Diversity and Equality: Policies, Practices, and Legislation Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of diversity and equality practices within two organizations: The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), a UK-based healthcare software firm, and Marriott International, a global hospitality company. The report begins by examining TPP's diversity and equality policies, including its adherence to UK legislation such as the Equality Act 2010, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Race Relations Act 1976, and Human Rights Act 1998. It explores TPP's recruitment, promotion, and salary policies, highlighting how the company aims to provide equal opportunities for all employees. The second part of the report shifts to an international context, analyzing Marriott International's approach to diversity and equality across its global operations. It focuses on Marriott's strategies for adapting to different international cultures, including the use of multicultural tools and resources, and the development of a multi-generational workforce. The report concludes with a reflective section, discussing the impact of the assessment on the student's understanding of diversity and equality in the workplace and its relevance to their career development.

Diversity and Equality
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Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................4
Assessment 1........................................................................................................................................4
Assessment 2........................................................................................................................................7
Evaluation of the diversity and equality practices in an international context................................7
Different international cultural contexts.....................................................................................8
References...........................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Equality and diversity are the terms which are used for the equal opportunities within
organisation. It is essential for companies to follow all laws and regulations for promoting equality
in their working environment. For this, it is the legal obligation to prevent employees against
discrimination. It can be related to the gender, disability, marital status, belief, race, age, language
and many more. Implementation of proper policies and practices for removing differentiation
results to develop effective organisational culture (van Dijk, van Engen and Paauwe, 2012).
For the present study, two companies i.e. national and international are taken into the
consideration. Report gives emphasis to the diversity and equality policies and practices,
legislations for promoting equality and analysis of company's efforts against them. For the first
assessment, evaluations are taken place on the basis of national context whereas for assessment 2, it
is with respect to the international context.
ASSESSMENT 1
Introduction of the national firm:
The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) is a UK based firm which delivers world class and high
quality services with respect to the healthcare software. Innovative and highly technological
products of company include SystmConnect, SystmInsight, SystmOne and SystmOnline. Main aim
of organisation is to improve the access to clinical data and empowering the service users for their
proper care. TPP is delivering its services over 5,000 health and social care organisation in UK
including around 2,700 GP practices. Along with this, it manages over 40 million records of the
patients. Company is helping social care firms by resolving their problems regarding non-
communicable disease among ageing population.
Diversity and Equality policies and practices:
TPP is one of the popular organisations in UK which is also listed in “The Sunday Times
100 Best small companies to work for 2015”. The objective of company is to expand its business by
delivering quality services to the customers (Sang and Powell, 2012).
For achieving the objectives, it is essential for any company to provide effective working
environment to its employees. Workplace includes diversities on the basis of religion, language,
nationality, ethnicity, perception, beliefs, etc. For implementing proper policies and practices with
respect to the equality and diversity, it is important to understand and recognise the present
differences among workers first within organisation. After this, firms can implement effective
policies for handling and managing them. Improper management of differentiation results to cause
disputes and grievances among staff members affects the performance and productivity of company
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(Coleman, 2012).
In context to this, TPP is a popular firm in the UK and it also includes diversities among
workers. For the accomplishment of objectives, it is necessary for company to have cooperative,
open and friendly working environment. For handling diversities and promoting equality among
staff members, various policies and practices regarding it are implemented at the workplace. In UK,
it is essential for the organisations to adhere with certain practices for eliminating any type of
discrimination from their workplace for meeting expectations of employees regarding equality. TPP
is also promoting equality in the working environment for offering equal opportunities to the staff
regardless of their race, age, disability, culture, etc (Holgate and et.al., 2012.).
Policies and practices of firm are developed by considering UK laws and regulations with
respect to the diversity and equality which are as follows: Equality Act 2010: This law prevents employees from any type of discrimination at the
workplace. TPP uses this act by including it into the policy for offering equal treatments
with respect to the employment. Under this, company is not able to distinguish any
candidate at the time of hiring on the basis of their disability, gender reassignment or
anything else (Vertovec, 2012). Sex Discrimination Act 1975: This act protects men and women employees from
discrimination on the name of sex and marital status. This helps in promoting equality
between male and female workers of company. TPP also follows this act for providing
opportunities on the basis of skills, knowledge and abilities of staff members regardless of
their gender (Jonsen and et.al., 2013). Disability Discrimination Act 1995: This is for preventing disabled individuals from
differentiation within working environment. It is essential for candidates to provide
reasonable medical criteria for getting employment. TPP follows this act for reducing the
chances of differentiation among staff members. With the help of this, company tries to
maintain harmony and respect among employees for achieving objectives (Tatli and
Özbilgin, 2012.). Race Relations Act 1976: According to this, it is unlawful for any organisation to treat an
individual less favourably as compared to another on the basis of racial grounds. This act
includes factors regarding race, colour, nationality and ethnic origin in the area of
employment, education, public functions and many more. TPP has implemented this act in
its workplace for developing effective relations among workers (Martín Alcázar and et.al.,
2013).
