Managing The Diverse Workforce

Diversity in organizations is a broad-ranging term which refers to all the divergent qualities
of individuals. The diversity umbrella encloses differences such as education, political

beliefs, religion, income, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality etc. Hence, a diverse workforce
is one which is a blend of employees with different ages, cultures, gender etc.
Managing Diversity is all about keeping everyone ‘equal’ by ‘not’ keeping them equal. To
explain this further, managing diversity involves managing the differences of employees
(diversity as mentioned above) to the advantage of the organization by accepting, promoting
and utilizing their distinctiveness. It helps remove barriers that keep individuals from self-
actualizing.
Assimilation in context of diversity can be explained as the extent or ease by which one
culture can be absorbed into another.
Affirmative action – efforts to accommodate those who were discriminated against in the
past by incorporating special efforts to recruit and hire them.
Advantages of incorporating diversity and inclusion

Motivates employees to work to their full potential, when they know their differences
are accepted and cherished, they outperform even themselves (self-actualization) and
are committed to their jobs
Reputation as a fair employer establishes, and talent from across the globe seeks for
employment opportunities
Many firms segment the markets and target different components with different
strategies. To the benefit of the organization, these segmentations can match with
diversity elements e.g., age groups, income groups, gender segmentation, regional
markets etc. These employees are more aware of the customer spending patterns and
behavior in such cases and can assist in capturing differentiated markets.
A diverse team consists of employees from different backgrounds, cultures, traditions
who are all brought up in different ways and have different experiences. This broad
base of experience helps in creative problem solving of even the most complex
problems. Out of the box thinking.
In order to promote diversity, firms need to deviate from their restrictive policies,
standardized procedures and have to tolerate many styles and approaches. Doing so,
achieves organizational flexibility and agility as firms become more adaptable and
responsive.
Disadvantages of Diversity and Inclusion

Different individuals have different perspectives and mindsets / simple activities may
not be acceptable to some while others consider them normal / conflicts develop /
unexamined assumptions e.g., childbearing women cannot work effectively.
New employees from different backgrounds and of different natures may not settle
well together / mistrust, miscommunication, stress, and attitudinal differences reduce
cohesiveness
Not all group members are fluent in the same language, functional under the same
level of time constraints, and as responsive as others. This requires more time
explaining instructions and creates communication barriers. Diversity can cause
errors and misunderstandings which can halt production levels.
People with high social needs are often those who associate themselves to individuals
of similar characteristics and nature. Because in diverse workplaces there is no such
case, mistrust and tension develop among employees. This affects employee
productivity especially of those who have high affiliation needs (McClelland’s
theory).
The interests, values, and mindsets of all individuals will not naturally converge, and
the norms of pre-dominant groups often rule out the values of others which causes
stereotyping. This can lead to frustration and isolation, lowering employee morale
and efficiency.
Monolithic Organizations are those having a low degree of diversity and inclusiveness.
They are not well-integrated by structure, and employee few women, and minorities. They
form homogenous groups. Such organizations recruit diverse workers only, if they do, for
low status or blue-collar work who play a little role in strategic management. Discrimination
and prejudice can prevail and minority groups do not identify strongly with the company.
Pluralistic organizations are relatively more diverse and make sound efforts to incorporate
diversity into their culture. These organizations are usually in the transition phase from
monolithic to multicultural as those which move onto pluralistic soon realize the productivity
gains from being diverse and take a step further. They usually use the affirmative action
approach and employ those previously left out into higher posts and grades. However, these
too have a ‘glass ceiling’ where different individuals remain restricted to certain, clustered
sub-departments or supervisory positions with no real status or power. Only physiological
and security needs may be met and steps beyond these levels on the ladder of self-
actualization may not exist.
Multicultural Organizations are those which focus on heterogeneity and equifinality,

emphasize culture contingency, and favor empowerment of employees. These organizations
fully integrate gender, racial, and minority group members, both formally and informally.
Leveraging the differences concept is put into practice and the varieties of experiences and
knowledge help the company achieve agreed upon strategies and goals.
Ways of Cultivating Diversity

Top Management’s Leadership and Commitment
o Incorporating diversity values into mission and vision statements and creating
a diverse culture
o Linking manager’s variable pay (above basic salary) to diversity achievement.
o Setting an example for subordinates to follow by personally participating in
diversity programs
o Establishing corporate offices or committees responsible for managing
diversity
o Keeping a check on company policies, practices, and attitudes through task
forces or minority advisory groups
Organizational Assessment
o Ongoing (concurrent) assessment of the organization’s workforce, cultures,
values, policies etc.
o Similar to performance appraisal but the platform here is the workplace rather
than the workers
o Identifies problem areas, recommends possible solutions and corrective action
is taken
Attracting and Retaining employees
o Fair recruitment enhances reputation and attracts employees from across the
globe.
o Motivates existing ones to stay and remain committed by creating shared goals
o Establishing work-life balance, some groups are less independent and have
families to look after e.g., Pakistani workers employed abroad
o Flexible working hours, work from home (tele-working)
Diversity Training
o creates awareness among individuals at all levels to avoid hidden biased
behaviors, correct stereotypical norms etc.
Leveraging the Differences is not an easy task and managers are not immune to
biases, stereotypes, inexperience, and tensions that make communication, teamwork,
and leadership challenging in a diverse work environment. However, professor Martin
Davidson believes thinking of diversity not as a problem to be corrected but a
resource to be capitalized on.
o Top management should create a diversity accepting environment by setting
the example themselves, deregulating rigid systems etc.
o Create shared goals and reduce the climate of secrecy, maintain open
communication where employees can bring forward their problems– reduces
stress
o Incorporate diversity into the moral code of the firm or create a new diversity
code creating awareness how unexamined assumptions and stereotyping can
undermine others.
o Impose consequences that avoid repeated behaviors of discrimination e.g.,
extinction of positive consequences.

Managing The Diverse Workforce

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Diversity in organizations is a broad-ranging term which refers to all the divergent qualities

of individuals. The diversity umbrella encloses differences such as education, political

Advantages of incorporating diversity and inclusion

Disadvantages of Diversity and Inclusion

Multicultural Organizations are those which focus on heterogeneity and equifinality,

Ways of Cultivating Diversity

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