Reflective Essay on Fostering Innovation in Diverse Teams

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Developing an innovative Culture in a
Diverse Workforce
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Reflective essay
Diversity in the workforce means differences and similarities in terms of cultural background,
physical disabilities and abilities, religion, race, colour, age, gender, and also sexual orientation,
among the employees of an organisation. Diversity in the workforce is very important for the
company’s growth. The issue which arises in the diverse workforce is it becomes difficult for the
company to manage employees who have different cultural background and belief. Human
resource management of some companies have the ability to manage the diverse workforce but
the human resource management of every company do not have that ability.
Sometimes while assigning the projects to the employees, conflicts can begin between the team
members and get spread to the different teams also because of the different thinking process of
the employees. It has become important for the companies of mostly all firms to give more
importance to the teamwork rather that giving work individually in this globalised world. To
work in a team comes with the issue of diversity in the workforce. It is important for companies
to make strategies for managing workforce diversity. Misinterpretation and miscommunication is
the major cause of diversity issues which arises in the workforce (Kinyanjui, 2013). Good
communication plays an important role in improving productivity and reducing the conflict
within the workforce. The working environment might get affected because of the diversity in
the workforce because every employee has different perception and behaviour in the workforce.
So it important to create different innovative diversity functions and also implements them to the
employees within the workforce (Saxena, 2014). Creating and implementing the innovative and
productive culture in the working environment is very challenging because there are many
people involved in the process of the organisation. In order to create a new productive and
innovative idea, it is important to resolve the previous conflicts between the employees of the
company which has arisen due to the workplace environment, technological knowledge,
language, different thinking ability (Vered Holzmann, 2016). The team leader must be chosen for
the respective team by the team members. The team leader may help the team to stay motivated
which will increase the productivity of the team and the company (Maier, 2016). All the
employees of the company, whatever the caste, religion, colour, sex, etc. must be treated fairly
and respectfully. The employees should be motivated for their work and take part in improving
the business environment of the company. The organisation should include diversity process
within the workforce which primarily focuses on the management of the employees with
diversity (Nisha Nair, 2015).
The diversity in the workforce of the company is important for the better growth of the company.
Strategies should be made to manage the diverse employees of the company and to have a better
growth of the company. Diversity in the workforce may create conflicts between the employees
within the workforce but it is very important for developing new ideas and innovations which are
very beneficial for the company. The company must put more focus on diversity within the
workforce.
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References
 Kinyanjui, S. (2013). Innovative Strategies for Managing Workforce Diversity in Kenyan
Leading Corporations in Present Global Scenario. International Journal of Business and
Management, 20-32.
 Saxena, A. (2014). Workforce Diversity: A Key to Improve Productivity. Procedia
Economics and Finance, 76-85
 Vered Holzmann, J. G. (2016). Leadership to Creativity and Management of Innovation?
The Case of the “Innovation Club” in a Production Company. American Journal of
Industrial and Business Management, 60-71.
 Maier, S. (2016, Jul 26). 3 ways to boost innovation in the workplace. Retrieved from
Bizjournals:
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2016/07/3-ways-to-
boost-innovation-in-the-workplace.html
 Nisha Nair, N. V. (2015). Diversity and Inclusion at the Workplace:A Review of
Research and Perspectives. IIMA - Research and Publications, 1-36.
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