Workplace diversity

Workplace diversity means the employment of people with different qualities and backgrounds. The definition of diversity once primarily focus on race and gender. According to ( Nancy R, June 2005, P1), fast technological change, globalization, the demand for skills and education, an aging workforce and greater ethnic diversification in the labor market have greatly influenced the arrangement of diversity today. Today's definition of diversity includes races, age, ethnicity or gender, personality and work style, secondary influence such as religion, socioeconomics and education, work diversities such as management and union, functional level and classification or proximity/distance to headquarters. This essay will focus on: two impacts of workplace diversity on an organization, which contains that workplace diversity can hinder the manager's decision making and change the corporate culture; three main advantages of workplace diversity that includes increasing sales & profits, gaining & keeping greater/new market share and increasing employee loyalty; the status quo of diversity in Europe; the strategies that can used by managers to optimise decision processes as workforce diversity increases.
Workplace diversity has two main influences on organizations, which includes impeding managers' decision making and transfer organizations' culture. The increase of workplace diversity will prevent the decision making of an organization. Nowadays, immigration is remarkably common in the word, thus made one country's company may have lost of foreign employees. As people from different culture groups has different believes, backgrounds, knowledge and skills, many problems will
come out and make it difficult for managers to make a decision for they must consider about lots of new factors. For example, organizations have to deal with the problems of race, ethnicity, nationality to offer a prejudice-free workplace and provide sufficient educational programs to help foreign employees master the technical and customer service skills that needed in a service economy. In an organization, managers must try their best to make their decisions critical and equal to all employees.
Workplace diversity makes an organization's culture becomes an inclusive corporate culture. If a firm is considered to have a diversity workforce, the managers of this company must change the company's rules, symbols and values into the one that can be accepted by all the employees who belong to various culture groups. To accomplish this, managers need to look for some unwritten rules and assumptions, think about what are the myths about minorities and show equal, respect and opportunities to everybody. Thus , the company's culture changed into an inclusive one, which can benefit the company. For instance, (Nancy R, June 2005, P2)" Inclusiveness is thus a win-win dynamic: it generates opportunities for growth, flexibility and adaptation in the marketplace for both the employee and organization".
Increasing sales and profits, gaining and keeping greater or new market share with an expended diverse customer base and rising employee loyalty are the three main advantages of workplace diversity on organizations. Organizations' sales and profits
can be enhanced by diversity workplace. Based on(Sean, May 2006, P31), business can gain by promoting workplace diversity. In business, the direct affection financial performance is the equation that preferred for success. ( Nancy R, June 2005, P3 ) "Organization that expand their customer base most effectively do so with a workforce that is reflective of their clients". (Barbara J, Junuary 2008, P3) Take DuPont Merck as an example, he applied Spanish to drug labels instead of the drug labels which only use English and this small change leads to a great profit to DuPont's company. Now , 15 kinds of languages are translated for the introduction of drug labels and millions of dollars are gained in mew business. However, the influence of workplace diversity on financial success is not always can be seen immediately. For example, positive community relation explains the link between workplace diversity and business case. When external partnerships with minority communities and suppliers are set up by organizations, good reputation will come out as an "employer of choice". Once employees are in honour of their company and contact to the community, they are somewhat loyal to their company and more likely to introduce their company to their friends and families. Thus made the turnover lower and more talent in the marketplane are attracted.
Workplace diversity can get and sustain a greater or new market, which has an broad customer base. (Nancy R, June 2005, P4) Making use of the minority employees' knowledge that can connect to various culture groups is one of best way that aimed at making sure that company's sales and marketing teams can reach the minority groups
with funds to purchase its products and services. For instance, Verizon Communications takes advantage of its African-American spokepeople like the actor James Earl Jones to allure African- American customers. Take Fannie Mae, a leading mortgage lending firm, as an another example, the company put diverse training to use to gain the point of the population that could earn from their services and reach the minorities who did not own a house.
Employees' loyalty can be improved by workplace diversity. According to (Kelley M, 16 March 2006, P1), the Gallop research that aimed at memorial the 40th anniversary of the Civil Right Act and the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission illustrates that an employer's promise to promote diversity is extremely crucial to employees gratify and loyalty to their company. 60% of employees who rate their company 's diversity efforts in the upper third of those in investigate explained that they are awfully satisfied with their entity while satisfacition among the employers who rank their employer's diversity practises in middle or lower third decreases to 34% and 21%. (Kelley M, 16 March 2006, P1) " 'These data make it pretty clear that it makes good business sense to have operable diversity efforts in organizations,' says Gallop's Max Larsen".
The diversity of European Union is principal concentrate on gender quality and anti-discrimination. (Nancy R, June 2005, P9) "In Europe, there is a growing recognition of the benefits of workplace diversity for both the society and economy"
and according to a recent research, 1/3 of top Europe companies get competitive advantages from the diversity management. The three leading benefits of workplace diversity contains: meliorated team-work & team effectiveness; better productivity and improved customer markets with wider approaches to labor markets. Generally, issues of gender and ethnic are the most important changes in workplace diversity of the organizations in Europe.
With the growing of workplace diversity, managers must meliorate decision processes with proper strategies. According to (Richard L, July 2009, P440), there are four main steps in improving the decision processes to adapt the diversity. First, managers should understand what is workplace diversity and can explain it in their own words; beside this, managers must drive themselves to consider about things without discrimination on race, gender, ethnicity,background, age, mental or physical abilities and sexual orientation. Secondly, managers need to estimate and assay the current system and culture within entity. After the evaluating , the actuality will be altered for the purpose of adorn current system and thinking methods. Finally, as affirmative action programs are crucial for giving women and minorities opportunities to get jobs in an organization. The program for managers to transform such a change has three essential procedures: formulating a corporate culture that attaches importance to diversity; altering the structures, systems and policies in order to hold out diversity; offering training programs that focus on diversity. Once managers can succeed in these efforts, they can well prepared their organization to adapt the
workplace diversity.
According to (Richard L, July 2009, P429), the definition of workplace diversity is hiring and inclusion with different human qualities or who pertains to different culture groups. Race, age, gender, ethnicity,sexual orientation and mental or physical ability are the principal parts of diversity. This article major explores the two affects , three essential advantages of workplace diversity on organizations, the current situation of diversity in Europe and how do managers optimize the decision processes when workplace diversity enhances. Impeding managers to make proper decisions and stressing employees' loyalty to their companies are composed of workplace diversity's two impacts. The elements that constitute the advantages of workplace diversity on organizations are raising organizations' sales and profits, enlarging and acquiring market that with customer base and strengthening employees loyalty to their firms. Workplace diversity has a significant affect on organization, managers should transform their thinking methods on decision processes for making their entities adjust to diversity.
Richard L. Daff, 2008, Management, China Machine Press, 4 (14): 428-445
Nancy R, June 2005, P1-10
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Barbara J, January 2008, P3
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Kelley M, March 2006, P16-17
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Sean, May 2006, P 31
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Aparna, June 2006, P459-481
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Dina, October 2005, P1-75
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LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION AFTER ELECTROMATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR WORKPLACE DIVERSITY, Jan94, P678
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Glenn, Aug94, P8
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James L, 2004, P1041-1044
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