Examining the Relationship Between Inclusivity, Diversity, and Firm Performance

The article reviews the concept of inclusiveness within organizational culture, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It draws upon various research studies that explore the relationship between DEI and organizational outcomes. The studies examine how diversity training, board gender diversity, and executive stock options can impact firm risk-taking and securities fraud. Additionally, the article discusses the importance of cultural diversity in enhancing employee commitment to their organizations. Finally, it highlights the role of shareholder activism in promoting boardroom diversity and reducing Old Boys' Networks.

Develop and Implement Diversity Policy
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Table of Contents
Part 1................................................................................................................................................3
Research Diversity policy................................................................................................................3
a) Identifying diversity policy of Apple and Vodafone...................................................................3
b) Analysing both the policies.........................................................................................................3
Part 2................................................................................................................................................4
Drafting Policy.................................................................................................................................4
a) Statement of overall goal.............................................................................................................4
b) Statement of overall objective.....................................................................................................4
c) Drafting the policy.......................................................................................................................4
Part 3................................................................................................................................................7
Implementation of plan....................................................................................................................7
a) Action plan..................................................................................................................................7
b) Communication plan.................................................................................................................10
c) Feedback form...........................................................................................................................10
Part 4..............................................................................................................................................11
Review of policy............................................................................................................................11
a) Policy implementation review...................................................................................................11
Reference List................................................................................................................................13
Appendices....................................................................................................................................15
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Part 1
Research Diversity policy
a) Identifying diversity policy of Apple and Vodafone
Keeping the issue of diversity in the workplace, two companies with successful business designs
can be utilised namely Vodafone and Apple. Being one of the most successful companies in the
world can be attributed to their adept marketing mix and the overall structure of their
organisation. The gender diversity that is prominent in the policy of Vodafone insists their
unbiased nature towards hiring equal men and women for the job. The existing policy of
Vodafone involves hiring equal number of male candidates as compared to females This is
evident from the fact that in September 2014, they hired 45 women and 43 men in their
company. They also employ people judging them by their skill and merit only. Moreover, 21%
of senior managers in the company were females in 2015 along with 35% of women workforce
(Vodafone.com, 2016).
In the context of Apple, being one of the most renowned companies in the world they favour
inclusion and diversity in the workforce. As per their recruitment policy is concerned, their
female workforce across the globe consists of 32% existing employees and 37% new recruits.
Their policies focus on nurturing culture of inclusion in order to eradicate racial and gender bias
from the company. Their Diversity Network Associations (DNAs) create a sense of belonging
among employees of different ethnicities so that connections can be made quicker (Apple.com,
2016).
b) Analysing both the policies
The above details suggest to the fact that both organisations have high focus on gender diversity
and take the necessary measures to recruit and promote female personnel in their company. If the
policies of Vodafone can be assessed, it is clear that their recruitment policies favour a complete
balance in the number of male and female employees. The high rate of 35% female employees in
the company suggests their initiative to develop a balanced environment so that daily operations
can be successfully handled.
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On the contrary, if the policy of Apple is evaluated, it can be noticed that they focus on gender
diversity as well but have an addition of an inclusive policy that makes sure the employees are
free from any unconscious racial or gender bias. The inclusion of a associations such as DNAs
allow the company to make every employee belonging to a different nationality to feel free and
create a sense of belonging towards the company. If the current reports are looked upon, it is
clear that Apple’s workforce across the globe consists of 32% women, 23% in technical
positions and 28% in leadership positions. The diversity is also clear with 56% White population,
19% Asian, 12% Hispanic and 9% Black. These factors only suggest the level of progress that
Apple has made in creating a diverse work atmosphere for its employees so that collectively they
work as a team. The issue of gender diversity and unfair pay structure has been carefully
addressed by partnering with historical colleges for Black people along with universities and
involving scholarships (Theguardian.com, 2016).
Part 2
Drafting Policy
a) Statement of overall goal
Considering the case study for this assignment, the overall goal that it looks to achieve is the
formulation, development and implementation of a draft of the diversity policy for the warehouse
of an online mobile retail company. Since the company does not possess a diversity policy in the
company, this forms the major criterion to establish a potent diversity policy so that the
recruitment process for females can be highly improved. The goal of achieving diversity in the
workplace can be achieved by hiring more female employees in the company and add to the staff
of 10 people that has only 2 women in the workforce.
b) Statement of overall objective
The overall objective that the organisation wants to achieve is to possess a diversity policy so
that gender inequality in the workplace can be improved. The development and implementation
of the policy form the secondary objectives. Keeping in mind the case, the current workforce at
present is suffering from gender bias and consists of employees from different countries of
origin. The study attempts to look into ways for achieving workplace harmony and in order to
achieve this feat, the diversity policy has to be established first.
