Samantha Pangan

MI 12

13

07/03/2012

87391563.doc

Management Chapter 14: Managing Workforce Diversity in Organizations Review, Analysis, and Application
Review 1. Why diversity is increasing in many organizations today More and more women and minorities are entering the labour force. This is the changing of the demographics in the labour force. Next, organizations are realizing/have an increased awareness that having a diverse workforce can improve their overall quality through the hiring and promotion of the most talented people available. Legislation and legal actions have also contributed a lot, since there is now more freedom and rights to who can work through the fighting against discrimination against women and minorities. Lastly, there is the globalization movement. There are many different offices and facilities of organizations situated in different parts of the world. This, in turn, would require a broad mass of people from different backgrounds, age, ethnicity, and languages. This would result for the need for organizations to have to deal with the differences in customs, socials norms, and mores. 2. Major dimensions of diversity; recent trends for each The different dimensions of diversity include, age distribution, gender, ethnicity, and language. In age, the baby-boom generation is continually aging. There is an improved health and medical care, which results to more productive and active for longer periods of time. With gender, more and more women have entered the workforce, even among married women. Most female workers hold clerical, sales, and service positions, and more of them, compared to their men counterparts, work parttime. Unfortunately, a glass ceiling exists in the workforce, which hinders women from advancing to top management positions in some organizations. With ethnicity (and colour), immigrations has served as one of the major changes in the ethnocultural composition of Canadians. Statistics show the everincreasing composition of the varying ethnicities in the Canadian workforce. With language, Canada is officially a bilingual country. Many organizations seek employees who have knowledge in both French and English.

Samantha Pangan

MI 12

13

07/03/2012

87391563.doc

Other dimensions of workforce diversity include: people with disabilities, single parents, gays, lesbians, people with special dietary preferences, and people with different political ideologies and viewpoints.

3. Summary of the basic impact of diversity in organizations The impact of diversity in organizations would be divided as: a competitive advantage and as a source of conflict. Organizations that learn to cope with diversity have had results such as higher levels of productivity and lower levels of absenteeism. These organizations also become known to women and minorities as good places to work. They are also most likely able to understand different market segments than are less diverse organizations. Furthermore, more diverse organizations are generally more creative and innovative, as they are characterized by multiple perspectives and thus results to more information and flexibility. Although mentioned before are all advantages diverse organizations possess, diversity in the workforce also serves as a source of conflict. An individual may think that his or her diversity status may have been greatly a component as to how others are hired, promoted, or fired. There are also misunderstanding, miscommunication, and misinterpretation. Conflict also arises from different perspectives, values, and as a result of fear, distrust, or individual prejudice. 4. Four basic individual approaches and the four basic organizational approaches to managing diversity These approaches include: understanding, empathy, tolerance, and willingness to communicate. With understanding, managers should all treat every employee the same although they are aware that differences among people exist. They should understand that cultural factors cause people to behave in different ways and that the differences should be accepted. With empathy, the other persons perspective must be put into consideration as well. With tolerance, workers should cope and be patient with others as there are still issues in the workplace regarding not accepting or enjoying some aspect of others behaviour. Lastly, with wiliness to communicate, asking questions and engaging in conversations would be able to solve misunderstandings and misinterpretations in the workplace. Analysis 5. Disadvantages of diversity in organizations

Samantha Pangan

MI 12

13

07/03/2012

87391563.doc

Although there are certainly many advantages to take up from the results of a diverse workforce, there are many disadvantages too, however. Some of which would be, misunderstanding, misinterpretation, fear, distrust, individual prejudice, due to differences in social norms, beliefs and backgrounds. There may also be issues regarding prejudice, status quo, racism, etc.

6. Basic dimensions of diversity that most affect you personally Ethnicity would be the dimension of diversity that affects me personally. At work, there are undoubtedly many people from different ethnicities to deal with. Customers, too, should be accounted for. Every ethnicity has different sets of values, mores, and religion. Everyone in the job force, especially in a very diverse one such as in Canada, have an open mind and be not be susceptible to possible conflicts along the way in ones career in dealing with other people. With ethnicity, I feel that there may some hindering factors such as racism and stereotypes that are not as apparent but still exists in many workplaces. 7. What should you be prepared to do to succeed in a diverse workforce? An open mind is the key to be able to succeed in a diverse workforce. You should be aware that being in a diverse workforce means that you are prone to many different backgrounds, values, teachings, mores, etc. You should not take many remarks from co-workers and customers to be taken too personally, as well. Understanding the other party is a good step and would result a mutual understanding which would greatly benefit the organization in having good relationships among its workers and the higher levels of productivity. Application 10.Assume working for a large organization: transfer to India, first person of your ethnicity to work there. Steps to take before you go to minimize diversity-related problems that your presence might cause? Step 1 would be researching on the different aspects and actions concerning the general population of India. I shall do research on their culture, beliefs, work habits, and mores and values. I would also try and learn their basic conversational speech in their language to show that I am willing to engage and is interested in getting to learn more about their culture and language.

Samantha Pangan

MI 12

13

07/03/2012

87391563.doc

Step 2 would be do a quick tour around the city (if possible, the country) to get to have a better idea with real life information and experiences in the country. With this, I shall be able to see the peoples perspective and would be therefore be more knowledgeable and aware of their situation and general lifestyle. And step 3, I would be active in engaging and communicating with coworkers with an open mind. I would try to think first what Id say and be able to judge that what I would say would not be tactless, as it might be perceived by other co-workers as insulting or offensive.