Ryan Malabanan PA 6345 Goodman Critical Analysis: Diversity Management in the Public Sector December 1, 2010

With the population in the United States continuing to grow and change face, diversity throughout the nation persists. With this, the labor pool and workforce for all organizations increase in diversity. Diversity management through human resource management practices in the public sector challenges many organizations because of its broad definition and application in the workforce. The Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Acts greatly affected many organizations in maintaining and building their workforce. Affirmative action and equal employment opportunities are mandates and laws set by the United States government to ensure a diverse workforce. Public sectors agencies differ from the private sector because they represent portions of the government. Additionally, their representation should match the qualities of their constituents. The challenge, then, lies in identifying individuals to increase workforce diversity, managing efficient practices to maintain the diversity and ensuring high quality work from the overall organization. This paper will analyze the definitions of diversity management and its application and effects in the public sector. With the increase in access to education and job opportunities and increase in races and ethnicities in the country, the labor force cannot help but reflect the new face of the general population. In the workplace, the definition of diversity takes on many definitions and encompasses many characteristics of individuals. The term diversity takes many forms when applied to groups of individuals. With the changing demographics of the United States, the idea of diversity continues to change as well. Pitts notes that with the changing demographics, the composition of the labor market is a drastically different profile of potential employees and target populations are shifting as well (Pitts, Diversity Management, Job Satisfaction, and Performance: Evidence from US Federal Agencies 2009). Therefore, generalizing diversity to pre-determined groups for overall diversity management is unsuccessful. Of the many

characteristics an employee possesses, some studies classify race and ethnic origins, gender and age as top categories for defining diversity in their labor force (Naff and Kellough 2003; Charles 2003; Hur, Strickland and Stefanovic 2010). Other types of diversity, not as highly ranking, include origin of region, religion, marital status and different types of handicap (Guy and Newman 2010). The multiple definitions of diversity contribute to the difficulties of managing diversity in the public sector. The focus of the studies above through the 1980s and 90s zone in on gender and race because the governments aim to increase diversity in the workforce. Until present, gender and race prove to be a recurring theme in diversity discussions. Public sector agencies have a propensity to have more diverse employee populations in terms of race, sex, and age (Choi 2009). These diversity categories are a strong indicator of the workforce becoming more diverse. Many of these occurrences happened after the implementation of EEO/AA mandates by the government. Consequently, the increase of diversity became something organizations had to manage. Defining diversity in this sense focuses more on organizational practices through the human resources management than just special generalized pockets of the population. In terms of human resources, diversity identifies as an affirmative action goal, a condition resulting from affirmative action, or as a program to support affirmative action (Carrell and Mann 1995). Additionally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 spurred the change in demographics, placing more importance than ever on the need to manage diversity in the workplace (Von Bergen, et. al. 2002). Managing diversity should then be a compliment to EEO/AA requirements and not just a simple by-product. In this manner, diversity management can continue to have a positive impact on public agencies. After all, public agencies should reflect the population demographic they are to serve. According to Rangarajan and Black, government agencies represent the populations they

serve and often try to produce appropriate policy decisions and outcomes (2007). They differentiate between passive and active representation. Passive representation refers to the public agency reflecting the character of the larger population and active representation seeks for representation for all groups to benefit (Hur, Strickland and Stefanaovic 2010). With all the demographic shifts and changing faces of the general public, organizations that define diversity as a malleable term and not a need to fulfill a government mandate can truly succeed. Managing diversity then takes commitment to understanding the population and the workforce while defining clearly the terms of diversity in every instance. Organizations who actively define diversity in their workforce succeed or fail in their commitment to diversity management. By aligning organizational goals to incorporate diversity management, public agencies aim to change the system and modify the core culture to empower people to the highest productivity possible while maintaining high morale (Dobbs 1998). This steps beyond the EEO/AA goals and thrusts public agencies into better service. It is still a challenge because even though their workforce may be diverse, diverse conditions may not always equate to efficient delivery of services. Some practices misalign with organizations. Therefore, by reviewing diversity management practices proven to increase overall affectivity serves as a guide for others to follow. Factors that influence diversity management include the population size of the agencys reach, the minority percentage of the population, the level of urbanization and the economic status of the targeted area. Higher levels in each category proved to show higher levels of affectivity in diversity management practices. The practices that helped increase effectiveness include empowerment, diversity training, implementing diversity outreach programs, promoting senior management involvement in diversity planning and an affirmative action plan (Hur,