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c) Drafting the policy
According to Bradley (2015), developing a diversity policy requires the utmost precision in
devising rules and regulations that do not conflict with the treatment given to employees. In the
present case study, it can be noted that the online retailer has a warehouse that consists of 10
employees. The employees are of different nationality, 5 Australians and 5 Asians to be precise.
Among which, the workforce comprises of 8 males and 2 females. The gender inequality in the
workplace is a primary concern that needs to be addressed urgently. It can be noted that only 2
female employees comprise of the total workforce. Considering the fact that every workplace
must maintain ethical standards and inequality, this factor is a cause of concern.
The diversity policy that needs to be devised should focus highly on having more female
employees in the organisation. Various areas need to be regulated and reinforced so that equal
opportunities can be given to female workers as well. The diversity policy that is proposed for
the company should include: Training Policies for recruitment Employee inputs Harmonised management
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Figure 1: Diversity policy to be implemented
(Source: Created by Author)
The diversity policy will include in-house training facilities for both men and women employees.
Tasks will be based on equal terms and training will be provided accordingly. There will also be
a diversity training session that will focus entirely on explaining the ill effects of discrimination
or harassment. Strict rules will be decided for avoiding such issues while training. As per De
Anca and Vega (2016), the major issue in a diverse working environment is the chances of
discrimination on various levels. The training will highlight the extreme benefits of working
together and helping each other to complete daily tasks. Sila et al. (2016) argued that the major
experiences and differences of people in a group can bring out collective ideas. Specific training
regarding machinery, accounts, package assimilation, tracking and loading must be given to its
employees irrespective of their gender.
The policy of recruitment will be kept free of any inequality. The staff will be given strict orders
to interview all candidates as per merit and not based on gender. Special attention must be given
by the Human resource department so that they do not select resumes based on nationality or
gender, but on the work experiences and personality of the individual. The managers who are in
charge of conducting the interview must keep away any bias towards applicants based on their
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Diversity
Policy
Training
Policies for
recruitment
Employee
inputs
Harmonised
management

gender. This feature will be the most prominent among all the rules and regulations of the
diversity policy to be developed.
Thirdly, the factor of employee inputs will be encouraged. There will be no gender bias
regarding feedback and input collection from employees. In fact, the development of the feature
to gather necessary feedback can actually create a harmonious working environment. Huber
(2015) argued that it is extremely vital that the organisation utilises the power of feedback to
gain knowledge of the internal factors that are affecting a company. The constant feedback will
help in understanding whether any discrimination is being made in the office or not. The sense of
involvement that employees perceive after being asked for inputs, develops loyalty towards the
organisation. This can develop a close bond between workers as well.
The last factor that should be present in the diversity policy includes the active participation of
the management. The policy will include managerial posts for candidates on the basis of merit
and not based on gender. As per Kirton and Greene (2015), the management of an organisation
should take care of the sentiments of its employees by making non-biased decisions based on
race or gender. This way the company can achieve a cohesive working unit and tasks can be
completed quicker. Roth and Ritter (2015) argued that the management’s job is to ensure no
friction or any groups are formed in the company. This can increase the chance of non-
cooperation and harm the operations of the company. Since the warehouse task of order
packaging is mostly manual in nature, the management will make sure that each employee is
treated as an individual in order to abolish groupism.
Each policy will be emphasised upon by developing certain action plans and strategizing the
ways to implement the policy successfully. A potent communication plan is the next step that
must be immediately resorted upon along with development of feedback forms that can be used
for gathering employee satisfaction. Another factor that must be kept in mind before
implementation of the policy is the key responsibility to stakeholders of the company.
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Part 3
Implementation of plan
a) Action plan
The major objectives and goals that the company wishes to achieve reflect upon the point of
developing an action plan that can constructively build upon proper implementation of the
diversity policy. The major priority that is present in this case is the low rate of female
employees and most importantly the lack of any actual diversity policy. The responsibility of the
key stakeholders is also to help in the development of the policy and procedures so that a better
working environment can be established.
Keeping this factor in mind, it is important that decisive plans should be taken to implement the
diversity policy in the warehouse of the company. Ashikali and Groeneveld (2015) argued that it
is absolutely important to properly chalk out the implementation plans for any policy so that it is
easier to delegate chores to employees and the work flow is smoother. Every policy will be
implemented in phases and as per the sudden requirements by the company. The first plan of
implementation should involve increasing knowledge of management about the diversity issues
especially gender diversity issues in the company. Baixauli-Soler et al. (2015) suggested that if
the management itself is unsure of the problems, how they can implement a proper plan of
action. This will allow the management to conduct recruitment, training and other features very
instinctively and avoid any inequalities. . Since new machinery and software implementation will
be made, the existing employees should help out the new employees to understand the
surrounding and give them first-hand experience of the manner in which the work is conducted.
