Diversity in Business

This article discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in business organizations. It explores the impact of diversity on productivity, innovation, and economic growth. It also addresses the negative effects of stereotyping and provides strategies to reduce stereotypical behavior in the workplace. Additionally, it includes a review of a Harvard Business Review article on promoting Asian Americans in leadership roles and a discussion on the competencies necessary for achieving diversity and inclusion in organizations.

Running Head: DIVERSITY IN BUSINESS
Diversity in Business
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Topic – Diversity in the workforce
1. What is diversity and inclusion? How important do you think it is to everyone? To
business and industry?
Diversity is considered to be a range of differences in human which is not limited to the
ethnicity, race, gender identity, age, social class, sexual orientation, attributes, national origin
and the political beliefs. On the other hand, inclusion can be referred to as empowerment,
involvement where the dignity of people is identified (Valantine & Collins, 2015). I believe
diversity and inclusion must be promoted in every organization in order to sustain a sense of
belonging. It is a way of respecting the beliefs, talents, backgrounds and the living of the
members. In the context of business in the organizations, a culture of diversity and inclusion
must be promoted. It is because the recruitment from a diverse pool of individuals means a
talented and qualified workforce. An inclusive and diverse workforce supports an organization
to avoid the employee burnout expenses. A creative and innovative culture is fostered in the
organization. A diversified workforce is a great driver of the economic growth and helps to get a
huge share of the consumer market. On the other hand, inclusion empowers the employees who
in turn provide greater productivity. They feel proud to belong to a particular organization.
1. How can stereotyping negatively affect diversity in organizations? What can
individuals and organizations do to reduce people’s propensity to stereotype and
their reactions to stereotypical situations.
The term “stereotyping” in the workplace refers to people’s habit of making assumptions
about a person’s culture or gender. It also founded on people’s assumptions by physical
appearance or religion. Although many stereotyping is done innocently, but hurting a person’s

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emotions can negatively affect the work environment and create a sense of discrimination too.
Notably, a culture of discrimination can result in high productivity issue, company PR challenges
and legal problems too (Riccucci, 2018). On the individuals, it also leaves negative effects such
the feeling of disrespect, loss of satisfaction and motivation in the workplace and leads to
anxiety. In order to reduce the such stereotypical behavior on the workplace, the organizations
must conduct the diversity trainings, the role playing reviews and workshops. The training
programs help the employees realize their own actions are inappropriate. It is a significant part of
establishing a workforce that understands and sympathizes with each other and celebrates the
differences.
2. Read and Discuss the Harvard Business Review article “Asian Americans
Are the Least Likely Group in the U.S. to be Promoted to Management” by Buck
Gee and Denise Peck. Groysberg,
The article states that the Asian- Americans are the “most successful U.S demographic.
However, this success is not being translated into the role of senior management. On the other
hand, it is also suggested sometimes that the Asian –Americans are the least likely groups which
ae promoted into the leadership ranks. For the tech jobs, this group among all other are hired the
least. The article further reveals that the Asian –American group are classified as the non-
underrepresented group in the organizations. the women of this group are considered to be of a
vague category and are not focused on for the leadership posts (Hbr.org. (2019). Hence as per the
HBR article the leaders and the HR professionals in the organizations must include the Asian
Americans for achieving the goals. They must also promote them for the leadership posts. In this
regard, I would like to comment that the HR leaders should go beyond the hiring, recruitment

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and inclusion. Instead, they must put advancement to the ranks of the management as a special
part of their organizations. It will function as a key to build innovation in the workforce.
3. According to The Conference Boards article on Creating a Competency
Model for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners, which competencies are necessary
to achieve diversity and inclusion in organizations? Discuss.
According to the Conference Boards article, there are few competencies applicable to the
D & I practitioners for achieving diversity and inclusion in the workforce. As per the
competency model the competencies are as follows:
The cultural competence – The ability to understand multiple values, cultural frameworks and
norms. The knowledge of cross–cultural dimensions, misunderstandings, conflicts and
opportunities.
Negotiation and Facilitation- One must have the ability to negotiate through conflicts, cultural
differences, misunderstandings and tensions.
Continuous learning – One must be able to recognize one’s privileges, filters and cultural
preferences. One must seek and utilize diversified feedbacks (Conference-board.org, 2019).
Complex Group Dynamics – One should understand the complex group dynamics and manage it
effectively.
Judgement – The person should be able to discern when to advocate, resolve more decisively.
Expertise in subject matter – The person has to have the ability the manage D & I council. He/
She should collaborate with the other functional teams.
4. Define and discuss Multiculturalism.

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The term “multiculturalism” refers to the co-existence of different cultures which
includes diverse religious, racial cultures, groups which manifests customary behaviors, values,
cultural assumptions, patterns of thinking and communicative styles(Garg Pandey &
Vashishta,2017). In this regard, a multi-cultural organization can be considered as a workforce
where people from various backgrounds come and work together. A multicultural organization
contributes by their unique perspectives which is founded on various characteristics of the
individual and their backgrounds. A multicultural organization can easily avoid the prejudice,
discrimination easily and promote talent and skills.
5. Read and Discuss the Pitney Bowes Case: A Legacy of Diversity Management by
Carol P. Harvey. Page 48 U & MD Text. Answer Question #1 on Page 53.
In the Pitney Bowes Case, it is quite clear that diversity is integrated into the management
practices and systems at Pitney Bowes. It is the example of such a corporation where diversity is
used as a competitive advantage. It has been made a globalization strategy for the company.
However, it can be said that with the global expansion, the maintenance of diversity as a value
can become challenging in future. There are some forces or factors which promote the
organizational diversity such as the presence of empowered and educated managers (Garg
Pandey & Vashishta,2017). The presence of diversity-friendly workforce policies is also
necessary. There should be proper communication and employee led task force should also be
there. The mentorship programs are equally important for promoting and supporting diversity in
the workforce. On the other hand, there are some other forces which pose as barriers to the
organizational diversity (Cho, Kim & Mor Barak,2017). These are the communication barriers
and lack of proper communication, the resistance to change, the equity of wage, the cognitive
biases and stereotypes, homophily (the tendency to categorize an individual and generalize other

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similar people with him/her). These are the forces to be addressed in future for a diverse
workforce.

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Reference
Cho, S., Kim, A., & Mor Barak, M. E. (2017). Does diversity matter? Exploring workforce
diversity, diversity management, and organizational performance in social
enterprises. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 11(3), 193-204.
Conference-board.org. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.conference-board.org/pdf_free/councils/TCBCP005.pdf
Garg, S., Pandey, D. K., & Vashishta, A. (2017). Workforce diversity management
techniques. ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management
Research, 7(4), 41-46.
Hbr.org. (2019). Asian Americans Are the Least Likely Group in the U.S. to Be Promoted to
Management. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/05/asian-americans-are-the-least-
likely-group-in-the-u-s-to-be-promoted-to-management
Riccucci, N. (2018). Managing Diversity In Public Sector Workforces: Essentials Of Public
Policy And Administration Series. Routledge.
Valantine, H. A., & Collins, F. S. (2015). National Institutes of Health addresses the science of
diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(40), 12240-12242.