Workplace Diversity – Recruitment and Selection

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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Advantages of workplace diversity.................................................................................................2
Challenges facing managers owing to workplace diversity............................................................2
Literature review..............................................................................................................................4
Recommendations to address workplace diversity issues...............................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Today we live in the era of globalization. The ideology reflects the process of shattering
boundaries and connecting several geographical boundaries. Globalization has led to the world
being a flat place. There is constant exchange of people, technology, information and resources
from one place to another. Globalization has also led to the creation of highly diverse
organizations. Businesses are willing to recruit people from different parts of the globe in order
to widen their own horizon.
Advantages of workplace diversity.
Diverse workplaces are composed of employees coming from different racial, economic and
geographic backgrounds. The increasing number of diverse workplaces has been a boon for
businesses. People from different parts of the world come together to work. In most cases, this
has a largely positive impact on the work culture and provides employees with a platform to
enhance their learning and development within the firm.
With respect to recruitment and selection too, workplace place diversity and globalization
eliminates geographical boundaries for a business while looking for competent candidates. The
increasing competition among candidates while applying for a job have raised the standards for
the recruiters enabling firms to hire better candidates than before.
Workplace diversity gives rise to innovation and increased level of creativity in the organization.
People feel free to think out of box. Moreover, when such varied kind of people come together to
work towards a single goal, different perspectives can be put into place leading to improved team
performance. Working with people from different backgrounds can help people enhance their
learning in terms of different cultures, languages and economies at large. The experience of
working within a diverse team is fulfilling and enriching.
Challenges facing managers owing to workplace diversity
There are several benefits that come along with working in a diverse firm. However, there are
various challenges that are faced by managers that are bestowed upon with the responsibility of
handling a diverse team. It is not always easy to manage and effectively create coordination

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among people coming from varied backgrounds. The primary challenge faced by managers is
high level of conflicts. People who come from different backgrounds tend to have different
thought processes and working styles. This makes it difficult for these people to efficiently
coordinate among one another in order to work towards accomplishment of organizational goals.
Such differences lead to conflicts and adversely impact the working culture of the team. Work
culture at any organization plays a significant role in the accomplishment of organizational goals.
This culture largely impacts the morale and level of motivation among employees. It becomes
pressing for managers to ensure a positive work culture and a majority of their time goes in
resolving the existing conflicts among the team members.
There are various reasons behind these conflicts. They may result from different working styles
of employees. A lot of employees may not feel entirely accepted in the new workplace and hence
this lack of acceptance may create conflicts between them and other employees. Managers must
put efforts towards ensuring that all the employees associated with them feel welcome and are
provided with a positive working atmosphere.
The second major challenge faced by managers handling diverse organizations is
communication. Communication forms the backbone of effective teams and it is imperative that
organizations put efforts in ensuring transparent and efficient communication in their teams. In
diverse organizations, communication barriers are plenty making it difficult for team members to
efficiently communicate with each other. This can be because of language barriers or cultural
barriers. A lack of understanding about different cultures may make it difficult for people to
communicate with each other which in turn adversely impacts their performance.
Communication within an organization can be written or verbal. Either way different cultures
have different styles of communication as well as different rules for effective communication.
The difference in this culture makes it difficult for people to communicate in an efficient manner.
For example, people coming from the west prefer communicating over text messages and Emails
rather than verbal communication. Om the contrary, Asian employees are not used to taking
written messages too seriously. They prefer conducting a meeting and putting their point forward
every once in a while rather than texting. Such differences in customs of employees working in a
diverse team make it difficult for employees to communicate effectively.