 Human Rights Act 1998: As per this act, it is unlawful for any public body like police, local
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authorities, hospitals, etc. to act in an incompatible manner. This law protects the right of
human beings and makes them to enjoy freedom under laws and regulations It includes right
to life, thought, belief, religion, education, peaceful enjoyment, liberty, security, expression,
marry and many more. Organisations are not allowed to work against the human rights act.
It is essential for them to offer full freedom and employment rights to the workers.
All the above laws and regulations are developed by UK government for handling diversities
among organisations and promoting equality. In context to them, TPP follows all laws and
regulations which help it in handling available diversities at the workplace in an effective manner
(Bell and et.al., 2011.). With respect to the above legislations, policies followed by organisation are
explained as below:
Recruitment:
TPP follows effective policies and procedures for recruitment and selection process. All
applications with respect to the vacant post are treated properly and fairly so that nobody can be
rejected by the authorities due to their colour, gender, etc (Baillie and Matiti, 2013. For this,
organisation develops job description and person specification properly for evaluating all candidates
against the same criteria. Along with this, different media like magazines, internet and newspaper
are used by TPP for informing people about the vacant post. At the end, interview is taken by panel
for considering the views of more than one expert while hiring the right candidate (Oswick and
Noon, 2014).
Promotion:
TPP offers equal opportunities for promotion to the staff members on the basis of their
performance and work efficiency (Oswick and Noon, 2014). No employee is restricted to promote
at higher position due to their colour, religion, language, perception, belief, etc. This leads to
meeting all the expectations and requirements of the workers which tends to increase their
satisfaction level. As per the policy of the firm, discussions and meetings are take place between the
leaders and their team members for improving the performance and handling any issue. Along with
this, policy includes need assessment for identifying the development requirements of the staff and
as per that appropriate actions are taken by the company. The policy also has provision of
conducting performance appraisals for evaluating the performance of the employees and offering
them rewards accordingly (Wald, 2011).
Salary:
Company has policy of treating the employees equally and offering them equal
opportunities. Under the law of equality, TPP offers equal pay to the employees as per their position
and job. There is no differentiation related to the pay among the workers due to the age, gender,
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sexuality and many more. The chances of paying more to an employee as compare to his/her
colleague are less and if there are any such cases then it is will due to the more experience or long
period of working. Equal pay to the co-workers help in developing effective relations among them
which leads to create cooperation and coordination within the workplace (Tatli, 2011).
Policies and procedures in the above fields results TPP to handle its diversities effectively
without any dispute. There is positive and beneficial effect on the performance and work efficiency
of the staff members which leads to achieve organisational goals. Staff members of the firm feel
empowered due to their knowledge and skills. It also helps in enhancing the confident and
motivation level of the workers which makes them to give their best in developing innovative and
high quality healthcare software (Özbilgin and Tatli, 2011).
Reflective
From the above analysis, I found that it is important for organisations to handle available
diversities properly. This assessment changes my personal values, beliefs and emotions towards the
diversity and equality within the company. It increases my knowledge in the field of UK laws and
regulations for preventing individuals from any type of differentiation. This assessment develops
my research skills and makes me to collect relevant information as per the subject. The information
regarding the equality and diversity management will also help me in my career development and
growth.
ASSESSMENT 2
Evaluation of the diversity and equality practices in an international context
Introduction about the company
Marriott International is an American based hospitality firm which manages a wide portfolio
of the hotels. It is working at global level in over 80 nations and territories across the world. In
these countries, Marriott have 4,500 properties. Its brand includes signature brand, luxury, lifestyle,
destination entertainment, select-service lodging, timeshare, Great America Parks, Conference
centres, etc. High quality services are delivered by the organisation to the customers. The hotel is
satisfying its clients by offering them high standard accommodation with facility of gym, spa,
swimming pool, gaming zone, etc.
