CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The emergence of an increasingly heterogeneous workforce has brought with it an increased focus within the global corporate world on the issue workforce diversity. This report discusses the workforce diversity management strategies deployed by leading organizations in response to the changing nature of the workforce. Analysis of secondary data collected through online resources available on the corporate websites of the top 20 Fortune 500 corporations of 2012 reveals that leading organizations are focused on, and deploy multifaceted management practices and strategies to effectively manage, workforce diversity. These findings may be of use to a range of organizations seeking to implement or improve diversity-management practices and benchmark their diversity efforts against global best practice.

Statement of the Problem

Diversity in the workforce and in the marketplace is a reality and an opportunity facing health care organizations in the 1990s. A first step in implementing a successful diversity program is to research other organizations that have successfully embraced diversity. Program designs will vary for each organization according to such factors as organization size, customers served, available financial and staff resources, community expectations, management styles and company culture.

Objectives of the Study

General objectives

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Reflects the contributions and interests of diverse cultures in its mission, operations, and instructional services;

Is committed to eradicating institutional racism and social oppression of all forms; Includes members of diverse cultures in decisions that affect them; Values diversity and views the differences between people as a strength; Uses management practices and policies that emphasize participation and

empowerment of all people in the organization Creates a working environment where all people are valued and Follows through on broader external social responsibilities by educating employees

and students in multicultural perspectives.

Specific objectives

To identify areas of underrepresentation of people of colour and women and outline the action steps necessary to increase their representation in those areas where they are significantly underrepresented.

To employ women, people of colour, and people with disabilities throughout all levels of the organization and throughout all job classifications and occupational categories.

To eliminate and prevent recurrence of systemic discriminatory practices relating to employment, or access to promotion, within the district for women, men, people of colour or people with disabilities.

To identify and define problem areas and barriers to achieving workforce diversity and take affirmative actions where necessary.

To implement workforce diversity evaluation process in order to systematically gauge the district’s progress towards goals and the effectiveness of action plans.

Significance of the Study

Businesses have started to recognize diversity in the workplace as a business strategy that maximizes productivity, creativity and loyalty of employees while meeting the needs of their clients or customers. If a company is only as good as their employees, then it stands to reason that a great deal of energy should be devoted to hiring the most talented individuals. By branching out to a diverse workforce, employers have access to a greater pool of candidates thereby improving the odds of hiring the best person. In a competitive marketplace, an organization that puts people first - regardless of their race, religion, gender, age, sexual preference, or physical disability has an advantage over the other players.

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Limitations of the Study

Limitation

Although employing a diverse workforce has many advantages, it comes with some disadvantages as well. A company that recruits and employs a diverse workforce must create a culture that promotes dignity and respect to avoid tension between employees. In addition, communication may be adversely affected if employees' first language is not English. Existing employees may leave the organization if their personal prejudices prevent them from working with colleagues from a different background. As another disadvantage, the investigation of employee complaints regarding negative attitudes and harassment can take up a considerable amount of management time, whether or not they are upheld.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Changes that have taken place in the global market in recent years have altered the way people perceive organizations and interact within them. Globalization has presented curious juxtapositions: for example, an Indian employee could work in the Emirates for an American company and interact with a Kenyan colleague (Novinger, 2001). An "organization" does not merely represent a workplace; rather, organizations can be considered "mini-societies that have their own distinctive patterns of culture and subculture" (Morgan, 2001, p.129). Organizations consist of employees who work, interact, and share each other’s life for a specific time (Myron & Koester, 1998; Lauring, 2011).

Diversity refers to a team of diverse group and that teamwork needs facilitation and provision of authorities which results in positive employee attitude and increased job involvement (job involvement, 2008).Organizations have realized the need of being flexible and responsive to market instabilities and therefore recognized the need of managing a diverse workforce in order to cope up with this situation (Farrer, 2004). In this regard, effective diversity management leads a company to better organizational performance and give a competitive advantage (Allen et al., 2004). Therefore, it is an intense need to manage a diverse workforce by organizations. Management should utilize properly the benefits of workforce diversity in order to enhance group performance (Ely &Thomas, 2001) for this purpose employee involvement in managing diversity is a very crucial tool.

