Executive Summary
There is a lot of labor movement in the world today. Organizations are increasingly recruiting people from different backgrounds mainly based on merit. However, there is a deliberate move in the corporate world to recruit people of diverse culture in order to fulfill national or affirmative action requirements.
The ensuing collage of people has given rise to issues such as fair treatment, minority and majority issues and workplace environment issues and the need for business entities to come up with innovative methods of human resource management.
There is consensus among human resource professionals that better management of workplace diversity will not only lead to better organizational performance but also long-term relations between organizations and communities they deal with. This paper therefore seeks explore issues related with diversity issues to determine how best managers can approach then for the achievement of organizational goals.
Introduction
Competition in the 21st century business environment has given impetus to the role of human resource management in an organization. Over the years, human resource management has evolved to play a strategic role in organizational success. An issue of acquiring and retaining talent has become a top priority in organizations seeking to establish their niche in the competitive world market. There is an increased emphasis on the role and position of the employee in the contemporary corporation.
One of the most distinct characteristics of corporations in the 21st century is their global outreach. Increase in technology especially in the telecoms sectors has enabled faster global expansion of corporations who a few years ago only concentrated on their domestic markets.
While diversifying businesses to global markets comes with numerous benefits, management of the diverse workforce charged with the responsibility of running the businesses in their respective regions is a challenging task.
Diversification to global markets has given rise to diverse global management teams in various corporations that come from different races and ethnicities. Besides race and ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, national origin and gender have become new fronts of employee diversification in the 21st century workplace setting.
According to Cooper & Burke (2005, p. 229), diversity refers to the unique characteristics or differences that a particular group has compared to other people. Many human resource management experts contend that gender diversity is as important as race and ethnical diversity.
Human resource management plans are increasingly comprehensive and diversity issues are taking center stage. Human resource management professionals and consultants consider diversity issues as important human resource management policy areas that need a careful approach in the quest to attract and retain the best talent in the corporate world.
This paper will explore diversity issues that a typical human resource management consultant or professional will take into account when crafting human resource management plans and policies.
Diversity Issues and their importance in human resource management
Importance of effective management of diversity issues in an organization cannot be overstated. Often, there is bound to be both personal and professional differences among people of different ethnicities and races.
The important thing, however, is how management through human resource management confronts these challenges to ensure a calm and conducive working environment prevails in order to meet organizational goals and objectives. Failure to effectively manage diversity often makes some employees feel discriminated and harassed on the basis of their race, ethnic affiliation or gender. Besides, there can be lawsuits that are likely to paint the organization in bad light.
It is, therefore, important for HR professionals and consultants to understand how various diversity issues affect the corporate performance, motivation, and success as well as employee interaction for easier crafting of workable human resource management plans.
This is because effective management of diversity accords the organization the advantage and competitive edge in the use of flexibility and creativity to achieve organizational goals.
Human resource management Planning and Issues
When drafting strategic human resource management plans, diversity is often touted as the universal inclusion phenomenon. According to expert consultants, the term ‘universal inclusion’ encompasses a broader and somewhat opposite definition than employment discrimination and includes other personal characteristics that affect workplace treatment of employees.
In drafting strategic human resource management plans, it is important that they adopt a wide perspective in order to comprehensively address diversity issues. A wide perspective that takes an inclusive approach is key to an effective human resource management strategy especially in balancing between minority and majority issues.
Piderit & Bilimoria (2006, p. 268) say that strategic human resource management plans must address diversity issues and put in place initiatives that makes one an employer of choice that is capable of attracting and retaining top talent. In effect, excellent management diversity issues must aim at developing high potential employees who will increase productivity of an organization.
Successful diversity management is possible through implementation of administrative structures that may include special human resource management units that specifically deal with diversity and report to one of the senior executives of an organization.
In advanced settings, Albrecht suggests the formation of diversity councils that can act as a link between specific demographic groups in the local populations (2001, p. 87). This in a way will foster good public relations between the company and the local population and in an indirect way will help boost productivity of the organization
Human resource management experts contend that a good strategic diversity program for an organization must include an integration aspect of diversity initiatives into the organization’s change programs. Successful integration will ensure entrenchment of people of minority descent into important management positions in the company.
There are many issues concerning diversity in human resource management and policy making. They include the work environment diversity issues, minority and majority issues, fair vs. same treatment, and effect of affirmative action in human resource management diversity management.
Analysis of human resource management diversity issues will take place within the wider context that seeks to address various concerns including; making the workplace appropriate and appealing to different workers from different backgrounds, ensuring underutilized groups in the locality have access to equal opportunity to employment and eliminating both ethical and cultural bias in the recruitment as well as management process.
This discussion will focus on the issues above in an effort to underscore their importance when drafting human resource management plans for corporations facing numerous multicultural issues.
