Importance of Equality and Diversity in Workplace

This research project focuses on the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace, with a case study on Tesco. It examines the significance of equality and diversity, negative consequences of workplace discrimination, and how equality and diversity practices support Tesco in eliminating discrimination. The research methodology includes a questionnaire to gather primary data. The data analysis reveals insights into the employees' knowledge and opinions on equality and diversity in the workplace.

Research Project
1

Contents
TITLE: “Importance of equality and diversity in workplace”.........................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background of research..........................................................................................................3
Research Aim.........................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives...............................................................................................................3
Research Questions................................................................................................................3
Significance of research.........................................................................................................3
LITERETURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................4
Importance of equality and diversity at workplace................................................................4
Negative consequences that TESCO may face to workplace discrimination.........................4
Manner in which equality and diversity practices support TESCO in eliminating workplace
discrimination.........................................................................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................6
Research philosophy...............................................................................................................6
Research approach..................................................................................................................6
Research strategy....................................................................................................................6
Research choice......................................................................................................................6
Data collection method...........................................................................................................7
Sampling.................................................................................................................................9
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION.............................................................................9
Data analysis...........................................................................................................................9
Data Interpretation................................................................................................................11
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................19
REFLECTION...............................................................................................................................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................20
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................21
2

3

TITLE: “Importance of equality and diversity in workplace”
INTRODUCTION
Background of research
Equality and diversity is about treating all employees equally in the company is respective
of gender, age, religion, culture, caste, creed, colour, and other attributes. It helps in developing a
healthy workplace culture and improving performance and productivity of company (Finnis,
2016). Tesco is one of the leading organisation which deals in groceries and provide its products
and services to many countries. The company was established in 1919 and is headquartered in
England, United Kingdom. This report aims “To develop an understanding regarding importance
of equality and diversity within an organization. A case study on Tesco.” The objectives and
questions provides guidance to researcher to fulfil aim of investigation.
Research Aim
The main aim of performing this study is “To develop an understanding regarding
importance of equality and diversity within an organization. A case study on Tesco.”
Research Objectives
1. To examine the importance of equality and diversity at workplace.
2. To identify the negative consequences that TESCO may face due to workplace
discrimination.
3. To ascertain manner in which equality and diversity practices support TESCO in
eliminating workplace discrimination.
Research Questions
1. What is the importance of equality and diversity at workplace?
2. What are negative consequences that TESCO may face to workplace discrimination?
3. The manner in which equality and diversity practices support TESCO in eliminating
workplace discrimination?
Significance of research
This study aims to develop an understanding regarding significance of equality and diversity
within an organization. The study is important as it helps in knowing the significance of equality
4

and diversity for Tesco. Apart from this, also help in determining the effectiveness of equality
and diversity initiatives of company in removing discrimination from workplace. Moreover, with
the help of this study, negative consequences of discrimination can be determined by Tesco
which supports in taking appropriate initiatives to remove it (De Costa, 2018).
LITERETURE REVIEW
Importance of equality and diversity at workplace
According to Ruth Mayhew, equality and diversity in the workplace is quite important to be
considered from the point of view of the organizations because this allows them to be able to
attain their goals and objectives easily (Equality and Diversity in the Workplace, 2017). Thus, in
this manner this is very helpful for the firms to be able to maintain a fair balance between the
various types of workers. The author points out that there are various benefits of maintaining it in
the organizations. Therefore, Tesco is required to take considerable steps for maintaining
equality and diversity in the workplace because this can be very helpful for it because of the
benefits which it offers. These are Increase in interaction between the co-workers (Cole, Jones
and Russell, 2016). This leads to ensuring that there is greater cooperation and coordination
between the colleagues which helps in the achievement of goals and objectives. It leads to an
enhancement in the level of communication which facilitates the organizations to be able to work
in the right manner. It leads to greater gender equality which allows giving fair opportunities to
the women to allow them to excel in the field of employment. Also, with the use of equality and
diversity in the workplace an organization will be able to frame a positive reputation for itself.
Thus the focus of the management in the company has to be on its promotion due to the benefits
which it offers which will thus allow them to be able to enhance its goodwill in an effective
manner which will thus be quite helpful for it.
Negative consequences that TESCO may face to workplace discrimination
As per the opinion of Neslie A. Etheridge states that there is a relationship between
discrimination in the workplace and the mental and physical health of the employees. According
to the author, the employees who have faced workplace discrimination are more likely to face
mental and physical health issues (Effects of discrimination at the Workplace, 2015). Thus these
types of issues are likely to put an impact on their overall level of performance. Therefore, this
can create an impact on the achievement of goals as well as objectives of the organization (De
5

