GSD3DAW Assignment: Apple's Diversity Policy Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Apple's diversity policy, examining its strengths and weaknesses through the lens of the WPR (What's the problem represented to be?) framework. The report begins by introducing the concept of diversity in the workplace and the challenges associated with it, particularly the tendency of corporations to focus on certain forms of diversity, such as gender, while neglecting others like ethnic and disability diversity. It then delves into Apple's diversity policy, highlighting the company's emphasis on gender diversity and its relative shortcomings in terms of ethnic and disability representation. The report applies the WPR framework to analyze the policy, addressing questions about the problem representation, underlying assumptions, and effects produced. It concludes with recommendations for Apple to enhance its diversity efforts by focusing on all forms of diversity, not just gender, to improve productivity and achieve its strategic goals. The report is based on an assignment brief that asks students to evaluate and analyze a chosen policy using a theory. The report fulfills all the requirements of the assignment, which includes providing context, history, choice of policy, theory outline, application of theory, and recommendations. The writing is clear and concise, and all of the requirements of the brief are met.

Running head: DIVERSITY AT WORK
DIVERSITY AT WORK: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIVERSITY POLICY OF APPLE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Introduction
As stated by Hughes (2019), business corporations in the present times have developed
policies related to the effective management of their workforce diversity keeping into perspective
their organizational needs along the needs of the workers who are a part of the same. Strachan et
al. (2018) are of the viewpoint the diversity management policies which are being followed by
the corporations should strive to ensure the fact that the workers from diverse backgrounds are
being offered adequate representation within the corporations and also offered the kind of
benefits or perks which are being offered to the other workers of the corporation. However, the
important issue arises since the majority of the corporations focus merely on managing one
particular kind of diversity within their workplaces like male-female workers, ethnic diversity,
racial diversity and others (Twine 2018).
This in turn had given rise to the situation wherein the majority of the corporations are
extremely rich or vibrant in one form of diversity whereas score low in other forms of diversity.
In the connection, it needs to be said that the primary objective of the corporations behind the
usage of the process of diversity management and different policies related to the same is to reap
or to effectively utilize the benefits offered by the same (Nakamura and Edelman 2018).
However, it becomes very difficult for the corporations to derive the required benefits from the
process of diversity management if they focus primarily on one kind or type of workplace
diversity. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a critical analysis of whether it is possible for
the corporations to fulfill the promise of a diverse workforce by focusing primarily on form of
diversity within their workplaces or not.

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Context
The problem which this paper intends to analyze is whether it is feasible for the
corporations to fulfill the promise of a diverse workforce by focusing solely on the enhancing of
one form of diversity within their corporations or not. In this relation, the diversity management
policy followed by the corporation Apple is an important one since it strives to offer adequate
representation or benefits to all its workers (Arce-Trigatti and Anderson 2019). However, the
most important issue associated with the diversity policy of Apple is the fact that extensive
importance is given to the representation of women which had come at the cost of the other
groups like the disabled people, indigenous groups and others (Samdanis, M. and Özbilgin
2019). According to Apple.com (2020), 38% of the new candidates recruited by Apple by
women, 45% of the leaders of the corporation below 30 years are women whereas 29% of the
women of Apple hold management or leadership designations in comparison to the 71% male
workers and the overall percentage of women in the corporation is 33% in comparison to 67%
male workers.
More importantly, adequate measures also have been undertaken by the corporation to
ensure the fact that the women workers are being offered equal pay in comparison to their male
counterparts, have adequate growth and development opportunities, are being offered regular
training programs so that they are being able to perform as per the performance standards or the
expectations of the corporation and others (Donovan 2016). However, when the aspects of ethnic
diversity, disability diversity and others forms of diversity are being taken into account it is seen
that the corporation lags far behind. For instance, only 9% of the workers of the corporations are
black, less than 3% are multiracial and less than 1% of the workers belong to the indigenous
background (Apple.com 2020). Furthermore, less than 0.3% of the workers of Apple suffer from

3DIVERSITY AT WORK
any kind of physical, mental or emotional disability (Apple.com 2020). This in turn clearly
indicates that whereas the corporation Apple had been able to substantially improve its
workforce diversity in terms of gender diversity yet the same cannot be said regarding the other
forms of diversity with the concerned corporation.
History and Choice of the Policy
Knights and Omanović (2016) are of the viewpoint that the construct of diversity
management emerged during the last two decades of the 20th century as an attempt on the part of
the different corporations to remedy the wrongs committed by the society over the years against
the women and the various minority groups. Adding to this, Holck, Muhr and Villeseche (2016)
have noted that the corporations soon realized the different benefits that having a diverse
workplace can offer to the corporations and this in turn led to the extensive usage of the same by
the corporations. However, despite the benefits offered by a diverse workforce like the
enhancement of productivity, achievement of overall business or strategic goals or objectives of
the corporations and others there are various challenges or issues related to the same that the
corporations face (Dennissen, Benschop and van den Brink 2020). For instance, the issues like
workplace conflicts, cross-cultural miscommunications and others associated with workplace
diversity often deter the corporations from fostering workforce diversity (Trittin and
Schoeneborn 2017). This in turn had given rise to the situation wherein it is seen that the
corporations like Apple and others are merely focusing on the enhancement of their gender
diversity rather than focusing on the enhancement of their ethnic diversity, disability diversity
and others (Donovan 2016).

