The Challenges Of Workplace Diversity Management Essay

The role of the Human Resource professional in today’s organization is evolving with the change in competitive market environment. To ensure the success of an organization, the Human Resource professional must play a more strategic role. Without putting emphasis on attracting and retaining talents, organizations may find themselves in bad consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources.

With the increasing of the competitor, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, and customer-focused to succeed. The HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must have a thorough understanding of the organization’s big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of today’s HR professional is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization’s members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity.

We will focus on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees gain-sharing and through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources.

Workplace Diversity

According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.

The Challenges of Workplace Diversity

Organizations recognize that they must take action to effectively manage an increasingly diverse, global workforce in order to be successful (Jackson et al., 1993). In other word, the success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. However, this challenge and problems faced within workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize the diverse talents. The mixture talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena (Cox, 1993). These are also one of the most important organizational goals to be attained especially for those multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, a HR professional needs to be mindful and may employ a ‘Think Global, Act Local’ approach in most circumstances. The challenge of workplace diversity is also prevalent amongst Singapore’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With a population of only four million people and the nation’s strive towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are encourage to share their expertise in these areas. Due to this factor, most of the local HR managers have to attend cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are culturally diverse. At the same time, HR professional must assure the local professionals are protected from those foreign talents to ensure that are not a threat to their career advancement. The effectiveness of workplace diversity management is much more dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR manager.

One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). But in actual world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.

The Management of Workplace Diversity

Cox (1993) suggests that a HR Manager needs to change from an ethnocentric view (“our way is the best way”) to a culturally relative perspective (“let’s take the best of a variety of ways”) in order to effectively manage workplace diversity. This philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources.

According to Thomas (1992) and Cox (1993), there are several ways that a HR manager can adopt to ensure effectiveness management of workplace diversity in order to attain organizational goals. They are:

Planning a Mentoring Program-

Mentoring Program are one of the best ways to handle workplace diversity issues. In this mentoring program, it involves managers from all different departmental to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. In order for this program to run successfully, it is advice to provide practical training for these managers or seek help from consultants and experts in this field. Usually in such program, employer will encourage organization’s members to voice out their opinions and learn how to resolve conflicts due to their diversity. More importantly, the purpose of a Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population.

Organizing Talents Strategically-

Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various needs of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as China’s electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapore’s marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapore’s open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993)

With this current trend in workplace, HR Manager must be able to organize the diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/she must consider how a diverse workforce helps the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity.

An organization that sees the existence of a diverse workforce as an organizational asset rather than a liability would indirectly help the organization to positively take in its stride some of the less positive aspects of workforce diversity.

Human resource and disruptive technology

Besides workplace diversity, the field of human resource management has changed during the past century. The changes are not as dramatic as those observed in technology. However, these changes are significant enough to affect the role of technology in specific firms. Also, many of the changes are closely linked to technological changes, so the role of human resource management in disruptive technology should be considered. Changes relevant to technology include the following: creating synergy The enhanced result of two or more people, groups or organizations working together. In other words, one and one equals three! It comes from the Greek “synergia,” which means joint work and cooperative action.

….. Click the link for more information. between research and practice, leveraging technology, effectively managing learning and knowledge, fostering lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the concept that “It’s never too soon or too late for learning”, a philosophy that has taken root in a whole host of different organisations. Lifelong learning is attitudinal; that one can and should be open to new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviors.

….. Click the link for more information., and recognizing the importance of human capital (Short, Brandenburg, May, & Bierema, 2002).

Human resource systems must encourage employees to create the best technologies for their employers. Also, human resource systems must encourage the adoption of disruptive technologies that will facilitate the long-term success of the organization. If the organization wants to facilitate disruptive technology, the organizational culture may have to change and develop. The organization must value the types of attitudes and behaviors that facilitate the development and implementation of disruptive technology. Some organizations have this culture already, while others will have to change in order to have the desired culture. If organizational change is required, organizations must motivate employees to change.

Motivational Approaches

Workplace motivation can be defined as the influence that makes us do things to achieve organizational goals: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we are motivated to complete organizational tasks effectively. As these needs vary from person to person, an organization must be able to utilize different motivational tools to encourage their employees to put in the required effort and increase productivity for the company. Motivational factors in an organizational context include working environment, job characteristics, and appropriate organizational reward system and so on.

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). In our changing workplace and competitive market environments, motivated employees and their contributions are the necessary currency for an organization’s survival and success. Kotter and Cohen’s (2002) analysis of over one hundred organizations provides some evidence for recommendations concerning ways to effect organizational change. Their observations imply that change is best made through a “see-feel-change” model of persuasion PERSUASION. The act of influencing by expostulation or request. While the persuasion is confined within those limits which leave the mind free, it may be used to induce another to make his will, or even to make it in his own favor; but if such persuasion should so far operate on the mind

….. Click the link for more information., rather than the “analyze-think-change” model that is often used to introduce change. This model requires organizations to increase employees’ sense of urgency regarding change. Compelling and understandable arguments can increase the employees’ sense of urgency for changing. A vision regarding the desired change is important. The vision should be clear enough for all employees to understand. It must be continually con·tin·u·al  

adj.

1. Recurring regularly or frequently: the continual need to pay the mortgage.

2.

….. Click the link for more information. addressed so that all changes can move the organization toward achieving this vision. The vision must have a supporting structure that provides a basis for the desired changes (Kotter & Cohen cohen

 or kohen

(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male.

….. Click the link for more information., 2002).

Conclusion

The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.