Diversity Management in the Workplace: Benefits, Strategies, and Recommendations

This report discusses the concept of diversity in the workplace, its benefits, strategies for addressing potential issues, and recommendations for promoting a culturally safe and inclusive workforce. It also includes an analysis of the diverse workforce of ABC Advertisement.

Running head: DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
Diversity Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
The report sheds light on the concept of diversity and the various benefits that the effective
utilization of this concept provides to the various organizations. This analysis will be
undertaken on the basis of the company “ABC Advertisement”. The report begins by
introducing the different types of diversity which exists within the framework of this
organization. Next, an analysis of the manner in which I can respect the diversity within the
organization has been undertaken. The report also discusses about the strategies which can be
used by the organization for the resolution of the diverse cultural tensions and others. The
report next undertakes an analysis of the various benefits that the effective utilization of this
concept can provide to the diverse organizations. Finally, the report concludes by providing
various recommendations like enhancing the cultural competencies of the employees,
rewarding the employees on the basis of their performance rather than on the basis of their
cultural or social background for the creation of a culturally safe and an inclusive workplace.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Different types of diversity........................................................................................................4
Demonstration of respect for differences in the team................................................................4
Strategies for being proactive and addressing potential issues..................................................5
Advantages of diversity in the workforce..................................................................................6
Recommendations......................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The status quo of the world has changed in a substantial manner in the recent times
and as a matter of fact the various workplaces can be seen as the amalgamation of the diverse
cultural as well as ethnic groups (Benschop 2016). As per Riccucci (2018), the net result of
this is the fact that individuals from diverse social as well as cultural or ethnic groups are
required to work in close association with each other for the uniform growth of the an
organization. These diversified workforces which are a part of the majority of the
organizations offer various benefits to the concerned organization like it improves the talent
pool of the organization, enhances the employee performance and others (Harvey and Allard
2015). However, Martin (2014) is of the viewpoint that there are various factors which the
organizations need to take into effective consideration for the effective management of these
diversified workforces like the cultural factors, communication factors and others.
I work in an advertisement organization which is called “ABC Advertisement” and
the company designs the various promotional advertisements and media campaigns for the
other organization. The organization boosts of an employee strength of around 40 people
however not all of them are Australians. For example, some of them are Indians, Torres Strait
Islanders and others. This has enriched the diversity of the workforce and has also improved
its performance. This report will discuss about the types of diversity which are there in my
workplace, my respect for the diversity of the organization, my strategies for being proactive
and addressing potential issues related to diversity. The report also discusses the advantages
of this diverse workforce in terms of productivity, culture and others. Finally, some
recommendations through which the organisation can promote a culturally safe and more
inclusive workforce have been provided. Briefly, this report will show that the construct of
diversity has not only enriched the performance of the organisation but also its culture.

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Different types of diversity
In the framework of the contemporary workplaces it is seen that there are various
types of diverse like gender, age, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion,
socioeconomic background, personality and others. The organization that I work for also
boosts of such kinds of diversities although there are only 40 employees. There are 4 Indians,
3 Torres Strait Islanders along with the other Australians in the organization. In addition to
this, the organization has around 21 women in its workforce. Furthermore, the number of
young individuals who are below the age of 35 years is around 25 in comparison to the
remaining 15 individuals who are over the age of 35 years. However, in terms of religion it
can be said that the organization is not that diverse since it is seen that the majority of these
employees follow the religion of Christianity. Moreover, the diversity in the workforce also
becomes apparent in the socio-economic background of the individuals since it is seen that
the employees are from different socio-economic backgrounds and also from different
educational backgrounds. Thus, on the basis of these statistics it can be said that the
workforce of the organization is a fairly diversified one.
Demonstration of respect for differences in the team
I would like to say that I not only try to respect the individual diversity of these
employees in the organization but also try to foster a team environment within the
organization by helping to resolve the diversity issues that these individuals often face.
Furthermore, at the same time, I try to create the kind of environment or culture within the
team wherein these individuals will not only get along with each other but at the same time
contribute in a positive manner towards the improvement of the performance of the other
individuals. I firmly believe that the individual difference of these employees not only makes
the workplace of the organization a unique one but also contributes towards the efficiency of

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the organization in a significant manner. In addition to these, I personally feel these diverse
individuals by virtue of having different intellectual property and also cultural intelligence are
being able to not only handle the different kinds of work of the organization in a much more
effective manner but also contribute towards the growth of the organization in an adequate
manner.
Strategies for being proactive and addressing potential issues
There are various issues or problems that the organizations with regards to the
effective management of these diverse workforce within the framework of their organization.
For example, one of the most common issues or problems that the organizations face with
regards to the effective management of these diverse workforces is the tensions which are
related to cultural differences (Barak 2016). It is seen that these individuals from diverse
backgrounds besides having different cultural traditions also follow language patterns and
communication styles which are drastically different from the ones followed in the mainland
civilization of Australia (Hatipoglu and Inelmen 2018). In this regard, the friendly manner of
conversation and also friendly handshakes and other kinds of gestures of the Australians
becomes an important one which is not there in the other cultures of the other individuals
(Gordon 2018). This is one of the major reasons along with the language differences which
contribute to a significant amount of tension within our workplace.
The management team of the organization has taken various measures for the
resolution of these tensions and also to ensure the creation of a congenial cohesive culture in
the organization. For example, in order to develop the cultural intelligence and also the
competency of the employees the management team of the organization regularly organizes
various kinds of cultural workshops wherein the employees are encouraged to discuss their
culture (De Jesus-Rivas, Conlon and Burns 2016). This not only helps the employees to