Different practices according to the different international cultures
Marriott is providing its services to the people of different countries. Each nation has its own
culture and social life which makes it different from the other. At the time of international
expansion, it is essential for the companies to understand the culture of that particular nation or
region. This helps in successful achievement of the objectives with respect to the expansion. In
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context to it, Marriott conduct proper research for collecting all the information about the region in
which it is going to open up its hotel. After this, organisation develops strategies according to the
culture of the nation. The hotel evolves its diversity and inclusion goals for supporting growth and
success at global level (Baillie and Matiti, 2013).
The practices take places by the Marriott in different international culture are as follows:
Multicultural Tools and Resources:
Marriott has developed multicultural tool and resources for helping its managers to
understand the differences among the cultures of the nations. This leads to create awareness among
the leaders and managers of the company for taking effective decisions and selecting proper
strategies for handling the diversities among the culture and social life of the countries. For
example: the culture of India is completely different from the UK. According to the culture of India,
Marriott offers vegetarian food products along with the non-vegetarian. The taste of the food is also
different from the UK food items (Murray and Urban, 2011).
Development of the multi-generational workforce:
Marriott focuses on development of the multi-generational workforce practice for handling
and managing the diversities effectively. Under the guidance and suggestions of the experienced
and senior workers, newly hired young employees can work effectively. Along with this, for better
understanding of the culture, company hires the new staff from the nation itself where it wants to
establish new hotel (Diversity and Inlusion,2016). This results to offer proper and quality services
to the customers according to their culture and social life. This also leads to handle the language
issue. For example: In china people speaks Chinese and for successful implementation of the hotel
it is important for Marriott to understand the language. For resolving this problem, firm recruits new
staff so that they can deal with the customers properly (Thompson, 2016.).
Different international cultural contexts
There are different types of culture that are embraced by Marriott hotel so that diversity and
equality is maintained equally (van Dijk, van Engen and Paauwe, 2012). The American Caribbean
and the Latin America have globally mentored all the women through these countries so that they
can explore more and more opportunities across the globe. They have also provided employment to
numerous youths by providing them effective training and skills. Through our partnerships with the
National Urban League Young Professionals (NUL) and the National Council of La Raza Lideres
Initiative they have also provided scholarship to annually so that they can expand their business in
both horizontal as well as vertical way. Asia pacific has also been considered as worldwide diverse
continents because it has helped many worldwide youths to introduce hotel careers with the help of
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gaining skills and other knowledge. It provides many facilities for different types of travellers and
tourist who visits Marriott hotel (Sang and Powell, 2012). It specially organises welcome program
features a suite of customized amenities and services that are very common in China and Taiwan.
For providing diverse culture and services to all the customers and tourist The Asia Society of
Marriott hotel was honoured with Global Business Leadership Award. This helped in building more
effective cultures so that they are able to explore more and more diversities across nation.
With the help of World of Opportunity Europe the Marriott hotel in Europe are providing
best quality hospitality services to youngsters and other individuals. They have also provided
numerous employment opportunities to citizens of Europe so that they are able to serve the nation in
a better way (Holgate and et.al., 2012.). They also provide training and vocational opportunities by
conducting various programs so that they are able to explore different cultures of Continental
Europe. The hotel in Europe has recently created more than 20,000 career opportunities for young
people aged 16-25 which is to be filled by the end of 2020. This will also provide various
placements, scholarship apprenticeships, and training and development courses for all the students
(Vertovec, 2012). This helps in producing a positive impact at communal level in Europe and other
nations. Majority of women graduates in Middle East and Africa are enrolled in hotel management
industry so that they are able to serve all the citizens of different nations especially of Middle East
and Africa. This helps in opening the Kigali Marriott Hotel as supervisors and trainers in by the end
of 2016. These diverse cultures are very beneficial for promoting equality and diversity in the
nation. In Marriott hotel people from different countries arrive for the purpose of visiting so it is the
responsibility of staff members of the entire organisation to treat various individuals and fairly and
equally so that all inequalities are eliminated (Jonsen and et.al., 2013). There are many students
who come from different countries and nations to pursue education in the field of hotel management
and other faculties. So they should also be treated equally by creating an inclusive culture so that
they are able to adjust in new culture.