4DIVERSITY AT WORK
The construct of gender diversity had been used by Apple over the years not only for the
purpose of reaping the above mentioned benefits but also for the purpose of enhancing its brand
image or brand reputation as well (Clarke and Boersma 2017). In this relation, it needs to be
gender equality and women empowerment are two of the most important initiatives used by
Apple as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) program and the enhancement of
number of women workers had also positively affected the organizational culture of the
corporations which in turn had positively affected the performance of the corporation
(Apple.com 2020). More importantly, since the majority of the women recruited by Apple are
from the same cultural, ethnic or social backgrounds as the majority of the male workers of the
corporation are from, thus the corporation does not have to face any significant conflicts,
disputes, cross-cultural miscommunication and others (Donovan 2016). Thus, through the
enhancement of gender diversity the corporation while being able to enjoy the benefits does not
had to face the negative connotations or the issues associated with the workforce diversity.
However, this is not the case with the enhancement of ethnic diversity, disability diversity and
others on the score of which the corporation might have to face some issues or challenges. For
instance, the disabled people on account of their disability are not being able to perform on par
with the other workers of the corporations and thereby special considerations needs to be made
by the corporations for them (Bowman Williams 2018). Furthermore, in the case of people from
different ethnicities it is seen that the corporations while offering them various training programs
related to work also need to focus on the aspects of cultural competency, social intelligence and
others of all the workers for the reduction of workplace disputes, conflicts , miscommunications
and others (Blaser et al. 2019). These in short are some of the most important reasons why Apple

5DIVERSITY AT WORK
over the years had focused solely on the aspect of gender diversity rather than the inculcation of
other forms of diversity within its workplace.
WPR Framework
Samdanis, M. and Özbilgin (2019) are of the viewpoint that the “What’s the problem
represented to be?” (WPR) framework of Carol Bacchi is an important framework which is being
used for the analysis of the problems or the issues that are associated with a particular policy.
Adding to this, Hughes (2019) has noted that an important assumption made by this particular
framework is the fact that for the purpose of creating a real change in the existing situation, the
manner in which the policy problems are being represented needs to undergo a change. Thus, in
the framework under discussion here she had formulated six questions which can serve as a
guide for examining and thereby disrupting the problem representations of the different policies.
More importantly, this particular framework of Bacchi challenges the traditional idea that the
public policies are formulated for the resolution of the different issues or the challenges faced by
the common people (Carolbacchi.com 2020). On the contrary, this particular framework shows
that the policies themselves contain implicit representation of the issues or the problems that they
strive to resolve (Mupepi, Mupepi and Mupepi 2019). The six important questions that are
outlined by the website, Carolbacchi.com (2020) for the analysis of the different policies are
listed below-
1. What’s the problem represented to be in a specific policy or policies?
2. What deep-seated presuppositions or assumptions (conceptual logics) underlie this
representation of the “problem” (problem representation)?
3. How has this representation of the “problem” come about?

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4. What is left unproblematic in this problem representation? Where are the silences? Can
the “problem” be conceptualized differently?
5. What effects (discursive, subjectification, lived) are produced by this representation of
the “problem”?
6. How and where has this representation of the “problem” been produced, disseminated
and defended? How has it been and/or how can it be disrupted and replaced?
Application of the WPR Framework for the analysis of the Policy
An analysis of the diversity policy which is presently being followed by Apple through
the usage of the WPR framework is not only likely to yield insightful information about the
concerned policy but also the problem representations associated with the same as well. For
instance, the specific problem which is being represented within the diversity policy which is
being followed by Apple is that the different corporations even in the present times do not offer
adequate employment opportunities to people from the different strata of the society. As a matter
of fact, the diversity policy of Apple clearly indicates that the sole focus of the corporation is to
enhance its gender diversity rather than the other of forms of diversity ethnic diversity, disability
diversity and others (Donovan 2016). The important assumption of Apple which in turn had
given rise to this problem representation is the fact that if the corporation enhances its ethnic
diversity, disability diversity and others then it would have to effectively deal with the negative
connotations associated with the same like workplace disputes, conflicts, cross-cultural
miscommunications and others (Clarke and Boersma 2017). These if not adequately managed
can adversely affect the organizational culture and thereby the productivity or the performance of
the corporation as well.

