...increasingly open minded about diversity. Competition is coming from all over, and because of this, organizations have to become more resourceful and seek for competitive advantages. Diversity has now become essential for management in order to ensure success. Diversity brings forth more creativity and it can have a positive effect on the way individuals work. People bring their cultural principles with them to work so it is important to identify culture orientation. However, because diversity is still somewhat a challenge, managers need to teach their employees as well as themselves the skills and abilities needed to work in a multiethnic environment. (Green, Lopez, Wysocki, & Kepner) This paper will highlight ways to create and maintain a diverse workforce, as well as the benefits and challenges of diversity as well as equal employment opportunity programs. Background For a long time “diversity has been one of the most controversial and least understood topics”. (Rohini, 2008 ) A recent survey conducted among human resources (HR) and diversity practitioners examined how they defined diversity (Society for Human Resources Management, 2008). At least eight definitions emerged, and 71% of respondents indicated that their organization did not have an official definition. DIVERSITY DEFINED (subheader) (italicize this) “Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity...
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...resource management (HRM) practices. • Describe how technology is changing HRM • Identify significant changes that have occurred in workforce composition • Describe the HRM implications of a labor shortage • Describe how changing skill requirements affect HRM • Explain why organizational members focus on quality and continuous improvements • Describe work process engineering and its implications for HRM • Identify who makes up the contingent workforce and the HRM implications • Define employee involvement and list its critical components • Explain the importance of ethics in an organization. CHAPTER OVERVIEW The chapter’s opening vignette illustrates how Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels uses the Golden Rule to treat the employees as you expect them to treat the customer. While customers like to be pampered, so do the employees as evidenced by the Four Seasons being listed in Fortune magazine as one of the “Best Companies to Work For” every year since the list started in 1998. Overviews of today’s dynamic business world, highlighting cultural environments, globalization, technology, and social history evolution, set the stage for discussions about the implications to the HR field. These topics include: multicultural issues, global workforces, HRM technology, workforce diversity, labor supply and management, contingent workforces, decentralized work sites, continuous improvement, work process engineering, employee involvement, HRM challenges, and ethics. ...
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...WHAT IS DIVERSITY? Diversity within an organization describes a group of people from different background and orientations such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation as well as different cultures, values and beliefs. This group of people has different approaches to learning, beliefs and perceptions which are premised on their educational background, communication style, personal skills professional skills, the environment of their birth and their working style. Diversity is seen as a heterogeneous pool of contribution of each individual’s skill, perception, and understanding. When this unique attributes are brought together in an organization, it creates what can be called a diverse workforce. Diversity focus strongly on the capacity of individuals and their contribution to an organization which include their skills, attributes and perception; rather than organizational structures, materials or policies of an organization. Individuals are regarded as the assets capital of the organization because they bring in their stock of experience, judgments, intelligence , relationships and insights( S.F Slater et al pp 202, 2008) which uses the materials resources, structures and policies of the organization to create goods and services. Diversity is being embraced globally because of its immense value to an organization business wise and because of social justices as postulated by (Bleijenbergh, Peters &Poutsma, pp414, 2010) “By advancing individual development...
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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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...Importance of Understanding Culture Diversity in the Workplace Jennifer Schulz Devry University Cultural Diversity in the Professions SOCS350 William Tutol January 10, 2014 Importance of Understanding Culture Diversity in the Workplace In business today it is important to have a diverse group of employees in the workplace. Our textbook defines diversity as real or perceived differences among people in race, ethnicity, sex, age, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, religion, work and family status, weight and appearance, and other identity-based attributes that affect their interactions and relationships (Bell, 2012, p. 5). It is very important to understand the cultural, ethnical, and gender differences by professionals and management in the workforce in this day and age. If an organization develops a reputation for valuing all types of employees, it will become known as an employer of choice, in which workers from all backgrounds feel they have the opportunity to work, grow, and be treated fairly (Bell, 2012, p. 4). By being diverse in its employees, a business has a better opportunity for new ideas and growth potential and less likely to be stymied. Despite extraordinary corporate and media attention paid to diversity in the past thirty years, discrimination, inequality, and exclusion persist in organizations (Bell, 2012, p. 4). As discussed this week in class, when the department head turned down the Jamaican friend for the position, even though he seemed...
