How Companies Respond to Equality and Diversity in the Workplace

This report examines how companies, specifically Aston Martin Lagonda, are responding to issues of equality and diversity in the workplace. It explores the aims, objectives, project management plan, qualitative and quantitative research methods, data analysis, and recommendations.

HOW HAVE COMPANIES
RESPONDED TO
CURRENT ISSUES OF
EQUALITY AND
DIVERSITY IN THE
WORKPLACE?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
P1 Aims and objectives...............................................................................................................3
P2 Producing the project management plan................................................................................4
P3 WBS and Gantt Chart.............................................................................................................6
P4 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods....................................................................8
P5 Data Analysis........................................................................................................................11
P6 Recommendations................................................................................................................19
P7 Reflection.............................................................................................................................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................20
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

Topic: How companies are responding to current issues of equality and diversity in the
workplace? A case study on Aston Martin Lagonda.
INTRODUCTION
The concept of equality and diversity in the workplace is associated with the norms and
rules that are implied at the workplace upon the employees and how equivalent are the
opportunities for growth and promotion that is given to the employees of the company (Palinkas
and et. al., 2015). This concept encourages the employees to achieve their full potential by
making the work culture unprejudiced and free from bias. Aston Martin, which is a global
manufacturer of luxury cars is a British company and has been operating in the industry for more
than 100 years (Aston Martin, 2019). Throughout this period, they have tried to maintain the
work place ethics and culture where they have hired people from all backgrounds and classes and
given them equal opportunities to grow and prosper. There are a variety of issues that are
covered under the term equality and diversity such as the gender pay gap, cultural background
etc. and these need to be regularly evaluated at the work place. In order to study how well Aston
martin incorporates these factors, a small scale research can be conducted and this project will
highlight the role of equality and diversity in the company.
MAIN BODY
P1 Aims and objectives
Project Aim: The research carried out in this report will mainly aim at determining what
are the issues that are currently rising in the workplace of Aston Martin, such as, the gap in the
salary of male and female employees, the growth opportunities given to employees with different
cultural backgrounds etc. Hence, the main motive of current investigation is to assess the extent
to which inequality takes place among men and women pertaining to salary aspects. Referring
these aspects Aston Martin can undertake competent framework for ensuring equality at
workplace. The research will then identify what are the possible solutions or strategies that can
be used to manage the workplace equality and diversity.
Project Objectives:
 To analyse the concept of equality and diversity in the workplace understanding the
current environment in Aston Martin.
 To identify the different issues under quality and diversity implementation in workplace.

 To determine the challenges arising in integration of equality and diversity in Aston
Marin.
 To recommend appropriate solutions for implementing equality and diversity practices.
P2 Producing the project management plan
The project management plan is that representation which is utilized by the project
manager in state to describe every phase of the project (Heagney, 2016). Such that it includes
range, plan, cost, attribute, human resource, communication, risk and procurement etc. in the
same way, in order to attain the aim i.e. to determine the issues which are raise in Aston martin,
researcher uses all the key elements which are as mention below:
Scope: When researcher perform this study, then it will be more beneficial to determine
the issues which is faced by Aston martin. Therefore, by study on this particular topic will help
to provide ways through which the company may easily overcome the issues such that gap in the
salary of male and female employees, the growth opportunities given to their employees who
belongs to different cultural background etc (Lientz and Rea, 2016). Further, another scope of
this study is such that researcher may gain knowledge related to the topic and as a result, it will
be helpful to apply the same in their future project as well.
Project cost: It is another important element of project management plan in which,
project manager describe how the money is assigned to complete the entire plan. Further,
researcher is also responsible for scatter all the material within their team in effective way.
Therefore, to attain the defined aim, the budget allocation is as mention below:
Cost breakdown Amount in GBP (£)
Expenditure of information
assemblage
25
Expenditure of travelling 36
Expenditure of information analysis
resources
80
Expenditure of communication of
results with stakeholders
90
Other cost 69