Diversity refers to "a set of characteristics of groups of two or more people and typically refers to demographic differences of one sort or another among group members" (McGrath, Berdahl, &Arrow, 1995). In addition, diversity refers to workers working in an organization belonging to different socio cultures (Kundu, 2003). "The broader definition of diversity may include age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, values, ethnic culture, education, language, lifestyle, beliefs, physical appearance, and economic status" (Wentling et al., 2000). No doubt, diversity promotes organizational performance (Torres et al, 1992) but, it appears as a double-edged sword i.e. enhances opportunities on one side while becomes the basis of employee dissatisfaction (Milliken &Martins, 1996). In this way, he fails to identify himself with the group, ultimately leading to lower group performance. Studies have provided evidence that diversity negatively influence group performance (Ancona &Caldwell, 1992; Steiner, 1992).

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Likewise, employees in diverse workplaces are often challenged to adapt their own cultural bias (Novinger, 2001) and moral measurements to be tolerant of differences. Within a given

culture, values can maintain order and sustain a society. However, sometimes the explanatory function of such values, which once served a purpose, might need to be drastically modified as a result of increasing knowledge or practical requirements. This dimension often requires going beyond understandings of national, racial, and religious boundaries (Shaules, 2007).

The attention being given by employers to issues of workplace diversity, for example, through the creation of diversity mission statements and the development of systematic diversity plans, is well established (Jackson et al., 1992). Employers can leverage diversity to create culturally-specific rules that can improve relations between employees.

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CHAPTER III

THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL/OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

Workforce Diversity

Similarities and differences among employee in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

Workforce diversity goes beyond a company's legal obligations to comply with equal opportunities and non-discrimination legislation. Companies that employ diverse workforces encourage different perspectives and promote learning from alternative perspectives. A diverse workforce should reflect the society in which the company operates in terms of race, gender, physical and mental ability, ethnicity, age, class, spiritual practice and sexual orientation. Employing a diverse workforce requires a company to create a culture that respects conflicting opinions and promotes the dignity of each member of the workforce.

Basic principles

Whatever the program design, organizations that have implemented diversity initiatives agree that the following basic principles apply to any program: Have business reasons--not social or political reasons--for advancing a position of diversity within your organization. Ensure that the program has the full support of executive management. At Security Pacific, there is a policy directive outlining senior management's commitment to workforce diversity. This commitment requires not only support in policy but in program funding, and it holds management accountable for meeting program objectives. Make a long term commitment. The transition to "Workforce 2000" is truly a transformation. Programs will not necessarily show immediate, short-term results but will tend to make the difference over time. Be patient, but expect results. Outline behavioral expectations for managers and employees that demand growth, and reward progress toward meeting these expectations. Put the organization--not the human resources department--in charge of the program. Human resources should be a ready

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and able provider of guidance and assistance, but line management must be given the expectation for implementation of diversity programs.

Stages of commitment

Expect varying levels of organizational commitment to diversity:

1. Awareness of differences. This most basic level of response is one that most human beings will have simply by virtue of interacting with other people.2. Sensitivity to differences. Organizations can foster this level of response by creating an environment that recognizes differences in customers and co-workers as an opportunity to create a new and effective response to a need.3. Acceptance of differences. Organizations can foster this level of response by creating an environment that invites employees to be introspective and to challenge their established attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs.4. Maximizing differences for the good of the organization. Organizations can achieve this level of commitment by outlining expectations, giving employees the skills and tools to meet the expectations, measuring performance against the goals, and rewarding progress. While levels of commitment and program designs will vary, all healthcare organizations--if they are to remain viable, vital, and competitive--must face the fact that diversity is a business strategy worth embracing and worth implementing.