Strickland and Stefanaovic 2010). This does not necessarily mean that sufficient amount of diverse levels in any category lead to effective diversity management practices. Other research states organizations face process-oriented difficulties in diverse work groups lead to performance issues which provides adequate insight to the challenges, despite best practice performances (Pitts and Jarry 2007). Public agencies that work to overcome such challenges and invest in the power of diversity can still incorporate best practices to promote higher levels of productivity. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a report prescribing best practices and leading agencies concerning diversity management. Some of the leading practices include top leadership commitment, diversity as part of the strategic plan, measurement of performance, recruitment, employee involvement and diversity training. According to the report, devotion to diversity with top leaders and managers in public agencies is primarily responsible for the success of diversity management because they must provide the visibility and commit the time and available resources (United States Government Accountability Office 2005). Dedication from the overall organization, above EEO/AA mandates, leads to higher levels of productivity and more effective levels of human resource management practices on diversity. According to Choi and Rainey, when agencys employees recognize the efforts of leaders to manage racial diversity, organizational performance increases (2010). When an organization integrates diversity well, it can be a source of growth, learning, and intuition, thus enhancing organizational performance (Choi and Rainey 2010). Conversely, low commitment from leadership in an organization is disastrous for diversity management. The GAOs report on best practices suggests that growth and integration through past studies enhance the public agency. By growing EEO/AA goals into organizational goals and incorporating them in strategic areas,

the agency provides a greater propensity to practice diversity management in a holistic sense. Commitment of the organization to diversity management practices, incorporation of diversity in strategic plans and proper recruitment for future employees are crucial components that make diversity management work in the public sector. Additionally, positioning diversity management to complement the existing structure is beneficial to an organization. Different agencies have different levels of commitment to diversity and how to exercise it properly. Techniques for positioning diversity vary based upon organizational structure and need apply strongly to public agencies because of the different types of need each one has (Matthews 1998). Because of the varied purposes of public agencies, strategic plans and diversity models also differ. One best practice techniques suggested by the Government Accountability Office is communication from top leadership through many conduits, such as support for diversity in newsletters, policy statements, speeches, meetings, and Web sites (United States Government Accountability Office 2005). Consequently, diversity becomes more than just an idea and actualizes into a component of the public agency. In a study analyzing the difference between mandated diversity and pure diversity management, the staunch differences included the continuing day-to-day implications for management, its general purpose, and its profound effects on organizational behavior and culture as opposed to meeting criteria predetermined by the federal government (Carrell and Mann 1995). Daily operations and organizational behaviors encompass the strategic plan and commitment of senior leadership team to diverse initiatives and management practices. Another imperative commitment of diversity management is developing a recruitment plan that actively aligns itself with the organization and the constituents of the agency. One practice that works for successful organizations, according to the GAO and Charles is increasing

