Organizational Diversity

Organizational Diversity

Diversity in the workplace and the effect this has on individuals within the organization will be the focus of this paper. There are any number of characteristics that may be classified as falling into the category of diversity, such factors include national origin, race, age, family status, culture, education, employee status, function, gender, regional origin, religion, and sexual orientation. While these differences have often been ignored in the past, in today’s culture being aware of the role they play within an organization is putting an emphasis on understanding diversity.

When one accepts the premise that people of different backgrounds have as much to offer as he or she does, recognizes that there are other points of view, how to solve problems, and how to work together, and that managing diversity means promoting inclusion, creating an environment where all differences are valued, and in which each employee can develop to her or his full potential then one understands how an organization can get the most from its employees. The organization that manages diversity recognizes that it is not enough to hire employees from minority sectors to fill quotas; the company understands that when all employees are supported and valued they will operate at peak efficiency to the betterment of the organization. For the purpose of this examination the aspects discussed will be based upon employees’ ages, their personality traits, their values and attitudes, and finally their differences in skills and abilities they bring to the workplace environment.

The first item to be discussed will be the age of the employees. People of varying ages tend to view the world and their function within the world from vastly different perspectives. Youthful employees tend have a higher degree of turnover in a company. In an article by David Finegold, Susan Mohrman, and Gretchen M. Spreitzer (2002) it states that “in comparison to those under 30, satisfaction with job security is more strongly related to the commitment of more senior workers (ages 31-45 and those over age 45) and to their desire to remain with their companies. In contrast, satisfaction with work-life balance is more strongly related to commitment of those under age 30 than those over 30”. Another difference between younger and older workers is the gap in the rate of pay. Older workers, by virtue of their time in the workforce, typically have a higher wage base than entry-level younger employees. Recognizing and effectively managing the additional stresses put on younger workers with relation to their lower incomes and higher turnover rate may allow them to have a higher level of job satisfaction, thus reducing turnover and all its related costs as well as retaining those employees until they become higher-paid, seasoned workers.

The second diversity factor to be discussed will be differences in personality traits of employees. Personality may be defined as patterns in a person's behavior, thoughts, and feelings. While many things other than personalities may affect how one reacts to different situations and deals with other people, personality traits are not set-in-stone rules for predicting behavior, but there are behavioral tendencies. The ability to understand different personalities of coworkers may help one understand why they act the way do and allow one to best used to perform the tasks assigned. Personality diversity means respecting the strengths and weaknesses of one’s colleagues, knowing how to capitalize on their strengths and minimize the weaknesses. The ability to manage a corporation’s personality diversity is understanding and expecting everyone to react differently from one does, no matter how much success one may have had using one’s approach. People do not think alike but is specifically why those with diverse personalities should be sought out.

Next we will explore the values and attitudes difference among individuals. There are two basic types of values, personal and workplace. Examples of personal values may be theoretical, economic, aesthetic, social, political, and religious.