Construct Domain of Diversity

Generally, diversity may be defined as the presence of differences among members of a social group or unit (Jackson, May and Whitney, 1995). In another perspective, Cox (1993) defines diversity as "... the representation, in one social system, of people with distinctly different group affiliations of cultural significance" Deresky ( 1994) highlighted that the differences between the group members may be illustrated in terms of the dimensions such as national origin, language, religious belief, culture, age, physical ability, socio-economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, race, family situation, and gender. Ferdman (1995) emphasized the fact that membership in social groups distinguish one person from another not only in name but also in their viewpoints of the world, in their construction of meanings, and in their behavioral and attitudinal preferences, and other patterns of values, beliefs, norms. Harris and Moran (1999) further expounded on the dimensions of diversity and included other characteristics not identified by Deresky (1994). The factors include physical appearance, cultural heritage, personal background, functional experience, mental and

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physical challenges, family responsibilities, military experience, educational background, style preferences, thinking patterns, political backgrounds, city, state or region of residence, IQ level, smoking preference, weight, height, non-traditional jobs, and white and blue collar. Although researchers and institutions in the fields of international business, applied sociology, and anthropology have investigated the subject of diversity and have proposed some common denotations of diversity, they have not organized the identifiable characteristics or variables of diversity into a systematic, universal structure, which can be used for empirical analysis and contextual comparisons across and within societies. In other words, cataloguing the details of diversity is not enough, since each complex society is more than just consisting of 'presumably unrelated' societal features. This paper introduces a construct domain of diversity, which classifies employee differences in terms of three distinctive categories.

Organizational diversity, and Socio-cognitive diversity

The first category is demographic diversity such as age, gender, ethnicity, and nationality (Cox, 1991 ; Cox and Blake, 1991 ; Jackson and Ruderman, 1995) whereby Jackson et al (1995) have commented that these are considered readily detectable attributes that can be easily characterized in particular individuals. The second category is organizational diversity. It is important to note that workforce diversity is not limited to the physical or social attributes of the organizational members. It also involves the organizational context that adds to the diverse perspective of the group dynamism. Organizational diversity may include the 1) occupation, functional or job portfolios of the employees such as marketing, finance, accountancy, manufacturing, production, etc; 2) staff job tenure or seniority in the firm; 3) hierarchical ranking within the organization (for example, senior management, middle management, and lower management); and 4) work or professional experience (Jackson and Ruderman, 1995). The last category is socio-cognitive diversity, which includes cultural and religious values, beliefs, knowledge level, and personality characteristics (Jackson and Ruderman, 1995). It constitutes the underlying attributes of personal characteristics that are not so easily identifiable (Jackson et al, 1995).By establishing and organizing the staff according to their unique attributes, it will enable business managers to have a more objective understanding and appreciation of their diverse staff's behaviors, attitudes and values, given the implications for interpersonal and organizational processes and outcomes when staff members work together. Essentially, as people's values and beliefs vary distinctively as a consequence of their different socio-cultural predispositions, this will affect organizational processes and configurations, for example, supervisor subordinate relationships, leadership and decision-making styles, cross-cultural communication, international team management, staff motivation, staff recruitment, selection and development, staff expatriation and repatriation, and other managerial functions. Figure1presents an illustration of the construct domain of diversity.

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Workforce Diversity and Strategic International Human Resource Management

Undoubtedly, MNCs would benefit from the wealth of available business knowledge, differing experiences, and global perspectives that staff from diverse backgrounds can contribute. Porter ( 1990) contended that differences in character and culture may prove to be integral to global success, as diversity is considered important towards enhancing innovation and competition in an environment of multiculturalism in organizations. Thus, this signals a need for greater cultural sensitivity and empathetic orientations in the workplace, whereby there ought to be an emphasis on cultural acceptance rather than cultural tolerance. Policies and practices in diversity management should ensure that there is continuous learning and adaptation in organizations. As such, strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) and the related issues in workforce diversity in MNCs would become challenging areas of research and managerial practices for academics, management consultants and business managers, respectively. The ability to effectively manage diverse workforces in organizations is crucial in the wake of the increasing proliferation of transnational strategic alliances, international joint ventures and HQ-subsidiaries establishments.