Total 300
Time: Every project is conjugate to a specific time limit and that is why, in order to
complete the task, the investigator requires 10 weeks to complete the project and it is further
elaborated in the Gantt chart in which every task is describe in detailed manner.
Quality: It plays an essential part in the success because when the task produces a
deliverable there are always a quality standards and also have a several aspect of quality
management (Wroblewski and De Micheli, 2017). Further, researcher should make sure that the
selected resources should be good in quality so that it will be easily meet the standards and helps
to attain the defined aim and objectives as well. Further, to measure the standard of quality,
researcher may also use the quality control techniques so that they will easily measure the
progress of the project too.
Communication: Another important part of the project management plan in which
researcher should make sure that there should be proper communication with the stakeholder so
that they also provide suggestion ti improve the quality of resources which are used in the
research. While on the other side, due to having poor communication with the stakeholder, it
makes the situation worse and lack of communication is consider the biggest reason to arise
issues (Chen, Kang and Lee, 2017). For instance, researcher may involve all the stakeholder in
order to check the progress report in every month by using email as a communication method in
which the entire description of the aim and research is written in detail manner. Moreover, every
project has a regular communication needs and it is further address within a project management
plan and the communication method involves project updates, investor circulars, progress report
and many more.
Risk: while performing a research, project manager may faces different types of risk and
they should make sure that risk register should be properly maintained in order to attain defined
aim and objectives. Further, for the current project, lack of funding is consider a risk, not having
efficient human resources and as a result, the project got affected In opposite way. That is why,
ensure that risk register should be updated in order to identify the ways through which the risk in
minimized.
Resources: It is another key element which is consider an important part of the project
management plan such that having a good resources will help the investigation to fitting the

defined aim and goal (Harding, Nelson and Glover, 2016). In the same way, for the current
project, researcher opt human resource who have good potential to complete the project and
leads it towards further level of success. Also, fire those person who have enough knowledge and
through their expertise, risk are minimized On the other side, resources also includes the
equipment which are linked with advance technology that helps the researcher to complete the
project and also uses financial resources and without it, project is next to be possible.
P3 WBS and Gantt Chart
Work Breakdown Structure can be defined as a tool that helps in segregating the entire
project into smaller tasks that are grouped under different classifications so that the task becomes
more manageable and process gets simplified (Mohammad and et. al., 2016).
Gantt Chart specifies the time that it will take to complete the different activities and the
stipulated time that will be taken for the completion of that activity.

Task/ Weeks Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Problem
Identification
Aims and
Objectives
Developing
research
methodology
Developing
questionnaire
Selection of
sample
Primary data
collection
Secondary data
collection
Interpretation of
data
Conclusion and
recommendation
Report
completion and
submission
Feedback from
teacher
Modified report
submission

P4 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
Research, specifically business research can be defined as a process through which all
the detailed information regarding the business practices is acquired and such information that is
collected is analysed and evaluated to develop the major solutions and implement them in the
company. The data can be collected using different techniques and tools that have been
illustrated below:
Primary Research: Primary research involves collection of data on a first hand basis i.e.
the researcher himself collects all the data and uses different methods to collect data from
appropriate samples by adopting different methods (Jahagirdar and et. al., 2015). These method
can be qualitative or quantitative i.e. the data can be collected in the numerical manner or in
theoretical manner. In the current report, primary research will be done by collecting the
opinions and facts associated with the company by selecting a sample of employees working in
Aston Martin and obtaining their view.
Secondary Research: This involves collection of data that is relevant to the research in
secondary manner i.e. taking reference from the already published literature, journals, articles
and other case studies or research that was conducted earlier and has already been published
(Pieterse, 2019). In the current research, the researched has taken reference from the secondary
literature which was the journal articles and case studies related to Aston Martin that was
published earlier and other research articles related to the working environment which will be
used and cited wherever , the researcher finds them relevant in the research.
Quantitative Research: Quantitative research on the other hand helps in collection of
numerical data and figures that are associated with the research and the analysis is also done in
quantifiable manner addressing the “how much” aspect (Fletcher, 2017). Questionnaire is one
method of collecting the data where a selected number of respondents answer a particular set of
questions that is common for everyone. Sampling can be done in random or non-random manner
where, random sampling involves selecting of respondents without any particular criteria and
under non-random sampling, there is a particular selection criteria. In the current research,
researcher will use questionnaire method in order to collect the primary data from the 30
employees working in Aston Martin Company that will be selected on the basis of simple
random method.