7DIVERSITY AT WORK
The representation of the problem becomes apparent when the statistics related to gender
diversity, ethnic diversity and other forms of diversity within the diversity report of the
corporation is being taken into account. The thing which had been left unproblematic is the
manner in the lack of ethnic diversity and others form of diversity is adversely affected the
growth of the corporation. More importantly, the lack of workforce diversity within Apple in
terms of ethnicity, disability and others rather than being seen as the disregard of the
corporations of diversity related to these aspects can be looked upon as the inability of the
corporation for the management of diversity related to these attributes (Donovan 2016).
Furthermore, a subjectification effect is being produced through the representation of the
problem in the diversity policy of Apple. The representation of the “problem” been produced,
disseminated and defended in the diversity report of the corporation and this can be disrupted
easily by increasing the number of workers within the corporation related to different ethnic
backgrounds and others.
Recommendations
 Focusing effectively on the enhancement of all forms of diversity within the corporation
rather than only gender diversity. This will help the corporation to effectively enhance its
overall productivity and also offer it the chance to achieve its business or strategic goals
as well.
 Resolution of the issues related to the enhancement of workplace diversity like disputes,
conflicts, cross-cultural miscommunication and others. This in turn would help in the
creation of the kind of workplace wherein the workers would be able to perform as per
the maximum potential.

8DIVERSITY AT WORK
 Organizing training programs for the workers from diverse backgrounds so as to help
them to acquire the skills which in turn would help them to perform as per the
expectation of the corporation. Organization of cultural programs, social events,
workshops and others wherein the workers would be able to know about their colleagues
from different backgrounds and also acquire cultural competency is another important
measure that the corporation can follow.
 Enhancement of employee engagement for overcoming the issues related to diversity.
Conclusion
To conclude, the diversity policies which are being followed by the corporations should
focus on the enhancement of all forms of diversity with the corporations and their adequate
management. However, the most important issue arises since the majority of the corporations
either focus on one form of diversity or the other because of the difficulties associated with the
management of different forms of diversity. This in turn had given rise to the situation wherein
the people from different backgrounds fail to get adequate representation within the corporations
which in turn adversely affects the organizations in the longer run. Thus, it becomes important
for the corporations to find the issues associated with the diversity policies followed by them and
take adequate measures for the resolution of the same. These aspects of diversity policy become
apparent from the above analysis of the same in the particular context of the diversity policy of
Apple.

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References
Apple.com 2020. Inclusion & Diversity. [online] Available at:
<https://www.apple.com/diversity/> [Accessed 10 March 2020].
Arce-Trigatti, A. and Anderson, A., 2019. Shortchanging complexity: Discourse, distortions, and
diversity policy in the age of neoliberalism. education policy analysis archives, 27, p.84.
Blaser, B., Bennett, C., Ladner, R.E., Burgstahler, S.E. and Mankoff, J., 2019. Perspectives of
Women with Disabilities in Computing. Cracking the Digital Ceiling: Women in Computing
around the World, p.159.
Bowman Williams, J., 2018. Diversity as a Trade Secret. Geo. LJ, 107, p.1685.
Carolbacchi.com 2020. Introducing WPR. [online] Available at:
<https://carolbacchi.com/about/> [Accessed 10 March 2020].
Clarke, T. and Boersma, M., 2017. The governance of global value chains: Unresolved human
rights, environmental and ethical dilemmas in the apple supply chain. Journal of Business
Ethics, 143(1), pp.111-131.
Dennissen, M., Benschop, Y. and van den Brink, M., 2020. Rethinking diversity management: an
intersectional analysis of diversity networks. Organization Studies, 41(2), pp.219-240.
Donovan, M., 2016. The Golden Apple: Redefining Work-Life Balance for a Diverse Workforce.
Routledge.

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Holck, L., Muhr, S.L. and Villeseche, F., 2016. Identity, diversity and diversity management: On
theoretical connections, assumptions and implications for practice. Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(1), pp.48-64.
Hughes, C., 2019. Using Workforce Inter-Personnel Diversity as a Unique Talent Management
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Cham.
Hughes, C., 2019. Workforce inter-personnel diversity: The power to influence human
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Knights, D. and Omanović, V., 2016. (Mis) managing diversity: exploring the dangers of
diversity management orthodoxy. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International
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Mupepi, K., Mupepi, T. and Mupepi, C., 2019. Workforce Diversity: Gaining the Competitive
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Nakamura, B.K. and Edelman, L.B., 2018. Bakke at 40: How Diversity Matters in the
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Management: The Legitimization and Delegitimization of Diversity Beliefs in
Organizations. International Journal of Management Reviews.

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