Challenges of Diversity: An Essay on Organizational Dynamics

This essay delves into the multifaceted challenges of organizational diversity, examining both its advantages and disadvantages. It begins by defining organizational diversity and highlighting its increasing prevalence in today's globalized business environment. The essay then explores the need for diversity, emphasizing the tangible and intangible benefits organizations can gain, as well as the importance of providing equal opportunities to all individuals. A significant portion of the essay is dedicated to discussing the negative aspects of a diversified workforce, such as communication barriers arising from language differences, conflicts related to gender, age, and cultural differences, and potential for disrespect among employees. However, the essay also presents the positive impacts of diversity, including increased employee morale, enhanced productivity, and improved decision-making. The essay concludes by advocating for the encouragement of workplace diversity, suggesting that effective management can mitigate the challenges and maximize the benefits, ultimately leading to organizational success and market competitiveness. The essay uses references to support its arguments and provides a comprehensive overview of the topic.

Running head: CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
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1CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
Organizational Diversity refers to the diversity present among the employee base of an
organization. In today’s time, organizational diversity is a rather common aspects, and most of
the organizations or the work place culture is essentially characterize by diversity. Rather it is
essential to include the aspect of diversity within the work place, and the human resource
department of the organizations ensure that all the organizations possess a diversified workforce.
Involving a diversified work culture has therefore become a norm across the organizations. Now,
it is important to understand, the need of implementing a diversified workforce within the
workplace culture, and along with that, it is also important to understand the positive and
negative aspects in involving diversity within the workplace (Sabharwal. 2014). Every conduct
has a positive and a negative attribute and similarly, the involvement of diversity within the work
culture also includes both the aspects of positive and negative results. According to
organizational leaders and the market analysts, involving a diversified had s a number of positive
factors, along with having negative factors as well. Therefore, in the following essay, a
discussion will be present upon whether it is a good decision for the organizations to incorporate
the approaches of diversity knowing the negative attributes of the same (Peretz, Levi, and Fried.
2015). However, in order to conduct the discussion, it is important to have a profound idea and
knowledge regarding diversity.
Before initiating the discussion of whether it is viable to involve diversity considering its
challenges, it is important to understand the definition of diversity. The term diversity refer to
mixture, and the term organizational diversity refers to the having a mixed work force within the
organization. This mixed work force refers to a mixture of gender, religion, language, culture,
food habit, racial background and the like, within the workplace. Therefore, in simpler words
workplace or work force diversity refers to no practice of discrimination based on any of the

2CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
mentioned backgrounds (Rice. 2015). Therefore, it refers to providing equality to all the
members of the organization irrespective of their class, culture, custom, sexual orientation and
the like. It refers to the practice non- biasness in within the workplace and providing them with
the equal opportunity to employment.
Now it is important to understand the need for involving a diversified workplace situation.
Considering the current global situations and the shift in the demographics, the need for
involving diversity within the workplace through its culture and work force, has been realized.
As according to the market analysts, the organizations reap both, tangible and intangible benefits
by the employment of workplace diversity. More importantly, since the organization are aiming
to become global, therefore it cannot be considered for the organizations to shift away their
employees to a new place abandoning the previous work culture, completely (Goyal, and
Shrivastava. 2013). Therefore what is important is that the organization must aim for hiring in
house employees that is employees form the local area. More importantly, there are certain
backgrounds, people belonging from which, have always remained at loss. They have always
been deprived off all the socio- political and economic opportunities. These people can be
terribly talented, but due to the practices of discrimination, opportunities had never reached
them. Therefore, as per the constitutional law in every country, across the world, it is essential
for the organization s to hire individuals who belong to such categories (Nica. 2013). Some of
the examples are, discrimination against the women and the Jews, who had always been
considered to be weak at everything and therefore having given no opportunity. Therefore, the
diversity aspects aims at acknowledging these social situations.
Now, in order to understand and justify the practice of the diversified work force, it is essential
to know, the negative aspects of a diversified work force.

3CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
Firstly, it can be said, that a diversified work force refers to the differences in language, which
can act as a huge communication barrier within an organization. Employees belonging from
different language background is likely to have no or little understanding of another language,
therefore, there is often seen a miscommunication within the work force, regarding this.
Employees often misunderstand what the other person is wanting to say which therefore, leads to
huge miscommunication and gradually workplace conflict. Along with that the involvement of
different gender and age structure often result into a conflict situation in decision making and
having a less respect towards the counterparts (Richard, and Miller. 2013). For example, it is
often seen that the female employees within an organization are often disrespected and their
opinions are often nullified considering their gender identity, and not considering their abilities
and critical thinking skills. Similarly for employees belonging from different age structure also
lacks a sense of respect. For example the seniors in an organization, are likely to possess an
attitude towards their juniors considering they know less, therefore they must keep to their
subordinate positions and in an number of incidents where a senior person in age, has to report to
someone junior than them, age wise, because the young person is at a higher position, there are
often conflicts within the workplace.
On the other hand, people of color, people of minority religion, are often disrespected within the
work place, because of their backgrounds, and this further affects the work environment and the
production of the organization. Therefore, these re thee consequences of involving a diversified
workforce within the organization (Syed et al., 2013).
However, along with this there are certain advantageous positions as well, which are essentially
because of the diversified scenario. According to Maureen Wild, when, within a workplace
people respect each other and get along with each other, the production of the organizations is

4CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
bound to be increased. A diversified work force not only boosts up the employee morale but at
the same time, it increases the production and the position of the organization in the market. A
recent research, conducted upon some of the most popular and famous multinational
organizations of United States have highlighted that all these organizations have a diversified
work force, who work together harmoniously.
According to the research, in a diversified workforce, employees learn form each other. A
diversified workforce includes a decisions making process where everyone will have the
opportunity to keep their opinion. Therefore such a practice enriches the working process of the
organization as well as the work force of the same (Kirton, and Greene. 2015). Since there is an
exchange of the ideas and the opinions, the employees get to learn from each other, and therefore
grow.
More importantly, a diversified work force ensures the best decision. Since people keep their
personal opinions, therefore am organization can evaluate across all the opinions, and thereupon,
take the decision. This, therefore, contributes in three ways to the organization, all being positive
in nature. First, all the employees can learn from one another. The opinions of the employees are
shaped by their personal experiences and since there is an exchange of ideas and opinions,
therefore all the employees can get an insights of the experiences the other may have had, and
learns from the same (Li. 2013). Secondly, it introduces workplace creativity. Since, everyone
belongs from a different background, therefore each of the employees possess a different thought
process which further introduces innovation within the organization. Forbes has presented that
innovation is one of the crucial aspect of the organizational sustainability and organizational
production, and this creativity or innovation within the organizational structure is usually
introduced or initiated through the exposure of different and varied ideas and ideologies and at

5CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
the same time, valuing each of these. The research has claimed that the exposure of varied
experiences of the individuals involved within the work place strategically and successfully
contribute in finding solutions for the problems (Saxena. 2014). Different and diversified minds
working upon a single problem will come up with a number of different solutions, which will
help in evaluating among these solutions and finally incorporating one of them. Therefore since
there are an array of solutions therefore, choosing the most effective one is rather easy, which
will therefore contribute positively in appropriating the expected production. Thus, the aspects of
diversity contributes to innovation and therefore production. Also, involvement of the workplace
diversity create among the employees an understanding of different culture which will further
initiate among them a sense of respect towards the other members of the organization.
Respecting the fellow employee is important to ensure production, and the involvement with the
workers belonging to diversified backgrounds ensure effective production.
Therefore from the above discussion it can be agreed upon that workplace diversity should be
encouraged by all the organizations across world. The disadvantages of workplace diversity can
be effectively managed if the management or the administration department of an organization is
effective enough and is interested to employ the workplace diversity to reap successful
production, and if the disadvantageous positions can be managed, like what has been done by
Forbes, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and the like, then the organizations can definitely enjoy
more production and a successful position in the market like the mentioned organizations.

6CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY
References:
Goyal, S. and Shrivastava, S., 2013. Organizational diversity climate: Review of models and
measurement. Journal of business management & social sciences research, 2(5), pp.55-60.
Kirton, G. and Greene, A.M., 2015. The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach.
Routledge.
Li, C.R., 2013. How top management team diversity fosters organizational
ambidexterity. Journal of Organizational Change Management.
Nica, E., 2013. Organizational culture in the public sector. Economics, Management, and
Financial Markets, 8(2), pp.179-184.
Peretz, H., Levi, A. and Fried, Y., 2015. Organizational diversity programs across cultures:
effects on absenteeism, turnover, performance and innovation. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 26(6), pp.875-903.
Rice, M.F., 2015. Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe.
Richard, O.C. and Miller, C.D., 2013. Considering diversity as a source of competitive
advantage in organizations. The Oxford handbook of diversity and work, pp.239-250.
Sabharwal, M., 2014. Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further
performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), pp.197-217.
Saxena, A., 2014. Workforce diversity: A key to improve productivity. Procedia Economics and
Finance, 11(1), pp.76-85.

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Syed, J., Pio, E., Jauhari, H. and Singh, S., 2013. Perceived diversity climate and employees’
organizational loyalty. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.