...Value of Diversity in the Workplace Carolina Silva Soc/315 April 11, 2011 Ashraf Esmail Value of Diversity in the Workplace Introduction In the active times that we are living now, every company faces challenges that could be better handled if a diverse environmental workplace is put into play. Some issues may arise leaving some of the protagonists defenseless and the majority of the time unable to deal with the daunting situation at hand. Diversity is one of the most useful tools that any company at any point in time could ever possibly used, due to the fact that trends of growth in the population—in the US particularly—is becoming more diverse than ever. “Diversity in the workplace is about learning from different groups enabling a Company to benefit from the diverse perspectives and achievements.” (Cornell University ILR School, 2009) I am a real estate agent and a few years ago when I first started working my profession as a realtor in Florida, I joined a big franchise to get acquainted with the market and to make a name in the business. As a big franchise, one of the duties of the realtor is to stay at least one day in the office to provide information and to help any walk-in client that might happen to walk in. On one occasion, I was the one doing “floor duty” when a middle-aged Korean couple sat and waited for me at the office. I welcomly introduced myself, asking “How may I assist you?” Beyond obviously looking for a place to live they mentioned how they would...
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...The Value of Diversity in the Workplace MGMT 512 August 6, 2015 “One of the signs of a truly educated people, and a broadly educated nation, is lack of prejudice.” - Dr. Charles H. Mayo As the world grows smaller and more connected through increases in technology such as the internet, accessibility to international travel, and opening of global markets, companies are tasked with creating diversity and inclusion policies. Diversity and inclusion policies are necessary because people/customers, employees, organizations and companies all want to draw upon this vast array of people to conduct and enhance their businesses. It is important for companies to reflect the “look” of the populations they serve through business due to the many advantages that will positively affect their companies. A diversity policy can improve a company’s quality of employees, increase comfort level from the consumers it serves, improve cost reductions through fewer employee issues, augment creativity, problem solving and decision making; and boost goodwill with stakeholders (Collins, 2009). In regard to developing a diversity and/or inclusion statement there are many frameworks to study before crafting a policy for an organization. One example from a biblical perspective is from the Book of Genesis, the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors (Leadership Bible, 2013) which correlates to Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, on April 16, 1963 regarding the image of...
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...Washburn values diversity as place where anyone can come to learn, work, and grow in an environment of respect. It is a place of understanding with different people other than yourself. Then, appreciating each individual because not everyone is the same. At Washburn, there are many people that you see that are not the same as you. The campus is very diverse, but it is a great thing because a lot of those people have different stories to talk about. This is one of the great things that Washburn is known for. They allow different people ignoring their backgrounds, ethnicity, history, etc. to come to this university to become who they want to be. The most important part of the WU diversity statement is where it says, “Our University a place where...
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...Social and Ethical Values of Teamwork and Diversity: The Benefits of Diverse Teams Organizational development between diverse teams gives the MNC the opportunity to enter new markets and develop new products, in ways that they would not have been able to if they did not have a diverse, multicultural perspective. The benefits to individuals and society are profound. There are ethical implications for being a good corporate sponsor: by this I mean that there is a potential for a win-win situation that benefits both parties, when a substantial goal can be agreed upon and realized. Sometimes, entering a new market with team players from that region gives them a perspective that they would not considered. A good example of this is the GE ultrasonic ultrasonic imaging machine that has been developed for third world markets {particularly OBGY patients}. This particular product was given the green light after engineers from India were able to express their ideas. To begin with, the device was developed with simple, rugged, and cheap parts. This was done to keep costs down. It can function in a dirty, dusty, third world environment with little or no service. Second, the machine is lightweight, and easily transportable, so that a travelling physician could carry the device on a backpack, using public transportation. This was an important consideration in third world countries, because not all users of the device would be physicians, and more importantly, not all health...
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...------------------------------------------------- Diversity is more than just a tick-box exercise. Discuss how people resourcing can facilitate and promote the development of positive diversity values in organisations. Diversity - recognising it, managing it and understanding it, is a relatively new concept within the realm of HR and People Resourcing. Owing to demographic shifts and the composition of the international workforce, the need for its positive promotion within the workplace is now seen to be imperative. More commonly, the implementation of diversity initiatives are ultimately becoming the sole responsibility for HR and typically involve employee recruitment and promotion strategies targeting underrepresented groups and tools to both use the hidden perspectives within organisations and, ultimately, bring them to bear on organisational policy decisions and be reflected in positive diversity values. This essay will continually discuss the concept, background and management of diversity in a business context, the business case for diversity – that being the ‘need’ and its impact on People Resourcing. With the advent of diversity featuring more in business and legislative literature, it will question if organisations are merely responding in being reactive because they have to or being proactive because they want to? Studies by the CIPD and Social Scientists alike conclude that diversity and its implementation within companies and organisations should be more than...
