Diversity in the Business Workplace

The diversity of the workplace includes the differences in employment. Most of these are processes designed to create a positive working environment, if managed correctly. The key aspect to consider is the culture of the organization in relation to management of human resources, the workplace environment, employers' expectations, and employee and interpersonal relationships. This paper also examines the challenges posed by diversity at work and how good management can overcome the challenge to work satisfactorily and to achieve better results and financial achievements. Keywords: Workplace diversity, Management, Organization, Employer and Employees, Culture.

Introduction

Diversity in workplaces is an emerging trend in the business field and is inevitable. Managers should therefore be able to create a work environment that embraces diversity so as to create workplace harmony and as a result improve work outcome capability. Encouragement of a culture of diversity can be achieved by getting to know ones employees in relation to their experiences, talents and skills which are all for the mutual benefit of the organization (Thomas, 2005). It is also important to consider the challenges related to workplace diversity by carrying out an analysis so as to come up with tools to manage the challenges and generate diversity related benefits instead.

Objectives of Your Paperї

• To understand diversity in the workplace.
• To understand positive and negative impacts of workplace diversity.
• To understand ways to manage workplace diversity to cause positive business performance.

Understanding workplace diversity

Basing on what I have learnt during the term with regard to business organizations, the management of a business has a large role to play in regard to business performance. Workplace diversity if mismanaged can be a big hindrance to business growth. Ability to understand diversity in the first place is therefore important to achieve success in a workplace and maintain competitive advantages. A manager should be able to pay attention to the value related to diversity from the employees’ point of view so as to relate them to their understanding of diversity (In Scot & In Sims 2016).
Diversity in an organization involves the broad aspect with regard to gender, race, ethnic group, education background, personality and organization functions. In the current work environment, diversity is inevitable and with increased industrialization and urbanization, it is bound to increase It is therefore very important to deal with the divergence in a manner that it can be channeled to stir up positive performance at work (Prasad, 1997).

Benefits and challenges due to diversity in workplaces

Benefits

Ability to manage diversity at work can stir benefits such as broader service range in that with diverse skills and experiences from the different personnel, an organization can be able to provide standardized work. Due to diversity, an organization can be able to get variety of viewpoints which it can use to generate multiple ideas in relation to the workforce experience which can be used to meet the business strategy needs and in turn create satisfaction for customers. It is due to diversity too that more effective work execution can be achieved. This can be achieved by encouraging the different employees depending on their different work related skills and experiences to perform to their best ability which will result to increased productivity, profit and returns on investment. The last benefit with regard to workplace diversity is increased adaptability. If managers of an organization embrace diversity positively, the employees from different backgrounds can be able to bring in their talents and ideas with regard to their skills and experiences which will ensure flexibility in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer needs. To achieve this, problem solution service, sourcing and proper resource management should be encouraged.

Challenges

Diversity on the other hand when not properly dealt with can lead to challenges such as: Communication. The perceptions of different personnel may be different and may cause misunderstanding (Daly, 1998). Language differences may also be a cause of poor communication and may lead to lack of teamwork, low morale and confusion. Another challenge that may arise due to poor workplace diversity management is resistance to change. It may be difficult for some employees to adapt to new workplace cultures and social environment since their perception on some issues may be different. This will hinder the workplace growth and generation of new ideas.

Managing Workplace Diversity

The manager of every organization has a key role to play in terms of balancing the workplace diversity. To ensure successful management of diversity in the workplace, a manager should be able to assess the extent of diverseness in the workplace environment. He should be able to carry out a survey on the employee performance and satisfaction at work and determine the challenges that may be affecting the employees in regard to cultural diversity and then come up with policies that should be established or be removed to improve success in the workplace. The survey should also be used as a tool to incorporate into the organization diversity function and purpose ( Esty, Griffin & Hirsch 1995).
After assessment of the workforce, the manager should be able to come up with ways to foster openness in the workplace environment such that the employees will be able to express their ideas and opinions freely. He should also come up with trainings that will be able to shape the diverseness in the organization and promote diversity in leadership positions that will establish visibility and proper leadership due to diverse leadership skills by the different personnel (In Scot & In Sims 2016). The manager should also use the outcomes of the implemented policies and changes to determine if the implementation is successful and its effect on the overall work performance.

Conclusion

From the discussion, we can therefore conclude that diversity in the workplace is inevitable and that learning proper ways to manage and channel the challenges can lead to positive impacts with regard to business performance such as increased adaptability, broader viewpoints on the business management due to diverse skills, increased viewpoints that can be used to generate multiple ideas to stir up business strategies and also improved work execution. It is therefore recommended from the study, that the manager should be a center line with regard to workplace management by assessing the organization and implementing policies that will impact positively to the diversity and also analyzing the outcomes of his strategies.

Maximize your grades with our professional law essay help - trust our experienced writers to deliver quality work and take your academic success to the next level.

References

Daly, A. (1998). Workplace diversity: Issues and perceptives. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Esty, K. C., Griffin, R., & Hirsch, M. S. (1995). Workplace diversity. Hollbrook, Mass: Adams Publ.
In Scot, C. L., & In Sims, J. D. (2016). Developing workforce diversity programs, curriculum, and degrees in higher education.
Prasad, P. (1997). Managing the organizational melting pot: Dilemmas of workplace diversity. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: Sage.
Thomas, K. M. (2005). Diversity dynamics in the workplace. Australia: Thomson/ Wadsworth.