Effect of Equality and Diversity on Business

This document discusses the effect of equality and diversity on business, specifically focusing on the challenges and impacts of diversity in the workplace. It includes a case study on Tesco and explores the aims and objectives of the research, project management plan, work breakdown, and Gantt chart. It also covers small-scale research using qualitative and quantitative methods, data collection, and recommendations for responding to diversity issues.

Managing a Successful
Business Project
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Table of Contents
TOPIC: Effect of equality and diversity on business......................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Producing research aims and objectives.................................................................................3
P 2 Project management plan that includes including time, quality, resources, cost..................4
P3 Producing work breakdown and Gantt chart..........................................................................6
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................7
P4 Small scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods..................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P5 Research data by using appropriate tools...............................................................................9
Theme 7: Recommendations to respond diversity and equality at workplace issues................16
P6 Recommendations as a result of research............................................................................17
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................17
P7 Reflection.............................................................................................................................17
TASK B.........................................................................................................................................18
Project Log Book.......................................................................................................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................19
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TOPIC: Effect of equality and diversity on business
INTRODUCTION
Diversity is a broad concept which shows that each individual from different age, gender and
background has some unique features that need to be recognized. Diversity and equality has both
positive and negative impacts on employees and the overall performance of the company
(Baselga and et.al., 2017). Some positive impacts which it has includes: innovation, creativity,
learning opportunities etc. On the other hand, negative impacts includes: miscommunication, de
motivation, conflicts etc. By implementing some policies, an effective diverse workforces can be
made.
Background of the study
This study is based on Tesco who is a British multinational groceries retailers with having
headquarters is in the Tesco House, England. It provides diverse range of products to some areas
such as: clothing toys, furniture, software etc. It is listed on London stock exchange. It has
approximate 450,000 employees. As it is the large retailer so, it is important for this company to
maintain its position in the market and become the market leader. It can be possible when it
satisfy needs of customers and employees and also employ diverse workforces. By employing
diverse workforces it makes it working environment innovative and accomplish goals (Gonen
and et.al., 2017).
This present will show the main aim and objectives which Tesco wants to accomplish by
developing this research. This study will also show project management plan that includes
several elements like cost, resources, time required by researcher to complete this research.
Research methodologies and data collection also plays an important role as on the basis of
collected information’s, researcher complete and makes its research successful. For collecting
information’s, primary and secondary data collection plays an important role and with the help of
questionnaires, scholar completes its research by getting authentic reliable answers.
LO 1
P1 Producing research aims and objectives
Aims and Objectives
Aim
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“To explore challenges and effects of diversity in the workplace and the way of solving
issues of equality and diversity at workplace. A case study on Tesco”
Objectives:
 To identify the actual meaning of diversity.
 To explore issues of equality and diversity at workplace.
 To evaluate critic impacts of diversity on employees and Tesco’s business working
environment.
 To recommend some strategies of responding diversity related issues to Tesco.
Research Questions:
1. What is the meaning of diversity?
2. What are some issues occurred at Tesco’s workplace due to employing divers workforce?
3. What are some positive and negative impacts of equality and diversity on employees of
Tesco?
4. What are some ways of resolving diversity related problems?
Rationale:
Diversity is a broad term and it is a hot topic. It creates several challenges as well as
gives benefits and for making more beneficial to the company this topic has been selected. The
other main reason of selecting this topic is to increase knowledge of researcher as it is a hot topic
and it is interesting because it can be beneficial at academic and commercial level.
Research problem:
Some types of problems that occur at the time of conducting research includes: Shortage of
time and lack of reliable finance sources, ineffective technical staff, weather condition etc. Both
type of factors like internal and external can create problems while conducting research
P 2 Project management plan that includes including time, quality, resources, cost.
Project management plan is the key and integral part of the research because its helps scholar in
estimating some elements like cost, time, required resources, communication, quality of research
etc. All elements are discussed as below:
Cost: Cost is an important element as with the help of cost, researcher can complete its research.
Scholar estimate cost of conducting research and for this diversity topic, estimated cost is £
35,000 as it is broad topic (Nicholas and Steyn, 2017).
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Scope: Scope means benefits of conducting research on a particular topic. Diversity and
equality plays an important role as by employing diverse workforce, company can make itself
beneficial. It is also beneficial at both commercial and academic level.
