ASIF UDDIN MOHAMMED

MBA- 36590

 Course Number and Name: ( MBA101 Human Resource

Management)
 Program/Major: (MBA / Innovative Management)
 Submission Date: (march 20/04/2009)
 Date Course was Started: (February 2 2009)
 Date Program was Started: (January 26 2009)
 Type of Course: (Course work)
 Practical Problem: N/A
 Research or Problem: Research
 Number of Words in the Body of the Course Paper: (words).
 Adviser/tutor :Dr Khaled Abdala
Discuss the legal framework for dealing with diversity at work in the UK.

Defining diversity

Diversity is linked to equal opportunities and positive action, but it is not the same as
either. Positive action is action related to employment and training opportunities. It is
allowed under equality legislation in respect of recruitment and post entry training,
i.e. steps taken to facilitate the development of groups under-represented at particular
levels or in particular areas. Positive action should not be confused with positive
discrimination. Positive discrimination, which generally means employing someone
because they come from a disadvantaged group, regardless of whether they have the
relevant skills and qualifications, is unlawful, even if the intention is to make up for
injustices or disadvantages which they have suffered historically. Equal opportunity is
fair treatment of everyone, regardless of age, colour, disability, gender, etc. Equal
opportunities policies are an organisation's expression of how they will carry out their
legal and moral requirements. This means ensuring that all members of the public are
provided with equal access to services that staff have the right to be treated fairly
and to work in an environment free from harassment, that staff have a responsibility
to treat colleagues and the public with respect. As such, equal opportunities policies
can help to produce fair treatment in the workplace. However, equal opportunities
policy does not pay attention to individual qualities and talents or to the potential from
the synergy of differences Diversity means embracing the rich tapestry of skills,
experience and ideas that come from the varying backgrounds that society offers
today. This variety can bring a valuable resource for innovation, at all levels of the
organisation. It starts from the position that this is something positive to have. Our
experience is that it is better to build on something we agree is positive, rather than
identifying something that is wrong or not working. (Mike Bagshaw)

Diversity Training

Diversity training is the process by which a work force is educated about cultural,
socio-economic, racial and religious differences among employees and taught how to
embrace those differences so as to create and maintain an effective work environment
(Westfield&Stahlhut, 1999). There are usually legal issues involved with training a
workplace to deal with diversity.
Before conducting diversity training, a company should examine the practices of its
own. Acknowledge and celebrate the diversity. Construct formal policies and
procedures for promoting a diverse work force. Research internal and external
customer data. Develop a workplace diversity strategic plan. After an organisation has
done the practices it could have a chance to implement diversity training effectively.

Effective Ways for Successful Diversity Training Programmes

1. It is developed through a partnership of internal employees (diversity steering

committee) and an external subject matter expert (diversity consultant and trainer).
2. It has a senior-level advocate or champion. The champion of the internal diversity
steering committee is the President and/or CEO of the organisation. He/she
participates in workshops where all of the diversity training consultant candidates
considered was asked to present and train. The organisation tests all of the diversity
training contractors and picks the best trainer - not the one that looks best on paper.
3. It is supported by sound research. The organisation is presenting the business
rationale, the bottom line results of doing this work. Also presented are the costs of
not doing this work. The company is doing this work because its future, market share,
retention of talent and performance depend on understanding and anticipating the
needs of an increasingly diverse workplace and marketplace.
4. It occurs in a supportive corporate culture, one that reflects an ongoing
commitment to continuous learning. The company may establish a resource or
learning centre where books, articles, and other support and educational materials are
available. Multicultural calendars are made available to everyone.
5. It is “skill-based”. All diversity training is awareness based when an organisation
actually develops a set of skills or “tools” for the diversity skill/tool kit.
6. It ensures transfer of skills from the training room to the workplace. Diversity
training should educate and empower all employees with new skills and tools.
7. It is not dependent on a “saviour”. Do not rely on one person (diversity trainer or
manager of diversity) to save the organisation. A steering committee representing the
whole organisation must uniformly champion all of the initiatives.
8. It does not occur in a vacuum and must be supported by other initiatives and
activities. Training alone is not the “cure-all”. formal mentoring programme that
includes and encourages all employees to participate is another potential diversity
initiative.
9. It is thoroughly planned, implemented, and measured for its impact on the
organisation. (Velasquez)

