challenges of workplace diversity Assignment PDF
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Added on 2021-05-17
challenges of workplace diversity Assignment PDF
Added on 2021-05-17
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A case study on prospects and challenges of workplace diversityAhmed Abdullahi Mursal Ecf/2017/17 Abstract Workplace diversity is a holistic concept that denotes the differences thatexist between people working within an organization. It describes thecomplex physical, sociological or psychological attributes such asgender, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs that define an individualor group. Therefore, workplace diversity transcends the recruitment,representation or preferential treatment of people within an organization. The complexity of workplace diversity has become one of the mostchallenging issues currently of critical importance in business andorganizational management. Therefore, the paper presents the criticalissues currently impacting on workplace diversity in modern dayorganizations. It identified and highlighted the various prospects andchallenges of workplace diversity. The results revealed that diversity inthe workplace enhances the critical thinking, problem-solving, andemployee professional skills. Furthermore, it enables organizations to attract talent, improve corporateattractiveness, productivity. However, it is currently hampered by thehostility, disrespect and discrimination people with diverse backgroundencounter in the workplace. Such behavioral attitudes as ascribed toprejudices and biases towards people with varied lifestyle choices, ethnicand cultural differences, disabilities, and generational gaps. Thesefactors can stifle morale, teamwork, profitability and the attractivenessof the organization. Consequently, modern day organizations need toaddress the causes of these issues to exploit the benefits of workplacediversity. These can be addressed strategies that foster an empowermentculture, build communication and team spirit with organizations. Theseefforts will promote acceptance, productivity, and profits in futureorganizations.
1. IntroductionOver the years, the diversity of the global populations has beentransformed by socioeconomic, geopolitical, environmental andtechnological factors. These dynamics have consequently changed thecompositions of many societies and influenced the way human beingsinteract, work or cohabit with one another. As a result, many organizations are exploring strategies to positivelyexploit the growing diversity to remain and or gain a competitiveadvantage. As a result, numerous organizations are actively integratingdiversity into the recruitment processes to ensure the best talents arehired from around the globe. Many analyses thus project the futureworkplaces will be comprised of diverse groups of people drawn fromvarious parts of the world.Furthermore, it is predicted that the active movement of people fromvarious places will consist of all walks of life and backgrounds willtransform view on sociocultural dimensions. However, the rapiddiversification will challenge people’s perceptions of the demographicfactors of race, language, ethnicity, gender, age, and physical disabilityin the global workplace. Other factors such as socioeconomic status,religious and political ideologies will become prominent in the future. Given the challenges these factors will pose, many organizations haveelected to adopt and prioritize workplace diversity. Many organizationscurrently address the adoption of diversity to foster creativity andopenness in the workplace. Adoption of workplace diversity has becomean important corporate strategy to improve organizational management,competitive advantage and maximize profits. Modern organizations nowrecognize the critical need to adopt, invest and implement diversity as acorporate strategy for talent management. The findings also reveal that diversity can be a crucial link betweencorporate mission or vision and the overall performance. Despite thegrowing significance of diversity, there is a dearth of knowledge on itsimpact on the future of the workplace, societies and the global economy.To adequately understand the concept, it is important to explore thevarious definitions currently propounded in literature. Diversity can be defined as a collection of conscious practices thatrequire comprehensive understanding and appreciation of humanity,cultures and the natural environment. It also involves a commitment tomutual respect for qualities and experiences of individuals who havedifferent attributes.
Diversity aims to highlight the disadvantages discrimination presents forothers and build alliances that enable people of diverse attributes to worktogether [2].Diversity is the peculiar differences of people arising from physical,social, or psychological dimensions in the society. it’s the process ofrecognizing, understanding and accepting the differences of individualsregardless of age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, or religiousinclinations.As highlighted, the various definitions of diversity outline the concept asone that encompasses acceptance and respect between different people.Furthermore, it denotes a mutual understanding of the unique attributesinherent in individuals. However, it also eschews acceptance of thepeculiar differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, of people. Hence, theconcept promotes tolerance of peoples notwithstanding economic status,age, and disability, religious or socio-political beliefs. The exploration of individual differences in a safe, positive, andnurturing environment along with understanding, tolerance andembracing diversity is critical to the future of humanity. The explorationand exploitation of the rich dimensions of diversity are critical to howhumans will interact, work or cohabit with one another in the future. Furthermore, workplace diversity has become a recurring feature inglobal discussions on the future or work and international business. Thishas given rise to the concept of workplace diversity and its role in theorganizational management of firms around the globe. So what isworkplace diversity?Workplace diversity is a concept that denotes the differences betweenpeople working in or for an organization. This can also mean themultiplicity of differences amongst individuals and their beliefs aboutwhat they identify themselves as well as how others distinguish them inthat organization.However, diversity in the workplace goes beyond the recruitment,representation or preferential treatment of people with specific birthcharacteristics in an organization. It is the process whereby employersavail potential talent or current employees with equal opportunities tothrive regardless of race, ethnicity or any other distinguishing factors.With the evolving global business environment, companies are currentlyadapting their policies and strategies to appeal to future talenteffectively. As a result, workplace diversity continues to gain
prominence among companies who continuously seek global expansion,and maximization of profits amidst growing competition for scarcetalent, resources and market share. Analysts opine that, in the coming years, companies and organizationswill need to devise effective strategies and increase investments indiversity programs to remain globally competitive. Others predict thatthe firms with best workplace diversity strategies will attract the largestpool of talent, maximize recruitment, lower operational costs amongstother benefits. Empirical research has shown that the profit margins of companies withdiverse teams of employees are 35% higher than homogeneous firms.However, workplace diversity presents challenges to manyorganizations. The recruitment of people of diverse backgrounds,cultures and characteristics can present problems in the workplace. Theimportance, complexity, and holistic nature of the concept meanorganizations are required to address the problems that may arise fromhiring talents or operations in regions with diverse peoples and cultures. According to Robinson et al., the constantly changing dynamics ofglobal business requires companies to embrace inclusion in the face ofdiversity. This will enable the firms to address not only workplacediversity but also increase productivity, profit maximization, andcompetitive advantage in the ever increasing competitive climate ofglobal business and organizational management. Based on the preceding, it is evident that for firms, companies ororganizations to effectively compete and succeed in the current globaleconomic climate, there is an urgent need to identify, examine, andhighlight the merits and demerits workplace diversity. Therefore, this study seeks to identify, examine, and highlight theseoutlined issues to address the gap in knowledge in the subject area. It isenvisaged that the findings will benefit managers and organizationsseeking to improve workplace diversity, promote productivity andmaximize profits in the increasingly competitive climate of globalbusiness and organizational management.
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