Issues
It is important to note that diversity issues fall in numerous categories. However, culture and ethical issues more often than not trump other aspects when dealing with diversity from a human resource management perspective. The three main issues i.e. workplace environment, fairness and Minority and majority issues as well as affirmative action mainly touch on culture and ethics.
Workplace Environment Diversity Issues
Workplace environment diversity issues touch on both cultural ad ethical aspects of diversity. According to Armstrong (2011, p. 14), the workplace environment is one of the most crucial considerations human resource management professionals have to take into account while drafting policies and plans concerning diversity.
He adds that human resource departments should maintain policies that emphasize on inclusion and non-discrimination. There should be conscious efforts to hire people from different backgrounds in order to tap into different experiences and views that will contribute to overall organizational performance.
This is especially necessary for companies venturing into new markets when hiring people from the locality is more cost-effective than sending expatriates from the parent company. Cornelius (b) (2002, p. 145) says that when considering workplace environment as a major issue in diversity management, many areas are focused on.
Recruitment of company employees must be done fairly to ensure hired people spot various diversity qualities including race, ethnicity and gender. It is the very first step towards making the work environment a truly diverse place. Jackson & Rowley (2009, p. 62) recommend a detailing in the human resource management plans of a diverse range of networking techniques to ensure a company hires the best people regardless of their background.
Effective human resource management plans that effectively manage diversity must detail an organization’s approach to interpersonal relations. Interpersonal relations in multicultural office settings are the best approach to remove any preexisting prejudices and stereotypes from among employees.
Though not precisely, the plans must detail or give allowance for existence of opportunities to learn about other peoples’ differences through meetings and social events such as retreats. There should be an effort to include in the meetings and retreats individuals critical to successful interpersonal relations to enhance integration and easier management of diversity.
Closely related to interpersonal relations, human resource management plans must detail a comprehensive approach to international communication as part of effective workplace diversity management. This is because effective internal communication easily helps break barriers in a multicultural setting.
The plans must provide for effective channels of information sharing among employees through use of professional language and tone. Wright & Purcell (2007, p. 521) contend that internal communication has been proven to be one of the most effective tools that managers and other business leaders use to break barriers in a multicultural setting. Effective internal communication increases understanding among employees of different backgrounds effectively fostering harmony.
People from different backgrounds come with different needs. For effective management of diversity, strategic human resource management plans must provide for accommodations for physical, mental, cultural and religious needs of individual employees. Providing for such needs has proven effective in fostering the feeling of unity and harmony that is crucial to organizational success.
Skinner & Searle (2011, p. 14) says that human resource management plans and policies can effectively manage diversity through provision of flexible scheduling for employees of different backgrounds e.g. different religions like Muslims and lactating mothers. In some situations, Cornelius (b) (2001, p. 21) suggests that the plans may consider allowing employees to spot special attire that may be considered ‘’formal’ in the locality.
In a multicultural setting, there is bound to be differences in the way employees approach various issues. Human resource management plans must, therefore, detail planning and decision-making aspects in the workplace environment. There should be room for accommodating dissenting and/or alternative views in the organization.
This in itself is the essence of diversity in an organization. An understanding that employees come from different backgrounds is crucial and only an inclusion of the above in an effective human resource management plan will effectively help in managing the differences to steer the organization towards its overall goal.
Given the dynamism that is associated with workplace diversity issues, it is important for strategic human resource management plans to provide for the enhancement of knowledge and skills about diversity through seminars and forums. Increased understanding of diversity among employees is crucial to successful and effective management of workplace environment in diverse organizational teams.
Hollenbeck et al. (2005, p. 65) suggest that strategic human resource management plans must also include elements of performance evaluation for all employees to ensure their commitment to supporting organizational diversity. In essence, these evaluations will ensure managers and regular employees understand the importance of using appropriate language and communication styles conversant with a diverse workplace environment.
Fair Treatment issues
Parts of the previous section did dwell on fair treatment of employees as one of the precursors of achieving a perfect work environment where diversity thrives. Piderit & Bilimoria (2006, p. 274), however, assert that fair treatment is a major issue when drafting human resource management plans and policies as it sets the pace for employee interrelationship and interpersonal communication.
In his discussion of making human resource management plans that ensure fairness in a diverse setting, Armstrong (2011, p. 15) strives to differentiate between fairness and same treatment. While fairness basically means according all people same treatment, treating them all the same may not necessarily work for a diverse staff.
For instance, English is an official language in many countries. However, proficiency level among nationals of such countries varies greatly. Expatriate managers may at times overlook the above fact and transmit important information in complicated English to both native and expatriate employees. Arguably, the manager is treating all employees equally or the same but, one cannot say for sure if it is fair. Employees with limited English knowledge may not be comfortable and this may in the end invoke feelings of harassment or unfairness.