Quality: Quality is the main key of the success of research. Producing research without
having quality can give negative impacts on viewers. So, maintaining quality is important for
scholar and for this purpose he/she will use KPI tool. With teh help of this tool he/she can
measure effectiveness of its research.
Time: Time shows duration in which each task completed by researcher. It is important
for scholar to make qualitative research before and on the given deadline for having a great
impression. This research will take approximate 25-30 days.
Resources: For completing research, there is a requirement of several tangible and
intangible resources. For this research, it will require human resources like technical staff,
employees and other financial resources, laptop, stationery resources will make this research
more effective.
Communication: For introducing the topic with participants nd employees there is a
requirement of effective communication tools. For this research, scholar will take help of E-mail
and different platforms of social media.
Risk: It is stated that at the time of conducting research, different types of factors occur as
a barrier so, it is important to remove them by analysing and measuring risks. For this particular
research, researcher will use balance score card for measuring and solving problems.
So, from the above discussed elements of PMP, it can be said that all play an important role for
having an idea of all elements (Elmhedwi, Elmabrouk and Sherif, 2015).
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P3 Producing work breakdown and Gantt chart
Figure 1Work break down
Gantt chart
Activity 1-
3day
s
3-5
days
6-8
days 9-
13days
14-8
days
19-21
days
22-24
days 25-27
days
27-28
days
Producing Aim
and objectives
Project
management
plan
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Research
methodologies
drafting
Designing of
questionnaire
Data gathering
Data
interpretation
Discussion of
results
Final
submission of
project
LO 2
P4 Small scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
As like project management plan, research methodologies also plays an important role as it
covers all important elements by which, researcher makes its project effective and successful
(Yusuf, Adams and Dingley, 2016). Some elements of research methodologies includes: research
types, approaches, philosophies, data collection, data analysis etc.
Research types
There are 2 types of research such as qualitative and quantitative and the selection of this
type is important and difficult task. Because according to the selection decides further steps and
elements. In the types of quantitative research, information’s and data are being collected in
numbers form. Selection of research type also depends upon the type of topic and main purpose.
In the qualitative type, information’s are being gathered in non-numerical form as it is collected
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in the form of quality. Some sources of collecting this type of data are human behaviour,
observations etc. For this research, scholar will use qualitative research type.
Research approaches
It is a broad assumption of a detailed method of collecting as well as analysing data. It is an
important and broad procedure. Inductive and deductive are 2 types of approaches of research
which is related to collecting whether new information by developing new theory or existing
information’s by testing theory. In the inductive approach, researcher collects and interpreted
data by developing new theory. On the other hand, in the type of deductive research approach,
researcher collects data by old and testing theory. It collects and interpreted hypothesis data.
Researcher will use inductive research approach as it increases knowledge of scholar about the
topic (Abdalla and et.al., 2018).
Research philosophies
A research philosophy is belief about the ways in which data about a phenomenon should
be collected, analysed as well as used. There are several reasons of collecting and developing
research but the common aim of performing this step is to get more and deep knowledge about
the topic. Positivism and interpretivism are main philosophies of research. Positivism refers that
some positive knowledge and data are based on natural phenomenon as it is appropriate for
quantitative research type. Whereas, interpretivism believes that the reality is multiple. The main
aim of scholar of selecting this philosophy is to understand as well as interpreted meaning of
human behaviour in an effective manner. So, researcher will use and select this philosophy.
Data collection
Data collection is the most important part of research methodologies. It can be said that
without having proper and accurate data relevant to the topic of diversity, scholar cannot
accomplish its goals and even cannot complete the project. It can only be possible by data
collection. Data collection means to gather information’s and there are two type of data
collection such as primary and secondary. Primary means prime and first hand data and
secondary means second hand data. There are several sources by which researcher can get first
hand data such as questionnaires, interviews, observations etc. On the other hand, internet, books
and articles are sources by which researchers get those information’s that are published and
being used before by anyone. Researcher will collect data by both types but mainly focus on
primary data (Hoyos and et.al., 2018).