Different centres of Marriott hotel also ensures that all the students and individuals who
arrive in their hotels are able to access all the possible opportunities so that they are able to
participate in all the learning process which are related to their fields (Tatli and Özbilgin, 2012).
Apart from students all the staff members who are employed in Marriott hotel at various places
should also be provided with basic training and awareness so that they are able to challenge all the
type of inequality and discrimination that is present between different cultures and ethnic groups.
This will help in promoting equality and diversity throughout the world (Martín Alcázar and et.al.,
2013). If all the students are not treated equally then they will not be able to participate in various
activities which are related to their studies. This can create a hindrance in accessing all the
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opportunities which are available for students around the world.
Personal values, beliefs, and attitudes
I have learned different things from this report of diversity and equality. Various aspects of
diversity and equality helped me in creating awareness about different cultures and groups that
exists in the world. It is very important to treat all the individuals equally because all of them have
the right to live their lives in their own structured way. If a person is not able to accept another
culture or groups then it creates potential conflicts between different cultures. It is not beneficial to
have conflicts between different members and groups because it leads to disturbance in harmony
and peace of the nation and on individual basis. Further, I have also learned that it is also very
important for all the hospitality management to treat their workers equally and should also provide
them equal pay according to their skills and work. If they are not given equal treatment or if there is
inequality present between them then it will certainly reflect the work which is performed by the
workers. If they are not treated equally among themselves then they will also not treat everyone
equally. This will lead to discrimination and inequality which will disturb the cultural balance
between nations of different countries. Hence it is very necessary for all organisations to provide
training to their staff members so that they are able to treat all the customers and travellers equally
and with respect.
I have also learned that all the nations should embrace different cultures and tradition so that
they are able to explore various kinds of aspects related to the culture. This is very beneficial for
maintaining partnership as it helps in knowing different people. It also assists in exchanging
information and ideas between different people so that they can proceed towards better growth and
development of different organisation. Fair and equal treatment for all the cultures helps in building
peace between nations which is very necessary for maintaining relationships for different purpose.
Hence it is very beneficial to maintain equality and diversity so that all individuals are able to adapt
to cultures and traditions of their choices.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Tilly, L., Diversity and Equality.
Thompson, N., 2016. Anti-discriminatory practice: Equality, diversity and social justice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Murray, C. and Urban, M., 2011. Diversity and equality in early childhood. Gill & Macmillan.
Baillie, L. and Matiti, M., 2013. Dignity, equality and diversity: an exploration of how
discriminatory behaviour of healthcare workers affects patient dignity.Diversity & Equality
in Health and Care.
Özbilgin, M. and Tatli, A., 2011. Mapping out the field of equality and diversity: Rise of
individualism and voluntarism. Human Relations. 64(9). pp.1229-1253.
Tatli, A., 2011. A multi‐layered exploration of the diversity management field: diversity discourses,
practices and practitioners in the UK. British Journal of Management. 22(2). pp.238-253.
Wald, E., 2011. Primer on Diversity, Discrimination, and Equality in the Legal Profession or Who is
Responsible for Pursuing Diversity and Why, A. Geo. J. Legal Ethics. 24. p.1079.
Oswick, C. and Noon, M., 2014. Discourses of diversity, equality and inclusion: trenchant
formulations or transient fashions?. British Journal of Management. 25(1). pp.23-39.
Bell, M.P. and et.al., 2011. Voice, silence, and diversity in 21st century organizations: Strategies for
inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees. Human Resource
Management. 50(1). pp.131-146.
Martín Alcázar, F. and et.al., 2013. Workforce diversity in strategic human resource management
models: A critical review of the literature and implications for future research. Cross
Cultural Management: An International Journal. 20(1). pp.39-49.
Tatli, A. and Özbilgin, M.F., 2012. An emic approach to intersectional study of diversity at work: a
Bourdieuan framing. International Journal of Management Reviews. 14(2). pp.180-200.
Jonsen, K. and et.al., 2013. The tragedy of the uncommons: Reframing workforce diversity. Human
Relations. 66(2). pp.271-294.
Vertovec, S., 2012. “Diversity” and the social imaginary. European Journal of Sociology. 53(03).
pp.287-312.
Holgate, J. and et.al., 2012. Equality and diversity in employment relations: do we practise what we
preach?. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal. 31(4). pp.323-339.'
Coleman, M., 2012. Leadership and diversity. Educational management administration &
leadership. 40(5). pp.592-609.
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