Jong, 2016). Therefore if Tesco's management discriminates between the employees then this
can create an impact on both their physical as well as mental health. Thus according to the author
this relationship is quite impactful for the workers. This is so because if there is a negative
discrimination in the workplace, then the motivation level of the employees will be affected and
they will not be able to concentrate on their particular tasks and objectives in the right manner.
Also due to it a poor work culture can be created which can make the workers lose their focus
and exhibit counterproductive work behaviour like not completing tasks on time, leaving work
early and arriving late.
Manner in which equality and diversity practices support TESCO in eliminating workplace
discrimination
According to Louise Petty, equality and diversity is quite important to ensure that the
company is able to eliminate the workplace discrimination. Tesco needs to ensure that it follows
the Equality Act, 2010 which lists different types of characteristics which are required to be
considered by the organizations thus allowing them to be able to promote equality in the
workplace (How Equality & Diversity Improves Your Workplace, 2016). These are the
parameters which the companies are required to consider so that they can ensure that there is no
discrimination between any employee in the organization. Also the benefits which diversity
offers to the organizations is that it will ensure that people from different areas and fields are
included in the workforce. Also it will lead towards specialization because the firm will be able
to hire people who are quite efficient and effective in performing their work. Thus the equality
and diversity practices like supporting all employees, treating all of them fairly, including the
workers of all races and religion in the workforce and creating a work environment which aids
diversity will help Tesco to be able to realize its goals and objectives without problems and
issues. It will help it in providing a proper platform to its different workers which will ensure
their personal as well as professional development (Engeli and Mazur, 2018). Also these
practices will be helpful for Tesco to eliminate workplace discrimination because through them
the company will set a common parameter so that the employees are treated in a fair manner and
thus there is no use of a biased approach from the managers.
6

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For conducting the research on Equality and Diversity in the Workplace there will be a use
of Saunders Research Onion model. This model has various types of layers such as Research
philosophy, Research approaches, Research strategies, Time horizons and Data collection
methods. Each one of them has its own significance in the research work. By taking the help of
this model a detailed and comprehensive information can be easily obtained. The methods which
will be used for research are as follows –
Research philosophy
Interpretivism and positivism are the research philosophies from which positivism research
philosophy is considered as it is purely based on factual knowledge which research gain through
observation. It is also based on quantitative research so help researcher in providing valid
outcomes of research (Arday, 2019).
Research approach
Inductive and deductive approaches which are mainly considered in research. This research
makes use of deductive approach as it is concerned with developing hypothesis on the basis of
pre-existing theory. This support researcher in collecting data more adequately.
Research strategy
These are the techniques through which the relevant data related to the research can be
obtained. In it, techniques like Interviews, Questionnaire, Case Study and Modelling can be used
effectively (Isotalus and Kakkuri-Knuuttila, 2018). Therefore, the use of Questionnaire will be
made so as to obtain detailed and relevant information related to the data which is being
analysed. Through this method different types of questions can be prepared which can be asked
to the respondents in which they can give their views. Through it, the data related with carrying
out research on Equality and Diversity at Workplace in Tesco can be obtained effectively and
efficiently.
Research choice
There are two types of research approaches which can be used. These are Qualitative and
Quantitative Research Approach. In Qualitative Research, the experience of a person is told in
own words. While in Quantitative Research, an extensive use of numbers and statistics is made
7

so that the research is conducted in the right manner. Both of these approaches will be used in
order to conduct research about Equality & Diversity in the workplace.
Data collection method
Primary and secondary data collection method are used in the research. The primary data is
the fresh data which is collected through questionnaire and secondary data is second hand data
which is collected through journal, articles and books. This assist in gathering adequate amount
of data on topic (Atewologun, and Mahalingam, 2018). This data can therefore be analysed so as
to derive the desired conclusions and recommendations which can be helpful for taking of
different types of decisions in the future time period. The questionnaire is as follows:
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Address:
Email id:
Q 1) Do you know about the significance of equality and diversity in workplace?
a) Yes
b) No
Q 2) According to you, which benefit does Tesco get through maintaining diverse
workplace?
a) Improved creativity
b) Promote innovation in workplace
c) More engaged employees
d) Improved workplace culture
Q 3) What can be the adverse consequence for Tesco if it discriminates its employees based
on some attributes like age, religion, gender etc.?
a) Increased absenteeism of employees
b) Decreased motivation and morale
c) Increased turnover rate
d) Reduced productivity
8

