diversity training, challenges and resistance to diversity. The major benefits of diversity include increased quantities of high quality decisions, high employee loyalty and low turnover, and improved business performance. Diversity training approaches can be categorized into awareness-based training and skill-based training, and six major training techniques such as lecture, questioning, brainstorm, small-group discussion and role-playing can be adopted. Evaluating diversity training should be aligned with organizational business goals, and four steps could be used to evaluate diversity training programmes. Diversity blindness and diversity hostility are recognized as the major challenges...
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