Towards an Inclusive Workplace in Practice through Diversity Management

This essay evaluates the concept of diversity management and the reasons leading today's brands to focus more on it in the context of Australia. It discusses the efforts organisations can take to improve the diversity scenario in the workplace. The essay also highlights the advantages and disadvantages of diversity management and suggests that effective designing and implementing diversity management policy within the business operational manual may significantly contribute towards an efficient attainment of corporate goals and objectives in the most cost-efficient and productive manner and thereby achievement of sustainability in the long-run.

TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE IN PRACTICE THROUGH
DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Introduction
Diversity management has been defined as the practice of supporting and addressing numerous
lifestyles and individual attributes within a delineated group. The concept specifically includes
aspects like educating a diversified group and offering sufficient support to them to gain
acceptance and respect or various culture, race, geography, background, economy and political
backgrounds. As per Rice (2015), the factors responsible for the inclusion of diversity
management within the workplace are demographic, creative thinking abilities, dealing with
uncertainties, business expansion, cross-functional, risk-taking attitude, high growth, etc.
The present essay attempts to evaluate the concept of diversity management and the reasons
leading today's brands to focus more on it in the context of Australia. The efforts organisations
can take to improve the diversity scenario in the workplace would be discussed. Finally, the
researcher wraps up the discussion by way of concluding note.
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Diversity Management: Towards an Inclusive Workplace Practice
Initial steps that could be introduced in an organisational context for the purpose of assessing the
situation that may require implementation of diversity management within the workplace may
involve cultural supervision that plays a significant function in the organization of a diverse
team. It specially orients resources from dissimilar cultural background regarding the latest
activities or surroundings they managed to establish themselves in (Rice, 2015). Supervisors to
monitor the process could be introduced in several manners, for example, individual person, an
association, group of people, a discussion group and so on, with the purpose of deriving
maximum benefits from the working surroundings in which diverse culture and suppositions
meet (Zanoni, 2014). One would identify the fact that being an effectual cultural adviser does not
need to repeatedly depend on any commencement of sophistication. This is how the resources
witness the supervising relationship that verifies its achievement.
The background of diversity management strategies may lie on the fact that the management of a
business organisation must value its human resources and its cultural variations with utmost
sincerity and as a weapon to fight the un-sustainability (Wrench, 2016). The management should
be conscious of its both merits and demerits to have to use wise methods in the final decision-
making processes within the workplace. High levels of productivity within the organisation have
been one of the chief challenges for management and line managers and also to the company in
common as well (Barak, 2016). As a result of the fact that all businesses have its individual
exceptional internal structure and goals, dissimilar policies might be utilised to address or
challenge the business with the intention of enhancing final productivity. One of those policies
includes implementing workplace diversity and organising it successfully. In other words, the
strategy sets in the given context may involve consideration of situational impact, the effect of
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application of diversity management approaches within the workplace and the control and follow
up mechanism for training and application purposes.
It has been assessed that in the modern times, collaboration in the team is enhancing supported
by organisations as a source of ensuring improved results on performance and moreover for the
product delivery and designing of service lines. Riccucci (2018) denoted that a single resource
taking numerous accountabilities cannot execute at the similar speed, which a team as a whole
could perform; consequently every team member contributes dissimilar ideas to the management
table and provide a unique viewpoint regarding problem-solving actions to successfully reach the
finest way out at the minimal probable time.
In addition, Barak (2016) denoted that workplace diversity develops several occasions for
resources’ individual growth. The moment workforce is uncovered before ant new culture,
notions and through the process, it might assist each individual to rationally reach a definite
conclusion and gain a transparent insight of the working environment in the global content and
perform accordingly. The extra time spent with ethnically assorted co-workers can gradually
slow down the intuitive restrictions of Xeno- 18 irrational fears and ethnocentrism, henceforth
influencing workforce to be more knowledgeable executive of the community with the passage
of time and help them to deal with any sudden uncertainties (Rice, 2015).
On the other hand, Sabharwal (2014) stated the point that diversity also incurs unnecessary costs
as well. To enhance the degree of employee satisfaction ate, diversity in the workplace can
sometimes be expensive. Herein, management strives effectively to manage its workforce having
different backgrounds, the employees are required to undergo effective training schedules to
adapt with either different cultures, mindsets, perspective, language, etc. Moreover, Janssens &
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Zanoni (2014) stated that another noteworthy demerit of functioning with a varied workforce are
unfairness in the division of both leaders and subordinates. It can subsist yet can be termed as a
hidden aspect of a disappointingly unorganised workplace. When a resource is discriminated
with others, it definitely affects his potentials and expertise to perform full heartedly and
moreover, creates the insight of impartiality and creates problems like litigation.
Effective managing of workplace diversity necessitates the leaders to identify certain expertise
that plays a vital role in developing an effectual and flourishing diverse team member.
Departmental managers need to comprehend the fact that bias and its consequences would
forever overcome in the business (Barak, 2016). Leaders should identify their individual
intellectual preferences. They must observe an assortment as the disparities amongst different
individuals and agree to the fact that every person is exceptional in a particular manner.
Furthermore, leaders shall be prepared to alter the business culture during it urgent need and be
trained to efficiently supervise the varied labour force with the purpose of being successful in the
near future.
Unfortunately there has been no distinct method that a business might pertain for being
successful; consequently, it relies on the capability of leaders to find out the best-suited methods
tallies with the company’s team performances and also with the overall workplace dynamics.
While developing effectual and unbeaten varied workers, a leader in the very initial stage needs
to emphasise on individual consciousness (Zanoni, 2014). Both managers and employees are
required to sketch out individual unfairness. A single day training session is not adequate to
modify employees’ mind and thought process, as a result, brands are required to continually
grow, execute, and uphold continuing preparation and knowledge creation.
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In this context, it may be noted that the success of diversity management strategies may be
assessed through regular follow up with the staffs in terms of their feelings and grievances, the
operational smoothness by way of turnaround time and process efficiency, flow of
communication channel within the workplace and also its effect on the hierarchical structure of
the organisation.
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Conclusion
Based on the discussion and analysis performed in the preceding sections of the essay, the
researcher may have drawn the concluding statement that refers to the fact that diversity
management within the workplace has become a significant aspect to gain long-term success.
However, the process comes with several advantages and disadvantages as well. An effective
designed diversity management strategy within the workplace influences productivity of the
operations to a large extent. Thus, managers need to help resources with adequate training to
efficiently learn the techniques to deal with the shortcomings of diversity management. Frequent
training and knowledge awareness can assist the workforce to be flexible with diversified
behaviours and approaches, which can reduce the scope of conflict and raise profitability.
Finally, it may be concluded that the effective designing and implementing diversity
management policy within the business operational manual may significantly contribute towards
an efficient attainment of corporate goals and objectives in most cost efficient and productive
manner and thereby achievement of sustainability in the long-run.
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References:
Barak, M. E. M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications.
Janssens, M., & Zanoni, P. (2014). Alternative diversity management: Organizational practices
fostering ethnic equality at work. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 30(3), 317-331.
Riccucci, N. (2018). Managing Diversity In Public Sector Workforces: Essentials Of Public
Policy And Administration Series. Routledge.
Rice, M. F. (2015). Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe.
Sabharwal, M. (2014). Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further
performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 197-217.
Wrench, J. (2016). Diversity management and discrimination: Immigrants and ethnic minorities
in the EU. Routledge.
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