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understand the cultures of their colleagues but also enables them to convey the necessary
information regarding their own culture to their colleagues (Greene and Kirton 2015).
Furthermore, the management team of the organization in order to reduce the cultural
tensions also takes the help of the process of employee engagement. Through the active
utilization of this particular concept the management team has been able to not only increase
the engagement and also the interaction among the employees but also reduce the tensions
among the employees as well (Lynch 2017). In addition to these, the instances of tensions or
disputes all the employees involved in the process are given the opportunity to place their
views and perspectives before the authority and the decisions reached by the authority are
made taking into effective consideration the perspective of all the parties involved in the
process (Meyers and Vallas 2016).
Advantages of diversity in the workforce
The effective utilisation of the concept of diversity provides various kinds of benefits
to the contemporary organisations. According to Harvey and Allard (2015) one of the major
advantages of diversity in the workplace is the fact that it enhances the talent pool of the
concerned organisation in a substantial manner. Individuals from diverse cultural as well as
social background bring in not only different kinds of talents or resources to the organisation
but at the same time help in the completion of the various tasks of the organisation in an
effective manner (Gordon 2018). Secondly, the effective utilisation of the concept of
diversity within the workforce encourages not only the organisation but also the employees to
utilize the construct of innovation for the completion of the various tasks in an innovation
manner (Barak 2016). This has a direct correlation with the overall organisational
productivity and also the individual productivity of the employees as well. The employees
through their interaction with their colleagues from other cultural and social backgrounds are

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able acquire new skills and talents which can affect their job performance in a positive
manner (Lynch 2017). Thus, it can be said that the use of the concept of diversity in the
workplace has helped the organisation in a substantial manner.
Recommendations
The organisation can follow various steps or measures to promote a culturally safe
and more inclusive workforce. Firstly, the organisation can begin by enhancing the cultural
competency of the employees which will not only reduce the cultural tensions among the
employees but would also help in the creation of a culture wherein the individuals would feel
culturally safe. Secondly, the organisation needs to appreciate the employees on the basis of
the hard work and the effort that they put in for their work rather than on the basis of their
culture or social class. This will not only improve the culture of the organisation and thereby
the performance of the employees but would also help in the creation of a more inclusive
workforce.
Conclusion
To conclude, the concept of diversity has become one of the most important ones in
the present times and various enterprises are activity taking the help of this concept within
their workplace. The effective utilisation of this process provides various benefits to the
organisations like the enhancement of the performance level of the employees, increasing the
talent pool of the organisation and others. However, at the same time, it is seen that the
organisations need to develop various strategies for the mitigation of the adverse effects of
the cultural tensions which arises because of the diversity of the workforce. Furthermore, the
effectiveness as well as the efficiency of these diverse workforces depends on the extent to
which these organisations are being able to mitigate the adverse effects of these cultural
tensions and disputes.

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References
Barak, M.E.M., 2016. Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications.
Benschop, Y. 2016. The dubious power of diversity management. In Diversity in the
Workplace (pp. 35-48). Routledge.
De Jesus-Rivas, M., Conlon, H.A. and Burns, C., 2016. The impact of language and culture
diversity in occupational safety. Workplace health & safety, 64(1), pp.24-27.
Gordon, P.A., 2018. Age Diversity in the Workplace. In Diversity and Inclusion in the Global
Workplace (pp. 31-47). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Greene, A.M. and Kirton, G., 2015. The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical
approach. Routledge.
Harvey, C.P. and Allard, M., 2015. Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases,
and exercises. Pearson.
Hatipoglu, B. and Inelmen, K., 2018. Demographic diversity in the workplace and its impact
on employee voice: The role of trust in the employer. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 29(5), pp.970-994.
Lynch, F.R., 2017. The diversity machine: The drive to change the white male workplace.
Routledge.
Martin, G.C., 2014. The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace. Journal of Diversity
Management (Online), 9(2), p.89.
Meyers, J.S. and Vallas, S.P., 2016. Diversity regimes in worker cooperatives: workplace
inequality under conditions of worker control. The Sociological Quarterly, 57(1), pp.98-128.

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Riccucci, N., 2018. Managing Diversity In Public Sector Workforces: Essentials Of Public
Policy And Administration Series. Routledge.