Managing Diverse Workplaces

This report analyses the diversity and inclusion opportunities or probable problems for Go Fashion Limited, an Indian based clothing apparel company planning to enter into the new market that is Australia. It includes compliance, organizational development and market factors to be considered while planning this project, significant dimension of cultural diversity for the project, ways of avoiding problems and achieving project’s success in the context of cultural diversity, responsibilities for addressing cultural diversity factors in this project, resources needed, external stakeholders and the ways they are being impacted or impact the decision regarding diversity management. The report also offers several recommendations and an action plan for improving diversity and inclusion for this specific project of the company.

Managing Diverse
Workplaces

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION................................................................................1
PROJECT INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
DESIRED OUTCOMES............................................................................................................2
DIVERSITY ANALYSIS CHECKLIST...................................................................................2
Compliance, organizational development and market factors to be considered while
planning this project...............................................................................................................2
Significant dimension of cultural diversity for the project.....................................................3
Ways of avoiding problems and achieving project’s success in the context of cultural
diversity..................................................................................................................................3
Responsibilities for addressing cultural diversity factors in this project................................4
Resources needed...................................................................................................................4
External stakeholders and the ways they are being impacted or impact the decision
regarding diversity management............................................................................................4
FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................5
Summarising the key findings................................................................................................5
Offering several recommendations.........................................................................................5
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACTION PLAN...................................................................6
Diversity and inclusion strategies...........................................................................................6
Diversity and inclusion action plan........................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Each and every organization is in a great need to expand their operations for
achieving higher level of growth and success in the market in which they are operating.
While expanding or introducing any project or plan there are certain factors such as diversity
as well as inclusivity which needs to be taken care for effective functioning (Wambari, 2021).
Based on this, the main aim of the current research report is to conduct a diversity and
inclusion analysis of the organization. The chosen firm for the current research purpose is Go
Fashion Limited, an Indian based clothing apparel company. The firm is planning to enter
into the new market that is Australia. The report will analyse different diversity and inclusion
opportunities or probable problems. Based on the diversity analysis, an action plan will be
prepared for improving diversity and inclusion for this specific project of the company.
OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION
Speaking in relation with the Go Fashion Limited, it one of the leading clothing-based
apparel company of India. The firm is being engaged in the evolution, sourcing, designing,
advertising and retailing of assortment of bottom wear products of women under the brand
Go Colours. They are selling variety of products such as leggings, jeggings, gym pants,
churidars, trousers, pants, palazzos, harem pants and culottes across multiple groups for
example, gym wear, ethnic wear, denims, plus sizes, fusion wear and western wear (Go
Fashion India Ltd, 2022). The main aim of the company is to facilitate the clients towards
their products through colours. The distribution channels of the firm also involve large format
stores Central, Lifestyle, Globus, Reliance Retail and Spencer’s Retail outlets. In addition to
this, Go Fashion is also selling their products via websites and online marketplaces with the
support of multi-brand outlets. They have around 440 stores all across India covering around
more than 100 cities. Now, the firm is making plans to expand in the new overseas market for
attaining higher level of growth and success.
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Go Fashion Limited is achieving higher rate of growth and profits in their existing
market that is India. However, for the purpose of extending their market reach and share, the
company is planning to enter into the markets of Australia. They are making plans to open
stores in different locations such as Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre, Wintergarden
and MacArthur Central of Australia (Sabharwal, 2014). While expanding into the new
market, there are different factors which needs to be considered by the company such as
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customer preferences, taste, satisfaction, sustainability, target market, licensing, competition
and cultural and diversity factors. Out of all, the diversity aspect is the most important and
complex one, as it generally decides the success of the firm in the new market.
DESIRED OUTCOMES
Talking in relation with the desired outcome, it is being defined as the statement that
makes the objectives more tangible and existing. For developing a beneficial set of desired
results, it is important on the part of the company to designate a particular alteration they are
hoping to take place as a direct result of the new project or program that will support the firm
in attaining their objectives (Young & et.al., 2018). Some of the desired outcomes for the
project related to expansion of Go Fashion in the markets of Australia are being stated in the
subsequent paragraph:
 To grow the business in the new markets
 To have successful overseas market entry or expansion
 To attract more and more customers in the new markets with new products and
services
DIVERSITY ANALYSIS CHECKLIST
When the company is planning or reviewing projects, processes and programs it is
important that certain aspects in relation with the customers and workforce diversity are
required to be considered. In the current case Go Fashion Limited is planning to enter into the
markets of Australia as a part of their expansion strategy and the most important factor that
they need to take into account is cultural diversity (Grissom, 2018). Till now they have
operated in the country like India and now they are planning to step in different country
whose culture is quite different from their previous market of operations. Thus, it can be said
that it is important for the company to consider all the market factors, organizational
development, workforce diversity, resources, stakeholders and compliances when
emphasising on cultural diversity.
