Managing a New and Diverse

Workforce
Session 8
 Workforce Diversity

Diversity exists in a group or

organization when its members differ
from one another along one or more
important dimensions.
 The Nature of Workforce
Diversity

Trends in Workforce Diversity

Changing Diversity as a
Employment Increasing
demographics source of
legislation and globalization
in the labor competitive
legal actions of business
force advantage
 Diversity Management versus
Equal Employment Opportunity
• Equal Employment • Diversity
Opportunity Management
– Treating people – Recognizing and
fairly and equitably appreciating differences
– Taking actions that among people at work
do not discriminate – Accommodating
on the basis of some differences to the extent
illegal criterion that is feasible and
possible
Similarities Among People at
Work
Have a fundamental and basic desire
to be treated with respect and
dignity by their employer
Most
People
Have a capacity for being reasonable
and understanding when confronted
with reasonable behavior by others
 Identical Treatment Versus
Equitable Treatment
• Employers should be aware that:
– Employees of different beliefs and faiths desire different
religious holidays
– Men have greater muscle mass than do women and
therefore can lift heavier weights
– Women bear children; they may need longer periods of
time off after childbirth
– Accommodations for disabled employees may be
perceived as an unfair advantage
 Three Paradigms in Managing
Diversity
• Discrimination and Fairness Paradigm: Focuses on equal
opportunity of employees, fair treatment for all, increased
representation of employees from diverse backgrounds
through recruitment processes to ensure compliance with the
law of the land.
• Access and Legitimacy Paradigm: Companies operating
under this paradigm serve increasingly diverse pool of
customers with diverse pool of capabilities. They try to match
different capabilities with different customer requirements.
• Learning and Effectiveness holds that we work in the
corporate world, with our differences and not despite our
differences. Organizations operating under this paradigm
truly celebrate diversity.
Dimensions of Diversity

Common Aspects of
Workforce Diversity

Age Gender Ethnicity Disability

 Other Dimensions of Diversity
• Sexual orientation and gender identity
• People with different religious or political ideologies
• People with special dietary preferences
(e.g., vegetarians)
 Diversity and Social Change
• Diversity in organizations both facilitates and is facilitated
by social change in the environment.
– Organizations affect social change through the images they use to
promote themselves and their products.
– Organizations that use diverse groups as representatives convey a
message of their sensitivity toward diversity.
Diversity and Competitiveness
 Diversity and Conflict
• Conflict can arise when an individual thinks
that someone has been hired, promoted, or
fired because of their diversity status.
• Diversity that is misunderstood,
misinterpreted, or that causes inappropriate
interactions between people of different
groups can promote conflict.
 The Bottom Line on Diversity
• Diversity leads to positive outcomes such as
better firm performance.
– When a firm reaches true diversity, subgroup
conflict dynamics disappear as everyone begins
to view themselves as members of the same
organization.
 Managing Diversity in
Organizations
Individual Strategies for
Dealing with Diversity

Understanding Empathy Tolerance Communication

 Diversity Training

Training specifically
designed to enable
members of an
organization to
function better in a
diverse workplace.
The Multicultural Organization
• Has achieved high levels of diversity
• Can capitalize fully on the advantages of the
diversity
• Has few diversity-related problems
 Managing Knowledge in
Organizations
• Organizational Memory
– The collective, institutional record of
past events
• Organizational Learning
– The process by which an
organization “learns”
from past mistakes
and adapts to its
environment
 Managing Knowledge Workers
• Employees who add value because of what they know and are
compensated accordingly.
• Issues:
– Establishing equitable career paths and compensation structures for
managerial, professional, and technical employees
– Attracting and retaining employees with valued knowledge and skills