Workplace Diversity

Workplace Diversity Types, Challenges and Management

Workplace Diversity • Work place diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. • Diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background, disabilities, religion, job title, and MORE.....

Workplace Diversity • Diversity will increase significantly in the coming years. • Successful organizations need to recognize the need for immediate action; and • ...ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace.

Workplace Diversity • Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

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.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity • Increased adaptability • Broader service range • Variety of viewpoints • More effective execution

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 and thus provide ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.

Broader Service Range • A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

Variety of Viewpoints • A diverse workforce provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

More effective execution • Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed; resulting in higher productivity, profit and return.

Managing Diversity • Diversity brings benefits, and also challenges. • It is the responsibility of managers within organizations to use diversity as an influential resource in order to enhance organizational effectiveness. In the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, C.L. Walck defines managing diversity in the workplace as "Negotiating interaction across culturally diverse groups, and contriving to get along in an environment characterized by cultural diversity”

Challenges of Diversity • Communication : Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome. Ineffective communication of key objectives, results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale.

Challenges of Diversity • Resistance to change : There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The phrase "we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and prevents progress.

It provides organizations with the ability to compete in global markets[7]. Diverse organizations will be successful as long as there is a sufficient amount of communication within them

Managing Diversity: What is the Role of I/O Psychologist?

Conclusion • Diversity is about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about creating workplace environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives. • Managing diversity is partly ensuring that no group is being disadvantaged.

What about this?: Disability as a diversity • http://www.dol.gov/odep/ • http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics • http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/culturedisability.html#part1 • http://www.independentliving.org/docs3/finkelstein01a.pdf

References http://www.siop.org/ Riggio, R. E. (2008). Introduction to Industrial/ Organizational Psychology (5th. Ed). New Jersey: Pearson/ Prentice Hall

Workplace Diversity