Compliance, organizational development and market factors to be considered while planning
this project
There are different diversity management areas which needs to be focussed on this
project of Go Fashion Limited. Talking first in relation with the compliance factors it
includes analysis of all the acts, policies and principles in regards with the diversity that
might impact or be present in this project. Since, the company is opening new stores in
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Australia, they will hire the local staff members and also promotes the existing staff to this
new market. considering this, it is crucial that the company must take into account the equal
opportunity, discrimination, wages and payments laws, harassments and health and safety
regulations of Australia for effective functioning of the company (O’Donovan, 2018). In
addition to this, there are different organisational practices as well that might impact this
project such as management of people, development of the firm, knowledge management,
customer service and many other organizational factors such as culture and structure of the
firm etc. Go Fashion should consider these aspects and work on accordingly. Other than this,
there are market factors of the organization as well which might impact the expansion of the
new store in the markets of Australia and these are relations with the government, community
and industry, environmental sustainability as well as international marketing (Blanck, Hyseni
& Altunkol Wise, 2020).
Significant dimension of cultural diversity for the project
The market in which the company is planning to enter is a composite of many cultures
such as Scottish, Irish, Chinese, Australian, Greek, Dutch and many more. Further, they also
have varied values and ways of communicating with each other. It is crucial on the part of Go
Fashion Limited to understand different dimensions of diversity existing in the new market
for augmenting the potential of the company along with the work flow. There are different
dimensions of cultural diversity such as religious, age, gender, beliefs, ethnicity, language,
geographic location, race, parental status, occupation, language and so forth. However, for
the current project several dimensions are important such as age, occupation, religion,
ethnicity and geographical location (Moharrer & Corso, 2020).
Ways of avoiding problems and achieving project’s success in the context of cultural
diversity
There are different ways through which the problems in the project can be avoided
and can contribute towards the success of the project and these are follows:
 Working and the communication style of the employees
 Knowledge of a particular culture
 Pervious related experience (Ayega & Muathe, 2018)
 Networks and personal perspectives
 Effective measurement of performance of the team
 Selecting as well as structuring the team appropriately
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Responsibilities for addressing cultural diversity factors in this project
There will be different people responsible for the purpose of addressing the cultural
diversity factors in this project such as diversity managers and officers, training officers,
diversity subject specialists and consultants and human resource consultants.
Resources needed
Different internal and external organizations, agencies and individual who can offer
their support in the project of Go Fashion Limited such as training officers and programs,
diversity managers, community groups, grievance officers, human resource consultants and
diversity subject specialists (Swartz & et.al., 2019). Other than this, there are several
resources which will be needed for assisting with this project and these are training materials,
profile reports, data related to demographics, audio-visual materials, reports, manuals,
website, human resources and many others.
External stakeholders and the ways they are being impacted or impact the decision regarding
diversity management
There are varied kinds of external stakeholders which can impact and are being
influenced by the decision regarding the diversity management for this new project of
expanding into the markets of Australia by Go Fashion Limited. And explanation of these
stakeholders and the ways they are being impacted is being defined in the subsequent section:
Stakeholders Impacts
Customers This decision of the company will help in improving the customer
services and satisfaction level as satisfied workers will provide better
services to them. It will also help in enhancing and developing better
association with the clients (Amaram, 2017).
Suppliers The diversity management decision will support in having more
inclusive relationship with different suppliers.
Government Diversity management decision of the firm can be impacted by
different rules, policies and legislations being formulated by the
government.
Communities Religious persuasion and language proficiency will help the
company to better satisfy the communities and will gain full support.
However, stereotypes and taboo of the communities might impact the
functioning of the company (Salter & Migliaccio, 2019).