Q 4) Does company take any kind of initiative which support in removing discrimination
and developing effective workplace?
a) Yes
b) No
Q 5) As per your opinion, how effective the laws and regulations related to employment are
in maintaining equally diverse workplace in Tesco?
a) Highly effective
b) Effective
c) Neutral
d) Ineffective
e) Highly ineffective
Q 6) What is the relation between equality and diversity and productivity and performance
of organisation?
a) Positive relation
b) Negative relation
c) No relation
Q 7) According to you, which is the most significant way to promote equality in work place
and remove discrimination from Tesco?
a) Execution of equality policies
b) Prevent unconscious bias
c) Administer equal growth opportunities
d) Equal pay for similar work
e) Fair and transparent hiring
Q 8) Do you agree that senior management of Tesco encourage staff members to involved
in discussions regarding equality and diversity issues?
a) Highly agree
b) Agree
c) Neutral
d) Disagree
e) Highly disagree
9

Q 9) What is the meaning of equality and diversity to you?
Q 10) How effective are the policies of Tesco related to equality and diversity?
Q 11) Suggest any other strategy which will help Tesco in maintaining work place equality
and diversity
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sampling
Simple random sampling method is considered for performing the investigation by
researcher (Atewologun, and Mahalingam, 2018). By the help of this method, biasness can be
eliminated and sample is collected fairly. The sample size is 30 in relation to this research and
the respondents are the employees of Tesco.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Data analysis
Q 1) Do you know about the significance of equality and diversity in
workplace?
Frequency
a) Yes 28
b) No 2
Q 2) According to you, which benefit does Tesco get through
maintaining diverse workplace?
Frequency
a) Improved creativity 8
b) Promote innovation in workplace 7
c) More engaged employees 8
d) Improved workplace culture 7
Q 3) What can be the adverse consequence for Tesco if it discriminates
its employees based on some attributes like age, religion, gender etc.?
Frequency
a) Increased absenteeism of employees 8
b) Decreased motivation and morale 6
c) Increased turnover rate 8
d) Reduced productivity 8
10

Q 4) Does company take any kind of initiative which support in
removing discrimination and developing effective workplace?
Frequency
a) Yes 20
b) No 10
Q 5) As per your opinion, how effective the laws and regulations
related to employment are in maintaining equally diverse workplace in
Tesco?
Frequency
a) Highly effective 15
b) Effective 10
c) Neutral 2
d) Ineffective 2
e) Highly ineffective 1
Q 6) What is the relation between equality and diversity and
productivity and performance of organisation?
Frequency
a) Positive relation 25
b) Negative relation 4
c) No relation 1
Q 7) According to you, which is the most significant way to promote
equality in work place and remove discrimination from Tesco?
Frequency
a) Execution of equality policies 7
b) Prevent unconscious bias 5
c) Administer equal growth opportunities 7
d) Equal pay for similar work 6
e) Fair and transparent hiring 5
Q 8) Do you agree that senior management of Tesco encourage staff
members to involved in discussions regarding equality and diversity
issues?
Frequency
a) Highly agree 12
b) Agree 10
c) Neutral 3
11

d) Disagree 3
e) Highly disagree 2
Q 9) What is the meaning of equality and diversity to you?
Q 10) How effective are the policies of Tesco related to equality and diversity?
Q 11) Suggest any other strategy which will help Tesco in maintaining work place equality
and diversity
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Data Interpretation
Theme 1: Knowledge about significance of equality and diversity in workplace
Q 1) Do you know about the significance of equality and diversity in
workplace?
Frequency
a) Yes 28
b) No 2
Interpretation: According to the above chart, it can be said that 28 out of 30 respondents
have the knowledge about significance of equality and diversity in workplace and the remaining
two respondents do not know about significance of equality and diversity for company.
Theme 2: Benefit that Tesco get through maintaining diverse workplace
Q 2) According to you, which benefit does Tesco get through Frequency
12

maintaining diverse workplace?
a) Improved creativity 8
b) Promote innovation in workplace 7
c) More engaged employees 8
d) Improved workplace culture 7
Interpretation: According to the above chart, it can be interpreted that according to 8 out
of 30 respondents, improved creativity is the benefit that company get by maintaining diverse
workplace, seven said that promoting innovation in workplace is the benefit, according to 8
respondents more engaged employees is the benefit and the remaining seven respondents said
that improved workplace culture is the benefit which Tesco get by maintaining diverse
workplace.
Theme 3: Adverse consequence for company if it discriminates its employees based on some
attributes like age, religion, gender etc.
Q 3) What can be the adverse consequence for Tesco if it discriminates
its employees based on some attributes like age, religion, gender etc.?
Frequency
a) Increased absenteeism of employees 8
b) Decreased motivation and morale 6
c) Increased turnover rate 8
13