Equal opportunity approaches

To assess what is new about managing diversity it is useful to have an understanding

of current equality approaches to provide a baseline. While it has already been
acknowledged that there are different views as to what constitutes equal opportunities,
it is nevertheless possible to identify some core ideas which characterize this
approach. The legal framework which underpins UK EO approaches is one that
stresses the importance of treating people equally irrespective of their sex or ethnic
origin. Its objective is that individuals should be appointed, rewarded, or whatever, on
the basis of job-related criteria. Their sex or ethnic origin should not be considered to
be a relevant criteria in their favour or to their disadvantage. The inclusion within sex
and race legislation of provisions against indirect discrimination might be thought to
breach this principle. In such cases, equal treatment may be considered unlawful if it
has a disproportionate effect on members of one sex or ethnic group. However the
fact that such an unequal outcome can be defended if the criteria can be shown to be
justifiable on grounds other than sex or race, modifies this conclusion. Employers are
expected to ensure that they are not reintroducing a decision based on irrelevant
considerations of sex or race under another guise. If a criterion can be shown to be
“justifiable” then even if it has an adverse impact it is unlikely to be declared
unlawful - particularly in relation to those not already in post. So, for example, it is
unlawful to consider only men for a particular job (unless there is a genuine
occupational requirement), or to ask for someone over 6ft tall, but it is acceptable, in
most circumstances, to only offer a job on a full-time basis even though it is
recognized that this will make it difficult for many women to undertake. The
limitations of this approach, which suggests individuals can be stripped of their
gender and ethnicity for the purposes of organizational decision making, have been
widely recognized. One response in the UK has been Codes of Practice, from the
Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE,
1983; EOC, 1985), which suggest ways not only to eliminate discrimination but also
to promote equality. Measures to achieve the latter are based on the view that in many
instances it is important to recognize social group differences which may lead to some
applicants or job holders being disadvantaged. Policies can then be developed which
try to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to compete on the same basis.
Employers have been encouraged to create policies relating to career breaks, child
care, flexible working, and the provision of single sex training for this reason. Such
approaches have tended to be pursued by organizations with a particular commitment
to equality for whatever reason and are not a legal requirement.Such policies again
appear to break the principle identified above of ignoring differences. However, they
are perhaps better understood as measures which allow organizations to reduce the
likelihood that such differences will be seen as relevant to their decision making.
They aim to create a context in which everyone is able to demonstrate their relevant
capabilities and be judged on that basis. (Sonia Liff)

Diversity through recruitment practices

Many companies simply recruit for diversity as it is seen as “the right thing to do”.
However, the commercial benefits of having a workforce with greater cultural
awareness, more points of view, different approaches or best practice from different
industries will lead to improvement to the bottom line. It will also generate greater
respect and awareness for the individual amongst the workforce. Appointing a senior,
visible diversity champion is essential. Often a company's employment brand will not
attract candidates from certain groups. Therefore both the internal culture and the
external employment brand have to be changed, and the best way to achieve this is to
lead from the top (Joely Wharton)

Using the law

In some areas the law was seen as important in persuading people to take equality
issues seriously. This was partly because breaking the law could be expensive and so
bad for business, but also because of the appeal to respect for the law. So while
advocates of diversity management and the business case for equal opportunities have
been critical of the use of the law as a form of externally imposed change (Kandola
and Fullerton, 1994), arguing that all externally imposed changes produce resentment
and resistance, interviewees did identify some uses for the law as one of the means of
effecting change, particularly in relation to harassment cases and equal treatment
directives in European law. Moreover appeals to the legal position were useful in that
people were likely to accept they had to obey the law, in a way they did not always
feel obliged to respond to general appeals to justice. Similarly in the case of disability,
the advent of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, despite all its limitations,
provided a useful opportunity for training and policy development. One interviewee,
when discussing how to prioritise equal opportunities work, stressed its usefulness in
providing an opening to shift the debates on the rights of disabled people to a higher
level of awareness. Thus a legal framework was seen as valuable in giving legitimacy
to the area of equal opportunities and providing an opportunity for training and staff
development.