Figure 1 Construct domain of diversity

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Organizations interested in planning and implementing their own diversity programs:

1. Find out what all the people think.

At many companies, what human resources people think is needed may not be what others--even the majority of the workforce--think is needed. At UPS, we conducted surveys and collected data on peoples' attitudes about valuing diversity at different levels of the organization.

2. Determine your organization's readiness to value diversity.

Most managers are not prepared to meet the new challenges that an increasingly diverse workforce represents. Often, managers and employees go through a predictable set of stages in examining this issue. Denial, confusion, and anger tend to be the first responses, followed by partial or total commitment (depending on how well people have been trained to understand the importance of valuing diversity.)

To evaluate you organization's potential openness to valuing diversity, ask yourself questions like these:

How do we handle conflict between men and women here? Are women supported when harassed by men? How do we handle conflict between ethnic groups? Do we encourage white males in our workforce to understand the competitive

advantage of valuing diversity? Is there a consensus of employees who are aware of the challenges associated with

diversity? What are the organizational stereotypes we need to change in order to be successful

at valuing diversity? How do the changes in our workforce parallel changes in the marketplace?

Numerous meetings and strategizing with the "stakeholders of power" (i.e., senior management and constituent representative councils) at UPS helped prepare and build support for the diversity program. This kind of preplanning effort paid off substantially as the program was rolled out.

3. Involve people in the planning process so that they share ownership.

This is an organizational learning venture that goes deep into the soul of the company. The planning process needs to be collaborative and is itself a training program. The effectiveness of the UPS program came from everyone feeling as though he or she had some input in the process.

4. Be culture-specific.

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Every organization has a unique culture that it brings to issues of diversity. The diversity program at UPS has been effective in large part because it is based on the values, attitudes, and specific culture of the organization.

5. Mesh the corporate mission with diversity goals.

What is the relationship between valuing diversity, corporate mission, and the strategic plan? Finding the fit between the corporate mission and valuing diversity can be challenging. Often, as was the case at UPS, the mission statement was nonspecific about people policies. Finding parallel goals--such as cutting costs or increasing customer service--that can fit synergistically with valuing diversity, is critical to the viability and creditability of the program.

6. Establish the facts, but focus on practicalities.

At UPS, we found that too much data turned people off and made them insensitive to the subject. Always ask yourself: What can people take away from training and put to use so that they might be effective at valuing diversity?

7. Raise awareness of personal stereotypes.

What are the personal stereotypes people need to change in order to be successful at valuing diversity? Create a nonthreatening way for people to own their own stereotypes. At UPS, we started by indicating that everyone has stereotypes about people different from themselves. "Stereotype" is a polite substitute for racism and sexism--part of the unconscious social conditioning we all have. We focus on having people monitor their own decision making process and how it relates to stereotypes.

8. Build awareness and skills.

An effective diversity program provides both awareness and skills; one without the other creates a dysfunctional program. At UPS, awareness goals were reached when participants became responsible for changing the game. Skills such as communication, conflict management, decision making, and teambuilding were tied directly to valuing diversity.

9. Pilot test the program, listen to feedback, and do it again.

Be prepared for surprises in your evaluation phase. Pilot test and evaluate throughout the process. Eight months of planning did not prepare us at UPS for the reactions of people at the first pilot. After two pilot programs we were still changing breakout sessions and slides. Be open to participants' evaluations. Listening to the feedback might determine success or failure--it did at UPS.

10.Tie valuing diversity into management development.