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FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Summarising the key findings
Thus, from the above evaluation, it has been found out that the company Go Fashion
Limited an Indian clothing and apparel company has been planning to expand their
operations in the international market that is Australia. The firm needs to takes into account
several factors such as customer preferences, taste, satisfaction, sustainability, target market,
licensing, competition and cultural and diversity factors. Out of all, the diversity aspect is the
most important and complex one, as it generally decides the success of the firm in the new
market. In addition to this, it has also been originated that there are different stakeholders
who will be affected by the decision regarding the diversity management in this project such
as customers, suppliers, government and communities (Kirton & Greene, 2015). Furthermore,
for the purpose of attainment of maximum amount of success in this project, it has been
evaluated that there are certain things which needs to be considered such as working and the
communication style of the employees, measuring the team performance and so forth.
Offering several recommendations
For the purpose of improving diversity and inclusion there are certain strategies which
can be followed by Go Fashion and they are being elaborated in the following section:
 Providing training in cultural diversity management – Diversity training and
development programs must be made mandatory for the employees to attend. This
will support the employees in learning about importance of different cultures and will
learn to respect diversity within an organization.
 Increasing recruitment of culturally diverse workforce – This is also an important
approach through which diversity and inclusivity can be augmented. Company should
recruit and hire candidates coming from different background, caste, creed, religion,
disability and gender (Hunt, Layton & Prince, 2015). This will foster inclusive
workplace which in turn will support diversity and inclusivity.
 Inclusive benefits and programs – It is also important on the part of the organization
to make sure that all the benefits and programs are inclusive and there should be no
discrimination on the basis of gender.
 Celebrating all religions and culture – This is being regarded as the most important
strategy for increasing diversity as well as inclusion in this project. Go Fashion should
celebrate all the festivals of different cultures and religions for the purpose of having
equality and harmony within the organization (Harvey & Allard, 2015).
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 Development of flexible and collaborative workplace – Another important strategy of
improving diversity and inclusion which can be adopted by Go Fashion is
development of flexible and collaborative workplace. It is crucial that the company
must foster collaborative culture through development of employee advocacy group
and training to leaders regarding inclusivity and diversity (Jankelová, Joniaková &
Procházková, 2022). With this, the firm will be in a position to have more diverse
workforce who will respect each other’s differences and work in collaboration with
each other for attaining the final goals of the company.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACTION PLAN
Diversity and inclusion strategies
After reviewing the recommendations, it has been evaluated that there are several
strategies that needs to be developed for implementing the recommendations. Some of them
includes designing a training and development program for augmenting the capabilities of the
workers to communicate with co-workers from diverse cultural background, recruitment of
diverse qualified candidates, making arrangements for celebration of all festivals related to
different cultures and religions and fostering a culture that encourages collaboration (Barak,
2016). All these strategies requires and effective plan of action which is being elaborated in
the subsequent section.
Diversity and inclusion action plan
Strategies Anticipated
outcomes
Actions Responsibilit
ies
Stakeholders Resources
needed
Time
frame
Designing a
training and
development
program for
augmenting
the
capabilities
of the
workers to
 This will help
in
improvement
in the
workplace
communicatio
n
 Will decrease
the cost related
to poor
communicatio
 Defining
the needs
of training
and
developme
nt
 Establishm
ent and
communica
tion of
policy of
 Training
officer
 Human
resource
managers
 Managing
director
 Management
team
 Employees
 Cultural
diversity
and
inclusivity
manual
 Training
need
evaluation
survey
 Informatio
n notice
1
week
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communicat
e with co-
workers
from diverse
cultural
background
n, conflicts
and clashes
between the
workers
 Employees
will better
understand the
concept of
diversity and
its benefits in
the firm
the firm on
this
cultural
training
program
and
discussion
at the team
meetings
 Questionna
ire
Recruitment
of diverse
qualified
candidates
 Helps in
improving the
staff
performance
and motivation
 Increased level
of contribution
of the staff
towards the
organizational
success and
growth
 Increased
diversity of
thinking as
well as
perspectives
 Advertisem
ent of the
roles on
broad
publication
s
 Making
sure that
diverse
variety of
applicants
are
represented
at the
shortlist
stage
 Human
resource
managers
 All hiring
managers
 Management
team
 Media for
positing
the
advertisem
ent
 Details
regarding
the job
profile
 Policies
and
procedures
manual of
the
organizatio
n
3
month
s
Making
arrangement
s for
 More level of
employee
engagement
within the
organization
 Employees
 Making
arrangeme
nts for all
the
resources
and
 Human
resource
managers
 Senior
leadership
 Management
team
 Employees
 Team
leaders
 List of
games
 Decorative
items
 Memo for
discussion
12
month
s
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celebration
of all
festivals
related to
different
cultures and
religions
will respect
each other
differences
and cultures
 More
connection
and
relationship
between the
workers
 There will be
mor
socialization
in the
company
which will
augments the
overall
productivity of
the firm.
