A lot of people use the terms diversity and multiculturalism interchangeably. Diversity is defined as the differences between people including race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, background, socioeconomic status, and much more (Dias, 2011, p. 52). Diversity focuses more on a set of policies that meet compliance standards. Multiculturalism focuses on inclusiveness, understanding, and respect. With diversity becoming more important, companies are trying to become more well-rounded. So much so that they are beginning to hire people solely for the fact that they will help to meet certain quotas. Diversity needs to properly be executed so that both the employer and employee can reap the benefits.
In chapter one of our textbook, Human Resource Management, an issue that I found was that tough economic times in a country results in tough times for businesses too. Issues that are made by HRM and managers include high unemployment rates and layoffs. Not only is hiring a difficult feat, but firing is as well. Managers must keep in mind that there are legal restrictions on who is let go or laid off because of a poor economy. People assume things about why they were laid off or fired that can be taken back to a racial issue. Performance issues can be considerations for laying employees off, but people have minds of their own and often think otherwise. The baby boomer generation will soon retire causing a major dent in the working population. Losing these workers, will also be a loss of knowledge and talent that cannot easily be replaced.
People need to feel safe and secure when in their careers. Employee safety and health are necessary to a productive workplace (Dias, 2011, p.10). I know that I would not want a job that I didn’t feel safe going to. I recently had a job interview in downtown Toledo by the river and I ended up not even going in because I did not feel safe going in alone. Although they assured that I would be safe, they couldn’t tell me that if I got abducted. Laws are often created with the goal of setting federal and state standards to ensure worker safety (Dias, 2011, p. 16). People who work in unions are under contract that ensures worker safety. Even if people are not in a union, companies still must have worker’s safety to avoid lawsuits. Human resources must make everyone aware of what is expected and where to find information. Keeping up to date on regulations, benefits, health care, and other issues fall on the HRM department (Quick, Piotrkowski, Jenkins, & Brooks, 2004).
Racial diversity in the workplace is mostly about gender and age discrimination, but lately race has become a big issue. It is important to the success of a business to have a lot of different people around. This can help with international business and making more connections compared to companies that do not have different types of people. When different kinds of people come together, there is more experience and advice brought to the table. Going to a high school that was all white people and then going to college on campus was a big culture shock. Although I was shy while meeting everyone, I learned so much just by being with different kinds of people. I soaked up a lot of things. I was in a study group with someone from Brazil and was suitemates with someone from China. They were both hilarious and I loved talking with them.
From experience, I know that companies would benefit from similar experiences. When people feel comfortable, they can really create wonderful things and bring a new idea to the table. Allowing people to have responsibilities and an equal opportunity to advance within the company can be a recipe for success. Keeping employees in the loop can ensure that no one is left out and will ensure that everyone hears the same information (Strauss, 2013). Employees are just as important to the company as a job is to the employee.
Part of finding a larger selection of people is expanding yourself or your business through a bigger geographical area. Not doing this could result in a huge missed opportunity. Knowing a second language in the business world is a very important tool because it allows people to make global connections and relate to people if need be. Removing language barriers creates a very wide base and eliminates issues of differences (Joseph, 2016). Using employees that are minorities to see if they know others is a great way to network and find reliable people if you trust that employee.
Employees would not have to work as hard to overcome language barriers and culture issue if the environment was more heterogeneous (Kokemuller, 2016). Larger corporations can hire interpreters to lessen diversity issues. Resistance to change is common in the workplace and can cause stress among employees. This can lead to negative working relationships and poor workplace morale. Training employees in the topic of diversity and instilling in them that discrimination will not be tolerated is vital for their work roles and progressions in thought. Human resources were designed to deal with the issues that come about, however companies that are slow to the new trends and who don’t have a strategic plan may have more issues. Not only can there be discrimination between class and race, but also between managers and their subordinates (Kokemuller, 2016). Discrimination is the unfair treatment of someone because of certain traits that they have. It could happen to anyone and should not be tolerated. HR can come in handy and is probably busier now that the workforce is becoming more diverse.
Integration is only the beginning to ending racial discrimination. The growing number of Latino workers and the biases that follow them present major challenges to the employment discrimination regime (Hernandez, 2010). The long-time legacy of the black-white paradigm of U.S. relations is slowly changing. The ever-changing demographic forces us to include and consider that more people will be discriminated against. The three stages of workforce demographics include monocultural, nondiscriminatory, and multicultural. Integration is only the beginning of the struggle to end racial discrimination. As the workplace gets more diverse, the employees’ minds do not. People become more closed off when they are not properly educated and integrated. Measures that show a lack of workplace diversity may create evidence of discrimination. But this statement does not work in reverse because the presence of statistical diversity in the workplace does not equate with the absence of discrimination (Hernandez, 2010). This means that lack of diversity can create discrimination, but does not mean it cannot happen. There can be discrimination even if everyone was the same race.
Commitment to workforce diversity can help to improve productivity and boost market shares. Being successful in managing diversity can help organizations to work through change more efficiently. Work force diversity is a growing demographic, and in fact, white Americans may be a minority by the year 2020 (Foster, Jackson, Cross, Jackson, & Hardiman, 1988). Having a diversified workforce may include increased corporate knowledge of what consumers want and enhancing marketing opportunities. Any size company can develop policies and action plans to help with diversity.
References
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books
Foster, B. G., Jackson, G., Cross, W. E., Jackson, B., & Hardiman, R. (1988, April). Workforce diversity in business. Training & Development Journal, 42(4), 38+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_mtsem&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA6682115&sid=googleScholar&asid=210840c8f8569580864776ec4a66dd74
Hammond (Eds.), Psychology builds a healthy world: Opportunities for research and practice. (pp. 233-273) American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/10678-010
Hernandez, T. (2010). Employment Discrimination in the Ethnically Diverse Workplace. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=faculty_scholarship
Joseph, C. (2016). Recommendations on Improving Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved from Chron Small Buisiness: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/recommendations-improving-diversity-workplace-1810.html
Kokemuller, N. (2016). Negative Effects of Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effects-diversity-workplace-18443.html
Quick, J. C., Piotrkowski, C., Jenkins, L., & Brooks, Y. B. (2004). Four dimensions of healthy work: Stress, work-family relations, violence prevention, and relationships at work. In R. H. Rozensky, N. G. Johnson, C. D. Goodheart & W. R.
Strauss, K. (2013, September 8). 7 Ways to Keep Your Employees Happy (And Working Really Hard). Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/09/08/7-ways-to-keep-your-employees-happy-and-working-really-hard/#1a6516b358cb