...Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity Major Thesis The workforce is becoming increasingly diverse, and organizations are doing more to address employee concerns and to maximize the benefit of different kinds of employees. But to benefit from those differences managers need to look past the obvious differences such as how they think, learn, work, solve problems, manage their time, and deal with other people. One of the enduring roles of HR managers is to serve as employee advocate – listening to employees’ concerns and representing their needs to managers – to make certain that the interests of employees and interests of the organization are aligned with one another (Snell and Bohlander, 2013). Authors of The Inclusion Breakthrough, Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity, Frederick Miller and Katz Katz believe that organizations are strengthened by a diversity of perspectives, nationalities, and backgrounds; and that all groups posses the inherent potential of diversity, but to truly leverage it you need inclusion (Miller and Katz, 2002, pg.1). An inclusion breakthrough is a process to transform the organization from a mono-cultural organization that values and supports sameness in style and approach, to a culture of inclusion that leverages diversity in all its many dimensions. It also is an approach for any organization that wants to transform their efforts from, a diversity in a box approach, to one that truly unleashes the power of diversity. An inclusion breakthrough...
Words: 1693 - Pages: 7
...Diversity in the American workplace is very important but corporate culture in this country works against women and minorities to a certain extent (Tannen, 1995). The conversational styles that most women use tend to be less popular with businesses and corporations than the conversational styles that men use. Because of this, women are often overlooked for promotions, are seen as less confident, and are not considered as worthwhile when it comes to individuals giving their ideas and helping out with teamwork. Much of this comes from childhood when little girls were taught to be nice to other individuals and help to downplay their weaknesses, while little boys were taught to play up the weaknesses of other individuals and claim strength and domination if they were able (Tannen, 1995; Adams & Galanges, 2005). Individuals who come from one part of the country to another also face this and some men who lack a great deal of self-confidence and are not willing to speak up are also treated as though they are weak. Because of this, many women are overlooked for promotions and other issues in which they are extremely well-qualified but it is not believed that they are confident enough to do the job due to the fact that they do not speak up in the same manner that men do (Michard & Viollet, 1991). Women are not the only ones having difficulty, however. One of the main issues for organizational behavior that is both a challenge and an opportunity is the diversity of the workforce, and this...
Words: 335 - Pages: 2
...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. So why should companies concern themselves with diversity? Is this just because discrimination is wrong, both legally and morally? Or is there more to it? A recent Harvard Business Review article asked this question to 24 CEOs from around the globe who ran companies and corporate divisions that had earned reputations for embracing people from all kinds of backgrounds. When we asked these executives why advancing diversity in their organizations was so important to them, the aggregate answer was twofold: They believed it was a business imperative because their companies needed it to stay competitive, and they believed it was a moral imperative because of their personal experiences and values. These CEOs spoke forcefully about diversity as an advantage. Paul Block of the U.S. sweetener manufacturer Merisant pointed out, “People with different lifestyles and different backgrounds challenge each other more. Diversity creates dissent, and you need that. Without it, you’re not going to get any deep inquiry or breakthroughs.” Or, as Jonathan Broomberg of the South African insurer Discovery Health put it, diversity is “a source of creativity and innovation.” A more diverse workforce, they say, will increase organizational...
Words: 924 - Pages: 4
...Awodipe AMBA 600 How Does Diversity Impact The Workplace? Issues of Diversity are common in small and big corporations in the United States. As defined by Webster dictionary, diversity is “the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation”. Diversity in a workplace is how people perceive themselves and the individuals they work closely with. In turn, that perception good or bad can affect the way employees interact with one another in a workplace. Although diversity in a work place is seen as a good thing, it also poses some difficult challenges for business organizations. In order for an organization to succeed at being diverse, they must first understand the benefits of a diverse work environment, the true meaning of what it is to be diverse, and how to improve diversity in the workplace. When talking about diversity and trying to achieve a diverse work place, it is very important for an organization to understand the benefits of having a diverse work environment. Organizations with a diverse work place have shown to thrive and be more successful than homogeneous groups. I believe the reason for this is due to the different ideas and perspectives each individual in a diverse group brings to the table. According to the article “How Diversity Works” Paul (2014) stated “the benefit of having diversity in a group is the creativity that it brings out of the group. Diversity encourages the members of...