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...some of the changes we have seen within the workforce. One major shift that we see in the modernized workforce is a change in demographics. There has been an increase in diversity of the workforce including age, race, ethnicity and gender. Another difference we have seen is the change in skills required to perform jobs. Technology has played a role in changing the way jobs are performed, the length of time it takes to complete a job, and the knowledge required to do the job. Organizations have had to find ways to manage the changes in the workforce in order to remain competitive in today’s marketplace. In this paper we will look at the Hershey Company, and ways that it has utilized to help manage these changes. We will look at ways to redesign Hershey’s performance management system to include diversity. We will also look at Hershey’s value system particularly focusing on how employees could interpret them in relation to their role with the company. We will continue to delve into the topic of the workforce trends and determine which has had the greatest impact on the Hershey Company. Finally we will look at the mentoring program that Hershey’s has put into place to help embrace the age diversity of the workforce. We will review the effects the mentoring program can have on integrating values into the Hershey...
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...Bachelor's thesis Degree Programme In Hospitality Management Hospitality Management 2012 Veera Korjala CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT – How to improve cultural diversity workforce BACHELOR'S THESIS | ABSTRACT TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Degree Programme In Hospitality Management | Hospitality Management 2012 | 64 Susanna Saari Veera Korjala CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT The bachelor´s thesis investigates cultural diversity in the hospitality management. It aims at presenting effective ways to improve cultural diversity in a workplace. This study was commissioned by JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in Texas, USA and three hotels in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA: Atherton Hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites and Residence Inn. The bachelor´s thesis incorporates culture theories and their applications to the workplace. Additionally, it focuses on cultural diversity dimensions in hospitality workplace, such as its benefits and challenges, its reflection in the work environment which have been related to the organization’s cultural diversity management. Eventually it provides solutions, such as a corporate strategic plan which focuses on the improvement of cultural diversity in the workplace by means of cultural diversity training. These best practices of cultural diversity are discussed in detail both in the literature review and in the study. The bachelor’s thesis has used two research methods, both qualitative and quantitative...
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...Title: That’s Not Fair! How Personal Value for Diversity Influences Reactions to the Perceived Discriminatory Treatment of Minorities Authors: Marı´a del Carmen Triana, Marı´a Fernanda Wagstaff, and Kwanghyun Kim Date: January 10, 2012 Source: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Summary: This article describes a study regarding the correlation between a person’s personal values of diversity, in relation to how strongly they react when learning of discriminatory treatment of minorities. Triana et al. (2012), describe their findings by stating, “Through a field survey of 190 employees, we found that observers high in personal value for diversity have stronger negative reactions to the mistreatment of women and racial minorities than observers low in personal value for diversity.” Strengths and Limitations: The main strength of this study was that they surveyed a wide variety of participants, from different ethnic groups and backgrounds. It was also very evenly distributed among the two sexes. The main limitation that I observed was that the results of the study were fairly predictable. In my opinion, it only makes sense that people who have higher levels of personal value of diversity would have the strongest negative reactions to acts of discrimination against women and minorities. On the other side of the spectrum, people who have low personal values and opinions of diversity would be expected to not react very strongly to the mistreatment of minorities and...
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...RsQ_013From Exercise 1, question 6.2, what does the diversity index when you stopped the simulation indicate about this system? * | * | * The diversity index was relatively low, and so there were a wide variety of species represented. | * | * | * The diversity index was relatively high, and so there were a wide variety of species represented. | * | * | * The diversity index was relatively high, and so there were few species represented. | * | * | * The diversity index was relatively low, and so there were few species represented. | * 2 points QUESTION 2 * RsQ_011From Exercise 1, question 9: What happened to the diversity value when you held the average # of fires/year constant at 0.2, but varied the chance of spread from 0.1 to 0.95? * | * | * The diversity value increased consistently as you went from a chance of spread of 0.1 to a value of 0.95. | * | * | * The diversity value decreased consistently as you went from a chance of spread of 0.1 to a value of 0.95. * | * | * | * The diversity value did not change significantly. | * | * | * The diversity value increased from 0.1 to about 0.5, and then decreased as the chance of spread reached 0.95. * | * | * | * The diversity value decreased from 0.1 to about 0.5, and then increased...
