Managing Diversity 4

Diversity and HR Challenges… How can employees respect differences? How can an organization attract and retain a diverse workforce? How is diversity successfully managed? How are affirmative action programs linked to employee diversity programs?

What is Diversity? Diversity = human characteristics that make people different from one another Characteristics have no or little control over Characteristics can adopt, drop, or modify

What is Diversity? (Cont.) Affirmative Action vs. Managing Diversity: Affirmative Action = providing opportunities for women and minorities Managing Diversity = set of activities involved in integrating nontraditional employees (women and minorities) into the workforce and using diversity to the organization’s competitive advantage

Why is Diversity Important? Changing Demographics Research (Rosabeth Kanter) has shown that diversity in the workforce can bring about: Greater Creativity Better Problem solving Greater system flexibility Better Information Marketing Concerns

Why is Diversity Important? (Cont.) “By 2050, the U.S. population is expected to increase by 50% and minority groups will make up nearly half of the population…. The population of older Americans is expected to more than double. One-quarter of all Americans will be of Hispanic origin…. More women and people with disabilities will be on the job.” U.S. Department of Labor, Futurework: Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century. Washington, D.D. (Labor Day 1999).

Key Challenges to Managing Employee Diversity Individual vs. Group Fairness Universal Concept of Management vs. Cultural Relativity Concept of Management Resistance to Change Group Cohesiveness & Interpersonal Conflict Segmented Communications Networks Resentment Backlash Retention Glass Ceiling: intangible barrier in an organization that prevents female and minority employees from rising to positions above a certain level Competition for Opportunities

Key Challenges to Managing Employee Diversity Groups identified to be most likely left out of corporate mainstream: African-Americans Asian-Americans People with Disabilities Foreign Born Homosexuals Latinos (Hispanic-Americans) Older Workers Religious Minorities Women

Improving the Management of Diversity Top Management Commitment to Valuing Diversity Diversity Training Programs programs that train and educate employees on specific cultural and sex differences and how to respond to these in the workplace Involve as many employees from every level in the organization as you can when designing a diversity initiative. This gets people talking about the program and promotes ownership and buy-in. Creating an inclusive environment is an ongoing process.

Improving the Management of Diversity (Cont.) Support Groups groups established to provided nurturing climate for those that might feel isolated or alienated Accommodation of Family Needs Senior Mentoring Programs support program in which senior managers identify promising women and minorities and play an important role in nurturing their careers Involve as many employees from every level in the organization as you can when designing a diversity initiative. This gets people talking about the program and promotes ownership and buy-in. Creating an inclusive environment is an ongoing process.

Improving the Management of Diversity(Cont.) Apprenticeships programs in which promising prospective employees are groomed before they are actually hired Communication Standards Diversity Audits: review of the effectiveness of an organization’s diversity management program (potential drawbacks) Management Responsibility & Accountably Involve as many employees from every level in the organization as you can when designing a diversity initiative. This gets people talking about the program and promotes ownership and buy-in. Creating an inclusive environment is an ongoing process.

Some Warnings Avoid Appearance of “White Male Bashing” Avoid the Promotion of Stereotypes Cultural determinism idea that one can successfully infer an individual’s motivations, interests, values and behavioral traits based on that individual’s memberships Involve as many employees from every level in the organization as you can when designing a diversity initiative. This gets people talking about the program and promotes ownership and buy-in. Creating an inclusive environment is an ongoing process.

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this. There would be: 61 Asians 12 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 13 Africans 50 would be female 50 would be male 74 would be nonwhite 26 would be white 67 would be non-Christian 33 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States 80 would live in substandard housing 14 would be unable to read 33 would die of famine 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 7 would have a college education 8 would own a computer

In Summary… Diversity management is about full utilization of people with different backgrounds and experiences. Effective diversity management strategy has a positive effect on cost reduction, creativity, problem solving, and organizational flexibility.