Words: 1523 - Pages: 7
...Week six Team A Reflection This week brought discussion about diversity in the work place, and how managers get educated about diversity and how to handle a diverse work place. There are many cultures, skill sets, and different personalities in a work place and it is important to be respectful and not discriminate. The work force continues to grow and become more and more diverse so managers must adapt and educate their staff on how to manager such a diverse work place. There can be miscommunication and conflict and that should always be mediated and handled appropriately. Some team members had a harder time than others but overall everyone under stood what a managers have to do so they can ensure the managers are educated in cultural, religious, sex, and disability rights. Further, the have to practice diversity in order for it to work. Strengths This objective was comfortable for each team member to embrace diversity and truly appreciate it. Diversity affects each aspect of Human Resources Management. It’s not about being politically correct or a quota for hiring minorities. It’s a characteristic of modern organizational life and presents exciting opportunities for HR and other organizational leaders to respect and affirm employees while concurrently achieving organization objectives. As part of the team’s role in promoting diversity, we recruit broadly. When we have job openings we work to get a diverse applicant pool, and we have to make sure the selection process...
Words: 693 - Pages: 3
...Place of work diversity states to the assortment of differences between individuals in an organization. Diversity incorporates education, background, gender, personality, cognitive style, race, organizational function, age, ethnic group, tenure. Diversity not only includes how persons identify themselves, but how they see others. Those observations affect their relations. For a wide mixture of staffs to function efficiently as an association, human resource specialists need to deal well with matters such as adaptability, change and communication. Workstation diversity is built on the old-style ideology of equal work opportunity. Though equal work opportunity concentrate on warranting that all people have right of entry to work opportunities and conditions, diversity is accommodating, receiving and appreciating the dissimilarities inherent in every single person and distinguishing the involvement that a diverse employees can make to organizational success and performance. An important feature of workstation diversity is the role that we all play to a place of work that is at liberty from harassment and discrimination. An establishment's achievement and attractiveness is determined by its capability to clasp diversity and appreciate the advantages. Organizations aggressively evaluate their management of place of work diversity, implement diversity plans, concerns and develop multiple benefits such as: Improved flexibility; Establishments hiring a diverse employees can supply...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Managing Global Diversity | | Owner | 10/21/2010 | | Deloitte Diversity Audit Organizational Background: Deloitte is a staple in the financial accounting industry for over 100 years. In this time frame they have continued to revamp themselves to still remain relevant not only for their trade of accounting but developing its primary asset, their employees. Deloitte help set the standard after the crash with audits and regulations that led to more thorough accounting practices. Recognition for women and minorities is a huge initiative that has been driving a lot of their success into the 21st century. The investment in information technology would pay dividends to back up, store, and process electronic accounting data for Deloitte. The merger of the big 4 completion in 2002 the financial accounting industry will never be the same. PricewaterhouseCooper, Ernest & Young, KPMG, and Deloitte round out the big 4 audit firms. Deloitte is currently the largest of the big four by a narrow margin. All of the big four are among the top places to work (2009) nationally and in their respective headquarter locations. Since the 2000’s Deloitte has become an industry leader and model organization. The focus on recruiting the right talent to continue pushing the bar has been successful for Deloitte. Deloitte is striving to separate themselves from the big four and set the trends for the accounting industry. Criteria/ Audit Methods: 1. Diversity mission statement ...