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...The effect of human interaction on Shannon diversity along the organic horizon Craig Michael Hansen Department of Botany, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Ok 74078 ABSTRACT This study aims to ascertain information on diversity of invertebrates in samples gathered from both near a trail and 1.5m away from the trail on a preserve in Payne County, OK. Samples are examined for invertebrates. Diversity, evenness, and richness are calculated using the number of each taxonomic order found and then compared using a t test. I found that there is not a large difference in mean diversity values between the two samples. I also found that there is not a correlation to human interaction at this study site. Keywords Species Diversity, Richness, Disturbance, Evenness, INTRODUCTION Diversity of invertebrate populations varies with the habitat or niche inhabited by the organism. For example, the differences between grass-dominated fields and cultivated fields affect species diversity because of the different conditions and amount of disturbance in the area. Having an understanding of the importance of soil invertebrates is important to understanding the purpose of the study. Soil invertebrates play a large role in maintaining soil nutrients, and therefore the plant life in the area. This correlates to oxygen in the ecosystem and affects us directly. This also provides a necessity for research of invertebrate species in the organic horizon. Studies conducted to find the...
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...resources will eventually take over. Alternatively, when disturbance is extensive or frequent, then species that are good colonizers or can recover from disturbances rapidly will be at an advantage and will dominate. For example, a forest that has not been disturbed for a long time generally hosts species of trees and other plants that can grow under low light, but will not include many grasses or bushes. If the same area were burned periodically, the trees would rarely have time to become established. Instead, a grassland community comprising species capable of rapid colonization and growth following a fire would dominate. Species diversity is a measure of how many species occur in an area, and how rare or common each species is. The “intermediate disturbance hypothesis” states that intermediate levels of disturbance will lead to the greatest species diversity. The rationale behind the intermediate disturbance hypothesis is that in low-disturbance...
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...calculations you made to answer the following questions: 2.1 What extra information is included in the Shannon’s Diversity Index (vs. richness), and how is this information useful? Why would a scientist use Shannon’s Diversity Index in addition to a richness value? (2 marks) Shannon’s Diversity Index accounts for not only the number of species in a habitat (species richness) but also the evenness of the species within that same habitat. A scientist would use Shannon’s Diversity Index in addition to a richness value because the richness value does not depict the evenness of the habitat, whereas Shannon’s Diversity Index shows both the species richness and the evenness. 2.2 Compare the richness value for your plot with the richness value based on the data collected from all the groups in your Seminar section. Now compare the richness value based on the data collected from all the groups in your Seminar section to the richness value for the entire Dairy Bush (found in the spreadsheet). Explain why these three richness values might be different. (2 marks) The richness value for my plot was a lot less than the richness value collected for my seminar section. The richness value for my seminar section was less than the richness value for the entire dairy Bush. These three richness values may be different because the size of the areas where the richness values were measured was not the same. For example, the area of the entire Dairy Bush is much greater than the area all the...
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...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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...Managing diversity at workplace: A case study of HP Summary: Introduction: In recent era of globalization workforce diversity have increased the complexity of job. The term diversity is defined by different authors in different ways. In this study the author has discussed different perspectives of this term and approaches used by Hewlet Packard to manage diversity. The study is divided into six sections: 1. Overview of HP 2. Different dimensions of diversity management 3. Strategies perused by managers to embrace diversity 4. Strategies used by HP to handle diversity 5. Paradigms of diversity management 6. Suggestions and conclusion Overview of HP: HP is founded by Bill Hewlet and Dave Packard on 1st January, 1939 with headquarters in California. HP initiates its diversity management policy from the very beginning and introduced “open corporate culture” accompanied by a new management style known as “management by walking around” this kind of management style has never been introduced in large organizations before. As HP operates in more than 120 countries with employees of 172000, it is easy to understand the presence of multicultural workforce in the company. This diversity has no doubt increased the complexity for managers to manage diversity. Diversity management and its dimensions: In this study the author defines diversity as difference among team members in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or other dimensions...
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...the importance of representing constituents, to “doing the right thing,” which is characterized by opponents as “political correctness,” to the current widely held view that a nondiverse board is missing key potential donors and opinion leaders. Diverse leaders can expand knowledge, create new resources, and open doors to partnerships necessary to fulfill an organization’s mission. Recommended strategies for board diversification must be understood in the context of the deeply divided society of the United States. Although North American cultural issues are the result of a unique history, most elements of diversity planning will apply in other countries as well. By the year 2015 the nonwhite portion of the U.S. population is expected to increase to 30 percent NEW DIRECTIONS FOR PHILANTHROPIC FUNDRAISING, NO. 34, WINTER 2001 © WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. 77 78 DIVERSITY IN THE FUNDRAISING PROFESSION (Changing Our World, 2001). In many communities, including large areas of California, the nonwhite population is already at 50 percent (Changing Our World, 2000). Despite heroic efforts on the part of diverse public and nonprofit sector leaders and their allies, gaps between rich and poor, and between people of color and whites, have increased over the past decade: • Poverty rates for full-time U.S. workers have stayed...
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