LEADERSHIP IN DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS

Cheri Sinkovec

Herzing University

NU530: Organizational Systems and Behaviors

Dr. Delmont

January 19th, 2024

 Introduction

Diversity is the characteristics of a group of people where differences exist on one or more

relevant dimensions according to Hitt, et al., p. 36, (2018). There are seven categories to

diverse attitudes and perceptions, diversity sensitivity, integrity with a difference, interaction

variations, valuing differences, team inclusion, managing conflict over differences, and

embedding inclusion.

In this paper I will discuss the effects of diversity in the workplace. The benefits as well as

barriers to diverse workplaces will also be discussed. Diversity in the workplace often starts at

the top, therefore diversity in leaders is an important aspect of a company. Although research

has produced mixed results, it is generally agreed that diversity is beneficial to companies.

These benefits are not only experienced by the company, but also by the employees as well as

the consumers. This will create a competitive advantage for diverse companies over companies

that are not as diverse. Leaders play a crucial role in fostering diversity. Leadership styles will

have an influence on the success of maintaining workplace diversity within the company.

Benefits and Competitive Advantages

In more recent years, diversity in the workplace has gained increasing attention. Research has

been able to show the many benefits of diversity in a company. A key factor in creating a

diverse workplace is creating an environment that is inclusive to all. Inclusive environments

support the expression of unconventional or nontraditional opinions, is open to new ways to

solve problems, encourages innovative thinking, and discourages group pressure to support

only one idea.

Benefits

Employees of diverse workplaces are often more satisfied, motivated, and committed

associates who perform more effectively at their individual tasks, states Hitt, et al., p. 42 (2018).

Better performing employees will provide better outcomes for the company. As a company, the

benefits range from reaching more of the market through having the perspective of a specific

group to being able to more effectively handle complex problems within the company. Having

employees from various ethnicities, religions, genders, give companies an advantage over those

with less inclusivity by giving them the ability to better understand the needs of various

potential consumers.

More specifically to health care, different cultures often have different approaches to handling

medical conditions. Healthcare providers from various cultures and backgrounds bring different

perspectives to share with colleagues and patients. Khuntia, et al., (2022) states that when

patients do not find providers or treatments that align with their cultural beliefs, they are more

likely to delay or even avoid care. Greater diversity can help reduce these barriers.

Competitive Advantages

In a study completed by Lee, et al., (2023), they were able to show that racially diverse staffing

of medical facilities positively affects the hospitals operational efficiency. Positives effects were

shown on occupancy rate, manpower productivity, capacity productivity, and case mix index.

Although this study was focused on race only, many other studies have shown that diversity

between genders and age, as well as other factors, all have positive impacts on the financial

efficiency of a company.
 Barriers

While it is well known that diversity is beneficial, many companies struggle to obtain diversity.

Implementing plans to increase diversity often fail. For a company’s plan to increase diversity to

be successful, the plan must correlate with the goals and guidelines of the company, all

employees must feel a sense of inclusion, and consider employee opinions. It may be necessary

for a company to recreate their guidelines.

Unconscious bias seems to be the biggest challenge for companies when implementing plans of

action to be more diverse. Unconscious bias exists at all levels within a company. A form of

unconscious bias is modern racism. According to Hitt, et al., p. 46, (2018), modern racism is

discrimination, despite people knowing that discrimination is wrong and despite them thinking

they are not racist, in subtle forms. An example of modern racism is an individual believing that

racial inequality no longer exists and there is no need for additional policies to promote

equality. Another form is implicit bias. This is information about stereotypes that we believe to

be true because of repeated exposure to the stereotype. This information is accessed by the

subconscious and therefore done automatically and without intent. Implicit bias contributes to

microaggression as well. Microaggression is any subtle insult of a member of any socially

marginalized group, Parikh et al., (2022) states.

Communication is also another major barrier for establishing diversity. If an employee is not

fluent in the language primarily spoken, they may be less inclined to participate in

conversations. In this case, concerns or issues they may have may not be addressed and result

in them leaving a job and reducing the diversity of that company. Not only can language be a
barrier to communication, but cultural differences can also be a barrier. Differences on

acceptable ways to communicate and with whom to communicate certain information can vary

among cultures. For example, some cultures find it disrespectful to hold eye contact when

speaking to elders, while other cultures find it disrespectful to not maintain eye contact when

speaking to anyone. These variances should be considered and addressed to foster inclusivity.

Leadership Style and Addressing Barriers

My personal leadership style is transformational. As defined by Hitt, et al., p. 266, (2018),

transformational leadership is a leadership approach that involves motivating followers to do

more than expected, to continuously develop and grow, to increase self-confidence, and to

place the interests of the unit or organization before their own. This has been an effective

leadership style for me in my career. To address the barriers of creating a more diverse

workplace, transformational leadership can be effective. To promote diversity, a mix of

leadership styles make be the most effective. Everyone will respond differently to different

approaches. The leader-member exchange model has been effective in increasing diversity. The

leader-member exchange model is one that states leaders develop different relationships with

different employees. The focus of this model is to develop more positive relationships with only

some individuals.

Conclusion

Although there are barriers to increasing diversity in the workplace, these can be overcome.

Increasing diversity not only is beneficial to a company but also to the employees and

consumers of this company. Specifically in healthcare, the consumer being the patient, the
benefit is better patient outcomes. Companies benefit financially from diverse workplaces.

Leadership of a company plays a crucial role in increasing diversity of a company. Leadership

styles can also affect the success or failure of a company’s plan for increasing diversity.

Creating, implementing, and evaluating the outcomes of a plan for increasing diversity should

be a priority for all healthcare providers.

 References

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