d) Reduced productivity 8
Interpretation: From the above graph, it can be said that according to 8 out of 30
respondents, increased absenteeism of employees is the adverse result for company of treating its
employees discriminatory on the basis of age, religion and gender. According to 6 respondents,
decreased motivation and morale of employees is the adverse consequence, 8 respondents said
that increased turnover rate is the consequence and as per the opinion of remaining 8
respondents, reduced productivity is the consequence of discrimination in workplace.
Theme 4: Initiative taken by company support in removing discrimination and developing
effective workplace
Q 4) Does company take any kind of initiative which support in
removing discrimination and developing effective workplace?
Frequency
a) Yes 20
b) No 10
14

Interpretation: As per the above chart, it can be said that according to 20 of 30
respondents, company take initiatives that support in eliminating discrimination from workplace
and developing effective workplace and the remaining 10 respondents said that companies not
taking any initiative for removing discrimination and developing effective workplace.
Theme 5: Effectiveness of employment laws and regulations in maintaining equally diverse
workplace
Q 5) As per your opinion, how effective the laws and regulations
related to employment are in maintaining equally diverse workplace in
Tesco?
Frequency
a) Highly effective 15
b) Effective 10
c) Neutral 2
d) Ineffective 2
e) Highly ineffective 1
15

Interpretation: According to the above chart, it can be interpreted that according to 15
out of 30 respondents, the laws and regulations related to employment are highly effective in
maintaining equally diverse workplace in Tesco, 10 respondents said that it is effective, 2
respondents responded neutrally towards it, according to 2 respondents laws and regulations are
ineffective and the remaining one respondent said that employment laws and regulations are
highly ineffective in maintaining equally diverse workplace.
Theme 6: Relation between equality and diversity and productivity and performance of Tesco
Q 6) What is the relation between equality and diversity and
productivity and performance of organisation?
Frequency
a) Positive relation 25
b) Negative relation 4
c) No relation 1
16

Interpretation: From the above chart, it can be interpreted that as per the opinion of to 25
out of 30 respondents, there is positive relation between equality and diversity and performance
and productivity of company, 4 respondent said that there is a negative relationship and one
respondent respond that there is no relation between quality and diversity and performance and
productivity of company.
Theme 7: Most significant way to promote equality and remove discrimination from workplace
Q 7) According to you, which is the most significant way to promote
equality in work place and remove discrimination from Tesco?
Frequency
a) Execution of equality policies 7
b) Prevent unconscious bias 5
c) Administer equal growth opportunities 7
d) Equal pay for similar work 6
e) Fair and transparent hiring 5
17

Interpretation: As per the above chart, it can be interpreted that according to 7 out of 30
respondents, execution of equality policy is significant way to promote equality in workplace and
remove discrimination as well. According to 5 respondents, prevent unconscious bias is the
effective way, 7 respondents said that providing equal growth opportunities is the effective way
to promote equality, 6 people said that equal pay for similar work is the most appropriate way
and the remaining five respondents said that fair and transparent hiring is the significant way to
promote equality and remove discrimination from workplace.
Theme 8: Senior management encourage staff members to involve in discussions regarding
equality and diversity issues
Q 8) Do you agree that senior management of Tesco encourage staff
members to involved in discussions regarding equality and diversity
issues?
Frequency
a) Highly agree 12
b) Agree 10
c) Neutral 3
d) Disagree 3
e) Highly disagree 2
18

Interpretation: From the above graph, it can be said that out of 30 respondents, 12 are
highly agree that senior management encourage staff members to engage in equality and
diversity issues discussion, 10 people are agreed with it, 3 respondents respond neutrally, three
respondents are disagreed with this and according to remaining two respondents, they are highly
disagreed and said that senior management not involved in discussion about equality and
diversity issues.
Theme 9: Meaning of equality and diversity
Q 9) What is the meaning of equality and diversity to you?
Response: According to the 12 respondents, equality and diversity is about treating all the
individuals equally in organisation and the remaining 18 respondents said that equality and
diversity is all about providing equal growth opportunities to staff members so that they can
develop and grow equally.
Theme 10: Effectiveness of policies of firm related to equality and diversity
Q 10) How effective are the policies of Tesco related to equality and diversity?
Response: Most of the people said that the policies of Tesco related to quality and diversity are
highly effective in terms of healthy culture and a few respondents said the policies are not as
much effective in maintaining equality and diversity in Tesco.
19