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Data analysis
After collecting data, it is also important for scholar to make them understandable and
accurate by which research can be made successful. Data analysis means to make some changes
and modifications in collected data for making it accurate and relevant. There are 2 methods of
data analysis such as qualitative and quantitative. This research type is qualitative so, researcher
will select qualitative data analysis tool. It is being used to analyse data that are not in teh form
of numbers So, researcher will choose this type.
Sampling
Sampling means to select a group of people among the whole population for getting answers
from them relevant to the topic. Target a group of people is not an easy task, researcher has to
select some people by which he/she can get data. There are mainly 2 types of sampling such as
probability and non-probability. In the non-probability type, researcher select and target random
people as it decreases the chances of biasness. On the other hand, in probabilistic, scholar select
known people sop there is chances of discrimination and biasness. For removing biasness and
collecting data in ethic manner, researcher will select random probabilistic sampling. For this
researcher select 20 employees of Tesco as a sample.
LO 3
P5 Research data by using appropriate tools
Findings
1. Do your company treat equally with different background of people?
 Yes
 No
2. Do employees face problem with interacting to different culture of employees?
 Yes
 No
3. According to you what is the main problem which is being occurred by diverse
workforce?
 Conflicts among employees
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 Staff turnover
 Resistance of employees to adapt change
4. As per your opinion what your company can take benefits by employing diverse
workforce?
 Competitive advantages
 Increased productivity
 Innovating working environment
5. Which type of leadership style are being followed by your company?
 Autocratic
 Democratic
 Transformational
6. Which policy and strategy is being used by your company to solve diversity related
issues?
 Rewards to employees
 Training to them
7. Recommend some ways responding issues of equality and diversity.
.................
Theme 1. Company treat equally to different cultures of employees
Participants Answers
14 Yes
6 No
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Interpretation: From the above graph and question it is interpreted that majority and 14
employees of Tesco believe that their company and manger treat equally to different background
of employees. On the other hand, 6 employees said that Tesco does not treat all employees
equally. They feel that local and existing employees are treated more effectively.
Theme 2 Do employees face Problems due to diverse workforce
Participants Answers
11 Yes
9 No
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Interpretation: From the above data it is interpreted that 11 employees of Tesco believe and
feel that employees face some problems when they talk and communicate with different culture
of employees due to language differences. On the other hand, 9 employees said that they not face
any type of problem as company has provided them training which solve their this type of
problem.
Theme 3 Problems occurred by diverse workforce
Participants Answers
9 Conflicts among employees
5 Staff turnover
6 Resistance of employees
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Interpretation: There are different types of problems occur and faced by Tesco at the time of
promoting and after employing diverse workforce. 9 Employees said that conflicts increases
among employees due to miscommunication and languages differences. On the other hand, 5
employees said that staff turnover is the main problem which occur due to diversity. 6 employees
of Tesco said that employees do not accept this change and their resistance to employ diverse
workforce is the main problem.
Theme 4 Benefits of diversity and equality
Participants Answers
4 Competitive advantages
6 Productivity
10 Innovative working environment
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Interpretation: There are both positive and negative impacts of diversity and for knowing
positive impacts, it is interpreted that 10 employees said that diversity make working
environment more innovative. Whereas, 4 employees said that diversity and having diverse
orkforce help the company to take competitive advantages. 5 Employees said that it increases
overall productivity of the company.
Theme 5 Leadership style by Tesco
Participants Answers
8 Autocratic
7 democratic
5 transformational
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Interpretation: For supporting diversity and motivating employees leadership style
plays an important role. It is interpreted that 8 employees said that Tesco use and implement
autocratic leadership style which de motivate them. On the other hand, 7 employees said that it
uses democratic leadership style. 5 employees said that Tesco implement transformational
leadership style in many situations.
Theme 6 Strategies used by Tesco to solve problems related to diversity
Participants Answers
8 Rewards to employees
12 Training
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Interpretation: From the above data it can be said that, majority and 12 employees of
Tesco said that Tesco mainly focuses on training. It highly invest in training and development
program with the main aim of motivating employees and increasing their knowledge about
different cultures and languages. On the other hand, 8 employees said that Tesco gives rewards
and benefits to employees and motivate them towards productive working.
