Basics & Goals
Air New Zealand is a reputable organization, and it should invest some efforts in promoting diversity among its workforce. The company’s official website demonstrates that the task is to provide Māori and Pasifika individuals with better employment and promotion opportunities (Air New Zealand, n.d.). That is why an awareness-based training workshop that addresses unconscious bias is under consideration. This activity generally aims at promoting multiculturalism at the workplace, but three specific goals are also considered. Firstly, a task is to ensure that ethnic majorities in Air New Zealand have adequate knowledge of Māori and Pasifika. Secondly, this process will result in the fact that people from these minorities will not face discrimination. Finally, the workshop will increase the Māori and Pasifika representation at the management level.
Logistics
Sufficient attention should be devoted to areas of the workshop logistics. This event will be organized for heads of departments, and these managers will then distribute the information to their subordinates. The current managers from Māori and Pasifika communities will lead the workshop. One classroom will be necessary to host a lecture, while an office cafeteria or lounge area will be used for an interactive component. Thus, the Trainers will present theoretical information from their personal experience and reputable sources (Matika et al., 2021). The interactive event will allow the participants to get acquainted with Māori and Pasifika cuisine. The entire workshop will last for approximately 90 minutes, where an hour will be devoted to the interactive component.
Workshop Agenda
The workshop is designed to meet specific objectives that will be beneficial for Air New Zealand. While an educational session provides the participants with theoretical information, an interactive component allows for supporting the obtained knowledge through physical experience. It is necessary to explain that a 30-minute lecture will also rely on PowerPoint slides to present the history of Māori and Pasifika and what challenges these minorities face. Simultaneously, the “cultural day” with food at work will be a positive experience for the participants, and this approach will help them better remember the information. Sarma (2021) also indicates that such an event can contribute to a friendlier and more productive environment at the workplace.
Evaluation & Purpose
It is necessary to understand how the workshop will be evaluated when it is only going to be implemented. This step is essential because it reveals what specific results are the purpose of the intervention under consideration. Cost-and-benefit analysis justifies the workshop because few resources can lead to positive outcomes. The given workshop deals with short and long-term results, meaning that different evaluation approaches are required. Firstly, the workshop intends to improve employees’ knowledge about Māori and Pasifika and promote a more productive working environment as per Jackson and Van de Vijver (2018). Thus, the workshop participants can answer questionnaires that can be used to assess these two domains. Secondly, the diversity training aims to increase the Māori and Pasifika representation in Air New Zealand by 2023. It is only possible to measure this result by calculating the number of Māori and Pasifika managers in 2023.
Policy & Value
It can be challenging to achieve the long-term outcome without organizational support. That is why Air New Zealand should have a specific policy that contributes to improved employment and promotion opportunities among Māori and Pasifika members. Simultaneously, one should highlight that the workshop implies a significant value for the organization. Firstly, it leads to the decent mental health of the ethnic minority representatives (Swartz et al., 2019). Secondly, a more productive environment emerges, which leads to faster and better decision-making in Air New Zealand (Grossmann, 2021). Consequently, it is impossible to overestimate the importance of the workshop for the organization.
Recommendations
Based on the information from the given project, it is possible to offer two recommendations to Air New Zealand. Firstly, the identified data have demonstrated that such a workshop plan can result in essential benefits for the organization. That is why the company should make some efforts to implement the proposed diversity training. Secondly, one can suggest that the workshop alone may be insufficient to reach the long-term outcome. Administrative regulations are required to ensure that the organization has policies that encourage hiring and promoting the Māori and Pasifika representatives. Consequently, it is possible to state that the workshop plan can lead to increased diversity in Air New Zealand.
References
Air New Zealand. (n.d.). Diversity & inclusion programs. Web.
Grossmann, C. (2021). Promote workplace diversity through employee engagement. Beekeeper. Web.
Jackson, L. T. B., & Van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2018). Multiculturalism in the workplace: Model and test. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1). Web.
Matika, C. M., Manuela, S., Houkamau, C. A., & Sibley, C. G. (2021). Māori and Pasifika language, identity, and well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 16(2), 396-418. Web.
Sarma, S. (2021). 15 activities of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Vantage Circle. Web.
Swartz, T. H., Palermo, A.-G. S., Masur, S. K., & Aberg, J. A. (2019). The science and value of diversity: Closing the gaps in our understanding of inclusion and diversity. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 220(S2), S33-S41. Web.