minority recruitment wisely. Developing an affirmative action plan that goes beyond the general prescriptions of mandated laws to align with organizational strategies is more effective in diversity management (GAO 2005, Charles 2003). Recruitment policies in human resources that include minority recruiters cast a wider net of applicants and include more representation from the population. By having recruiters represent diversity itself, it tells the future talent pool that the government has an interest in their success (Charles 2003). This conjunctively compliments an organizations attempt to thoroughly communicate how serious diversity is in their service delivery and mission fulfillment. Additional prescriptions to successful diversity management include utilizing the strengths of minority groups and women, continue education for better perceptions to diverse groups in any definition and evaluate the programs and management practices within the organization (Soni 2000). Through empowerment of employees, human resource management is able to view the organization as one entity, not pockets of different groups. All these imperatives continue to contribute to the success of the bureaucratic processes. In the past 30 years, the increase of diversity in the public sector workforce allows for the organization to grow and provide better service. Moreover, employee performance and satisfaction in the workplace seems to enhance with the elevated levels of diversity and implementation of best practices. Though viewpoints may vary because of different agencies and different minority groups, the claim of increased satisfaction compels the public sector to invest in diversity management. Studies show organizations that believe diversity management matters, employees within those organizations perform better (Pitts 2009). Furthermore, organizational culture enhances with increased diversity as Choi and Rainey note, racial diversity significantly improved performance in the agencies that encourage teamwork and

cooperation among employees (2010). Their study also implied greater job satisfaction with longer tenure within an organization (Choi and Rainey 2010). As part of a basic human resource principle, job satisfaction leads to higher performance by the team, no matter the face of the workers. However, diversity management does not always produce successful outcomes. With the hope to increase fairness and equal representation of the constituency base for a public agency, human resource practices incorporate diversity management in addition to EEO/AA mandates. Some unintended barriers and negative effects arise from mismanagement of diversity. Among these, improper training and recruitment on diversity topics result in the demoralization of employees and the reinforcement of stereotypes for all groups involved. Specifically, mismanaged diversity intensifies the preconceived notions of others. Diversity training handled wrongly have irreparable repercussions, such as minority individuals are taught that their value can only be firmly established through the process of discrimination, as it applies to other groups not included in their own (Von Bergen, et. al. 2002). Employee dissatisfaction also stems from unwilling organization to change their structure, regardless of diversity management practices. When recruiting new workers and employees, promise of growth and leadership allows for longer tenure and higher performance levels. Minority groups find dissatisfaction in the restrictions of unchanged organizational structure. Lack of promotional opportunities and limitations of the civil service system serve as impediments to diversity (Rangarajan and Black 2007). Organizations that do not adjust their policies to match the incoming diverse workforce portray themselves as groups unwilling to change and only focused on recruitment quotas. Recruiters who actively encourage minority groups and other persons who fall into diversity categories remove this barrier. Public sector

agencies that include recruitment policies in reference to diversity management and human resource practices remove this stigma and negative connotation. The learning experience of diversity management practices allows for organizations to grow and serve the public better. By amply noting the best practices of certain organizations and utilizing those practices to the best of their ability will help legitimize the need for better diversity management. Defining the term diversity in context to the organization, the environment and the constituency the agency serves also minimizes the chances for negative effects of diversity management. According to Foldy, organizations who aim for heterogeneity with their employees succeed in diversity management (2004). Best practices and proper definitions aid human resource managers in the development of their own policy. Since there is no single solution to this issue, organizations should intuitively survey their environment while they develop their diversity management practices. Additionally, increased group dynamic and cohesiveness that originate from top leadership contributes to the success of diversity management. As a result, employee satisfaction and performance increase as each individual feels empowered to do better (Pitts 2009 and Foldy 2004). Future studies in diversity management should include quantitative data measuring the exact output of an organization in relation to the levels of diversity. For the public sector, feedback from the constituency base should also be a measuring tool to see the overall agency effectiveness. While employee satisfaction and performance is important, overall organizational performance based on the mission fulfillment and service delivery cannot go overlooked. Lastly, as the demographics of the United States continue to change, definitions of diversity and its respective research should encompass more than the basic race/ethnic and gender categories. Individuals from different regions, religions, and age should also be studied. Increased

multinational persons and new demographic shifts should be taken into account. Overall, diversity management must be a crucial component of an organizations overall structure and culture so as to prepare better for the future of bureaucracy.

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