GROUP 68

DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY

MANAGEMENT
 Case Summary

The case summarizes the various problems that are faced by the construction industry due to
increasing diversity of workforce.

Studies have shown that increasing diversity has led to a high number of work related accidents
and injuries. The major reason behind this problem being:

 Individuals for whom English is not their primary language

 Lack of English language skills of some construction workers.

Accidents and injuries are not the only problems faced due to diversity; Diversity has also given
rise to other problems such as

 Difficulty in supervising i.e., in communicating with the diverse workforce.

 Increased conflicts in different racial /ethnic groups.
 Low understanding between various employees and it also has affected the work
relationships.
 Increasing racial harassment and complains

Today diversity and diversity management are one of the most important issues that the firms
and companies have to deal with. Certain companies and construction firms have taken various
steps to deal with diversity such as;
 Developing English training programs for workers.
 Translating safety training materials into native languages of the employees.
 Greater use of pictures and diagrams.
 Basic foreign language classes for English speaking supervisors and managers.
Diversity and Diversity Management

Diversity may be defined as the variability in the workforce.

The management of diversity is essential for creating an environment in which people from
different walks of life can come together as a unified team to produce world-class quality.
Research into construction “best practices” underscores the fact that good construction quality
depends on a cohesive team working towards a common goal. This is sometimes very difficult to
accomplish with workers of different cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. An organization
cannot have satisfied external customers until it has satisfied internal customers. It cannot meet,
let alone exceed external customers’ needs when internal customers are at war with each other,
as is often the case with construction projects.
A typical model of diversity comprises two concentric circles. The inner circle represents
attributes that can be seen readily, such as age, race, ethnicity, physical qualities, and gender.
Although not necessarily visible, sexual orientation is also included. These factors cannot be
changed, and form the basis of stereotypes. The outer circle has other factors that individuals
have the ability to change, such as marital status, religious beliefs, education, income, parental
background, geographic location, work background and military experience.

Many large corporations have been the subject of lawsuits in recent

Years, charged by employees (or customers) with gender, racial, age, and other types of
Discrimination – many have settled out of court to avoid publicity and hefty awards against them
for egregious behavior that was outlawed many years ago.
Another problem with diversity is the multilingual workforce - The management of staff with
multiple languages makes integration especially challenging because of the difficulty in
translating complex technical concepts. The use of bilingual project managers appears to be
the best strategy. A thorough understanding of the abilities and availability of foreign labor
forces is critical in order to have realistic expectations of their production. Also importantly, the
cross-cultural training of project staff should include cognitive studies of the host country
population and their social and cultural backgrounds. Another important strategy to deal with this
problem can also be a pre-project training on social values of different cultures
 Questions
1) As the HR Manager, how would you begin development of a diversity effort for a
construction firm?
As a HR manager its important to take that first step to deal with diversity and diversity
management and be a role model to the other employees in dealing with diversity;

 Leaders, supervisors and various managers should be able to show through words as well
as action that they believe in the potential and value of all individuals, regardless of race,
ethnicity, gender or religion.
 Various practices and behavior of the minority should be recognized and respected.
 Communicate and provide an environment to staff that encourages diversity and also
encourages cooperation and recognizes value of knowledge, talent and skills from all
sources.
 Managers should be able to overcome their personal biases and stereotypical attitudes,
recognizing that no ethnic group has a monopoly. They should communicate belief in
dignity and respect for all, identify and remove barriers to minority groups in the
organization, eliminate judgmental attitudes and learn to listen.
 Leaders in the construction industry need to look for and remove those barriers, both
internal and external those are a barrier to the flow of information that can improve
competitiveness.
 Managers must practice employee development in order to make diversity successful:
Establish and communicate performance expectations, use appropriate motivational
Approaches provide working conditions they appreciate, Provide meaningful feedback,
both positive and negative, but respect the individual’s dignity. Use appropriate rewards
and recognition – preferably things that the employee values, not just a routine award.
 For international projects, train management staff on the social and cultural values of the
Respective host country. Use bilingual, bicultural staff to interface where possible.
 And also use the various measures that are already been put to use by various companies
such as:

 Developing English training programs for workers.

 Translating safety training materials into native languages of the employees.
 Greater use of pictures and diagrams.
 Basic foreign language classes for English speaking supervisors and managers.
 2) Discuss the difficulties in dealing with employees from a number of different
racial/ethnic groups when developing & conducting safety training.

Diversity can lead to various problems that is very important for an organization to deal with,

 Individuals from minority groups face challenges everyday dealing with prejudice,
discrimination, and stereotyping. Prejudice is defined as an adverse opinion or judgment
formed beforehand or without full knowledge or complete examination of the facts; a
preconceived idea or bias.
 Discrimination can include bias towards a person based on their group identity. Minority
group size may determine the level of determination.
 People of different ethnic backgrounds possess different attitudes and values. Cultural
differences determine the observed differences in work attitudes.
 Diversity increases ambiguity, complexity, and confusion. Diverse organizations may
have difficulty converging meanings, may find it hard to reach a single agreement, and
have difficulty agreeing on courses of action.
 Higher turnover and absenteeism are problems faced by diverse organizations.
 Diverse workgroups can lead to ineffectiveness in work relationships and team work.
 There is an increase in the cost of training. This increase comes from costs associated
with seminars, programs and lectures given to promote diversity in the corporation.
 The supervisors will have problem communicating with the employees
Conclusion
With increase in diversity of workforce there is a rising need to carry out inclusive risk
assessment.
Risk assessment is the start of the risk management process. It enables employers to
Understand the action that they need to take to improve workplace health and safety, as
Well as productivity.

Workers are not all exposed to the same risks and some specific c groups of workers are exposed
to increased risks (or are subject to particular requirements). When we speak about workers
exposed to ‘particular’ or ‘increased’ risks, we refer to workers subject to specific risks due to
their age, origins, gender, physical condition or status in the enterprise. Such people may be
more vulnerable to certain risks and have specific requirements at work.

We need to adapt good practice and programmes or initiatives to better assess or manage the
risks faced by the different categories of workers or a diverse workforce. Measures should be
taken by companies or initiatives at national/sector level to integrate all types of workers into
risk assessment and to prevent risks at the workplace level. These initiatives and projects in a
view to set up equal opportunities or non-discrimination policies in the company or sector
concerned.

It is therefore crucial that workforce diversity is taken into account when assessing risks.
Prevention policies at company level also have to take into account the diversity of the
workforce by developing information and training on risks for all workers, and by adapting
preventive measures to the various risks and to each group of workers.

Diversity is also important to companies because with a diverse environment people can benefit
and learn from others’ ideas. Other reasons for the importance of diversity to many organizations
are the recognition of differences as prerequisites for high performance and continuous
improvement, enhancing the effectiveness and creativity of the organization, and valuing
conflicts as opportunities for more effective decision-making and problem solving . Diversity
has a major impact on our behaviors in the work place.
The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful
organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-
centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage diversity
effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be
knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.