Words: 3036 - Pages: 13
...Running Head: DIVERSITY IN AN AGING WORKFORCE 1 Diversity in an Aging Workforce Patricia Parker Southern New Hampshire University DIVERSITY IN AN AGING WORKFORCE 2 Abstract As American ages, so does its workforce. This means changes in the work place. Diversity has long been a part of the American culture but aging brings a new element to the work environment. This addition to diversity will challenge organizations on how they view their employees and what changes might need to take place to meet these employees' needs. It will also challenge some organizations on new types of discrimination, how to train managers on the benefits of a diverse workforce, and how to build functional work teams with both cultural and age diversity. Organizations will also be challenged to review policies, job descriptions and work practices to ensure that age is not a deterrent to success in the organization. But with these challenges also comes many benefits of an aging workforce. Understanding that older workers are typically dependable, have a broad range of knowledge, and are loyal is of benefit to any employer. In addition, as an organization's customer-base ages, having older workers that understand that customer-base may lead to a needed competitive edge. To be successful in the future, an organization will need to meet the challenges and understand the benefits of an aging workforce by being creative, flexible, and most of all diverse. DIVERSITY IN AN AGING WORKFORCE...
Words: 1847 - Pages: 8
...Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company. Be sure to address the following: competing in a global marketplace, workforce diversity, ethics and morality, and technological innovation. PepsiCo has been one of the leading beverage company around the globe. The company has been ranked as one of the best companies about the work environment for one to work. The PepsiCo company has positioned itself well to compete in the global market by making sure that they have come up with marketing strategies that are unique. The company has been using a lot of funds in strategizing on the best policies to use so as to continue upholding that given global position in the production of beverages. In fact, the major competitor for decades of the PepsiCo has been the Coca-Cola Company. However, over the years, the performance gap between the two firms is reducing with the PepsiCo emerging to be the world’s best company in the different area. The company has on many occasions been awarded as one of the firms that embrace diversity. Being a company with the global status, it is currently employing talented individuals from different regions. The company is also undertaking diversity programs that ensure that the employees feel appreciated regardless of their place of origin, race, sexual orientation, and gender among other things (Braedel-Kühner, 2016). PepsiCo has been holding high levels of ethics and morality inside and outside the organization...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...Assignment Gender and Diversity in the Workplace A Research Proposal Overview The role of gender and ethnicity can shed light on how individuals react within a group. Greater social diversity implies a greater spread of experience, which could add to the collective knowledge of a group of office workers and makes the unit perform more effectively, research has shown and will show in the following information. Gender equality is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of whether they are a woman or a man. Certain facilities that are located over sees have made tremendous effort and have achieve gender equality especially in education. Gender and Diversity in the workplace has always been a topic of sensitivity, this is because woman were thought of as caregivers and they put family first. In those times when a woman was pregnant it was always the assumption that they would not be returning back to work. Also, research has shown that now woman are returning to work and their careers and researchers are saying woman are putting family second and not first. This doesn’t mean that there is diversity in the workplace this means that we are on track. Now that a lot of men are taking the moms position when it was the women who had a hard time finding flexibility it seems that more men are having trouble with the flexibility that a lot of woman are granted...
Words: 1933 - Pages: 8
...What Makes Google the Best Place to Work and Why? Heather Scott Dr. John Theodore BUS322015VA016-1156-001 (Organizational Behavior) July 18, 2015 Google has been ranked the number one place to work by Fortune for six years now. Google has been on the list of best places to work for nine years. They are also ranked number 46 on the Fortune500 (“Google,” 2015). There isn’t any one thing that drives Google to the top of the list of best employers and I’m sure it would be near impossible to capture all of the reasons but this will take a look through the more major and significant reasons. Google is in the information technology sector, and they dabble in many parts of the whole. Most recognizable from their search engine, Google is also developing their own fiber network, and they’re testing self-driving cars right now also. While Google is based in the United States, they are a dominant force globally as well. Their search mechanisms are the most widely recognized and utilized worldwide. The internet reaches the furthest corners of the world and therefore Google has to be ready to conceptualize that. Google is a constant force in the global marketplace, beating out competitors for hits and ensuring they are meeting the needs of the cultures in every country in the world. Google may look the same from country to country, but your results will vary based on some of the restrictions placed upon governments in certain different societies. While Google operates its headquarters...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...Diversity in the Workplace Diversity in the workplace means celebrating the differences between us and everyone else we work with in our place of employment. Diversity is represented in a number of characteristics such as ethnicity, sexual preference, age, religious affiliation, learning styles, education and life experiences. It's important to understand how these differences affect motivation, performance, our interactions with others, and professional achievements. (Scott, n.d.) Diversity not only affects how people perceive themselves, but also in large part how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect all the interactions they will have with one another. Human resource personnel need to affectively deal with multiple types of issues such as communication, adaptability and change in order for a diverse group of employees to function as an organization. Over the next several years, diversity within organizations will continue to increase. Successful organizations currently recognize the need to immediately respond to this need and are willing to put their money where their mouth is. These organizations are ahead of the game and are ready and willing to invest what is required of them to manage diversity in the workplace now. Communicating Diversity Diversity training and education is an imperative part of supporting the customer service efforts of an organization. Organizations who implement diversity training will have a better understanding of what barriers...