Qualitative Research: The qualitative research involves collection of data through
methods which help in gathering the facts and theories that are related to the research topic and
helps in understanding the social phenomena focusing on the “what” aspect. Interview method is
used under qualitative research where the interviewer obtains the view point of interviewee.
Purposive sampling helps in selecting samples who meet a pre-formulated criteria (Crane and et.
al., 2019). In this research, researcher will use qualitative analysis by using the interview method
where the scholar will be able to collect what different employees and experts, who have been
selected using purposive sampling, think about the workplace of Aston Martin and therefore
analysed the viewpoints presented thus drawing appropriate conclusions.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Address:
Mail ID:
Q1. For how long have you been working in this company?
 0-6 years
 6-11 years
 11-16 years
 More than 16 years
Q2. Are you aware with the concept of equality and diversity in the workplace?
 Yes
 No
Q3. According to you, which are the prominent issues that your company is facing currently?
 Gender Pay gap
 Unjustified working hours
 Biasness between rules for male and female employees
 Biasness on the basis of cultural background
 All of the above
Q4. Do you think that equality and diversity in workplace will resolve these issues?

 Agree
 Strongly Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
Q5. According to you, how can equality and diversity be encouraged in the company?
 Giving equal growth opportunities
 Developing appropriate payment strategies
 Hiring employees belonging to different cultural backgrounds
 Maintaining equal balance between male-female employee ratio
 All of above
Q6. Will implementation of equality and diversity help in motivating the employees of the
company?
 Yes
 No
Q7. What will be the major advantages of incorporating equality and diversity in Aston Martin?
 Increase employee motivation
 Improve the work culture
 Enhance productivity
 All of above
Q8. What will be the major challenges in implementing equality and diversity practices in Aston
Martin?
 Change in the current working policies
 Protests from certain employee segment
 Rigidity from management
 All of the above
Q9. Are you satisfied with the current working practices in Aston Martin?
 Yes
 No
 Neutral/ Doesn’t Matter to me
Q10. What would you recommend or suggest for the company

________________________________________________________
P5 Data Analysis
Data analysis and interpretation involves analysing the data that has been collected
using certain tools and models which are different for both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Coding analysis is a technique which can be used in both qualitative or quantitative analysis and
helps in analysing the data by categorising these themes in different headings so that analysis is
facilitated (Bryman, 2017). In the current research, qualitative analysis was done by
identification of key factors and then explaining the relevance of these factors. Under
quantitative analysis, questionnaire method has been used to collect data and then analyse it
accordingly.
Quantitative Analysis: A sample of 30 employees working in the Aston Martin was selected
using simple random sampling technique and they were then given questionnaire to fill.
Theme 1: Duration of Work
Particulars Frequency
 0-6 years 8
 6-11 years 5
 11-16 years 12
 More than 16 years 5
Total 30

Interpretation: It can be interpreted that majority of the people i.e. 40% have been
working for a long time period of 11 to 16 years. Further, 17% personnel worked within the
period of 6-11 years within an organization. In addition to this, out of selected respondents, 5
employees have completed more than 16 years within Aston Martin. This shows that the
employee retention capacity of Aston Martin is high and despite adversity in the workplace,
employees are satisfied.
Theme 2: Awareness of the concept of equality and diversity
Particulars Frequency
 Yes 19
 No 11
Total 30
Interpretation: The majority of the people depicted that they were aware of the concept
of equality and diversity and could identify when it was being implemented in the work place
therefore being depicted in the results that will show that the employees are ready for change. By
doing assessment it has identified that now a days individuals prefer to work with the
organization that focuses on building as well as maintaining equality and diversity.