RECOMMENDATIONS
According to the above provided analysis and interpretation of data, it is found that it is very
much needed for Tesco to maintain equality and diversity as the supports in developing healthy
culture in the organisation which in turn improve the productivity and performance of employees
as well as organisation. So, for maintaining equality and diversity, it is recommended to the
company that it should provide growth and development opportunities to the workforce on
continuous basis so that employees will be able to develop their skills and abilities and contribute
in improving the productivity of company. Apart from this, the management of Tesco should
formulate appropriate policies and practices regarding equality and diversity and execute them
effectively in the organisation so that it can be ensured that all the individuals will be treated
equally in the workplace and a diverse workplace can be maintained. In addition to this, manager
should develop fair recruitment strategies so that the candidates will be selected without any
discrimination and a diverse workplace can be maintained.
REFLECTION
This study is based on importance of equality and diversity in organisation. By the help of
this investigation, I learnt various things which will support me in my future. Through this
investigation, my knowledge base is improved and I gain deep insights on topic along with other
areas also. This research improved my skills and abilities and make me able to perform future
research in more effective way. In this research, I used questionnaire tool to collect data.
However, I can also use interview method for performing data collection process. This will help
in collecting data accurately and draw valid outcomes. Apart from this, both qualitative and
quantitative methods are utilised so that data can be collected properly. For removing the
biasness, simple random probability sampling was used, however, convenience sampling method
is can also be used to collect the sample size as per the convenience. In future, if I get chance to
perform similar research or another research, then I will use convenience sampling method as
this help me in collecting the sample size conveniently from the large population. This study
highly supports in improving my knowledge and my overall experience was excellent.
20

CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it can be concluded that It is very important to maintain
equally diverse workplace as this help in developing effective culture in the company which in
turn support employees in work productively towards accomplishing organisational goals. There
are several ways through which company can maintain equality and diversity involving
providing training to employees, render equal growth opportunities to all, executing equality and
diversity policies in the organisation etc. All these ways help in maintaining equally diverse
workplace and removing discrimination from the organisation. Apart from this, it is highly
significant for company to make sure that the discrimination on the basis of age, gender, religion
etc. cannot be prevail in the organisation so that a healthy culture remains maintain and all the
employees work productively and effectively.
21

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adamson, M., Kelan, E.K., Lewis, P., Rumens, N. and Sliwa, M., 2016. The quality of equality:
thinking differently about gender inclusion in organizations. Human Resource
Management International Digest.
Arday, J., 2019. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN TEACHER EDUCATION. Teaching About
Social Justice Issues in Physical Education, p.185.
Atewologun, D. and Mahalingam, R., 2018. Intersectionality as a methodological tool in
qualitative equality, diversity and inclusion research. In Handbook of research methods
in diversity management, equality and inclusion at work. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cole, B., Jones, R .J. and Russell, L. M., 2016. Racial dissimilarity and diversity climate effect
organizational identification. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International
Journal.
De Costa, P.I., 2018. Toward greater diversity and social equality in language education
research. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 15(4), pp.302-307.
De Jong, S., 2016. Converging logics? Managing migration and managing diversity. Journal of
Ethnic and Migration Studies. 42(3). pp.341-358.
Engeli, I. and Mazur, A., 2018. Taking implementation seriously in assessing success: The
politics of gender equality policy. European Journal of Politics and Gender. 1(1-2).
pp.111-129.
Finnis, J., 2016. Equality and Religious Liberty: Oppressing Conscientious Diversity in England.
Haq, R., Klarsfeld, A., Kornau, A. and Ngunjiri, F.W., 2020. Diversity in India: addressing caste,
disability and gender. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Isotalus, E. and Kakkuri-Knuuttila, M. L., 2018. Ethics and intercultural communication in
diversity management. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Kyuchukov, H. and New, W., 2016. Diversity vs. equality: Why the education of Roma children
does not work. Intercultural Education, 27(6), pp.629-634.
Thomson, S.B., Wei, W.X. and Swallow, P., 2019. Equality and harmony: diversity management
in China. Chinese Management Studies.
Online
Equality and Diversity in the Workplace. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://bizfluent.com/info-8270685-equality-diversity-workplace.html>
Effects of discrimination at the Workplace. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.army.mil/article/142799/effects_of_discrimination_in_the_workplace>
How Equality & Diversity Improves Your Workplace. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/equality-diversity-benefits-workplace/>
22