Words: 951 - Pages: 4
...WEEK ONE DISCUSSION What are the dimensions of cultural diversity? Identify and briefly explain the dimensions by referencing both textbooks. My initial response to the question “What are the dimensions of cultural diversity?” were religion, race, ethnicity and gender. However, upon reading a chapter in the book Understanding and managing diversity : readings, cases and exercises by Harvey and Allard, the chapter A World View of Cultural Diversity by Thomas Sowell (2009), changed my perspective. After reading this chapter, I understood the question much differently and changed my view of what are cultures. According to Sowell, cultures are non static, they are fluid meaning they evolve over centuries. An important dimension of cultures is geography, which is “an important long-run influence on the shaping of cultures as well as in narrow economic terms (Harvey & Allard, 2009, p. 75). Furthermore, Sowell states that “cultures exist to serve the vital, practical requirements of human life—to structure a society so as to perpetuate the species, to pass on the hard-earned knowledge and experience of generations past and centuries past to the young and inexperienced in order to spare the next generation the costly and dangerous process of learning everything all over again from scratch through trial and error—including fatal errors” (Harvey & Allard, 2009, p77). Therefore, the two main dimensions of cultural diversity identified are historical and geographical as these dimensions...
Words: 970 - Pages: 4
...Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company. Be sure to address the following: competing in a global marketplace, workforce diversity, ethics and morality, and technological innovation. PepsiCo has been one of the leading beverage company around the globe. The company has been ranked as one of the best companies about the work environment for one to work. The PepsiCo company has positioned itself well to compete in the global market by making sure that they have come up with marketing strategies that are unique. The company has been using a lot of funds in strategizing on the best policies to use so as to continue upholding that given global position in the production of beverages. In fact, the major competitor for decades of the PepsiCo has been the Coca-Cola Company. However, over the years, the performance gap between the two firms is reducing with the PepsiCo emerging to be the world’s best company in the different area. The company has on many occasions been awarded as one of the firms that embrace diversity. Being a company with the global status, it is currently employing talented individuals from different regions. The company is also undertaking diversity programs that ensure that the employees feel appreciated regardless of their place of origin, race, sexual orientation, and gender among other things (Braedel-Kühner, 2016). PepsiCo has been holding high levels of ethics and morality inside and outside the organization...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
...DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE What is a diverse work place? Well, a diverse workplace could be a place that has mixture of gender, age, ethnicity, disability and other dimensions of diversity. I didn’t know that diversity included disability or even other dimensions of diversity. Well according to our HR book other dimension is a person’s sexual orientation. (DENISI/GRIFFIN, 2011) Sexual orientation means a person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace. A diverse workforce drives economic growth which is beneficial to all the valuable markets. We have in the United States a big growth in more women, racial and ethnic minorities, and gay and transgender going into the workforce. A diverse workforce can have a better share of consumer market. By bringing in a diverse group of employees it brings together different experiences that can be more marketable to consumers. Recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates means a more qualified workforce. A diverse and inclusive workforce helps businesses avoid employee turnover costs. Diversity fosters a more creative and innovative workforce. Businesses need to adapt to our changing nation to be competitive in the economic market. Diversity is a key aspect of entrepreneurialism. Diversity in business ownership, particularly among women of color, is way to moving our economy forward. Diversity...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3