conducting
planning of
ways of
celebrating
the
festivals
 Hosting
meetings
with the
human
resource
managers
of the firm
Liaising
with the
local
vendors
team regarding
celebration
 Funds
 Informatio
n notice
Fostering a
culture that
encourages
collaboration
 Building of
heavy
relationships
within the firm
 Boosting of
morale and
confidence of
the employees
 Enhanced
productivity
and
profitability of
the business
concern
 Offering
leadership
diversity
and
inclusivity
training to
the
managers
 Establishm
ent of
employee
advocacy
group
 Human
resource
managers
 Senior
leadership
team
 Management
team
 Employees
 Team
leaders
 Diverse
workforce
 Tasks and
assignment
s
 Opportuniti
es for
collaborati
on
4
month
s
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 More
openness and
trust among
them diverse
employees
CONCLUSION
Based on the above evaluation, it can be stated that diversity and inclusion are being
regarded as an important factor while considering new project related to expansion, hiring a
person from the overseas market etc. Further, for the successful completion of a project or
process, diversity and inclusivity within the teams needs to be managed effectively. it has
been found out from the study that effective management of cultural diversity will allow the
organization to have proactive and developmental approach that might results in ensuring
advantages for the firm.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Amaram, D.I. (2017). Cultural diversity: Implications for workplace management. Journal of
Diversity Management, 2(4), 1-6.
Ayega, E.N., & Muathe, S. (2018). Critical Review of Literature on Cultural Diversity in the
Work Place and Organizational Performance: A Research Agenda. Journal of Human
Resource Management, 6(1), 9.
Barak, M.E.M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace.
Managing diversity assignment Sage Publications.
Blanck, P., Hyseni, F., & Altunkol Wise, F. (2020). Diversity and Inclusion in the American
Legal Profession: Workplace Accommodations for Lawyers with Disabilities and
Lawyers Who Identify as LGBTQ. J Occup Rehabil 30, 537–564.
Grissom, A.R. (2018). Workplace Diversity and Inclusion. Reference & User Services
Quarterly, 57(4), 242–247.
Harvey, C.P., & Allard, M. (2015). Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases,
and exercises. Pearson.
Hunt, V., Layton, D., & Prince, S. (2015). Diversity matters. McKinsey & Company, 1, 15-
29.
Jankelová, N., Joniaková, Z., & Procházková, K. (2022). The way to business
competitiveness: the importance of diversity management and teamwork climate in
stabilizing of employees. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(3), 606–
625.
Kirton, G., & Greene, A.M. (2015). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical
approach. Routledge.
Moharrer, M., & Corso, M. (2020). Role of Cultural Diversity in Innovative Performance of
International Business Collaborations. International Journal of Innovation and
Technology Management, 17(8).
O’Donovan, D. (2018). Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Springer.
Sabharwal, M. (2014). Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to
further performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 197–21.
Salter, N.P., & Migliaccio, L. (2019). Allyship as a Diversity and Inclusion Tool in the
Workplace. Emerald Publishing Limited, 22,131-152.
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Swartz, T.H., Palermo, A.S., Masur, S.K., & Aberg, J.A. (2019). The Science and Value of
Diversity: Closing the Gaps in Our Understanding of Inclusion and Diversity, The
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 22(2), S33–S41.
Wambari, M.N. (2021). Workplace diversity management effects on implementation of
human resource management practices in the ministry of health, Kenya.
Young, C., Pyke, J., Maharaj, N., Rasmussen, B., & Jones, R. (2018). Diversity and
inclusion: building strength and capability. Young.
Online references
Go Fashion India Ltd. 2022. Retrieved from
https://www.moneycontrol.com/india/stockpricequote/retailing/gofashionindia/GFI04
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