Diversity Management

1. DiversityManagement

2. Course Objectives • Explain What is Diversity Management • Explain What is Organizational Diversity • Explain Gender Sensitization • Explain the Challenges to Adopting Diversity • Describe the Approaches to Understanding Cultures • Describe the Ways to Encourage Diversity • List the Tips for Diversity at Workplace • Explain How to Communicate Across Cultures • Explain What is Diversity • List the Elements of Culture • Describe the Layers of Culture • Differentiate between Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity • Explain the Seven Ps Approach • Explain the Steps for Implementing Diversity Management • Describe the Economic Benefits of Workplace Diversity

3. Introduction Helium Inc. is an MNC and is well-known for its policy of being an ‘equal opportunity employer’. However, when Hazel appears for the interview, she is informed that due to the stress and pressures associated with the job, the interviewers are not keen on hiring women for this role. Hazel Wilson has applied for the position of a ‘Sales Manager’ with Helium Inc. Since, Helium has a policy on paper for being an ‘equal opportunity employer’, they had advertised for receiving applications from everyone but did not intend to hire women for this particular position.

4. Introduction Do you think Hazel was treated fairly? Helium does support the concept of being an ‘equal opportunity employer’ and hence encourages diversity. Hazel is qualified and fit for this position in every way that a man will be. Then, what exactly is causing this difference between the policy that exists in theory and actual practice?

5. Let us learn about diversity management in detail. Let us learn how diversity in an organization plays an important role in today’s modern world. Introduction Yes, Hazel was not treated fairly because the only basis on which a person should be recruited should be on his or her own merit and not based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion etc. Helium supports ‘diversity’ but only in theory and has not been able to put its policy into actual practice which can prove to be very harmful to the organization.

6. What is Diversity? The term ‘diversity’ has been heard in our everyday usage. Usually, when we come across the term, it is in the context of having a mix of gender, race, ethnic, sexual orientation etc. in a setting wherein there is no discrimination based on these traits.

7. Dimensions of Diversity The following image shows the various dimensions that make up diversity in people. Military Experience Life Experience Religion Job Title Seniority Mental Ability Physical Ability Age Work Experience Family Status Work Location Pay Scale Group Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Department/Unit/Group Headquarters/Field Personal Habits Education Ethnicity Gender Management Status Race Union Affiliation Income Work Style Communication Style

8. Importance of Managing Diversity We live in times when global corporations and their reach across the world bring benefits in terms of innovative HR policies as well as challenges in terms of managing the workforce are concerned. The rise of such corporations means that the workforce is composed of diverse races and ethnicities. Further, the issue of gender diversity in terms of more women participating in the workforce has been a trend that has accelerated in the last two decades in India and much earlier in the developed countries.

9. Approaches to Understanding Cultures 1 The Six Questions Approach The ‘Six Questions Approach’ was developed by Florence Kluckholn and Fred Strodtbeck (1961). They developed a set of six questions that compare cultures across six dimensions.

10. The Hofstede Model Individualism vs. Collectivism Long-term orientation vs. Short-term thinking Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity vs. Femininity Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance: The fifth dimension of ‘uncertainty avoidance’ refers to the structured work environment, which in the West would be oriented towards specific and measurable goals and objectives whereas out of the box thinking is prevalent in the East.

11. Layers of Culture Culture consists of four layers at various levels such as follows: Outer Layer National Culture: Provides a cultural context within which businesses operate Inner Layer Business Culture: Where the rules of the games are known Deeper Layer Organizational Culture: A common set of values shared by all within an organization The Core Individual Culture: Basic assumptions, rules, and methods dealing with problems The Core Deeper Layer Inner Layer Outer Layer

12. Real Life Example The following are a few common hand gestures such as: • ‘The Ring Sign’, • ‘The Thumbs-up’ and • ‘The V-sign’ which are interpreted differently by people of different countries and hence, different cultures.

13. Zero in France Money in Japan OKin Western Countries such as UK, US Insult in Brazil and Turkey Real Life Example The ‘Ring’ hand gesture means:

14. Need for Organizational Diversity Heterogeneous Nature of the Customer Base: It is no longer the case that the customers are made up of monolithic wholes that exhibit consistent and uniform patterns of behavior. On the other hand, the customer base for many companies has splintered into ethnic, racial, gender and other segmentations which means that organizations have to encourage diversity in their workforce to tackle the aspirations of the fragmented customer bases. • Heterogeneous Nature of the Customer Base

15. Diversity Management vs. Equal Opportunity The following table shows comparison of diversity management versus equal opportunity.

16. Phase 2: Identifying problems and causes • To gather information on diversity management problems and opportunities using existing data and/or survey data • To analyze information on diversity management problems and opportunities • To obtain a comprehensive profile of diversity in the workplace • To report to the project team and other stakeholders Steps for Implementing Diversity Management The following are the steps for implementing diversity management: Phase 5: Evaluation & consolidation Phase 4: Implementation Phase 3: Organizing solutions Phase 2: Identifying problems and causes Phase 1: Getting started Let’s look at each in detail.

17. Economic Benefits of Workplace Diversity The following are some of the economic benefits of workplace diversity: • A diverse workforce is a key driver of economic growth • A diverse workforce helps capture the majority consumer market • A greater qualified workforce is recruited by following diversity 4 • Diversity helps to avoid employee turnover costs 5 • Diversity helps organizations to be competitive in the economic market: Due to the spread of globalization, immigrations, population shifts, it has been found that there will not be any ruling majority race in the world. Hence, the need of the day is to adapt to this changing statistics and embrace diversity to remain competitive in the business world. 6 7 8

18. Tips for Diversity at Workplace Identify the importance of contributions and the people who contribute Tips for Diversity at Workplace Tip# 1 • Keep an open mind towards feedback, contributions, ideas etc. • Give priority to the organization’s goals above your personal goals

19. This is a DEMO Course On – Diversity Management. • Register Today and Get Access to 5 FREE Courses. • What Do you Get: • View All Courses Online. • Download Powerpoint Presentation for Each Course. • Do the Knowledge Checks for Each Course. ManagementStudyGuide.com