Besides language other important fairness issues in the workplace includes religious freedom and balanced pay. According to Hollenbeck et al. (2005, p. 70), most diversity aspects including culture and ethics have an intricate link to religion. Hollenbeck et al add that religious and political beliefs can be major diversity issues in the workplace and that is why human resource management consultants must consider them while drafting their strategic plans.
The plans must acknowledge that religion is a sensitive and important cultural issue in the diverse work environment and employees are entitled to their own beliefs. The plans, therefore, must provide for a mandate for employees to successfully practice their beliefs so long as they do not interfere with organizational operations.
Furthermore, strategic human resource management plans must include mechanisms that offer balanced remuneration. Both men and women must be accorded equal remuneration scales.
Skinner & Searle (2011, p. 20) cite cases where some companies have been accused of implementing parallel systems of pay for expatriates and local employees. They assert that such moves can easily contribute to demoralization of employees thus leading to low rates of productivity.
In drafting human resource management plans, therefore, it is prudent that company policies take into account issues of fairness in the treatment of employees in a diverse organization. Fairness as opposed to same treatment will easily foster the feeling of comradeship that is crucial to organizational success. There has to be subtle acknowledgement of basic differences among employees in an organization and an elaboration on how such differences will be dealt with.
Minority and majority issues and affirmative action
According to Jackson & Rowley (2009, p. 64), management of diversity involves maximization of employees’ abilities to optimally contribute to organizational growth. One of the externalities affecting diversity, however, is affirmative action trends that are mainly targeted at labor markets.
One of the most striking characteristics in any office setting in the 21st century is the imbalance in employee representation. Mostly, the local population makes up the majority of employees in an organization.
More often not majority and minorities issues evoke gender debates and the need for equal representation among men and women in an organization. Gender, racial and ethnical equity and economic empowerment initiatives have highlighted the need for gender balancing in an organization. In some cases, authorities require organizations to meet a threshold in the representation of certain demographic groups, a phenomenon popularly referred to as affirmative action.
Affirmative action aims at giving advantage to certain demographic groups in the labor market. It mostly lays emphasis on the legal necessity and social responsibility of organizations in hiring people from the minority groups. In a way, affirmative action seeks to foster diversity in organizations through encouraging participation of minority groups in the running of organizations as well as accessing economic opportunities.
According to Cooper & Burke (2005, p. 239), human resource management professionals and consultants take into account affirmative action issues in the drafting of their strategic plans. Addressing affirmative action as well as minority and majority issues has, therefore, become a major consideration that human resource management professionals have to make. It is important to consider the above issues especially in the wake of increased focus on equality in society
Issues
Wright & Purcell (2007, p. 523), however , assert that affirmative action can easily roll back benefits of diversity in an organization. According to him, some employers hire employees to satisfy affirmative action policies and guidelines. In the long run, some employees may feel that they have inadequate access to opportunity and promotion in the workplace because of affirmative action.
He suggests that human resource management consultants must draft plans that take into account spillover effects of affirmative action in order to maintain the positive effects of diversity in the workplace. One of the ways that they suggest, which, however, has received criticism from other human resource management consultants, is to disqualify potential minority employees on technicalities if they feel he/she does not meet the standards required by the organization.
Conclusion
Managing diversity is defined as “planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized” (Cox 1994, p. 11). Diversity breeds both cultural and ethical issues that affect employees of all cadres in an organization.
Most human resource management consultants contend that effective management of diversity provides distinct advantage that highlights the 21st century business trends that emphasize flexibility and creativity. The three broad human resource management issues highlighted in the section above underscore the importance adopting new management methods that are crucial to competitiveness.
There is evidence that good management of diversity issues including workplace environment, fair treatment, minority and majority issues and affirmative action breeds heterogeneity which promotes creativity in an organization especially through production of better problem solutions. Therefore, incorporation of the issues discussed to human resource management plans will offer better solution of higher level problems especially when an organization is going through change and expansion.
There is consensus that effective management of diversity helps not only in the realization of competitiveness but, also in acquiring an organization the reputation as an employer of choice. This in effect will help an organization attract and retain the best talent besides significantly reducing turnover costs.
Though gender is subtly dealt with in the main issues in the section above, it is one of the issues that have an ethical tag to them. An organization’s human resource management policy can easily tell the ethical principles that the organization pursues concerning placement of both men and women in the running of the organization.
Corporation’s desire to expand their global presence, diversity management is ranking high in their agenda. There is consensus among human resource management experts that ignoring diversity is a grave mistake for organization to ignore or adopt a complacent attitude regarding diversity management.
Failure to put in place a comprehensive human resource management policy that effectively manages diversity can easily lead to high costs in terms of time and money, low productivity and inefficiency. There is also likely to be high turnover costs besides failure by an organization to attract high quality employees
Reference List
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