Mgt 331 - Diversity

Diversity

MGT 331

Peter Stein

November 15, 2006

Diversity

Diversity in the workplace has taken center stage in recent years. Executives at all levels cannot afford to ignore the richness brought about by having a truly diverse workforce. Nick Montagu explained diversity as, "a major business imperative that is about enriching the corporate culture while adding to the bottom line". He feels that success through diversity is, "Making the most of your own people through the use of internal diversity, which means attracting and retaining the best people for the job, and external diversity, which means understanding your customers" (2006, p.8). There are many forces which impact diversity in the workplace. Gender, age, geographical differences and differences in skills and abilities are a few examples.

Gender is one factor in the consideration of a diverse workforce. When comparing men and women in the workplace Dr. Schermerhorn states, "The research on women in general tells us that there are very few differences between men and women that affect job performance" (2006, p. 55). This may be true when it comes to performance but not when compensation is considered. Female workers are often under compensated when compared to a male worker doing the same job. Dr. Schermerhorn explains this inequity as follows, "Females have faced prejudice in the workplace when conforming to their expected gender (communal) role would produce a failure to meet requirements of the leader role and conforming to the leader role would produce a failure to meet requirements of their gender role. The latter can result in lesser rewards for appropriate leadership behavior than a man would receive" (2006, p. 59). The result of this inequity could be twofold, female employees may work harder in order to prove their worth as equals in the workplace or they could get discouraged and let their performance slip. While gender should not be an excluding factor in hiring decisions, human nature proves there will always be biases which are used to eliminate potential candidates.

A truly diverse workforce can only be achieved by including all categories of potential workers. Age is another demographic characteristic or type of diversity which is a consideration for human resource managers. Organizations find different challenges when trying to attract and satisfy older workers. Whereas a younger worker may be interested in opportunity and upward mobility, an older worker may be interested in the organization's health or dental benefits. The older worker may be looking to return to the work force part time or full time. Either way, they are able to share their life's experience with the organization's younger workers. One challenge facing the older worker is age discrimination. Although it is illegal in the United States it still exists in some sectors of the economy. As the general population ages many companies are changing their retirement policies to allow older workers to remain active. This action allows the workforce to mirror the customer base.

Diversity also manifests itself in geographic differences. Since workers are a reflection of their environment companies use this to their advantage in hiring decisions. A worker who grew up in a rural farming community in Georgia may not be comfortable working in the inner city in New Jersey however; someone who is from another large metropolitan area, such as Detroit may be a perfect fit for the job. Many workers travel to the United States from foreign countries seeking employment. The cultural differences they bring with them can initially hinder their progress. Language barriers as well as religious differences could lead to intolerance from coworkers. If the organization has management practices in place to help geographically different workers assimilate into the corporate culture then the organization will benefit from the new worker's life experiences.

Finally, differences in skills and abilities must be considered when talking about diversity in the workplace. According to Rene Blank, "The key to effective management of workforce diversity is recognizing individual differences. The challenge for managers is to look beyond stereotypes and assumptions regarding employee competence, and realize that skills come in many forms" (1998). Some employees are naturally quieter than others