Theme 3: Prominent issues in the company
Particulars Frequency
 Gender Pay gap 8
 Unjustified working hours 5
 Biasness between rules for male and female employees 10
 Biasness on the basis of cultural background 2
 All of the above 5
Total 30
Interpretation: 10 out of 30 employees stated that biasness between the rules for male-
female employees is the most persistent issue in the company and this was required to be sorted
immediately so that the workplace ethics could be modified. Outcome of survey clearly shows
that 8 personnel found gender pay gap as the main issue that takes place within an organization.
Accordingly, it can be stated that Aston Martin discriminates personnel as per gender while
determining salary aspect.
Theme 4: Impact of equality and diversity in workplace
Particulars Frequency
 Agree 10

 Strongly Agree 11
 Neutral 7
 Disagree 2
 Strongly Disagree 0
Total 30
Interpretation: Majority of the people i.e. 37% are in strong agreement that when
equality and diversity would be incorporated in the workplace ethics, it would help in addressing
the persistent issues in the company and this has been depicted in the further research that has
been conducted as well. Moreover, aspects regarding inequality places negative impact on
employee motivation and morale. It also restricts innovative working practices within a business
unit.
Theme 5: How is equality and diversity encouraged?
Particulars Frequency
 Giving equal growth opportunities 7
 Developing appropriate payment strategies 9
 Hiring employees belonging to different cultural backgrounds 5
 Maintaining equal balance between male-female employee ratio 8

 All of above 1
Total 30
Interpretation: It can be clearly ascertained that 9 out of 30 employees think
that equal payment is the best option for addressing the issue followed by 8 out 30 stating that
maintaining equal male-female ratio is the best strategy that can be adopted in Aston Martin.
Survey results clearly exhibit that by offering equal opportunities to the all kind of personnel and
developing competent salary structure Aston Martin can avoid issue related to inequality.
Theme 6: Motivating the employees
Particulars Frequency
 Yes 18
 No 12
Total 30

Interpretation: There are majority of employees that are in the favour that equality and
diversity of the workplace will help in increasing the motivation level of employees and this can
be well justified from the research that will be conducted further. Moreover, in the case of
equality they feel their efforts are appreciated by the firm. Besides this, when company treats its
personnel equally then they are encouraged to come up with innovative ideas and solutions
which in turn contributes in the growth of Aston Martin’s.
Theme 7: Advantages of incorporating equality and diversity
Particulars Frequency
 Increase employee motivation 11
 Improve the work culture 9
 Enhance productivity 8
 All of above 2
Total 30

Interpretation: This theme also helps in justifying that majority of the employees i.e.
36% think that employee force would be highly motivated and this is closely followed by 30%
thinking that work culture can be improved. As per the results derived by building equality and
diversity at workplace company can develop motivated workforce. This in turn leads
maximization of both productivity and profitability.
Theme 8: Challenges in implementing equality and diversity
Particulars Frequency
 Change in the current working policies 13
 Protests from certain employee segment 10
 Rigidity from management 7
 All of the above 0
Total 30

Interpretation: 44% of the employees think that while incorporating equality and
diversity in the work place the major challenge that they will face is that the current working
culture and habits would have to be changed. Besides this, there is zero resistance from the
management of the company which is evident from the research. Thus, by doing changes in the
existing strategic and policy framework company can get the desired level of outcome or
success.
Theme 9: Satisfaction with the current working practices
Particulars Frequency
 Yes 16
 No 8
 Neutral/ Doesn’t Matter to me 6
Total 30

