Diversity of Group and Organization Management

Question: Discuss about the Diversity of Group and Organization Management. Answer: Introduction: The focus of the research is to demonstrate a detailed description of diversity in the workplace from the global perspective in order to gain an understanding of the breadth and complexity of diversity issues. The concepts related to workforce diversity and organisational performance has been the subject matter of decade over the past few decades. The research intends to develop an insight on the trends, which have evolved in the field of diversity along with information for developing unique methods to meet the needs of the global organisations. Henceforth, the global organisations are required to concentrate on diversity and find potential ways, as diversity possesses the capability to yield higher productivity and ensure competitive supremacy in the long-run. Concept of diversity: In the words of Barak (2016), workplace diversity is the planned and systematic commitment made on the part of the organisations for recruiting, retaining, promoting and rewarding a heterogeneous combination of employees. For instance, there is sharp increase in women, minority populations and disabled people are making entry into the global workforce. Therefore, having a diverse workforce and managing the same in an effective manner are two different complete scenarios. In addition, a single initiative is not sufficient to solve the various issues of diversity and managing the same ion organisations (Chrobot-Mason and Aramovich 2013). With the increase in complexity of diversity, diversity training would continue to be a vital component of the entire diversity strategy for organisations to reap the benefits of having a diverse workforce (Edwards 2013). Moreover, it would be difficult to develop a general guideline for programs of training diversity in order to meet the unique needs of the organisations. However, there are various practices available, which would help in assuring effective diversity management in the organisations. Some of these practices constitute of inclusion of diversity into mission statement, action plans of diversity, accountability related to business aims, employee engagement, planning and career development (Gotsis and Kortezi 2015). Therefore, it is inherent that some organisations are responding to the programs of workforce diversity for avoiding legal consequences, while others are reaping the benefits after adopting such program. The diversity case could be differentiated between social justice or moral diversity case or diversity business case. Therefore, from these perspectives, the organisations are involved in managing diversity for minimising the drawbacks, which are experienced on the part of minority groups and avoid discrimination claims from the same (Guillaume et al. 2015). However, as argued by Harvey and Allard (2015), conforming to the equality laws is not sufficient, the organisations need to realise the requirements of maintaining a diverse workforce. The global firms that use both these techniques would be able to reap the maximum benefits. Benefits of diversity in the workplace: According to Kim and Lee (2014), the organisations, which involve in diversity, experience enhanced synergy amongst the employees, increased network of contacts and the employees take on different roles and tasks. The following are the benefits, which could be realised from the workplace diversity: Enhanced productivity: With the help of diverse workforce, the organisations could provide additional solutions to the customers, as new processes and ideas are developed. In addition, workplace diversity boosts up the morale of the staffs and it causes the staffs to work more effectively. The organisational managers could bring new methods and skills to accomplish team unity (Klarsfeld et al. 2014). Enhanced creativity: The workforce diversity enhances creativity within an organisation, as heterogeneous groups are cross-fertilising each other. For instance, in a consulting organisation that specialises in workforce diversity, the staffs belonging to different backgrounds generate a wide range of solutions for accomplishing a specific goal. With the increase in suggestion of diverse ideas, the probability of finding a workable answer is improved. Positive brand image: As commented by Kokkonen, Esaiasson and Gilljam (2014), the potential staffs want to know that the organisations their staffs irrespective of race, gender and ethnicity. Therefore, such firms are able to bring in new talent as well as retaining them because they are able to increase the morale of the employees arising from workplace diversity. Challenges of diversity in the workplace: There are certain challenges of adopting diversity in the workplace, which are briefly demonstrated as follows: Communication: The cultural, perceptual and language impediments are required to be overcome for ensuring success of the diversity programs. This is because ineffective communication of major objectives results in low morale, confusion and ineffective teamwork. Resistance to change: There are some staffs in the organisation, who always adopt resistance to any changes implemented in the organisation. As a result, it might decliner the overall productivity of the organisations. Necessary tools for managing diversity: Workplace diversity refers to the process of minimizing various gaps among the organizational people like religious gaps, cultural gaps and others. It is necessary to establish diversity in the workplace for the smooth running of the organization. For this reason, organizational managers use certain tools that help them to create effective diversity in the organization. There are three major tool that the managers use. They are discussed below: The first tool is Planning and Implementation. It is utmost important for the organizational managers to make an effective plan so that diversity in the workplace can be maintained. Only planning is not enough until the plans are implemented properly (Landrito and Sarros 2013). It is the duty of the managers to properly manager and implements the diversity in workplace. The second tool is Conflict Resolution Skill. In order to maintain workplace diversity in the workplace, the managers need to resolve the internal conflicts of the organization in an effective way. For this purpose, the managers need to obtain the conflict resolution tools. The Third tool is Proper Communication. The presence of proper and effective communication between the managers and the employees make the process of implementing workplace diversity easier. Proper communication minimizes the scope and miscommunication and hence, there can be a cordial atmosphere in the workplace. Conclusion: From the above discussion, it has been found that employee engagement is the major need for the global organisations in maintaining their productivity level and ensuring competitive advantage. This is because workplace diversity helps in boosting up the morale of the employees to come up with new ideas and innovations. As a result, it helps in improving the overall business performance of the global organisations. However, there are certain challenges associated with workplace diversity, which include resistance to change and communication. References: Barak, M.E.M., 2016.Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage Publications. Chrobot-Mason, D. and Aramovich, N.P., 2013. The psychological benefits of creating an affirming climate for workplace diversity.Group Organization Management,38(6), pp.659-689. Edwards, M.R., 2013. Employees as a Focus of Branding Activities: A Review of Recent Contributions to the Literature and the Implications for Workplace Diversity.Equal Opportunities International. Gotsis, G. and Kortezi, Z., 2015. Workplace Diversity: A Resource or a Source of Conflict?. InCritical studies in diversity management literature(pp. 1-12). Springer Netherlands. Guillaume, Y.R., Dawson, J.F., Otaye?Ebede, L., Woods, S.A. and West, M.A., 2015. Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity?.Journal of Organizational Behavior. Harvey, C.P. and Allard, M., 2015.Understanding and managing diversity. Pearson. Kim, H.K. and Lee, U.H., 2014. Managing workplace diversity and employees' turnover intention: The mediating role of perceived organizational support.Journal of Digital Convergence,12(10), pp.145-156. Klarsfeld, A., Booysen, L.A., Ng, E., Roper, I. and Tatli, A. eds., 2014.9.78 E+ 12: Country Perspectives on Diversity and Equal Treatment. Edward Elgar Publishing. Kokkonen, A., Esaiasson, P. and Gilljam, M., 2014. Migration?based Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: A Multilevel Analysis of How Country, Neighbourhood and Workplace Diversity Affects Social Trust in 22 Countries.Scandinavian Political Studies,37(3), pp.263-300. Landrito, L. and Sarros, J.C., 2013. Effective leadership and workplace diversity.BOOK REVIEW, p.3.