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If valuing diversity is seen by managers as a separate program unrelated to management development, efforts to impact the organization will fail. Managers must realize that valuing diversity is a managerial competency and responsibility--not a choice.

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CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH

Research is a thorough, orderly, organized, efficient and logical investigation of an area of knowledge or of a problem. In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Main components of a research are:

Curiosity:

Science is knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experiment. Research begins with a broad question that needs an answer.

Theory (Hypothesis)

Researcher creates an assumption to be proved or disproved with the help of data.

Experiment

Researchers design an experiment with steps to test and evaluate the theory (hypothesis) and generate analyzable data. Experiments have controls and a large enough sample group to provide statistically valid results.

Observation

Observing and recording the results of the experiment generated raw data to prove or disprove the theory.

Analysis

Statistical analysis on the data and organizing it so that it is understandable generates answers to the initial question. Data may show trends that allow for the broadening of the research.

Conclusions

Research following the scientific method will either prove or disprove the theory

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TYPES OF RESEARCH

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research or statistical research provides data about the population or universe being studied. But it can only describe the "who, what, when, where and how" of a situation, not what caused it. Therefore, descriptive research is used when the objective is to provide a systematic description that is as factual and accurate as possible. It provides the number of times something occurs, or frequency, lends itself to statistical calculations such as determining the average number of occurrences or central tendencies.

One of its major limitations is that it cannot help determine what causes a specific behavior, motivation or occurrence. In other words, it cannot establish a causal research relationship between variables.

The two most commonly types of descriptive research designs are:

Observation   Surveys 

ANALYTICAL RESEARCH

In analytical research the researcher has to use facts or information already available and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

EXPLAORATORY RESEARCH

Exploratory research is conducted into a research problem or issue when there are

very few or no earlier studies to which we can refer for information about the issue or problem. The aim of this type of study is to look for patterns, ideas or hypotheses, rather than testing or confirming a hypothesis.

Exploratory research often relies on secondary data.

APPLIED RESEARCH

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Applied research is also known as an action research. Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society

or any business organization. Marketing research is a part of applied research.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to the phenomenon that can be expressed in terms of quantity.

Research framework

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This study is for workforce diversity in organization. Research said that a diverse workforce should reflect the society in which the company operates in terms of race, gender, physical and mental ability, ethnicity, age, class, spiritual practice and sexual orientation.

Types of data which helped to prepare this report:

The secondary data which was already prepared so these data was only used to reach the aims and objectives of this project. These data has been collected from various journals related to work force diversity.

How the data was collected: The sources of collecting the primary data was through interviews, observation and questionnaire, however the secondary one was collected from various journals related to work force diversity.

Printed Sources:

The secondary data I collected was through the study of the workforce diversity already existed in the firms in form of printed files or digital files reserved in the company for further references. I had chosen these files because of the reliability and suitability of these information which I was also sure about the accuracy of them.

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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Summary

Diversity in the workforce and in the marketplace is a reality and an opportunity facing organizations . A first step in implementing a successful diversity program is to research other organizations that have successfully embraced diversity. One example is Security Pacific Bancorporation Northwest. Program designs will vary for each organization according to such factors as organization size, customers served, available financial and staff resources, community expectations, management styles and company culture. Whatever the program design, organizations that have implemented diversity initiatives agree that the following basic principles apply to any program: 1. Have business reasons for advancing a program of diversity within the organization. 2. Ensure that the program has the full support of executive management. 3.Make a long-term commitment. 4. Place the organization in charge of the program.

Conclusions

The results of this study led to the following conclusions:

The major barriers that have inhibited the employment, development, retention, and promotion of diverse groups in the workplace can be categorized into two types. The first type of barrier is organizational in nature and comes from the workplace environment. The second type of barrier is individual and comes from the employees themselves.