Sainsburys implementing diversity at work

The supermarket chain began to develop plans to target older workers. It introduced a
retirement plan pension protection mechanisms. Age is not a factor in redundancy
decisions. Anyone recruited up until their 65th birthday receives full payments. Age
has been removed from the application form and is requested for monitoring purposes
only. The chain reports that their mixed age workforce has led to improved customer
satisfaction by more accurately reflecting the profile of their customers. It also thinks
that the new approach has contributed to a better-motivated workforce that feels more
valued and therefore willing to contribute to business success. Sainsbury's equality
and diversity policies are an important part of their business strategy. All equality and
diversity activities are expected to 'add value' to improve both customer services and
sales. Stores are encouraged to work with the local community in which the store is
situated. Some of the main activities included, Conducting standard recruitment to
ensure that the number of minority ethnic employees reflects the local population by
working with community leaders and advertising in ethnic minority papers.
Introducing a Fair Treatment Policy that includes a help line for dealing with
harassment, discrimination or unfair treatment. Equality and Diversity training for all
managers across the country. Some of the benefits have included increased customer
and employee profile to reflect the local community in a number of stores and an
increase in ethnic minority management. Flexibility in covering holidays has
improved as different religious festivals are spread out across the year. A calendar of
religious festivals has been produced and displayed in stores.
(Sainsbury’s case study from age positive campaign)

Case study the London Fire Brigade

The equalities training team of the London Fire Brigade asked Mike Bagshaw to pilot
a workshop for managers on diversity. The main aims were for delegates to be trained
to lead people in a modern and diverse organisation, and create and maintain a
workplace in which everybody is valued and able to maximise their potential. There
were many misconceptions in the organisation around equalities and diversity. For
example, some thought that standards had been lowered to improve diversity
statistics. So from the start it was recognised that the programme would face some
resistance.With his colleague James Bannerman, a creative consultant, Mike worked
with the training to succeed team to design a pilot programme that would engage and
enthuse people to see diversity as a development opportunity for themselves as well
as the organisation. James produced a series of “sound bite cartoons” to sum up the
initial discussions and creative thinking. These injected humour into the creative
process, but were also a useful reminder of the issues that were explored. This
creative session really worked well, and the design team were able to add the “wow
factor” to the training. A key feature of the design was the development of core
messages that delegates could take away from the training and apply. They wanted to
focus on behaviour and behaviour changes that could occur immediately. These were
finally honed down to four.

The four Cs of working with diversity are:

1. Check and test assumptions.

 2. Communicate empathy and respect.
3. Create a climate of inclusion.
4. Challenge inappropriate behaviour

The workshop is designed to take diverse learning styles into account. It is highly
interactive and the delivery of each of the sessions, containing the core messages, is
opened with an appropriate activity which lays the ground for what is to come.
When the workshops were rolled out there was a danger that they would turn into
talking shops, where people debated, but reached no conclusions and decided no
action steps. Participants often had a lot of negative baggage about equality and
diversity. Trust and credibility needed to be built quickly. Initially the facilitators had
to deal with the “heat.” This became known as the car park – where they put burning
issues. A running record was kept of issues and the facilitators ensured the issues
were addressed at some point in the programme. In fact the workshops proved to be a
useful way to take a temperature reading of the organisation as well as enhancing
awareness and dealing with issues arising. Amalgams of real stories to disguise
identity were used to give the programme a high reality factor. In championing
diversity initiatives the facilitators of the LFB programme use plain language, and set
clear priorities with knowledge and actions based on that knowledge communicated
simply. They do not get defensive when diversity is attacked. They think of the
participants as potential allies and try to convey an attitude of collaboration rather
than competition. The programme also encourages diversity by including the full
range of rank and roles. The facilitation team did not allow egos in the room. They
were very collaborative and recognised the value of “creative abrasion”.The final
programme has been very well received by the delegates attending the training. Her
Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate have looked at the programme and support
material and described it as “best practice” for equalities and diversity training in the
Fire Service nationally. (Mike Bagshaw)
References

Mike Bagshaw, Development Director at Trans4mation, Evesham, UK and Training

to Succeed Team, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, London, UK

Kandola, R., Fullerton, J (1994), Managing the Mosaic: Diversity in Action, Institute
of Personnel and Development, London

Sonia Liff, Warwick University, Coventry, UK

Jeremy Tipper, Managing Director of Capital Resource Consulting, London, UK and

also a trustee of the Windsor Fellowship

Westfield, D.R.&Stahlhut, E.H.J. (1999, Oct 13). The News-Sentinel, FortWayne,

Ind. Business Solution Column. The News-Sentinel [Online]. Available: Lexis-Nexis
Academic [2000, Jun 21].

Velasauez, M. (2000). The top ten reasons diversity program succeeds/fails.

[Online].Available: http://www.diversitydtd.com/[2000, Jun 3].

http;//www.efa-agediversity.org.uk/case-studies/index.htm
Employers’ forum on age case studies of employers who have adopted approaches
based on the principles of age diversity