Theme 7: Recommendations to respond diversity and equality at workplace issues
Interpretation: From the above question, some recommendations and ways has been
achieved by employees of Tesco which they want to suggest to the company for making
diversity more effective. Some employees said that the company should implement and use
democratic leadership style as with the help of this style, they can give equal opportunities to
employees in teh process of decision making. It increases their morale and motivate employees.
Some of the employees said that the company should also give them financial and non financial
benefits for accomplishing their needs as it can decrease labour turnover.
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P6 Recommendations as a result of research
From the above study, some suggestions can be given to the company about diversity and
equality. It can be recommended to the company that it should focus on group working and for
that it needs to allocate tasks in a team. The main aim of allocation of tasks in a team and group
working is to improve their relationship and give them chances to talk and communicate with
each other. As much as they will communicate with each other’s their relation will improve. So,
with the help of this, they can decrease labour turnover and also can reduce conflicts among
them. It can also be recommended to them that they should improve their strategies related to
diversity and equality like they need to make their recruitment and selection process more
effective. With this help, they can make their working environment more effective and
innovative.
LO 4
P7 Reflection
From the above research and by conducting research, i learned so many things which can
definitely help me out in my professional and personal life. Diversity is the broad and common
term which can be used in both personal and professional level. To respect all types of people
and do not discriminate them on the basis of age, gender and different background is the real
definition of diversity. From the above I learned the importance of diversity and benefits which
company can get by employing diverse workforce. I also learned the ways of solving problems
related to diversity and equality. The main task is to develop aims and objectives as on the basis
of aims and objectives the whole research and steps are conducted and followed. There are
different important task that it plays a vital role such as research methodologies, data collection
and project management plan. With the help of PMP, researcher can take an idea about required
cost, time, resources, scope and other things. I also learned that different people have different
views as employees of Tesco, gave different answers of the same question. Work breakdown and
Gantt chart also help viewers in knowing about the time which has been taken by researcher in
each task. I learned the importance of being calm and having passions of doing something.
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Different types of problems occur at the time of developing and conducting research and by
being calm, all problems can be solved out.
TASK B
Project Log Book
Project title: Issues and challenges arise out of diversity in the workplace and measurements to
resolve them.
What have you completed?
Research project
Did you fulfil task requirements?
Yes all tasks requirements are being completed.
Did you need to make any changes in your PMP?
No, there is no need to make any type of changes in project management plan.
Risks
Did you identify risks with a lack of skills required for undertaking research?
Yes, due to some external factors and lack of experienced workforces some problems has been
identified.
Did you identify any additional risks?
Yes, external factors were additional risks like climate changes.
Problems encountered
What problems did you face?
Acceptance of the company to take their employees as a sample for this research.
How did you resolve?
I convinced their manager and told them if they allow us to take their employees as a sample,
then we can succeed this project as well as can make reliable We also made them believe that we
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will not leak their personal and professional informations.
Tasks planned for new weeks
Which tasks was priority?
The main task was developing aims, objectives, PMP as it covers several elements and data
collection.
Have you set sufficient time for completion?
Yes
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been concluded that diversity and equality played an important role
at workplace as it allowed company to make it working environment creative and innovative.
Developing aims and objectives for making a research successful also played a vital role as its
works as a guide on which basis the whole research is being completed. It has also shown some
ways of solving problems related to diversity when an organization employs different cultures of
employees like labour turnover, languages barriers etc. Further, this study discussed some
benefits of employing diverse workforce in an organization as it made able to the company to
take competitive advantages by taking help of different skills of employees.
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REFERENCES
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components. Package betapart, Version, pp.1-4.
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plan of Wi-Fi network deployment; case study. In 2015 International Conference on
Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) (pp. 1-10). IEEE.
Gonen, N. and et.l., 2017. Normal levels of Sox9 expression in the developing mouse testis
depend on the TES/TESCO enhancer, but this does not act alone. PLoS genetics. 13(1).
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Hoyos, K., and et.al., 2018, September. Imbalanced Data Classification Using a Relevant
Information-Based Sampling Approach. In International Workshop on Artificial
Intelligence and Pattern Recognition (pp. 280-287). Springer, Cham.
Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2017. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Yusuf, M., Adams, C. and Dingley, K., 2016. A review of e-government research as a mature
discipline: trends, themes, philosophies, methodologies, and methods. Electronic Journal
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