More than half of the employees think that they are satisfied with the current working
practices and do not want any major changes in the company, which shows that the work culture
of company is not too rigid in terms of workplace diversity. Results derived through primary
investigation presents that most of the personnel are not satisfied with the current working
practices of Aston Martin’s which gives clear indication about change.
Qualitative data analysis: There are some of the key factors that were identified in the research
that was undertaken:
Factors Explanation in the present context
Equal growth opportunities The growth opportunities for male and female in Aston
Martin is not equivalent i.e. promotions and raise are given
much slower to female employees.
Equal male-female employee ratio The male female ratio is also not equivalent since there
were 65% male respondents out of the 30 employees that
were selected randomly.
Gender pay gap This factor is not much prevalent in the company because
pay is given on the basis of position in the company rather
than gender.
Diverse cultural employee
background
There is not much importance given to hiring employees
from different cultural backgrounds and skills are rather

more important in Aston Martin.
Employee policies The policies implemented are employee friendly and yet
this is because majority is male employees and therefore
they find policies acceptable and good.
It can therefore be interpreted that the current employees are satisfied with the work
culture because majority of them are males and the policies are in favour of males and they do
not find anything amiss. Additionally, the practice of giving salary as per the position of
employee is a better approach and avoids unnecessary biasness but the growth opportunities are
still very complicated and unequal for male and female employees.
P6 Recommendations
On the basis of research that was conducted, various recommendations can be drawn and
concluded which will help in resolving the current issues that have been identified in the
company. The company should develop equal growth chances for both male and female
employees where preference should be on their quality of work (Wren, 2015). Additionally,
employees should be hired on the basis of their capability to perform different tasks rather than
hiring males just because there is requirement of field work in the company.
The selection process of the company should be modified where it is ensured that no
biasness takes place when hiring employees belonging to different cultural backgrounds so that a
diverse and yet unified workforce can be hired in the company (Bell, Bryman and Harley, 2018).
Also, current working policies need to be modified and made more equivalent where the talent is
supported rather than the gender.
Therefore, it can be concluded that there are many changes that need to be implemented
in the company including the hiring and growth opportunities so that employees can move
forward in their career path in a synchronised manner and the equality and diversity gets
promoted in the company thus improving their workforce culture.
P7 Reflection
In the research that I conducted, there were some key points that had a significant impact
on me and from which I learnt a lot. Time management was the most important skill that I learnt
and I identified that I was rather weak with managing the tasks within the allotted time frame. I
also identified that my analytical skills were extremely well developed and I was able to interpret
the data that I had collected very quickly and in a relevant manner.

The research that was conducted helped in determining that despite the glamorous image
of the companies, the employees are the ones who present a truer outlook and I was able to
determine that Aston Martin also fail in implementing equality and diversity in the workplace.
The research recommends the measures through which the equality and diversity could be
implemented and these practices can be used by other companies as well who are operating at a
wider scale.
The research helped in developing my research skills and I was able to learn the method
of data identification and collection and I learnt how a research is conducted.
Current research made significant contribution in the attainment of research aim and
objectives. Moreover, for evaluating and assessing aspects pertaining to inequality survey was
conducted on 30 employees (including both men and women) of Aston Martin. As, personnel
can present suitable view regarding inequality aspect which they feel at workplace. In addition to
this, technique applied for data analysis namely thematic perception test also contributed in the
attainment of objectives prominently. Moreover, as per this, findings derived from selected
respondents also supported from secondary analysis. In this way, both primary and secondary
investigation helped in meeting research aim to the significant level.
CONCLUSION
The research helped in concluding that it is extremely important to incorporate equality
and diversity in the practices that are adopted at the workplace and the equality between the male
and female employees that are hired in the company is also of relevance and importance. The
research was undertaken on Aston Martin using both qualitative and quantitative methods and
the data was collected through primary and secondary measures. The research also helped in
determining the different aspects such as cost, time resources etc. that were important in
completing the project successfully.

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Aston Martin. 2019 [Online]. Available through: <https://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/>
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