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Diversity in Organizations

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Diversity in Organizations
Jessica Luther
BUS 610
Charlene Anderson
February 15, 2012

Diversity in Organizations Organizations of today are more diverse than ever. Diversity is defined as “the host of individual differences that make people different from and similar to each other.” (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2010) Organizations have to find ways of integrating the differences of the people that work for them into a “common objective” that represents the organization as a whole. Diversity is about the “individual characteristics” that identify the way a person will perform a particular task within the organization. Individuals encompass a myriad of dimensions that make them unique. This paper will identify methods and procedures for analyzing diversity and how they can be used in a cultural diversity program. There are four layers of diversity that differentiate the influential way in which people differ. These four layers are identified as: personality, internal dimensions, external dimensions, and organizational dimensions. Personality is characteristics that make up a person’s identity. Personality is the foundation of the other three layers. The second layer of diversity is internal dimensions. Internal dimensions are classified as characteristics that are uncontrollable such as age, race, gender, social orientation, ethnicity, and physical ability. The third layer of diversity are the external dimensions such as geographic location, income, personal habits, recreational habits, religion, educational background, work experience, appearance, parental status, and marital status. The last layer of diversity encompasses the organizational dimensions. These are classified as function level/classification; work content/field; division/department/unit/group; seniority, work location, union affiliation, and management status. The process of analyzing diversity is finding the right individuals to fit the position. An individual’s personality and skills weighs heavily on whether they are fit to take on a specific task. A person’s personality is made up of the other three layers and is witnessed in the initial interview. The way the person interacts with others is highly important. Organizations should not take away from a person’s ability but should enhance it. Internal dimensions are characteristics of an individual’s that they have no control over. A persons age, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, race are all considered the internal dimensions of an individual and an organization has to ensure that none of these factors are discriminated against within their organization. Internal dimensions of diversity strongly influence the attitudes and behaviors of individuals. In this layer of diversity many divisions among people can be recognized and forms the core of many diversity efforts. Stereotypes and prejudices about others can be recognized in this dimension. An individual has significant ability in controlling their external dimensions and these exert influence on out behaviors, perceptions and attitudes. Organizations have to be innovative when thinking about the differences among people. Every employee makes a unique contribution to an organization. Managing diversity focuses on making changes to organizations’ culture and infrastructure to ensure that people are performing at their maximum potential. The organizational dimension deals mainly with the work setting. Aspects within this layer pertain to preferential treatment and opportunities for development or promotion. To increase diversity in the workplace all barriers have to be addressed. Woman and minorities to often experience the invisible “glass ceiling” defined as a barrier blocking woman and minorities from top management positions. Too often these barriers are put forth because of stereotypes and prejudices that occur within the organization. Women experience being hired into low level jobs, without profit-loss responsibility; and those that lack visibility and influence. (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2010) “As of 2006, women were still underpaid relative to men: women who worked full time were paid 81% of men’s median earnings.” (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2010) Organizations have to insure these barriers do not exist within their organization by being fair and giving every individual the opportunity to reach their full potential. Managers who seek to understand diversity and manage diverse teams have to pay close attention to all the layers of diversity. Using similarities and differences to enrich the work environment should be a goal for all organizations. Organizations also have to ensure that the employees they hire to do specific jobs have the skills necessary to complete it. Every individual will not be an expert at every task put before them but having the willingness to learn new ways of doing thing smarter and more efficient is very vital an organization. “First, recent studies show that college graduates, while technically and functionally competent, are lacking in terms of teamwork skills, critical thinking, and analytic reasoning. Second, there is a shortage of college graduates in technical fields related to science, math, and engineering. Third, organizations are finding that high school graduates working in entry-level positions do not possess the basic skills needed to perform effectively.” (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2010) In a cultural diversity training program leaders have to cultivate an atmosphere where the people apart of the organization have mutual respect for each other and an open line of communication between different departments and amongst all employees within the organization. CEO’s and managers have to encourage the contributions each individual brings to the organization as well as the different perspectives one has to getting particular task completed. Leaders have to model appropriate behaviors required in an organization. Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence in how you react, if you are seen to be in control then your employee’s will feel a since of control. Diversity training programs should review the organizations goals, objectives, and policies to identify how they support workforce diversity. An organizations goal should attract diverse talent and give incentives to retain productive employees. Diversity training programs should be based on the following principles: integrity, respect, dignity, openness, humility, acknowledgement of bias and prejudice, inclusion and active adult learning methodology. Trainers have to be skilled and experienced facilitators, who can establish and maintain a safe and supportive setting to promote open and honest discussions and exercises. Effective diversity training programs enhance understanding of human differences and commonalities; build skills that confront inappropriate language and behaviors; and heighten abilities to coach and mentor individuals of different backgrounds and skill levels.

References
Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best practices (customized 4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. ISBN: 9780073381411.

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