The six organizational barriers which are most likely to inhibit the advancement of diverse groups in the workplace are (1) negative attitudes and discomfort toward people who are different, (2) discrimination, (3) prejudice, (4) stereotyping, (5) racism, and (6) bias.

The six individual barriers that are most likely to inhibit the advancement of diverse groups in the workplace are (1) poor career planning, (2) inadequate skill preparation, (3) lack of organizational political savvy, (4) lack of proper education, (5) low self-esteem, and (6) poor self-image.

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Diversity should be defined in the broadest sense in order to include all the different characteristics that make one individual different from another. Also, another reason for making the definition all-inclusive is that it recognizes everyone as part of the diversity that should be valued.

The six factors most likely to influence diversity in the workplace are (1) demographic changes, (2) global marketplace, (3) economics, (4) comfort with being different, (5) a diverse customer base, and (6) Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action programs.

The four major reasons that organizations manage diversity are (1) to improve productivity and remain competitive, (2) to form better work relationships among employees, (3) to enhance social responsibility, and (4) to address legal concerns.

The six best strategies for managing diversity are (1) training and education programs, (2) organizational policies that mandate fairness and equity for all employees, (3) mentoring programs, (4) performance appraisal systems that are nondiscriminatory, (5) outreach programs, and (6) career development programs.

Other important recommendations for managing diversity are to obtain top management support, to integrate diversity into all company functions, to use a combination of strategies, and to create a corporate culture that supports diversity.

The major goals of diversity training are to increase organizational effectiveness and personal effectiveness.

The ten components of an effective diversity training program are (1) commitment and support from top management, (2) inclusion as part of the organizational strategic plan, (3) meeting the specific needs of the organization, (4) utilizing qualified trainers, (5) combining with other diversity initiatives, (6) mandatory attendance, (7) creating inclusive programs, (8) providing trust and confidentiality, (9) requiring accountability, and (10) conducting evaluation.

Recommendations

Diversity training needs to begin with increasing awareness of what the concept of diversity is and why it is important. The skill training, then, should provide the specific information needed to create behavior changes that are required to effectively manage and work within a diverse workforce. Then, application strategies and support needs to be provided so that diversity awareness and skills can be applied to improving work performance.

The future trends related to diversity include the following: Society will become more diverse and, therefore, the workforce and the marketplace will become more diverse; there will be more globalization of corporations, which will lead to a more global workforce,

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marketplace, and economy; diverse work teams will be a reality in organizations; diversity will become more of a business concern than a social concern and be more closely linked to competitive strategies; diverse populations will make more money and spend more money and this increase in wealth will empower diversity; senior managers will become more involved in diversity issues because they will realize that the diverse workforce needs to be better utilized in order to remain competitive; more managers will face the challenge of dealing with backlash; and diversity training will be integrated more with other types of training.

References

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Journals

1. Bishop, J. W., Scott, K. D., &Burroughs, S. M. (2000). Support, commitment, and employee outcomes in a team environment. Journal of Management, 26.

2. Cohen, S., &Bailey, D. (1997). What makes teams work: group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suit?. Journal of Management, 23.

3. Farrer, J. (2004). A practical approach to diversity. Industrial and Commercial Training, 36(4).

4. Aslam, Muhammad Salman; Ayub, Arslan; Razzaq, Adeel (2013). Enhancing Group Performance through Employee Involvement: A Conceptual Framework on Workforce Diversity, 419-426.

5. Choy, William K W (2007). Globalization and Workforce Diversity: HRM Implications for Multinational Corporations in Singapore, 1-19.

6. Shea, Sue; Okada, Ruby K (Jan-Feb 1992). Benefiting from Workforce Diversity, 23.

7. Dahanayake, Pradeepa; Rajendran, Diana (Feb 2013). Global Leadership in Managing Workforce Diversity.

Websites

1. http://smallbusiness.chron.com2. www.businessdictionary.com3. www.ukm.my4. www.4j.lane.edu5. ncrve.berkeley.edu/abstracts

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