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...based around the assignments criteria will be critically evaluated throughout. The main key areas I will articulate clearly are as follows : Culture’s impact upon people management, the issues a manager of groups and teams needs to consider, the limitations of leadership theory for management practice, managerial practises ensuring their workforce is motivated, management ethics and possible dilemmas that may occur. All five of the assignment’s main features will be conversed in detail in conjunction with concluding either the ‘one best way’ or a ‘holistic approach’ in terms of the ‘best way to manage people’. A key term associated with people management is organisational behaviour which is the study of human behaviour within organisations. It is a study that can be used to identify individual skills and differences in the workforce and how they can use these skills both individually and when in a group. The main aspect is that of structure within organisations and the various power dynamics used all being influenced by the time and space it is done within. Managers of organisations should use this as it can help them work with their workforce with great effect enhancing the prospect of achieving the business goals How does ‘culture’ impact upon people management? In an increasingly multicultural contemporary society, culture has now more of an impact on businesses worldwide than ever before. Culture has a massive influence on the way a business and the...
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...Multicultural Workforce Eisha McKinney, Tuan-Anh Nguyen, Audrey Leonard, and Dontay Barnett COMM/215 April 2, 2015 Professor Rosemary Sykes Multicultural Workforce Introduction Case study analyses focus on Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc., which is facing a major issue related to cultural change. The company faces problems with the change in culture especially the extent to which multicultural teamwork has affected the company’s teamwork and communications within the organization. Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc., which was started in 1986, serves as a solution provider to its clients by providing phone services and data service in lodging services including restaurants and others in public venues all over the world. The need to serve the whole population has landed the company into problems for they have to hire workers from diverse cultures. The companies need to meet the modern organizational structure (one with employees from a wide range culture, gender, religion, race, ethnicity, and age) landed into more trouble. Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc., needs to reorganize the structure to accommodate multicultural differences to avoid future issues in the company. Multiculturalism can affect Team Work and Communication in Large Companies There are various implications of cross cultural communication and teamwork in big companies, but this is a broad study that has been explored by many researchers. The big companies in corporate America...
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...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 3 Diversity...
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...introduce diversity in the work place for the benefit of varying organizations and their human resource needs. Doing so would help them build up creative ideas and experiences, while mingling with people from diverse backgrounds. However, diversity could have negative effects as well in terms of conflicts among employees, and in several other instances. HRM is responsible for providing equal opportunities, and resolving the issues that arise due to diversity. Positive impacts were observed where organizations promoted learning environment. It also highlights different strategies that could be applied for effective diversity management. On the other hand, a need to act sensitively towards employees of diverse background was discussed, while providing them with growth opportunities could help in increasing productivity. Issue statement Human Resource Management (HRM) covers different aspects of an organization, from the recruitment of its employees, to the management of all works, and the problem solving issues that are directly affecting the organizations’ employees. Employees are an asset to an organization, and HRM is responsible for providing them with opportunities to learn and acknowledge their achievements especially in an organization with diverse employees. On the other hand, they take care of employees’ well-being and safety, so as to make them productive and driven. Armstrong (2009) describes human resource management (HRM) as a strategic approach...
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...average for the class of 2015 believe that their education prepared them well for the workforce “Accenture blames the discrepancy between expectations and reality on the employers.” Inside Higher Ed: Well-Prepared in Their Own Eyes Students are more than twice as likely as employers to think that students are being well prepared in the areas of oral communication, written communication, and critical thinking Employers gave students the lowest scores on “staying current on global developments”, “awareness of diverse cultures outside the US”, and “working with people from different backgrounds” Chronicle: College Students Think They’re Ready for the Work Force. Employers Aren’t So Sure. Employers are less inclined to believe that college graduates are ready for the workforce Employers prefer college graduates with specific knowledge and broad skills 54% of upper management in corporations (c-suite execs) think that higher education in the US is not as good as higher education in other countries It’s not our education system that has changed and deteriorated but the change in the economy and advancement of our times meant that jobs became more complex and employers began to demand more from college grads Most students are unaware of the skills that employers are looking for in new hires Inferences: College graduates believes themselves to be a lot more prepared for the workforce than how employers feel about them. Much of this confidence comes from the fact...
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...The Workplace, Communication and Diversity Vanessa J. Bailey BUS 600 Prof. Sean O’Leary June 8, 2014 Diversity, by definition, has three meanings. According to Collins English Dictionary (website:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diversity), diversity means: (1) the state of quality of being different or varied; (2) a point of difference: and (3) the relation that holds between two entities when and only when they are not identical; the property of being numerically distinct. For many of us, however, when we hear the word 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...