The managers will supervise every aspect of the training process so they can help in explaining
and guiding the new recruits to the various technical aspects of the job. Another aspect that will
be implemented is the diversity training.
According to Byoun et al. (2016), recruitment is an extremely important phase for any company,
the selection of correct candidates can give the company another individual that can help in
attaining the collective goals. Perrault (2015) opined that the diversity policy is devised so that it
can be used in the future as well. The plan for its implementation must include monitoring and
recording of the data related to employee workforce. A consolidated database can be devised to
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record and analyse trends regarding recruitment, performance and the promotions of employees
especially women. This can give the company solid records of the happenings and allow better
recruitment procedures. Further improvements in recruitment can be made so that female
employees feel encouraged to vie for the reputable post for which they applied.
The training policy that has been developed must incorporate active participation from
employees and managers alike. On-the-job training and induction facilities will be encouraged
by the managers so that they can supervise and allow the existing employees to teach the trade to
the newly selected candidates. This is bound to improve interaction and proper communication
will lead to better bonding and quick learning by the individuals. The managers will make sure
that the existing employees do not employ discrimination among the new candidates based on
gender bias. The employees will be properly trained to deal with orders so that packaging,
recording and dispatching the orders is done quickly and efficiently.
Terjesen et al. (2015) suggested that communication is a major factor that can help in
implementing the policy of diversity in the workplace. In order to ensure that proper feedback
and inputs are gathered by the company, a trained professional must be hired so that they can
identify employee needs and monitor the level of discrimination that is occurring based on
gender in the company. As per Clauset et al. (2015), feedback and inputs from employees help in
monitoring the satisfaction levels that they are experiencing within the company and fellow
employees. Strict rules must be established so that managers or employees who fail to enact the
policy can be disciplined and work efficiently.
The employee’s sense of involvement will definitely speed up the work process and targets can
be achieved quicker. The skills of managers and supervisors will definitely improve and smooth
communication flow can be achieved, thus making transmission of ideas faster. A Gantt chart
can explain the timeline that will be used for implementation of the policy.
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Identifying
and
devising
features of
9

diversity
policy
Conduct
training of
existing
employees
On-the job
training
modules
Mock
recruitment
tests
Actual
recruitment
Monitoring
recruitment
data
Devising
feedback
form
Gathering
feedback
Table 1: Timeline for implementing diversity policy
(Source: Created by Author)
b) Communication plan
The communication plan that needs to be implemented is of direct nature. The first phase of
communication must involve the HR team and the managers responsible for conducting
interview. Before hiring any candidates, the Human Resource management will deliver the
selected resumes to the various departmental managers so that they can be shortlisted for the
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interview. It will be kept in mind that the HR team selects resumes without any bias and
considers the pedigree of the employee as a selection criterion. Even the managers will make
sure they do not involve questions that question the ethnicity and gender of the candidate. The
next phase will be communication of employees with the managers using feedback forms that
will include potential detail about the level of job satisfaction of employees and to monitor if
they are facing any discrimination in the workplace.
c) Feedback form
The best way to gather necessary feedback from employees is the adoption of feedback forms
that can assist in getting a quick review of the issues surrounding the employees so that
development measures can be installed. The feedback fom that will be utilised for gathering data
can be seen in Appendix 1.
Part 4
Review of policy
a) Policy implementation review
The development and planning of the implementation for diversity policy gives a blueprint for
the radical implementation of policies and regulations that will allow the company to operate
with more accuracy and freedom. In this context it can be suggested that reviewing the policies
before implementation may help in finding out certain loopholes that can affect the company
after actual implementation. According to Cumming et al. (2015), policies are never guaranteed
to be accurate since a section of doubt still remains, it is imperative to make a thorough review
so that changes or additions can be quickly made.
If the current diversity policy is to be evaluated it can help in determining the extent in which the
problem of gender diversity can be averted. Looking at the policy, it can be stated that it is
specifically meant to improve the recruitment and skills of female employees in the company.
The first policy to provide training and development of skills of employees is definitely worth
improving the skills since in-house training will give them exposure of the work conditions and
other technical aspects of the business. The input of diversity training will definitely help the
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business to make employees feel involved and work together as a group. Donnelly (2015) opined
that minor additions in the policies can generally improve the final outcome of the results that
can be measured by employee involvement.
The second policy that facilitates recruitment facilities is a good step forward in order to
eradicate the gender and racial inequality that employees face. By introducing hiring and
recruitment facilities and policies, emphasis can be given to hire female workers more often and
select the best candidate based on their merit and experience. The fact that the Human resource
department will be given strict rules regarding selecting efficient resumes makes the possibility
of removing gender inequality even more. The policies to take strict action if they were found to
partake in any activities related to discrimination, makes the company ethical in nature. The
same criteria on managers and supervisors will prevent any such cases of inequality and give rise
to the level of female employees in the company.
Another feature in the policy that is bound to be successful is the introduction of feedback and
inputs of the employees. According to Homan et al. (2015), ability to state perceptions and
opinions usually helps a company break the ice with its employees to enhance collaboration in
the workplace. The inputs gained will only help the company to develop its management policies
and erase any kind of discrimination that is unhealthy for the workplace. The inputs will also
help employers understand the level of performance of the staff so that they can initiate training
modules if they were found to be under-trained. It will allow positive inter-communication
between employer and employee and with no gender inequality, the company can carry out its
daily activities.
Lastly, the impact that better management can have on the promotion of gender diversity in the
workplace makes the policy even more fruitful. According to Lindsey et al. (2015), management
must adapt itself in accordance to the necessity of bringing balance in the work atmosphere. The
policy adjudges that the management must ensure that all the managers and executive staff are
properly given an update on the situation so that their actions do not collide with common
interests of the employees. Mousa and Alas (2016) argued that the required flow of information
with the introduction of new and effective systems can allow the company to handle its staff
efficiently and employees can work freely.
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These factors suggest the level of success that the company can enjoy after successful
implementation of the diversity policy. It can be assured that their recruitment process for female
employees will also get a boost and their overall goal can be achieved.
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Reference List
Books
Bradley, H., (2015). Fractured identities: Changing patterns of inequality. John Wiley & Sons.
De Anca, C. and Vega, A.V., (2016). Managing diversity in the global organization: Creating
new Business values. Springer.
Huber, J., (2015). On the origins of gender inequality. Routledge.
Kirton, G. and Greene, A.M., (2015). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach.
Routledge.
Journals
Ashikali, T. and Groeneveld, S., (2015). Diversity Management in Public Organizations and Its
Effect on Employees’ Affective Commitment The Role of Transformational Leadership and the
Inclusiveness of the Organizational Culture. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 35(2),
pp.146-168.
Baixauli-Soler, J.S., Belda-Ruiz, M. and Sanchez-Marin, G., (2015). Executive stock options,
gender diversity in the top management team, and firm risk taking. Journal of Business
Research, 68(2), pp.451-463.
Byoun, S., Chang, K. and Kim, Y.S., (2016). Does corporate board diversity affect corporate
payout policy?. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Financial Studies, 45(1), pp.48-101.
Clauset, A., Arbesman, S. and Larremore, D.B., (2015). Systematic inequality and hierarchy in
faculty hiring networks. Science Advances, 1(1), pp.45-55.
Cumming, D., Leung, T.Y. and Rui, O., (2015). Gender diversity and securities fraud. Academy
of Management Journal, 58(5), pp.1572-1593.
Donnelly, R., (2015). Tensions and challenges in the management of diversity and inclusion in
IT services multinationals in India. Human Resource Management, 54(2), pp.199-215.
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Homan, A.C., Buengeler, C., Eckhoff, R.A., van Ginkel, W.P. and Voelpel, S.C., (2015). The
interplay of diversity training and diversity beliefs on team creativity in nationality diverse
teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), pp.1456-1460.
Lindsey, A., King, E., Hebl, M. and Levine, N., (2015). The impact of method, motivation, and
empathy on diversity training effectiveness. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(3), pp.605-
617.
Mousa, M. and Alas, R., (2016). Cultural Diversity and Organizational Commitment: A Study on
Teachers of Primary Public Schools in Menoufia (Egypt). International Business Research, 9(7),
pp.154-158.
Perrault, E., (2015). Why does board gender diversity matter and how do we get there? The role
of shareholder activism in deinstitutionalizing Old Boys’ Networks. Journal of Business
Ethics, 128(1), pp.149-165.
Roth, K.R. and Ritter, Z.S., (2015). Diversity and the Need for Cross-Cultural Leadership and
Collaboration. Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Leadership in Modern Organizations, 12(2),
pp.196-198.
Sila, V., Gonzalez, A. and Hagendorff, J., (2016). Women on board: Does boardroom gender
diversity affect firm risk?. Journal of Corporate Finance, 36, pp.26-53.
Terjesen, S., Aguilera, R.V. and Lorenz, R., (2015). Legislating a woman’s seat on the board:
Institutional factors driving gender quotas for boards of directors. Journal of Business
Ethics, 128(2), pp.233-251.
Websites
Vodafone.com. (2016). [online] Available at:
http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/careers/diversity.html.
Apple.com (2016). Inclusion & Diversity. [online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/diversity.
Theguardian.com (2016). Apple reports improving racial and gender diversity among
employees. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/03/apple-
diversity-report-race-gender-facebook-google.
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