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...What are the seven reasons why Xerox should be motivated to diversify their workforce? Illustrate how Xerox shows it values workplace diversity. The reasons why Xerox should be motivated to diversify their workforce is more talent will be employed at Xerox if employees of all cultures and race are hired because diversity is a key to achieving critical business results. Furthermore, there will be more knowledge sharing employees can share cultural traits, market demographics and help develop companies develop robust knowledge management and market intelligence systems that create productive people and an innovative company by recognizing and respecting diversity and empowering individuality. Enhanced Productivity by processing varied skills, competencies and capabilities of different races and cultures, Xerox can increase its productivity worldwide (Xerox) that will make them a prominent player despite the economic slowdown in technology spending. Reduced Discrimination at Xerox woman and minorities make up for 52% of the workforce and 42.5% of Xerox senior executives are women or people of color or both (Xerox). This motivates employees in a way that they feel like they appreciated and valued. Besides, its make them challenge each other’s underlying assumptions, freeing everybody from convention and orthodoxy. Xerox has strict discrimination policies as well. With the inclusion of women in the workforce, Xerox developed a form of “flex time” that allowed for a better work/home...
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...“The Evolution of Human Behavior In The Work Place” “The Evolution of Human Behavior In The Work Place” Over the years, organizations and theorists alike have explored the evolving nature of workforce personality and behavior. Organizational behavior, defined as the study of what people, think, feel, and do in and around organizations. In today’s world, organizational development, worker values and performance, content and processes of work have transformed due to the lessons learned from previous studies of the field. In order to fully understand and measure the values and implications it is very important for us to take look at its roots. Scientific Management Theory During the early 1900’s organizations sought better ways to satisfy their customers, machinery changed the way goods were processed and managers had to increase the efficiency of the work task mixtures. In 1911, Frederick Taylor, “Taylor’s: Scientific Management” (pp.10) 1 explored the effects of worker productivity by reducing the amount of time a worker spent on each task by optimizing the way the task was performed. Tasks were then codified, workers were taught new method of performing and matched by skill level and paid for increased performance. The Hawthorne Effect Theory Researchers studied worker efficiency at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Co., during 1924-1932. According to The Hawthorne Experiments, their findings from this research ultimately would signal a fundamental shift...
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...and promotion prospects. * Development opportunities – A company who offer learning and development opportunities will attract a lot of talent who want to learn new skills to better their career. Without training prospects a lot of talent will be lost. * Salary – A company with lower levels of salary wouldn’t attract as much talent as higher levels of pay. Workers want their hard work to reflect in their wages. * Benefits packages – A company with good benefits package also attracts talent. People want to see what the company offers to safeguard and assist their employees. 2. Three organisation benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce are: * A varied array of employees means different levels of skills and knowledge, enabling each sector of an organisation to excel. * A diverse workforce means people possess different attitudes and values whether these values are derived from race, religion or even nationality. When all brought together can benefit the company when dealing with a wide range of people and even internationally. * Creativity and productivity would increase. People with different backgrounds have different ways of thinking. Enabling different views and ideas to emerge. 3. Factors that affect an organisations approach to recruitment and selection are: Internal * Skill shortages – Looking at what areas of the company are lacking in skills, giving the Human Resource department the chance to set Person Specifications...
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...250,000 newcomers entering the country every year (Government of Canada). One of the distinguished features of Canada’s current workforce is its growing diversity. As a concept, diversity refers to a broader set of qualities than race and gender. Its dimensions include, but are not limited to, age, ethnicity, educational background, geographic location, income, marital and parental status, religious and moral beliefs, physical abilities, working experiences, and job classifications. For example, for the first time in history, today’s workplace accommodates four different generations — the Matures, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Generation Y. Each age group brings different perspectives on life and work; all of them relate differently to the same working environment; all of them bring new ideas that benefit the workplace on different levels. It is a great challenge for both employers and employees to learn to value and to embrace differences and not get caught up in stereotyping those who look, think and act differently. It is a great need to start learning about diversity by talking to people, asking questions and listening. The more we know about differences, the more we understand them and the more we can appreciate and value their contributions to the workplace. Employers need to learn how to integrate and manage their diverse workforce; employees need to recognize the challenges diversity brings and to be more flexible and adaptable. It is a process of cooperative...
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